Bible-7, Maj Prophets-1, Isa-Lam: Part 1

LESSON 7

MAJOR PROPHETS  I

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations

Part One:

By Rev. G. Evan Newmyer

INTRODUCTION TO LESSON 7

The mainstay of the Jewish religion is the Torah, coupled with their knowledge of being God’s chosen people on the earth; the mainstay of the Church is the Water, Blood and Spirit, with the knowledge of our Kingdom not being of this earth. The act of Prophecy, or the office of Prophet are found in the offices, manifestation, operations and in the gifts of Grace, but it’s not the case with the Jews. Certain of the Jews were selected by God to be prophets, but Paul said he wished all of us would prophesy. Of course Paul wasn’t referring to the Office of Prophet, since he also said not all were prophets (I Cor 14:5 & 12:29). Paul divided the Office of Prophet from the act of personal prophecy by the Spirit, then coupled personal prophecy with speaking in unknown tongues, then coupled it with “praying and prophecy” in First Corinthians 11:3. In the New Testament the saint has the advantage of the Spirit within, these prophets had the Spirit of God fall on them for the specific task of bringing forth a Word in their time, for their time, and times future.

Prophecy is in part (I Cor 13:9), usually full of metaphors; church history tells us Jude was a prophet, thus he used many metaphors to make a division between the good and bad fish. The metaphor “cloud” points to a Witness (Heb 12:1), Jude says the Wicked are clouds (witnesses) without Water (Mercy). We found mercy is the will of the Father, we also found Scots Law, Brown, as well as the Latin language define Iniquity as unequal, or doing one thing, yet failing to do another which has equal merit and weight. When one engages in iniquity as a way of life, they must work at it. Being respectful to members of the Body of Christ is just as important as hours of study to make ones self approved. These prophets of old, just as many today had some hard sayings to deliver, yet they knew it was vital to not only deliver the Word, but deliver it in the manner God desired. Iniquity would be delivering the Word, but failing to deliver it in the proper manner. A Word centered on repentance can be delivered with anger and vengeance, causing it to miss the point by miles. The position of the Prophet was very serious to these people, the role hasn’t changed much. The prophets of old spoke of God’s direction for the people, the prophets in the Body do the same. The prophets in the Body have one added element, they deliver Doctrine, they don’t make it, or teach it, but they do deliver it (Acts 15:32 & I Cor 12:28).

The prophets we are about to study spoke for their time, a time to come, yet they spoke as they were led by the Holy Ghost, thus we need to find the mysteries the Holy Ghost planted for us in the words of these prophets. They were a selected people; therefore, their Prophecy becomes important to us. The title “Holy Ghost” is a New Testament title, it’s not found in the Old Testament, yet Peter tells us these holy men of old were moved by the Holy Ghost. They knew “the Spirit of the Lord”, but really they didn’t know the “why”. Isaiah for one who said “a virgin” would give birth, we know it happened, but it’s also past tense for us. For Isaiah and those in his company it was a hard saying, one seemingly impossible, but he did say it, and it did come to pass.

The Jew still looks at the words of the Prophets as Agenda, an Agenda is a “whatever” attitude. On the other hand they look at the Law of Moses as “a must”; therefore, the Law of Moses is more important to the Jew, than the Prophets. The reason  the prophetic word is considered Agenda is the “in part” area, since the Prophets are not always precise in language, the Jew thinks what they said is left open to “interpretation”. Peter said we are granted the ability to have the Holy Ghost interpret the Scriptures for us, thus there is no “private” interpretation (II Pet 2:20-21). It doesn’t mean some will attempt to interpret through natural intellectualism, it means they will not interpret the Scriptures unless the Holy Ghost does it for them. The word Private in II Peter 2:20 is the Greek Idios meaning Ones own, thus showing if one lacks the Spirit, they lack the connection to the Holy Ghost, leaving them with natural conclusions regarding spiritual matters. Paul talked about  the “mysteries” in Scripture, he also said there are many things God has for us, but the only way we can know them is by the Spirit (I Cor 2:9-10). However, he also said the Corinthians had the Spirit, but they were carnal (I Cor 3:3 & 3:16), thus having the Spirit and being Spiritual are connected, but different. These prophets of Old were not Born Again, they didn’t have Grace, yet they were obedient, holding themselves accountable to their position. Were there prophets who used their position for their own agenda? Yes, some of them were termed “prophets of God”, but they allowed their own fears, pride and self-importance to interfere with their calling. These four books of the “Major Prophets” hold much for us.

Natural man tends to accomplish tasks based on his personal likes, thus he seeks to please himself, rather than the one he is doing the task for. The prophets put aside their self-desires in order to please the Lord. The Law, Prophets and Psalms are all the basis for the Testimony of Jesus; however, the testimony without the Witness often becomes an intellectual endeavor to please our own mental concepts of what we assume God should do, or what we assume God should say. The Prophets were asked to do many things, some on the verge of lunacy, some near the border of shear fear, yet they did as God told them. Some of the prophets were frustrated, some placed in prison, some mocked, nonetheless they completed their course.

A Testimony is what is said about a person, a Witness is first hand knowledge. These Prophets knew about the coming Messiah from their own words, but they didn’t know Him. The disciples walked with Jesus, were ordained by Him, sat at His table, but they were not Witnesses until they received Power from on High to be Born Again (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4 & 2:14-34); let us begin.

LESSON 7

MAJOR PROPHETS  I

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations

PROLOGUE

We will divide the study of the four Major Prophets into two lessons; the first lesson will consist of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations, the second will consist of Ezekiel and Daniel. Two of these prophets were in the captivity, two were not, one of the two who were not in the captivity had their ministry well before the captivity, one of the two remained in the land through the captivity; therefore, out of the four major prophets one (Isaiah) was the warning prophet speaking of events to come, another (Jeremiah) was the prophet in the land who was not taken into the captivity, Ezekiel was a priest who began his prophetic ministry after being taken captive, then Daniel, a youth taken captive who also began his prophetic ministry in captivity. All four of these prophets speak of their time, as well as a time to come, yet all have to do with the word “captivity”.

There are three future time periods regarding the words of these prophets, the first was from their time to the Cross, then from the Cross to the Rapture, then a time from the Rapture to the Judgment. Most of these prophets faced their own people, at a time when their own people were facing certain punishment from God for their various evils. We will see many references to the End Times, using them as check and balance to determine if our End Time thinking is in line with the Scriptures, or needs to be adjusted.

These Prophets were sent to warn, exhort and rebuke the people, in order to restore them back to the purposed Covenant of God. These prophets had visions, dreams and words, but it doesn’t mean they understood them all, it means they had them. For some reason we think we must understand each point of the Word the Lord gives us, or understand each aspect of the vision, dream or prophesy in order for it be from God, not so, belief in God doesn’t have to know the details, it knows God has given us something for our belief, so our faith can have a foundation. We get into trouble when we think we have to come up with the answer, or the interpretation.

Each of the four names of the major prophets has a meaning connecting to their purpose; Isaiah means The Lord saves, he was sent to give a word purposed to save the people from their own folly. We can’t forget the people in the time of these prophets, like us had the events and experiences of the children in the Wilderness as an example. Jeremiah means Whom Jehovah (JAH) has appointed, explaining how Jeremiah’s calling connected to, “Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you” (Jere 1:5). The saying isn’t limited to Jeremiah, it includes all of us, thus it was God who knew Jeremiah, not the other way around. God’s omnipresence demands for Him to know all things, before they are things. The phrase establishes our belief in God, giving us the knowledge of God knowing all things before they are things. It may be a big surprise to us, but not to God.

Ezekiel means Whom God will strengthen, the name Ezekiel only appears twice in the Book of Ezekiel, thus giving us two areas of God’s strength for two Seasons. In our Season of the Day we have the greater strength coupled with the greater light, during the night they will have a “little strength” coupled with the lesser light, yet in either case the strength for the season is sufficient.

Lastly, Daniel means God’s judge, since he was the victim of the rebellion, his name shows when God’s people rebel they often cause the captivity of the innocent. In Daniel’s case, God was dealing with the nation as a whole, thus he as a prince was taken, but the man himself did nothing to cause his captivity. Daniel is a very important figure in the Prophetic picture, yet his ministry didn’t begin until he was taken into captivity.

The time line of all the prophets who gave us books show when each began their ministry, as each had a time and timing in the overall plan of God. These are not all the prophets, but those who had books named after them.

CHRONOLOGY LISTING OF PROPHETS WHO HAVE BOOKS NAMED:

Prophet + Approximate Date + King:

OBADIAH + 852 TO 841 BC + JEHORAM

JOEL + 835 T0 796 BC + JOASH

JONAH + 793 TO 752 BC + JEROBOAM

AMOS + 765 TO 755 BC + JEROBOAM II

ISAIAH + 740 TO 697 BC + UZZIAH, JOTHAM,  AHAZ &   HEZEKIAH

MICAH + 50 TO 690 BC + JOTHAM, AHAZ &   HEZEKIAH

HOSEA + 770 TO 725 BC + UZZIAH, JOTHAM,  AHAZ &   HEZEKIAH
NAHUM + 650 BC + MANASSEH

ZEPHANIAH + 640 BC + JOSIAH

JEREMIAH + 627 TO 580 BC + JOSIAH, JEHOAHAZ, JEHOIAKIM  JEHOIACHIN &  ZEDEKIAH

HABAKKUK + 609 BC + JEHOIAKIM

DANIEL + 605 TO 530 BC + JEHOIAKIM, JEHOIACHIN & ZEDEKIAH

EZEKIEL + 593 TO 570 BC + ZEDEKIAH

HAGGAI + 520 BC + *ZERUBBABEL

ZECHARIAH + 520 TO 485 BC + *ZERUBBABEL

MALACHI + 433 BC + *NEHEMIAH

* Refers to Governor, rather than king.

Isaiah is the first Major Prophet, he provides an Outline regarding the End Times, but Isaiah was not the first prophet in the Bible, nor the second, third or fourth. God picked Elijah to represent the prophets on the Mount of Transfiguration, but why? He isn’t the first prophet either, but he did carry a message so important John the Baptist brought it to Prepare the way of the Lord. Jesus said out of all the people born naturally (which excluded Jesus) John was the greatest (Matt 11:11), which would include Moses, David, Daniel and Elijah. So why Moses and Elijah on the Mount? Moses of course represented the Law, but Elijah represented the Prophets, giving us Two Witnesses, not the men, rather it’s what they represented becoming the Witnesses.

John the Baptist was a place between places, he was not of the Old, he was not in the New, his ministry was short, yet vital. John was also a witness, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, so why didn’t he raise the dead, or heal the sick? It wasn’t his ministry, the Holy Ghost will not fill us to go beyond the calling. The “spirit of Elijah” was complete in John, yet Elijah was not Born Again, he was not as great as John, but the least of us in the Kingdom is greater than John. John didn’t even use the “Name Of Jesus”, since he was not of the ministry of Jesus. It doesn’t belittle him, but we are told to be “Like Christ” by having the “Spirit of Christ”; we are not told be like Elijah, or John. These Prophets are important, but the Father looked on Jesus then told us, “hear ye Him” (Matt 17:5). The prophets are part of the Testimony of Jesus, thus they speak of the “Spirit of Christ”. The first time we see Elijah is in First Kings 17:1, the first time we see Isaiah is in II Kings 19:2, the first time we see a reference to Jeremiah is in II Kings 23:31. Ezekiel is first noted in his prophecy (Ezek 1:3), as Daniel in his. Both Ezekiel and Daniel were taken captive, Daniel was taken around 605 BC, Ezekiel around 597 BC.

The first person called a prophet by God was Abraham (Gen 20:7), then Aaron was called a priest and prophet (Ex 7:1). We also know Moses was called a prophet (Deut 18:18), but all this was before the children entered the Promised Land. Who do you think was the first prophet in the Promised Land after the children were settled? Deborah (Judges 4:4), then Gideon (Judges 6:8), both Deborah and Gideon were also judges. Samuel was a priest and a prophet, as was Aaron, but Aaron was in the wilderness, whereas Samuel was in the Land (I Sam 3:20). Elijah was a prophet who had a message none of the other prophets had, but it was nonetheless a message not limited to the children of Israel, rather it spoke to all nations, “How long halt you between two opinions (thoughts)? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him” (I Kings 18:21). It became the importance of John, the message was to turn the people in a Direction, thus John pointed to a New Direction for the people of God. John also produced a Doctrine, “I indeed have baptized you water: but He (Jesus) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Mark 1:8). However, it doesn’t mean Elijah knew his message would be the “spirit” (call or purpose), thus it took another prophet to make the identification (Malachi). Paul said the “others” judge prophecy, the other what? Other prophets, we will find it’s the case here. God desires for us to have Confirmation, allowing us to draw a related inference supported by evidence, thus giving us supported belief.

These people kept falling between opinions, the spirit lusting to envy seeks to entrap people into idol worship of some kind. At the Fall the devil’s chore was to get Adam female to enter idol worship of herself (you shall be as gods), he still produces the same enticing. Whether it’s money, stone, or a person, lost man’s natural propensity is to enter idol worship. Whether we call it “stardom”, “hero worship”, “mentor worship”, or simply “my hero”, it’s still the words of one who has made a creation their idol. Not wise. For these people the clues were easy to spot, idols made of stone and metal, especially the idols of the Baal category. The name Baal goes back to the Canaanites, it means “lord” or “owner”, but denotes control by manipulation. Baal is representative of all man made gods, anything formed by the hand of man, ending as an “idol” is classed among the Baal idols. No idol ever made a man, but men make idols.

Knowledge of Baal’s personality and functions became clearer to us from the discovery of a number of ancient tablets found in 1929. To the Canaanites this god was the “rider of the clouds” as the deity of rain, often associated with the goddesses Little Lighting (the daughter of light), or Little Dew (the daughter of distillation), with the goddess of the earth, known to them as “mother earth”. Other Ugartic myths show this god was known as “the god of the sea”, or a “hero of the little children”. We can see how the nature of fallen man seeks idol worship in some form.

How did these prophets know God was speaking to them? Think about the time and events, there were other prophets of God in the land who were accepted by the people and religious rulers, yet they were saying things completely opposite of these prophets. History proved these prophets correct, but it’s always easier afterward, the test is when the Prophet speaks. It was the point Jesus made to the Pharisees, as the religious leaders converted the tombs of the prophets into shrines, yet rejected Jesus and John as prophets sent by God. It does little good to honor the past people of God, while rejecting the people God is sending today.

Isaiah had signs, Daniel was given the gift of interpreting dreams, but Ezekiel and Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord only. True, when Jeremiah said something it would happen, yet we will find the people still ran to the false prophets even with the evidence in hand. When Jeremiah received the “word of the Lord” it went against the supposed hope of the people, yet he knew it was from God. There is a vast difference between “the hope of the Lord”, and “false hope”. Everyone is drawn away by their own lust, in this case the people didn’t want to change, but either did they want to go into captivity. Paul faced a like problem with the Corinthians, the Corinthians were so impressed with their carnal state, they didn’t want to enter the spiritual. At times people want to hear what they want to hear, rather than what God has to say. Just because God is speaking, doesn’t mean man is listening.

The message of the Prophets called for a change in the people, but the people didn’t want to change, they wanted to play with devils, yet have God protect them. The term “under a green tree” defines this concept. The green tree is God’s mercy, the people would worship idols, yet seek God’s mercy for protection. The message of the false prophets was based in a false trust, “the temple, the temple; God will always protect the temple”. There are nations who claim God when it’s convenient, but reject the call and purpose of God. Many nations claim God, but even the devils believe in one God, so what, it doesn’t mean they follow Him (James 2:19). God still desires obedience, yet man can obey all sorts of people and things, but never obey God. Even the Law of Moses was not based on sacrifices or food, it was based on giving the people something to obey. God tells Jeremiah He didn’t speak to the father’s about burnt offerings. Did Jeremiah say, “Wait, God did, this is the a false voice”? No, because God then said, the purpose was for the people to Obey His voice (Jere 7:21-23). They made their efforts a point of holiness, rather than seeing their holiness was based in God dealing with them as children. Of course, we tend to make more out of the Traditions of men, then we should.

Isaiah will give us the prophet’s view of deliberate ignorance; the people had the information before them, but they made the choice to ignore the obvious. The call was still obedience, but deliberate ignorance caused them to reject the call. Jeremiah will give us the prophet’s view of religious conceit, the call was still obedience, but religious conceit is the enemy of humbleness, yet humbleness is the Power of obedience. Lamentations gives us God’s view regarding deliberate ignorance. God is motivated by faith, love and hope, yet He doesn’t ignore the reality, He deals with it. Faith must be coupled with love to be effective, yet faith without hope is directed in all sorts of directions, usually not in God.

