Book of Isaiah Bible Study - Part 19

And good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Bible study this evening. We are going to eventually start with Isaiah 25. Before we begin this evening, I want once again to make some preliminary comments. I remind you once again that Isaiah is often referred to as the fifth gospel. There is hardly any issue in Christian theology that is not addressed in the Book of Isaiah. The Book of Isaiah is quoted 85 times in the New Testament, and there are other allusions to Isaiah in the New Testament. Another point that we should keep in mind is that the Book of Isaiah is quite repetitive to some degree, in which at times there will only be a couple verses about Babylon or the Assyrian or some other entity in Isaiah, and then it will go on to something else.

More or much emphasis is placed on Babylon in the Babylonian system, which is waged war against the truth from the Tower of Babel to the present day. Isaiah addresses all three dimensions of time with regard to Babylon and some other nations as well in his prophecy. It's amazing to think about the Book of Isaiah that he gave the prophecies circa 2,700 years ago, circa 2700 years ago, that he gave these prophecies that we're reading about.

In some cases, it's past events, present events, and future. Of course, mostly we are interested in what it portends for us for the future, but sometimes we have to have the springboard of the past and the present, the present in which it was written to understand the future.

Another very important fact revealed in Scripture is that Jerusalem becomes the headquarters of the Beast Power. I don't know if we have that in our minds fully or not. Commentators and some in the Church of God refer to Rome as the seated then of Christ. But we have two places in Scripture. Daniel 11 verses 41 through 45, which I'm going to read right now, Daniel 11, 41 through 45. He shall enter into the glorious land, many countries shall be overthrown, but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom and Moab, and we have talked about that, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

So Edom, of course, is Esau, and Esau has had a burning hatred for Israel and the descendants of Israel from the time that the birthright was given to Jacob to the present day.

He continues, he shall stretch forth, he being this Beast Power, his hand upon all the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Ethiopians, shall be at his steps. So much of North Africa, along with a large part of the Middle East, but tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth, with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many.

The key verse, the last verse of Daniel 11, he shall plant the tabernacle of his palaces between the seas and the glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And we know in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 that there is one who sits in the temple of God, saying that he is God, and people are deceived by the great wonders that he performs, and they are deceived, and they believe the great lie, the great lie that is being perpetrated, is that Christ has come.

And apparently the the religious system and the beast system joined together are going to feign the return of Jesus Christ. You know the Bible, time after time, there are prophecies that talk about Zion and Jerusalem being the headquarters for God and Christ and the saints in the millennium. God is going to dwell in Zion. So we remember that the military power and the Antichrist sits in the temple of God, saying that he is God.

Well, not the military power, but the Antichrist, apparently planning his religious and military headquarters in Zion is a part of the deception. You remember that it says in Matthew 24, 24, that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. Deception is going to be one of the great watchwords of the era in which we are living. People will be led to believe that Christ has returned and they'll believe the great lie.

Everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. God and Christ now dwell in the third heaven, but the time is coming when God and Christ will dwell in Zion. I'm reading Isaiah 8 verse 18 now. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord have given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts which dwells in Mount Zion. Then Joel 3, 21, and I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed, for the Lord dwells in Zion. The fact that the beast and the false prophet plant their headquarters in Jerusalem is one of the main reasons why Jerusalem is referred to as Sodom and Egypt at the end of the age.

We read that scripture last time from Revelation 11 verses verses 7 and 8, where the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit kills the two witnesses. And there is no doubt of what Citi is talking about because it says where our Lord was crucified. And these things need to be firmly fixed in your mind so that when we come to these areas, these topics in the book of Isaiah, we know and we have a foundation from which we can make our conclusions and also discussions.

Remember the dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified. So no doubt about where it is. So I think it is difficult for us to wrap our minds around the foregoing verses from Daniel 11 and Revelation chapter 11. Jerusalem becomes the host city of the beast, but Jerusalem is not the city that represents Babylon at the end of the age. Once again, the city that represents Babylon is supernaturally destroyed by God.

And the last four or five verses of Revelation 16 makes that clear. And Jerusalem is not going to be destroyed because it becomes the headquarters for God in the millennium, God in the saints. And the nations will go into Jerusalem as we read from Isaiah 2 verses 1 through 4. It's also in Micah chapter 5. Now, said to say that most church members, and I hope we don't fall into this, including even some elders, have never really engaged in a deep study of the prophets and the book of Revelation and the prophets. And it is as if we blindly accept everything, and it's like a neatly packaged gift all wrapped with a bow.

