Book of Isaiah Bible Study - Part 20

Well, good evening, everyone. We are now in Isaiah 27. In Isaiah 27, we start off with verse 1. Isaiah leaves no stone unturned, as it were. And so, in Isaiah 27 and verse 1, in that day—remember, in that day is a prophetic utterance, and it generally means the period of time that merges into the millennium. In that day, the eternal l'yavi with his sword—and the sword means his punitive, his corrective, and great and strong sword—shall punish Leviathan. Now, Leviathan is further described here in the next few verses, and we'll see in Job 41 where he is further described, the piercing serpent, even Leviathan, that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon. And we're all familiar with Revelation 12 and verse 9, which says that old serpent, Satan the Devil, who is conceiving the whole world, the dragon that is in the sea. Sea in the Bible is often used in—I guess you would call it in the negative sense, in the spiritual negative sense. The beast in Revelation 13 arises out of the sea. He is energized by Satan the Devil in Revelation 13 too. And now we want to understand more about this Leviathan and how he's described. As you recall, on the day of atonement, the symbolism there has to do with the binding of Satan, of putting him away and making him of non-effect. And the Jubilee year is also connected with the day of atonement. The day of atonement was the day that the Jubilee year was declared, and so we'll be seeing that as well. First, we want to go to Job 41. Job 41 speaks of Leviathan, and there's no question that we're speaking of Satan the Devil and a description of him and a very detailed description of his characteristics in Job 41. So in Job 41 in verse 1, can you draw out Leviathan with a hook? I was listening to a presentation recently in which from about Job 38 to the end of 41, God asked Job some 70-something questions, of which Job basically could not answer. So can you draw out Leviathan with a hook or his tongue with a cord, which you let down? In other words, he can't be fished out of the sea. He can't be destroyed. That way, can you put a hook into his nose or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

Will he make many supplications unto you? Will he speak soft words unto you? Will Satan give you any comfort, any consolation? Of course not. Will he make a covenant with you? God had made covenants with Israel, and yet they went their own way and disobeyed. We have entered into a covenant of sacrifice with God and Christ. That baptism signifies death to the old man in which we are raised to newness of life. That is viewed as a covenant of sacrifice. In Psalm 50, it talks about, Come now, you who have made a covenant of sacrifice with me. I believe that's Psalm 50 and verse 4, but it's long in there. If it's not exactly 4, it's 5 or 6, somewhere long there. They've made a covenant of sacrifice with me.

Will you play with him as with a bird? Will you bind him for your maidens? It goes on with the questions. One of the very fit descriptions of Satan now in verse 15, his scales are his pride. The principle, flaw, and characteristic of Satan is pride. A prideful person wants to set himself above everyone else, and Satan wanted to even set himself above God, as in Isaiah 14, verse 15, 16, 17, where he says, I will ascend into the heavens. I will be like the Most High, or I will replace the Most High.

His scales are his pride. His scales, of course, were of beautiful ornaments of various precious stones, shut up together with us with a close seal. So he was a very beautiful creature that is described in Ezekiel 28. And now we go to the conclusion here of this chapter. We're not going to read all of this, but you should read all of it. We'll start again in verse 28. The arrow cannot make him flee sling stones or turn with him into stubble. Darts are counted as stubble. He laughs at the shaking of his spear. So you have to put on the whole armor of God to be able to resist the fiery darts of Satan. If you put on the whole armor of God, and it says, especially taking the shield of faith, whereby you'll be able to quench all the fiery darts of Satan. That is Ephesians 6 verse 16. You'll be able to quench all the fiery darts of Satan through the shield of faith. How so? Because, you know, if he tries to sow seeds of doubt, if he tries to get you to be prideful, or if he tries to get you to lapse into a state of false humility, whatever the emotion or state of being or mind you might have. If you have on the full armor of God and the shield of faith, he cannot get to you. On the other hand, we cannot overcome him through any physical objects. 30 sharp stones are under him. He spreads sharp pointed things upon the mire. He makes the deep to boil like a pot. He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Now, some have noted that in the Bible, the sea really represents, in one sense, if you want to talk about it in the symbolic sense, the troubled masses of humanity. So Satan the Beast and that system rises out of the faults, out of the troubled masses of humanity. He makes a path to shine after him. One would think the deep to be hoary. Upon earth there is not his light. Who is made without fear? He holds all high things. He is king over the children of pride. So there's no question that Leviathan is representative of Satan to that devil. Now, as you'll see, this chapter connects the Day of Atonement and the Jubilee. We'll get there in the last couple verses, especially the last verse of this chapter, so that we'll see that how the putting away of Satan is connected with the Jubilee year and with the Day of Atonement. Now, in Isaiah 27 and verse 2, Isaiah 27 and verse 2, verse 3, In that day seeing you unto her a vineyard of red wine.