Although we will find times when these people appeared to be anything but the “called of God”, God still called them His children. Why? God still viewed them through His love, as the Father views us through the Faith of Jesus, but He doesn’t ignore reality. A mind game would be to ignore the reality, presuming “it’s okay”, when it isn’t. God sees our mind games, or religious foolishness, but He deals with us through Grace, which is manifested through the Faith of Jesus.

These Prophets speak more of God’s Justice yet to come, than they do Mercy. However, God has separated salvation and judgment, judgment will have its day, but this is the day of salvation, let us rejoice and be glad in it. It doesn’t mean we can get away with murder, as some might think, it means while it is yet today there is time to repent and get right with God.

There are four Major Prophets; however, the title Major doesn’t refer to their rank, as in Captain, Sergeant, or Major, rather it points to their length of service. The Minor Prophets came out of the cave, gave their prophecy, returned to appear another day, or never again. Some of the minor prophets appeared once, some twice, some for a few years, some for less than a year. The Major Prophets were on the scene day by day, although they didn’t prophesy everyday.

God does nothing until He first tells His prophets (Amos 3:7); however, the context shows He doesn’t bring His heavy hand until He warns us by His prophets, but it still takes ears to hear. Many of the things yet to come are recorded for us in the words of these prophets, thus God has spoken, the Night work is done.

These prophets of Old brought the Word of Warning, but it was rejected for the most part, thus God warned, the people refused to listen. Jeremiah was told the people had ears, but refused to hear, they had eyes, but refused to see. Therefore, it’s not merely having ears, but having an ear willing to hear. A willing ear is centered on faith, life and a mind seeking to please God. If we are using our faith to please ourselves, we are misusing it. Some of us think, “well I’m happy, and God is happy when I’m happy, so this was faith”, the same error these people were making, yet God was not happy with them, just as He was not pleased with many of the children in the wilderness (I Cor 10:5). However, God never brings correction to His people without providing a method and means of escape, or a method to correct the problem. When we hear a doom prophecy without a means for escape, it’s not from God.

Isaiah ministered from 740 to 697 BC, before the children were taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. The Book of Isaiah holds more prophecies regarding the Messiah than any other Old Testament book, so much so, the church father Augustine called it the Fifth Gospel. Think about the adage regarding a false prophet being based on words coming to pass, coupled with the contemporaries of Isaiah, one could have claimed he was a false prophet since a number of his prophecies didn’t come to pass in his time. After all who was heard of virgin conceiving? Surely the man has gone mad. Not so, now we know the reason the birth of Jesus had to be by a virgin, thus Isaiah spoke of something seemingly impossible, but it was still the “word of the Lord”. Prophecy is the test of prophecy, there are timed prophecies granted for a particular time or date, but there are others which speak of a time yet to come. One prophecy all Christians hold to is the return of Jesus for His Bride, yet where is it? Time has passed and nothing, is it a fable? No, God spoke to Peter and Paul, they told us the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but neither is He willing for any to perish, regardless the time will come in a twinkling of an eye: in the mouth of two or more witnesses a fact is affirmed (II Pet 3:9 & I Thess 4:16-17). Then the all important Witness of the Water, Blood and Spirit confirming there is a Record in heaven (I Jn 5:7-8); anyone who is Born Again knows of the hope within.

During Isaiah’s time king Berodachbaladan was the king of Babylon, thus Isaiah is the warning prophet, the one who will tell the people what will be if they don’t hold to the Lord. Isaiah was the one who told king Hezekiah how Babylon would come to take all the possessions of the house of Israel (II Kings 20:12-17). At the time it seemed like a stupid thing to say, but later it came to pass, among those “possessions” was Daniel.

Any nation claiming God, yet plays in the devil’s sandbox will be visited by the warning prophet, whether they listen or not is up to them. Preaching tells us what may happen if conditions don’t change, prophecy tells us what will happen if they don’t make a change in conditions, thus Jonah the prophet, preached to the people, he didn’t prophesy; however, the experience of the man in the belly of the fish became a prophecy. Jesus tells us Jonah preached, showing what he said regarding destruction was predicated on the conditions, the conditions changed when the people repented. It was not a change in positions, but conditions. According to some of our standards Jonah was a false prophet, he did say, “yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). Nineveh would be overthrown many years later, but not in forty days, yet the number forty does point to the wilderness. God told Jonah to “cry” against the city (Jonah 1:2), the word Cry is the Hebrew Qara meaning To preach. Discernment is vital, we may think someone is giving a prophecy, when they are giving us a “preaching”.

Jeremiah prophesied around 620 BC, he saw the captivity take place, although he was not taken captive. Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding the 70 years of captivity was hope for Daniel. When Daniel saw it as prophecy, rather than preaching; when the 70 years was coming to an end he was making himself ready by prayer in order to change his position (Dan 9:2).

Jeremiah also wrote Lamentations around 580 BC, thus Lamentations is included in this study. Lamentations is not the lamenting of the people, rather it’s God’s lamenting over doing what He must do, because of what the people did. God’s goal is always to save, but it’s man who makes the decision to be saved.

Both Daniel and Ezekiel began their ministries after being taken captive; Daniel in the house of king Nebuchadnezzar, Ezekiel in the captive camp near the river. Daniel was a student in Israel, a prince being trained when he was taken, Ezekiel was a priest in Israel. Ezekiel prophesied around 597 BC until some time around 575 BC. Ezekiel was taken in 597 BC, Daniel was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, and served in the palace. Daniel also remained captive under the Medes who overcame Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel becomes a type and shadow of those who did nothing wrong, yet find themselves under ungodly authority, for a Godly purpose. Daniel had first hand knowledge of being among the “royal” order, yet being “captive”; experience is often the best teacher. We can read something in the Bible, or live it, living it seems to make an impression. There are those who study the Bible, there are those who study what someone said the Bible said. Revelation comes when the Holy Ghost connects the life in us to the words written,  or connects us personally to the words of the teacher.

Revelation is never the use of unconnected inferences lacking evidence, it’s how the Whacko operates. Rather the Holy Ghost begins to link concepts, precepts to bring forth mysteries from the words as practical living matters. The Bible is the Rule Book, yet we know anyone can make up their own translation, so we must know the intent of the translators, their sources, above all Listen to the Holy Ghost since He is the Guide and Teacher (Jn 14:26 & 16:13).

Psalm 91 is the only Psalm wherein we are not sure who wrote it, some think Moses may have, but none are sure. The Psalm for a lack of a better term could be called “The Because Psalm”. The wording “Just because” is familiar to most of us, someone we care for gives us a hug, or a good word. We ask them “Why?”, they say “Because”. We give our children a good word, or a hug, they ask “why”, we say, “Just because”. We know it’s not based on “nothing”, rather it’s based on love. We bless our children because we love them, not because they have impressed us. Psalm 91 shows us God will do many things because He loves us, not because we have impressed Him. Faith pleases God, it doesn’t impress Him.

Not only is Psalm 91 the “just because” Psalm, but we find it contains one of the Scripture areas used by the devil in his temptation of Jesus. When the devil used Psalm 91:11 it wasn’t to tell Jesus how the Father’s Love covered Jesus, it was to get Jesus to tempt the Father’s love. Testing the love of God is error, accepting it is not.

Psalm 91:11 says God has given the angels Charge over us, but does it mean they are in charge over us? First it was God who commanded the angels, not man. Next is the word “charge” is the Hebrew Tsawah meaning To establish, or To ordain, or To set over someone, or something. This doesn’t say we are over the angels, or the angels are over us in rank, rather it says the angels are charged by God to “Protect” us; they are not employed to fetch, like some dog. The entire Psalm talks about God’s protection and deliverance, beginning with, “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”. The “he” can’t be God, since God is the Almighty, thus it points to the one who humbles their self (secret place). God will not humble us, He will give us cause, but it’s still up to us. Humbleness is being void, or being voided of pride, thus God gives Grace to the humble, but resists the Proud. Why? Humbleness makes us teachable (easily entreated), pride makes us unteachable. The mother of pride is unbelief, the father of pride is an unteachable stubborn attitude. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, then we can resist the devil; pride will exalt itself, humbleness waits on the Lord (James 4:10 & I Pet 5:6).

In Psalm 91 we find, “I will say” (v. 2), thus the humble scribe can say with a confidence of belief, the Lord is his refuge and fortress, in God will he trust. Then it changes from “I will say” to “surely He will deliver you” (v. 3). There is a change taking place; it went from the scribe making a declaration, to the scribe giving encouragement to another. Verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are all speaking to a third person, each verse has either “thou”, “thy” or “thine”, all showing the scribe is talking to someone else. The prophet has to trust in God, not only for the Word given, but how God will protect them from their own souls counterfeiting God. Paul said “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (I Cor 14:32), a quote from Ezekiel 13:2-3 & 14:9. The premise will become evident in this lesson, as well as the one to come.

Then in Psalm 91:9 we see our first, “Because”, yes there it is, “Just Because”. There was a thousand falling on one side, ten thousand on the other, yet you stand, no pestilence shall come near you. If you do fall in the hands of the fowler, the Lord will deliver you, but why? Because you have made the Lord your refuge. Faith in God to protect us, is a great faith, some of us seek God’s protection when there is nothing left for us to do but trust in God, but that’s desperation, not faith. Here it’s trusting in God at all times, even when there appears no need for deliverance. When we make God our Habitation, then we can count on the angels having Charge over us. People facing danger often get real religious, but it doesn’t mean they have faith. Faith is not something we grab in the midst of adversity, it’s something we have before the adversity.

Psalm 91:13 ties all this together by showing the Psalm is not directed to David, or Moses, or any other Old Testament saint, it pertains to us. We know the angels watched over the saints of Old, they watch over and protect us, but we have many things the saints of Old didn’t have. How do we know? Luke’s account in the Gospel explains how the 70  found the devils were subject to the Name of Jesus (Luke 10:17). That’s great, it not only showed them they were of the Rock (Body) by the Name of Jesus), but they had Power. However, Jesus told them, “Rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your name is written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Jesus gave them Power over “serpents” (malicious, or slanderous people), and “scorpions” (deceptive people), then He says don’t rejoice in it? Don’t rejoice in the Name of Jesus? In the Power of God? This connects back to Psalm 91:13; the last “Just because” of all, verse 14 says, “Because He had set His Love upon me”. God so loved the world, God is Love, when we received the Spirit we received God’s Love in us, over us is the Unction of the Anointing on the Body, but in us is the Anointing unto Salvation. Giving us incentive to have faith working by love, as we fulfill the Royal Law. Because God so loves us, we love those of God. These prophets were speaking to their own people, but they were also being rejected. At times they were about ready to give up, but God loves His own, thus He sent prophet after prophet, after prophet before doing what He had to do in order to save the nation. We may find ourselves under ungodly authority, not because God is mad at us, but because He is trying to save us.

Discernment is such a blessing, we see the Psalm went from the scribe speaking of himself, to the scribe speaking to you and I, then in verse 15 it all changes. It began with a knowledge of being humble, speaking and supporting others so they can be strong in the Lord, to knowing the Authority (Name) of the Lord. When we “call on the Lord”, no wait, is there another change? Correct, this now changes from the scribe speaking to us, to God speaking through the prophet directly to us. When we stand in the Name of Jesus and Call on God, then God says, “I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor (Hebrew Kavad, meaning To make heavy with goods) him. With Long life will I satisfy him, and show him My Salvation”. There did you see it? This is the Gospel plan, Call upon the Lord and He Will save you. All these are Will’s, not Maybe, nor are they dependent on being a good boy or girl. This Psalm is one promise after another, the Lord isn’t obligated to anything outside of His Promise, it doesn’t mean He won’t do it, it means He is not obligated. The things within the Promise are “sure things”, He will do as He says He will do.

The confidence of these prophets will get rocked from time to time, but they know to be humble before the Lord gains them protection. Will they speak some “tough” words?  Yes, the anointing can be austere, the Lord will make us austere at times to break down someone’s stronghold. The purpose is still to save them, not destroy them. It doesn’t take long in the kingdom to find out the old man is bent on one thing, to destroy us.

ISAIAH

The Outlines

The Holy Ghost had the prophet Isaiah give us two outlines to divide our course in prophecy. Chapters one through five of Isaiah are not the actions of the prophet, but outlines regarding the visions and words of the prophets of Old pertaining to the land, and people of their time, as well as a people yet to come. Neither can we assume Isaiah was running around giving these prophecies before he was called. The assumption makes the man a prophet, before God called him to be a prophet, which means he was not anointed or ordained. Hardly the case, these first five chapters are divided into two outlines, chapter one is the “Vision” Isaiah received for his time, chapters two through five pertain to the Word  concerning Judah and Jerusalem regarding the End Times.

The Holy Ghost didn’t guess at the insertion of the books, nor did He find one here or there and decide, “this looks like it might fit”. The Holy Ghost had a precise plan in mind for each book, even the order regarding the four scribes of the Gospel has a purpose.  Isaiah also has a purpose, as he begins with, “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (Isa 1:1). This vision is specific to the time of these kings alone, but in Isaiah 2:1 we read, “The word Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning the time of Judah and Jerusalem”, thus this Word goes further than the kings of the day, giving us a division between the Vision and the Word (Isa 2:2).

Jerusalem was the city, Judah a land, but we also know Jesus is the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, He is not the Lion from the land of Judah. Generally we find the tents of Judah as a reference to the Day, Jerusalem of the earth as a reference to the Night. Today the city of Jerusalem of the earth is still being trampled by the Gentiles, the Dome of the Rock Mosque is one example. The first five chapters of Isaiah give us an outline from which the man will prophesy, it also gives us an outline regarding the end times. This supports Peter’s teaching on the interpretation of Prophecy; although Isaiah had the word regarding the end times, it doesn’t mean he understood what he prophesied. Even Daniel would have a vision, yet wonder about its interpretation. When we enter the study on Jeremiah we will see how the prophet questioned God, because he couldn’t understand why God spoke of peace and safety on one hand, yet speak of captivity on the other. The same is true here, if the entire nation was corrupt, then Isaiah was also corrupt, how then could God use him?

Isaiah 1:1 and 2:2 also contain the ground work for the coming of the Messiah, but it doesn’t mean the Messiah came in the time of Isaiah (Isa 1:16). The prophecy for the time of Isaiah had to contain references to Jesus, or it wasn’t prophetic at all. Whether it’s prophecy regarding the captivity of the Jew, or prophecy regarding the kings of the world, it all points to Jesus in some regard. We don’t want to get redundant in End Time prophetic messages, but we will look for the confirming Word. Although the first outline points to the kings of the time of the prophet, we do find previews of the End Times.

When our Door closes, the time for Jesus to apply the Key of David begins. Then comes the Season for the Two Witnesses appointed to the last two churches of the Night. God begins with “Hear, O heavens, give ear, O earth” (Isa 1:2). A division of locales, a connection to those appointed to the heavens (Kingdom of God), then those of the kingdom of heaven (earth). Why would the heavens have to hear? And why not say “nation”. It seems the prophet would say, “hear oh nation, give ear ye people”, but he spoke as he was moved. The metaphor Heavens relates to those who are Born Again, they are seen as the heavenlies, the Earth is not the planet, it’s a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven, yet it has both Wheat and Tares, this message has prophetic information of interest to us. Next we see the concern is the rebellion of God’s children; some of us are under heavy bondage concerning our own children, here we find God raised these kids in the way they must go, yet they didn’t. He gave them what was required to finish the course, but they rebelled against Him (Isa 1:2). However, the event doesn’t tell us a thing, in the end after the Judgment we find a multitude of people who can’t be numbered. God hasn’t given up: He still has a Remnant who will make the enemies of Jesus His footstool.

God shows how the ox knows his owner, the donkey his master, but Israel doesn’t know its Owner or Master. Wait, Israel, I thought this was toward Jerusalem and Judah? Ahh, Jerusalem and Judah are in the Word, this is still the Vision. Israel is the called nation of God, the only nation on earth called of God, yet it’s also the “sinful nation”. Many nations say they have connection to God, some have made covenant with God, but Israel was the only one God made covenant with (Amos 3:2). No matter who claims the land, it’s still by Covenant to one nation.

Rebellion refers to some form of resistance, the noun relates to violence of some type. Usually rebellion is the use of authority to overthrow a higher authority. We found in the days of Noah the people held a violence toward God, which related to unrighteousness toward God, which is still a form of rebellion. We can be in rebellion by resisting what we should do, which leads to Iniquity. I Samuel 15:32 tell us Rebellion is the sin of witchcraft, but rebellion is not the same as “usurping authority”, to usurp authority means to use the authority of another unlawfully. The people were not doing what they should do, but they were also doing what they should not do.

The children have gone backward, or regressed back to Egypt thinking. Their rebellion caused them to backslide, but how can it be? Pushing something down, and being free of it are far different. The children had the Law of Moses as their guide, they didn’t have the Spirit, nor the Blood of Jesus. We have the Gift to be free indeed, yet to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).

