3. Isaiah Chapters 1-5: The Kingdom of God
4. Isaiah Chapters 6-10: God with us
5. Isaiah Chapters 11-26: The Rod of Jesse
6. Isaiah Chapters 27-32 The Righteous King
7. Isaiah Chapters 33-39 The Righteous King
8. Isaiah Chapters 40-43 The Servant of the Lord
9. Isaiah Chapters 44-45 The Servant of the Lord
10. Isaiah Chapters 46-48 The Redeemer and Savior
11. Isaiah Chapters 49-52: The Suffering Servant
6. Isaiah Chapters 27 to 32, The Righteous King Will Reign
The Righteous King will reign Isaiah 27 to Isaiah 32
Today
one of the hottest political issues is the nation of Israel and Jerusalem.
At the heart of the
issue are these questions, Who owns the land on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea? Who has the rights to the right to determine ownership to this physical property? The whole world is involved in this struggle today, whether they like it or not.
When the Jews were scattered over the earth in A.D. 70, almost 2000-years ago, who would known they would become a nation again? In 1948, the nations under the United Nations[1] voted the nation of Israel into existence. The Jews were given authority from the world body to take possession of small portion of Palestine and Jerusalem was established as an international city. The nations of the world have taken the authority to act in the best interest of the world. Thus the heart of the issue is one of authority. Under whose authority is the nation of Israel? Under the authority of Lord, who created the Heavens and the Earth? Or are they under the authority of the nations?
The answer to this question depends on your worldview, if you believe the Bible is the WORD of God, the creator of the Earth then you might answer, Israel is under God’s authority. On the other hand, if you do not believe God exists, or that the God of the Bible, is just book written by men, then you would say Israel is under the authority of the nations.
The Great Dilemma
This dilemma of authority forces Israel to make a choice, do they follow the nations or the God of the Bible? The nations are more then willing to assert their authority over Israel, the Jews and Jerusalem. Today, we see the conflict in full bloom, as the nations declare Jerusalem an international territory, forcing their rulings on Israel. Within Israel, the Jews face a tug of war, secular Jews are reluctant to oppose the views of the world, while religious Jews are convicted to follow the Bible.
So what does it matter? God in the Bible, has given Jerusalem a special position in the world, he has called “His city”, given to the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore to accept the Biblical claim, means God has the rights over the land, to reject the Biblical claim, means the Bible is meaningless, and has no authority over the issue.
Many people
shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To
the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk
in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the
Lord from JERUSALEM.
What does Israel matter?
For a lot people in the world today, Israel and Jerusalem is just a piece of land, they don’t understand the fuss. The “fuss over the land” is one of authority and whether God is faithful to His WORD. The world rejects the existence of God, because the world is fallen, and under a curse. Jesus declared Satan as the “Ruler of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). He also called him the “Father of” Liars. Therefore the conflict is a supernatural conflict, between God and Satan, being played out in the kingdoms of men.
Central to this conflict is God’s plan of redemption, through the Messiah.
When humanity fell at the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15-16), God promised the
“Seed of the woman” would crush the “head” of the serpent. The serpent, was
the fallen Cherub angel Lucifer (Ezekiel 28,
The Messiah would assert His authority over the world, through the descendents of Jacob (Israel). When Jesus came, the at the First Coming, Israel rejected him. At His Second Coming, Israel and Jerusalem will again be brought to spotlight, as the conflict between the “fallen world” and the “ruler of this world” come into conflict with Israel and its Messiah, the King of Israel.
Isaiah Chapter 27: Israel Restored
The
Messiah is the Lord, the King of Israel, who will one day rule over the
Earth in great glory and power. The work of the Messiah is captured in
Isaiah in His “First” and “Second” Coming. Israel rejected Jesus the first
time, they will accept him the Second time, there the Jews need to be
restored to the land, before the Second Coming.
Israel in the land will find itself in opposition to the nations.
Leviathan punished
1 In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.
In that Day: Using the imagery of a “Sea” serpent (Xxn Nachash) the same term Chapter 27, refers to the Lord’s conquest over Leviathan. The “Seed of the woman” is the one who would crush the head of the serpent.
Leviathan: !tywl Livyathan, the word literally means “twisted” “coiled”, the Hebrew word has come to mean “twisted” serpent, because it is described as a sea animal in (Job 41:4, Psalm 74:14, 104:26). This being dwelt in the sea is a metaphor for Satan, who will be crushed under the foot of the Messiah.
The Sea: The sea is a picture of the earth, the vast inhabited regions of humanity. Satan is referred to as the “god of this age”, “ruler of this world”. He will one day be punished by the Lord’s sword, (the Messiah) who will slay the him. The sea is the picture of this conflict in expanse of nations.
