Isaiah 24, Part 5, by Chris McCann, August 5, 2012: A look at Isaiah 24:7-8

Good evening everyone, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Sunday evening Bible study.

So, we’re going to go ahead with our study in the book of Isaiah.  Today will be study #5, and I’m going to begin reading in Isaiah 24, verse 7.  It says there,

“The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.  The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.  They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.  The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.  There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.  In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.”

I’ll stop reading there.  And in our last study, we spent most of the time looking at verse 7, where it said that the “…new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.”  And we saw that that expression God is using of “sighing,” is found in Ezekiel 9:4, and Ezekiel 21:7, where it is referring to believers.  Especially in Ezekiel 9 it’s very clear, as God tells those who are going forth to smite the city, beginning at His sanctuary, that they are to place a mark upon those that “sigh” in the city.

And that is the true believers, the elect; they are given a mark.  They sigh for the abominations that were committed in the city.  So this is spiritually pointing to the believers, who are grieved.  They were sorrowed by all of the unfaithfulness found in the churches and congregations, over the period of the great tribulation.  But here in Isaiah 24, the context is the earth, it’s the world; it is not the church.

And although God is speaking of bringing judgment upon the congregations in Ezekiel 9; nevertheless, He is referring to the merry hearted as being those that sigh.  And that’s because the elect people of God whom He intended to save during the great tribulation, were saved:  A great multitude, all across the world, and no man can number them.  It’s just 10’s of millions of individuals.  And all of these people are here.  They remain in the world during this period of judgment.

And there are many reasons why the children of God remain.  For instance, one purpose God has for keeping His people here, is to try them.  It is a time to put the faith of all these individuals, of all these people, to the fire, to see what “sort” of faith it is, as it is described by the language of the Bible.

Another reason is to make manifest what God has already done in saving them.  That is, before the foundation of the world, we know that Jesus died for the sins of His people.  And therefore we know that God, in casting those sins upon Christ, and Christ paying for those sins, God has obligated Himself to save all those people, which He has already accomplished; and that He guaranteed that they would become saved.

So, for all intents and purposes, they were saved.  Their sins were paid for before the foundation of the world.  There just had to be an outworking of their salvation throughout the generations, as history unfolded.  And yet, in each generation, God would apply His word and He would redeem these elect people.  But He saved the best for last, and He saved a “great multitude.”  By far the largest number of the elect were saved during this short, little season of the great tribulation; especially for the about 17-year period of the latter rain.

Now, following that judgment which began at the house of God on the churches, following the conclusion of the latter rain, we transition into Judgment Day.  And it is now the Day of Judgment.  And the cup which God had previously given to the people in the churches, who were professed Christians, He now gives to all the inhabitants of the earth, to all the people of the world.  And they begin to drink.  And it’s the same cup; it’s the same judgment.  Just as God removed the Gospel blessings from the churches and ended salvation in them on May 21, 1988, when He began the 23-year judgment of the great tribulation, He’s done exactly the same now for the world, in putting out the Gospel lights.

That’s why Matthew 24:29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation…” the sun is darkened and so on; and as a result, God has ended salvation for the world.  He has closed the door.  That was the entire significance, or most of the significance of May 21, 2011 matching up with the 17^th day of the 2^nd  Hebrew month, the day that God closed the door on the ark.  And so, here we are, however many it is that total this great multitude that God has saved – and it’s Judgment Day – and we are here.  We’re not in heaven.  We’re not anywhere but in the midst of the judgment that God is bringing upon the people of the earth.  And in 2 Corinthians 5, it says in verse 6,

“Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.  Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”

In those few verses, we saw the word, “we,” “we,” “we,” several times, and in each case it’s referring to the true believers.  Then in verse 10,

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

And who is this “we?”  Has it suddenly shifted to all mankind?  No, it is still the true believers.

“…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;”

But again, the fact is that all of the elect were in Christ before the foundation of the world, when He was making payment.  So as Jesus experienced the wrath of God, paying the penalty for your sins and my sins – for all the sins of His people (He had the whole multitude of transgressions laid upon Him; there wasn’t one that was missed; not one individual, and not one sin of one individual); all of the elect, and all of that ugly mass of sin was laid in a spiritual way upon Christ.  And He bore it all completely and paid the penalty.  God’s judgment, His wrath, was satisfied; it was appeased; justice was served; and Christ died for our sins, freeing us from the penalty.  We no longer are subject to death; that is, the eternal death of annihilation; (we still might die physically due to the corruption in our body,) but we will not die eternally.  We will live.

And so God has done that.  That is finished; that work is complete, and we have stood before God in the person of Christ (and they’re one and the same.)  But we have already done it in Him.  When Jesus paid the penalty, we were in Him.  And so there’s no need for us to stand before the judgment seat of Christ again.  That’s finished.  It’s accomplished.  It’s done.  There’s absolutely no need for it; just as there was no need for Jesus to go to the cross in 33 A.D. when He had already made payment.

The Bible tells us, for instance, in Hebrews chapter 9, as Hebrews is a book that teaches us about the high priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus, as He was a priest “after the order of Melchisedec” (Hebrews 7:17,) and we read in Hebrews 9, verse 24,

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

That’s significant.  God is contrasting Christ’s eternal priesthood with the earthly, temporal priesthood of the Levites.  And the Levitical priesthood, those priests, had to constantly, year after year, on the Day of Atonement, enter into the Holy of Holies, to offer their sacrifice, because those sacrifices, as Hebrews 10:11 goes on to tell us, could “never take away sins.”  And so they had to continually offer them.  They never satisfied the demands of the law of God in any way for any person.  But Jesus, on the other hand, was the perfect Lamb of God, and His sacrifice was the perfect sacrifice that completely and totally satisfied the demands of God’s law on behalf of all that He died for.  And so, it goes on to say in verse 26,

“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world:”

Now the word, “since,” is the exact, same Greek word as “from,” in Revelation 13:8, that Jesus is the Lamb slain,

“…from the foundation of the world.”

But let’s think what is being said here.  The example of the earthly, Levitical priesthood is given; how they must enter often into the Holy place, year after year.  Then, God goes back to Christ, and He says,

“For then” (that is, if Jesus were to be along the same lines as the Levites, and be of their priesthood,) “…For then must he often have suffered from the foundation of the world:” (Hebrews 9:26)

Why “…from the foundation of the world?”  Because the point God is making is that Christ has done it once.  That’s how many times He has made payment for sin.  And so He is going to the very beginning, to the first, to the initial payment of the Lord Jesus Christ for sin.  And when was that?  Well, in Revelation 13:8, it says,

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

There is the death of Christ as He made payment for sin.  He died from the foundation of the world; and if (and this is God’s point in Hebrews 9); if He were like any other priest and not after Melchisedec, then from that initial offering of Himself at the foundation of the world, He must then, continually from that point, offer Himself up again, and again, and again, just like those earthly priests.  But God’s point is that He is not like earthly priests.  And it goes on to say in Hebrews 9:26,

“…but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

And this is how God is able to throw people off; because Jesus paid the penalty before the foundation of the world; but once, in the end of the world, (and that was in the first century AD, and the Bible speaks of the whole New Testament age, on occasion, as “the end,”) Jesus “appeared.”  He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  But that word, “appeared,” is the word that we have to be very careful with.

It says in 1 Peter chapter 1, and verse 18,

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,”

And that agrees with Revelation 13:8.  That agrees with what we read in Hebrews 9:26.  And then it goes on to say,

“…but was manifest in these last times for you,”

“Last times,” or “the end of the world,” would be synonyms.  Christ was slain as the Lamb, before the world was created; but then, He was made manifest:  He appeared in time, in history.  He entered into the human race.  Why?  Well, God’s reason was to show forth, to demonstrate, and to reveal what He had already done before the world.  And that’s the reason, by the way, why Jesus is called,

“…the light of the world:” (John 8:12)

The Bible says,

“…whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” (Ephesians 5:13)

And Christ came to make manifest, to shine the light on the fact that He had already paid for sins.  He lived out a tableau.  He lived out a demonstration to illustrate that these things were already done.  And this word, “manifest,” or “appear,” is the same word we find in 2 Corinthians 5, and verse 10,

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;”

Or to say it using the other word, (which is the same Greek word, but it could be translated in either way,)

“For we must all be manifest before the judgment seat of Christ;”

“Be manifest.”  That’s the word God uses of Christ, when Christ had already paid for sins, but now He was just showing what had already been done.  And it’s the word that God uses to describe the children of God, the elect people who must be manifest before His judgment seat.

And isn’t it interesting that here we are, in the Day of Judgment, and the whole world is being judged.  All of the unsaved people of the world presently are under the wrath of God, being judged.  They are drinking the cup of His fury.  They are drinking the wine cup of His wrath.  The Bible uses all this type of language to describe these days of judgment.

And at the same time, the true believers are not being judged.  We are here, we are certainly experiencing a fiery trial; yet it cannot be said that we are being judged, because we had already been judged in Christ.  And all of the sins that we’ve committed have already been paid for.  So there is nothing left for God to judge.

There is no wrath reserved for any one of His people, because they bare no sin, and it’s only sin that draws the wrath of God.  And therefore, since we are here in the Day of Judgment, and we ourselves are not being judged, this is making manifest, this is revealing, it is shining the” light on the truth that God’s elect people have already had their sins paid for in the person of Jesus, long ago.

And this is one of the glorious reasons that God has kept us here, where we can partake in the littlest way, in also living out a tableau or making manifest a truth of the word of God, a truth concerning His atonement, and His redemption, and His salvation plan.  And so this is a big reason, it’s a major reason why the children of God are still in the world.

Well, let’s go back to Isaiah 24, and we see, again, why it is that during Judgment Day that the “…merryhearted do sigh.”  We have sorrow over what is taking place.  We take no pleasure in these things.  We delight in what God delights in.  God delights, He says it is His good pleasure, to save His elect, as in Ephesians 1:4-5,

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”

And God also says He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, as in Ezekiel 33:11,

“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”

We share that perfectly with Him.  We take no pleasure in these days.  These are “evil days,” as we read of in Ecclesiastes 12, verses 1 and 2,

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:”

…the days in which the sun is darkened, and the moon is not giving its light, and the light of the Gospel is not shining.  We do not rejoice in that at all.

Now, let’s go to Isaiah 24, verse 8, and we’ll see how God continues with that theme in this chapter, of sorrow and of grief being the reaction to this day, this awful day that has finally come, the long-warned-about Day.  The world was warned, and warned, down through history, and finally God sent forth the loudest of warning trumpet sounds to all the world leading up to May 21, 2011, and now finally here’s what happens, in verse 8,

“The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.”

And that type of language goes on.  But let’s focus on what it says here in verse 8, “The mirth of tabrets.”  Let’s look at a few verses.  In 1 Samuel 18, verses 6 and 7, this is a time in history just after David has slain Goliath.  In 1 Samuel 17, David went forth with a sling and a stone, and he slew Goliath.  And then Israel rose up and routed the army of the Philistines.  When they returned home, they received a heroes’ welcome, and it says in verse 6,

“And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.  And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”

It was an occasion of great rejoicing because of the victorious battle and the incredible news that the Philistine giant, Goliath, was killed by a young lad – a lad not even carrying armor or a sword, but with a slingshot.  And certainly that was news to all that the hand of God was with His people— that God was with David, and not with their enemies.  And this spiritually points to Christ’s victory over Satan, and to the armies of God’s victory over the enemies of God, over Satan’s kingdom.

And that’s when we read about the music; that there’s dancing and singing, and the tabrets are playing.  There’s joy, and instruments of music.  All these things are associated with the glorious victory of God and His kingdom.  Now we also find, if we go back to 1 Samuel 10, in verses 5 and 6; that in this instance, it is going to describe Saul before he became king, when it was said that he was “among the prophets” (1 Samuel 10:11).  And it says in 1 Samuel 10, verse 5, when Samuel is telling Saul what will take place,

“After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: And the Spirit of Jehovah will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.”

Now here we should notice that, again, the musical instruments are mentioned – psaltery, tabret, pipe, and harp; and in this case, they’re identified with prophesying.  There, God is speaking of prophets who are playing musical instruments, and He says that they shall “prophesy.”

Now let’s go back to Exodus, in chapter 15.  And this is after the great deliverance of the crossing of the Red Sea.  The whole time period is the coming out of Egypt.  It’s just a tremendous victory for God’s kingdom.  And it says in verse 19 of Exodus 15,

“For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and Jehovah brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.  And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand;”

The English word “timbrel,” is a translation of the Hebrew word which is translated also as “tabret.”  So a timbrel and a tabret are the same thing.

“Miriam…the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.  And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to Jehovah, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.”

Now here we have both elements; we have Miriam, called a “prophetess;” (and keep in mind that God says in the New Testament, in Acts 2:17, that “…your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”  And to rightly understand that, we realize that the task of carrying the Gospel to the world is a joint task between men and women, and that we’re all to pool our resources and come together in order to share the word of God with other people.  And when a child of God who’s female shares a tract, that would be fulfilling that verse, that “…your daughters shall prophesy.”)  Well here, Miriam is called a “prophetess,” and she and the other ladies are rejoicing over the tremendous victory that God has just wrought as He brought them through the Red Sea.

And the “timbrel” and other instruments of music are key in the Bible to display joy and rejoicing concerning the triumphant nature of Christ’s victory over sin, over Satan, and over what He has done for His people.  These instruments are basically “types and figures” of sending the Gospel out, concerning the great victory of Christ in paying for the sins of His elect.  Now, let’s also go to Psalm 81, and I’ll begin with the inscription, which says,

“To the chief Musician upon Gittith, a Psalm of Asaph.”

Now, we’ve been seeing how these musical instruments are related to the sending forth of the Gospel.  Well, who would the “chief Musician” be?  That would be God, Himself.  And whenever you see that inscription to any of the Psalms, you can understand, “Well, this Psalm is written to God.  He is the chief Musician.”  And we’ll read the first three verses of Psalm 81,

“Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.  Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.  Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.”

And this is all language pointing to sharing the Gospel, sending forth the word of God, and prophesying concerning the scriptures.  This is the “song of the Lamb,” that the Bible speaks of (in Revelation 15:3); it is “a new song” (Revelation 14:3,) that God has placed within our mouths to declare; it’s all a “figure;” it’s all typology, pointing to this very idea.

Now when we go back to Isaiah 24, and it says in verse 8,

“The mirth of tabrets ceaseth,”

The mirth of “timbrels;” remember how Miriam was rejoicing with a timbrel; and how the ladies in Israel rejoiced with a timbrel, when David and Israel returned after killing Goliath and destroying the Philistines.  Well, that mirth of victory, concerning the Gospel going forth “conquering, and to conquer,” (Revelation 6:2) ceases.  It has come to a close.  It has ended.  And God wants to make sure we understand that point.  Look at the next phrase:

“…the noise of them that rejoice endeth,”

Now, we know that there’s joy “in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,” (Luke 15:7).  Well, I don’t think God could emphasize it any more than He has here, that that particular joy, that particular aspect to when someone becomes saved, has come to its end.  And that’s why “…the noise of them that rejoice endeth.”  And then finally in Isaiah 24:8, it says,

“…the joy of the harp ceaseth.”

The word, “joy,” is the same word, “mirth,” that’s found in the first part of the verse.  And once again, “…the joy of the harp ceaseth.”  Let’s turn to 1 Chronicles 25.  This verse helps us a lot when we read about harps in the Bible.  I’ll begin reading in verse 1,

“Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps,”

See, it says it there again, “prophesying;” that is, to speak forth,

“…with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:”

And then it goes on to mention that.  So here, God is indicating that prophesying can be done with a harp, a psaltery, and with a cymbal.  And then I’ll read verse 2,

“Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.  Of Jeduthun: of the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father, Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise Jehovah.

There, the Lord is going the length; He’s underscoring it to make sure that we get the point, that a harp is used to prophesy, as well as other musical instruments.  And yet in Isaiah 24, in what we’re reading, it says,

“…the joy of the harp ceaseth.”

Well, if the harp is used as a figure of prophesying, then that means that the joy of prophesying, the joy of declaring the word of God “ceaseth.”  And in a real way, I think we can all understand exactly what God is saying.  You know, there used to be great joy and great pleasure and great happiness for the child of God – I know that I very much enjoyed, handing out tracts.  By God’s grace, I’ve been able to go to India a couple of times; and I’ve been able to go on trips to Brazil, and to Bolivia, and to Canada, and England, and Ireland.  And there are many trips that I wanted to go on, but I wasn’t able to go on.

And normally, I look back upon those trips as the best times of my life, because there’s just no better way of meeting people.  (Also, God arranged things so we could go to Tokyo and Japan.)  And there’s just nothing like it, when you fill your backpack with tracts, and you have your hands full, and you just start walking down some alley in a city, in a country perhaps on the other side of the earth.  And you’re walking along, and you have the great and wonderful privilege of sharing the Gospel with all that you come in contact with.  And so, “the joy of the harp,” the joy associated with sharing the Gospel – I know that there are true believers out there that love this.