And when we accepted the package, never really searched the scriptures to see if these things be true. So that's one of the things that we are doing. We must believe the scripture. A solace is scriptuatry. The scripture only is a great test. None of us can can change what is clearly written in scripture. The task of trying to accurately place line upon line, precept upon precept, in its place and chronological order is one of the most challenging things and requires a great deal of mental focus and energy, coupled with no preconceived ideas. That's what the scriptures are really saying. And while there is we tend to be lazy, and it is in first and foremost exerting mental energy and focus on a particular topic.

I know that I and many ministers have told me the same thing that when they finish the a sermon, they feel like they have poured out every ounce of energy in their body. They're like a limp, wet cloth ready to be thrown in the dirty clothes basket or wherever. We can always say after all it is not a salvation issue. So many of the things that we talk about are not necessarily a salvation issue, but some of it is with regard to, especially deception. And I hope you're learning from our study of the book of Isaiah. It is of little value to read a passage of scripture and not follow up with the scriptures that helps a person complete the picture.

Keep in mind the focus of the Word of God, including prophecy, is to help you more completely understand that the plan and focus of the Bible centers on bringing sons and daughters to glory in the family of God. The ancient nation of Israel served as a type, but now it is the Israel of God. It is the Church of God.

God loves all people equally, but He has chosen to reveal Himself through ancient Israel and now the Church of God. And scripture focuses on events that deal with bringing everyone into the kingdom of God. God needed a way to teach us the great spiritual truths through physical examples. So the focal point of prophecy deals with God's people, the capital city of God, the peoples that interact with those with whom God is working, and the enemies of His great plan, which is Satan and the Babylonian system. So Jerusalem, the nature of Israel, the Israel of God, which is the Church of God, composed of all peoples, of all ethnic and national groups, races, kindreds, colors.

In Jerusalem and the system that opposes the plan of God is the focus of scripture. So various elements of what I've just stated are addressed over and over again in the book of Isaiah. And with that being said, we shall now note some of these elements in Isaiah 25. So let's begin our verse by verse exposition this evening in Isaiah 25.

About 15 minutes or so, maybe it's 13 or 14, that we just take very important for us to understand and to keep in mind. Jeremiah 25.1, the word that came to you, and I am in the wrong neighborhood.

Now, Isaiah 25 and verse 1, O eternal, you art my God. I will exalt you. I will praise your name. And many times in prayer, what I do is, in the beginning of that prayer, as it does in the model prayer, it says, hallowed be your name. So extol God's name and everything that it represents. To a large degree, God reveals himself through his name. The very facets of his character and his essential being are revealed to a large degree through his name. I will praise your name. You remember that in Malachi chapter 3, it says that those who feared the Lord and thought upon his name, a book of remembrance, was made. So do we think of on the name of God and his power, his might. You have done wonderful things. Your counsels of all are faithfulness and truth. So that's what God mainly deals with. He deals with faithfulness and truth. For you have made of a city, and this city is Babylon. And of course, that was a prophecy that was going to come upon Babylon, and heap of a defense city, a ruin, a place of strangers.

To be no city, it shall never be built. So here you know for sure that it's not speaking of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is going to be the eternal capital in the earthly sense. And it says very clearly that, and I've read two scriptures already, that God dwells in Zion. And Babylon has largely been destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar tried to rebuild it, not Nebuchadnezzar, but Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild what Nebuchadnezzar had built. And at one time, the hanging gardens of Babylon was cited as being one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