I, the Lord, do keep it. I will water it every moment lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and day. Now, in Isaiah 5, we have a description of God's vineyard. Actually, the Israel was God's vineyard, and now the the church of God, in a sense, is God's vineyard.

In Isaiah chapter 5, verse 1, Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song, My beloved touching his vineyard. My beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. He fenced it, gathered out the stones thereof, planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower and winepress therein. And he looked at it, which should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What could have I done more to my vineyard? So, God set a hedgerow around Israel. God set a hedgerow around Israel, and he comes to the point where he withdraws that hedgerow. And it seems that beginning in the 60s in the United States especially, the hedgerow began to be withdrawn as an alien culture began to be introduced into the nation. And we had the Korean War, we had the Vietnam War in the 60s, and the terrible things that happened there in the fall out from that, and all of the protests and revolutions, and the age of the beatniks, and so on.

So, God says in verse 3, I the Lord do keep it, that is a vineyard. I will water it every moment, lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and day. Fury is not in me who would set the briars and thorns against me in battle. I would go through them. I would burn them together. So, there is when God says he's going to protect something or destroy something, there's nothing that can stop him from doing that.

Verse 5, or let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me. He shall cause them to come of Jacob. Now, Jacob, as you recall, Jacob's name was changed to Israel after Jacob wrestled with God. He says, no longer shall you be called Jacob, but you shall be called Israel, which means ruler with God or prince with God. Jacob basically refers to the physical 12 tribes. In most cases in the Bible, when you see Jacob, it's referring to the physical 12 tribes.

Maybe not true in every case, and when you see Israel, it's talking about Israel in the spiritual sense, ruling with God. Come of Jacob to take root. Israel shall blossom and bud. This is the millennium, and fill the face of the world with fruit. So, that great vineyard is going to return when God restores everything. The desert shall blossom like a rose.

Of course, at the present time, the people, the Jews, that have returned to Israel have done marvelous things with regard to being able to irrigate through the desert through a process of desalination, which is taking salt out of seawater and making it available to use for irrigation. A lot of the desert is being reclaimed already, but what God is going to do will pale into insignificance what Israel is doing at the present time.

Have he smitten him as he smote those that smote him, or as he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? In measure, when it shoots forth, he will debate with it. He stays his rough wind in the day of the east wind. By this, therefore, shall the iniquity, iniquity means lawlessness, the lawless the lawlessness of Jacob shall be purged.

And this is all the fruit to take away his sin when he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in sundry. The groves and images shall not stand up. So God is going to destroy all of the pagan images, the phallic symbols, the groves, and whatever trees that have been planted that represent the male symbol. Now verse 10, yet the defense city shall be desolate, and the habitation thereof forsaken and left like a wilderness.

Now there is a discussion with regard to which defense city we're talking about. Most commentators believe that it is Babylon, and that makes sense with regard to what was going to come upon Israel. Of course, after Isaiah's prophesying ended, the Assyrians took Israel captive 722s to about 719 BC, or 721 to 719 BC, three years or so along in there, that the northern kingdom was taken captive into Assyria.