If God doesn’t correct them, they will revolt more and more, then we read, “the whole head is sick”, which points to Authority (metaphor head), thus rebellion is an attack against Authority, it is not against Power. Authority is the granted permission to do something, Power is the ability to carry out the Authority. However, Power used without authority is witchcraft, authority is so important it must come before the Power. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus granted Authority to the Body, but the disciples were told to wait for Power from on high to carry out the authority. We can hear “go” then run off rejecting the words, “but wait for Power from on high”. We have authority, but we are under authority as well. Knowledge of the premise was equated by Jesus as great faith, but what has knowledge of authority have to do with great faith? It keeps us from rebellion. Rebellion makes us think we are doing what is “right”, while we are really doing what is very wrong, as we pervert the authority to what we want to do, rather than what the authority is granted for. Discernment by the Word in us keeps us from rebelling against the Name of Jesus.

The Vision shows the cities burned with fire, the land desolate, and the “daughter of Zion” is left as a cottage in a vineyard (Isa 1:8). The word Cottage is the Hebrew Sukkah meaning A booth, pointing to the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Wilderness. Then God says, the daughter of Zion is like a “besieged city”, the “daughter”, a “city”? Things are beginning to come together. This is not Zion, but the daughter which is termed the “city”, thus we find Jesus will mark the 144,000 on Zion, but they are weep over the abomination done in Jerusalem. Zion is the foundation of the city, the Daughter is the offspring, in Isaiah 1:9 the little flock, or the Remnant is mentioned, thus if it wasn’t for the Remnant they would be as Sodom and Gomorrah. The purpose of the nation is to reach the Night, so the Remnant can make the enemies of Jesus His footstool. Who then are the enemies? The Wicked, those who entered the Earth (kingdom of heaven), yet retained the spirit of the world, making them the he of the world; they lie in wait to deceive, they are the drunken who go into the Night, also known as the sons of perdition.

After saying if it were not for the Remnant they would be as Sodom and Gomorrah, the prophet addresses the “rulers of Sodom”, and “the people of Gomorrah” (Isa 1:10). Rulers? People? what gives? This is a direct reference to the people of Israel, but it’s also a warning to us. John said the city is spiritually known as Sodom (Rev 11:8), the same city is seen here. This is still directed to the nation Israel, but God equates the leaders as Sodom minded, the people as Gomorrah minded, reminding them how God sent angels to those cities. The end of their folly was fire and brimstone, thus if it were not for the course of the Night they would be a people who were. Then God tells them their sacrifices have not pleased Him, not because of the sacrifices, since they were in line with the Law, but because of the people who gave them (Isa 1:11-12). Correction without a means to recover is not from God, God will give them the means to recover (Isa 1:16-17).

Since many things in the Shadow are opposites, or mirror images, we find “though your sins be as scarlet” (Isa 1:18). Isn’t Scarlet a metaphor for the Blood of Jesus? Yes, if we don’t see the mystery here, we will assume the Blood of Jesus is sin. Not so, the Blood of Jesus washes us from all unrighteousness, yet all unrighteousness is sin. The reference shows the sins of all people are open and obvious to God, just as the Blood of Jesus is open and obvious to all mankind. God then tells the children, “come let us reason together” (Isa 1:18). Does it mean God is willing to compromise with them, perhaps the people can serve Him three days a week, idols three, and whatever on the seventh? The people are told to join with God in His reasoning of the situation, it doesn’t mean He is willing to compromise with their evil. The phrase “let us reason together” is the Hebrew word Yakach meaning among other things to Reprove, Correct, Judge, or make Right, God is laying out what they must do, if they do it, they will be spared, if not, God will do what God must do.

The conditions began with them Turning from the evil, then be Willing and Obedient (Isa 1:19). Three things connecting to the word Repentance, the turning from sin toward God, the willingness to be cleaned to serve God, then obedience unto God, which always destroys rebellion. Repentance without a willing heart toward obedience is merely a another mind game. The love of God is reaching out past the reality, but the willingness and obedience of the people must take effect to touch His love.

There is a promise for us in this, although the Scarlet here means something obvious, we can see how the Blood of Jesus as Scarlet washes away our sins and makes us white (or clear) as snow. The mystery of the Blood of Jesus tells us His Blood is not like the blood of animals, or man. Most of us know if you take the blood of an animal and attempt to wash a clothe in it, it will stain the clothe, yet the Blood of Jesus has the ability to Wash even the interior of the product, making it clean through and through.

However, we also find, “if you refuse and rebel”, it will bring God’s reality. God is still providing Choice, clearly there are two things to choose from (Isa 1:19-20). What will be the result? Will they turn? Will they become obedient? Only after the punishment of captivity. However, it shows they had the ability to escape before the captivity, but rejected their incentive. Unbelief has the same characteristics, it has the ability to believe, but refuses to. Unbelief demands more evidence than is necessary, it still won’t yield to the Truth. It’s always a choice, we see the truth we believe, we hear the Word, we obey.

Then see the Vision reaching to a the Night, “How is the faithful city become a harlot!” (Isa 1:21). This is a rhetorical question, or a question wherein the one asking knows the answer, but asked the question in order for the hearer to consider the matter. This begins as a question (How), but it doesn’t end with a question mark (?), thus God is not seeking the answer. One might think if God is asking a question, then God doesn’t know all things. Not so, a rhetorical question is bringing awareness, it is not seeking information. The same is true when God asked Adam, “Where are you?”. The question was for Adam to become aware of what he had done, and where he had fallen to, in essence God was asking a question Adam should have asked.

With that, God says “the faithful city”, but is this city “faithful” or a “harlot”? Wait, how come the city, isn’t the entire nation in trouble? Man oh man, but wait, it’s not the city but what the city represents. It sits on Zion, it’s the place where the “head” of the religious order God established is located the earth. In our case, Jesus is the Head of the Body, God’s Salvation order is established in the Body to become the Church, so the Church can become the Bride in heaven. The religious order for the “city” pertains to Judgment, in the Book of Revelation this “city” is seen with the sun as her covering, the twelve stars as her crown, representing the twelve tribes, she is supported by the moon (Zion – Rev 12:1). The “woman” in Revelation is this city talked about here, yet in the Night she has a holy beginning, but a corrupt end, thus she begins in Mercy as faithful, but ends thinking she is rich in need of nothing as she entertains the false prophet. She is seen in various stages of performance, she was faithful, then during the Day she is trodden under foot of the Gentile, then she is seen as faithful again, finally she is seen riding the Beast, thus it depends on which stage God is speaking to, she is faithful to bring forth the man child, but she will be a harlot when she makes the Beast her lover (Rev 12:5-6, 17:1-7 & 18:4-20). Adding to this, we know Jesus never wept over the nation, but He did weep over the city (Luke 23:28).

This prophecy will hold two directional premises, we find “your silver is become dross”, with “your wine mixed with water” (Isa 1:22). If we look at the Laodiceans we find they are rich and think they are in need of nothing, but how did they get rich? Where did all their wealth come from? They are the second generation after the Windows of heaven opened (Rev 3:14-17). Later we find the “city” was clothed in fine linen, many were made rich by her, but she also held the cup of abomination, yet in the end she is called “Babylon”, the “Mother of Harlots” (Rev 18:4-21 & 17:3-5).

The reference to “wine mixed with water” points to the Body of Christ, not Israel. Paul told Timothy, “drink no longer water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your often infirmities” (I Tim 5:23). Oh, it’s good advice, you know I have a little stomach trouble from time to time, but wait, why put it between two areas talking about the laying on of hands and men’s sins (I Tim 5:22 & 5:24)? In Timothy the word Stomach doesn’t mean the belly, it means the Gullet or Throat, or the route to the stomach, First Timothy 5:23 is the only place the Greek word is used. The Greek word for Wine means, a mixture of Wine and Water, it was a symbol in the Early church for the Water and Blood. The Witness is the Water, Blood and Spirit (I Jn 5:7-8), this is more than a medical solution, it was a solution to stop laying hands suddenly on people to place them in positions they were not ready for. The result is untrained people, who fall into rebellion because they can’t handle the position. Here in Isaiah the reference is connected to a prophetic message, pointing to the people of the time, and a time to come, thus Paul used it.

Then we read about the “rebellious princes” and “companions of thieves” (Isa 1:23). It does connect, showing us how the Broken Body will take the Faithful who are the Just home to be with the Lord forever more, but the Broken pieces will remain as the “rocks” becoming the Beast of the Earth (Rev 6:15 & 13:11-16). The rebellious princes with the companions of thieves sought the goodies, yet God gave them much, but they presumed it was by their hand and good works. They also assumed, “Who needs God?”, but God says, “ease Me of My adversaries, and avenge Me of My enemies” (Isa 1:24). This gives us the two horns of the goat who is the Beast of the Earth, one horn is Opposed or an Adversary, which defines the title “spirit of antichrist” (I Jn 4:1-4). After the Rapture the other horn of this goat appears as the false prophet (Rev 13:11).

God promises something yet to come, the Judges and Counselors will return to Zion, it shall be Redeemed with Judgment (not salvation), the purpose will be the “destruction of the transgressors” (Isa 1:26-28). The Sixth church will be faithful as the 144,000, but they will also be a minority. The majority will listen to the false prophet causing it all to end in the lake of fire. This goes back to “I will ease Me of My adversaries” (rebellious princes, and transgressors), and “avenge Me of My enemies” (the Wicked ending as the footstool). This refers to the Night, the Season Jesus said was in the power of the Father (Acts 1:6-8). We don’t make the enemies of Jesus His footstool, they make themselves the footstool by holding to the spirit of the world.

Then come the metaphors Oak, and a Garden without Water (Isa 1:29). The Oak is something they desired, but they shall be ashamed of it, they shall be confounded for the gardens they have chosen. Oak is a hard wood, it was used to make idols, as well as furniture, thus a man would cut down an Oak, make a chair to sit in, then idol to watch while sitting in the chair. An idol is the rebellious pride of man desiring to control their god, but they fall prey to their own folly.

The metaphor Water points to Mercy, they will be Oaks (trees) whose Leaf has faded (no life), as a Garden without water (void of Mercy). Then we read, “they shall burn together, and none shall quench them” (Isa 1:31). Clearly, if none shall quench them, the burning must be forever and ever. This connects to the Lake of Fire, thus we find the devil, beast of the earth (false prophet) in the Lake of Fire before the Judgment (Rev 20:10). It’s still appointed to all men once to die, then comes the Judgment (Heb 9:27). When the Judgment does come there won’t be one person physically alive on the earth, thus the excuses will cease, no one will say, “God, if You would only have waited until tomorrow, I would have repented, and obeyed You”.

We find Isaiah had a vision and word for Jerusalem and Judah, yet God speaks to Israel, thus it’s also clear this is projected to a time yet to come. Not only is this evident in Isaiah 2:1, but we find the Woman in Revelation is the city of Jerusalem on the earth, but Judah is representative of the Body of Christ (tents of Judah). True the physical land was divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, but it is also a metaphoric and prophetic sign.

We find these people felt being in the temple was more important than keeping God in their heart. So much so, we find in the days of Jeremiah they were convinced God would never allow the temple to be destroyed, thus they thought they could worship idols under the protection of the Temple. God never side their Temple would not be destroyed, thus they made up their own tradition, by the tradition they rejected the Word of God; truly their traditions made the Word to none effect. They went to Temple, but then they ran to the hills to worship idols, thinking nothing was wrong. The children in the wilderness made the same error, they made the golden calf to replace Moses, then woke up early to celebrate the Lord’s feast.

The daughter of Zion is the Remnant, or little flock, they have a purpose and means granted in a little strength, yet they will be overcome, it must be so. On the other hand, we have the Greater Strength to be Overcomers. We can’t mix the two together, then expect to win this race. Out of Zion of the earth comes the Remnant, but we leave the earth to reach New Jerusalem. Two groups, one defined in the Book of Revelation as “thousands of thousands” (Remnant), the other as “ten thousand times ten thousand” (Church – Rev 5:11). The latter grows, the former is a group taken from a group. Two different peoples, the Flock of growth in our Season, then the “Little Flock” taken from the tribes in the next Season.

The Church also has a remnant, but The Remnant referred to in the Book of Revelation are still the Remnant of the seed of the Woman, which explains Genesis 3:14-15. The great importance of knowing the “serpent” is not some snake, as the “heel” of Jesus becomes bruised defining the footstool causing the bruise. The heel of Jesus is nonetheless part of His Body, but it’s His heel, not His Head, making the footstool not part of His Body, but something His foot will stomp on, thus causing the bruise. The beasts of the field were seen in the beginning, joined to the Serpent, thus establishing how the beginning was as prophetic as it was real.

Simply because Zion is the Mountain of God, it doesn’t mean it’s so holy and righteous to the point of never failing; Isaiah was sent to Zion, but he was told to call it Sodom (Isa 1:10). There is a Zion of the earth, but the Book of Hebrews tells us there is one of heaven as well (Heb 12:22). The Zion of the earth is earthly, it belongs to the Remnant. The Zion of heaven is the Body of Christ, it belongs to us. Each Zion contains all the products needed to accomplish the task for its Season, what is done with the products determines which side of the Sword one faces.

Isaiah tells Israel, she is no longer called “Rule as God” (the metaphoric meaning of the word Israel), but “Scorched with the Flesh” and “Ruined”, the meaning of Sodom (Isa 1:10). In all this God never left them, nor did He forsake them, His love was still there, they simply refused to accept it. Their own rebellion caused the rebuke, captivity and events thereafter. God’s love was extended, they rejected it, now He will deal with the reality. God’s desire was for them to repent, His reality sees they didn’t.

Isaiah didn’t face demon possessed people; he faced self-centered, self-serving, rebellious people. This is the Land well after the Wilderness, yet the people in the land had minds like the children in the Wilderness, but they still had the evidence of what God did to the rebellious people (Jude 5). Isaiah was called to expose the deliberate ignorance of the people; the prophet’s ministry of exposure leaves the prophet with few, if any friends.

God asked these people to be obedient and willing (Isa 1:19), thus a faith to please God must contain the elements of obedience with a willing soul. The Just live by faith, but believe unto the saving of the soul (Heb 10:38-39 & I Pet 1:9). This is also a clue to the workings of God, He allowed these people to reach a point, but still sent them word after word. Jesus warns the majority of the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, but in neither case we don’t find God forcing correction. Jesus gave us the Body, thus we baptize in water as fishers of men, but He builds the Church, thus He baptizes with the Holy Ghost and Fire. The same premise is found here, the Woman nor the Nation were intended to be rebellious, yet the people who make up the entities made choices opposed to God’s will.

If the people of God turn and reason with God, instead of demanding for God reason with them, He will forgive them, allowing them to change their path to avoid the danger coming down the road (Isa 1:18-19). The “keys” were in their hands, they had the power to repent, or rebel. The same is true with us, Jesus gave us the Keys, we can hold the keys forever yet never use them. Isaiah brought choice, not demands, or manipulation, nor did he force a change on the people. God doesn’t force Himself on us, He provides the obvious evidence allowing us to make the choice.

Isaiah looks at the present tense, seeing a hint of the future, as God points out the faithful city has become a harlot; there was a time when the city was full of judgment and righteousness, but now it’s full of murderers. Who are the people in the city? God’s people, and who did they murder? The Two Witnesses of the Law and Prophets, with all those who stood with them, allowing them to lay in the streets of the city to be trampled by the heathen (Isa 1:21-22 & Rev 11:3). In our Season we can be responsible for killing the just by using envy and strife, or by withholding Truth and Mercy.

The rebellion gave birth to the thieves, who loved the benefit, but failed to use it for its intended purpose (Isa 1:22-23 & James 5:1-6). Their actions were the jokes of the heathen, their representation was defiling the Name of God. They brought laughter from hell against God, they used God’s name, but bowed to idols. They said they were doing the work of Jehovah, but they were using the works of the devil. They did go to Temple on the Sabbath, but they ran to the mountain tops to sacrifice to idols; however, God wasn’t giving up on them, He sent His prophets to bring them back.

Zion shall be restored, Jesus will mark the Remnant of 144,000 on Zion to bring the knowledge of God through the Two Witnesses of the Law and Prophets (Isa 1:25-27). Those who worshipped the works of their hands will be ashamed when they face Him whom they have pierced (Isa 1:28-31). Isaiah’s prophecy to the people in his time will follow the outline of the vision noted in Chapter One. All his prophecies for his time will in some way connect back to this outline; however, the prophecies for the future will be outlined in detail in Chapters two through five, thus the greater amount of prophecy reaches beyond his time, through our Season to a Season yet to open.

The Outline for Judah (Church), and Jerusalem (Remnant) in the latter days is based on the Word, not the Vision (Isa 2:1). This shows a Vision is for our time, but a Word may extend past our time. The latter end doesn’t mention Israel as such, but points to Jerusalem (city of God’s peace), Jesus referred to it as the church of Philadelphia (city of brotherly love). Our prior studies gave us the division between Jacob the man and Israel the nation, Isaiah will expand on the division. Judah relates to Jesus the lion from the Tribe of Judah, denoting the Body; Jerusalem is a location, pertaining to the physical land, pointing to the Remnant.

