Bible Study: August 23, 3023

Okay, so tonight we're going to get through chapters 47 and 48 of Isaiah tonight. But before we started, I wanted to draw our attention to a little bit about what we've been doing here since chapter 40, as we've been in this section of Scripture here in Isaiah. It's a very hopeful and a very inspiring and a very uplifting set of Scriptures that we've been going through, but you probably have noticed some similarities in the chapters that we have been reading.

Many of them have been said at the time that Jesus Christ has returned. He's brought Israel for bringing them back to their promised lands. He's talking to the Gentiles that have lived over into the kingdom. And you might have noticed that in most every chapter that we are in, you see God proving that He's God, talking about fulfilled prophecy, whoever has been able to tell, to declare from the beginning, the things that have happened and that they've happened exactly the way that He said. And as you go through it, you realize what He's doing is He is teaching these people. He's teaching there, and what He's teaching is the First Commandment. I am the Lord your God. There is no other God besides me. Over and over in these chapters, we read those very words that God will repeat, there is no other God besides me. And as we have humanity that lives over into the millennium, and they have to be taught about God's way of life, the very first thing that they learn is there is no other God except God.

The other thing that we've seen just through, tingly through these chapters is as God does that. And remember, He does use. He'll, and we're going to see it again in chapter 47 and 48 tonight, He'll talk about, I'm the one who said this, it's been said from the beginning, no one else has ever said this to you. Everything I have said has come true. The other thing He does then is talk about their idols.

You worship, you make your idols out of the same substance that you bake your food with, that you heat your homes with, your idols can't move, you have to carry them. Remember last week, He said, you carry your idols, but I carry you. So what He is doing is systematically destroying their gods and showing they are absolutely no effect, they absolutely have no power. There is no God like Him, no God besides Him, the first commandment, but He is also showing, don't make unto yourself any carved image, the second commandment. So as He is teaching these people, we see the first and second commandment being said over and over and over again as God Himself in these scriptures.

Remember they were written to a time before Judah was captured by Babylon, so they saw some of these prophecies fill out, but He is teaching them and He is also showing us, you know, teaching the people in the future, He is God and idols are nothing. In chapter 48, we are going to actually see if we can talk about taking God's name in vain and profaning His name. So as we go through the rest of the book of Isaiah, we will see the commandments as God begins to teach them to the people there because most of the rest of Isaiah is talking about the future yet ahead of us.

So we will go into chapter 47, but I want to start tonight in Revelation 18 because Revelation 18 has a lot to do with Isaiah 47, and it has a lot to do. It has some things to do with chapter 48 as well, so I thought we would start and read just a just a little bit of this. Revelation 18 is the account of future Babylon. The society at that time is called Babylon. It's evil. It's the beast power. God calls it a harlot. He calls it a mystery religion. It's the government extant on the earth at the time of the end. God calls the whole system Babylon. In chapter 18, that Babylon is going to be destroyed.

Let's just read through the first eight verses then and the last verse here. Just get the feel of this because we're going to see in chapter 47 some of the same words that are written here in Revelation 18 back there in Isaiah 47 as well. Okay, chapter 18 verse 1. After these things, John writes, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen. We talked about that when the first Babylon fell, that there was a dual prophecy here for the future Babylon as well.

Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.

Verse 4, And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works. In the cup which she has mixed, mixed double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow.

For she says in her heart, I sit as queen, ham no widow, and I will not see sorrow. She thinks she is invisible. Therefore, her plagues will come in one day, death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. So there's a pretty firm and a very dire pronouncement that God makes against this future system of Avalon. In verse 24, you know, when we find the world getting rich by aligning with her in her sinful ways, this society and this system is 100% against God's people.

In verse 24, it says, in her was found the blood of prophets and saints and of all who were slain on the earth.

So we have this picture of what's going to happen to this future system of Avalon. If we go one back one chapter to chapter 17, you see in verse five there that God says there's a forehead, there's a name on her forehead, and that forehead, that name is mystery. Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth. Remember that name. She's the mother of harlots, mystery religion, and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw her, I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, John says, I marveled with great amazement. So here in Revelation, we have God giving some detail about the future Babylon, what's going to happen to it, more about this Babylon mystery religion, and something about the king and the elite of that society and what God has pronounced on them, what he talks about. In one day, in one day, their suffering is going to come and they will lose everything.

So let's go back to Isaiah 47. With that background in mind, and you will notice, maybe your Bibles, sometimes your Bibles will have references of scriptures that will relate back.

My Bible doesn't have anything in those verses we read that relates back to Isaiah 47. Perhaps yours does. And it's interesting to me because when you read chapter 47 of Isaiah, if you know the Bible, you have to think of Revelation 18. So chapter 47 verse 1, we have God talking about this future time when Babylon, the future Babylon, is extant on earth. And he says, come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Now, virgin there, probably a better translation of the word virgin there is uncaptured. This Babylon has never been conquered. This is a new Babylon. This is the one that's sitting there in Revelation 18 saying, I'll never see any sorrow. I said as queen of the earth, who can defeat me? The same thing in Revelation 13 that the world says. Who can fight with this beast? Who can war with it? So this is an uncaptured daughter of Babylon. Same system out of the same family of evil, if you will. But sit down in the dust, O virgin or uncaptured daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne. So you can see this Babylon is getting displaced from the heights that they had placed themselves. Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for you shall no more be called tender and delicate. You could be one of the fine women of earth that people look to and say, what a wonderful queen or whatever. Take the millstones. In verse 2, he relegates them to the lower class of woman, if you will. This is kind of what you would think the very poor would do. Take the millstones and grind meal. You're no longer a queen.

Remove your veil. Take off the skirt. Uncover the thigh. Pass through the rivers. Queens don't do that, but the working class does. Women of lower rank, if you will. So here, queen, you're off of your throne. This is what you're going to be doing now. Verse 3, your nakedness shall be uncovered. Yes, your shame will be seen. And God says, I will take vengeance. I will not arbitrate with a man. He's saying here, I'm not going to compromise anything. I'm not going to sit down and reason with you or make a deal with you. Your time is done. You will reap what you have sown.