They gave up whatever they had to give up, and they would count it as nothing; because it was such a pleasure to be involved in that kind of work.  And yet now, the call, the command to go forth, to send forth the Gospel in order that individuals might hear and become saved, is no longer applicable.  It no longer has any meaning.  It no longer has the purpose that God had given to it throughout all the rest of history, because it has all been completed.  The task is done.  The evangelization of all the world in order that all the elect become saved, is accomplished.

And now, it is Judgment Day.  It is a different era.  It is a different period of time, and we cannot approach it in the same way that we approached the past era, the past period of time of sending forth the Gospel.  You know, we don’t determine what God’s will is.  We don’t determine things such as when church ages begin and church ages end.  That’s up to God.  And people get used to certain things of course, especially such long-standing things that have stood for centuries; and they do not take easily to change, and yet, we’re not the determiners of what the Gospel is.  We’re not the determiners of how things ought to be.  God is.  And when He says the church age is over, God’s people humbly accept the will of God.

Now if God says He has saved His elect, and it is now the Day of Judgment; and that spiritually He is pouring out fire and brimstone, and that we ought not to sow seed upon ground that is experiencing this fire and brimstone; we don’t fight with Him, we don’t argue.  We may be confused; we may not know what to do.  We may be troubled, and we may look back finally, upon the days of sending forth the Gospel, and think, “Oh, how we would like those days again.”  But one thing the child of God does is obey.  And we accept His will and His purpose.  You know, it says in Revelation 18, in the chapter that describes the destruction of Babylon; it says in verse 20,

“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.  And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”

Here, in the judgment pronounced upon Babylon, as God is bringing His vengeance, He declares that “the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee;” just as Isaiah 24 tells us,

“The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.”

Isaiah 24, Part 4, by Chris McCann, July 29, 2012

Isaiah 24, Part 4, by Chris McCann, July 29, 2012
A look at Isaiah 24:6-7

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our Sunday afternoon online fellowship. Now, let’s turn our attention to Isaiah 24, and I’m going to begin reading from verse 6,

“Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate:” (or guilty,) “therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.”

And I’ll stop reading there. We’ve been looking at this chapter for a few weeks now, because it is a chapter that is speaking of God’s judgment on the world. And there’s no question about that. There’s nothing in the chapter that would make us think it is judgment on the church in any way.

Actually, Israel is mentioned once, I believe, as God refers to Himself as “Jehovah God of Israel” (in verse 15); and Jerusalem is mentioned once (in verse 22), and it is also mentioned in a way that has nothing to do with the context of God’s judgment upon the earth; as the earth is mentioned 15 times, with two different Hebrew words, and the world is mentioned once. So, 16 times in Isaiah 24, God reveals that He is zeroing in on the world, the earth, and His judgment upon mankind – all men, all the unsaved.

And as we’ve read it, we’ve been amazed, at least at first, to find out that the language is similar, almost identical, to the language that God uses to describe His judgment on the church. As we search out the words, we find oftentimes the same words used of the Lord’s judgment on the world as on Judah, Israel, or Jerusalem, and with the same spiritual meaning in view.
And we’re not surprised by this point, because we’ve learned that God’s plan for Judgment Day included judgment beginning at the house of God – they would drink of the cup of His wrath – and then it would transition to judgment upon the whole world. And the world would also drink of the cup of His wrath. And Jeremiah 25 lays that out very clearly; and there is no distinction made in that chapter saying that the cup is different for the world than it was for Judah, typifying the church. There is no distinction of any kind.

And that’s because now we have learned that God’s judgment on the world is identical to the judgment which began on the churches. It is a removal of the Gospel blessings of salvation from the world. That’s why there is a strong emphasis on the door being shut on Judgment Day (on the date it began, May 21, 2011); and on the darkening of the sun and the moon and the stars immediately after the tribulation; that is, the putting out of the Gospel lights that shined into this dark world.

And that “putting out” of the sun, moon, and stars typifies the darkening of the Gospel light, as it no longer shines into the world in order to bring salvation to the people of the world. And this is the horrible judgment of God. It is a spiritual judgment in nature, and we’re finding also that it is a prolonged Judgment Day. It is not a single day. It is a judgment that, so far, is over one year in length, and probably will continue for years more, just as God’s judgment on the church was 23 years in duration.

(Transcriber’s note: Please refer to the Bible Study, “10,000 Days of Judgment” at https://feedinggodssheep.wordpress.com)

So again, the similarity – a prolonged judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth. Well, last time we were looking at verse 6, and I’ll read it again,

“Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are…” guilty:
(It says “desolate” in the King James, but it’s more accurately translated as guilty. Mankind is found guilty by the Judge of all the earth, and that’s why Judgment Day is underway):
“…therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”

And we saw that this burning, as it’s spoken of in Ezekiel chapter 15, has a spiritual fire in view. The fire is the judgment of God. His wrath is expressing itself by the closing of the door to salvation upon the world. And the world doesn’t know anything about it, and perhaps most couldn’t care less about this kind of judgment. And we might think it’s not a very serious judgment at all, for God to shut the door of salvation upon a world that doesn’t even care about it. However, we have to remember that God brought the same judgment on the churches. He shut the door on them; and they, for the most part, were completely ignorant of it and cared nothing about hearing the information from the Bible regarding it, and lived on, in their churches and congregations, as though nothing had happened.

And so again, it’s a similar response from the unsaved people of the world as it was from the unsaved people of the churches. We should not be surprised, and we should also realize that the world’s response, or their attitude or reaction to it, (or lack of a reaction,) means nothing. That is not what makes it Judgment Day. Just like the churches’ avoidance of the whole topic, that God was judging them, meant nothing as far as the reality – that God indeed was judging them.

And so too, God’s judgment is upon the world, and whether they know it or not doesn’t matter. Whether they’re not even concerned about it doesn’t matter. From God’s perspective, it is a horrible judgment. It’s the worst thing He could do. It is far more hurtful and terrible than a physical earthquake; or in the way that a physical earthquake brings destruction. Mankind fears physical destruction, but since they have no spiritual life, they do not fear the idea of spiritual judgment. It is invisible by nature, and therefore to them it does not exist.

But God is a Spirit, and God has a kingdom that is spiritual, and so it is a great reality to God – and to His people, because His people read the Bible, and the Bible is a spiritual book. We see the terrible nature of this judgment as we read about it on the pages of the Bible.

So the earth is burned. And we saw last time, that Malachi 4:1 speaks of Judgment Day as being like an oven. And we also saw in Lamentations 5:10 that God relates those that are experiencing a famine (and that famine would point to a famine of hearing the word of God) to as if they were burnt black in an oven. There God makes a link between someone being burned in an oven, and famine.

And there’s another link that I’d like to look at. It’s in Deuteronomy chapter 32, and verse 22. It says,
“For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction:”
Now notice that phrase there in verse 24,

“They shall be burnt with hunger,”

And so of course, this is a spiritual fire. It’s not a real fire – physical hunger never burnt anyone – but the way God is viewing Judgment Day, and the fire that He has kindled in His wrath, that is burning up all the inhabitants of the earth, is that it has begun an awful famine, a famine in which there is a failure to hear the word of the Lord. And so it is that famine of “No more salvation;” that famine of a shut door to the Kingdom of Heaven, that is burning the inhabitants of the earth with hunger.

And going back to Isaiah 24 verse 6, and we also looked at the last part of that verse,
“…the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”
And we saw that this verse is informing us that God’s elect people will be on the earth in the Day of Judgment. We, of course, are here. We remain here. And we have been left. And even though “few” in Isaiah 24:6 is a different word, it really carries the same idea as the verses in the New Testament which say,

“…many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14.)

The “few men left,” or the remnant that remains at this time, is a reference to the elect people of God, which are actually a great multitude in number because God saved “…a great multitude” (Revelation 7:9) “…out of great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14) that ended on May 21 of 2011. It is “a great multitude,” but in comparison to the huge masses of people in the world, it is only a remnant, only “few.”

And so this verse is telling us, when God brings about Judgment Day, the elect will be there, present at that time. They will remain.

Well, we’re going to move on into verse 7 of Isaiah 24, and it says,

“The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.”
And this is similar, it’s almost a reiteration of verse 4 where we read in an earlier study,

“The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.”

And we saw that these two words, “mourn” and “languish,” have to do with famine. If we turn to Jeremiah 14 (this was the place where both those words are found), here God is describing the judgment upon Judah, which in turn is a type and a figure of the judgment on the churches. And it says in Jeremiah 14, in verse 1,

“The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.”

So I think we get the picture. We can see the idea that God is expressing through “mourning” and “languishing.” There is a dearth. There is no rain, no water, and it is an awful situation. And that was the ugly truth of the situation in the churches for the full 23 years of the great tribulation. God’s Holy Spirit left from the midst of the congregations. And even though, outwardly, nothing appeared to change – they still continued to read the Bible, to sing hymns, to offer prayer. The church itself, the building, may have been improved. Maybe they got new carpets, new air-conditioning; but spiritually, they were “mourning” and “languishing.” There was a dearth of “rain” – there was no latter rain falling in the churches and congregations of the world.

And so, even though the people were happy and content and had some nice social gatherings, and they met together for coffee and lunch afterward, none of that meant anything spiritually. Spiritually, it was a desolate wilderness. It was a “waste.” That is the language of the Bible. And that is the same language that God is using to describe the earth, the whole world, during Judgment Day. He is indicating in Isaiah 24, verse 7,

“The new wine mourneth,”

And the new wine is a reference to the Gospel, since in the New Testament it speaks of “new wine” being put into “new bottles” (Matthew 9:17). And there are other verses that can show and prove that “new wine” represents the Gospel. And the Gospel was to go into all the world, into all the earth (Matthew 28:19). And now,

“The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth,”

Remember, Jesus said in John 15, in verse 1,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”

And again, it relates back to the Gospel. And from the vine comes the grapes that make the wine. And it’s all pointing to a failure of the Gospel to bring the blessing of salvation any longer. It is a tragic situation. There is no child of God who is happy about this at all, and that’s what the last part of the verse says in Isaiah 24:7,

“…all the merryhearted do sigh.”

Now the “merryhearted,” if we turn to 2 Chronicles 7, in verse 10,

“And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month” (it’s referring to the end of the feast of tabernacles,) “he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that Jehovah had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.”

“Merry in heart,” I think, is a phrase that can point to the elect; and in the context here, I think it is. The “merry in heart;” “all the merryhearted;” all the elect that are still remaining in the world “are sighing.” There is no gladness, but rather, “sighing,” which is an expression of sorrow, an expression of grief. If we turn to Ezekiel chapter 9, a chapter in which God is painting a picture of bringing judgment upon the house of God, the church, it says in verse 4,

“And Jehovah said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary.”

This is the parallel verse to 1 Peter 4:17,

“…judgment must begin at the house of God:”

And notice that a mark is placed on the forehead of those “that sigh,” “that cry” for the abominations. And that would be the elect. They’re spared from that judgment, as God smites all else in the city, in the sanctuary called by His name; that is, in the churches and congregations – and He spares His people. This is why the elect came out of the churches. It’s why God graciously and mercifully commanded us to depart out, and to flee to the mountains, because He was smiting everyone.

And so this “sighing” is an expression of sadness, of sorrow over the sinfulness that was found in this case in the churches and congregations. It’s also found in Ezekiel 21 and verse 3, and I’ll read 3 through 7,

“And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all flesh may know that I Jehovah have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord Jehovah.”

Now, here again God is telling Ezekiel, called “thou son of man,” to sigh before their eyes. So, of course Ezekiel is a child of God – he is an elect. And so it is once again the elect “sighing.” Why? “For the tidings; because it cometh:” The wrath of God is come, and it brings about a reaction of sighing within the child of God. And so here, when God is again, and again, and again pronouncing judgment upon the world, He is speaking of the time when the world will experience this judgment.

And He is telling us that when “the new wine mourns” and “the vine languishes” in the earth (not in the churches and congregations of the world – which is past and did happen,) but now it is taking place in all the earth. When that happens, “…all the merryhearted do sigh.”
Now the people who say that “Christ comes, and the world ends, and it’s the rapture,” have a problem with Isaiah 24:7. And they have a problem with Isaiah 24:6 also, when God burns the inhabitants of the earth and there are few men left. Yet here, God also is indicating once again that the “merryhearted” are present in the Day of Judgment. They are the ones sighing, because it is only the elect that have this kind of reaction. It’s not the unsaved people that sigh for abominations. It’s not the unsaved people that sigh in response to the wrath of God coming, especially when it’s spiritual in nature. They don’t even see it.

They couldn’t care less about it.

It is the children of God that sigh. Oh, how sorrowful it is that we’re living in this day; that it is the Day of Judgment; that God’s wrath has finally come; that He is pouring out His wrath upon the inhabitants of the earth.

You know, we sigh, and once again it needs to be pointed out; we sigh because there is no happiness, there is no rejoicing of God’s people at this point in time. Actually, if we go to Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, we’ll see a little description of these days we’re presently in. The description goes on, but we’ll just read the first two verses,

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:”

Now if we slowly look at this verse and think about it, we realize that God is describing two periods of time, and one is, “…the days of thy youth.” Now, during the days of our youth, it is a time when the sun, the moon, and the stars are shining; it is a time when there is rain; and it is a time that is not called “evil.” However, the implication is that when the days of our youth have ended, and I suppose that even though it doesn’t say it, we could say, “in our old days,” or “in the days after our youth” (let’s just call it that), this period of time is called “evil days.” And during the evil days, the sun, the moon, and the stars are darkened.

And during the evil days “the clouds return after the rain.” And we’re not going to prove every single statement here, but it can be proved that the term, “evil days,” is referring to Judgment Day. And when you get some spare time, take a look at Ezekiel chapter 7 in the first few verses, and God speaks of evil days which come at the end. And it’s the reason why Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “…deliver us from evil” (Luke 11:4), because Judgment Day is evil. And that’s what each sinner needed deliverance from. We needed deliverance from the wrath of God that comes during Judgment Day because of our sins.
So when the evil days come (Judgment Day), then the sun, moon, and stars are darkened. And that is what we find with the language of Matthew 24:29,

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened,”

And in Mark 13:24 the Bible says,

“…in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,”

And “those days” and “the evil days” are one and the same. We are living in “the evil days” that these verses in Ecclesiastes 12 are speaking of. Now just for our own information, notice it says in verse 1,

“…while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,”

And that tells us that we can expect this period of time in these days after the tribulation, these evil days, to go on for a period of years.
But one other phrase I want to look at besides “the evil days,” or “those days, after that tribulation” when the sun, moon, and stars are “darkened,” and when the “clouds return after the rain,” (because salvation and the latter rain ended on May 21, 2011, when the great tribulation ended,) but then, the clouds of the judgment of God came; well, during these times, notice it says at the end of verse 1,

“…when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”

“I have no pleasure in them;” and this is true of each child of God, we have no pleasure in these days. For one they’re grievous, they’re difficult, they’re full of affliction and tribulation. So, on that level alone, we have no pleasure in them. But on another level, where the child of God desires to do the will of God, we desire to do what pleases God. If something pleases God, it will please the child of God. And what is it, the Bible says, that pleases God?

Well, if we go to Ephesians chapter 1, God is speaking about His salvation plan, and His plan of election, and how He has predestinated people to salvation. And have you ever wondered why it is that God chooses one, and not another? Why did God choose Jacob, and not Esau? Well, the only answer to that question, since we know it had nothing to do with Jacob himself, or that he was good in any way, because “none are good” (Romans 3:10-12); and it had nothing to do with being better than Esau in any way; so, we scratch our heads and we wonder, how did God make choice between Jacob and Esau, and between us and anyone who’s not saved?

And Ephesians 1 answers that, in verse 4 and into verse 5,
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”
That’s why. That’s the only answer the Bible gives. Why Jacob? Why not Esau? Well, it was according to God’s good pleasure. God saw two sinners, two desperately wicked men, two individuals of whom nothing distinguished them in His sight. There was no cause, no reason to choose one above the other. If it were God’s will, He could have chosen Esau. But according to God’s good pleasure, He determined, I’ll choose Jacob. And then, He continued that selection with this one, and that one, until He selected the entire company of the elect, probably 200 million.

God chose them all in the same way, having nothing to do with morality; nothing to do with goodness; nothing to do with obeying His law; since all were guilty, and all deserving of death. It was just simply, “My good pleasure.” That’s why. And that’s how God saves. He takes pleasure – it pleases Him to save the elect; it pleased Him to develop this salvation plan, to cast their sins upon the Lord Jesus, to have Him pay for their sins before the foundation of the world, and to die and then rise again before the world began. All these things pleased God. He takes pleasure in saving sinners.

However, what does God say about bringing His wrath? He says in Ezekiel 33, in verse 11,

“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”

See, God says He has no pleasure in bringing about the death of the wicked.