Those who follow Jesus entered the House of Judah to gain New Jerusalem, but Jesus told the church of Philadelphia “He who overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God and I will write upon him a new name” (Rev 3:12). Wait, hold it,  “My God”, isn’t He their God? This disassociation indicates they will operate in Mercy, but will not know Jesus until all eyes see Him. It’s after the Judgment New Jerusalem descends, meaning it had to first ascend. New Jerusalem won’t touch the earth, but it will receive those who past the Judgment; however, first it has to be Raised in a twinkling of an eye. This promise here in Isaiah is set for the Judgment, not the Rapture, but it does point to the Rapture when we find New Jerusalem as the Bride (Rev 21:2).

Once they enter the Time of Comfort, they will not leave the land again until the end of time. The Remnant are promised a position in New Jerusalem, but their position comes as the Gates not the Wall (Rev 21:21). The Wall around New Jerusalem measures 144 cubits, the city is within, yet the foundation of the wall is the Apostles and Prophets, the foundation for the Body (Rev 21:17 & 21:14). The completed Wall cannot come until the Night is finished, thus the Gates to the Wall are seen as the tribes, but the City in heaven as New Jerusalem.

Isaiah’s vision for his people shows two conditions but without a position, giving us the condition they were in, with the condition they could have, but neither condition could grant them a position above the Law of Moses. His latter day Word shows two like conditions with a promise for a higher position. We have the unique opportunity to obtain a condition and position not afforded to these people; however, to whom much is given, much is required.

Isaiah points to the one world government, by saying the mountain of the Lord’s house will sit on the mountains of the world; however, this is also a two edged sword. They will begin with the windows of heaven pouring out a blessing they won’t be able to hold,  but the Door to heaven will be closed, as the Door to David opens (Rev 4:1-3). Then the Seventh church will think it’s rich and in need of nothing, causing the second edge of the Sword to drop. John sees the Woman covered with the riches of the world, yet still in the wilderness as the Whore and Babylon, but she didn’t enter the wilderness that way (Rev 12:1, 12:6, 17:1-5 & Isa 1:21). Looking at the world today we have to wonder how could a one world government be? However, the Night is not like the world today, there will be massive changes in the physical land, the weather, and many other things. In our season it’s wars, rumors of wars, pestilence and famine, but it’s the world during the Day, in the Night there will be Peace and Safety, then comes sudden destruction.

The Song of Solomon gave us the Bride coming out of the wilderness with her Beloved, here it’s not the Bride but Jerusalem of the earth. The correlation is interesting, New Jerusalem is still the Bride of the Lord, thus in the Book of Revelation John sees New Jerusalem as a “Bride”. However, Jerusalem of the earth is not a bride in any sense of the word, but she thinks she is, thus she says she is no widow, but a queen. However, saying it and being it are different. The Woman takes on the role she was not entitled to, in so doing she becomes Babylon, the city of idols and bondage.

The same John who wrote I John wrote the Book of Revelation, yet we never find the term “antichrist” in the Book of Revelation. It would seem since it was the same person, he would use the same term, but we find the “spirit of antichrist” was in the days of John and today, but will not be after the Rapture. The position will become the “Beast of the earth”, or the “Eighth”. This Eighth will invade the Seventh, but the Eighth had a mother by the name of  the spirit of antichrist in our Season, as one of the two horns found on this Beast, with the second horn being the false prophet. (Rev 17:10-11 & Isa 1:9).

Prophecy is confirmed by prophecy, looking for it to come to pass, and knowing it will come to pass are different. The Pharisees knew the Scriptures better than most of us, yet they missed the prophetic word by a mile. They were looking for one prophecy (Time of Comfort), yet missed the coming of the Messiah. Is there a “time of comfort”? Yes, these prophets will speak of it often; however, the error of the Pharisees was seeking one Season when it was time for another. We are of the Day, the Time of Salvation, looking for judgment in this Season is still error. Simply because the prophecy is there, doesn’t mean it’s for our Season. Jesus broke the times and seasons up into the Day and Night, then told us to stay out of the Restoration of Israel, rather as children of the Day we are to seek Power from on high to be Witnesses (Acts 1:6-8). Don’t forget those of the Day work while it is yet Day, for the Night comes when on man can work (Jn 9:4).

We will see words like “Comfort thee, Comfort thee”; which the Jew knows as a Time of Peace and Safety, or the Time of  Comfort, yet Paul said, they will say Peace and Safety, then comes sudden destruction (I Thess 5:3). In the latter days the “God of Jacob” will be established in the House of God, this begins the Time of Comfort, but it also sets the stage for the enemies of Jesus to be made into His footstool. However, when the City makes Zion her footstool, the end is near, thus not all who call themselves Israel are of Israel (Rom 9:6).

David said, “come let us worship at His footstool”, it’s the point, the Wicked move into the footstool to corrupt it, killing the just by murdering the Remnant, then casting the Law and Prophets in the “street” as “useless”; causing the end to come.

Now we enter the second outline of Isaiah to show why we find “Peace”, yet it will not be “True Peace”. For this reason we are given a Peace, not as the world gives. There are two types of Peace, one is found in Grace, the other is yet to come in the term “Peace and Safety”, the latter being Peace in the world order.

Isaiah still points to “Judah and Jerusalem”, but this time we find “it shall come to pass in the last days”, changing the position (Isa 2:2). Then the “mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains” (Isa 2:2). Does it mean it will be “surrounded” by mountains? Does it mean God will move the house? The metaphor Mountain points to a nation, not the city, certainly this is not the Body of Christ. Prior it was the city, now we see how the Night will begin. The nation (mountain) of the Lord will be established on top, or over the head of all the other nations in the world, as a one world government. Not one to be feared by us, since the time is set for the Night, yet since it’s prophecy, no one is going to change it, it will surely be. Later we will see as the king is, so is the city, as the city is, so is the nation.

The rest of Isaiah 2:2 shows the Mountain of the Lord’s House, this is the not the Lord, or the House, but the Mountain which will be exalted. If this said, “the Mount” of the Lord’s house it would point to Zion, but it also points to Mountain, or Nation. Then we see this Mountain will be exalted above “the hills” (sub-nations), as “all nations shall flow unto it” (Isa 2:2). Clearly this is one nation above all the nations and sub-nations of the world, the ten toes of the Gentile nations shall flow to the nation to hear of the knowledge of the Lord. Several things are prevalent, the nation will survive, something they are aware of today. They will be the only place on earth at the time where anyone will learn the knowledge of the Lord, which shows we’re out of here, but it also shows there will be no other religious orders, the great earthquake will change many things. There is a connection to show this, Isaiah 2:3 shows the people will say let us go to the Mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob, he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion (the 144,000) shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. It really narrows it all down; the People which is the Hebrew Am, referring to compatriots, separating it from the prior verse. This is how it will begin, the statement is “the God of Jacob”, if these were Jews, it would be “our God”, thus the division shows the people of the world will come to the city to learn of God, as the knowledge of God is delivered by the Remnant by using the Law and Prophets. God will spare the nation in the great earthquake, as the land masses join together again. The people will be taught indicated by the wording, “will teach”, which is the Hebrew Yarah meaning the projection of knowledge, not necessarily the acceptance of knowledge.

We also see the Law and the “word”, we know about the Law, but what about this “word”? The Hebrew word used here is Davar meaning Word or Matter, it appears some 1,400 times in the Old Testament it’s translated in no less than 85 different English words, it’s not to be confused with “The Word” as the Greek Logos, rather Davar points to A saying, A cause, or A lawsuit, the Ten Commandments are called Davar. This shows us the Remnant Keep the Commandments of God, as they teach them to the world. In this case we find the people going to the House of the Lord to be taught, it will be the case as at the opening of the Time of Comfort. The people will beat their swords into plowshares, the concepts of War as we know them will be forgotten. However, we then find the Beast of the Earth moves into the City, causing the people to worship idols again, the world then takes the same plowshares forming them into crude weapons (Micah 4:3 & Joel 3:10).

If the Book of Revelation proves nothing else, it proves the words of these Prophets will come to pass. The purpose for the Book of Revelation is the same we find in many of the letters to the Body of Christ. The warnings tell us not to fall into the hands of the Wicked, or find ourselves among the drunken who go into the Night.

Salvation will be stayed during the Night, thus there will be silence in heaven during the last half of the hour (Rev 8:1). The Hour is divided into two halves, one for the Day, one for the Night, it’s still the Hour of Tribulation consisting of the Day and Night. Jacob’s Trouble is the Great Tribulation, wherein the Wrath of God will be poured out, but we are promised something far greater. We are not appointed to the wrath of God (I Thess 5:9), we are appointed to God’s Grace and Salvation. This is the Day the Lord has made, let us Rejoice and be glad in it. The phrase “wrath of God” is used some 34 times in the Bible, 16 of those in the New Testament, with 7 of those 16 in the Book of Revelation.

Clearly we find when peace and safety comes the nations will beat their swords into plowshares, they will not know the ways of war, which Paul called Peace and Safety (Isa 2:4 & I Thess 5:3). It will take the three frogs of evil remembrance to bring the hate, strife and bitterness to the people, which produces methods of war, but the people won’t have tanks or missiles. They will take the same plowshares, then beat them back into swords (Joel 3:10). During the Night they will not only believe a lie, but the devils will be released from the pit, masses of people will be demon possessed. The treat of nuclear war will be a thing of the past, they will have crude weapons, thus people will kill people with a brutal force based on the people being possessed seven times worse than at any other time in history. Clearly an incentive to make the Rapture, Amen?

The ten toes seen in Daniel’s vision are the ten horns of the Beast of the Sea, yet the Beast of the Earth uses the authority of the Beast of the Sea. Since the First Beast is found in the Gentile world (Sea), but the False Prophet as the Second Beast is of he Earth, we find the Sea, the Earth and the Sand of the Sea in the latter days. Yet, what about these Ten Horns, don’t we have many nations on the earth today? Yes, Noah had three sons, from two came the ten horns, but from the ten horns came all the sub-nations or “hills” of the world, regardless of how many nations they still came from the Two Feet (sons). Yet, from Noah’s third son came the Jews; therefore, God only sees three types of people, the Jew, the Gentile and those of the Body who are neither Jew or Gentile. John says the groups of people on the earth when Jesus returns are those who pierced Him (Jews), and those who wail because of Him (Gentile), we don’t fit either group (Rev 1:7). John also says, Every eye will see Jesus, thus every soul bound to the earth from Adam to the end will look upon Jesus (Rev 1:7).

If we have the power to cast out devils, why would the devil have to be bound if we’re still here? If those who have the authority are taken, yet only those with a little strength left, then it makes sense to bind the devil in the pit. Malachi shows a time when the Jew will use the Tithe under the Law of Moses to open the windows of heaven, but one makes entry through the Door; only a thief comes another way (Mal 3:9-12). Malachi, like many of these prophets points to both Seasons, thus Malachi also shows the iniquity in the Body is found when they pollute the ”table”, rather than honor it (Mal 3:13-14 & 1:12).

Paul said the son of perdition places “himself” in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God, which is a self act, yet Paul also says this “himself” is also a “them” (II Thess 2:4). Isaiah calls Lucifer “a man” (Isa 14:16), this man has a beginning in the “morning”. Isaiah and the other prophets will give us a detailed description of the son of perdition. Lucifer is a name contracted from other cultures, but by the Holy Ghost using it only one time in all Scripture lets us know this element is not Jewish in nature, thus placing this “man” as a Gentile. The Eighth comes from the seven churches, as well as the seven Gentile mountains, although beginning of the son of perdition started with Judas, those who follow are still morning related (Rev 17:11). Therefore, we find the name Lucifer metaphorically meaning “son of the morning”, thus Jesus pointed to Judas as the first son of perdition, but Paul said the manifested position was yet to come (II Thess 2:3). We will find Lucifer had an honorable position, one revered by men today, but he fell from his position beginning another position called the “son of perdition. Hebrews 10:38-39 divide the Just from the Unjust, showing the Just believe unto the saving of the soul, the Unjust draw back to perdition, becoming sons of perdition. The title “son of perdition” is a position, but the prince of the position is Judas, the traitor.

When God formed Adam, He told him to replenish the earth, but God sees the House of Jacob being replenished by sin, they have become soothsayers, like unto the Philistines (Isa 2:6). Wow, God said they became as their enemy the Philistines by doing the same acts as the Philistines, yet they are called of “Jacob”. Perhaps it’s why the end of the Tribulation is called “Jacob’s trouble” (Jere 30:7).

Toward the end of 1,000 years they will worship idols on the roof tops, yet praise the Lord in the Temple, thereby becoming lukewarm, or unequal. When this lukewarm condition enters the Seventh church the way is open for the Eighth to move the idols from the roof tops into the Temple (Rev 17:10-11). The Seventh church will think its rich and in need of nothing, Isaiah shows they will have a land full of silver with no apparent end to their treasures, but their land will also be full of idols (Isa 2:6-7). Isaiah will cover the end times from the perspective of man looking at the purpose of God with the reality of God looking at man.

This second outline of the end times is the Holy Ghost’s outline regarding any prophecy of the end times, whether from a Major Prophet, or a Minor Prophet, or a New Testament Prophet, or one who Teaches on the End Times. Prophesy doesn’t change, it becomes fulfilled. To assume God gave one of His prophets a Prophecy, then changed His mind is error; to presume God gave all these prophets the same information, and then said, “You know what, I was wrong, sorry about that”, is a bigger error. God is the Alpha and Omega, He had the end in hand, before the beginning, the works of the Night are complete. God gave His prophets visions and words of things He has seen done, before they became events to man. To assume God changed any of these prophecies makes God a man, rather than God, a stronghold not accepted by sound Bible teaching. God changes not, His moves are progressive to the result, even the Rapture is a point in the progressive plan, not the finish of the plan.

The Mean Man bows to idols, but the Great Man humbles himself (Isa 2:9). The wording Mean Man is the Hebrew Adam, the wording Great Man is the Hebrew Ish;  today we hear much about “being like Adam”, but the Adam nature is not our goal. Adam was served of God, Jesus served the Father. The Adam nature is living soul, but the Hebrew Adam is also used by the prophets to point to the Wicked One, but we find Adam was unequal, he had authority, but failed to protect Bone of my bone, then entered the fall by eating the wrong fruit. What did Judas do? He was among the ministry, his sins were forgiven, he was told to freely give what he received, yet he attempted to use Jesus to gain for himself, he sold “bone of my bone” to those who would do the lust of their father the devil. Judas then became “Adam like”, yet we desire to be “Christ Like”.

The Great man or Ish is a citizen, yet neither Adam or Ish are humbling themselves under God’s hand, but they do humble themselves under idols. Then Isaiah 2:10-12 tells us how they hide, yet the lofty looks of Adam (man) shall be humbled, the haughtiness of Ish (men) shall be bowed down, explaining how every knee will bow. Today some say, “I won’t bow to Jesus no matter what”, well the What will come, and they will bow, but only to escape the pending event. At the Judgment they will not be judged for what they are doing (bowing), but for what they did (refused to bow). Isaiah 2:9 points to the future, the phrase “forgive them not”, means they can’t be forgiven, thus showing how one can’t Crucify the Son of God in the Night, or at the Judgment, the Son of man was crucified once.

Jesus asked Peter, “what could you not watch and pray with Me one Hour?” (Matt 26:40). It wasn’t simply praying about anything, but praying we don’t enter the Hour. We can pray for six hours, yet never pray regarding the Hour. Jesus told the disciples three times to Watch, He told the Fifth church to be Watchful (Mark 13:33-37 & Rev 3:2). From our prior studies we know the difference between the Last Trump and the Great Trump, when the Great Trump sounds on Zion the terrible day of the wrath of God will be upon mankind (Joel 2:1 & 2:11). Then the Lord alone shall be exalted, then every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord (Ph’l 2:11 & Isa 2:17).

During the Day of the Lord (not the Day of Salvation, the Day of the Lord, which is different), man will not look at the pleasant pictures of idols and icons on the walls of the house of God, but they will run and hide when the Glory of the Lord shakes the earth in a terrible manner (Isa 2:17-19). Peter says, this last earthquake will cause the elements to melt with fervent heat, which is the description of the earth turning inside out to become the burning lake of fire, as it becomes New (not like before – II Pet 3:10). Then the figure of speech will be an exactness of darkness (devil released), and blood (judgment). Isaiah will describe it as the world becoming like Sodom, thus the New Earth at the Time of Comfort, and the New Earth at the Judgment are two different things. The New Earth during the Time of Comfort will be new to the people, but it will be as the Days of Noah, one land mass, the four winds will be stopped, no bad weather, no wars, famine, pestilence, or bad water, or anything foul, but the New Earth at the Judgment is much different. The Earth will last forever, but in a different state, the last state is the lake of fire, as the earth turns inside out when hell widens her borders (Isa 5:14 & 14:9), thus the final New Earth will be like Sodom, full of fire and brimstone. The word New is relative, it means not like before; yet we still have a promise, a promise of New Jerusalem in heaven, where we will be with the Lord forever. What about all those lost people? The cries of sorrow, those continual cries; how will we be able to take it? God has solved the problem, there will be no memory of the dead, the lake of fire will be out of our view, if someone didn’t make it to heaven, they will not be in our memory.

