Book of Isaiah Bible Study - Part 4

Okay, greetings once again. We are at Isaiah chapter 2, and the first four verses here is what I've oftentimes called my favorite millennial scriptures. I love these verses here in Isaiah chapter 1. I mean, chapter 2 and verse 1. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 1 is where we're going to begin this evening. So Isaiah 2 and verse 1, the word that Isaiah the son of Amaz or Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. When you see this phrase, the word, or you say, and it shall come to pass, is in verse 2 or in that day. These are what's known as prophetic utterances. In other words, they introduced a prophecy. Actually, chapter 2 is to some degree a continuation of chapter 1. The first three chapters, we might even say the first five chapters, are to some degree a continuation, but they are probably uttered at different times. But they have a lot of the same theme within them. The word, directly from God, how he communicated, that's another matter we're not discussing. The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days. Now, this is not telling you when the last days is. It's just saying, in whatever time is the last days, we believe we're living in the last days based on what we see happening in the world. But the world has been in a critical state many, many times through the ages, through the millennium, and through the centuries in which people would think, well, surely it can't last much longer. But it did, and it has. So come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house, the government of God, the mountain of the Lord's house, shall be established on top of the mountains. Now, this, of course, is metaphoric symbolic language in which God's government is going to be established. Jerusalem is going to become the capital of the world. And remember, prophecy is written in parallelism to a large degree, and nearly all prophecy is poetic. And to a large degree, it is written in parallel form. And it shall be exalted. The government of God is going to rule and reign over all the nations above the hills, and all the nations shall flow into it. All nations. We're familiar with the last three or four verses there in Zechariah chapter four with regard to the Feast of Tabernacles. If Egypt decides not to come up to the Feast of Tabernacles, then Egypt is not going to get any rain. Of course, without rain, you can't grow crops. Without crops, you can't have food. And that leads to famine, to starvation, to disease, and all kinds of difficulties. So God is not going to be just playing church, whatever word you want to use there. He means business. His way, his word, his rule, his government is going to go forth among the nations.

His word is going to be exalted above the hills, and all the nations shall flow into it. And many people shall go and say, come you and let us go to the mountain of the Lord. You know at that time that Israel is going to become the leading nation in the millennium, as in the last verse of Zechariah chapter 8, where it says that people from all the languages of the nations will grab hold of the skirt of the Jew and say, we have heard that your God is with us, show us your God. And so what God had intended from the beginning, when he called Israel out of Egypt and gave them the great commission of the church and the wilderness at that time, and Exodus 19, that they were to go forth with the gospel message, or the message at that time of bringing all nations into a relationship with God and Christ. Many nations or many people shall go and say, come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his way, and we will walk in his paths. Of course, I don't know how much teaching God is literally going to do himself. Of course, we are going to be there. We will be made kings and priests. We shall be teachers in that period of time in the millennium. As it talks about in Isaiah 61, you'll be the ministers of the Lord. You'll be teaching God's way, as it says in Isaiah 30, that your teachers will no longer be hidden from you, and you'll hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way. So the knowledge of God is going to fill the earth as sand fills the seashores at the present time. I guess you remember the first eight words of Hosea chapter 4. Hosea chapter 4 verse 4, the first eight words are, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And that knowledge and the light of God grows dimmer every day, and therefore it presents to us a greater challenge. The greatest challenge that any people have ever had is to keep that light burning. They're beginning to talk about the winter Olympics. Not so much is said about the torch in the winter Olympics as in the summer Olympics, but that torch of light, the precious truth of God. We have been given the assignment, the commission to preserve that truth and to teach all nations even now, go you therefore in all the world, disciple all nations, teach them to observe all things. Once forever, I have commanded you. So they're going to go to Jerusalem to be taught the Word of God. Many people shall go and say, come and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us of his ways. We will walk in his paths for out of Zion, and Zion, as you know, symbolizes the church. And God is going to send out emissaries from all over the world to bring all peoples into a knowledge of God in Christ.