So I will not arbitrate with a man. Verse 4, he says, ask for our Redeemer. The Lord of Hostess, his name, the Holy One of Israel. So Babylon, this Babylon, as we read it, it hates the people of God. It holds them in derision. It makes their lives absolutely miserable. It kills them. Everything associated with God, the people of God of the New Testament, the Church of God, as well as the physical people of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so in verse 4, then, here God has given his judgment on Babylon. What's going to happen to her? And then we have this inset. As for our Redeemer, it's God who redeems us. It's God who redeems Israel. As for our Redeemer, the Eternal of Hostess, his name, the Holy One of Israel, who delivers us? The true God, only the true God. Not by any might or power that mankind or Israel has, 100% because of what God does. He is the one who redeems. And then in verse 5, it goes back into talking about Babylon, again. Sit in silence, he says. Go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for you shall no longer be called the Lady of Kingdoms. And God says, I was angry with my people. And remember, he had good reason to be angry with his people. Whatever he said, they would kind of do the opposite thing. They would forget all the blessings that he gave them. They would forget the miracles that he worked for them. They would forget that he brought them out of Egypt. They would take up with the nations of the world around them and start doing the things the way that they did. They did it back in ancient Israel. In the modern day, Israel does the same thing today. They just forget God and forget the blessings that he's given. So it's easy to see why God would be angry with his people. They disappointed him. They did not do what he said. They disregarded him. I was angry with my people. I profaned or broken my inheritance. I let them suffer. I let them go into captivity. I let someone conquer them. They deserved it. That's exactly what should have happened. He told them, if you follow me, I'll bless you. I'll protect you. You'll ride on the high hills of the earth. But they didn't do it. So it was exactly what God said would happen. They lost it all.

And God says there in verse 6, to Babylon, I gave them into your hand. It wasn't so much that you conquered them. Yes, you did. I used you. I gave them into your hand. But you, Babylon, you showed them no mercy. You killed them. You tortured them. You made their lives miserable. You completely oppressed them and made their lives miserable. Going on in verse 6, on the elderly, you laid your yoke very heavily. So they weren't even kind. Not kind to the children, not kind to the elderly. They had no natural affection at all. It was if you were Israel or if you were of God, then you deserved to suffer. You deserved death. You deserved anything unpleasant. And you said, notice in verse 7, these are exactly the words that are sitting there in Revelation 18. And you said, I shall be a lady forever. I shall be a lady forever. Who's going to defeat me?

Who can possibly, who can possibly be a match with that modern-day Babylon who thinks they have all the might, all the power, all the economic might, and all the resources that the world needs? I'll be a lady forever. You can just feel the pride that is in those words. So you didn't take these things to heart, he says. You didn't pay attention to what was going on. You knew, you didn't take these things to heart. I'm the one who gave you Israel, just like he said to Assyria back when we were earlier in the book of Isaiah. You, I gave you Israel. I gave you Israel because they deserve the punishment, but then look how you did it. And you ran around saying, I did it, I did it, I did it.

You didn't take these things to heart, God said, nor remember the latter end of them. Now you will get what you deserve. You didn't learn the lesson. So in verse 8 then, he makes a more general statement. We're going to turn to another prophecy here that maybe speaks more to us today, or more directly to us today than verse 8 here does. But verse 8 certainly speaks to Babylon, but there's, of course, principles in there that would apply to us today, too, that they're living in, you know, in the societies we live in now. Therefore, verse 8, hear this now, you who are given the pleasures.

And we know that in America, in Canada, in Trinidad, probably even in Nigeria, Costa Rica, people are given the pleasures. We all live pretty, some in a more comfortable world than others, but we have a lot of comforts and a lot of leisure time in the lives that we have today, and pleasure takes up a lot of our time. Therefore, hear this now, you who are given the pleasures, who dwell securely, who say in your heart, I am, and there is no one else besides me. Now, that shouldn't be anyone here. We may live in pleasures, but I hope no one is saying I am, and there is no one else besides me. But there are nations that would say that. There are people that would say that, that no one can unseat them, and they will be where they need to be, or they think they will be forever. I am, and there is no one else besides me. No one else can do this job. No one else can do the things the way I do. No one else can. No other country can be as good as us. We are unbeatable, and we are irreplaceable. I am, and there is no one else besides me. I shall not sit as a widow. Same thing we read in Revelation 18, nor shall I know the loss of children. Nothing that I have am I going to lose. My life is going to be really, really good.

Now let's keep our pause there for a moment, and verse 8. Let's go over to the book of Amos.

After Daniel's, Hosea, Joel, Amos.

Amos 6.

Amos 6. We'll read the first eight verses because Amos makes this same type comparison, but he's writing to the nation of Israel. Here in Isaiah, it's talking about Babylon. Babylon has its wealth as well. But Israel, back in Amos's day, was a wealthy nation. Certainly the nations of Israel today are wealthy nations. Amos 6, we know, speaks to the nation of Israel back then, and also is one of those dual prophecies that applies to modern-day Israel today. Chapter 6, verse 1 of Amos, Woe to you who are at ease in Zion and who trust in Mount Samaria, who trust in your governments, who trust that nothing can ever happen to you because your governments and your military and your country is just so strong. Woe to you who are at ease in Zion and trust in Mount Samaria, notable persons in the chief nation, to whom the house of Israel comes. When trouble comes, you are looking to your government for deliverance. God, of course, wants us to be looking to him and learn not to be trusting in the world. Go over to Kalinah, so one of the other cities there. Go over to Kalinah, God says, and see. And from there, go to Hamith, the Great. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? So God is saying they all fell. Their gods didn't protect them. And so, what are you doing? They all fell here. Go over and look what's going on. They trusted in their governments, and yet their cities are no more. Woe to you who put far off the day of doom. Now, we might have some of those among us who just the day of the Lord just don't want to see what's really going on in the world and how we grow closer and closer and closer to the time of end. And some of the blanks of how will those things happen that are stated in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and Revelation, how will they come about? And we begin to see how they come about as we get closer and closer. But some don't want to hear it. Some, oh, that's years and years and years down the road. We don't need to. We don't need to think about that. Some may think. But God says, woe to you who put far off the day of doom, who caused the seat of violence to come near, who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, living a very comfortable life. Everything is good, comfortable, plenty of food, who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, and invent for yourselves musical instruments like David. All the things that you do in your leisure time, not bad, but that's where your focus is. That's what you're thinking about. That's what your priorities are. Who drink wine from bowls and anoint yourselves with the best ointments, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