2 In that day sing to her, "A vineyard of red wine!
3 I, the Lord, keep it, I water it every moment; Lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in Me. Who would set briers and thorns Against Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold of My strength, That he may make peace with Me; And he shall make peace with Me."
6 Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit.
7 Has He
struck Israel as He struck those who struck him? Or has He been slain
according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
In that day: The “Serpent” Satan will be vanquished “In that day”. This refers to the Second Coming when the Lord defeats him, and the “kingdoms of this earth” become “the kingdom of the Lord”(Daniel 7:27). This is the transition at the end of the age (Matthew 24:3)
Vineyard: The vineyard of the Lord is Israel as referred to in Isaiah chapter 5:1-7. The vineyard was abandoned because of the sins of the land, now this “end-times” vineyard of Israel will be cherished and protected against the nations. Red wine: This vineyard shall produce a bountiful fruit.
Against me: The opposition to the Lord and His “vineyard” Israel will be a point of conflict in the world, the Lord will burn them in His wrath “in that day”.
My strength: People have two choices, they can join the Lord in His strength or they can choose to fight the Lord, by being the “briers and thorns” (the weeds) opposed to fruit of the vineyard. Those who take hold of the Lord strength will make peace with Him and join His vineyard.
Take root in Jacob: Those who choose to join the Lord, can be grafted into the vineyard of Israel. Paul refers to the wild olive branches being grafted into the cultivated branches (Romans 11).
Fill the face: The blessing of Israel will be worldwide in the Millennium. The obedient ones, who turn to the Lord will be part of the “Vineyard” of Israel.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day That the Lord will thresh, From the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; And you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.
13 So it shall
be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are
about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the
land of Egypt, And shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
In that day: This refers to the day of judgment, the transition from the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of God.
Lord will thresh: The violence of the Lord against the nations, as “beating” the wheat, separating the chaff from the kernel. The kernel is the desired part of the plant, by beating (Threshing) the plant the kernel is removed. The same will happen to Israel, the Jews will be gathered.
gathered.... The “Children of Israel” gathered into the land of Israel, through threshing, the tribulation will produce a “righteous” fruit who will worship the Lord.
Shall worship: When the Messiah rules over the nations, Israel will be blessed in the world, this looks forward to the day. The righteous remnant will worship in Jerusalem at the Temple of the Lord in the holy mount.
at Jerusalem: This is the physical Jerusalem, the capital of the earth in the days of Messiah.
Isaiah Chapter 28: A Cornerstone in Zion
Scripture
presents two groups of people, those who are lost, and those who are saved.
In the end, the saved will dwell with the Lord for all eternity (Revelation
21-22). The same goes for Israel, many in Israel did not know the Lord in
Isaiah day, just as in our day. People trusted in their glory and human
effort, the same then as today.
Chapter 28 paints the contrast of these two groups, those glory stems from the Lord and those whose glory “fades” and is the result of human pride. The Lord establishes a building in Zion (Jerusalem), with a true “Cornerstone” the Messiah, who is the source of all truth and glory.
1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valleys, To those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Will be trampled underfoot;
4 And the glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valley, Like the first fruit before the summer, Which an observer sees; He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people,
6 For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to
those who turn back the battle at the gate.
Crown of pride: The “Fall of Lucifer” was pride. The fall of man was pride, Satan appealed to Eve’s pride, in the Garden. Telling her the fruit give her knowledge, she shall be “as gods”. Human pride is part of our “fallen nature”. Israel trusted in its ability rather then God’s Spirit.
Overcome with wine: Pride is like wine, it intoxicates the mind, deluding our senses.
Trampled: The end result of the proud is judgment, a picture of the army of the walking over those who are judged.
The Lord of Hosts: In contrast to “human” pride, on the day of the Lord, the remnant (the survivors) the Lord of Hosts (Jesus Christ), the Messiah will be their glory.
The remnant: The survivors of the tribulation, the saved. This would also apply to the survivors and the Church, grafted into the covenant blessings of Israel, after the first coming.
7 But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean.
9 "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves."
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
They also have
erred .
They also have erred: The Jews in the days of Isaiah had strayed from the Word of the Lord, and invited God’s judgment. The same would be the case at the first coming and the second coming. Failure to follow God’s commands, caused the nation to fail, Jesus rejected their elevation of human traditions over the Word of God. He saw Isaiah word as being fulfilled in the generation of the first coming.
3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? ......6b.Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
7 "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 'These
people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But
their heart is far from Me.
Priest: The religious leaders have misled the people, priests and prophets, in the days of Isaiah, causing the judgment of Assyria and Babylon against Israel and Judah. The same would be the case at the first and second coming. Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, yet to this day the religious leaders in Israel are blinded from the revelation.
teach knowledge: The people are presented as babies, still on their mothers milk, or just weaned. They are not prepared to received the knowledge of God’s word. Like babies, everything just appears as “line on line”, “precept on precept”.