And then, a little over 100 years later, the Babylonians came and took Judah captive. But the great Babylonian system has basically existed from the days of Nimrod to the present day. If you recall, God confounded the languages and scattered the people upon the face of the earth according to their various inheritances, which are recorded in Genesis chapter 10, so that they would not be able to have a global, a one-world government. But all the barriers that were set with regard to one-world government and so on have been overcome through technology.

And so at the present time, over 75% of the world's business is connected, is conducted in English. And you can see liven in color from the other side of the globe by satellites. Satellites has made it possible for the shape of the earth to be overcome, so that you can see, if you want to talk about in those terms, the front side, the back side of the earth, satellites make it possible that you can see both sides, both day and night.

The defense city, the Babylonian system, as we have talked about many times and as Isaiah has talked about, of course will be brought down, forsaken and left like a wilderness. There shall be calf-feed and there shall be and lie down and consume the branches thereof. There will be nothing left. The last three verses of Revelation chapter 16 shows that Babylon falls and never to rise again. Now verse 11 of Isaiah 27, When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off, the women come and set them on fire, for it is a people of no understanding. Therefore, he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favor. So everything is going to be destroyed, brosest, root and branch destroyed, so that those who have gone against God will be judged and will be destroyed. And it shall come to pass, and that day, once again, we have the prophetic utterance in that day, remember, merging into the millennium, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt. Now there is quite a controversy with regard to which river he's talking about here. It really doesn't matter that much. Some, most of the commentators say it is the Euphrates River, and some say it's the Nile. And we can't settle that tonight. And there's no verse you can turn to that just dogmatically says it's one or the other. Of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and you shall be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. So there are several verses, especially the last few verses of Amos chapter nine. In Book of Amos, it talks about regathering Israel from four corners of the earth. And there are several prophetic descriptions of God gathering Israel together from the four corners of the earth at the beginning of the millennium. And notice this, and now enters back in what's going to happen to Leviathan, as was introduced in the first verse. That shall come to pass in that day, at the beginning of the millennium, that the great trumpet shall be blown. Now the great trumpet, we talk about the Feast of Trumpets, and of course there is a Feast of Trumpets, and Trumpets were blown on the Feast of Trumpets, and yeah, the seven last trumpet plagues. But the great trumpet was blown on the day of atonement. If we go to Leviticus 23 and verse nine, and the Lord spoke unto Moses, speaking to the children of Israel, said unto them, When you come into the land, which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, you shall bring a sheaf of first fruits of your harvest, and to the priest, and you shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you on the morrow, and after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And it goes on talking about the various holy days. And then you come to verse 27, and on the tenth day of the month, also on the tenth day of the month, in the seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation unto you, and you shall afflict your souls, and make an offering unto the eternal. And you shall do no work in that day, for it is the day of atonement to make an atonement. Now, I'm looking for the in Leviticus. There's another verse that I want when the Jubilee year in Leviticus. Can someone find that right quick? Is it 16, Dr. Ward? It's chapter 25. I see it now. In chapter 25, this connects.

Yeah, thank you, Jim, but it's what I'm looking for is Leviticus 25 and verse 9. Remember, it says in Isaiah 27 13, and it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown. The great trumpet. Now, as I said, trumpets are blown on the feast of trumpets, but there was a great trumpet on the day of atonement. It is the day of Jubilee. It's the day on which Jubilee was declared in the 50th year. So in Leviticus 25 verse 9, then shall you cause a trumpet of the Jubilee to sound in the 10th day of the 7th month. In the day of atonement shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. So the great trumpet, the great trumpet of Jubilee, the great trumpet of freedom and liberty was blown on the day of atonement. Verse 10, and you shall hallow the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be a Jubilee unto you, and you shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his family. A Jubilee shall that 50th year be unto you, and you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of it itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of your vine dresser, and so on, for it is the Jubilee. So it is at that time that Satan is rendered of non-effect, and it shall come to pass. Now we're back in Isaiah 27 13. We're reading that again. It shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcast in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. And so in Revelation 20, in Revelation 20, we always read this on the day of atonement, in Revelation 20 verse 1, and I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key to the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold on the dragon that O serpent, Leviathan, which is the devil, and Satan had bound him a thousand years, cast him into the bottomless pit, and set a seal upon him that he should not deceive the nations no more. See, the principle characteristic of Satan is pride. The principle strategy of Satan is deceit.