Isaiah sees the plagues in the latter days, he also notes there will be plagues on the unfaithful, the term unfaithful points to an iniquity to be faithful. In our Season they caused the Falling away from The Faith, yet assumed they are exalted above the clouds (Isa 3:1-12). When one falls from The Faith, they draw back into perdition. The Lord will return with ten thousands of His saints, including the “ancients of His people”, and the princes; comprising the saints of the Church returning as New Jerusalem ( Clouds pl.) to receive the Remnant, or anyone who finds their name in the Book of Life. When Jesus took captivity captive, they were the ancients of His people who became the first Cloud of witnesses under the altar of God, thus Jesus was received by A Cloud, but He returns with Clouds. This is not to be confused with “the Ancient of Days”, in reference to the Ancient of Days John simply said, “in the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1 & Dan 7:9). However, in our case we will meet Jesus in the Air, as He takes us Home until the 1,000 years are over, then we return to complete the City and Wall of the New heaven (Rev 6:9-11, 7:9 & I Thess 4:15-18).

The daughters of Zion were haughty, they paraded their gold and silver, thus they assume they are rich and in need of nothing (Isa 3:16-23 & Rev 3:17). The seventh church is still under the Authority of Jesus as it relates to Mercy, thus Jesus as the Son of man is still the judge. The Seventh church is not a spin-off of the Sixth, it’s next in succession. Some will reject the pomp as they stand with the Two Witnesses, yet they will be overcome as the Wicked kill the righteous, then comes the end. It’s still a true saying, God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked, but when the wicked destroy the righteous, the time for it’s appointed to all men once to die then comes the judgment will happen.

Before the end comes, the plagues come, then the great war and many men will die, which produces a shortage of men, this produces the concept of many women for one man, or causing the women to forbid to marry, thus seven women will live with one man (Isa 4:1-2). Those who are left in Zion who stand with the Two Witnesses will be written among the living (Isa 4:3 & Rev 20:12).

Isaiah goes back to the Song of Solomon showing the Beloved touching the vineyard (Isa 5:1). God has done His work, the vineyard was prepared, sowed with good seed and opened, all it took was a desire to love the Husbandman and appreciate the work put into the vineyard (Isa 5:1-3).

Jesus is the Root of David, as the Son of man He took the Fourth Cup of God’s wrath in the Garden, but only after He gave us the Cup holding His Blood of the New Testament. Again showing the Day must come before the Night, they each have a Cup, but only the Cup with the Blood of Jesus grants us Life so we can have it More Abudantly.

The final warnings relate to iniquity (v. 5:18), to those who call good evil, or evil good (v. 5:20). It is interesting how some today call the spiritual manifestations evil, as they call natural intellect good. The wicked will be judged, the roar of the Sea (Gentiles) shall come, the trump will be sounded in Jerusalem as the time of darkness and sorrow, when the heavens are darkened at the beginning of the Judgment (Isa 5:18-30).

Isaiah had the Word for the latter days, John had the Vision, the two show the completed work; therefore, John tells us not to add to or take away from the prophecy. Neither does the Book of Revelation stand on its own, it takes all the prophecies to give us the clarity needed as the Holy Ghost leads us through the Book of Revelation adding the prophecies of the prophets to the vision of John. There is a great hope in the Cross of Jesus, a Plan of assurance regarding the Night: we are not the children of wrath, nor the children of the Night, nor the children of darkness, we are the Children of the Day.

ISAIAH

The Ministry

After Isaiah has his vision and word, then he could prophesy, except for one thing left to be done. The two outlines are not Isaiah going about prophesying before the Lord cleaned his lips or removed his iniquity, but they give us the purpose of his ministry. If we mix these outlines of the Vision and the Word into some act of giving prophecy before the time, we will only form strongholds, we may run around acting the prophet without being called or anointed. Isaiah chapter one is the vision, chapters two through five the word, chapter six and following his ministry, nothing more, nothing less. The clue is found in 6:1 and 1:1; here in 6:1 we read, “in the year king Uzziah died”, which gives us a time, back in 1:1 the vision began with days of Uzziah, thus we find when Uzziah died the ministry of Isaiah began. Now we have to determine when Uzziah died. This reference gives us a clue, it doesn’t mean the physical death of Uzziah, rather this Uzziah was the one who gave strange incense in the House of the Lord, the day he presented the incense he also took his anger out on the priests, at the time he was as good as dead as God placed leprosy on him to prove it (II Chron 26:20).

Uzziah is a type of the false prophet, in the latter days the false prophet will cause, or place the abomination to be found in the place it should not be, the death of the world as we know it will be as good as done. Whether Uzziah walked, talked or breathed the air after the time didn’t matter, the moment he produced the strange incense, he was written among the dead (Isa 6:1 & II Chron 26:16-23).

The allegory is uncanny, Uzziah began by doing right in the sight of the Lord until his pride overcame him, then he became impressed with himself. Then he wanted to be priest and king, which brought the leprosy. Uzziah is a prime example of how being king and priest was illegal, yet we are made kings and priests unto God (Rev 1:5). The Cross of Jesus brought many changes and advancements, including a change in priesthood with a Law to accompany the change (Heb 7:12). The king position did not necessitate a change in the Law, our priestly function did (Heb 7:11-12). Uzziah wanted something not only beyond the calling of God, but something reserved for those who follow Jesus.

If we in the kingdom are all kings, who then are our subjects? You’re not mine, I’m not yours. Who then is? Who ever heard of a king without subjects? The concept is like being a priest without a Order. We as kings hold the keys, we can either accept the rules of the King of kings or we can make up own. Of course in the end we have to face the king of Kings. However, who then are our subjects? Things, we can allow Mercy a position, or reject it. Therein lays the iniquity of the sons of perdition, they reject giving Mercy, yet demand it from others. We as kings can allow uncontrolled anger, or carnal thinking positions in our kingdom as some of the Corinthians did, even to the point where we are comfortable, but our kingdom is out of order. As kings we set policies, but our policies better match the kingdom order Jesus established.

Isaiah needs something in order for the word he received to have effective. Isaiah tells us he “saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa 6:1). Isaiah didn’t see the Lord on earth, rather the Throne is in heaven, the earth His footstool. If Isaiah saw the Lord Sitting we would have a division in Seasons. During the Day Jesus is sitting on the right hand side of Majesty on High; therefore, Isaiah sees Jesus as Jehovah the Lord at the gate of Intercession as the Mediator, but the Street was not yet open between man and the Father. Isaiah couldn’t go to the Altar to gain the coal, neither could the Lord bring the coal to Isaiah, rather it would take an angel to come to the man.

Isaiah looked above the temple and saw seraphims, each had six wings pointing to the Time of Comfort and the Sixth church. Two of the wings covered the face, showing how God’s knowledge will be upon the earth, not God’s Wisdom or Spirit, thus the eyes being covered shows a type of blindness, or silence in heaven for last half of the hour. Two other wings covered the feet, showing how man will not be able to walk the path to heaven during the Time of Comfort. Two wings were used for flying, showing how the angels will bring the judgment to earth the last days. Isaiah also saw a door, with the posts moving at the voice of one of the seraphims, but the door couldn’t open on the voice alone (Isa 6:9-11), thus he saw the Door, but only the Spirit of Truth can open it (Rev 45:1-2).

Before the Lord made His request of Isaiah, there was yet some work to be done. A coal from the altar of God was placed on Isaiah’s mouth, not his heart or soul. In our Season we gain much more than a coal from the altar; Isaiah’s ministry was words, his mouth had to be clean, but there was no way to clean his heart without the circumcision not made with hands. Isaiah had his iniquity taken away, which removed him from the iniquity of the nation, allowing him to speak as an oracle of God. Next Isaiah had his sins purged, not remitted; therefore, Isaiah stood greater than common man, but not near as high as those who have their sins forgiven by the Cross of Jesus or remitted by the Blood of Jesus (Isa 6:7 & I Jn 4:1-5). We could say, “Oh my, what a lucky man, look what one little piece of coal from God’s altar did”, but we know Luck has nothing to do with it. If this piece of coal could forgive the man, what will the Blood of Jesus do for us? What was the coal for? For what reason were the sins of the man purged, and what sins were they? Ahh, a mystery, the coal came from the altar, the altar retains the prayers of the saints. In the latter days the angels take the coals from the altar and pour them on the earth to bring the plagues. So, are our prayers plagues? No, it’s the point, the prayers are holy, but when they come in contact with complete un-holiness the resulting effect would be plagues. The prayers of the saints assisted Isaiah in his ministry, yet he was not Born Again. He had to be removed from all involvement in the wickedness of the nation in order to present the words, but it doesn’t mean he was free of  the sin nature.

Isaiah knew his purpose, and why his sins were purged, he responded with, “I, here am I; send me” (Isa 6:8). Isaiah used the personal expression three times, “I”, “I” and “me”, showing he understood what the coal did and why. If we presume the coal is sufficient, then why even have the Blood of Jesus?

Isaiah made his decision, by speaking his vow to become a prophet, then the Lord said, “Go”, but is something missing (Isa 6:9)? Where is the Power? The Authority was granted, but where is the Power? Not needed, all the man needed was the authority to speak on behalf of God. The coal provided it, coupled with the word “Go”. However, it’s not the case with us, we must have Authority and Power.

Isaiah may have felt the people would fall on their face and report God among them of a truth, but the Lord warned Isaiah they would hear indeed, but not understand, they will see, but not perceive (Isa 6:9). They would see? They would hear? Yes, they had eyes and ears, but they refused to apply them to the words spoken. Some ministry; however, God knew before hand they would reject the prophet, so why even send him? God warns before He acts, although He knows the prophets will be rejected, it doesn’t stop Him from sending the warnings. These people had the ability to repent, but they also had to make the choice to repent. Isaiah is told they will hear his words but they won’t believe, change, or repent, but he is to go anyway.

With the ministry of Isaiah looking him right in the face, some of us might say, “what’s the use, they won’t believe”, but whether they believe or not isn’t the question, whether we go or not is. Our job is never to force someone to believe, our job is to present the information for them to make a decision. With this we find, Isaiah had a vision and a word, then received the purging of his sins, the removal of his iniquity, the call, the decision with the vow of his calling, then he could go. Isaiah could have seen the vision and said, “Bless God, I’m a prophet, now I can tell these jerks what I think of them”, adding iniquity to iniquity, or sin to sin. Some of us give a word then think we’re a prophet, or have a manifestation of the Spirit thinking we’re a prophet, there is much more to the Office of Prophet than giving a word. Isaiah took each step as it came, adding precept to precept, lesson to lesson. The calling was based in the Word and Vision, he knew his calling, but then came the acceptance and authority. Without the authority the man knew he could say nothing, have a vision yes, have the word yes, say it, no.

Isaiah will begin his ministry at this point, but it won’t be manifested until he looks at Ahaz the grand son of Uzziah (Isa 7:1). While Pekah was the king over Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah became the king over Judah (II Kings 15:32). Jotham did right in the sight of the Lord, except he entered not into the temple based on his fear of becoming what his father was, but this also caused the people to stray from the temple, the result is they entered corruptness (II Chron 27:1-2). Ahaz began to reign after Jotham, but he failed to do right in the sight of the Lord. He burnt incense in the valley of the son of Himmon, as he did the abominations of the heathen (II Chron 28:3). All this time Isaiah had his sins purged, so why didn’t he rebuke the king? Time and timing, with the added concept of training, the prophet waited until God said “Go to the man”; he knew the authority to the position, but authority under authority listens for the command, it doesn’t make its own.

This sets the stage for the test of Isaiah to determine whether or not his confession of “I, Here am I, send me Lord” will sincere. The Lord tells Isaiah, “go to meet Ahaz” (Isa 7:3), huh, oh great, now God is taking the vow serious. Go and prophesy to the king, the biggest idol worshiper in the country? Some of us were real quick to say, “Here am I Lord, send me”, but when we find ourselves in “carnal junction” we say, “what am I doing here? Surely the devil has a hand in this”. We then added sin to our lack of understanding by coming against the devil when it was God who sent us. We panic attempting to use  manipulation to gain control over the event, finding ourselves in the Wilderness. Did God know it? Yes, the wilderness was the result of the plan so we could gain the training.

As evil as Ahaz was, God still wanted to show His longsuffering. God was still willing to receive repentance, but would it come forth (Isa 7:3-8)? Although God knows they will fail to repent, ending in captivity, He nonetheless sends a prophet with the word of the Lord. Isaiah goes to king Ahaz, giving him all the Lord had to say, thus Isaiah faced his Isaac sacrifice and passed. He laid his calling on the altar by doing as the Lord told him without regard for himself. Isaiah gained the confidence he needed to survive the ministry. We will all face a like event after our calling and training, a time to speak exactly as the Lord desires. It could be as simple as submit and learn under what we think is ungodly authority, Or speak the truth in love; nonetheless it will always be at the command of the Lord, not at the call of presumption.

We then discover the meaning of the metaphor “Head”, God shows the nation Syria is the Head of the city Damascus. Damascus was the capitol of Syria, but then Rezin is seen as the Head of Damascus, Rezin was the king in Damascus (Isa 7:8). The metaphor Head shows Authority, here the king had authority over the city, the city over the nation. The same is true in the Book of Revelation, the Beast of the Earth usurps the authority of the Woman, thus becoming the head over the Woman. We also find the Beast of the Sea has seven Heads (authorities), and ten Horns (powers); therefore, we find all these various authorities working against one another in the world, but the One Authority (Name) of Jesus is above all authorities (names) regardless (Eph 1:21 & Ph’l 2:9).

Wait didn’t we see the word “head” back in Isaiah 3:17, as it related to the “haughty daughters of Zion” Yes, but wouldn’t you know it, it’s a different Hebrew word. Here in Isaiah 7:8 it’s the Hebrew word Rosh meaning Leader or Authority, but back in Isaiah 3:17 it’s the Hebrew Qodqod meaning Crown of the head, such as Hair; Qodqod comes from the Hebrew Qadad meaning Neck. So what? The two terms for Head used in Isaiah 7:8 and 3:17 define two different areas for us in the New Testament. The Crown of the daughters of Zion is the same Crown we find on the Woman, it refers to the tribes, or the people, thus the people were haughty and prideful. Here we find the Shadow has an answer to the New, they start out fine, authority in the right place, but then pride starts to enforce the iniquity. The iniquity forms it’s illusions, then comes the transgression. Our goal is specific, the saving of our souls, (I Pet 1:9), the Word in us is dividing and separating, the Word (New Man) is still able to save our souls (James 1:21 & Heb 4:12).

When the prophet told Ahaz, “ask a sign of the Lord your God”, it was a call for the man to see a Sign and repent (Isa 7:11). However, Ahaz’s answer shows he still has many gods, his answer will be factual, but rebellious. Ahaz answered, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord” (Isa 7:12). It sounds good, but the Lord said, “ask”; refusal is still rebellion no matter how humble it may sound. The Lord Himself shall give a sign, Behold a virgin shall conceive a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isa 7:14). Why would the Lord tell Ahaz he would see this sign when the Lord knows it’s several hundred years away? Ahaz was the head of the realm, a symbol of the people yet to come. The Pharisees worked in the temple, gave their tithe, prayed several times a day, yet some of them were like Ahaz. This is one of those areas where discernment keeps us from killing a prophet of God, thinking we’ve killed a false prophet. The prophet told Ahaz “the Lord Himself shall give a sign”, it wasn’t the “Lord shall give you this sign”, rather it was in response to Ahaz refusing to ask for a sign, so did a virgin conceive a Son by the name of Immanuel when Ahaz was still around? No, it did not come to pass in the life time of Ahaz or Isaiah, so should we kill Isaiah? No? We know the word did come to pass, thus there are other criteria to determining a false prophet, the main one is direction. Do they lead us to the idols of man (self)? If so, they are false, whether a prophet or teacher the determining factor is who do they give the glory to? Man or God?

Isaiah also tells Ahaz, before the Child comes, the land shall be desolate (Isa 7:16). Isaiah prophesies of the captivity as the children will face the “bee” (Baalzebub) with the sting of idol worship (Isa 7:17-18). Baalzebub or Beelzebub (the Greek rendering) means “lord” or “owner”, but it also entails the Greek rendering of “lord of the flies”, it not only pertains to death, but shows how Baalzebub is “the lord of death”, yet we know Jesus has destroyed him who had the power of death, that is the devil (Heb 2:14).