I'm reading here what Albert Barnes says about this pagan world. Of course, Albert Barnes lived almost 100 years ago or more. The pagan world is becoming worse and worse. Our society is becoming worse and worse. And it will ever, if it's ever to be brought to a better way, it must be by an influence outside of themselves. That influence will not come from philosophy or science, but from the church. A direct quote from Barnes. Of course, we've been crying this for who knows how long that you'll come to the city of the living God, the general assembly of the Firstborn. You've come to Mount Zion. If light is ever to spread, it is to go forth from Zion and the world. It is dependent on the church for any just knowledge of God and the way of life. The law is to go forth from Zion. And the question whether the millions of the human family are to be taught the way of truth and light is just a question. It's just a question whether the church can be roused to shed that light abroad. Of course, even in Barnes' comment here, I didn't read one word he said, to show them the way to heaven. See, actually that is an obliterating of the light. It's diffusing the light in the wrong direction. Because, as I have said so many times with regard to the view of man, theologians of the day, commentators of the day, and commentators of the past, ever since basically the Garden of Eden, they have started with the assumption that man is immortal, that the reward of the saved is heaven or hell, and the reward of the saved being heaven, they continually talk about how are you going to get to heaven. If you don't get to heaven, then you're going to burn forever in hell. And so the knowledge of God, even those who come so close to knowing the truth, really obliterate the truth. They shroud the truth and turn it into a mystery which is confusing to people, and people remain in a state of ignorant superstition and enslaved by the dogmas of man.

So they'll go to Zion, and the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. So once again, Jerusalem becomes the the capital of the world, the spiritual capital of the world. Jerusalem is the focal point of the world right now. Jerusalem will be the focal point of the world. And don't let anyone deceive you about that, because the Bible is very clear on this. We shall now turn to Zechariah chapter 12, where the focus at the end of the age is on Jerusalem.

Isaiah focused mainly on Judah and Jerusalem.

This is Zechariah 12.1, the burden of the word of the Lord of Israel says, Lord, which searches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him, behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day, remember what I said about that phrase, and in that day, that is a prophetic utterance. Or it's like, and the word of the Lord came, or the Lord said unto you, or it came to pass that. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people, not just some, it says all, all that burden themselves when it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. It goes on to describe how God is going to fight the battle there. And in Zachariah chapter 14, it talks about how others are going to join God in the battle. I assume that will be the resurrected saints.

Now verse four, and he shall judge among the nations, it's going to take quite a time for the nations to come under tow and under the government of God, even though it is exalted, it is Jerusalem will become the capital. The law shall go forth from Zion, the word from Jerusalem. And as you read in the last chapter of Isaiah, chapter 66, God is going to send out emissaries, missionaries all over the world, those that had never even heard the name of God and Christ, they are going to be used to bring people, once again, into the relationship of God and Christ. He shall judge among the nations shall rebuke the many. There will be a lot of stubborn people who won't want to submit themselves to the government of God, and God is not going to play games with them. And as we've already mentioned, one of the things that will happen will be upset weather patterns, which will result in their people suffering severely. Of course, leadership will be a great, a great, great thing in the millennium. And we desperately need leaders now to step up and to warn the people more about that, hopefully later in the study. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Back several years ago, we had a church member who worked in the United Nations Complex that I talked with a couple of times. And the person related to me how at one time there was a statue of a man beating a sword into a plowshare in the, I guess you would call it, the courtyard of the U.N. in New York City. But in recent times, and it's been over a decade, maybe even two decades, that that work, that sculpture, we could call it, it's not really a sculpture. It's been made out of iron. Maybe you can call it a sculpture, but a sculpture I think about, you chip away at something and bring it into the likeness of whatever figure you are trying to carve out of stone or wood or whatever it might be. But anyhow, that statue of a man beating a sword in a plowshare has disappeared.