If it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. I don't think we quite grasp and understand how great the deception is going to be at the end of this age, but it is going to be very great, and much of the material that we are covering in these Bible studies. The Isaiah basically leaves no stone unturned. It's really a survey of the whole Bible in one sense, and linking all of these things together.

So Satan is cast into the bottomless pit to deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he has leased a little season.

So we see that dealing with Leviathan is linked to the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Atonement. The Feast of Atonement, when the great Jubilee trumpet will be sounded throughout all the land. Now we go to Isaiah 28.

Isaiah 28 woe to the crown of pride to the drunkards of Ephraim. Now, Ephraim is known for its drinking. The northern kingdom was known for its use of alcoholic beverages, and Ephraim is used in the generic sense for the northern kingdom, not just for the one tribe Ephraim. There, of course, is the one tribe Ephraim, and Ephraim was the leading tribe for a long time. Ephraim was a leading tribe until God destroyed the tabernacle. See, the tabernacle that was in the wilderness, those 39 years, see, at the end of the first year, the tabernacle was pitched, and for 39 years, through their trek through the deserts and Petra and wilderness and all of that, they finally crossed the Jordan and came into the barns of Jerusalem and the land of Judah, but they pitched that tabernacle, not in Jerusalem, but it was pitched in Ephraim. And that was what God chose initially. So, Ephraim is often used to denote all 10 tribes. Ephraim was known for its pride, for its arrogance, and for its abuse of alcohol. Not its, but their abuse of alcohol.

So, he continues here, woe to the crown of pride, to the druggers of Ephraim, the northern kingdom, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine.

Of course, God eventually dealt with Ephraim in a sense, even before the Assyrians did, because he sent prophet after prophet to them, and they implored them to repent, but they did not.

And they said, oh, the tabernacle is pitched here in Ephraim. God's not going to destroy us, because we have the tabernacle. Well, God did destroy the tabernacle, and it was even taken captive for a while by the Philistines. And so, that was what caused David to be inspired to build a building for God. So, he built a tabernacle on Mount Zion. And there's debate whether it was on the Temple Mount as we see it today, or below the Temple Mount. I believe it was on the Temple Mount, and that's where the Temple was built. On the Temple Mount, of course, there's controversy there, whether it was on the Temple Mount or just below the Temple Mount. But we'll see this choosing of Judah and the Israel of God in Psalm 78. If you would turn to Psalm 78, we have turned here in sermons during the past, what, 12 years, 11 and a half, whatever, several times. But these things, I have temporary lapses. I do most things I do from memory, and that's one of the things that keeps you going. If you let your memory go, if you don't exercise your brain, then it's going to leave you. It's just like your muscles. If you don't exercise your muscles, they're going to leave me, and mine have basically left me. Okay, in Psalm 78 verse 66, and he smote his enemies. In the hinder parts, he put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah. See, Christ came from Judah.

See, the northern kingdom was never restored to the holy land, but chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount of Zion, which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like high places, like the earth which he has established forever. Now, there are scriptures that make it sound like the earth is going to be done away with. It says in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 that the earth abides forever. The earth is going to be purified in many different ways, but the earth abides. He says here, which he has established forever, he chose David. And so it is the prophecies beginning in Genesis 49 of the various tribes that is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah from Hebrew 7. He chose David also his servant, took him from the sheep of foes from following the ewes great with young. He brought him to feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance. There's a parallelism. The Psalms are very often in parallel, written in parallel form. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. So we see that God chose Ephraim.