And so Babylon, after it is destroyed, and the last three or four verses there in Revelation chapter 16, not turning there, graphically described that it is destroyed, and God rains down fire and brimstone upon it, and it's never going to be rebuilt. Therefore shall the strong people glorify you, the city of the terrible nations shall fear you. So in view of what God is going to do, the strong people, the faithful ones, are going to glorify you, and the city of the terrible ones, those who have opposed God historically, they are going to learn to fear God. For you have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in His distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. So this talks about a little later, I think it's in chapter 26 of when the blast, when the storm really comes, that God does protect many during that time. And very often we talk about a place of safety for those who are protected during the time of the great trouble that is coming up on the earth. You shall bring down the noise of the strangers as the heat in a dry place, even the heat with the shadow of a cloud. The branch of the terrible one shall be brought low. So it's going to be the branch, the tree, the branch, the root, the entire tree is going to be brought low and is going to be destroyed, never to rise again. In verse 6, And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things. And that mountain is called the Mountain of the Lord. It is Mount Zion. It is Jerusalem, as we have talked about. And I think that is firmly imprinted on our minds about Jerusalem. And even though the beast and false prophet, the military, religious system of the beast plants its headquarters in Jerusalem, and spiritually it becomes Sodom in Egypt for a season, when Christ comes with the saints, that is all going to begin to change. A feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the leaves, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the leaves well refined. So the best of things, both food and drink, will be made available to those who live over into the millennium, and even resurrected spirit beings. Remember that Jesus Christ, after he was resurrected, had a meal with the disciples, and apparently they ate fish there on the seashore.

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the coverings cast over the people. So there has been a it is part of God's plan. And Matthew 13 talks about that in other places in the New Testament, but I am going to right now focus on the veil that is spread over all nations. There is a veil spread over all nations. Hearing they shall not hear, seeing they shall not see. And that is the way that God has planned the way the plan of salvation will unfold. And the great question that some people ask, and this was often asked in questions that I talked at and taught at Ambassador, is why does God do things the way that he does things? And the answer to that is given in 1 Corinthians 11.

I'm going to continue now. My eye doesn't fall on what I want it to fall on. The veil is going to be done away with, and all nations will have an opportunity to understand the truth of God. Right now I'm reading 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 13. And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel cannot steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. Now verse 14, in Matthew 13, 2 Corinthians 3.14. But their minds were blinded, for unto this day remains the same veil taken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ.

But their minds were blinded until this day remains the same veil and taken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. Remember that even the disciples who traveled with Jesus Christ, who ate with him, who traveled with him for three and a half years, did not fully understand the plan of salvation. In the last chapter of Luke, Luke 24, it talks about where he opens the book and more fully explains the plan and purpose of God. And eventually, they come to understand the plan and purpose of God just before Christ ascended back to the heavens. The reason that God does things the way that he does things is so that he might have mercy on all. And we might ask the question, well, why does he do things the way he does things? And that's what the Scripture says, so that he might have mercy on all. So if those of the natural olive tree, the nation of Israel, are grafted back in, so can the branches of the Gentiles be grafted in. So God has now presented a veil over the face of the nations, and the nations really don't understand the plan and purpose of God.

Also now in 2 Corinthians 3.15, But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. 2 Corinthians 3.16, Nevertheless, lest when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. So God is going to remove the veil at the beginning of the millennium of all the people, of all the nations. And that's going to be a wonderful time. And those who are able to overcome and make it into the kingdom of God will be kings and priests, and they'll be teaching those people. You talk about prospective members. I mean, they're going to be prospective members all over the earth. In verse 25 and verse 8, this is famously quoted in part by the Apostle Paul in the resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15.54, He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all their faces. And that's from Revelation 21. So we have a quote here. He will swallow up death in victory. So that's quoted in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 15.54, and then wipe away all tears from their eyes, or quoted in Revelation 21 along around verses 4 or 5, somewhere along in there. And the rebuke of the people shall he take away from off the earth, for the Lord has spoken it. So he is going to open the minds and hearts of every person upon the face of the earth. Victory, of course, death cannot hold the resurrected saints. The great victory that's going to be when we come away out of the ground and meet Christ in the air, or if we're alive and remain, or caught up in the air to meet him.

And Revelation 21.4 is a verse that quotes wiping away all tears from their eyes.