So they'll beat their swords into plowshares or spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. And we are to stand in the gap at this time and to prepare the people for the day of the Lord. As I said, we want to talk about this because the great burden is upon the church, the great commission, you might call it, to prepare people for that which lies ahead. We want to go to Ezekiel 13. Now, Ezekiel 13. Are we prepared and are we preparing people for the day of the Lord? This is Ezekiel 13. This is the Word of God. It's not my word or any other man's word. Ezekiel wrote it down, but it came under inspiration from God. The Word of the Lord also came unto me saying, Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house which have eyes to see and see not. They have ears to hear and hear not, for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, you son of man, prepare you stuff for removing and removed by day in their sight, and you shall remove from your place to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider though they be a rebellious house. Then shall you bring forth your stuff by day in the night. I'm reading from chapter 12 now, not 13. Sorry.

I knew something was wrong. Chapter 13. And the Word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesied, say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear you the Word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God, woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. More and more I hear the televangelists, radio preachers, television preachers. Of course, they have some have mega churches and all of that, and they're so-called healing people and casting out devils and doing so-called all kinds of great works, and they're talking about how God is talking to them. God is not talking to them. More and more you're reading about people who say they've gone to heaven, and people are stupid enough to believe that they have gone to heaven and that they have come back to tell you what it's like. Well, John 3 13 says, and Jesus Christ is a spokesman, I'm going to believe Christ rather than the televangelist, and Christ says that no man hath ascended unto heaven except the Son of Man who came from heaven. And in Acts 2 it says, and we know that David is going to be in the kingdom of God, but in Acts 2 it says David has not ascended into the heavens, and if David has not ascended into the heavens, no one else has either, except the Son of Man who came from God and was sent by God. So they prophesied their own spirit and have seen nothing. Ezekiel 13 4, Israel your prophets are like the foxes of the deserts. You have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle of the day of the Lord, and he goes on describing what they've done, and one of the main deceptions that they bring about, one of the main deceptions that they harp on, is Ezekiel 13 16, which says to know the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, says the Lord God. Likewise you've set a man set your face against the daughters of your people which prophesy out of their own heart and prophesy you against them.

So one of the things that we're supposed to do is to prepare people for the day of the Lord. Verse 5, O house of Jacob. Now, so a house of Jacob, that's all 12 tribes. Now, sometimes Jacob is used to denote the northern kingdom of the 10 tribes, and Judah consisted of two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, but usually it will say Judah for the southern kingdom, and sometimes it will say Jacob for the 10 tribes to the north, to the north, the northern kingdoms, and sometimes we use Jacob for all 12 tribes. Sometimes it will use Ephraim, it being, I should use a better term, sometimes scripture will use Ephraim to denote the 10 tribes. Ephraim was the leading tribe for years in Israel. When Israel went into the Promised Land, where did God pitch the tent? The tent of worship. The tent and the Ark of the Covenant were placed in Shiloh in Ephraim, but of course God eventually chose a different place than that of Joseph. Sometimes Joseph is used, like in Psalm 78, for the 10 tribes to the north. I hope you, that is very, you need to understand that, and you need to master that with regard to rightly dividing the word of truth. So verse 5 again, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Now in Matthew chapter 5, verses 15, 16, 17, along in there, it says now, it says the church is the light of the world. In fact, it specifically says ye ye are the light of the world, and ye are not to put your light under a bushel, but ye are to let your light shine so that people may see your light, your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Verse 6, therefore ye have forsaken your people. Why? Because they did not walk in the light of the Lord. You have forsaken your people, O house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east.