Flies have a habit of crawling on our skin or getting in our face, thus death will face us, but like a fly, it means nothing. Isaiah prophesies concerning the Time of Comfort, as well as the attitude of the Pharisees during the earthly ministry of Jesus. The Pharisees refused to make the separation between the Suffering Immanuel and Jehovah the Avenger (Isa 7:19-25). The Pharisees demanded “a sign from heaven” while looking at the Greatest sign of all time. They were no different than Ahaz, they refused a sign, but demanded one, yet the sign God told Ahaz was standing before the Pharisees.

The Pharisees knew Isaiah began the end time prophecy with “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains” (Isa 2:2). The Pharisees saw healings, devils cast out, yet demanded the one sign of being established on the world before they would receive Jesus. They wanted Rome to serve them, yet they used Rome to bring the Cross. They assumed the prophecy was chronological in all its respects, they saw the Judgment before the Mercy, rather than the Mercy before Grace, then Grace before the Judgment. The Pharisees failed to rightly divide the Word, they lost what little they thought they had.

The Lord tells the prophet Isaiah to take a great roll, then write upon it concerning the prophet’s son Mahershalalhashbaz (Isa 8:1). The name Mahershalalhashbaz is a compound Hebrew word containing four Hebrew words, meaning Hurrying To Utterly Take Away The Prey Of The Enemy With Enjoyment. Isaiah went into the prophetess, when she conceived, the child came forth as a sign of the captivity of Israel. The child didn’t give a prophecy, he was a sign of the prophecy standing for “My father and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria” (Isa 8:4). The purpose was to wake up the people before God was forced to send a flood from Assyria to overtake the people (Isa 8:5-7). Satan, the adversary of man is granted permission in some cases to bring about the will of God, as we saw in Job; however, Satan always attempts to reach beyond his limit; thus he takes it upon himself to introduce a flood after this incident (Rev 12:15). The metaphor Flood means a mass of people from the Sea moving into a place they should not be, much like the Gentile trampling the city under foot. The Book of Revelation shows a flood coming from the mouth of the devil to destroy the Woman (City of Jerusalem – Rev 12:15). However, the earth helped the Woman by opening up to swallow the flood (Rev 12:16). Those who come against the Woman in this Season or the Next to destroy it shall be swallowed in the earth.

God speaks to those of the far country, then to His own saying, there will be no confederacy, rather their only hope is to turn to the Lord to avoid the king of Assyria, thus there are incidents where God has a purpose going beyond our understanding (Isa 8:9-13). Here we find the terms Assyria and Babylon are prophetically interchangeable, Assyria is a nation, Babylon a city. Babylon was more associated with the Mesopotamia area in the Euphrates river valley, which is today is known as Iraq. The Woman in Revelation 17 is known as “the city” and “Babylon”, yet she isn’t located in Assyria or along the River Euphrates. The metaphoric term Babylon is associated with luxury, as in “rich and in need of nothing”, but coupled with the rebellious self-pleasure in an immoral life style, therein lays the mystery to the Woman in the Book of Revelation. Often in the prophetic message we find Babylon is a representative of the nation as well, so goes it’s capital, so goes the nation (Babylonia). God will wound the head of the rebellious nation; however, the false prophet will bring back the ways of the nation by healing the head wound of idol worship.

The outlines of Isaiah are joined in some places, as we find him speaking to the people of his time, then within the same prophecy he begins speaking to a time to come; therefore, we have two outlines to divide and separate the prophecy. This keeps us from mixing apples and oranges. An example is seeing how he reaches forward to talk about the Block of Stumbling as the Offense, which is future tense (Isa 8:14). Jesus said, if we fall on the Rock we will be broken, but if the Rock falls on us, we will be crushed. To stumble is one thing, to be broken into pieces another.

The process begins with the disciples, thus Jesus used simple men as a stumbling block to the Pharisees (Isa 8:16). Surely the “testimony” wasn’t bound with Isaiah, rather it would go on until Malachi, where we find “seal the law among My disciples”, the word Seal is the Hebrew Chatham meaning A mark, or Make an end to, this relates to Paul telling us how we are Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, ending the Law of Moses for us (Isa 8:16 & Eph 1:13). The “seal” is a mark of ownership, relating to who has purchased us, or to whom we give ourselves; therefore, we can also grieve the Holy Spirit after we are Sealed (Eph 4:30), something Isaiah will talk about later.

The people given to Jesus are for signs and wonders, like the stars in the sky; therefore, looking to the stars in the sky for man’s guidance is always a sin (Isa 8:17-20). The stars testify of God, the stars never testify of man’s future. The Magi used the stars to find Jesus, they didn’t use the stars to tell Herod’s future (Matt 2:7).

How can one see when there is no Light? God will cause a dimness to fall on Israel for our sake (Isa 9:1). Some of Israel are blinded to the Gospel, Israel has not obtained what it sought but the elect have (Rom 11:7). God has given them a spirit of slumber to bring about the Time of Comfort. The Remnant must enter in the same manner as any Jew before the Cross (Rom 11:8, II Cor 4:3-4, 3:11-18 & 3:2-4), yet there are various forms of blindness regarding the Gospel. The Remnant are blinded by God, yet there are others who engage in self-blindness, then some who run around attempting to blind others.

Isaiah tells us it wasn’t by the might or the power of man, rather all men walk in the valley of the shadow of death but the day will come when the Great Light of the World, the Man Child, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty (Almighty) God (Jehovah), The Everlasting Father represented by the Son, the Prince of Peace will come to set man free (Isa 9:3-6).  Jesus said time and again, He came as the Son of man to represent the Mercy of the Father, to show mankind a Good God who cared. However, the Government will not be on His head, it will not be His crown, but it will be on His “shoulder” (Isa 9:6). The government is not on His Shoulders, as plural, but Shoulder as one.

The Kingdom will be increased to include the Gentile, yet the Lord will join His enemies together, then the true division for separation will take place (Isa 9:8-12). God doesn’t want to cast off Israel, but the people turned not unto Him. The ancients teach lies, for wickedness burning as a fire from within (Isa 9:13-18). The fire of hell is not fueled by rock or wood, but by people who allow Satan to run their minds (Isa 9:18-21).

This entire matter shows how God will use the kings of the world to bring about His purpose. Assyria was not Jewish, it didn’t worship God, but God allowed them to take His people captive. In the very latter days God will allow the kings of the earth to invade Jerusalem, but these things happen because the people of God turn a deaf ear to the Lord. God asks when the day of visitation comes, to whom will they run for help? Assyria will become the Rod of God’s correction, because His people rejected His Staff of guidance (Isa 10:3-5). In the latter days the False Prophet will use the means of the “house of the wicked” who suffered the head wound (Heb 3:13). The False Prophet causes the people to worship idols, as the wicked nation’s ”head” is healed, all pointing to idol worship  as the authority of the wicked nation.

When the Woman receives the Image, she becomes Babylon, the wicked city. This is the reason the hypocritical nation called by the name of God, refuses to answer God (Isa 10:6). This work will not finish all the work, the Lord will finish His work by using Assyria (the nation who suffered the head [authority] wound by God) again, to punish the stout heart (Isa 10:12, Deut 31:29 & Dan 7:20).

Prior verse 2 tells us the “fruit”, or the product of the stout heart will be punished. The “he” who is the subject of the “number of a man” will say in his heart, “By the strength of my hand I have done it” (Isa 10:13). We don’t fear him who can only take our physical life, we fear Him who can put our body in the ground and our soul in hell (Isa 10:16-18 & Matt 10:28). When the work is finished in Zion, the Lord will redeem the Remnant who have escaped out of Jacob (Isa 10:20-21). The work won’t be done until the enemies of Jesus have become His footstool.

Although God is sending Assyria, He tells them not to be afraid of the Assyrian, for the day will come when the burden will be taken off when the yoke is destroyed (Isa 10:24-27). Jesus told us to take His yoke to find rest (sabbath) for our souls. If we carry our own yoke, we produce our own bondage.

Next Isaiah speaks of the Root and Branch of David (Isa 11:1). Jesus said, we are the branches, but He is the Vine (Jn 15:1-5). In the Book of Revelation Jesus is seen as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Salvation), and the Root of David (Judgment). Here we find Root and the Branch, but the first shall be last and the last first. Out of the promise of one king, chosen and anointed of God, shall come the Vine, then the Vine will bring forth branches. The purpose of the branches is to have fruit of the Spirit, including Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge and Fear of the Lord (Isa 11:2). Here we given Six items, the last is the Fear of the Lord giving us another clue to the Rapture. The first five churches have the Spirit, but when He who now lets takes us, then the Fear of the Lord will be the basis of the knowledge of God coming from Jerusalem through the Sixth church. What was Noah’s faith based on? Fear (Heb 11:7). As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the very latter days.

With Wisdom comes the awesome respect for the position of God; instead of judging from our soulish position we will judge from the eyes of the Lord (Isa 11:3). Righteousness and Truth shall be our girdle by the Armor of God (Isa 11:5 & Eph 6:14). Eyes are a strange element, we will not see unless we look through the eyes of the Lord, but how? The mind of Christ? Partly, but more so by the Wisdom of God. A man sees one thing, another man sees something else, but God sees all.

Isaiah then changes to the next Season showing the time of Peace and Safety, when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, but the Spirit of Wisdom will be gone (Isa 11:6-9). Then there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign (sign) for all people, thus this root is hidden today, but will come when Jesus uses the Key of David to open the Time of Comfort. This sign was the one the Pharisees demanded, thus they had their facts right, but their timing was wrong.

In that day the Lord shall set His hand a second time to recover the Remnant (Isa 11:11). Isaiah then lists the ten horns, from which three will be removed leaving seven. Isaiah lists the seven mountains upon which the Woman sits as, Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar and Hamath, they will be from all four corners of the earth, not just Europe (Isa 11:11). Wait, doesn’t he also show the “islands of the Sea” (Isa 11:11)? Yes, but Islands are not Mountains, this addition would almost seem confusing in a metaphoric sense, if it weren’t for our knowledge of the Rapture. The metaphor Island during our Season means something Raised out of the Sea, yet it’s not the Sand of the Sea, thus it refers to the Gentile who has been raised above the Sea, pointing to those who have entered the kingdom of heaven. However, when He who now let’s takes us out of here, those Islands become the “Beast of the Islands” soon to be the “Beast of the Earth”, thus they are not listed as “mountains” since they are separate, noted by Jesus as the Synagogue (gathering) of Satan. They are raised, since John sees them “come up”, thus in the very end they are still connected to the Beat of the Sea by using the same authority (Rev 13:12). Therefore, we can see the Two Beasts here in Isaiah 11, the Seven heads of the First Beast, then the Second Beast of the Earth as the “islands of the Sea”.

The Woman will fly on the shoulders of the Philistines with the soothsayers taking Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon to gain all her land, yet this won’t be by war, but by compromise (Isa 11:14). After these three are removed, the Woman will have her land, she will sit upon the remaining seven mountains (nations or heads) of the world. Isaiah views these nations as they were before the flood in Noah’s time, Ezekiel sees them as they were after, thus we have the “days of Noah” in prophecy (Ezek 38).

There will be seven streams (seven heads, or nations) bringing a flood (people) to bring all time as man knows it to an end (Isa 11:15). It will be the Night, or the latter part of the Hour, then the Two Witnesses of the Law and Prophets will be the Witness for the last two candlesticks, meaning the last two candlesticks are Jewish, as the 144,000 (Rev 11:1-3 & Isa 11:16). The Phrase That Day doesn’t mean it will be Day, since God has given us the sign showing the Day is a term meaning of the Moon, thus we are in The Day, yet when the Night comes it will be the “day of the Lord”. The Day of the Lord has two points, the end of Salvation, the beginning of Judgment.

Isaiah 12:1-6 speaks of the Day, but Isaiah 13:1 begins the Night. Isaiah 12:1-6 begins by speaking of Salvation, but 13:1 speaks of the “burden of Babylon”. The division is important, as Isaiah 12 points to “in that day”, we know we are the ones who shall praise the Lord because His anger has turned away, He is our Salvation. Then comes the shout out of Zion, but we have to notice how the Holy One is in the “midst of thee”, this is another reference found in the Old Testament referring to New Birth. No wonder Jesus told Nicodemus, “Are you a master (teacher) of Israel, and know not these things?” (Jn 3:10). Jesus expected Nicodemus to know about the New Birth, really without the New Birth one is not joined in the New Testament.

Chapter 13 tells the Remnant to lift the Banner upon the high mountain, which is  Zion upon which the City being the head of the nation Israel sits on the mountains, then comes the references to God’s anger, but in Chapter 12 God’s anger was turned away. Isaiah’s prophecy is moving through the outlines, thus without the two outlines all these prophecies would become a mass of confusion; therefore, the Holy Ghost is guiding us into Truth showing us the Dividing of Seasons. Chapter 12 points to the Day, then changes to the Time of Comfort, but Chapter 13 shows the Woman has become Babylon, as God’s anger is displayed by the many plagues.

Isaiah speaks to the burden of Babylon; but the Woman in the Book of Revelation is not the physical land of Babylon of old, rather she becomes the Whore and Babylon. Babylon is a metaphor of idol worship, when the abomination is set up it becomes the “last straw”. The Woman attempts to marry the Beast of the Sea by confederacy through compromise with the help of the Second Beast. The Second Beast is of the Earth, but  uses the Authority of the Beast of the Sea. The Beast of the Sea obtained its authority, power and seat from the devil, before the devil was bound. God separated the nation from the world, but the false prophet brings the Woman and the world back together again.

The marriage token between the Woman and the Beast of the Sea will be the Image of Jealousy. When the Woman receives the gift, she loses her light. When her light is gone, the mountains she sat on will come against her, as she is seen riding the Beast, the Beast will turn on her, then the pit will be opened, the people will take their plowshares and make swords. The people will look like people, but they will be run by demons. God sees the multitude of mountains coming against His Mountain, as Isaiah again looks to the end of time. They will come from all four corners of the earth, but the Lord will allow it to bring His sanctified ones into the Kingdom (Isa 13:1-5 & Rev 20:8). The Day of the Lord will be at hand, the destruction will come from the Almighty (Isa 13:6).

When the end comes all men on the earth shall be as flames, just as Sodom (Isa 13:8). When Jesus returns the Second Time it will not be a day of joy, but a day of wrath, fierce anger, the purpose will be to lay the land desolate, to destroy all sinners (Isa 13:9). Now, wait, we’re suppose to look for the Day of the Lord. Right, but the Day of the Lord begins the 1,000 years, thus the beginning of the Day of the Lord is when we’re taken in the twinkling of an eye; then comes the time to make the enemies of Jesus His footstool. The Day of the Lord is one of darkness not light (Amos 5:18). The clue to the prophecy is found in the saying, “it’s appointed unto all men once to die, then comes the judgment” (Heb 9:27). When Jesus returns His feet will be like unto Brass (Judgment) as if they were Burned in a Furnace (Rev 1:15). The earth will be turned inside out when Jesus returns for the Judgment, thus Revelation 20:11-15 shows how there will be no one physically alive at time. The dead are judged, not the Living, the flesh will not be judged, the soul will. The last resurrection is unto Life or Damnation; eternity has no time, thus God is Alpha and Omega; eternity is always now, something the flesh of man cannot conceive of. There is no yesterday, no tomorrow, only now. For those with Life it’s always joy, always now, never a time, but it will be the same with the damned as well. They will have a body which cannot cease to exist, it will feel pain as it melts, then comes back over and over, and over without end (II Pet 3:12). Incentive to be among the partakers of the First Resurrection?

The stars (tribes of Israel) will have no light, the Woman will lose her light. God will punish the world for their evil, the wicked for their iniquities. God made man more precious than any treasure, what man did with the creation will be the basis for the judgment (Isa 13:11-16). God will not destroy the righteous with the Wicked, rather those who have His Righteousness are removed in the Rapture, then the Wicked destroy the faithful Remnant, leaving the Wicked to face the judgment.

This prophecy goes to the product of Babylon, the entire world at the end of time as man knows it, but then Isaiah jumps back to the time when Babylon proper will be taken by the Medes, then he jumps forward again to show Babylon (the Woman) will be overthrown as Sodom (Isa 13:17-19). After the Day of the Lord, Babylon will not be inhabited again by man as we know it, rather demons, devils and the souls of the lost will cry out forever (Isa 13:20-22). God has a plan and a method for anyone to avoid this end, the warning tells Jew and Gentile what will be, the escape is Mercy, the difference between a vessel of honor and one of dishonor. We work out our salvation by fear and trembling (Ph’l 2:12). It’s harder to avoid the call, then enter it, the only “trouble” is the old nature, yet by the Cross the old nature is made ineffective. The salvation of our soul rids us of the old nature, bringing our souls into their rightful spiritual place in Christ. As strange as it seems to the carnal minded, the one position where the soul is at its happiest, most pleasant is when it is being saved by the Spirit.