You don't have your eyes open. You don't see what's about to happen. And you don't mourn for the way Joseph, and remember who Joseph is, Israel, Jacob, put his name on Joseph's two sons, that you don't mourn for the way the nation has departed from God. And when you look and see the praved morals that are being professed around the world today and everything, you don't you don't mourn because they are going the way that leads to absolutely nothing good. You do all these great things. You're going about your life. You're having a good time, but you're not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore, they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, and those who recline at banquets shall be removed. The Lord God has sworn by himself. The Lord God of hosts says, I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his palaces. Therefore, I will deliver up the city and all that is in it. So, you know, we read what God says about, you know, Israel as well. Will we live in the life of these? Will we have all these things around us? It's not bad to have them, not bad to enjoy them. God gives them to us to enjoy, but where are our priorities? And are we still looking to the kingdom of God? Are we coming out of the world? Are we learning to trust more in God, lessen the world, and enjoy the things that God gives us, but not to the point that we place God in second, third, or even fourth, even further down the list? Always Him the priority, always a view and a vision of what God has called us for. Well, that's Israel. That's Israel. Let's go back to Babylon. So God, one thing we learned is God hates pride, whether it's in His people or in the, you know, the rest of the world, the Gentile nations, as the Bible calls them.

God hates pride, and pride is a downfall of us all. When there is pride, well, you'll get to pride in a little bit here, but pride is almost like the father of sin. Satan, you remember when we read through Isaiah 14, I think we looked at Ezekiel 28 back in those chapters when we were talking about the king of Tyre, it was pride. How look how great I am, Satan, or the one who was Lucifer said, look how great I am. Look how wonderful I am. All this beauty I have, all this talent I have, all this creative ability I have, and He forgot it's God who gave it to you. It's not about you. God gave it to you. Use it for what God gave it to you. So we have Israel who has pride, we have Babylon who has pride, they fall. God will humble, will humble the pride. So if we go back to chapter 47, and we see this pride in latter-day Babylon there, the lady who says, I will be a lady forever and nothing can ever touch me. I'm not even going to know the loss of any children. I'm going to go on forever and ever. God says in verse 9, if Isaiah 47, but these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day. Just like I said back in Revelation 18, in one day it will come to nothing. In one day you will lose it all, but these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day. The loss of children and widowhood. You say, I'm never going to lose. My kids, I'll never be a widow. God says it's going to happen in one day. They will come upon you in their fullness. Why? Because of the multitude of your sorceries. Now, sorceries there is witchcraft. If you look it up, witchcraft or any kind of false religion like that with the little mysteries that go on with it. Remember, in Revelation 17, we saw mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. Because of the multitude of your sorceries, you trusted in everything else. You had all these signs you were looking at, but you never looked to me. The religion of then, I talked about that a little bit last week in Cincinnati, the religion of the future, what it may well be like. Completely different than what's on earth today or what people might think of today. Because of the multitude of your sorceries, that's why this is going to come on you in a moment in one day. And for the great abundance of your enchantments, there we have again these mystery things, these things that people do. Later on in the chapter, a few more verses down, it'll talk about astrologers and counselors and stargazers and all these things that people look to to guide them and lead them. That God abhors that. Here it is, though, that we see God say, in one day it's going to happen.

There's that word suddenly. There's that word suddenly that I'll often say is associated with prophecy. We don't have to turn to 1 Thessalonians 5.3. It says when they say peace and safety, peace and safety, sudden, sudden destruction comes. You know, God says here in one day, if we look over at chapter 48, well actually right then verse 11 here, verse 11 in the same chapter, desolation shall come upon you suddenly. Chapter 48 verse 3, here's God saying again, I've declared the former things from the beginning. They went forth from my mouth and I caused them to hear it. They heard me say it. Suddenly I did them and they came to pass. So when you think about prophecy and things can go on, but often God uses that word suddenly. It just happens. So it's so important for us to be ready, as Christ says, to be watching, to be close to Him and not be thinking, oh, we got time to do this and that and whatever, but always to have that sense of urgency that we are close to God and growing closer and closer and closer to Him. So we see this sudden. I want to go back to Isaiah 30 as well because I think it's just such a, the analogy that God shows there is just so memorable and riveting when He's talking about the, you know, how sin builds up and eventually the punishment is going to come. If we look at chapter 30 of Isaiah and verse 12, we see that. It's the bulge in the wall that suddenly breaks. Therefore, in verse 12, it says, therefore thus is the Holy One of Israel. Because you despise this word, you know, you read it, but you don't do it, God said. You take it lightly. You may let it, you may even understand it, but you don't do it. God says you're taking it lightly. You despise it. You won't do it because you despise this word and you trust in oppression and perversity. We can certainly say that about our societies today. Trust in oppression and perversity and rely on them. Therefore, this iniquity, that misplaced trust, this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant, and he shall break it like the breaking of the potter's vessel which is broken in pieces. It's one of those things, like if you have a piece of fine crystal and you drop it on a porcelain tile, it just shatters into a billion pieces. There's no way to put it back together again. That's what God is talking about there. He shall break it like the breaking of the potter's vessel which is broken in pieces. He will not spare, so there shall not be found among its fragments a shard to take fire from the arth or to hearth or to take water from the cistern. So often that word suddenly is there. It'll build up. It'll build up. Not just like we might see something happening in our home or something happening around us, and we just kind of like, okay, it's there. You know, we just get too used to the, you know, the analogy of Satan as a lion. We're so used to that lion being out there, we've just gotten too comfortable, and then all of a sudden it pounces, and we're caught. And that's what God is talking about here in Isaiah 47 to future Babylon. It is going, you will fall, pride will always be broken, and your fall will come suddenly because of the multitude of your sorceries. You trusted all these other gods and had all these other things you were looking to accept me for the great abundance, verse 9, of your enchantments.