God chose Judah over Ephraim.

Now back to Isaiah 28. Isaiah 28, we left off with the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine. So he's got them as drunkards and they're overcome with wine. Verse 2, Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong and a strong one which as a tempest hail and a destroying storm as a flood of mighty waters overflowing shall cast down the earth with the hand. Symbolic language here, figurative language, and very often when God is speaking of judgment, the word hail appears. You remember when Babylon is destroyed in the final sense? It's one of the things with hailstones. Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed with hailstones. And so hail and a destroying storm as a flood of mighty waters overflowing shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown pride, the drunkards, and here we come once again to their abuse of alcohol. Alcohol abuse is one of the great scourges of the world today, and especially the western world, and especially England and the United States. We talk about Ephraim and Manasseh. The crown of pride, the drunkenness of Ephraim shall be trodden under feet.

And the glorious beauty which is on the head of the fat valley shall be a fading flower, and as the hasted fruit before the summer which when he that looks upon it sees while it is yet in his hand, he eats it up. So Assyria did come 721 through 719, about three years there. Assyria took the Northern Kingdom captive, and the Northern Kingdom was not restored. It ceased to exist. In that day, so we have once again our prophetic utterance, in that day, merging into the millennium, shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory for a diadem of beauty under the residue of his people. If you want an interesting study, you can do a study on residue and remnant, because the remnant, of course, are those who live over into the millennium in the flesh. There has to be, quote, seed saved alive to live over into the millennium both of Israelite-ish people and also the Gentiles, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sits in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

So the gate is a symbol of defense, the judgment for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. Of course, the gates have been let down, and God is really not defending Israel, not defending this nation the way he did at one time and the way he did in days of yore before they went into captivity and idolatry. Well, idolatry preceded captivity, but they also have erred through wine and strong drink, and through strong drink are out of way the priests and the prophets, so there's no exception. It's not just the, quote, the rednecks from the honky-tonks. It is everybody, and really there's probably more alcoholics among the so-called upper class of people than the lower class. I don't know that for sure, but I know that there are a lot of alcoholics among those who claim to be something. They're out of the way through strong drink. They err in vision. They stumble in judgment, where all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. So every place is like a vomit pit, and you know how disgusting and how vomit smells. It is awful, and so that is a figurative description of the moral condition of the nation and the nations at that time and at the end time. And now these next four or five verses here, what's again, there's great controversy over this because the commentators say that this precept upon precept, line upon line, and so on, is what Ephraim would say to the prophets. They would mock the prophets and say, oh yeah, here comes Isaiah again, or here comes whatever prophet. Amos was a contemporary with Isaiah. Here comes Amos. Here comes Isaiah.

And what do they have to say? They're going to talk about what God says, and so they mock what God says. But this is the way that the Bible is written and the way the message is delivered. And it took great courage for Isaiah and those who teach the Word of God, and especially at that time and at the present time to do what they need to do.

God, Jesus Christ, and the apostles, they did not try to avoid controversy. They challenge the dogma of the day. Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, you pay tithe, amint, anise, and coming, but you have omitted the weightier matters of the law of judgment, mercy, and faith. Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, and on and on. One appellation after another in which they are described as the pit of vomit.

So Isaiah 28 verse 9, we're going to treat this as the way the prophet delivered it, and they may have used this in the mockery sense, but it doesn't do away with the way it is, because the prophets had come to them with this message.

Whom shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make understand doctrine? That's not just mockery. That is the question that we really need to understand. There are people who spend their lives doing charts and graphs with regard to the return of Christ, and they get off on some doctrinal twig, and they don't really understand what they're talking about. So who is he going to make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast. Now we're going to go to Hebrews 5 in a moment and find out who these people really are, those who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast. These are the people that are going on to maturity. These are the people that are going on to perfection that Paul describes in Hebrews chapter 6. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here little, there little. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. Okay, if what this is saying, look, if you don't get what I'm saying, I being the prophet, whomever he is, whether it be Amos, whether it be Isaiah or somebody else, if you don't listen to him, you're going to listen to what comes upon you, and that will be a nation of our coming to destroy you. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, this is the rest wherewith you may cause the weary to rest, and this is refreshing, yet they would not hear.