“For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

It is the penalty for sin. It is the judgment of God upon sin. And so, when God brings forth His wrath, His judgment for sinners that have no Savior, and they must die finally, and be destroyed with an eternal destruction (the “second death” of Revelation 20:14), God takes absolutely no pleasure in it. And the children of God share this attitude, this mindset of God. We take pleasure – or we took pleasure, great pleasure in sharing the Gospel with the world during the day of salvation, when God was sending forth the Holy Spirit a second time (Isaiah 11:11), to gather the remnant of His people.
We took enormous pleasure that during the days of the latter rain, when the door to heaven was flung wide open and the cry went out to all the world to seek Him, to go to God, to beseech Him for mercy in order that any might be hid prior to the day of wrath, to Judgment Day. We took joy and pleasure in that, because we share in God and His attitude towards the Gospel and His salvation plan. But we also share in God’s understanding and His attitude towards the death of the wicked, towards Judgment Day, when judgment began on the churches and congregations. We shared the information, but we didn’t take pleasure in this. Jeremiah was a weeping prophet as he declared these things to His people, when historically, God was judging Judah.

He took no pleasure in bringing that news. Likewise the children of God took no pleasure in telling people that God’s judgment was upon the church. And now we take no pleasure in telling the world that Judgment Day is here, and all of its inhabitants that the door to heaven is shut, that God is no longer saving. And you see, this is what Ecclesiastes 12 is saying in verse 1,
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,”

And now the next statement applies to the “evil days,” to the days when the sun, the moon, and the stars are dark. And it goes on to say,

“…when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”

This is the sorrow – this is the “sighing” of the children of God. We have no pleasure in these days, because it is Judgment Day. God takes no pleasure in the fact that He is bringing about the death of the wicked. And by the way, keep in mind that in the Bible, darkness and death are synonymous. When God brought darkness upon the world beginning on May 21, 2011, and continuing until now and for however long, when God did this He brought death upon the world.

When God judged the fallen angels and cast them down to hell, it says that they were wrapped about in chains of darkness.

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;”

Now, when we think about that statement in 2 Peter 2:4, that God did this, that He cast the angels down to hell, we wonder, well how did He do that? They didn’t go to a literal place called hell. No, they didn’t go to a grave, because they had no bodies, so they couldn’t have gone into the ground, as “hell” and “the grave” are synonymous. No, how did He cast them down to hell? Well, it was a spiritual condition:

“…the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”

It was the fact that they were “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness,” according to Jude, verse 6. “Chains under darkness:” What was it that God did? Well right from the very beginning, when Satan and the angels sinned and then have been known since as demons, that what God did – the judgment was, that God made no provision, absolutely none, no provision for their salvation. So right away, when they sinned, they were cast down to hell. That is, the darkness that came upon them was that there would be no possibility of the light of the Gospel saving them.

And that act of God in condemning them to everlasting darkness from the very beginning, never having hope of salvation, was equivalent to death. And that’s why God says He cast them down to hell.

Now, we have to sit back as we understand; Oh, no wonder the merry hearted do sigh; no wonder the elect have no pleasure in these evil days, since God has brought darkness upon the world, and He has shut the door to heaven, and never again is there the possibility of salvation.

For all intents and purposes, since darkness is a synonym for death, God has cast mankind into a spiritual condition of hell – of hell, right now, at this point. And we are here. The children of God are here present. Oh what a sorrowful thing it is for us; and so we do sigh, we weep, though we continue to trust God.

We continue to wait on Him knowing that we are not experiencing this judgment. We have light in our dwellings. The Holy Spirit is within each child of God. God is still illuminating His word to our eyes. And so even though we sigh for the things that have come upon the earth, and even though we “sit in darkness,” as it says in Micah 7:8, at the same time the Lord is blessing us,

“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah shall be a light unto me.”

And this is the case for all the children of God, now sitting in darkness.

And we’ll have to elaborate on these things a little bit more, as we continue the study in Isaiah 24, Lord willing, next week.

Isaiah 24, Part 3, Verse 6, by Chris McCann, July 22, 2012, transcribed by Andrea Henry

Isaiah 24, Part 3, Verse 6, by Chris McCann, July 22, 2012
A look at Isaiah 24:6

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to EBible’s Sunday afternoon fellowship. We are continuing our study in the book of Isaiah. We’re in Isaiah chapter 24, and this will be study #3. Let’s pick up from Isaiah 24, verse 5,

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. *There is* a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

Well, I’ll stop reading there. Now, we’re continuing to look at verse 6. That’s the verse we left off at in our last study. I’ll just read from the beginning,
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth,
And this is a result of mankind. In the previous verse, God told us that they had transgressed His laws, changed the ordinance, and broken the everlasting covenant. Now that “covenant,” is the Bible. And mankind – every human being – is married to the law of God, and has entered into a “covenant,” a responsibility, and an obligation to keep the law of God.

And of course man does not keep the law of God – we break the law. We transgress it, and God is very clear in the Bible that due to the transgression of His law, a curse is upon us. And that curse was taken away for God’s people, for the elect, by Christ. As Galatians tells us, Jesus became a curse for us. So, all men are cursed; every single human being, because of our sin, is cursed.

But only those that God before determined to save, and did save before the foundation of the world, have the curse removed and placed on Christ. And Christ paid the penalty for the curse. He experienced the wrath of God. And that’s why we children of God are now blessed. We’re not cursed by God for our sin. Rather, we are blessed, because God has given us the righteousness of Christ and He has removed the curse from us. But the curse is upon all the unsaved people of the world. They have no Savior. They have no one to take their place. And now, God has determined that it is the Day of Judgment, the day when the sins of man are to be accounted for, and the day that the curse now devours the earth. That is, God’s judgment comes to a full head during this Day of Judgment, which we know is not an actual single day, but a longer period of time, known or called by God as a single day.

And it goes on to say in the next part of the verse,

…and they that dwell therein are desolate:

And the word, “desolate,” is often translated as “guilty.” God, the judge, has pronounced the verdict, and the verdict is guilty. Since there was none to intervene for the masses of the people of the world, they had no Savior. They had no one to take their sins, and to take the consequences of their sins upon Him, the Lord Jesus. They had no Savior for their sins, or to become a curse for them.

They are now guilty. And God has pronounced the judgment, as we have learned, as He foretold the world, leading up to the date May 21, 2011: It will be Judgment Day, the day when all will be found guilty for sin; and there will be no escape any longer. This is the final Judgment.

And then it goes on to say in verse 6,

…therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Now we can understand why it says, “therefore,” the inhabitants of the earth are burned, because it is referring to Judgment Day, and the Bible associates Judgment Day with fire, the wrath of God. God Himself is identified as a consuming fire, and He pictures His anger and His wrath as a fire. All over the place in the Bible, God associates the penalty for sin with fire and burning. That’s why all the sacrifices were to be burnt. They were laid on the altar and fire was put to them to typify God’s wrath upon sin, to show that He will burn up the sinner.

He will destroy the one who has offended Him and dared to rebel against Him. And so, now it’s Judgment Day, and as a result, “the inhabitants of the earth are burned.” Well, doesn’t this mean that it can’t be Judgment Day today? That if it were Judgment Day, then the world wouldn’t be here? Because then, wouldn’t whole world and all mankind be burned?

And that’s the idea that has traditionally been in view. It’s the idea that when Christ comes, that’s it; and instantaneously, right away, all of the unsaved are gathered and cast into a place called “hell,” to burn. And, no. No, we learn that’s not how God has determined His judgment plan. He’s not going to throw mankind into hell. There is no place called, “hell,” in which men will burn forevermore. The Bible is clear, that when a man dies, “in that very day, his thoughts perish”(Psalm 146:4). He ceases to exist.
The word of God also tells us that when God burns up the world finally, at the end of Judgment Day, at the end of this period we’re presently in, and destroys it utterly; He will burn up the wicked men therein also, and that the unsaved people will experience the same fate as the creation. All will be burned. And what happens to the earth, happens to man, it just ceases to exist. It will no longer be found. There will be no more planet earth, or this present universe. It’ll be annihilated, and so will unsaved man.

So here in Isaiah 24:6, God isn’t referring to a physical, literal burning. He’s talking about another sort of fire. And we can learn this when we see how He uses this word, “burned,” in Ezekiel chapter 15. And it’s a short, little chapter in the book of Ezekiel, so we’ll read from verse 2 through the end, through verse 8,

Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, *or than* a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will *men* take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned.

Now that’s the same word we have in Isaiah.
Is it meet for *any* work? Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for *any* work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?

Again, the same word.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from *one* fire, and *another* fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I *am* Jehovah, when I set my face against them. And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Now towards the last three verses here in Ezekiel 15, we understand the image that God is painting when He’s talking about these trees of the forest and the wood thereof being cast into the fire for fuel, and burning it. And then He likens that image, that picture of wood being thrown on a fire, to what He is going to do, or actually did do, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And we know that that in turn, is a picture of what God did to the inhabitants of the churches and congregations of the world, during the great tribulation. He made them like wood for the fire. He made the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of the churches and congregations, as wood that burns. And then, God set the flame – a fire was kindled in His wrath, as He says in Deuteronomy 32:22 – that will “burn unto the lowest hell.” That is, judgment began on the churches and congregations. And God at that point, then began viewing all those in the churches, that remained there, as wood; as something that adds to the fire, that increases the flames.

They became fuel to burn, in God’s wrath upon them. We know that God didn’t literally do that; He didn’t literally light a match or start a fire and burn the churches, and burn the people within them. No, nothing happened outwardly. Nothing happened physically to them. God didn’t set a fire to them, literally. It was a spiritual fire that He lit when He determined to bring His Holy Spirit, who is Himself, out of the churches and to leave them. And at the same time, He loosed Satan to bring further judgment upon them. And so, God brought spiritual darkness upon all the churches of the world, in an instant, when He left them. And then He made them to “burn” for 23 years.

That is what this word shows us, that it is not a literal burning, but it is a spiritual fire that God used on the churches. And again, I keep saying it and mentioning it, because we really need to understand this, that God gave the cup first to the city called by His name, and then He gave an identical cup, we read in Jeremiah 25, to the nations of the world.

So God “burned,” spiritually, all those within the churches that refused to hearken to His voice. They refused to obey His command to leave. And finally, what happened at the very end, they were bundled as “tares” for the burning. They are burned; and by the way, before we leave Ezekiel 15, notice that it says in verse 7,

And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from *one* fire, and *another* fire shall devour them;

So God began judgment on the church. That is the “one fire,” for all those within the congregations that remained there. They didn’t listen. They refused to bow the knee. They refused to listen to the warning trumpet of God, to the warning sound, as He told them what was taking place. Well, as soon as the great tribulation ended, and the judgment on the churches concluded on May 21, 2011, what happened? God lit “another fire.”

And yet this fire was not just exclusively for the church (and that was a huge spiritual flame, because that was about a third of the world’s population,) but now God increased the fire and expanded it to all the world. So all those who endured, who remained in the church and experienced that first fire, go out from that fire. But there’s no relief. There’s no deliverance for them. There’s no end of their burning. Now they go into another fire and this one is much more horrible for them, because they have no hope.

They have no possibility of salvation, and this is because they were in the churches, a place where God was not saving throughout that 23 years, and they didn’t listen and they remained. And now, they’ve entered into a worse place, where God’s not saving anywhere in the world. At least during the great tribulation, God was saving a great multitude outside of the church.

The inhabitants of the earth didn’t experience this first fire. They weren’t in the church, and so they have the hope that perhaps God saved them before He shut the door to heaven – before He shut the door to salvation on May 21, 2011. But those in the churches do not have that hope. They don’t have even that to comfort them: It is one fire to another fire. And so, in Isaiah 24:6, where God says,
…the inhabitants of the earth are burned,

He is referring to Judgment Day and a fire that is kindled in His anger – that is burning. And just as God lit the fire in the church, we can learn what the nature of this fire is. It is the removal of the Spirit of God from bringing salvation to the world. The light of the Gospel that is spiritually typified by the sun, the moon, and the stars, the lights of the heavens that shined in the darkness of this world, have been put out.

And that is the awful, terrible judgment of God upon the world. It is what God views as putting the inhabitants of the earth to a flame, in burning them, because there is no hope for them any longer. Now from man’s perspective, again, we have to keep this in mind, there is hope for the people of the earth. A believer can continue to pray, Oh, Lord, could you have mercy on our family, or this one, or that one, because they were in the world, and the whole world heard the warning of Judgment Day.

So, how does God save? – through the hearing of His word. So we can hope, Oh, maybe God saved them! And yet we haven’t seen any evidence of that, but we continue to hope. We don’t know how God might work in that area, and so we continue to pray for them. And yet from God’s perspective, since He knows who He saved and who He didn’t, the reality may therefore be that they are burned as they experience this period of time.
If we look at some of the language concerning Judgment Day, we’ll see the fire that’s in view. In Malachi chapter 4, it says in verse 1,

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Isn’t that interesting, how God speaks of Judgment Day, (that’s definitely what He’s referring to,) and we see it’s like an oven. And by the way, turn over to Lamentations 5, verse 10, quickly, and we’ll see the word, “oven.” Well, I’m going to back up to verse 9, and this is referring to God’s judgment on the churches. Spiritually that’s what’s in view, and it says in Lamentations 5, verse 9,

We gat our bread with *the peril of* our lives because of the sword of the wilderness. Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.

There the word, “oven,” is used to describe the skin of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Remember Ezekiel 15? God spoke of them being burned. And here, their skin was black as though they were placed in an oven. And isn’t it interesting that the reason their skin is black, as though it were placed in an oven to burn, is because of the terrible famine. And that famine, Amos 8:11 tells us, is not a famine of bread or of water, but it’s of hearing the words of the Lord. God brought an awful, terrible famine of a failure to hear the Gospel, and faith comes by hearing.

So there’s no salvation, is what He’s saying, and that is what makes the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be burned and their skin black, as though they were in an oven. And here, we’re not surprised – it’s the same cup; the cup that is first given to the church, as we read in Lamentations 5:9-10. They were burned. And now, it’s given to the world, as we read in Malachi 4:1,
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble:

And let’s take a look at Joel. In Joel chapter 2 we read of the army of God. And, if you remember, this army was related to what we read in Revelation 9 of the locusts. And actually, it does relate to Revelation 9:16 and 18 especially, and I’ll read that, (just keep your place in Joel chapter 2.) And it says in Revelation 9:16,

And the number of the army of the horsemen *were* two hundred thousand thousand (that is, two hundred million): and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses *were* as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

And there, God is referring to His elect two hundred million, the whole company of the elect. And they come with fire, smoke, and brimstone. Now look at Joel 2, and it says in verse 1,

Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for *it is* nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not ever been the like, neither shall be any more after it, *even* to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land *is* as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them *is* as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

Now here, God is speaking of His people, the two hundred million. And they are bringing this fire. They are bringing a flame that burns. And they are like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, just as Malachi 4 told us, that

…the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts,

So God is indicating that when He saves the sum total of all the elect, the two hundred million, when He completes His salvation plan, when the last one whose name was written down in the Lamb’s book of life becomes saved, (and God did this, of course, when He broadcast the Gospel and sent forth this word into all the world – He made sure it reached every nation, every corner of the earth, so that the elect would hear and God would use His word to save them;) that when once He completed that glorious work, His glorious work of saving everyone He had long before determined to save, that final act of salvation, then that completion of His glorious salvation plan resulted in Judgment Day.

Now, there is no more salvation, no more hope, and no more open door. And this fact results in a burning flame that burns up the inhabitants of the earth. And all the inhabitants, all the unsaved, experience, spiritually speaking, this burning. And they become like stubble – that which burns rather easily in a fire. Now if you don’t think that God would use His people in that way, well, take a look at Obadiah. Obadiah is the book that comes before Jonah. And in Obadiah (which is a one-chapter book,) it says in verses 17 and 18,

But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob…

Jacob is used to typify the elect, and Esau is used to typify those that are not elect, the unsaved. God makes that distinction especially clear in Romans chapter 9. And it says in Obadiah verse 18,

And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,

And again, “the house of Joseph” would typify the elect,

…and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be *any* remaining of the house of Esau; for Jehovah hath spoken *it.*

So here God is clearly telling us that the fire is His people, and the stubble is those that are not His people. And how could this happen? How is it possible that the elect can be a fire and the house of Joseph like a flame that burns up the stubble? Well, there’s only one way: God’s people are not going to do any harm to anyone; we’re not going to hurt anyone, certainly. We’re not going to do anything physically to anyone. Actually, we don’t do a thing. It is God’s work and His action, as He has simply used us as a “battle axe” (Jeremiah 51:20) or as a weapon of His indignation, that is, of His anger. That’s what He says when He speaks of the indignation of Jehovah in Isaiah 34:2, that it is upon all nations,

For the indignation of Jehovah *is* upon all nations, and *his* fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

But He mentions the “weapons of His indignation” in another place, in Isaiah 13:5,
They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, *even* Jehovah, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

We are the “weapons of His indignation.” He is utilizing the believers. He’s utilizing the fact that He has saved all of us, as a means of bringing judgment on the world. It’s not a physical judgment, but a spiritual judgment that allowed God, once He saved the last of the elect, to make the heavens go dark, to close the Gospel lights upon the world, so that they would no longer shine upon them; because the only purpose for sending forth the Gospel in order that people hear it to become saved, was to save God’s people that He had predestinated to salvation.