And that replenishing from the east had to do with the paganism, the demonism that came from the east. And God had chosen Israel to be the nation that would bring the light and hence blessings to all nations. And they were to teach people to walk in the light of the Lord. But ancient Israel did not live up to their calling to teach people to walk in the light of the world. In fact, they followed the other people in idolatry. They followed them so far as to kill their own, to kill their babies, and sacrifice them to Moloch and other pagan gods. That is not to say that there's no one from the east that is not walking in the light, because there are people from the east that walk in the light. But many people that have come from the east, and you've heard of Eastern mysticism, and to this day you have the nation of India that is deceived by many different versions of Hinduism. You see the Chinese with Shinto, well, the Japanese with Shintoism. You see the Chinese with Confucianism, and there are many other isms that one could talk about. So God is warning about those who come from the east that are not walking in the light. So verse 6, therefore you have forsaken your people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east and are soothsayers. Now, soothsayers, some of the commentators talk about soothsayers, or people who studied the skies, even the formation of the clouds and astrology, and various forms of divination. And you'll see very often, mentioned, and especially, the Chaldeans. To the east of Israel and Judah, or the Persians and the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, and those three nations especially, of course, in modern times you've got billions, well, I don't know, not billions, but over, well over a billion in India, you got well over a billion in China, you got millions in Japan, and there are many, many lesser countries who are steeped in paganism. I'm reading once again from Barnes, what he says about soothsayers.

The species of divination was expressly forbidden in the Bible, and these soothsayers studied the clouds, studied the heavens, and were also skilled in the movement of the heavenly bodies. It's amazing how they figured out so many different things with regard to the movement of the heavenly bodies.

So verse 6, again, therefore you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they have replenished from the east in our soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves and the children of strangers. Please themselves in the presence of strangers. I'd like to hear some new thing. Let's search the web today to see if we can find some new thing, something we haven't thought about, and see if we can be able to exercise our intelligence with something that is not of God.

Well, really, when you're exercising things that are not of God, exercising your intelligence with that, you're playing right into the hands of Satan the devil. Now, in verse 7, their land also is full of silver and gold. Neither is there any end of their treasures. Their land is also full of horses.

Neither is there any end of their chariots. You know, it sounds like modern-day society. Only, you remember, prophecy is dual. If we were to read it in modern language, we'd say their land is also full of riches, silver, and gold. One of the biggest things today on the commodities market is silver and gold. Make a hedge for the rough times that come ahead because the economy's going to crash, the dollar's not going to be worth anything. That's the cry. And that might happen, and it would be wise to do what you can to hedge yourself against what might be coming.

But as we shall read later, they shall throw their silver and gold into the streets and hide in the rocks and trying to hide from the face of the one that sits on the throne and from the lamb. Maybe we'll get to that tonight. Their land is full of silver and gold. Neither is there in the end of their treasures. I mean, just riches, just money flowing everywhere among some. Unfortunately, a large percentage of the treasures of the world are in the hands of a very few people, and they are getting richer day by day.

The old saying of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is surely coming to pass right before ours. Their land is also full of horses. If you make horses into automobiles or airplanes or helicopters or any other flying object, neither is there any end of their chariots. I mean, you just go to Tyler and you see that. You look down top of the hill there on 5th Street, looking down toward the rest of the loop.

You'll just see a sea of chariots. All the cars lined up, and that's nothing compared to a place like Los Angeles or Chicago or Philadelphia or New York City. It's nothing, but you just get an idea what it's like. Their land also is full of vitals. They worship the work of their own hands. Oh, yes, we worship science. Science is going to save us. How many people did science save?

Well, there have been some great breakthroughs in medicine, and science has saved some lives physically. For sure they have. And you can be thankful for some of those things, but at the same time, there is only one source of salvation. There's only one name given in heaven, whereby men must be saved, and that one is Jesus Christ, that God sent to the world to suffer and die for the sins of the world.

Their land is full of vitals. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. Oh, just look at us. Look at the marvels that we have. And like my daddy used to say, don't give me the good old days. I would rather live in the modern time. In the good old days, daddy went out on wash day, the wash pot, put the wood around the fire, got the water hot, and then set out the washtubs, one to wash in, and one to rinse in.