Stammering lips: Through the gentiles God will speak to Israel, because they would not enter the rest, he had prepared (vs. 12). The Assyrians and Babylonians came in judgment, followed by the Romans at the first coming and the nations at the Second Coming. God established a “Rest” for Israel, except they choose not to walk in it.
Stone for a foundation: The builders in Israel are the “Priests” and “Prophets”, yet they have erred in the way. Go promised to lay His foundation stone, the “cornerstone”. The cornerstone was the stone, was the basis of all the stones that followed. God was constructing “His” building, the Messiah at the first coming would be the stone.
Whoever
believes:
Salvation
would come through the act of belief in the cornerstone,
Justice: Jesus is the justice of God, Jesus paid for the sins of mankind, taking away our sins,.
Righteousness
Sweep away: The Messiah message of salvation, through His death will wash away the lies of human tradition, competing for salvation. The waters of judgment will was away the lies of the “priests” and “prophets”, who Isaiah pictures as tables with “filth” and “vomit”.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon-That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
23 Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25 When he has leveled its surface, Does he not sow the black cummin And scatter the cummin, Plant the wheat in rows, The barley in the appointed place, And the spelt in its place?
26 For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him.
27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin; But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, And the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread flour
must be ground; Therefore he does not
thresh it forever, Break it with his cartwheel, Or crush it with his
horsemen. .
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.
The Lord will rise: The Lord will judge the nations; His anger will be against the nations which are opposed to his rule. At this time, Israel will turn to the Lord in the last days, they in turn will face off with the nations, who will oppose Israel. Israel will put its hope in Jesus Christ as Messiah.
upon the whole earth: The ruler of the earth is Satan, Christ returns to crush the head of the Serpent and his kingdom at the “Second” coming.
1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Psalm 2:1-4
He does not thresh forever: One day God will store his crop, threshed from the plants. God is the planter looking for a harvest. Jesus came to bring in the harvest of salvation, to bring the harvest into the storehouse.
Isaiah Chapter 29: Woe to Ariel (Jerusalem)
Jerusalem
is the “Chosen” city of God. It is the city opposed to the kingdoms of the
World in the last days, at the second coming. In
Isaiah 29
1 "Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; Let feasts come around.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel; There shall be heaviness and sorrow, And it shall be to Me as Ariel.
3 I will encamp against you all around, I will lay siege against you with a mound, And I will raise siegeworks against you.
4 You shall be brought down, You shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium's, out of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.
5 "Moreover the multitude of your foes Shall be like fine dust, And the multitude of the terrible ones Like chaff that passes away; Yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly.
6 You will be punished by the Lord of hosts With thunder and earthquake and great noise, With storm and tempest And the flame of devouring fire.
7 The multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel, Even all who fight against her and her fortress, And distress her, Shall be as a dream of a night vision. 8 It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, And look-he eats; But he awakes, and his soul is still empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreams, And look-he drinks; But he awakes, and indeed he is faint, And his soul still craves: So the multitude of all the nations shall be, Who fight against Mount Zion."
Ariel: lara 'Ari'el, the Hebrew meaning is Lion, God is calling Jerusalem lion. The nations will come against Jerusalem, in the last days, and the Messiah will be the one who saves Jerusalem.
9 "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 "And I will
pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of
grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes,
they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him
as one grieves for a firstborn.
I will distress: God allows the judgment to come against the city, because of the sins of the city. Babylon destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., the Romans in A.D. 70, In the end, God will in the person of Jesus Christ, the “one pierced” will destroy the nations which come against Jerusalem.
I will encamp: God allows the enemies to come against Jerusalem.
Your speech: Jerusalem consulted mediums, now the city itself will play the role of God’s medium to the nations, as it brings forth God’s judgment on the world.
the multitude of nations: The nations come against Jerusalem in the last-days, this time the ending is not the destruction of Jerusalem, but its victory. As the Jewish nation cries out to Messiah, the Lord of Host judges the nations.
Dream of a night vision: The victory will be so complete, the transformation so real that the past will seem like a dream.
9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For the Lord has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.
11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."
12 Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate."
13 Therefore
the Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And
honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And
their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
Jesus applied these verses, (vs. 13) as speaking to the generation in his day. This resulted in the Romans armies coming against the city. There will be another assault in the Second Coming,
In that day, the people will turn to Messiah.
14 Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden."
15 Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, And their works are in the dark; They say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?"
16 Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
17 Is it not yet a very little while Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the terrible one is brought to nothing, The scornful one is consumed, And all who watch for iniquity are cut off
21 "Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; Let feasts come around.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, Nor shall his face now grow pale;
23 But when he sees his children, The work of My hands, in his midst, They will hallow My name, And hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And fear the God of Israel.