Once that has been completed, then there’s no longer any purpose in sending forth the Gospel into the world. It’s definitely not sent forth to comfort the unsaved people of the world. It’s never been designed by God as a means of making unsaved people, individuals who would never become saved, to have some sort of comfort in their life. That has never been the reason that God has sent forth the Gospel. It’s always been to accomplish His purpose of saving His elect.

And that is wherein the verse in Isaiah 55:11 comes into view, when He says His word will not return unto Him “void,” but will accomplish His purpose. Saving His elect is His purpose. And once He has done that; well then, God simply is no longer sending it forth. For anyone who thinks, “Well the Gospel is going forth in an empty way or a void way now, and so it can’t be;” well, no, God isn’t sending it forth. Men might be, and their Gospel is empty and void, but not God’s Gospel.

He has ceased, He has stopped sending it forth into the world, because there’s no reason for it any longer. Now that doesn’t mean that the believers don’t discuss the Gospel, that we can’t broadcast it in order for other believers to hear, and to find comfort, and to be spiritually fed. That’s not the case. We can still do that. And since we don’t know who the elect are, we still could broadcast to the whole world, like on radio, or internet, or any other way. That’s not prohibited.

But a sending forth of the Gospel into the world in order to somehow find the elect, that they might hear and be saved; that is, the traditional way of sending forth the Gospel, the historical way, is no longer sanctioned by God. It’s no longer according to the will or plan of God in any sense. Actually, God warns, He warns – now Revelation 9 tells us that two hundred million are carrying fire and brimstone. And basically, in a spiritual sense, fire and brimstone are falling today, presently, upon the earth. God tells us in Deuteronomy 29, and I’ll start reading in verse 21,

And Jehovah shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which Jehovah hath laid upon it; *And that* the whole land thereof *is* brimstone, and salt, *and* burning, *that* it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger and in his wrath.

So God relates this to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which relates to Judgment Day. And notice, “the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown.” In Jeremiah 50, verse 16, God says,

Cut off the sower from Babylon,

And that’s when He brings judgment upon Babylon, which at that point is representing the world. And to “sow,” we know from the parables of the New Testament, is to sow the seed of the Gospel that falls upon the hearts of men in order that they might become saved. No, when it’s Judgment Day, you do not sow the land. You do not sow the Gospel to salvation in the hearts of men, because salvation has ended. There’s no purpose of God. That would be a vain act.

God is not someone who does things to appease anyone. He doesn’t do things to please man in any sense. He does things to accomplish His perfect will. And really, He’s helping us, so that we don’t involve ourselves in vanity, so that we don’t get involved in something wherein there is no hope. He has another plan for believers at this time.

Actually, this is a very important question that comes up, that it’s Judgment Day, the Bible tells us, and we just read in Isaiah 24:6 that God has put the inhabitants of the world to the flame. Spiritually, they are being burned. Fire and brimstone is falling. And yet, we are here. We are here. Are we experiencing the judgment of God along with the inhabitants of the earth? Are we also being burned? Well, let’s go back to Isaiah 24:6, and the last part of the verse,

…therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. Isn’t that interesting, that in Isaiah 24 God is without any question focusing on the judgment of the earth, the whole world. Again, and again, and again, Judgment Day is in view. The language is without mistake pointing to Judgment Day, and so we expect to read something like, “…the inhabitants of the earth are burned;” but why does it say at this point, “…and few men left?”

Well, this is a verse that is actually letting us know that we would be here; that the elect would not be taken out of the world, rather that we will remain. We will be here, as we are, during this Day of Judgment. Now the word, “left,” is also found in 1 Kings, chapter 19, and verse 18,

Yet I have left *me* seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

The word, “left,” is also translated as “remnant.” And I think that’s sufficient, that God is indicating that there are few men left at the time when the inhabitants of the earth are burned. And the New Testament tells us in Matthew 22:14, “…many are called, but few are chosen;” that is, the elect. The “few” are identified as the chosen people of God, the elect people of God.

And here in Isaiah 24:6, even though the word “few” is only translated here as “few,” (this particular Hebrew word being found in only about three other places in the Old Testament, where it has to do with “little” or “small,” in the context it’s in;) and here, “few,” is in the same verse with the word, “left,” the same word that is in 1 Kings 19:18, that is translated by Strong’s Hebrew word #07604, as “to remain,” “be left behind,” or “remnant.”

So we can be sure that God is indicating that at the time when He brings judgment upon the earth and He brings this spiritual fire upon the world, that He knew of course in advance, that His people would be here. We remain upon the earth during the Day of Judgment. We’re not taken up until the conclusion of this period of time. We’re not given our new resurrected bodies; and we do not go to meet the Lord in the air and forever be with the Lord, until the conclusion of this period of time, known as Judgment Day to the world.

But why? What is the purpose for God to keep His people here? And the purpose is, that on one hand, the fire is devouring the stubble. It is burning up Esau, or those typified by Esau, the unsaved people of the world. But on the other hand, there is also a spiritual fire that is for the people of God. And we can see this fire in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. And this fire is also begun on the Day of Judgment, but this is not a fire, for the elect, that is judging them or punishing them in any way. The purpose of this fire is to refine them. And it says in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11,

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

So you see, we have all the elements, spiritually speaking, that are presently in the world. The “gold, silver, precious stones,” represent the elect. The “wood, hay, stubble;” represent those who are not the elect, and they are still in their sin. And then it says in verse 13,

Every man’s work shall be made manifest:
Now that word, “manifest,” is very important. It is a word that means, “to be revealed,” or “to come forth.” Remember, it’s such an important thing, that it’s the reason that Christ entered into the world as a human being, to make manifest what He had done before the foundation of the world, when He died on behalf of His people and suffered the wrath of God.

Even though He had accomplished it and finished the work, He so felt it necessary that it had to be manifested to the principalities and powers and to all. What had been done had to be revealed to all. And so, to make something manifest means to make it very clear, and plain, and evident. And so it goes on to say,

Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day…

Now this can only be a reference to the Day of the Lord, Judgment Day,

…for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

And that is a reference to the child of God. The “fire” is put to us. And yet since God has truly saved us, we are like gold, and silver, and a precious stone. And the fire does not harm us, even though it’s not pleasant at all. It’s definitely not pleasant. It’s very uncomfortable. It can be painful. And it can seem as though everything is just horrible when you’re put into the fire. But you see, since you are gold, and silver, and precious stone, you will abide the fire. You will endure, as Matthew 24:13 says, that

…he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

You will go through the fire; and not because of you, or me, or anything in us, but because of God Himself. He is going to very carefully, very delicately, and very wisely manipulate the fire for our benefit. Now, keep your hand in 1 Corinthians 3, and turn back to Malachi chapter 3, and it says in verse 2,

But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he *is* like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: And he shall sit *as* a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto Jehovah an offering in righteousness.

So, it’s the same day, the day of His coming, Judgment Day, the day of the Lord. On one hand, it is furious wrath. On the other hand, it is a very determined and deliberate work of God upon His people. Will they trust Him? Will they endure, trusting the word of God? Will they continue to listen to His voice and not listen to the voice of another?

Will they remain faithful to what the Bible says; when God has so carefully and expertly manipulated events, of having His people declare Judgment Day to the world, and then have it not happen in the manner that they thought it would, but actually has it happen so that the word of God was true, and what they had declared for the most part (that it was Judgment Day) was true; yet have it happen in a spiritual sense, and a spiritual way, so that those who do not have eyes of faith, that cannot see spiritual things will without any doubt in their mind, make a determination that nothing happened.

And so Christ will have come as a thief in the night, and they would have not known what hour He would come. It’s a brilliant plan, actually, by God, when we see that it was also within His counsel to bring a fire to all those who are gold, silver, precious stones, and wood, hay, stubble, to bring a trial of fire in order to make manifest what is within their hearts.

Are they saved by the faith of Christ, and therefore truly saved, or are they just professing faith and saved in their own mind, but not truly saved? Well, God has developed this present plan, and it is a difficult one for everyone. And it is a trying fire. So, it says in 1 Corinthians 3:14,

If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

So here, the fire that refines the true believer, burns the wood, the hay, and the stubble. It is because it is simultaneously Judgment Day, and it is time for the unsaved people to be burned. So this day is revealing the true children of God. They’re becoming manifest, and will become more and more manifest as time goes on during this period of time.

A Christmas Story, Part 2 of 2, by Chris McCann, originally aired in December 2012. Transcribed by Deborah Jones.

A Christmas Story, Part 2 of 2, by Chris McCann, originally aired in December 2012.

Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s special Christmas Bible study. Tonight is Part 2 of 2.

We saw in our previous study that Christmas is, indeed, a very special time. Yes, it is special because of the child Jesus that was born long ago in Bethlehem, but what makes Christmas exceedingly special and significant in a tremendous way is the nature of that child that was born in Bethlehem.

In our last study we saw Scripture verses that indicated that the nature of the child, the Lord Jesus, was that same nature of Eternal God. In other words, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is “God in the flesh.” This is why Micah says that He will “come forth” to Bethlehem, but it also says of Him that His “goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” It is also why Isaiah says that He is “born of a virgin” and that His name shall be called “Emmanuel” or “God with us.” It is why Isaiah 9:6 declares that the child that shall be given is the “Almighty God, the everlasting Father.” These things can only apply to Eternal God Himself. There is no getting around it: this child is God, according to the Bible.

We thought about the eternal nature of the Messiah in our last study and, in this second study, let us continue dwelling upon this fascinating point. Let us do so by going to John 1:1-13:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Sometimes, we just have to “shake our heads.” We would be completely baffled and left in utter confusion, and we would have no knowledge of this at all, if it were not for the grace and mercy of God in revealing truth to us and in opening up our tiny, finite minds to understand incredibly glorious truths. One of those things which God reveals to His people and which we fully and completely understand is that God is “One,” yet reveals Himself in the Bible as a “triune God;” that is, as three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So we find here, in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” Now if someone is with another, we immediately think there are “two” of them. Yet, the Bible insists (adamantly) that there is one God and, yet, the “Word” that “was with God” is God: “the Word was God.” We just cannot understand this as we would like, but we do understand the Bible’s teaching on this, so we trust God; we believe God and we know, for a certainty, that it is true: God and the “Word” dwelt with one another and were God.

The “Word” which was “with God” was, indeed, truly God and “The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Therefore, when we read the Genesis account of creation, when God spoke and said, “Let there be Light” (or whatever else He spoke into existence with His Word), it came into being and was created and became part of this creation. The “Word” was doing the creating and the “Word” was God, so He is the Creator, of course, and the “Word” is what God spoke to bring things into being – to bring man into being, so that man became a living soul. It was the “Word” that created mankind and man became one of the creatures of God. Actually, man was the “highest creature,” since he was made in the image and likeness of God, but still just a creature. We are not on the same level as the Creator; He is far above us; He is infinitely beyond us. He is the Creator and we are simply creatures.

It says of this “Word,” in John 1:14:

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

What could this mean? The “Word” was God, we read in verse 1, and, here, “the Word was made flesh.” There is ample evidence elsewhere in the Scriptures to let us know exactly what this means: this was the child, born of a virgin, whose name was Emmanuel, “God with us.” This is the Son, the one who was given and whose name is “Almighty God, the everlasting Father.” This “Word,” the Creator, was “made flesh, and dwelt among us” when He entered into the human race as a little baby in Bethlehem in 7 B.C. (when Christ was born in a Jubilee Year).

Christ is this same “Word” and the testimony of John, according to the fourth Gospel (as God moved him to write: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” And, surely, He did. He lived as other men and He functioned as other men in that day, except with a glorious difference: He was Eternal God in the flesh. He was “God with us.”

The Gospels record (especially in Matthew and Luke) the earthly history of Jesus Christ and his birth and entrance into the world – as He “lived and breathed” and walked amongst men. There we read of Eternal God, the Creator, as He humbled Himself to the point of actually dwelling with His creatures.

Maybe you have actually pictured yourself in the presence of a “Great Being.” For instance, when you have looked down at an anthill and you see all the tiny creatures, the thousands of ants “running here and there.” Maybe you thought that God entering into the human race would be like yourself becoming as small as these ants and, somehow, you would enter into their anthill and have a concern and genuine care for them. Well, maybe that can describe what God did in the smallest of ways, but, of course, that is far from being an adequate explanation to express what a tremendous thing it was for the Almighty, the everlasting God, the Great I AM, to take upon Himself a human nature and become a man. The Bible tells us of this tremendous act in the Book of Philippians 2:5:-9:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

What incredible humility the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated when He left the glories and incredible majesty of the Kingdom of Heaven where He had dwelt as God Himself. He ruled as the Great I AM, the Creator of all things. He was worshipped and glorified and honored. Praise was rightly bestowed upon Him. And from this high and lofty position of tremendous honor, the Lord Jesus entered into a virgin’s womb and was born into this world – born in a manger – and He lived amongst men; He lived as a man and walked as a man amongst lowly men. I say that, knowing what the Bible says of us men: that we are sinners. The Lord Jesus, the Perfect God, that was completely “good” in His being entered into the world of rebels – creatures that dared to shake their fists at Him and rebel against His rightful authority and rebel against His goodness, His love and His kindness.

Mankind rebelled against this God and, yet, God did not desert mankind and leave us to ourselves or destroy us, as our sins deserved. In the counsels of eternity, of old, He decreed and developed a plan of salvation in which the great God, the King of kings and LORD of Lords, the everlasting God would enter into the sin-cursed world among the rebellious people of the earth and He would walk amongst them.

We cannot think of anything more humiliating and more humbling than for the everlasting God (who inhabits eternity itself, who dwells in the spectrum of all existence and is everywhere present) to decide that He would save an elect people before the foundation of the world, and to enter into the world to demonstrate and reveal what He had done before the world began, showing the great love of God for sinners.

This is why the child of God stands in awe at the glory and majesty of Christmas. This is why we rejoice in singing the Christmas carols, the wonderful hymns that speak of the birth of a little child in Bethlehem. It is not “nostalgia.” It is “glory, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men,” because the Saviour of men, JEHOVAH God (the only Saviour, and there is no other) has entered into the world, “born in Bethlehem.”

I want to read one last thing before we close our study, in 1st John 1:1-2:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen *it*, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

We do not correctly understand what is being said here, as God is moving John to declare it, until we realize the “eternal nature” of the One that was born over 2,000 years ago – Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah.

John is witnessing and testifying to us: “Look, this One, who was from the beginning (as John 1:1 said: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.) This same One: we have heard Him speak; we have seen Him with our eyes; we have looked upon that Man, the God Man; we have handled Him; we have touched His flesh that He was given, as He became man; we have seen the “Life” manifested. And we, therefore, bear witness to you and tell you these things as true facts. What you read about this Saviour (this “little child” Jesus) is true and faithful and you can trust it: yes, He is God.

It really is God, John is saying, and He really did dwell among us.

A Christmas Story, Part 1 of 2, by Chris McCann, originally aired in December 2012, transcribed by Deborah Jones.

A Christmas Story, Part 1 of 2, by Chris McCann, originally aired in December 2012

Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s special Christmas Bible study. Tonight is Part 1 of 2.

The Christmas season has, once again, come around and along with it comes a remembrance of the Bible’s Christmas story. Of course, this is not a fictional story. This is a true, historical story that tells us the wonderful news of the glorious birth of a Saviour long ago; over 2,000 years ago in 7 B.C., when the Lord Jesus was born and He began to dwell amongst men, as He became a child and entered into the human race.

But, before we can properly understand how beautiful and majestic this true, historical tale really is, we must first come to the realization that this story “transcends” time; it is older than just 2,000 years old. In order to properly understand just who it was that was born of a virgin and laid in a manager and just who it was that was born in Bethlehem, we need to see what else the Bible has to say about this “child.”

In the Old Testament, in the Book of Micah, God makes a very strange and very interesting statement in Micah 5:2:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, *though* thou be little among the thousands of Judah, *yet* out of thee shall he come forth unto me *that is* to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth *have been* from of old, from everlasting.

What an unusual statement this is! The one to come forth from Bethlehem (and from other Biblical information we know this is referring to Jesus) is not going to “begin” his going forth from the point of his entry into the world in Bethlehem, but He has already been “going forth,” and He has been “going forth from of old, from everlasting.”