But the word of the Lord was upon them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here little, there little, that they might go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Wherefore, hear the word of the Lord. Hear this, go you scornful people. You want to try to make a mockery out of what has been said? Well, you better think twice before you do it. Now, in Hebrews 5 and 6, we have a description by the Apostle Paul, under inspiration of God through his Spirit, of what this means to be weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast. In Hebrews chapter 5, it will begin in verse 8.

Though he were a son, speaking of Jesus Christ, yet he learned obedience through the things which he suffered. Not that he was not obedient, and he knew about obedience, but it was through every test that he had to endure, the final one being death on the stake, which was the greatest of all, that at any time he could have erred, he could have turned away from what his calling and job mission was to be, but he did not. And so he learned to obey through everything, through every trial that he suffered and being made perfect. So he perfectly kept the law of God. As it says in Romans 8, that he showed that you could live in the flesh. He condemned the law in the flesh by showing that you could live in the flesh and keep the law perfectly, which he did. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Notice that unto all that obey him. Not to all that just say, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and go do what you want to do and you're sealed forever. No, you're not sealed forever. The only way you're going to be sealed is through the Holy Spirit, and the only way you're going to receive the Holy Spirit is repentance, exercise faith in the sacrifice of Christ, baptized, laying out of hands, and walking in the way. Call of God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say hard to be uttered, seeing your dull of hearing. For when the time you ought to be teachers, and for so many of us, we've been in the church 50 or more years, and we should know everything, but Peter said, I will not be negligent to put you in remembrance of these things, though you know them. You really have to go over them over and over and over again to be reminded of them, to teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles, or the Word of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. So they were not weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast. They were not ready for milk, and even though for the time they should have been teachers, because the church began with the Hebrews, with the Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost 31 A.D., for everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the Word of righteousness, for he is a babe.

But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age. That means going on to maturity, or going on to perfection. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. They're not caught up on, is this right or is this wrong? Should we do this? Should we do that? They know the way that they should go and know that they know, but are their senses exercised by use? Have they actually walked in the way? Have they actually done it?

So to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, not only must you know it, you must live it. Then, therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and here are the principles. Now, some people have talked about we had a booklet, The Six Great Doctrines of Hebrews 6. No, it should have said the Seven Great Doctrines of Hebrews 6, because there are seven doctrines, not six, seven. Let us go on to perfection. See, that's the doctrine, to go on to perfection. Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, baptisms, laying out of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. This will we do if God permit. We'll go on to perfection, for it is impossible. For those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, have tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves, the Son of God, afresh, and put him to an open shame. So going on to perfection. So let us go on to perfection. So that's what it means by being weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast, is to go on to perfection by having your senses exercised by use to put, to do, to live the things that are actually said.

Now verse 14, Isaiah 28, wherefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. As I said, they can be scornful and mock all they want to, but God is counting on us to go on to perfection and not to mock what is being said. Because you have said we have made a covenant with death and with the grave, and we are at agreement.

Now the Northern Kingdom and Judah at one time made a covenant with Assyria, thinking, well, we're making a covenant with them. They'll become an ally and they'll protect us. They won't invade us. They will protect us. Egypt comes and so on. But in every case, that failed.