And the rebuke of his people, what does that mean? It means the reproach, the contempt, the opposition to God's people refers to the time when in the kingdom of God, remember one of the great definitions, one of the great parts of the definition of the kingdom of God is peace. And true religion, and I don't like the word true religion, but the truth of God will pervade the whole earth as sands do cover the seashores at the present time. And the church shall have rest. You remember that hymn, the church hath one foundation and final sense there, and then the church of God will be at rest. And its triumphs, that God and the saints are going to triumph over all the earth, and all of God's truth will be spread everywhere on the earth. So let's read this verse 8 again. He will swallow up death and victory from 1 Corinthians 1554, that is quoted, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off their faces, and that's quoted in Revelation 21.4, and the rebuke of his people shall he take away. In other words, the opposition, the rebuke. Right now, there's a great rebuke of those who would follow God in Christ, and more and more studies that I read. I just read one recently in which a tremendous falling away is taking a place. Even in the churches of this world, a great falling away is taking a place in especially of those 30 years and younger. And it shall be said in that day. Remember that in that day, it's a prophetic utterance, and it usually means that period of time in which you merge into the millennium. And in that day, as we merge into the millennium, lo, this is our God. It shall be said, lo, this is our God. We have waited for him. There are several verses in the Bible that have to do with patience and waiting on God. We get over-anxious. I know that I do. Why doesn't God answer right now? We're reminded in James chapter 2 where it says, and let patience have its perfect work, that you may be whole entire wanting nothing. Now, what does that mean? Let patience have her perfect work, that you may be whole entire wanting nothing. In other words, it's coming to understand in the face of trial. And you remember those verses preceded by my brethren counted all joy when you fall into different trials. That when patience have its perfect work, you come to peace and understand that regardless of what the trial is at present, it is for only a period of time. And the trying of your faith is more precious than gold. Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 1 that the trying of your faith is more precious than gold tried in the fire.

So we have waited for him.

And of course, we are now 2,000 years down the road from the time of the ascension of Jesus Christ back to the heavens with a promise that he will come again in light manner. And of course, we are expecting looking that this present evil age is going to now draw to a close. And one of the elements of the large prayer once again is thy kingdom come. So we've been praying for the kingdom to come for 2,000 years. It is still held in abeyance. It is not yet come. And what if it doesn't come during any of our lifetimes? Does that make the Bible less true? God can do what he wills to do. It seems like and there are so many things on the front, the technological front with transhumanism, artificial intelligence, that is so frightful in which the people who control the power in this world are determined that they are going to be able to mold human beings into their pawns. So rather than you need to be aware of artificial intelligence, transhumanism, do a Google search, read up on it, and begin to try to understand what you can understand about it. Because the powers that be tend to lead us in that direction. They're even saying that wars in the future will be fought through robots. And even now, the war in Ukraine to a large degree is is not ground, not hand-to-hand combat on the ground, the old-time infantry against infantry. There's some of that, but so much of it is rockets and missiles and all those kind of things. And now drones that are not unmanned can carry missiles and destroy places afar, and drones can be built for so much less than an airplane, for sure. You're talking about thousands, small thousands as opposed to multiple thousands for an airplane. And notice this, for this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest and Moab, and Moab is one of the nations in which God has the most against. First is Edom, and second is Moab, and perhaps they're tied with regard to God's distaste and distrust and his anger against Edom and Moab. And Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dung hill. And if you've ever seen a cow lot, you know what they're talking about with that. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swims spreads forth his hands to swim. And he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. So all the proud and haughty people are going to be brought low. And the fortress of the high fort of your walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust. And so all the things that oppose God is going, all those things are going to be destroyed as the millennium begins. And you're going to be there watching that, helping with that. Now we go to chapter 26.

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. Remember, in that day, as we merge into the millennium, we have a strong city. And that strong city is salvation. I mean, Jerusalem, and its bulwark is salvation. We have a strong city. Salvation will guide a point for walls and bulwarks. So a strong city. This doesn't mean it's necessarily fortified in the military sense, but God is there, and he will guard it. And Jerusalem will be fortified, and it will be the capital city, as we have said so many times in the millennium. Open you the gates that the righteous nation. So here, once again, the church is called the righteous nation. There are very few times in which the church is called nation in the Bible. But this is one of the times. Now we might turn to, and we are, at least I am, you may, if you want to, second. No, 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 9. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9 and Old Memory Scripture. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9. When you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. See, that's the Israel of God, the church of God. You are a holy nation. God's active presence is within you. So here's another place. There are not very many places. I'd say less than five. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. When I say not many places, it calls the church a nation. A purchased people that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And so we have been called out of darkness into that holy nation, into his marvelous light. So open you the gates, that the righteous nation, which keeps the truth, may enter in. What a time that will be when you are able to enter into those gates in the millennium in Jerusalem and be a teacher, a priest, a king in the millennium. And you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. And of course, that is one of the goals that we want to aspire to at the present time is that our minds will be stayed on God continually. And we can carry on a running conversation, as it were, with God all the time. There are several places in the Bible that talk about the gates. Open you the gates that the righteous nation, which keeps the truth, may enter. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust you in the Lord forever. For in the Lord Yahweh, Yahweh, in the Old King James, scholars now believe the nearest pronunciation of the tetragrammaton, the four letters with the consonant with the vowel points, would be Yahweh. For in the Yahweh, Yahweh is everlasting strength. That's one of the few places that you'll see the name Yahweh repeated in sequence like that. This in the Lord in Isaiah 26.4 is a contracted form of 30 of Strong's 3068. It is Yah, which is always God.