Now that description cannot fit any normal or “natural” man, because no man is “from everlasting.” We are born into the world and we have a beginning; and we soon die and we have an ending. (Of course, for God’s people who are born again, they are given everlasting life.) But none of us are “from everlasting.” There is something unique and extremely special about this ruler in Israel that is to “come forth” because He has already been “going forth from of old, from everlasting.”

We find out that somehow the one to be born (that has already been) is also spoken of in other parts of the Bible and we learn a great deal about this individual in the Book of Isaiah. It says in Isaiah 7:14:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

What is the reader to think? How can a virgin conceive? That is not possible. It is not something that happens to a woman. A woman must find a husband and be with a man in order to conceive a child. That is how God has established things. It is just out of the realm of possibility that a woman apart from a man could conceive and bear a son. So right away, we read this Scripture and we are amazed and stunned by what God has said, but even more amazing is the name that God Himself gives to the child, the one born of a virgin. God says, “Call his name Immanuel.” Why has God chosen that name for this child?

We do not have to struggle with this question. We do not have to wonder at all because the Bible answers this question. God makes a special point of clearing up this matter (so there is no doubt in anyone’s mind) of what He is talking about in Isaiah, chapter 7. The Lord clarifies this in the New Testament, in Matthew 1:18-23:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just *just*, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

In this passage God clarifies all questions. Of course, Matthew was written of God in the 1st century A.D., several hundred years after God moved Isaiah to write the things we read in Isaiah 7:14, so God does not always clarify things as quickly as, perhaps, we would like, but He does clarify things and it is “crystal clear.” The child is born “of the Holy Ghost” and He does not have an earthly father. And, yes, the woman Mary is a virgin when she conceives and gives birth; she has never “known” a man. And, yes, the child is named JESUS and it also quotes the passage in Isaiah, which says, they “shall call his name Emmanuel,” and what does this name mean? Well, God does not leave this “up in the air” or leave it for anyone to decipher, but He interprets that name for us, and He says: “which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Now we have some additional, incredible information that the one to come to Bethlehem, who will “come forth,” and whose “going forth has been of old, from everlasting,” and who is “born of a virgin” and whose name (Emmanuel) is directly from God, is “God with us.”

We cannot help but begin to wonder: Who is this mysterious child? Who could it be? We begin to think, “Could it be God Himself?” Of course, God is the only one that is from everlasting, so He would meet that qualification of Micah 5:2. And God would be “with us” if He would somehow become a little child and be born of a virgin and maybe that is why His name would be Emmanuel, God with us.

Well, God does not wait too long to shed more light on this matter, in Isaiah. A couple of chapters later, He makes some statements that will confirm our suspicions and confirm the identity of this incredible child. It says in Isaiah 9:6:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…

And this child must be the child spoken of in chapter 7, where it said “a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.”

And we are very interesting in learning more about this child whose name was to be “Emmanuel” or “God with us.” Then what does God say in the last part of the verse?

…and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

We have to stop…we need to stop and think about this. Is it possible that the son born of a virgin, whose name is Emmanuel, which means “God with us,” whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting, and whose names include not only “Wonderful” and “Counsellor,” but also “The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”?

Could it be that God is plainly declaring and stating matter-of-factly that there will come a time when the Messiah will enter into the human race and the Person of that Messiah is Eternal God Himself? We stop and we wonder: Is this the God who is from everlasting to everlasting; who in His greatness and majesty inhabits eternity; who is the Creator that spoke and brought the world into being; who created the universe and all that we see with a Word; who is the Great I Am, who has unlimited power and might and knowledge; and who is glorious in His being? This God created man as one of His creatures (made in His image, but still a creature that is nothing compared to the Creator Himself). Is it possible that this Creator God, the God of the Bible, the God of Scripture – this Great and Glorious God – has determined and decided that He Himself will somehow enter into a virgin’s womb and be born as a child, as a son given to those whom He has come to save, and that He will be called “the Mighty God, The everlasting Father,” the The Prince of Peace”?

Yes, this is exactly what the Bible is saying and we see why the Bible’s story of Christmas began before “time.” It began in the counsel of eternity in the Person of the Almighty God. It began with His decision to enter into the world as a mere man.

No More Salvation

NO MORE SALVATION
God stopped saving people on
May 21, 2011

LIVING IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT TRACT SERIES #2

Upon saving the last one of His elect, God ended the possibility of salvation for the unsaved people of the world by shutting the door of heaven on May 21, 2011. From that point forward, not one person anywhere in the world has become saved. Once God shut the door of heaven (a spiritual door that no man could ever see while it was open: nor could they see once it was shut) each person’s spiritual condition was permanently fixed and established. The following Scriptures have now taken effect:
Revelation 22: 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Never again will a sinner be taken out of a life of spiritual darkness and be translated into God’s kingdom of light. After thousands of years of sending forth the gospel into the world to find and save lost sinners God’s plan was now finally accomplished. The time of judgment had now come upon the world. And the judgment was that there would be no more salvation for mankind. Throughout the Day of Judgment (which is a prolonged period of time beginning on May 21, 2011, and in all likelihood concluding 1600 days later on October 7, 2015) the unsaved will remain unsaved and the saved will remain saved. No one’s spiritual condition can be altered.

Q? How can you say that God stopped saving people on that date of May 21, 2011? I thought as long as the world continued God would always save people?
A. In order for us to properly understand what God did in shutting the door of heaven on May 21, 2011, we need to have an overall understanding of God’s salvation program. According to the Bible, every human being stands guilty before God and rightfully deserves the penalty of death for our sins against Him. Since all men are sinners and none are righteous no man could ever do enough good works to earn salvation or cause God to save them. However, God graciously decided to save a portion of mankind (a remnant out of the whole) who were chosen by Him only as a result of His good pleasure. God selected these people to obtain salvation before any of them were born. The program of God’s election plan was carried out throughout the history of the world and finally, it was completed on the date of May 21, 2011.

GOD IS SOVEREIGN CONCERNING WHOM HE SAVES
The Bible reveals God’s complete sovereignty in the matter of those He decided to save:

Eph. 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

The Bible also refers to these “chosen” people as the “elect” of God.
1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,

We read that the names of these elect people were recorded by God in a book:
Rev. 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Of course there’s no actual book with the names of the elect written down. This is a figure of speech designed to teach us that God is the One that selected each person He intended to save out of the whole of mankind. This process of election can also be seen in the book of Romans:

Romans 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Before either of the twin boys had done any good or evil God determined to love Jacob and to hate Esau. To forgive Jacobs sins, but not to forgive Esau’s sins. The Lord’s statement concerning these actual twin boys provides us with an excellent example of how God’s election program works. Since Jacob was chosen (and Esau was not chosen) before they were even born, this shows in an amazing way that the good deeds or evil works of a person have nothing to do with whether or not one is a recipient of God’s grace. This is why the Bible says that God chooses according to His own good pleasure. The Lord, knowing that some people would say that choosing one to love and the other to hate wasn’t fair, went on to answer those type of accusations a little further on in Romans chapter 9:

Romans 9: 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

The Bible’s teaching of election reveals God as a sovereign King in the matter of exactly whom He foreordained to become saved. God makes no apologies for electing certain ones to become saved. After all, if all men received their due reward, then none would become saved; we all would perish and be destroyed by God’s wrath.

Human history can rightfully be understood as the period of time God granted life on earth to exist for the sole purpose of God working out His plan of salvation (for the elect) and His plan of judgment (for all non elect). The period of time God gave mankind in which to become saved came to a close on May 21, 2011. It was by that point in time that the Lord had found each and every one of His elect people: all those predestinated to obtain salvation before the world began. Since May 21, 2011 we have entered into the period of God’s judgment upon this world due to our sins against Him. We are all presently living in this Day of Judgment. However, the elect child of God is not being punished as the unsaved people are being punished for their sins. The elect child of God is still alive and remaining upon the earth during this present Day of Judgment only to have his faith severely tried before finally entering into the kingdom of God:

Zechariah 13: 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

GOD IS ALSO SOVEREIGN CONCERNING WHEN HE SAVES
God determined to complete His saving work of the elect during a period of time He referred to in the Bible as “the Day of Salvation”. Once this prolonged spiritual ‘day’ came to an end so also would salvation:
2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

The acceptable time, the Day of Salvation is also what Jesus spoke of in the gospel of John:

John 9: 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

The work Christ is referring to are the works of salvation the Father gave Him to do:

John 6: 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Of course we should not miss the obvious admonition John 9:4 is giving us, that the day would end and when it did the Lord Jesus Christ’s work (of salvation) would not be able to be performed in the night that would follow. During this intense period of spiritual darkness that follows the Great Tribulation the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer performing the work of saving sinners. The light of the gospel insofar as salvation is concerned has gone out all over the world.

Matthew 24: 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Sorrowfully, according to the plan of God the Day of Salvation ended on May 21, 2011 (along with the Great Tribulation period and the Latter Rain), and the spiritual night has come upon the world.

SEEK THE LORD BEFORE THE DAY OF WRATH COME
It was during the period of time known as ‘the Day of Salvation’ that God encouraged sinners to come to Him and cry out for mercy, in the hope they might be one of those elect people. The following passage is typical of this kind of encouragement:

Zephaniah 2: 2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you.
3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.

Notice, in Zephaniah 2:2-3, God commands man to seek the Lord “BEFORE the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you.” It is during the time prior to the pouring out of His wrath that God is gracious and merciful and kind towards sinners (if they happen to be one of His elect). But the strong and unmistakable implication is that once the day of His wrath comes to pass there will be no such kindness shown to sinners. God has been very clear all throughout the Bible that Judgment Day is not a time to seek God for salvation. Once Judgment Day comes (and it has come) then there is no more mercy granted, no further grace extended, and no additional compassion bestowed upon the ones that have transgressed the law of God.

James 2: 13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy;

The Day of Salvation was in effect throughout the 1955 years of the church age (33 AD through 1988 AD). Then after the first 2300 evening mornings of the Great Tribulation period, once again in September of 1994 God began to evangelize the world with what the Bible calls the Latter Rain. During this little season of about 17 years God would bring to a climax His salvation program by saving a great multitude of people from the nations of the world. God opened up the Scriptures at the beginning of the Great Tribulation to reveal a good many truths. Included in this was the information concerning “time and judgment.” The Bible revealed a timeline that included the date for the end of the church age (May 21, 1988) and the date for the beginning of Judgment Day (May 21, 2011). God moved in His people to broadcast the message of May 21, 2011, Judgment Day, into all the earth and this message of approaching judgment was used by God to apply Christ’s atoning work to a great number of people from every nation. The Bible indicates that God saved more people in the short period of the Latter Rain than He did in all previous history.
Rev. 7: 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Finally, on May 21, 2011, the Great Tribulation period ended and the Latter Rain came to a close, by this time all the elect captives to sin and Satan were set free by Christ. God’s Word had now accomplished its purpose of finding all the lost sheep of the house of Israel. All of the elect, chosen to become saved from before the world began, had now become saved. The Day of Salvation was over.
THE DOOR SHUTS
There is no question that the Bible clearly teaches that God will shut heaven’s door in the Day of Judgment:

Luke 13: 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

We see from this account that once the Master rose up to shut the door He never opened it again. The pleas of those outside the door did not persuade Him to reverse His decision and open the door. And the people that found themselves outside the door are never permitted to enter in from their position of being without.

Revelation 22: 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Again, it was on May 21, 2011, that God shut the door of heaven. He could now do this since all the people Christ obligated Himself to save (by dying for their sins from the foundation of the world) had now become saved. Once all the elect were safely in the kingdom of God, the door was shut!
Therefore, they were as safe in God’s kingdom through salvation, as Noah and his family were safe inside the ark in the day that the flood began.

Gen. 7: 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

The Bible ties together the flood of Noah’s day and May 21, 2011 which came exactly 7000 years later (4990 BC + 2011 = 7001 – 1 =7000). Since May 21, 2011, was the last day of the Great Tribulation period, and also fell 7000 years precisely from the date of the flood, and since it also had the underlying Hebrew calendar date of the 17th day of the 2nd month (which matched precisely with the day that God shut the door of the ark and brought the flood to devastate the world), we can be sure that God placed His hand on May 21, 2011 as the day that the door of heaven was shut to the unsaved inhabitants of the earth.

We’re not surprised that many today dispute with God over His act of shutting the door of heaven on this world. It is actually in keeping with the nature of mankind. Whenever God makes a sovereign decree we can expect the natural minded man to argue with Him about it. Men do this all the time concerning God’s election program regarding whom He saves; and now men are doing the very same thing regarding when God does the saving.

The shutting of heaven’s door is an action performed by God according to His perfect and sovereign will. If God opens something (as He had previously widely opened up the door of heaven to save a great multitude, out of the Great Tribulation) man cannot shut it, and, likewise, if God shuts something no man can open it.

Revelation 3:7… he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

True believers are only humble servants. We are not the ones that determine the times and seasons of God’s salvation program: nor do we determine when these times and seasons will conclude in judgment. When it comes to the door of heaven the child of God is simply a doorkeeper:

Psalm 84:10- …I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

The Bible reveals that God is the only One possessing the necessary power and authority to make these types of awesome decrees. It is the Bible that insists that heaven’s door is now shut to all the unsaved inhabitants of the earth. Therefore this teaching comes from the One that issues the decrees to the doorkeepers and not the lowly doorkeepers themselves.

The child of God, alive and remaining on the earth in the Day of Judgment can only fulfill his role of a humble doorkeeper as he receives instructions from the Word of God, the Bible. It is the Bible that indicates and confirms God’s salvation plan ended on May 21, 2011. It is the Bible that declares God brought to pass on that day an awful and terrible judgment, the judgment of shutting heaven’s door. This judgment ended Christ’s work of saving sinners: a judgment that man could not see with his physical eyes and, therefore, it is a spiritual judgment. There is a strong likelihood that the spiritual judgment now upon the world will continue for 1600 days and then conclude with the literal destruction of all unsaved people and the end of the world on October 7, 2015.

THE HOPE GOD ALLOWS FOR MANKIND IN THE TIME OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT
Q? Are you saying then, that there’s no more hope for people to be saved?
A. Again, we must be very clear that God is no longer actively saving sinners. He has finished that work.
Remember John 9:4 states: the night comes when no man can work. Christ will not save someone today that is presently unsaved. The Bible indicates that each person’s spiritual condition is now eternally fixed.

Luke 16: 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Q? So you’re saying all hope is gone?
A. During this time of judgment upon the world the only hope that the Bible allows for, is the hope that maybe God saved a person before He shut the door of heaven on May 21, 2011; that is, if a person was not part of any church and they heard the message from the Bible, then they may hope that God saved them prior to His shutting the door of heaven. A person with this hope in mind may go to God and say, “O Father, having had mercy (before May 21) have mercy.”

Q? What if a person was part of a church?
A. That is a different matter. God ended the church age and commanded His people to leave the churches. God already was not performing the work of salvation in the churches throughout the 23 year judgment upon them (May 21, 1988 through May 21, 2011) and, therefore, anyone remaining in the church before May 21, 2011 could not possibly have become saved while there. Spiritually, this was terrible for them, but things got even worse once the judgment transitioned from the churches to the world (on May 21, 2011) at that point in time, the condition of “no salvation” (which was exclusively in the churches), expanded to include the whole world. Tragically, this means that people in the churches could not have been saved during the glorious period of the outpouring of the Latter Rain and, now, in the Day of Judgment, cannot be saved at all since God has ended His salvation program. The only thing the Bible allows for regarding those in the churches is a prayer in which they may request of God that the cup of wrath be removed from them.
Mt. 26:39 … O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

FEED MY SHEEP
Q? This is very troubling information, if God isn’t saving anyone any longer then why are you sharing it with people?
A. You are asking a good question. There are at least three reasons why a true believer desires to share these things with others:
First, God commands us to feed His sheep, that is, the majority of those elect people that God saved during the Great Tribulation period (the great multitude) are still alive and living on the earth in this time of judgment. Since we have no idea who these people are, we must share the Bible’s teaching openly with all. The things we are sharing are true to God’s Word, and it is the sharing of truth that spiritually nourishes and feeds the sheep of God. Secondly, the last thing many of these people heard from the Bible was that May 21, 2011 would be the Day of Judgment on the world. We want the elect to know that that day, indeed, was Judgment Day exactly as the Bible revealed. Thirdly, God commands His people to not be silent but to publish these things. The Lord uses Babylon as a picture of the world under His wrath and says in Jeremiah 50:

Jeremiah 50: 2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken,
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Isaiah 24, Part 2, Verses 4-6, by Chris McCann, July 15, 2012, transcribed by Andrea Henry

Isaiah 24, Part 2, Verses 4-6, by Chris McCann, July 15, 2012
A look at Isaiah 24:4-6

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our Sunday online fellowship. We’re continuing a Bible Study in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 24, and this is our second study. And I’m going to begin reading in verse 4 through 12 in Isaiah chapter 24.