So verse 10, back in Isaiah 47, you have trusted. There's that word too. Trust has to be in God. You trusted in your wickedness, your way of life, what you had developed. You have trusted in your wickedness. You have said, no one sees me, your wisdom. Notice not the wisdom of God, your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you. And you have said in your heart, I am, and there is no one else besides me. So pride. I am perfect. I am the way I need to be. There's no one else like me. There's nothing else God can do with me because I'm already there. Your wisdom and your knowledge.

Boy, whenever we think we know more than God, whenever we think we know more than the Bible, we better look real closely at ourselves because our knowledge, when we have things that we think we know more and we're so smart, we better be paying close attention because pride blinds us.

Pride, and when we think we have all the answers, it blinds us. It's one of those things. You can read books from the world about the dangers of pride and arrogance. You can't even see yourself, and if someone says something about you, you just reject it. Kind of like narcissism is that way that people think. I mean, it develops into that. There's no one else. I don't need anything else. You know, this, what he said here, your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you. I am, and there is no one else besides me, should remind us of what we talked about Satan. So let's go back because we're going to see pretty much those same words there spoken about the one who became Satan. If we go to Ezekiel 28, and yeah, verse 2 talks about your wisdom and your knowledge. God, of course, God is talking about the Prince of Tyre here then, and he likens the spirit of Satan that's in these rulers. Verse 2 of Ezekiel 28 says, because your heart is lifted up, that means proud, and you say, I'm a God. You know, the future ruler in Revelation 13, he's going to say, I'm a God.

Everyone needs to look to me. And you say, I'm a God. I sit in the seat of God's in the midst of the seas. Yet you are a man, God says, and not a God, though you set your heart as the heart of God. And then he kind of like sarcastically says, Behold, you're wiser than Daniel. You think you're so smart. There is no secret that can't be hidden from you with your wisdom and your understanding. You have gained riches for yourself and gathered gold and silver into treasuries by your great wisdom in trade. You have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches.

And then God says, you know, here's the punishment that's coming in verse 7. The most terrible of the nations will come. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor, and they'll throw you into the pit. Well, you could read that. I want to go down to verse 17.

Again, as Satan, his wisdom, right, not God's wisdom, not the wisdom that we ask God, give us, you know, wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. That wisdom that we are to ask for. Your heart was lifted up. It became proud, God says, because of your beauty. And God does say, you know, he is the most beautiful creation he made. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. It wasn't anything that Satan did. It's what God did. It's what, you know, when he was created. You corrupted. There's that word. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

You know, you had the opportunity to know God. You worked with him, give him the glory, do everything that he did, enjoy the gifts and talents that he gave you, use them to the fullest. But you corrupted it. You began to think it was all about you rather than all about God. It's giving yourself glory rather than giving God glory. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

I cast you to the ground. The Hebrew word should be earth. I cast you to the ground. God cast him out of heaven. I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you. So we see these same, we say these same tendencies, these same traits in Latter-day Babylon that we say in Satan.

And of course, Revelation tells us that. It says that the power of Babylon didn't come from God. It comes from Satan. So we know that, but we see the exact same characteristics. So we see these characteristics in governments and rulers and corporations or whatever we're looking at.

And we say this type of thing. We know this is not of God. God is of humility, and God will bring the proud low. So we are, so we've talked about pride many times. Isaiah does have a lot to say about pride. But let's go back to Isaiah 47 and continue, continue in there.

We just, we just finished verse 10, where it says, you've trusted and witnessed your wickedness. I am the last, I am and there is no one else besides me, the last sentence of verse 10, verse 11.

Therefore, because this is what you say, this is what you believe, therefore evil shall come upon you. You won't know from where it rises. It's going to come. You don't know where it's going to hit or how it's going to hit. And trouble will fall upon you. You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly. He is talking about Babylon, but he could be talking about any one of us too, if we let pride overtake us and allow us to be thinking or voicing these same type things or that we might just read here. So then God challenges Babylon. Again, okay, you have all these enchantments, you have all these mysteries, these sorceries that you are. Hey, let's see if they can deliver you, right? Verse 12, stand now with your enchantments and the multitude of your sorceries in which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you will be able to profit. Perhaps you will prevail. He's challenging them. This is what you trusted in. Let's see if they can deliver you from what I tell you is going to happen to you. You are weary, verse 13, in the multitude of your counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon you. Can they? You trusted in them. They tell you your fortune. Are they going to be able to save you? Behold, they will be as stubble. The fire will burn them. They won't deliver themselves from the power of the flame. It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before. There will be nothing left of them. They are powerless and worthless, God says. Thus they shall be to you with whom you have labored. You worked with them. You were there with them side by side. Thus shall they be to you with whom you have labored, your merchants from your youth.

They will wander each one to his own quarter. I mean, they'll lead you. They're just going to, when they see what's happening to you, they're not going to stand by your side. They're out of there. They're out of there. No one will save you. All your friends, all your prognosticators, stargazers, astrologers, all those that you trusted in, they are just going to leave.

No one will save you. Only God. Only God. Another one of the recurring messages in these chapters of Isaiah. Only salvation comes only from God. Let's stop. Is there any questions or anything on chapter 47 before we get into chapter 48?