So for the Lord, Yahweh is everlasting in him, is everlasting strength. For he brings down them that dwell on high. I have tried to address this already. One of the things that God is going to do when Christ comes again with the saints, and that is to purge the heavens of the high ones, the demonic powers. We touched on the demonic powers last time from Daniel 9 and Daniel 10, in which Gabriel, the messenger angel, was delayed in coming to Daniel because he had to help fight one of the great princes, one of the demon princes. He told Daniel he had to go and help fight some more against the prince of Persia.

So God is going to purge the heavens, and the stars are going to fall to the ground. Remember the star can represent a demonic being or an angel, usually a good angel. Him that dwell on high, the locked is city, he lays it low. Now the locked is city, apparently, would be Babylon. He lays it low even to the ground. He brings it even to the dust. And we have talked last time and time before that and tonight about God destroying Babylon.

So time after time, God talks about him destroying Babylon, laying it low so that it will never be able to rise again. Now in verse 6, the foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy. And that is, of course, figurative language. It says in Malachi that the ashes of the wicked will be under the feet of the righteous. Verse 7, the way of the just is uprightness. You most upright does weigh the path of the just. So God's eyes are always on us. Remember the old song, there's an all-seeing eye watching you. And of course, if we can become more and more aware of the fact that there's an all-seeing eye watching us and that God's thoughts are ever toward us and that we can maintain a running conversation with God so much of the time during the day. Now this may seem far out for some, but the Bible indicates that that's what we should do. Remember, one of the things after Paul enumerates the weapons of warfare, the armament that we're to put on to fight the high ones in heavenly places, the demonic powers, he says to pray without ceasing. That's in the New Testament more than once about praying always. Yes, in the way your judgment, so Lord, have waited for you the desire of our soul, the desire of our soul, our being. And I have tried to explain that to you and its soul has to do with your essence, your being, that in reality it is your potential for life. Remember Matthew 1028, which says, fear not him that is able to kill nobody. Man can kill the physical life. It can be an accident. It can be murder. It can be disease. It can be any number of things. It were not to fear that kind, that death, but fear him who is able to kill both body and soul life potential. It is only God and Christ that can raise us from the dead.

So for those who have never had the opportunity to have the opportunity, and for those who have died in the faith to be resurrected, glorious, radiant spirit beings.

So you remember it says in Acts chapter 2 about Jesus Christ, that his soul was not left in the grave. His being, his life potential, was not left in the grave, but just as David and others had prophesied, he was resurrected and he rose after three days and three nights. So the best definition I know of soul, and maybe I hope we grasp it, desire of your soul, your inner being, your life potential, is to your name and to the remembrance of you. The way of the judgment, so Lord, have we waited for you. The desire of our being is to your name and to the remembrance of you. With my soul, with my whole being, with my inner person, have I desired you in the night. Sometimes, at nighttime, it's a great time to pray yourself, to sleep. With my soul, have I desired you in the night? Yes, with my spirit within me, will I seek you early. Or when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. And of course, God is a God of justice, and his judgments will be coming. It is as sure as the word of God is. And we can get the ideas it talks about in Psalm 50, where it says, you thought that I was such a one as you are. Well, God is not like humankind. I mean, today, justice has fallen into the streets. But God is a God of judgment and justice. Let favor be shown to the wicked, and that's not favor. This is designed as an illustration of the sentiment of the previous verse, that judgments were needful in order that wicked people might be brought to the way of righteousness. So, there will be a lot of people in the Great Tribulation who will repent. Remember, in Revelation chapter 7, that it says, well, the question of the writer is, John, well, who are these, my Lord? And he says, these are they who have come out of Great Tribulation and have washed their robes white with the blood of the Lamb. I'm paraphrasing. I may not have everywhere just right, but the essence of it. So, the favor shown to the wicked is that they will see that and learn righteousness in the land of uprightness. In the land of uprightness, will he deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the Lord?