The earth mourneth *and* fadeth away, the world languisheth *and* fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. *There is* a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

And this passage is describing very accurately our present spiritual condition, the present state of the world today. And it is a time when the lights of the Gospel have been darkened. They’ve gone out. And it is a time when joy, “the joy of the harp,” as it says here, or, “all joy is darkened.” And joy has to do with salvation. When one sinner repents, the Bible tells us, there is joy in heaven. But when there is no salvation, well then, “the joy of the harp ceaseth,” and “all joy is darkened.”

But we’re going to go through Isaiah 24 as we did in the last study, verse by verse, and just see what God is saying to us in each verse. And we’re going to find that this chapter is a description of the spiritual judgment of God upon the world today, once God has made that transition from beginning His judgment on the churches, and then once that was complete, expanding it upon all the world.

And we’re also going to find the language is very familiar to us. It’s familiar language, because we’ve seen it again and again in books like Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, or even in Isaiah; language that God has used to describe the judgment on the churches, which we rightly have understood, and continue to realize, that that judgment was completely spiritual. There was no physical bloodletting of the churches and congregations.

And so God is using the same language to describe His judgment upon the world. And like we mentioned last time, Isaiah 24 cannot be interpreted any other way except as a chapter that outlines God’s judgment on the world. The fact that God uses the word, “earth,” our English word, 15 times in this chapter makes it very clear; and the word, “world,” once:

It’s obvious as you read the chapter, that God is referring to the final judgment upon mankind, the inhabitants of the earth, and not on the churches. And yet, He uses the same language.
Why? Well, I’m going to keep repeating it, because we have to understand this point if we’re ever going to truly understand where we are in God’s program, where we are in time. And that is, that the same “cup” that God gave to the churches, the cup of wrath, as judgment began there, is identical to the cup that the world is presently drinking.

And that was our mistake. That was our error. And this is the correction that needs to be made. We do not need a correction that “no man knows the day or hour.” That was not the error. Actually, God’s people did know the day and the hour, as that relates to judgment. We knew May 21, 2011 was Judgment Day, and that is correct. There is no need to correct that understanding. That is not the mistake. The mistake is to continue thinking of a physical judgment.

There will, at the very end of this period of time, be a physical, and complete, and utter destruction of the world. But God has in the same manner brought judgment on the world that He brought on the church. For an unspecified period of time, at least, we don’t know the duration right now, God is pouring out His wrath in the same way.
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Transcriber’s note: Please refer to the Bible Study, “10,000 Days of Judgment,” at https://feedinggodssheep.wordpress.com)

He has removed the lights of the Gospel. He has removed salvation from the earth. That is the correction that must be made. And once a person, a believer, makes that correction, and begins to realize that, then the confusion, for the most part, begins to vanish away. We still do not know how long we’ll be here, we don’t know how long this time period of God’s judgment will last right now, but everything else fits into place and remains in place.

The whole time path pointing to May 21 and all the ways that that date locked in as Judgment Day remain. They’re correct. No need to make correction there. And so on. We find that all sorts of things begin to clear up. And that only happens, by the way, when we’re going the right direction. Things do not clear up when you head down the wrong direction, but you find more and more trouble.

And that’s the trouble people are getting into when they’re trying to dismiss May 21. Well, now they’re getting lost. They’re losing sight of other truths. That’s why some are returning to churches. It’s why they don’t know where they’re at, whether the great tribulation’s ongoing, or ended, or how long it’ll continue, they have no idea. And so, there’s confusion. But that confusion is removed when we realize, “Oh, I see, Jeremiah chapter 25 instructs us, God tells us exactly what His plan was; and now in Isaiah 24, this language is further confirmation.” And it says in verse 4 of Isaiah 24,

The earth mourneth *and* fadeth away, the world languisheth *and * fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

And again, notice each statement, “The earth,” “the world,” “the haughty people of the earth…” three times in that one verse. We’re not to miss it. We’re not to mistake it at all. God is not talking about the church directly at all; only as they are a part of the world now, would they be in view. But it is the world. This is judgment on the whole world.

If we look at this language of “mourneth” and “languisheth,” we find it used in some other places, like in Joel chapter 1, beginning in verse 9,

The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah’s ministers, mourn. The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, *even* all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

Now, Joel 1 is a chapter that is describing God’s judgment on the churches and congregations. And that’s why it speaks of “the harvest of the field is perished,” because that was true during the great tribulation. God began judgment on the church, on the congregations of the world, and their harvest was ruined. They had no harvest. They had no latter rain. The rain was falling outside of the churches, and so “all the trees” dried up and languished and withered. And all this language we’re finding in these verses in Joel is describing the ruination of the harvest of the churches during the great tribulation.

And notice again, it’s summarized by the statement, “joy is withered away from the sons of men.”

Salvation was taken away from the midst of the congregations once the Holy Spirit came out of that location. He came out of the churches, and then God ceased to deliver in the church. And the language of “mourning” and “languishing” is identified with that awful situation, that awful spiritual condition the churches found themselves in. Now it’s also found in Jeremiah 14, in the first several verses there. In Jeremiah 14, we’ll find the language of “mourning” and “languishing.”

In verse 1, it says,
The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. (And a dearth is a time when there’s no water and there’s famine.) Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, *and* found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook* it,* because *there was* no grass. And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because* there was* no grass.

And in this passage we find, “Judah mourneth,” “and the gates…languish.” So the gates would be the doors of Judah. This is telling us once again, God is painting a picture of a spiritual desolation. There’s famine, there’s drought, there’s no rain. They were not receiving the latter rain. And therefore there was no water, and spiritually, that points to the water of the Gospel. And this is all describing the horrible 23-year great tribulation upon the churches, where judgment began.

But notice the language of mourning and languishing and how God uses it. Yes, He’s using it to describe the judgment on the church. But that shows us, once again, that God is using the same words in Isaiah 24 not to describe judgment on the church, but judgment on all the earth. We can learn how it’s been used in relationship to the churches, and apply it to the earth and the inhabitants of the earth. It’s the same spiritual meaning; it’s the same “cup,” so God uses the same language. Now these words are used in connection with the earth in Isaiah 33, in verses 8 through 12. It says there,

The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man. The earth mourneth *and* languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed *and* hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off *their fruits*. Now will I rise, saith Jehovah; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath,* as* fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be *as* the burnings of lime:* as* thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

And here, the same words, “The earth mourneth and languisheth,” is language describing the wrath of God upon man, as they are like “thorns,” (and a thorn is someone under the curse of God, or comes as a result of the curse,) “cut up” and “burned.” And that language we’ll find in Isaiah 24, as we continue on.

So this verse, Isaiah 24:4, is confirming to us that God’s wrath is on the earth and that means there will be a famine, a drought. There will be no rain, there will be no water and all that points to, a removal of the light of the Gospel, a removal of the blessings of the Gospel as far as salvation is concerned. And then, going back to Isaiah 24, in verse 5,

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof;
And the word, defiled, is used only a few times, but it’s also translated as “polluted.” We have the word used twice in Numbers 35, once as “defileth,” and once as “pollute.” In Numbers 35, verses 33 and 34,
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye *are:* for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I Jehovah dwell among the children of Israel.

So the blood, the innocent “blood” that is spilled, defiles the land. Spiritually, it pollutes it. The sins of mankind have polluted the land. Mankind is very interested in cleaning up physical pollution, that’s why all the emphasis upon “green” jobs and a “green” environment. We want to clean up the toxins and clean up all the chemicals that are being poured into the environment, to stop the pollution of the earth. Well, perhaps they’re making some progress there. I’m sure they are, and maybe one day they could even clean it up to a very high degree. But the real pollution that God is concerned about, that has not been cleaned up at all and as a matter of fact has gotten increasingly worse, and more vile, and filthy, is a spiritual pollution of the inhabitants of the earth, in the sense that they have spilled innocent “blood,” and they have committed all sorts of atrocities.

Mankind has rebelled against God, and this has produced a spiritual pollution that has contaminated every place in the world. You can’t find a place that is not extremely polluted in our day, in a spiritual sense. Well, let’s go back and finish the verse, in Isaiah 24:5, it goes on to say,

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; (we’re polluted
spiritually because each one of us, we all have contributed to this sinful defilement of the earth) because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
And there we see the reason for the defilement of the earth by man,
because they have transgressed the laws,

And this is referring to the law of God. And in 1 John, we read a simple statement, but it’s helpful. It says in 1John chapter 3, verse 4,
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

The definition of sin is if you transgress, and go beyond the law and break the law, then you have committed sin.

Whatever the law is, as far as the definition of sin, is unimportant. That is, if you commit adultery, it’s sin. If you commit murder, it’s sin. If you eat of a forbidden tree, it’s sin. If you are doing work on Sunday, it is sin. And so on: Whatever God has said in the Bible. And if a man goes beyond it, or does not measure up to it, and he fails to attain to that glorious standard of the law of God, he has sinned. He has transgressed the law.

And this is, of course, what people are doing daily. The billions of inhabitants of the planet earth are sinning in thought, word, and deed. There are sins of a tremendous number that are continuous in nature, going on at this time. And God took note of that. He took note of the inhabitants of the world before the flood, and He noticed and said, the thoughts of (man’s) heart *was* only evil continually. And yet that would have been perhaps at most only a handful of a million people. Multiply that by a great number, and now we have over 7 billion people in the earth. And so the transgressing of the law of God is enormous, and God is judging the world for this very thing.

And it says also in Isaiah 24:5, as the reason,
because they have…changed the ordinance,
What ordinance is that? Well, it’s the same thing as the law. They’re synonyms. “The ordinance” is a reference to the law of God, the word of God, the Bible. Has anyone tried to change the laws of the Bible? Well, let’s just notice a few things over the last few years. We could go back a few years further and we find that in our country and in many countries of the world, suddenly, a law of abortion is made, legalizing it, and allowing women a “choice.”

They’re given a “choice,” because it’s their own body, we’re told. They now have a choice to keep the baby or they can abort the baby. Well, this is the law of men, it’s the law of governments, but it’s not the law of the Bible.

God doesn’t give women a choice. He doesn’t give anyone a choice, when it comes to life. He says,

Thou shalt not kill.

And that is the law of God. Yet the law of God has been changed in this matter, where now it is acceptable, it is permissible, it is even called a “right” to kill. And that is changing the ordinance of God.
And of course, over these last few decades, the marriage institution has been altered and changed, and this grievous sin has developed to the point where now over half of marriages, I believe, at least in America, end in divorce. And in many other parts of the world, divorce is very common. Well, you see, that’s the change.

The Bible has said, and Jesus has confirmed this, that when man and woman get together, their marriage is not to be put asunder. God joined them together. Only God can separate them, through death, legally, according to the Bible. But not according to mankind. No, you can divorce for fornication, for adultery – that’s how it started. And even that was wrong. That was in error. The Bible doesn’t give that exception. There’s not to be divorce for any reason. And now, it’s for anything under the sun.

If a wife doesn’t like the way her husband looked at her, they can divorce, and they have divorced. And if the husband doesn’t like the way his wife cooked his breakfast, he can divorce. Well, this is mankind changing the ordinance of the word of God for their own purposes. Let’s be honest, it all amounts to that. When a man or a woman just wants their own way, and they don’t particularly want to deal with the hardships that marriage brings, that’s changing the ordinance of the law of God.

And this also is very common today, what about homosexuality? The Bible is clear – we don’t have to go to the verses that speak of it as another grievous sin. I know I use that language, “grievous sins,” and the Bible may, but all sins are grievous. All sins are sufficient to bring us under God’s wrath, and to destroy us. And homosexuality is no different. If a man commits the sin of homosexuality and was not delivered, if Christ did not pay for that sin, he will die. If a man commits the sin of lying, and Christ did not pay for that sin, he will die.

Any certain sin in particular is not the problem. We don’t want to highlight any one sin more that another. All sin is terrible. But the problem with the sin of homosexuality in our day, is that the world has decided, the world has gotten it into its mind that this is an “acceptable lifestyle,” that it is just as right and correct as a man and a woman getting together. Well, that is contrary to the Bible. It’s contrary to everything the Bible has to say. And yet mankind now is insisting, “Oh no, this is proper, this is good. If you’re against it, well, there’s something wrong with you. You must be for it.” And they are developing a new moral standard, a standard where everything is acceptable and everything goes. And that is becoming their law. They are changing the ordinance of God to suit themselves.

And so God, of course, recognizes this. We could go on and on. Sunday is God’s holy day, the Bible says. It is the day in which we are to be involved in spiritual activities. And the world, much of it, in the civilized world, the places where the Gospel had gone, recognized this, and so they closed their businesses on Sunday. But now, it’s like any other day of the week. Businesses, and sports, and all manner of activity on Sunday, when God has said, No; No, remove your foot from my holy day. Don’t seek your own pleasure on this day. And the world, and the inhabitants of the world, well, they only get two days off a week, most of them, Saturday and Sunday, and so they wanted an extra day, and they’ve taken it to themselves, and now they do what they want.

They’ve changed the ordinance of God regarding Sunday the Sabbath. And this goes on and on, and God is taking note here, in
Isaiah 24:5, and this is part of the reason that the earth is defiled. It’s polluted under the inhabitants thereof,

…because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

Now that phrase, “…covenant,” is something that gets people thinking of Abraham, and the covenant God made with Israel, and we have to just realize that this is also referring to the Bible, the everlasting word of God.

This is the covenant that God made with mankind. He of course has made a special relationship with His elect, but with mankind, God has made a covenant. And that is that man is to submit to the will of God as laid out in the Bible. Mankind is spiritually married to the word of God, to the law of God. You can read that in Romans 7 in the first few verses.

We are married to the law, and when we break the law, we break that covenant relationship, and we are thereby called adulterers and adulteresses. And this is the everlasting covenant that God is saying that man has broken. Now it says in Numbers 15:29-31, (where verse 31 contains a synonymous statement to that in Isaiah 24:5),

Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance,* both for* him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that doeth *ought* presumptuously, *whether he be* born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of Jehovah, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity
*shall be* upon him.

In verse 31, “hath broken his commandment,” could just as easily be said, “broken the everlasting covenant,” or the covenant that mankind has with the word of God. We did read earlier in Isaiah 33:8, that they had “broken the covenant.” And that was referring to the people of earth. It says in Jeremiah 11 and verse 10,

They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

Now here, God is referring to those in Israel that have a relationship to Him, the city called by His name, and spiritually that points to those in the churches. God gave them laws, specific laws that they were to follow; laws concerning the sending forth of the Gospel, and what kind of Gospel it was to be; laws concerning the nature of salvation, and how salvation was to be presented to the world. And that is, that it’s all the work of God. Salvation is by grace, and never involved the work of men. And they have broken that covenant. They’ve broken those laws, and God gave them “space to repent,” we read in Revelation 2, but they “repented not.” So, then He “cast (them) into a bed” of “great tribulation.” He brought judgment on the churches because they had broken His covenant.

And now we find in Isaiah 24, God is bringing the world into judgment for the exact same reason. They, the inhabitants of earth, have broken the covenant that they had with God. Now, the inhabitants of the world didn’t have in their covenant laws concerning the Gospel and being faithful towards its proclamation. No, that wasn’t for them, that was for those that professed to be called by God’s name. But the inhabitants of earth have all these other laws. And they have broken them. And so, they are just as guilty.

And you know, we’re finding again, similar language. Judah, Israel broke the covenant of God, the churches broke His covenant: God judged them. The people of the world have broken His covenant: God has judged them. They’re guilty of a similar sin, of breaking the word of God, the laws of God. And they are experiencing the same penalty. They’re drinking from the same cup of God’s wrath. It is the same cup. There is no difference in the judgment of God upon the world and upon the churches.

Alright, let’s return to Isaiah 24, and we’ll read verse 6 where it says,
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate:

The “curse” is a word that the Bible uses to describe the results of our sin. Because we sin, we are cursed. And “curse,” the English word, is used often in the Bible, though God uses ten different Hebrew words that are translated as our one English word, curse. That is, if you look in a concordance, you would find several different numbers for “curse,” because God is using this Hebrew word, and that Hebrew word, yet the translators to English translated each one as “curse.”

What’s that idea that some have expressed, that the Eskimos have so many different words for snow, because, well, that’s such a big part of their life. And so I guess we can follow through with that, and since the world is so cursed and mankind is so cursed, God thought it good to express it in Hebrew by several different words. The word that’s in Isaiah 24:6 is Strong’s #423, and it’s a word translated as “curse,” a few times, and as “oath,” a few times.

If we go to Deuteronomy 29 we’ll find both English words, oath and curse, in that chapter, and they are the same Hebrew word that we have in Isaiah 24:6. In Deuteronomy 29, verses 12 through 14, it says there,

That thou shouldest enter into covenant with Jehovah thy God, and into his oath,
Now that’s the Hebrew word, #423 in Strong’s, also translated as “curse,”

…which Jehovah thy God maketh with thee this day: That he may

establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and *that* he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;
And that’s the same word. But go down to verse 19,

And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse,
It’s the same word that was translated as “oath,” in verse 12 and verse 14 above.
…that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: Jehovah will not spare him, but then the anger of Jehovah and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses…
Again, the same word,
…that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and Jehovah shall blot out his name from under heaven. And Jehovah shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:
And there, God is making synonymous, actually one and the same, the word, “oath,” and the word, “curse:” They entered “into covenant:” into His “curse.”