Let's go on, then. We have this inset. Now we go back to the house of Jacob, God's people, those who he calls my people. Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth from the well springs of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel. You're very good, he says, about mentioning my name. We are a Christian nation in God we trust. All the things that we might say, you use my name, but he says, but not in truth or in righteousness. I mean, we know the Christian, so-called Christian religions of the world, they don't preach the truth that Jesus Christ preached. They don't follow the example that he followed. They do things differently according to their own wisdom and to their own ideas. So he says, you make mention of me. You kind of use my name, and you might call on me every once in a while, but you don't do it in truth, and you don't do it in righteousness. Of course, righteousness is living by the law of God, by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, being people who are yielded to him and follow him. For they call themselves after the holy city, and they lean on the God of Israel, the eternal of hosts is his name. So they say, hey, God, we're your nation, but they don't do what he says. And we've read earlier in Isaiah what God thinks about people who use his name in vain, right? Because that's what the third commandment is.

Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, not just using it as an exclamation, or just an exclamation, but also taking his name and saying, I'm this, but then you don't do what the Bible says. So we're going to see a little bit about the name here in this chapter as we move into the third commandment a little bit here. In verse 3, it says, I have declared, God says, I declared the former things. We've read this already, but I declared the former things from the beginning.

I told you this from long ago. They went forth from my mouth and caused, and I caused them to hear it. You know, just like in the end time, you know, God commissions the church. Go out and preach loudly the gospel of the truth. Go out and preach loudly the warning message. It's not that droves and millions and billions are going to hear and start coming to church, but they will hear it. The whole, the two witnesses, they will be heard loud and clear. It doesn't mean they all turn to God. Many do and have their robes wiped in the great tribulation, but they will hear it, and that's what God says here, too.

I have caused them to hear it. Suddenly, I did them. Suddenly, I did what I said, and they came to pass, because I knew that you were obstinate. You were stiff-necked, God says, and your neck was an iron sinew and your brow bronze. You just wouldn't let me in. You wouldn't listen to me at all. Nothing I could say or do, whatever, Benjy, you just kept doing the same things that you always did.

Even from the beginning, I declared it to you. Before it came to pass, I proclaimed it to you, lest you would say, my idol did this, and my carved image and my molded image have commanded them. I talked about it so that you could never say, no, no, no, my idol, my little statue over here said it, or, you know, my whatever. God said it first. What was going to happen? That God is the one. It will be proven that everything he wrote in the Bible of prophecy it already has everything that's been fulfilled exactly the way he said.

And when history has written itself and Jesus Christ returns, everything we'll see happened exactly the way he said not. We don't know all the details, but they will happen. So, verse 6, you've heard, he says, see all this? Will you not declare it? You know it. Aren't you going to talk about it? And then he says, I have made you hear new things from this time, even hidden things, and you didn't know them.

And I'm going to read verse 7, and then we'll talk about this a little bit. They are created now and not from the beginning. And before this day, you haven't heard them. Lest you should say, of course I knew them. Well, surely you didn't hear. Surely you didn't know. Surely from long ago your ear was not opened, for I knew you would deal cautiously and were called the transgressor from the womb. So when God says, I've made you hear new things from this time, what would he maybe be talking about?

We've even seen a little bit of it. And as you look in the Bible, you can see what God is talking about when he talks about new things. We started today. I'll give you an example. There's probably a lot of examples that people are thinking of out there. We read in Revelation about Babylon.

And we read a lot of detail about Babylon, the coming Babylon, that we don't read other places in the Bible. More detail about the merchants being rich and what's going to happen. And then we see how what God says in Isaiah 47 is spelled out in detail in Revelation. But that wasn't written until God gave it to John in 90 AD. Jesus Christ was on earth. He gave them all of that prophecy. He spoke about what would be the sign of his coming, the signs of the end of the age. And he gave a pretty good outline. I shouldn't say pretty good, a perfect outline of what's going to happen in Matthew 24.

But when you get into and he talks about, he will return at the sound of a trumpet. He says, Paul, when he writes, he says, at the last trump, their dead will rise incorruptible. And he says in 1 Thessalonians 4, at the last trump, the dead will rise. But then when we get into Revelation, we have all the seven trumpets that are defined, seven trumpets that will blow. One, two, three, four, five, six. And then when the seventh trumpet blows, God fills in the blanks.

Oh, here's more of the detail of what's going on. Christ said something in 30 AD when he was speaking, 31 AD. Paul wrote something when he was, I don't know, 50s or 60s AD. And then more God gave in the book of Revelation. So I think what he's talking about here is I do add, I do give you more knowledge as time goes on.

You do hear new things, and I've made you hear new things from this time, hidden things, and you didn't know them before. The people of Jesus Christ's time may not have known there were seven trumpets at the end of the age. We don't know exactly what they knew, but when God gave that revelation to John, a lot of the blanks were filled in, a lot more detail than was there. God knew them from the beginning. He just chose to give them at that time.

And as we go on in time, there may be more things that he gives us. He does say in Amos 3.7 that he won't do anything unless he warns, unless he gives it to the prophets first, so that we're aware of what's going to happen. He might not give us every detail of how it's going to happen, but he does say he will reveal it. And so he says there, you know, so I think this is what he's talking about here.

If someone else has some ideas on this, you know, I think we could talk about that a little bit. But God does, the closer and closer we get to Christ's return, give us more of the detail of what we're doing, things that we haven't heard before. We live at the end time. We have the whole Bible in front of us. Brother Shabi. Yes, sir.

We've got some, I agree with you because our Lord says it in Matthew, trying to remember, Matthew 13 verse 16, listen to your eyes because they see in your ears because they hear. Verse 17, virtually I say to you, many prophets and righteous men of the sight see what you see, and have not seen it, as well as to hear what we are hearing, and have not heard it. So these are the things that he didn't even tell his servants that we are hearing. So we're being favored, really.