24 These also
who erred in spirit will come to understanding, And those who complained
will learn doctrine."
Marvelous work: The work here is the God will give wisdom to the despised of the earth, while the wise and the prudent of the earth will not see it. The creation has exalted itself above the creator, like the clay challenging the potter.
In that day:
At the First Coming, Jesus healed the deaf and blind, they were made to
understand God’s plan, it was clear to them. Blind Bartameous in
The Humble: Those who were not caught in their pride saw God’s salvation. God exalts the humble and lowers the proud. Jesus called the fisherman, tax collectors, prostitutes and demon possessed to be his witnesses. These were the humble and poor, they were not the exalted wise and prudent people in the earth.
He sees his children: Ariel (Jerusalem) is personified as a father, who will one day say his “saved” children dwelling in his midst, a great multitude.
My hands: The work is the work of the Messiah, through the death of Messiah (Isaiah 53), salvation was made available to the lost world.
Holy One of Jacob: The Holy One is direct reference to Messiah, “son of David” therefore “of Jacob”. He is also God; therefore He is the Holy One.
Isaiah Chapter 30:
In Isaiah’s
day, the people looked to Egypt for their help; they did not turn to the
Lord. The result was their judgment by both
Assyria
and later Babylon (vs. 1-17). Israel and Judah looked to the might and power
of Egypt, to save them. The looked to the nations for their help, today
Israel is repeating the mistake of their fathers. At the Second Coming, as
Israel experiences the “Day of the Lord”, they will turn to Messiah, Jesus
Christ. It is at that time, “In that day” when Israel receives the
salvation offered at the first coming.
One day however, the people will turn to the Lord and receive the blessings of God. This transformation from a disobedient nation to an obedient nation is pictured in vs. 18-33.
Isaiah 30
1 "Woe to the rebellious children," says the Lord, "Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;
2 Who walk to
go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in
the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
Woe: ywh Howy, their rebellion is their refusal to turn to the Lord, but seek help from the nations.
18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.
20 And though the Lord gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears
shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it,"
Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.
Therefore the Lord will wait:
you shall weep no more:
The bread of adversity:
22 You will also defile the covering of your graven images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, "Get away!"
23 Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures.
24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground Will eat cured fodder, Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
25 There will be on every high mountain And on every high hill Rivers and streams of waters, In the day of the great slaughter, When the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing stream, Which reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, Causing them to err.
29 You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into the mountain of the Lord, To the Mighty One of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod.
32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the Lord lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.
33 For Tophet
was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it
deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the Lord,
like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it.
The name of the Lord comes: The Second Coming is pictured here with the judgment of God against the nations. The Lord descends in power and great glory. His fire will devour the earth in judgment.
30 "Then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the
earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory.
Sift the nations: The conflict is between the Lord and the nations. Satan is described as the ruler of this world.
The descent of His arm: The “Arm of the Lord” is the rejected Messiah of the First Coming, the same arm descends at the Second Coming with power and glory.
10 The Lord has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God..... 1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Isaiah 52:10,53:1)
Tophet: htpt Tophteh “place of fire” The eternal judgment for Satan, the King of earth, the ruler of the nations in this fallen age. A place of burning is prepared for him.
Isaiah Chapter 31
The Lord is the salvation of Israel, not Egypt. Here is the conflict of Israel, they refuse to turn to the Lord. One day they will turn to the Lord and He will fight for his city, against the nations (vs.5).
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the Lord!
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together.
4 For thus the Lord has spoken to me: "As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice Nor be disturbed by their noise), So the Lord of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
5 Like birds flying about, So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it."
6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7 For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold-sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8 "Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, And his young men shall become forced labor.
9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner," Says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
The Lord of Hosts: Jesus will descend with the armies of Heaven, as the nations gather against Jerusalem.
Fight for Mount Zion: Mount Zion is synonymous with the heart of Jerusalem.
Isaiah Chapter 32
One day, the Jerusalem and Israel will receive the blessing promised to her. Then the Messiah will rule over the city in righteousness. However until that time, Jerusalem will go through periods of trouble and conflict.
1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice.
2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, And a cover from the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land............
...........12 People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city;
14 Because the palaces will be forsaken, The bustling city will be deserted. The forts and towers will become lairs forever, A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks
15 Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,
19 Though hail comes down on the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation.
20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.
Behold, a king: The Messiah will rule on the throne of David, as the king of righteousness. The saints will rule and reign with Christ. The transition will be from the kingdoms of this world, to the kingdom of Messiah.
Righteousness:
Until the Spirit: In the last days, Israel God will pour His spirit on Israel (Zechariah 12:10) and then, like Paul, they will see the one they pierced. They will understand Jesus is Messiah and call out to Him.
[1] The United Nations came into existence after WW II in 1945, with the stated goal of reaching world peace through the cooperation of the nations.