God promises He will recover the Remnant, the method begins when He Opens the Door to the House of David by the Key of David. Then the tithe under the Law will “prove” God, but their ability to maintain will be based on holding to the Commandments of God. Our method begins with Mercy, our ability to maintain in Grace is by the Spirit. God will have (or give) mercy to Jacob, but the purpose is to choose and save Israel (Isa 14:1). Paul said, all Israel will be saved, but not all who call themselves Israel are Israel, some are Jacob. However, not all who call themselves Christian, are Christian.

When Israel has all her land in the latter days, the people of the world will become servants and handmaidens, but begrudgingly. During the Night the world will seem like the Garden, there will be rest, Israel will not be under siege, but will sit as the Mountain of the Lord on all the Mountains of the world (Isa 14:1-3). It will be the one world government and religious order, but the earth will be much different then.

Isaiah takes up the proverb against Babylon saying, “How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!” (Isa 14:4). This is one of those two fold prophetic messages, Zephaniah talks about the oppressing city (Zeph 3:1); the Book of Revelation shows the Woman is rich and thinks she needs nothing, yet she is drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus (Rev 17:6 & 18:16). The term “golden city” was used to define “Babylon”, the same title for the city in the Book of Revelation.

Recalling how the king was the head of the capitol as the capitol the head of the nation, we find the same here. The prophet takes up a proverb against the “king of Babylon”, yet we find the “the golden city has ceased” (Isa 14:4). This is still a projection forward to a time yet to come, yet the proverb points to the nation Babylonia in the time of Isaiah as well. The nation will be used by God to punish His people, but in the latter days the Woman will take it upon Herself to be the Oppressor, God will then use the world to punish Her (Rev 17:17).

After the Rapture the whole earth will run to their mountains (nations) for protection because of the great earthquake, but only Israel will be able to help. The earth will change positions becoming as it was in the days of Noah, as the whole earth will be at rest (Isa 14:7). If the earth changes pole positions the electricity as we know it will cease, the four trade winds (jet currents) will cease, there will be no winters, or summers, just spring like temperatures year round. The Seventh church surfaces for a short time, thinking it’s rich and in need of nothing, opening the door for the Eighth (son of perdition), who in turn  causes the fifth angel to open the gates of hell from beneath (Isa 14:9-10 & Rev 17:10-11). However, during the Night we are either with the Dead in Christ in heaven, or Sleep in Jesus waiting the last day (I Thess 4:14 – 5:-7).

The prophets give us a clue, Israel will be the only place on earth not effected by the first earthquake. God has appointed Jerusalem as the center of the planet, thus when Jesus opens the Door to the House of David, the Holy Ghost closes the Door to heaven changing the Season from Day to Night. The Time of Comfort will be upon the earth, but He who now lets will no longer be here, neither will those who have Christ. In our day it’s not only permissible, but mandatory for us to confess Christ in us of a Truth (I Jn 4:1-4), but when the opportunity to be Christ Like is gone, the same confession would be a lie, thus in our time we say “Christ is here”, but in the Night if they say “Christ is here” believe them not, that is, if you are caught in the Night.

Then we find Lucifer, wondering “who is he”? Could it be the devil? If so who is Satan? Are there three devils? Or is there one devil with three characteristics to counterfeit the Trinity? The only place we find the name or title Lucifer is here in Isaiah 14:12; therefore, we must define it to understand it. The Hebrew word Lucifer means light-bearer, which seems extremely confusing. The title is defined more so by showing us how it connects to the words Morning and Star, thus this element was assigned a star, had the ability to have light as he was associated with the Morning. When Jesus came the Day opened, thus it was Morning, one of the first disciples to join Him was Judas, the traitor. Lucifer is more a position of “man”, than one person. At the Rapture there will be stars falling to the earth, as the drunken who go into the Night (Rev 6:13). From what culture the name came form does matter, we find the source is really Gentile in nature then picked up the Jews. It’s the key isn’t it? Since this element begins in the Morning it connects to Judas, the son of perdition, but the position drifted into the Gentile dispensation as others joined. Jesus called it the Synagogue of Satan, which is seen in the Day and Night (Rev 2:9 & 3:9). The two horns of the goat appears like a lamb making the completed connection showing Lucifer began in the Morning as the son of perdition, a position with more than one member (Micah 7:2 & Eph 4:14).

In our Season they are run by the spirit of antichrist, in the next they are the false prophet. When God speaks of Lucifer He goes to the source by asking, “how are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!” (Isa 14:12). The question is not “why?”, but “how?”, which refers to Ways, not Acts. The use of “nations” connects the position to the Gentiles. Lucifer is self-willed, attacks those in the Body sets himself up in his own mind as the savior of mankind, but wants all mankind to be subject to his will. This element will invade the Woman, instead of her saying, “Salvation to our God which sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb” (Rev 7:10), she says, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow”, it sounds like faith, but it’s presumption (Rev 18:7). She becomes deceived, yet her deceiver is Lucifer. The Woman becomes so much like Lucifer, one can’t tell one from the other in the bed of adultery.

Lucifer has five evil self-based thoughts, one is “I will ascend into heaven”, then “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God”; the metaphor “stars of God” points to the members of the Christ Body, this is a clue showing us the sons of perdition assume they are the Head of the Body, it’s obvious their thinking is all “self”. Lucifer isn’t concerned about the Rapture, nor the Resurrection, nor working out his salvation by fear and trembling, he will say ”Lord, Lord didn’t I”. Lucifer assumes his own power is more than enough to get him into heaven. The Wicked love the Body of Christ, but not for Christ’s sake, rather it’s for the self-benefit of feeling superior over the Body.

In order to get some view of this element we go back to the “head”, recalling the head of the nation was the city, just prior to looking at Lucifer we saw “the golden city ceased”, as the pomp of the city is brought down. Now God looks at Lucifer, are they one in the same? Hardly, the five “I wills” separate this element from the city (woman). In Ezekiel we will find the “prince of Tyrus” as one who says in his heart “I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the Seas”, yet God says, “you are a man (Adam)” (Ezek 28:2). This prince is also seen in II Thessalonians as the one who opposes (is anti) God, who exalts himself, showing himself as if he is God (II Thess 2:4). Paul defines this one as the Wicked (Lawless one, connecting it to the Iniquity – II Thess 2:8). Lucifer is also noted here in Isaiah as “a man” (Isa 14:16). They all relate, the five “I wills” will define Lucifer as the self-based Wicked. The word “man” in Isaiah is the Hebrew Iysh meaning man, men or mankind, or natural man, a clue to this entity. This position has the opportunity to be a “light-bearer”, but retains the old nature, thus remaining natural in thinking and effort, making it the personification of the self nature.

Lucifer also says in his heart, “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north”, this shows his attitude of being over the Jews and Zion, pointing to the Season yet to come. Lucifer continues his sayings in his heart with, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds”; the clouds are Witnesses, yet here we find this element not only says he is greater than all the witnesses of God, but is greater than the Two Witnesses of the Law and Prophets. Then he says in his heart “I will be like the most High”; a direct reference to being God Like without having God (Isa 14:12-14). This is what the devil promised Adam, only he promises the city to be as God, without having to have God.

This is a progression of natural mental intents and thoughts; first it’s ascending into heaven based on personal self-imposed self-righteousness. They base the illusion on their false concept if being the special of the special, the cream of the crop, better than the entire Body of Christ, better than Israel, better than the Covenants of God; their deception has deceived them. Next Lucifer thinks he is the Head of the Body, yet Paul told us to grow up into the Head. Ahh, Lucifer thinks he is the authority, rather than having it, but we find the authority he uses is from the Beast of the Sea. The authority of the Beast of Sea is from the dragon, making it demonic (Rev 13:1-12). Lucifer holds the illusion of being superior based on his self-imposed holiness, to the point where he thinks Jesus owes him. This illusion causes him to miss the Rapture as the drunken who go into the Night, yet he was part of the Body (I Jn 2:19). After the Rapture the Wicked move to worship at Jerusalem, but why? Since the Spirit is gone the religious power will be with the Sixth church. Lucifer’s desire is to control the people of God by a false religion, thus he sits in the temple of God thinking he is God, but how does he sit? By placing the abomination in the place it should not be. This is far different from an appointed leader, rather this is the famed “Jezebel spirit”, the self-appointed, thus Jesus refers to them as the “synagogue of Satan”, it doesn’t mean they are Jewish, rather they gather together against the called out ones. They would be the opposite of “assembling” to edify one another, rather they gather to exalt themselves, by lying in wait to deceive.

We find some clues in Isaiah 14:12. The word “weaken” in the phrase “weaken the nations” means To vanquish, or To put under a part of another, it also uses the “mouth” to do so. This word also points to something “springing from the ground”, pointing to the Beast of the Earth. The word Fallen also means To cause to fall, it connects to Hebrews 10:38-39, thus they have the opportunity to be Just, but they make it Unjust causing them to draw back to Perdition, in turn they cause others to fall into Perdition.

God shows this “man” made the Earth to tremble, did shake kingdoms, made the world a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof (Isa 14:16-17). This is a progression of unjust activity showing why Lucifer becomes the enemy of Jesus. A man’s enemies are of his own house, Lucifer is the “son of perdition” who will cause all to take the Mark in order to do business with the Woman, the center of wealth. Therefore, this “man” brings the number of “a man” by placing himself in the Temple using the Image as some reproduction of a man, just as Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did with the “image of gold” he made of himself, which image measured “threescore and six” (66 – Dan 3:1).

All this gives us Two Seasons for Lucifer, he begins in the “morning”, yet ends in the “Night”, but he never grew out of the “beginning” (morning). He is also noted as the abominable branch, the cut off one, the one who rejected the call of God’s Love, the one who slanders the brethren, the one who is still in darkness, who uses the spirit lusting to envy, thus the authority of the world is based in envy, strife, division, while using carnal means to define spiritual matters. The “man of sin” is the result of the iniquity, but the iniquity is at work now, the sin will be in the Night, making the sin unforgiven. Since Lucifer never considered his evil ways “sin”, he never asked God for forgiveness, rather Lucifer used the “working of Satan”, but called them “of God”, thus he assumes he has no sin. Even if he asks with the blanket, “Lord forgive all my sins”, he still uses the same old nature, still thinking his ways are not sin. Lucifer is not the same as someone who slips, or backslides, this is someone who retained the nature of the world, but called it “Christian”.

This description is to similar to Paul’s description of the son of perdition not to be one and the same. It’s also the same description Ezekiel uses for the prince of Tyrus making the connection again (Ezek 28:2). Bits of this description will be seen over and over again in the words of the Prophets, as well as by the New Testament scribes.

The iniquity was at work in Paul’s day, but the sin comes in the Night as the Eight emerges from the earth as a Beast. The “Eighth” is also known as the Wicked (Law Less One – II Thess 2:4-8 & Rev 17:11), defined as Korah, Cain, and Balaam (Jude 11 and II Pet 2:15). This son of perdition is a he, but a them as well (II Thess 2:8-11). John said the “he in the world” has many members (I Jn 4:1-4 & 2:18-19). Isaiah says this Lucifer is “a man”, the number of a man is the mark of the Beast (Isa 14:16 & Rev 13:17-18). Leaving it there, may produce fear, but John also told us, “greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world”; he also said the Youngmen have overcome the Wicked, there is hope coupled with our victory (I Jn 2:13 & I Jn 4:1-5). We work to walk in the Spirit of Truth, the sons of perdition are afraid of the Spirit of Truth, they don’t want change, they desire to remain with the spirit of man, which changes to the spirit of the world, making them the “he of the world”.

There was no reason for Judas to do what he did, other than the nature of Judas. Since only one of the disciples fell to perdition, we know it was not some overpowering evil with the ability to overtake us, rather it was one man who refused to face his own evil nature. Judas wanted what he wanted and was willing to “use” Jesus to get it. Being a servant, and using the Master to get what we want are two different things. Judas cast out devils, but devils were not his problem, Judas was the problem of Judas. He rejected all the teachings of Jesus regarding this very issue, he felt his agenda was more important than God’s. He exalted his plan over God’s, then attempted to make his plan superior. What was the difference between Peter and Judas? Peter was attempting to do something for Jesus, Judas was attempting to do something to Jesus.

The mark of the Beast is the number of a man, not men, thus the mark associates with a Beast, but which one? John shows two, one from the Sea then the Wicked from the earth. It’s the False One (Wicked) who makes an image according to First Beast whose deadly wound was healed. The head wound is one of “authority” showing idol worship is a matter of authority, evil authority, but still authority (Hab 3:13).

There are three basic descriptive forms relating to the fall nature, the spirit of man knows all about mankind, it uses the knowledge against man, just as the devil used his information against Adam (I Cor 2:11). The spirit of man is opposed to the Spirit of God, the spirit of the world is centered on the things of the world, it’s opposed to the “Spirit which is of God” (New Man – I Cor 2:12). Then James tells us about the spirit lusting to envy, we know the word envy means incapable of doing any good whatsoever, thus all of these give us a picture of the demonic realm. The devil is the prince of his realm, the same prince who is associated with the realm of disobedience, Satan is the nature of the devil opposed to mankind, yet Lucifer is the son of perdition. The sons of perdition were saved from the world, yet allowed Satan to rule their soul. Paul said the false apostles have an outward appearance of righteousness, but inside Satan rules (II Cor 11:13-14). It’s not being captive by the fallen nature, it’s being free of it, yet desiring to use it for ones personal benefit; it’s a love of the self over anything else. They are so impressed with their power to deceive they consider it an attribute of being a Christian. It’s so clear when we put it together, Lucifer exalts himself above all of God’s people, becoming the abominable branch, as the cut off branch, the tare, the bird, the wild sour vine. He failed to open the door to the prisoners, rather he made prisoners who were not prisoners (Isa 14:16-17). He turned the greatness of the Time of Comfort into a wilderness of sin, he destroyed his own land (kingdom), then joined with Babylon (Isa 14:14-20). Lucifer had it in hand, yet caused his own downfall, God wants to know “How?”, not “Why?”. The How points to the Ways of Lucifer, thus we judge the Fruit, or Ways of a person. They will go into the Night as the drunken, becoming the beast of the earth, or the Eighth in the last days, their evil ways cause the Star of the Woman to fall in the end.

In all this we still find the Lord has a very good purpose for those who love Him, for those called according to His purpose. He will cut the Remnant from the son and nephew (Sixth) and from Babylon (the Woman, or city – Isa 14:22). The end times are not some guess by God, they were seen before the foundation of the world. The entire creation in Genesis centered around this issue, God separated the Day from the Night; thus Jesus warned us about mixing the Day into the Night (Acts 1:6-8). The Wicked think they can change what God has ordained, but it cannot be changed, God has purposed it, God has proclaimed it, it shall come to pass (Isa 14:24-27). The Body may appear to be falling apart in some areas, but it’s purposed; the Body will be broken, but fear not, for the Church is not hurt, not wounded, neither will the gates of hell prevail against it.

God has many purposes, thus we don’t change His mind, we change paths to find the perfect purpose of peace. Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us to a place where God desires us. Within the Body there are elements, there are those who are Fetus’, Babes, Little Children, Children, Youngmen and Fathers. There are also those moving from the flesh (self-righteousness) to the Spirit, subject to various stages of growth, they are not to be confused with the Wicked. The Wicked are different, they want the religious feeling, but desire to use the authority of the world. They are in this to appear morally correct, to impress mankind with a religious appearance, to appear holy before men, to have power and position associated with God in some manner, they want the world to condone to their religious thinking, but they refuse to submit to God. They are using the Body, not edifying it. The division between the Wicked and the Just is found in “intent”, thus the Word in us divides the intent from the thought (Heb 4:12).

Isaiah tells us Moab went to the high places, this is a symbol of the Seventh church becoming lukewarm (Isa 15:1-9). The wording “High Places” is a metaphor for mental idol worship, the mental idols use pride as a foundation. The “pride of life” (self-confidence) is the one element the Wicked refuse to face, rather they use it as their “weapon”, usually claiming everyone else is prideful. We war against High Things which come against the knowledge of God, these High Things don’t come against God, they come against the Knowledge of God. Strongholds are products of natural thinking, there are strongholds of theology, some of traditions of men allowed to become Doctrine, there are strongholds based on not understanding events. Since God knows all things, it stands we can take some information, then form our own conclusions establishing a stronghold. We may be firm in one area, yet hold strongholds in another; any information on the subject must then come through the stronghold; just as any information we project must go out through the stronghold.

In reference to the “144,000”; they are obviously an elite group, thus some want to “work” their way into the group, but the Lamb will mark the 144,000 on Mount Zion. They are taken from the thousands, they didn’t work their way up the ladder of holiness, they also have a little strength, yet we have the Strength of Christ (Isa 16:1, Rev 7:4 & 14:1). As “elite” as they are, they are not Born Again, not appointed unto Salvation, they will not have the Spirit, but they will have brotherly love and a little strength, thus if someone has the driven desire to one of them, they must not have the Spirit.