So, and God, and yeah, Zayru, those are good verses, and that's what God is showing. I keep telling you, I keep showing you, I will tell you the things that are happening. You will know that I am God. Why does he do it? Know that he's God. Know that he's in control. Know that if he says it, it's certainly going to happen. Our trust should be in him. So we could probably... Yes. Oh yeah, hi, David. Hello. Hi. Yeah, it says the name, it's not to get to which chapter, but I said, God does nothing unless he reveals to his servants the prophets. Right. And I guess when we get to the two witnesses, it'll be a lot more revealed seeing than there is now. Yes, I have a feeling two witnesses will be saying a lot of detail at that time. So, okay, let's go on then. We're in verse 9 then of chapter 48. For my name's sake, okay, here God is drawing his name into account here. For his name's sake, his name means something, right? For my name's sake, I will defer my anger. You remember back in Exodus when he was bringing Israel out of Egypt, he would get very irritated with Israel for the things that they did, but he said, I won't destroy them. For my name's sake, because the people will say, see, he wasn't able to control his people, and he promised he would deliver them, and he did. For my name's sake, I will defer my anger. And for my praise, I will restrain it from you so that I don't cut you off, because people will need to know you are my people. I am going to preserve you. You will live over, and I will bring you back to your promised land. Behold, he says in verse 10, I've refined you, but not as silver.

I've tested you in the furnace of affliction. So I've refined you, but not as silver.

Now that might make you think of another verse in Revelation 3. Let's turn back there for a moment, where to this group of people, God says, I've refined you, but not as silver.

We're missing something that the people of Revelation 3 have when God says to the church in Laodicea in verse 18. Revelation 3, 18, remember the church in Laodicea? It's neither cold nor hot. It's lukewarm. God counsels them. Get hot, get rich. In verse 18, he says, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich, white garments that you may be clothed.

So to this group of people, he says, I counsel you, do get refined in the fire, that you may be, that you may have eternal life, that you may be part of the people who receive eternal life. But to this group of people back here, he says, I've refined you, but not as silver.

What's the difference? I think the only difference is one has the Holy Spirit, but it wasn't God's purpose to pour out the Holy Spirit on all the people of Israel and Judah at that time. But for the people of Revelation 3, they do have access to the Holy Spirit. They have been called. God, and they probably have been baptized and had laid on them. They just have gotten lazy and complacent and have allowed the cares of this world to render them lukewarm. They still believe, but they're not zealous for God. They're not doing the things that God wants. They're just there. And God wants us alive and well for his church, for his will and to do his Commission. So I think that's what he's talking about there. I refined you, he says, if we go back to Isaiah 48 and if someone's got something they want to add to it, feel free to pop in there. But I refined you, but not as silver. They'll have their opportunity, and they'll receive the Holy Spirit when Christ returns. Those who live over, and since the second resurrection, they will have the opportunity to know what you and I know now, but it's not their time right now. I've tested you, he says, in the furnace of affliction, and for my own sake, for my own sake, he says twice, for my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it. They had to be punished. They had to be punished for, how should my name be profaned? They're taking my name, and they're taking it in vain. They're just using it. They're not living up. They're going to take God's name. You need to become like him. You need to be following him, and yet they were taking his name and profaning it. How should my name be profaned is what he's saying there. And I will not, I will not give my glory to another. So he goes on in verse 12 with more admonitions to, you know, modern day Jacob, Israel. Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, my called, I am he. These are revelation words as well. Jesus Christ, I am he. I am the first. I am also the last. Alpha and Omega beginning in the end. Indeed, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has stretched out the heavens. When I call to them, they stand up together. So God, again, reminding, I'm the one who created all these things, just as he did to, just as he did to you, Joe, Joe, in the last chapters of Joe. Yeah, Mr. Tuttle?

Yeah, going back to the previous verse, Psalms 119 verse 67, before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now your word, do I keep? Hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it. And that's the amplified version, but that kind of goes back to what we're looking at there in a relationship that before I was afflicted, I went astray. And once I was afflicted, I was refined. There you go. Yeah, that's a good verse. That's exactly what that's speaking about. Very good. So yeah, affliction, affliction, God doesn't do it just because he's mean. He wants us to turn back to him. And sometimes we have to hurt in order to have our senses awakened of what we're doing. Very good. Okay, so God, again, in 12 and 13 here, verses in chapter 48, repeating, I'm the one who created the earth. And he says in verse 14, all of you assemble yourselves.

And here, now he's going to talk again, who among them has declared these things? Who has ever said these things to you? No one else has done that. And then it looks like he's going back to what we saw in chapter 45, talking about Cyrus. Cyrus who would come, the man Cyrus who would lead the lead against the conquest of Babylon, where Babylon, they would conquer Babylon, and the Jews would be free at that point. Who among them has declared these things? The Lord loves him.

He shall do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans. So it looks like that would be the Babylon, the first fall of Babylon. I guess there's a case that could be made for it would be Jesus Christ over Babylon, but I think it probably refers back to chapter 45, saying, I've even named this. I've declared to you Cyrus is going to be the one. Even I, I even I, verse 15, have spoken. Yes, I called him. I brought him, and his way will prosper.

And indeed it did. He led him against Babylon, and they did defeat Babylon. Verse 16, come near to me. Hear this. I haven't spoken in secret from the beginning, from the time that it was, I was there, and now the Lord God and his Spirit has sent me. Now, chapter for verse 16 is interesting, because it can be a little confusing when you look at when you look at it in detail. And one of the commentaries will say there's a change of speaker there in verse 16, and it looks like it goes from who's the Father to then Christ speaking, who Christ is speaking, the one who became Jesus Christ later. So let's look at it again. Come near to me. Hear this.