So when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, see, God is going to pass through, and it's going to be judgment upon all nations. You might say it shall not come into us because we have this covenant with death, where we have made lies, our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious stone, a cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believe shall not make haste. And so out of that prophecy against Ephraim, against Samaria, against the Northern Kingdom, comes this suddenly messianic prophecy of Jesus Christ. Now, several times this prophecy is referred to in the New Testament. Let's highlight a few of those places. First of all, Matthew 21, 42. In Matthew 21, verse 42, Jesus said unto them, Did you never read in the Scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Now, some people get confused with this. God, through Christ, Christ is the head of the church. He is also the chief cornerstone. He is the foundation, and He is the head. Paul writes, I can read another scripture in Luke 20, but about it just basically repeats what's there in Matthew. But let's go to Ephesians chapter 2. Paul writing to the Gentile church at Ephesus, telling them that they are now able to enter into the holiest of all with the Jews. We'll start in verse 15.

Ephesians 2, verse 15, We both, the Jew and Gentile, have access by one spirit unto the Father. Both. Now therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. Now, we just read from Matthew 21, verse 42, that Jesus Christ has made the head of the corner, and Jesus Christ is the head of the church. We're here in Ephesians chapter 1. In Ephesians chapter 1, it says in verse 20, and in Ephesians chapter 1, we'll start in 22, and have put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that fills all and all. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, no other foundation can any man lay than that which is laid in that foundation is Jesus Christ. We sing the hymn, the church is one foundation, is Jesus Christ the Lord. Now we go to 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. This is such an encouraging part here because we are counted as living stones in this holy temple that God is building up to Himself. In 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 3, if so be, you have tested that the Lord is gracious to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious. You also are living stones, or built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore it is contained in the Scriptures, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believes in Him shall not be confounded.

And you therefore who believe He is precious but unto them which be disobedient the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head, the head of the corner. So He is the foundation and He is the head. Now we have had people get that confused and say, well, Dr. Ward said that got it wrong. No, I didn't say that. He is the foundation. The Scripture says He's the foundation and the Scripture says He's the head. In Jesus Christ, Matthew 21, 42 says He is the head and says here that He is the head. So this great messianic promise is given here in Isaiah 28, 16. Now continuing back in Isaiah 28, 17, judgment also will allay to the line and righteousness to the plummet. You put out the plumb line to make sure that everything is true, equal, just, and right. And the hail shall sweep away. Here's that word, hail again. And the refuge of lies and the water shall overflow. You got hail in waters, hail in waters, overflow the hiding place. There's no place to hide when God begins to bring judgment upon the nations. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled and your agreement with hell. The grave shall not stand when the overflowing scourge, when God begins to move through the nations, when He passes through, then shall you be trodden down by it. From the time that He goes forth, it shall take you for morning by morning, shall it pass over by day and by night. It shall be a vexation only to understand the report. Of course, a more detailed description of what's going to be taking place when that sixth seal is open and the wrath of God begins to be poured out with the trumpet plagues, first four on the environment, the next two of the first and second woe, and then the third woe and the seventh trumpet plague divided into seven vials of wrath. For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Parazim. He should be mad as in the valley of Gibeon. Remember, it says in Psalm 7, I believe it's verse 11, that God is angry with the wicked every day, that he may do his work, his strange work, this strange work, and bring to pass his act in his strange act. The strange act is going to be that he is going to save the people of God, but he is going to destroy those who have persecuted the people of God, as in verse 22. Now therefore, be you not mockers, lest your bands be made strong. For I have heard from the Lord of God, of host, a consumption even determined upon the whole earth.

You hear and hear my voice, and hearken and hear my speech. Does the plowman plow all day to sow? Does he open and break the clods of his ground? In other words, I'm not going to sow all day long. Eventually, I'm going to reap, and along with reaping comes judgment.

When he hath made plain the face thereof, does he not cast abroad the fetches and scatter the coming, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and rye in their place? So there comes a time for sowing or planting, for his God does instruct him to discretion and teach him. For the fetches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cartwheel turned about upon the cumin, but the fetches are beaten out with a staff in the coming with a rod. Breadcorn is bruised because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with a wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horseman. So God is not going to continue to plead with the nations forever. He is going to intervene, and he is going to bring them to judgment. This also comes forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.