Now why, why does God use the same word? Because in the covenant that the churches enter into when they have a relationship to God, they say, “We will keep your laws faithfully.” You know, God has a relationship with the churches that is not by grace in any way, not by any stretch of the imagination. God deals with individuals only in a grace relationship, where a man may sin and be guilty, and God bestows grace and forgives the sin.

But a church or the nation of Israel of old, are in a works relationship with God. And they entered into an oath, into a curse. And the oath demands perfect obedience, and there is not to be straying of any kind. Once a church or congregation strays away, well then, God could rightly judge them. And yet, He put up with that straying of Israel for a long time, and the churches for a long time; but He reserved the right, at a later date, in which He performed in both cases to bring His judgment. And that’s because of the oath of the covenant or the curse of the covenant that God has established.

And it’s the same thing with the world. Mankind has entered into a curse. And since they’ve broken the law – they’ve transgressed and broken this everlasting covenant – God can bring them into the curse. And now at this time the curse has “devoured the earth.” And this is the day we’re living in; where, yes, the world has always been cursed, and mankind has always had the curse upon him, but now it’s time to enact the penalty, to bring the wrath upon the breaking of this covenant – on man. Okay, going back to Isaiah 24, it says in verse 6,

Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate:

You know, you might want to underline this word, “desolate,” because it is a word that we would think relates to a desolation, as to the idea of a wilderness – a wasteland, a desolate place. But the word is better translated, and is translated far more often, as “guilty.” It is the word, “guilty,” in Leviticus chapter 5, and you’ll find it translated as “guilty,” many more times than this, but I think it’s three times here. In Leviticus 5 verse 1,

And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and *is* a witness, whether he hath seen or known *of it;* if he do not utter* it,* then he shall bear his iniquity. Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether *it be* a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and*if* it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness* it be* that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth *of it,* then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with *his* lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever* it be* that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth *of it,* then he shall be guilty in one of these.

In each of those verses, 2 through 4, the word, “guilty,” is the word
translated as “desolate” in Isaiah 24:6. And what is God saying? Well, that He is the judge and the word of God has condemned us for our sins all through our lives up until the moment of salvation, if someone did become saved. And so, we constantly have been found guilty in that sense. But there is a final pronouncement of judgment on mankind, on the world; a final verdict that God issues, that God states, and He’s stating it here, in Isaiah 24, in verse 6.

When He is speaking of Judgment Day, and He is looking on all the people of the earth and the inhabitants of the world, all of the unsaved, however many there are; and it’s the vast majority of the population of over 7 billion; they are now found, by the great God and judge of all the earth, to be guilty.

They are guilty. And so, they are subject to the penalty for sin. And God has determined that the judgment on the world is to last for a period of time in which He shuts the door, He puts out the lights of the Gospel, and He removes all possibility of salvation to them. This is part of the final judgment of God, and then it will conclude with the total destruction and annihilation of this world and of unsaved mankind. But this is an important aspect to the judgment of God during these days, that mankind is found guilty.

“Well,” someone might say, “So what, that God shut the door of salvation to them? The world doesn’t know, and the world doesn’t care. And the world doesn’t even believe it if you told them.” Well, that is not important. That’s not significant to the judgment of God. God did the exact same thing to the churches. He removed the lights of the Gospel, He removed salvation from them, He shut the door of heaven to them; and therefore, no one in any church or congregation became saved during the 23-year period of judgment on them. And did they know?

Well, they began to hear of the end of the church age and that God’s people should come out. But the churches ignored it, they dismissed it, they avoided it, and they continued on, as normal, even until today. They continued on as though it weren’t so. And so we could look at them, and we could see, “Well that judgment had no effect. It had no impact on them.” But that’s not true from God’s perspective. From God’s perspective, it was as bad and awful and grievous a judgment as anything.

And that’s the important thing. It’s all from God’s perspective, from His word’s perspective. It was a terrible judgment to shut the door on the churches: “…Woe unto them… that give suck in those days!” How pitiful it is that there was no salvation even for the families and for their little ones during the time of great tribulation, for those that remained, almost one third of the human race, about 2 billion people that remained in the churches and congregations of the world. It was the worst judgment imaginable from God’s perspective.

And likewise, from God’s perspective, this is as bad as it can be for the world; that He has now shut the door on them, and He has sealed them into a place of darkness. You know, let’s just look at this, and then we’ll close for today. In 2 Peter 2, verse 4, it says there,
For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
And who is that? Well, that would be Satan and all the fallen angels who became demons. God did not spare them that sinned. But it goes on to say,
…but cast *them* down to hell, and delivered *them* into chains of darkness, to be reserved…
Or “kept,” that’s also translated as “kept,”
….unto judgment;

Now, what is this verse saying? It’s speaking about the fallen angels, headed up by Satan – we know that. And it says they sinned. And we know when that was. That was recorded in Genesis that Satan became a deceiver at that time, and so this took place from the very beginning. And God says that He cast them down to hell. Now, we have learned that there is no place outside of this world called hell. There’s no location called hell, so it couldn’t have been to some place of torment. The Bible won’t allow for that.

And we’ve also learned that hell is synonymous with “the grave” or “death.” And actually the same word translated as “hell,” is sometimes translated as “grave,” in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, that’s a problem when it comes to this verse, because the angels are spirit beings and they have no body to be put in the grave. So it’s impossible that God cast them down to a grave, to a hole in the ground, and bury them, because they have no body.

Well, what does it mean, if there’s no place of torment called, “hell,” and He couldn’t have put the angels into the grave because they’re spirit beings and have no body. Well, how did God cast them down to hell? Well, the answer is found in the next part of the verse, the ending part, that says,
…and delivered *them* into chains of darkness,

Now darkness is the absence of light. And the Bible refers to the sun, the moon, and the stars as the light bearers. They typify the Gospel, as God Himself is typified as the sun, the law of God as the moon, and the believers as the stars. But here, the fallen angels were delivered into chains; that is, they were in prison, in chains of darkness. Over in

Jude verse 6, it says,

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

So there, the chains are “everlasting.” They were never to be loosened in that sense. (This is not talking about the loosing of Satan during the great tribulation, when he was loosed after having been confined to the bottomless pit, where he could not deceive the nations. This is referring to something else.) This was the judgment of God upon the fallen angels at the time they sinned. And at that point, God cast them down to “hell.”

What was that judgment? The judgment was that they could never experience salvation. They could never experience deliverance. And so they would remain in the darkness of their sinfulness forever, or until they were completely destroyed. There would never be, in other words, a possibility of salvation for the fallen angels. Not one of them. God made no provision for their salvation. And He describes that judgment; and once again, it’s a spiritual judgment, a judgment that could not be seen, a judgment, once again, that involves a lack of light, or a darkening of the sun, and a judgment that involves a shut door. Heaven would forever be shut to the fallen angels. And God calls this, “hell.”

Now, that should make us think. If the sun is darkened, and the moon’s not giving its light, and the stars have fallen, and spiritually, the world is in a thick darkness, spiritually speaking, what has God done? What has He done, if we consider this language of the fallen angels being cast down to “hell.”

Well, we can see, from God’s perspective, this is not a light matter at all. This is extremely grievous.

Isaiah 24, Part 1, Introduction and Verse 1, by Chris McCann, July 8, 2012, transcribed by Andrea Henry

Isaiah 24, Part 1, Introduction and Verse 1, by Chris McCann, July 8, 2012
Overview of Isaiah 24 where God’s judgment on the earth is in view
A study on verse 1 is started

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today’s online fellowship gathering. And I’m going to begin this study today by reading Isaiah chapter 24, the first twelve verses.

Behold, Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for Jehovah hath spoken this word.

The earth mourneth *and* fadeth away, the world languisheth *and* fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. *There is* a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

I’ll stop reading there.

Now, we have been studying the book of 1 Peter for several weeks, and we’ll continue in that study, but I thought it’s important that we take a look at this particular chapter.
You know, in this chapter of Isaiah 24, the emphasis cannot be mistaken. We know exactly what God is talking about. We know who is in view, and it is the earth. It’s the world. Actually, our English word, earth, is found fifteen times in Isaiah 24; and the word, world, one time.

Of those fifteen times for the word, “earth,” thirteen times are one particular Hebrew word, and it is often translated, “earth.” It’s the word that’s found in Genesis chapter 1. And the thirteen times it’s found in Isaiah 24 is no coincidence. As we know, the number 13 points to the end of the world, which comes after thirteen thousand years of history. And that’s right where we find ourselves. And it’s clear as we read this chapter that God is referring to His judgment, His punishment for the world.

And yet it seems very strange. It seems unusual as we read the chapter, because the language here is similar to God’s language of judgment when He’s referring to Israel or Judah, which spiritually typify the New Testament churches. And yet, He’s not referring to Israel or Judah.

Actually, the word, Israel, is found only once in Isaiah 24, and that’s in verse 15, where it says,
Wherefore glorify ye Jehovah in the fires, *even* the name of Jehovah God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
It’s simply identifying God. It’s a name of God, the name of Jehovah God of Israel. It’s not referring to Israel as being the one under judgment. And we find the name, Jerusalem, once, in the last verse of Isaiah 24, verse 23,

Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when Jehovah of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

And there again, it’s speaking of God reigning in Zion (which is also a synonym for Jerusalem), “…and in Jerusalem.” But it’s not saying in any way that the judgment of this chapter is upon Jerusalem.
No, in both cases, the reference to Jehovah God of Israel; and here, when Jehovah reigns in Jerusalem; it’s not referring to the awful language, the ugly language of judgment that’s found throughout the chapter.
Clearly and without any question – no one could argue this in any kind of real way – clearly, the judgment found in Isaiah chapter 24 is the judgment of God upon the earth, the whole world.
And yet, it’s very similar to language that describes God’s judgment on the churches. We could find chapters similar to this in Jeremiah, or other places of the Bible, where God is referring to bringing His fury upon His own people.
Then why is this, if it’s true, (and it’s not), but if it’s true that the judgment of the world is that Christ comes on the very last day and then the world ends, that’s false. That’s not true at all, and we can prove that from the Bible, because there’s a time (Matthew 24:29 and Mark 13:24 help us to understand) that is identified in the Bible as “those days after the tribulation,” a period of time which comes after the tribulation.

And it is during this period of time that God judges the world, known as “those days,” so it just can’t be that God will utterly destroy the world. Isaiah 24 would make no sense if God were to come and destroy the world in a moment, and this language would not fit. But once we understand that it is God’s plan – and He lays out this plan in the book of Jeremiah in chapter 25 – it is God’s plan to first judge the city which is called by His name; historically, Judah, which typified the New Testament churches and congregations, and then He judges the world in the very same way, in a similar manner. And Jeremiah 25 tells us that. Let‘s look, beginning in verse 28 of Jeremiah 25,

And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name,”

Now that’s important language. Notice God says “I begin” to bring evil on the city called by my name; and that would be a reference to judgment beginning at the house of God, as we read in 1 Peter 4:17, and that’s the beginning point of God’s final judgment on this world. It starts with His own people, as we’ve seen. The churches were under the judgment of God, and that judgment was 23 years, from May 21, 1988 through May 21, 2011.

“Well,” someone might say, “are the churches no longer under the judgment of God since that period of time has ended?” The answer is no, we can’t say that. We would never say that. Actually, the judgment expanded. May 21, 2011 was the day of transition from the judgment of the churches, and it expanded to all the world. So since those in the churches by that day were not saved, and then the judgment expanded to all the earth; the churches are part of the world, and continue under the judgment of God, as now that judgment is on all the earth.

And it’s the same judgment, as we continue to read here in Jeremiah 25:29,

…the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, Jehovah shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

So this is the transition: Begin with the city which is called by my name; they drink of the cup of my wrath; and once they’ve drunk, I will give the cup (it’s the identical cup, there is nothing in this chapter to indicate it’s a different cup – it’s the same cup), God takes it from Israel or Judah, and He gives it to the world.

And yet, we correctly understood God’s judgment on the churches was spiritual. We understood the true nature of the cup that God would give the churches to drink. It was all the removal of His Spirit and of the Gospel blessings. But then we made an error and we assumed that once the cup was transferred, and this transition was made to the world, that it would then become physical in nature. And part of this assumption could be seen with the great earthquake. We were thinking outwardly, literally, physically. And if we had read Jeremiah 25 carefully enough, we would realize it’s the same Hebrew word, “cup.” It’s the same language as God makes the transfer. There’s no difference.

We have no reason to say, “Well, the cup on one hand is spiritual, but now when it’s given to the world, it will become a physical, outward, literal judgment that will be evident to all.” No, it is identical in language, identical in the word used, and we find that we should have, and now we have made this correction and we understand this, that the cup is spiritual.

This is why Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, when He went to pray, said, Oh Father, may this cup pass from me. Nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. What cup was that? The cup of God’s wrath. And could you see thunderbolts coming down from heaven in furious wrath upon Christ as He suffered in the garden? No. No, you couldn’t see anything. He was drinking of a spiritual cup. There was no outward evidence that He was under the wrath of God.

And, by the way, He was under the wrath of God. He was experiencing punishment for sin, although He was not making payment for sin. There was no need for that, since He had paid the penalty in full before the world began. But if you would’ve looked at Jesus drinking the cup of God’s wrath in the garden, you might’ve seen someone distraught, as He was in an agony. And this was the reason for His prayer. But you would not have seen any outward sign or evidence that would have indicated God was punishing Him, like we could not see any outward, visible sign or evidence that God was punishing the churches for 23 years. You couldn’t see the Holy Spirit was removed from the congregations. It was a spiritual judgment.
And what about when this same cup is given to the world? Suddenly, we think, “Oh, it’ll be very evident.

You’ll be able to see all these things take place.” And we were dead wrong. We were incorrect. This is where we must make correction in order to begin to understand what God is doing and the day we’re presently living in. And once we understand this, all the things of the Bible, except for the duration of this time, we don’t have understanding of that, we don’t know how long this Day of Judgment will last, but everything else falls into place and fits once again.

(Transcriber’s note: Please refer to the Bible Study, “10,000 Days of Judgment” at https://feedinggodssheep.wordpress.com)

We have harmony with the whole Bible. The Biblical Timeline of History is right there, still in place. May 21 was Judgment Day and all the indicators that pointed to that were correct, and so on.

We have great harmony (or, the scriptures fit together) in a tremendous way once we understand that Judgment Day has begun, and the cup of God’s wrath has now been given to all the inhabitants of the earth. You know, in Revelation chapter 8, we read in the first part, actually most of that chapter, where God brings His judgment (and this is referring to judgment beginning at the house of God) on “the third part.”
Again and again, from verse 7 through verse 12, God speaks of His wrath on the third part of waters, and seas, and the third part of the sun and the moon, and the stars; and that’s because the third part is language that identifies with the people of God, and therefore identifies with the churches and congregations.

And the water was the Gospel water, and the light of the sun and the moon and the stars was the Gospel lights in the churches. And God darkened them, it says in Revelation 8 verse 12,
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Now, the first four trumpet-sounds of these angels had to do with God’s judgment on the churches, on the congregations. And what does it mean? Now, we understand this. What does it mean when it says the “third part” of the sun and moon and stars was darkened? And the day shone not for a “third part” of it? What does it mean? Well, we rightly understand that God is talking about the Gospel light that was in the churches. And when judgment began at the house of God, He put it out. He removed His Spirit. Therefore, He removed the light of the Gospel. And when the light of the Gospel is removed, He removed salvation from all churches and congregations.

And God is letting us know, this only affects the churches, because it’s “the third part.” It’s not the whole sun, or the whole moon, or the whole stars of heaven, it’s only the “third part.” And that was very important and very significant for God to let us know that, because He had a plan during this time to evangelize the world once again, by pouring out the latter rain, by saving a great multitude of people in the world. So even though the third part of the sun, moon, and stars was darkened, and there was no salvation within any congregation in all the world; still, the Gospel lights shone. They shined brilliantly outside of the churches for over the seventeen years, or about seventeen years of the latter rain, until May 21, 2011, when the great tribulation came to a close.

And what does the Bible’s language say then happens immediately after the tribulation? Please keep your finger in Revelation 8, and let us go to Matthew 24. In Matthew 24:29, we read,
Immediately after the tribulation of those days…

Now, “the tribulation of those days” means immediately after a third part of the sun was darkened, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, because they were darkened during the tribulation of those days, but

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened,
It does not say, “third part,” so we understand it to mean the entire sun.
…and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven,

It is now complete. It’s not just the third part of these things, it is the totality of the sun, the totality of the moon, the totality of the stars, because it is the day of expansion. It is the day of transition from judgment upon the third part, the churches, to judgment upon all the inhabitants of the earth, the complete sun and moon and stars.