I haven't spoken in secret from the beginning, from the time it was, I was there. Change. And now the Lord God and his Spirit have sent me. So that looks like they have sent me Christ. Thus says, verse 17, the Eternal, your Redeemer. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ. He is our Savior. God said he's your Savior. God said there is no other name by which men are saved than by Jesus Christ. This says the Lord God. Thus says the Eternal, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I am the Eternal, your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go. That might remind us of Jesus Christ saying in John 14.6, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life, who leads you by the way you should go. Oh, if you had or that you had heeded my commandments, he wants what's best for us. He doesn't want anyone to perish. He doesn't want anyone to suffer. He doesn't want anyone to die. He wants people to repent and receive eternal life. Oh, if you had just listened to me, if you had heeded my commandments, then your peace would have been like a river. And your righteousness, like the waves of the sea, if you had just followed me. Now, when Christ returns and his spirit is poured out on all living flesh at that time, there will be peace like a river. There will be righteousness like the waves of the sea. There will be, as we'll picture at the upcoming Feast of Tabernacres, there will be a time when the knowledge of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.

If only they had done it, if only our generation had done it, if only the world would just follow God, look what could have been. Your descendants, verse 19, would have been like the sand and the offspring of your body like the grains of sand. His name wouldn't have been cut off, nor destroyed from before me. I didn't want to send them into punishment. I didn't want them to have to go through all this, but they had to because they disregarded me. They disobeyed me. They sinned against me, but none of it had to happen had they just followed me. So then you have this in verse 20, then, you know, Christ comes. He releases Israel from the captivity they're in. They're able to go back to the land that he promised them, and you have this praise verse, go forth from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans with a voice of singing, declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth, say, the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.

Praise him. Glorify him. Say it to the whole world. This is what he did. Get out of Babylon. I delivered you. Get out of Egypt like I delivered you back in Old Testament times. Go forth with a praise of singing and declare, God did this. The true God did this. He redeemed his servant Jacob. And they didn't thirst when he led them through the deserts. He provided everything they needed.

He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them like he did as he was bringing them out of Egypt. He split the rock and the water is gushed out. Here he's reminding, I can do things that your mind can't even under it can't even possibly begin to think what can happen. The things that I can do. He split the rock and the water is gushed out. And then God finishes, or at least man in his break says, there is no peace. There is no peace for the wicked. And so, you know, we look forward to the Feast of Tabernacles. And we look forward to the time that Jesus Christ returns. He is the Prince of Peace. And great peace will be on the earth. And great peace will be there. Why? Because they keep his commandments. They do what God says. But for the wicked who disregard him, he says, there is no peace. And indeed, in the world we live in today, there is no real peace. So that's chapter 48. We will stop there. But certainly if it opened up for any comments on anything or questions on anything you want to talk about at all.

Mr. J.V. Yes, ma'am. Hi. Hi.

J.V. So I'm thinking outside of the box, which I sometimes do.

And the debate is tonight. And since we have a newcomer that doesn't seem to be an Israelite, a person who was born in Ohio, but he's of a different nationality. So I had this question.

If you, by they was lived in the south of India, south of India, in 2011, it said the literacy was 81%.

They are a very, pardon me, in India. Yes, in south of India, south of India, in the peninsula, on the west side. They are a very smart race. And when they come to the United States, they make money. I mean, they're, it's almost like they're blessed. Okay, so looking at the map of Israel. So you have the Red Sea. The Red Sea goes down into the Gulf of, looks like Aden.

And then straight across from that is where the south of India is, on the west side of India.

So I'm just thinking, is there a possibility that they might be of Israelite blood and some arm of Israel? I'm just thinking out of the box. Yeah, anything's possible, right? God knows, people are scattered, he says, but he knows, he knows where they are. And I think even next week we read about come from the north, come from the south, come from the east, come from the west. So Israel, physical Israel is spread everywhere. So could be, but we don't know, only God knows.

Right. So I was just starting to let out there. Thank you.

Father Shabir. Yes, sir.

Going back to for his namesake, there's a verse in Second Timothy, chapter two, where it says in verse 11 through 13, this is a faithful same. If we have died together with him, that is in baptism, we shall also live together with him, units of blood. If we endure, we shall also reign together with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful. And this is the part that always gives you the, he cannot deny himself.

And it reminds me of where he says all the time next to us when Moses says, who can I say that I am that I am? Nobody can make these statements, you know, I can't deny myself. It's just one of those.

You're in Second Timothy, too, did you say? Yes, verse 13. He cannot deny himself.

Ah, yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah, not deny himself. Yep. Very good.

You hear Shabir? Yes, Gardo. Margaret, I'll get to you in just a minute.

Yeah, no, it's not cares about if there are any inkling in terms of the, the future beyond today that the church may be planning, because I know that they finished that series on the Unknown Jesus.

Yeah, I guess it's the last one they did. Is there any inkling? Yeah, Gary Petty's doing a five-part series right now on the way, as in I am the way, the truth, the life. And Darius is doing one on... I don't remember what Darius is on. There's two more five-part series coming that are in the process. Darius has been away for like two and a half weeks on his 50th anniversary cruise. I haven't seen him for a while. But yeah, there are more coming. And we do have, we do have some plans for more series like that. So... Yeah, Margaret? Charles! It says Margaret on the screen. Sorry. Yeah, I know. Both of us are are... Have you seen the sermon by Aaron Dean on the history of the church from the 22nd?

I haven't heard it, but I've heard about it. And I hear it's good. So... Well, I some... He goes into questions and I know this.