Mother would yet on the rub board, and scrub the clothes, and rinse them out, hang them on the college line to dry. Today, we have billions of people that live in apartments. They have a washer and dryer. They hardly ever see the light of day, or they don't see very much of it. So we can be thankful for a lot of those things that have made our lives much easier, but they're not going to save us. Now, verse 9, and the mean man, and that mean man simply means the man of low estate, the man of low degree, the man who's on the bottom of the totem pole in the socioeconomic order, the man on the bottom of the totem pole in the socioeconomic order bows down, and the great man, so here are the greatest, the richest in the world.

You can read about them in James chapter 5, how they oppress all of those that are beaten down, and the great man humbles himself, therefore forgive them not. So when God begins to intervene, there's not going to be any middle ground to stay on. He's not going to be a respecter of persons. The poor man that has forsaken God will be the same as the rich man who has forsaken God. They're all going to have to give an account for what they have done, because God is going to enter into judgment with them, rich or poor, and they are going to have to give an account.

As it says in Scripture, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. So in view of that, what are they going to do when God begins to enter be? In verse 10, enter into the rock and hide you in the dust. You see, we want to be hidden in Christ. There's only one way to be hidden. There are a couple verses here that we want to look at with regard to this. You know, people talk about a place of safety. Well, we do want to be in a place of safety if we are taken to a place of safety, and some apparently will be.

But there are things that you have to do spiritually to get to a place of safety. If you want to look at Zephaniah chapter 2. Zephaniah chapter 2. Zephaniah chapter 2. Zephaniah, the theme of the whole book of Zephaniah is the day of the Lord when God directly intervenes. He and the Lamb in the affairs of men, gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O nation not desired.

Of course, at the end of the age, those who believe in God and Christ, the Church, you're going to be hated of all nations for the namesake. Before the decree, bring forth before the day pass as the chap, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you. In other words, this next verse, verse 3, we talked about earlier, preparing for the day of the Lord. Here's how. Seek ye the Lord all you meek of the earth. So meekness, as it says in the beatitudes, the meek shall inherit the earth. Seek ye the Lord all you meek, which have wrought his judgment. Notice that, whichever wrought his judgment. Oh, some people talk about you. Judge not, you be not judged. That is, you don't set yourself up as some. You realize that you are made of the clay, just as anybody else is. But we are commanded in Leviticus to judge righteous judgment. All you meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment, you have executed right judgment. Seek righteousness. Seek the word of God. Seek to do the word of God. Seek meekness. Oh, that's a difficult one to be meek. Remember, it says about Moses. Now Moses was meek of above all men on the face of the earth. When Israel, the spies had come back and with an evil report and the people were ready to kill Moses and Joshua and Caleb, Moses interceded for the people. God said, I'll just start all over with you, Moses. Moses then became an intercessor, a type of Christ at that point, interceded for the people that he not wiped them out. Moses said, and here Moses reasons with God, well, what would the nation say about you? They would say, well, he brought them out there into the desert, but he was not able to save them. So what kind of God is that? So I'm sure you have read the story. Moses was meek above all men on the face of the earth. It may be, now notice how it says, it says, it may be, you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. This tells you specifically what to do to be ready to be hidden when God begins to directly intervene in the affairs of men.

Now, furthermore, if we look at Colossians 3 and verse 3, the ultimate hiding with regard to salvation, whether God chooses to hide you or not from the day of the Lord, we want to be in the kingdom of God, even if we are not hidden during the day of the Lord. So let's look at Colossians 3 and verse 3.