Once again, God uses identical language, because it is the same cup of wrath. The cup given to the churches darkened their sun, and their moon, and their stars. The cup given to the world darkens it’s sun, and it’s moon, and it’s stars. The only thing now, is that there is nowhere else to go. When judgment was upon the churches, God’s people could flee out of them, and experienced the wonderful blessing going on outside of the churches. But once the judgment increases and covers all the world, there’s no more place, there’s no more area to go to. It is now a total judgment upon the whole earth.

Now let’s go back to Revelation 8, after God speaks of “the fourth angel sounded,” and the third part of the sun and so forth being darkened. And we know the first four trumpet sounds identify with God’s judgment on the church. It says in verse 13 of Revelation chapter 8,

And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe…
And by the way, three woes identify with the last three trumpet sounds. When you read of “the fifth angel sounded,” that’s the first woe; and “the sixth angel sounded,” that would be the second woe; and “the seventh angel sounded,” would be the third woe. The “woes” are synonymous with the trumpet sounds.
…Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth…

The earth. Why the earth? Because it has expanded. If you remember, in Jeremiah 25, God said that two times. He said, at the end of verse 29,
…I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth…

This is right after He says,

…lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth,
And then in verse 30,

…he shall give a shout, as they that tread *the grapes,* against all the inhabitants of the earth.
And God wants us to know, here in Revelation 8:13, as we enter into Revelation chapter 9: This is the transition. It is May 21, 2011, and it begins the woes upon all the earth. And this is also what we read, and we won’t get into this verse right now, but in Isaiah 24, it says in verse 17,

Fear, and the pit, and the snare, *are* upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

This is judgment day for the world. God warned us, didn’t He? God warned the whole world. He told all the nations what He was going to do: May 21, 2011, Judgment Day. And what was the chief characteristic that we were telling people? Yes, the earthquake was referred to; and regrettably, we were completely wrong about that. We were in error about a physical earthquake. We were in error about any sort of physical judgment. The physical destruction of the world will come on the very last day of this Day of Judgment, at the end of all things. God will utterly destroy man and destroy this world and universe. That will come.

But Judgment Day in this period of time is spiritual in nature. And what did God make a point of having His people share to all the world, from whatever point they heard it, because this was trumpeted for quite some time leading up to that date: You have from now, whenever you’re hearing this, until May 21, to find salvation. Of course, in order to do that , you must go to God and beseech Him for mercy, and cry out that He might spare you before this day come upon you, because on that day, on the date of May 21, 2011, the door to heaven shuts.

That was the key. That was the main point that was gotten out to all the world: Heaven shuts to sinners: Salvation comes to a close on that day. And that was correct, that was fully in line with God’s judgment on the churches, because when He began the judgment on the churches, He shut the door. There was no one saved anywhere in any church in all the world throughout the entire great tribulation.
When we say, about that first 2300 evening-mornings, (and we only allow this because of the wording of the word, “silence,” in Revelation 8 verse 1,) that,
…there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour,

We say that there could have been, possibly, a small handful of people that became saved during that time, even though that’s unlikely. And it’s only a result of that particular word, “silence,” that allows for the littlest bit of sound. And yet if anyone were saved, which is unlikely, but if they were, it would not have been within any church. That is an utter impossibility, because God’s Spirit was gone from the churches. God darkened the churches. They had no light. You cannot have salvation without light. You cannot have salvation without God’s Spirit present to bless His word, in order to create a new heart. And so, it would’ve been some individual, if any, outside of the church during that 2300 evening-mornings.

But now you see the dilemma we are in. Now, you see the awful nature of this Day of Judgment, of this day of punishment for the world. The Bible says the sun is dark, the moon is not giving her light, and the stars have fallen. So the light keepers for all the world now, are in spiritual darkness. And God made a point of stressing to all the world the significance of May 21, by having it fall on the Hebrew calendar date of the seventeenth day of the second month, which identifies with the very day that God shut the door to the ark, and thereby guaranteeing the safety of all those within–eight souls–but also thereby completely shutting out all those without, when the flood began to come. And this is the terrible nature of our present time.

Well, let’s go back to Isaiah chapter 24 and look at verse 1, and we’ll try to just look at some of these verses today, and then, Lord willing, we’ll stay in Isaiah 24 for a little while.

Behold, (it says in verse 1,) Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

Now the word, “empty,” is also found twice in verse 3,

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
The two words there, “utterly emptied” are the same word, “empty.” Actually, the word, “utterly,” is the same word, and the word, “emptied,” is the same word. It’s “found twice, back -to-back. I don’t know how we would put that into English, but it should read,

The land shall be empty emptied,
And that’s why you can see that they use the word, “utterly.” God wanted to stress this so much, that He used the same Hebrew word twice. And definitely He’s leaving no doubt that the land will be empty. This particular word can be found in Jeremiah chapter 51, and I’ll read the first couple of verses,

Thus saith Jehovah; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her,
The word, “fanners,” is only translated here as fanners. Everywhere else, well, 90-some per cent of the time, it’s translated as “strangers.” So, I

…will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

And there’s the word, “empty.” God will send strangers to Babylon that will fan her, and thereby “empty” her land. And that’s this word, “empty,” here. Now, as we go on in verse 1 and look at the word, “scattereth,” I think we’ll understand what God means by “empty” a little bit better. So we’re going to leave this word, and continue on in looking at the rest of verse 1,

…Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,
And that word, “waste,” is only found one other place. In Nahum chapter 2 and verse 10, and it has a negative connotation.

She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.
It’s definitely pointing to God’s judgment. Then, continuing with verse 1 in Isaiah 24, we read,

…and turneth it upside down,

Now God is speaking of the earth, and it’s language, again, pointing to His judgment. The word, “upside down,” is a compound word, and it can be found used in 2 Kings, chapter 21. It’s in verse 13, but I’m going to start in verse 12.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah God of Israel, Behold I *am* bringing *such* evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as *a man* wipeth a dish, wiping *it,* and turning *it* upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

And you see, this is language we’re used to, this is language we’re familiar with. Again and again we read in the Bible of God’s plan to judge His people; and here in Isaiah 24, He’s using identical language, but He’s not referring to the churches any longer. He’s referring to the earth, the world, because it is their time, and they’re not going to get away with anything, they’re going to be utterly punished, according to Jeremiah 25.

And so God will take the world and turn it upside down, just as He took Jerusalem, in a figure of speech, like a dish, and turned it upside down, wiping it like a plate. And notice the language before, in 2 Kings 21 verse 12, and after, in verse 14, had to do with bringing His judgment and forsaking His people, delivering them into the hands of their enemies, and making them a prey and a spoil. This is language where you’ve been given up, you’ve been turned over, just as the churches have been turned over during the judgment which began at the house of God.
Okay, going back to Isaiah 24,

…Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

Now, “scattering the inhabitants,” we read this, actually, in many places in the Bible where the Lord speaks of people being scattered. Now sometimes, He’s referring to His own people, and He’ll say things like we find in Ezekiel 34:2-5, where He’ll pronounce a “woe” upon the pastors, because they have scattered His sheep. And it’s the same Hebrew word for “scattered,” Strong’s #H6327 in Ezekiel 34:5, as in Isaiah 24:1.

Sometimes God’s people are scattered, but it’s not by the action of God. When the elect are scattered, it’s by the action of the enemy, by these pastors that did not teach the truth. But the same Hebrew word is used at other times, where God speaks of bringing judgment. And He is the one who is doing the scattering of the unsaved or of the ungodly. For instance, if we go back to Genesis, in chapter 11, do you remember the tower of Babel? And when you read there of the people of the world, it was the whole earth that were of one language and one speech. And what was God’s judgment upon them – really, because of their sin – with it being all a result of man’s sinfulness? In verse 7 of Genesis chapter 11, it says there,

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
So this act of scattering the people of the world, of confounding or confusing their language was a judgment of God and it was used of God as a form of punishment to those that had built this tower of Babel.

Well, that’s not the only place we read of God scattering people. It says in Psalm 68 in verse 1,
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
And in Deuteronomy chapter 30, I’ll read the first five verses there, where we also read of God scattering, and it says in verse 1,

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call *them* to mind among all the nations, whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then Jehovah thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither Jehovah thy God hath scattered thee. If *any* of thine be driven out unto the outmost *parts* of heaven, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And Jehovah thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

Now to be gathered is the opposite. It points to the mercy of God, to the grace of God. He’s gathering us unto Himself, unto the Lord Jesus Christ. But to be scattered relates to the judgment of God. And so, we see this in many places in the Bible. I think that’s clear enough. You could also look in Nehemiah 1 verse 8, where the law of Moses is referred to, (which could be what we just read), and it says there,
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, *if* ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

And that’s a definite reference to the penalty for sin. If you sin, transgress the law of God, you will be scattered in the world. But now, in Isaiah 24, God is scattering abroad the inhabitants thereof – of the earth. We can understand if God scatters Jerusalem, or if He scatters Judah, or if He scatters the people at the tower of Babel. They go other places. Where will the inhabitants of the earth go if they are scattered? Well, see this is just a figure of speech God is using to indicate the earth is under His wrath. He is scattering them in a spiritual sense where they are not experiencing His grace. It’s when an individual or a people are gathered, that they experience His grace.
It goes on to say in verse 2 of Isaiah 24,

And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

And this is language, really, that’s pointing to all the people, all these different groups and occupations. God is making sure we know that everyone is in view. It’s six pairs, twelve groups are mentioned. And they’re paired, so the number 6 is in view, or two times six. And this has to do with all the inhabitants of the world. It’s another way of saying what the focus is on. No one escapes the judgment of God, except of course for God’s elect; no one of the world, no matter if you’re poor or rich, no matter your stature or your position. Just as the judgment came upon the Egyptians from Pharaoh who sits upon the throne, to the captive in the dungeon, their first-born died. No one was able to escape, or avoid, or get away from the judgment of God.

And so it shall be with all these people-groups; and they’re just representative. I suppose we could look at the number 12 as the fullness of all the people of the world, all those also that are involved in works (since it’s 6 pairs). These are not individuals that are saved by the grace of God in any way. They think that perhaps they can get right with God through their own efforts and their own good works, and all are under His wrath. It says in Ezekiel chapter 7, in verses 12 and 13, and this is how we can understand what’s being said back here in Isaiah 24:2; it mentions here, the buyer and the seller, which is one of the pairs that are found. It says in Ezekiel 7 verse 12,

The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath *is* upon all the multitude thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision *is* touching the whole multitude thereof,

So here, God uses one of those pairs and then emphasizes, look, it’s not just the buyer and the seller, it’s everyone. It’s the whole multitude. And that’s exactly the point in Isaiah 24 in verse 2 with these six pairs, these six groups of people that are mentioned. They’re representative of all the unsaved people of the world. And then it says in verse 3 of Isaiah 24,

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
And again, now we can understand this emphasis on “emptied,” when we realize that God is speaking of scattering abroad the inhabitants. Just as He sent “fanners” or “strangers” to fan Babylon and to scatter the inhabitants of Babylon, God is scattering the inhabitants of the earth.

And let’s think about it one more time. If a city, like Jerusalem has it’s inhabitants scattered, that’s language that indicates the city of Jerusalem is under God’s wrath and has no salvation there. So even though the churches continued to act as if all was well spiritually, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, or of Judah, were scattered, because God’s wrath was upon them. And likewise now, God is judging the earth, and of course all the inhabitants of the earth are still present: We’re still here; the unsaved are still here. It’s not a literal scattering, but in God’s sight it’s as if there’s not an inhabitant, is a way of putting it. There is no longer His mercy available to Jerusalem when it is scattered, or to the earth. He has utterly emptied the inhabitants of the earth, as far as He is concerned, in relationship to His Gospel message of salvation, I think is how we can understand this. And then God says at the end of verse 3,
…for Jehovah hath spoken this word.

And as we read, we think, “Of course, obviously the Lord spoke this word, this is the Bible.” Well you see, God is very condescending; He’s very gracious to us and very kind to us. Often in the Bible, of course always, but He makes a point from time to time of letting us know of just how true and faithful He is. For instance, remember in Hebrews, God says in Hebrews chapter 6, in verse 17,

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which *it was* impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Now, God didn’t have to take an oath, but He did in order to help us who are in the weakness of our flesh. God did it for our sakes, in other words. He does things like this to remind us, to encourage us, and to assure us. And here in Isaiah 24, when He’s speaking of the judgment coming on the earth, He guarantees this by this statement,

…Jehovah hath spoken this word.
We find similar language in Isaiah 1 and verse 20 where it says there,

But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken *it*.
We had better believe it. We had better trust it, because the mouth of Jehovah hath declared it. And then in Isaiah 25, in verse 8,

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken *it*.
So, God, you can see, is saying, Look, I know what I’m saying. I realize the statements I’m making are just extraordinary, they’re incredible, they’re amazing at times; and you look around you in your present situation, and you see the world and you see how it always seems to be the same. And how can it be, for instance, as Isaiah 25 tells us, that the day of the resurrection will come; and the day of receiving new spiritual bodies; and all tears are wiped away.

God realizes how incredible a statement that is, but He wants to assure us, Look, I am the God of the Bible. I am the Almighty, the Everlasting God. I have spoken it. And it is absolutely true and faithful and you can trust it completely.

And likewise, when God says in Isaiah 24 these things about emptying the earth and turning it upside down and the additional things we’ll learn as we continue, it all is coming from the mouth of God. He has spoken it.

CALIFORNIA 2-Day in the Word, UPDATE

EBible Fellowship is pleased to include Gunther Von Harringa as one of the featured speakers at the upcoming California 2 Days in the Word! Mark your calendars and all are invited to attend EBible Fellowship’s California 2-Day in the Word in Sacramento, California with Guest Speakers, Chris McCann, Robert Daniels and Gunther Von Harringa, Sr. at 9AM-3 PM: Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th 2014.

Please email for inquiries of this God glorifying conference like local hotels, tshirts, please email Pasha, Mark, or Margaret at ebiblefellowship@juno.com. Please join us for a most God glorifying Bible Study Conference and fellowship together.

EBible fellowship’s 2 days in the word: August 9th & 10th, 2014.

Where: 2201 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825, at the Howe park, recreation District Office Center.

Closest Airport is the Sacramento International Airport.

Area Hotels/ Inns: Comfort Inn & Suites,1-916-379-0400, 21 Howe Ave. Sacramento
Quality Inn & Suites,1-916-922-9833, 1413 Howe Ave. Sacramento
Good Night Inn,1-916-386-8408, 25 Howe Ave. Sacramento
Larkspur Landing,1-916-646-1212, 555 Howe Ave. Sacramento
Resident Inn,1-888-254-0637, 1530 Howe Ave. Sacramento

Margaret Pease is arranging a list of those participants who could prepare a covered dish, or materials for both days. If interested please email ebiblefellowship@juno.com and use lunches header so that it is forwarded to Margaret.

Lastly, the deadline for tshirt sizes is July 1, 2014. This is so that Les Palmer will have enough time to create them. Please email ebiblefellowship@juno.com and list your name, size(s) and quantity please.

We are looking forward to a most God glorifying and wonderful studies in the Word of GOD and our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

 

EBible Fellowship’s California 2-Days in the Word, August 9th and 10th…All welcome to attend.

 

Hello Participant,Welcome to the upcoming EBible Fellowship’s  California “2 Days in the Word” .  Here are some helps for your trip planning: What:  EBible Fellowship’s California 2-Day in the Word with Guest Speakers, Chris McCann, and Robert Daniels. When:  9 AM- 3 PM:  Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th 2014. Where:   The Fulton – El Camino Recreation & Park District Office is located at: 2201 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825 (Howe Park) District Office is open Monday – Friday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

    Area Hotel Accomodations include:     Comfort Inn and Suites 916-379-0400  21 Howe Ave Quality Inn and Suites (pets for a $25 fee) 916-922-9833 at CalExpo 1413 Howe Ave     Good Nite Inn,916-386-8408 25 Howe Ave     Larkspur Landing Sacramento 916-646-1212 555 Howe Avenue     Resident Inn, 1-888-254-0637, 1530 Howe Ave

Potluck Lunch (both days):  Margaret Pease is arranging a list of those participants who could prepare a covered dish, or materials for the two day “potluck” lunch on site.  If interested please email ebiblefellowship@juno.com and use Potluck header so that it is forwarded to Margaret. For any other inquiries, please email Mark, or Margaret,at ebiblefellowship@juno.com
 
We are seeking any persons with technical support who may help us livestream and record the conference studies.

If there is enough people interested, Les Palmer will design t’shirts for this event.  If interested please indicate your shirt size as S,M,L,XL,2XL, etc. BEFORE July 1^st please in order to have them completed for the conference.

We are looking forward to a most God glorifying and wonderful studies in His Word in August at the California Conference. May the Lord’s Perfect Will Be Done,