Joe Costin your diet and I was like, really? He had got 40 days from the day he canceled the Sabbath, 40 days, 40 days, 40 weeks to the day he canceled the Sabbath to the day he died to that very day Aaron Dean goes into it and he says he died a horrible death. The nurses didn't even know, could never never seen anything like that before. Yeah. So... Yeah, I see Reggie and Sandy there from Portsmouth. Yeah, he was telling me about what he what he said. And yeah, and it was it was exactly what he said exactly 40 weeks to the to the day. So yeah, because my first thought was go to Revelation 22 and says don't take away and don't add to these words. And I'll add to you the plagues if you add to these words and take away your name in the Book of Life. And it's it's to me, it's anybody gets up like you and speaks to the congregation, whatever you'd better be speaking God and not your own words. Oh, absolutely. God says he warns the teachers, right, we'll be taking it very seriously. You better just say what the truth is and nothing more. Yeah, if you're interested in hearing that sermon, just go to ucg.org, go to sermon search right in Aaron's name. It'll either be the first or second sermon that shows up there. I don't know if you can...

22nd of July. 22nd of July, yeah. Now I hear it was very good, so it does give a very good history of the church. Hey, David. Yes.

Miss Shavey. Oh, yeah. Okay, well Reggie. Yeah, Reggie's from... Go ahead, Reggie.

Mr. Dean, that's the greatest sermon here in Portsmouth. Right, yep. Yep. But it is online at ucg.org. Yes, right. Okay. The portion was added on YouTube, also. Okay. Yeah, you can watch it either place at the Portsmouth church site or at the UCG site. Right. A. Dale.

Well, thank you. Yeah, Mr. Shavey. Of course, talking about Satan stirring up Babylon. He's leading Babylon and pride and so forth. And then, of course, he went to Ezekiel 28. We're talking about the Prince of Tyre and the Open-field verses. And then it goes to Satan in the latter part of the chapter. But I'm just curious what your take is on these verses. It says in verse 17, your heart was lifted up because of your beauty and corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness. I will cast you to the ground and lay you before kings that they may be hold you.

And then the next verse is Ezekiel 28.18. It says, you have defiled your sanctuaries and the multitude of your iniquities by the iniquity of your trafficking. Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of you shall devour you. I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold you. I wonder what's to take on this, that someone being brought to ashes here.

Yep.

He could be talking about a physical man at that point. And there's other interpretations as well. But we know that physical flesh burns up and turns into ash. So he may be talking about the Prince of Tyre or those leaders that allow the spirit of Satan to devour them. So yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess it just jumps from Satan back to a physical leader.

Okay, thank you. Hey, Alus again. Yeah, Mr. Shabi, thank you very much.

I have some thoughts on Isaiah chapter 48 verse 20. Okay. Verse 20 of Isaiah chapter 48. They go forth from Babylon, flee from the Chaldean, to the voice of the Indian, declare, proclaim, please, utter it to the end of the earth, say the Lord and the servant Jacob. I see from this verse that it's a thing of joy that we have been redeemed from the hands of the evil one. While we await the complete fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the end time Babylon, we already see the beginnings the beginnings of the anti-Christ system. We've seen the beginning in the beginnings already.

And I think it should be a thing of joy to those that are called. We are not part of the world, the world system of in this present age. But I have this burden. I observe that many young people often consider keeping the commandments of God as a burden. They like to enjoy the pleasures of the world. They don't see it as a thing of joy. We have to be joyful that we don't belong to this world system. So I think parents have a responsibility to teach their children and make them realize that keeping the commandments of God and not being part of the evil Babylonian system that we are seeing is a thing to be proud of. It's a thing to be joyful about. I think parents have that responsibility to work on their children and teach them deliberately, consciously, that they may derive pleasure in keeping the commandments of God.

You are exactly right. That is a parent's responsibility to teach that keeping God's way is exactly exactly what you said. It should be a delight. The Sabbath, right? God says you should call the Sabbath a delight. Parents are responsible for making children. It's not a day that you can't do this, it can't do that. It's a day that you can do all these other things and be in the presence of God. You're right. As we move forward in the world, we've been saying it's even more important for parents today. It's always been important to teach your children every day and set that expectation for them of Christ's return and how life can be. They've got to know the truth of God or they will fall for the lie in this world. It is the parents' responsibility to do that. Church does everything it can, but the parents have to see that as a huge responsibility today and all of us working together with everyone in the church. So, we'll be moving through with you. Shaby. Hey, Frank. I got a question on 40... not a thought on chapter 47. We're talking the Lady of Kingdoms and... oh boy, it's falling... and the Lady Forever. That kind of means to me that the Beast Power Church is coming and saying, I'm going to be the church of all the nations forever. I will never be thrown away. Of course, God's saying, that ain't going to happen.

I mean, I'm looking at that as... a woman is related to the church in prophecy. And Lady and woman, me, is the same. Yeah, I think you're right. That whole system is driven by its religion, right? The leader says he's God, he blasphemes God. So, yeah, it's that religion that drives it. That's why God says, you know, mystery Babylon, or mystery Babylon, mother of harlots, etc. So, okay. And that will never fall. They just... they think it's invincible. So, okay. Then, I think... Oh, Sue. Sue, you got a question, comment?

Yes, I just was... had a comment regarding Isaiah 48 verse 6. When you made... when you read in the middle of that verse about, I have made you hear new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them, it made me think of Revelation 10, 4, where it talks about the seven thunders utter their voice, and John was about to write them, but then he's told to seal them up and don't write them. And so, it's one of those things that we... as far as I know, I've never heard what those are yet, and so I don't think we know about them yet. No, you're right. We don't. I think we will one day, though. Yeah, I think you're right. Right. That's the point. That's the point. It just kind of made me think that it's something that in the future we will know about more. Yeah, that's a good example, right? Then another one, when you said that, Daniel 12, where I says, Daniel, write these, seal it till the time of the end. We know what that verse means, no, but they didn't know what that meant back then about, you know, seal it till the time of the end, many will run to and fro, and knowledge will be increased and everything. So yes, if there's a very good example. So. Okay. Anything else, anyone? Then we will, if not, we will sign off for this week. So we will, those of you in Cincinnati, good to see you here tonight. We'll see you this week. Okay. We'll see you next Wednesday. Okay. Okay. Thanks for being here. Take care.

Bye.