For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. You are dead. How are you dead? Here's the way you're dead. At baptism, you know, one summary is the Galatians 2.20, that I'm crucified with Christ nevertheless, yet not. I'm sorry, I'll start over. I'm crucified with Christ, and the life that I now live, I live by the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Say at baptism, as it says in Romans 6, that we are crucified with Christ. When we go down in the watery grave, which symbolizes that we have been dead, and the old man is dead, and it's buried, and it's going to remain in the watery grave, and that which comes up out of the watery grave is a new person. And now your life, you're dead to the old man, and you're alive with the new man to live unto God and Christ. So your life is hid in Christ. You're hid with Christ in God. One of the things that Peter says of himself, and sometimes especially the Protestant world, doesn't get this. If you look at 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 20, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 20, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, speaking of Christ, verse 19, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish, without spot, verse Peter chapter 1, verse 20 now, who was verily foreordained, that is, Christ, before the foundation of the world, but was manifesting these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. Now, there are places in the New Testament that talks about Jesus raising us up at the last day, but Jesus, through works through, or God works through Jesus Christ to perform his mighty works. For example, you can say that God is the creator of the universe, and then in John 1, it tells us that he created all things through Christ. Also, in Colossians chapter 1, that all things that were made, whether it be thrones, dominions, principalities of powers, all things were created through Christ. So, but God is our Father, and by the same spirit, now I'm quoting Romans 1.11, maybe we ought to turn to Romans 11, just because you can, obviously, this scripture is true, but sometimes it is that God works through. I said that Romans chapter 11, it's Romans 8 and verse 11. Romans 8 and verse 11, we're talking about resurrection. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, we just read from 1 Peter 1.20 and 21, that God the Father raised up Jesus from the dead, but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken, that is, make a lie, your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. Now, Christ may play some role in it. Like you read in John 5, what is it, verse 25 or 26, the time will come when all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth, some to everlasting life and some to judgment.

So what are we talking about? We're back now to Isaiah 2.10. We took a little trip there about enter into the rock and hide. We saw how in Zephaniah 2 verse 3 that you have to seek meekness and seek righteousness to be hid in the day of the Lord. We saw that in 1 Peter 1.19.20.21 in Romans 8.11, we saw that we are buried with Christ, we're crucified with him, the old man is dead, we're raised to newness of life, and we are hid with Christ in God. And so now we're back in Isaiah 2.10. Enter into the rocks and hide you in the dust for the fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty. And notice that the glory of his majesty. Now we have a very similar kind of expression and writing just in a different way.

When the seals are open, God begins to intervene directly into the affairs of man and the day of the Lord begins with the heavenly signs. So now we go to Revelation chapter 6, the unveiling of the signs, the opening of the signs. In Revelation chapter 6, verse 12, once again, we're saying, enter into the rock and hide you in the dust. This is Isaiah for the fear of the Lord, for the glory of his majesty. Now we're reading from Revelation.

When he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, Revelation 6.12, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became his blood. Well, that hasn't happened. I mean, these false prophets went out and made millions with the blood moons. Well, blood moons are a natural, naturally occurring phenomenon in the course of human history.

There was an unusual sequence of naturally occurring blood moons. A year or two ago, I've forgotten exactly what year that was.

There was a great earthquake, sun became his sackcloth, the moon became his blood. Verse 13, the stars of heaven fell to the earth. That means thrones, principalities, powers, demonic powers are symbolized by stars as well. A literal star, the smallest star, is larger than the earth. So all the stars can't fall to the earth, and there'll be any life left. So it is symbolic, and the stars of heaven fell into the earth. Even as a fig tree cast her on timely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind, and the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together in every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

You talk about tsunamis and great geologic work, and the kings of the earth and the great men, the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. See, this is in contrast to that you may be hidden in the day of the Lord in Zebaniah 2.3 if you seek meekness and righteousness, and you can be hid with Christ in God by being dead to the old man, raised the newness of life through the Spirit and eventually given eternal life through the resurrection.