So, the unjust will not behold the majesty of the Lord, but those who do see the righteousness that is there can learn righteousness. But if they don't learn righteousness, then they will not behold, of course, the majesty of God. You remember it says in Revelation 21 in verse 3 or 4, that we are going to look on the face of God. Now verse 11, Lord, when your hand is lifted up, they will not see, but they shall see and be ashamed, for their envy at the people, yes, the fire of your enemies shall devour them.

Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you also have wrought all our works in us. O Lord our God, other lords beside you have had dominion or rulership over us, but you only will we make mention of your name. I don't think we're going to be able to praise in good conscience any of the rulers that are currently in power over the land, especially those who occupy the White House. Now verse 14, they are dead, they shall not live, they are deceased, they shall not rise. So apparently, there are those who commit the unpardonable sin and will not, of course, they will have their chance in this lifetime. You know, the beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. That's in the last two or three verses of chapter 19 of Revelation. And so apparently, they knew at some point, they what they were doing was wrong and against God. And they are thrown into the lake of fire. And there's no evidence of anyone being thrown into the lake of fire being resurrected.

Goes on to say, you have visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish.

You have increased the nation, oh Lord, you have increased the nation. So we're going to have that opportunity to increase the nation. The nation, the holy nation, the Israel of God, you are glorified you have removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. See, this truth is going to be spread to the ends of the earth. God is going to send out emissaries, as it talks about in the last chapter of Isaiah to all the earth. So you have increased the nation, oh Lord, you have increased the nation. You are glorified, you have removed it far into all the ends of the earth. Lord, in trouble, have they visited you, they poured out a prayer when your chastening was upon them. Like as a woman with child that dwells near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and cries out in her pangs, so have we been in your sight, oh Lord.

So we are in that particular state right now. We are earnestly looking and desiring for Christ to return. I mean, the pains that we P-A-N-G-S, that we currently experience, are nothing compared to what is coming upon the peoples of the earth as the wrath of Satan, and then the wrath of God is poured out upon the peoples of the world who did not turn to God.

But we are in pains now, and those who are in the beginning of the Great Tribulation, and those who come out of Great Tribulation, they're going to be crying out day and night, oh Lord, how long, how long, and it'd be like a woman in travail. Now verse 18, we have been with child, so the analogy continues, we have been in pain, we have, as it were, brought forth the wind. We have not wrought any liberates in the earth, neither had the inhabitants of the world fallen. Your dead men shall live, neither the dead, your dead men shall live, together with my dead body, shall they arise. So even here, apparently Isaiah understood the resurrection, awake and seen, you that dwell in dust, for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. And of course, we know of the resurrections that are coming, some to eternal life and some to judgment, and some eventually to eternal death. Come, my people, enter you in your chambers. So enter into your chambers. I'm going to read what James of Positon Brown says about that. But when God is about to take vengeance on the ungodly, the saints shall be shut up or shut in by him in a place of safety, as Noah and his family were in the days of the flood, and as Israel was commanded not to go out of doors on the night of the slaying of the Egyptians firstborn. So Revelation 12 obviously does speak of a place of safety, and some will be protected in a place of safety according to the Scripture. And so Isaiah is even addressing the place of safety. Come, my people, enter into your chambers and shut your doors about you. Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment until the indignation be passed over. So we turn to Revelation 12, and people at one point in the church were really caught up with a place of safety. And of course, if you're alive at that time, you'll definitely want safety.

In Revelation 12, verse 10, I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven now has come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accuses them before God day and night. Then it tells about how they overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they love not their lives unto the death. And of course, we know that there is a promise of a place of safety within this. verse 12, Therefore, rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and to the earth of the sea, and the earth and sea, for the devil has come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast down unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth a man-child, and to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished three and a half years from the face of the devil. So that promise, of course, is in Revelation. And the invitation is here in Isaiah 2620, Come, my people, enter you into your chambers, and shut the doors about you, hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment until the ending nation be passed. For behold, the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, for their lawlessness, the earth also shall disclose her blood. In other words, God is going to reveal the wicked ones and shall no more cover her slain. So God is going to reveal those wicked ones that have opposed the word and principle of God, and God is going to avenge them. I'm going to read Revelation 16 6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. They are deserving of the punishment that they are going to receive.