So they hid themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains, now listen to verse 16, and said to the mountains and rocks fallen us, hide us from the face of him, that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? It's only those that are hidden with Christ in God that will be able to stand. Now we go back to Isaiah 2.10, and that verse might make more sense. Enter into the rock and hide. That's what they're trying to do. Enter the rock, hide you in the dust. You know, you can bury yourself. There are places now, there are rich people who are buying islands for the great debacles that are coming, the crashes that are coming. There are those who are building homes and mountains underground, knowing that a great destruction is going to come. They don't view it as from God, but they are preparing for a day to come, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory, see, hide us from there, saying, hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne. See, the glory of God is his presence, the glory of his majesty. This is from God. It is not from naturally occurring events. It is not from chemicals spewed into the air. It is not from any man-made or, quote, natural source. It is supernatural. It is from God. Verse 11, The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the hotliness of man shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. There will be no man, rich or poor, who will be able to say anything about how great he is or how much he's worth. Fortune 500 or any other fortune won't matter at that time. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty. You remember, seek meekness, and upon everyone that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low, and upon all the cedars of Lebanon. Of course, the cedar is a mighty, majestic, and handsome tree that are high lifted up upon all the oaks of Bayshan. Now, the oaks is used quite often for the high places because they like to plant trees and build altars under the trees using the fertility symbol of the male member, the phallic symbol. And upon all the high mountains and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fence wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish. Now, there it's been a great discussion over the years with regard to the ships of Tarshish. The ships of Tarshish are often mentioned in the Old Testament, but the meaning of the expression is not quite as obvious. It is obvious that Tarshish was some distance away and they imported silver, iron, lead, tin, and gold from there.

It is now generally agreed, but not totally, that Tartessus of Spain is a place from which the ships were named. And there are those who suppose that it was from Africa, because Africa has had a lot of rich gold mines, especially south of Abyssinia. And there are various scriptures about that with regard to riches coming from there, not necessarily the the ships of Tarshish.

But it is said that the ships of Tarshish returned every three years during the reign of Solomon that they might trade during that time.

So the ships of Tarshish seem to denote ships that were bound on long voyages, and it's probable that they came to denote a particular kind of ship adopted or adapted, not adopted, adapted to long voyages. And it's probable that they came to denote a particular kind of ship. So it's not necessary to know the exact meaning of Tarshish, but to know that the Tarshish symbolizes in general merchandise and merchandising trading.

And it is the Babylonian system is to a large degree based upon the trading among nations and how it is constructed, and especially the economic system with the city of London, with Hong Kong, with Singapore, with Wall Street, and with the mighty Frankfurt where the DAX, the German stock market, is located. So Tarshish has to do with trade among the nations and I lost my place here. I got to get back to that. Verse 16 of Isaiah, once again, Isaiah 2, 16, and upon all the ships of Tarshish and upon all the pleasant pictures, and the loftedness of man shall be bowed down, and the hottiness of men shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and the idols he shall utterly abolish. Now, of course, there have been restorations under Hezekiah and Josiah, but nothing like what's coming, and they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into caves of the earth, and they're already doing their building houses under the earth, buying islands for fear, the Lord. Now, they're not doing it right now necessarily for the fear of the Lord. They're doing it for the fear of men that they know are going to crash the system, and for the glory of His majesty when He rises to shake terribly the earth. In that day, in that day, when God begins to intervene, a man shall cast his idols of silver, his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship. Remember the golden calf, which Egypt and Israel were steeped in at one time, to the moles. Moles, of course, are underground creatures. I wish I could kill a lot of them. To the moles and the bats to go into the clefts of the rocks and in the tops of the ragged rocks for fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty. You notice what I read from Revelation 6 16? And they shall see His face and say, protect His idols from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the Lamb. And for the glory of His majesty, when He rises to shake terribly the earth, seek you from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is He to be accounted of. Cease you from. Cease you from man. In other words, if you're dependent on man to save you, you have another thought coming. There is nothing that man can do or will do. That is not to say that one is not to exercise. Common sense at the present time. You should have a certain store of food. You should have a certain, when I say certain, it means what you can do, store of cash or gold or silver or whatever it is.

But if that is not your God, you're not depending on that for ultimate salvation. It is just common sense to do what you can do at the present time. But when it comes to that time, when the sixth seal is open and these events begin to unfold, there is no man, no matter of silver gold or anything else, that will save you apart from God and Christ and their spirit and power.