The wilderness experience of the children explains how the devil can be separated from the children, yet still hold to the thoughts of Egypt. When the Seventh takes Moab, Moab will howl for Moab, but refuses to put away her pride (Isa 16:6-7). When the Seventh becomes lukewarm by praising the Lord in the house of the Lord, yet worshipping idols on the house tops, the gladness will be taken away. Ezekiel will show us how the images and idols will work their way into the temple; the Remnant will see these abominations take place, ending weeping over the abominations done in the city.

Toward the end of the last three and one half will see the glory of Moab cut off, the Remnant will be very small and feeble (Isa 16:14). John says, the Remnant will have a little strength (Rev 3:8); however, we are given the Strength of Christ (Rev 12:10). John also shows the Remnant are overcome, yet we are called Overcomers. The Remnant will be killed toward the end removing all mercy from the earth, but we are told those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up before the 1,000 years. Two different premises for two different groups (Rev 5:11 & 20:5-6).

The Remnant will return, the Remnant of Jacob from the House of David (Isa 10:20-21). Though the people of Israel will be as the Sand of the Sea, the remnant shall be saved (Isa 10:22). Oh, this must be talking about the time after the captivity in Babylon, so it’s complete, right? Yes and no, the preview was seen in history, but Paul also quoted this by saying, “Isaiah also cried concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a Remnant shall be saved” (Rom 9:27); by using the wording “shall” it points to a future promise. Then he said, “For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (Rom 9:28). Clearly it’s a work yet to happen, thus Paul by the Holy Ghost saw the preview was complete, but the work was yet future. The Remnant will be Jewish, or those Paul calls Israel. They will finish the Remaining work, it’s all purposed by God, it’s in the plan. However, just as sure is the Rapture finishing the work of the Day. How can the Night come, if the Day is still here? It can’t, but we will see Eclipses from time to time.

Damascus is the home of the children of Ammon, the children of Ammon are also one of the three to be taken by the Woman, leaving Seven. In that day the glory of Jacob will wax thin, as Jacob overtakes Damascus. It will come by the power of compromise, not war. However, the last war does causes the Great Trump to be sounded, then every eye shall look upon their Maker, then they shall have respect for the Holy One of Israel (Isa 17:7).

Here in the preview of the latter days we find their captivity comes because they forgot God, not because God wanted to bring judgment, the same is true in the latter days (Isa 17:10). Could God stop all this by forcing man to believe? It would be possible, but not profitable. The Father could have taken the cup of God’s wrath from Jesus, but it was not profitable to God, or for those who endure by Faith. God has given us free moral choice, not as the world gives, but as God gives.

Isaiah 18:1 tells us, “woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia”, one can assume this speaks of Ethiopia, but it’s Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. The land referred to has “shadowing with wings”, thus it has a metaphoric content pointing to one place only, Israel. In Revelation 12:14 just after the Woman brings forth the Man Child, then is seen with “two wings of an eagle” so she might fly into the wilderness (a place of waiting). Accordingly the Woman in the latter days is still in the wilderness, yet in Isaiah 18:6 we read, “they shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth”. The fowls shall Summer upon them, all the beasts of the earth shall Winter upon them (Isa 18:6). Summer? Winter? Seasons? Yes, the fowls are there now, the Beast of the Earth shall Winter on them in the Night, thus the fowls of the air are trampling the city under foot during the Day.

After the Time of Comfort the Woes will come on the inhabitants of the “earth and sea”, but Rejoice you of the heavens, the Woes are not appointed unto you (Rev 12:12). The last Woe will come when the Great Trump is blown (Isa 18:1-3); the warning will go out from Mount Zion in the form of the Two Witnesses, who are assigned to the last two candlesticks (Rev 11:3-4). However, the people will love the pleasure of Peace, Safety and the riches more than God; the love of money is still the root of all evil. The people will look at the Two Witnesses as hindrances, since the Two Witnesses are dressed in sackclothe calling for repentance, they also hold the prophetic words concerning the dangers of idol worship (Rev 11:3). They will have Peace, Safety and Money, they make the decision to kill the prophets, tossing the Law and Prophets into the street (a place between places), which removes any and all mercy from the earth (Rev 11:1-10 & Isa 18:1-7).

The Lord will “ride upon a swift cloud” (Cloud is a Witness), the word Swift is the Hebrew Qal meaning Light, or Rapid, or Swiftly. Egyptians shall be against Egyptians, they shall fight one against his brother, thus John said the city was spiritually known as Sodom and Egypt (Rev 11:8), yet Egypt is a metaphor pointing to the World. This defines the “he in the world” as worldly in nature.

We also find it’s a Cloud not Clouds, thus Jesus ascended with a Cloud, but returns with Clouds. This points to Pentecost and the four horsemen, the first is different from the other three. The first has a Bow, a word study shows the Bow is used to plant seed, yet the other three bring wars, rumors of wars, pestilence and famine. This prophetic message has other clues, “the Lord said unto me, I will take My rest” (vs. 4), showing the Lord sitting down, yet giving us Rest; when we have the Rest of God we cease from our own works (Heb 4:10). In verse 5 there is a vast change, the harvest is completed, the cutting away complete. The wording “cut off” is the Hebrew Karath meaning to cut down or destroy, showing the end of the harvest. Then in verse 6 we find the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of the mountains (nations), then the “present (cloud of witnesses) being brought to the Lord”, then regressing we find the city was trodden under foot (vs. 7).

The land has “spoiled rivers”, was “trodden under foot” (Isa 18:7). This is not Egypt, but connected to it. Ethiopia is a metaphoric type of the Wicked, Egypt a type of the world. We can metaphorically see Ethiopia as a type of the Beast of the Earth who is connected to the Beast of the Sea (Egypt) by the same authority (Rev 13:1-11). The spoiled rivers show life is cut off, the city is trodden under foot in this Season, even now. There are two people of the earth, and one on the earth, but not of the world. The Jew and Gentile are of the earth, the Christian on the earth, but not of the world. There are many religions in the world, as there are many nations, but God doesn’t see it that way. As long as the Gentile is telling Israel how to run the land, as long as the Dome of the Rock Mosque remains in Jerusalem the city is trodden under foot by the Gentile. It appears as if the Dome will never be removed, but we find God has said the Temple will be established in the last days; therefore, it will.

Isaiah 19:1 doesn’t say the idols will be done away with, rather they will be “moved”, the word Moved is the Hebrew Nuwa which has several applications, including To shake, To go away, To go up and down, To real, To be promoted, To wag, or To wander. If the idols are done away with, why would they fight among themselves? God also shows they will seek the idols, or charmers with familiar spirits. In the end Egypt will fail, but we find wars and rumors of wars running wild during the Day, thus this refers to the world as we know it today. Carnal Christians attempt to change the world, since they came from the world, rather than call the called from the world. The carnal mind still looks back at what was, but the Spiritually minded call the called from the world while allowing the world to run its course. The Lord has a purposed plan for the world (Egypt), no one can change it (Isa 19:12).

Then we see “the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt” (Isa 19:17). What Terror? What Judah? Could this be a metaphor to the Body? Yes, the Body is a terror to Egypt (world), so much so the world seeks for the Body to compromise. Since Egypt is run by the power and authority of the dragon, we also know Egypt mocks what it’s afraid of. Expect it, but don’t join it; know about the serpent, but remain as a Dove.

The biggest mistake we make, is placing ourselves under the authority of Egypt, assuming we can speak of the Lord, yet change the world. The world is under the prince of the power of the air, how then can they act Christian? They can’t, we couldn’t until we came to the Cross to receive the Spirit. We are not under Egypt, we are kings from a Kingdom far greater than Egypt. The Lord will smite Egypt, then heal it (Isa 19:22), what? The healing is the Time of Comfort, but there will also be a Highway out of Egypt to Assyria. The Egyptians will serve “with” the Assyrians, they won’t serve the Assyrians. Therefore, the Beast of the Sea (Egypt), will join to the Beast of the Earth (Assyrians), then cause the Woman to become Babylon, the great city will fall (Isa 19:23). In that day Israel, Egypt and Assyria will be the three elements on the earth, thus the Church will be gone (Isa 19:24). We see these elements as the Woman, the Beast of the Sea, and the Beast of the Earth. John is seen standing on the Sand of the Sea when he sees the Beast of the Sea, and the Beast of the Earth (Rev 13:1-13). John doesn’t see the Church at all, yet he is above the Sand of the Sea, not below it, or equal to it (Rev 13:1). Where are the Remnant? How come we don’t see them? They are there, they are seen as “the blessing in the midst of the land” (Isa 19:24). The time of Peace and Safety will be a Blessing on the earth, but it’s purposed to test the people of the earth (Rev 3:10). The children were taken into the wilderness to test their love, the Time of Comfort sees Peace and Safety as a test.

Isaiah is then given some requests from the Lord based in obedience without question. Isaiah is told to walk naked and barefoot for three years, as a sign of the nakedness of the people (Isa 20:1-3). This is an area where one better be hearing from God, rather than the lust of the flesh, or forming an excuse to walk around naked. Jesus tells the Seventh church, “Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing; and know not you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked: I counsel you to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, so you may be rich; and white raiment so you may be clothed so the shame of your nakedness does not appear” (Rev 3:17-18).

God used the Egyptians as a sign to His people, showing how He allowed the king of Assyria to overcome them in order to complete the will and purpose of the Lord (Isa 20:4-5). Not all who are put in power by God are what we term Good, in fact Pharaoh was raised by God for the very purpose of teaching God’s people about bondage (Rom 9:17). In the latter days, God will allow the Assyrian to invade the Seventh to bring about  the call for repentance. it’s still based on the condition of the Seventh church; the purpose of the plagues is not to punish the world, but to call them to repentance, whether they repent or not is still their choice.

Isaiah is told to put his sackclothe away; sackclothe is a metaphor for repentance (Job 16:15), thus the time of repentance has passed, it was time to expose the folly of God’s people. Isaiah walked naked for three years as a “sign and wonder” (Isa 20:3). We allow the Word to clean us so we can stand naked and open before God (Heb 4:12-13), but here the purpose was to show the people had lost their protective covering, the green tree was becoming a dry tree.

The children looked to Egypt and Ethiopia as “great powers”, they felt Egypt and Ethiopia would destroy Assyria, thus they wouldn’t have to face the battle, but it turned, as Assyria took both Ethiopia and Egypt (Isa 20:5). Then we read, “the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day”, what Isle? What inhabitant? (Isa 20:6). This is not Islands, as many, but Isle as one, referring to Israel, who was separated from the Gentile. However, the children looked at Egypt and Ethiopia as powers greater than they, the same error can happen to us, we can view the ways of the world assuming the devil has more power than we. The world’s power is obvious, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have power. When we presume our power is to overcome the world order we error, rather our Power puts us above the world order. The “cares of this world” refers to anything the world cares about, it has nothing to do with having a job, or making a living, it has to do with the fears and worries of the world. When the fears and worries of the world overcome us, we have taken the cares of this world as part of our nature.

The burdens of man, are the yokes of iron man places on himself; in Jeremiah some of the false prophets will call out “the burden of the Lord”, but their assumption of what the burden entails is wrong. They assume the Lord produced the burden, rather than the Lord reacting to the burden man attempted to place on God. Isaiah 21 has to be metaphoric in nature, after all, how many “deserts of the sea” do you find? If it’s a desert, it’s a desert, if it’s a sea, it’s a sea (Isa 21:1). We know the metaphors Sea and Egypt point to the world, now we have the word “desert”, which is the Hebrew Midbar, it’s the same word used for the word Wilderness, thus the “desert of the Sea” is the wilderness in which we find the Woman in Revelation 17. The connection is found in Isaiah 21:9 where we read, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of Her gods He has broken to the ground”. This not only goes with Revelation 18:1-2, but shows the “burden” is the idol worship conducted by God’s people. We also read in the Book of Revelation, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen”, then we read how the kings of the earth see her torment and say, “Alas, alas the great city Babylon, the mighty city! for in one hour is your judgment come” (Rev 18:10). Isaiah said Babylon was a “her”, John sees it as the Woman. Again this has nothing to do with gender, but with position. The Woman was suppose to be subject to Zion, as Zion was suppose to be the head of the Woman, but she made Zion her footstool. Assyria was a nation, Babylon a city, the Woman is seen as the City, but she becomes the head of the nation. The false prophet is seen bringing back the ways of Assyria to the Woman, by placing the abomination in the temple.

Is the pain seen here in Isaiah one of the Day? Or Night? It’s of the Night, as we read, “the Night of my pleasure has He turned into fear unto me” (Isa 21:4). Then the duty of the Watchman is defined, as one who watches for the Night (Isa 21:11-12). We Watch and pray, but Watch what? We pray we don’t enter the Night, nor the Hour assigned to the great tribulation. Then we read how the “morning comes”, yet it also seems to be in the Night; then we read “inquire, inquire you: return, come” (Isa 21:12). They are to inquire of the Lord, not inquire of their idols, the Morning refers to Jesus as the Son of man coming to finish the course of the Cross at the Judgment. The method God gave them was the Law (inquire) and Prophets (inquire), allowing them to repent unto the Lord.

God’s anger is kindled against the Wicked, they rejected the means, after they were in a position to hold it. They cause others to be taken captive, they are the reason Smyrna suffers (Rev 3:8-9 & Isa 48:12-13). God hates punishment so much, it angers Him to bring it, but God will do what He must do. God will wound the head (authority) of the house of the wicked, yet the false prophet will bring back idol worship to a place it should not be (Hab 3:13). The “house of the wicked” was seen in Proverbs, “the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked” (Prov 3:33): “the house of the wicked shall be overthrown” (Prov 14:11): “The righteous man considers the house of the wicked, but God will overthrow it with their wickedness” (Prov 21:12). The authority of the house of the wicked is wounded in our season, but in the Night the same authority will be found as the connection between the false prophet and the beast of the sea.

The Bride’s Supper is not some prime rib dinner or a fellowship meeting in heaven, it’s the table of the Lord’s wrath (Isa 21:5). We tend to confuse God’s anger toward the Wicked, with His compassion toward the sinner. The sinner in the world is a victim, under the shadow of the prince of the power of the air, but the Wicked are those who escaped the pollutions of the world, yet hold to the defiled garment, thus God’s anger is against the Wicked, not the sinner (II Pet 2:19-22, Jude 17-19 & Eph 4:14).

The Watchman sees “a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels”, but then he says, “A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights” (Isa 21:7-8). When we have done all to Stand, we Stand, here the Watchman Stood in the Daytime, but was in his Ward during the Night; the word Ward is the Hebrew Mismereth meaning Safeguard. We Watch during the Day, but we will be in Safeguard during the Night. It’s well after the Watchman’s time when he see Babylon has fallen (Isa 21:9). We Watch and Pray so we don’t enter the Hour of Temptation, this is a far cry from praying for the duration of an hour. We can pray for thirty seconds every morning to be spared the Hour of Temptation, or we can pray for an hour a day, yet never seek the face of God.

The horsemen from all four corners of the world will come against Jerusalem of the earth: the Trumpet will sound, yet we find the “army of the Lord” will be those coming against Jerusalem. These are not four horsemen, but horsemen from the north, south, east and west. It pains God greatly, but in the process we find, “Babylon has fallen”, the point (Isa 21:6-9). When they wonder why all this has come upon them, the Lord says, “Have I declared unto you?” which means, Isn’t the Word plain? (Isa 21:10). Not knowing our responsibility, and ignoring it are different.

There are watchmen, and there are watchmen; some see what is put before them, others see what they want to see. Here we find the definition of a watchman, a true watchman sees what is in front of them, a false watchman calls danger when there is none, or peace when there is none. The burden of the valley of the vision sees the people run to the housetops where idol worship was conducted (Isa 22:1-2). They see, but they do not observe, rather they see what they want to, but they refuse to see what God observes. This is the “valley of the vision” a low spot in the vision Isaiah had, the metaphor “housetop” or “roof” refer to the places where the people conducted idol worship, thus Jeremiah shows they worship Baal on the rooftops (Jere 32:29).

There is no comfort for the prophet who sees the child of God involved in idol worship (Isa 22:4): idols open the door to the Wicked bringing in destruction (Isa 22:5). There are idols of stone and idols of the mind, but an idol is an idol, is an idol. Looking unto the nation to save us, social change to protect us, or fearing the food we eat are all idols of the mind; they turn our heads from God as they demand our respect and fear, yet the idol is nothing, what one makes of it is the point (Isa 22:11).

Isaiah 22:12 calls for “sackclothe”, a sign of repentance. The metaphor “baldness” doesn’t mean hair loss, it refers to authority (I Cor 11:6), if the leadership has separated itself from the Authority of Christ, let the Congregation be as shaven. However, what causes this concern? They have rejected the judgment of God, rather than take joy in doing of the Law, they find pleasure in not doing the Law (Isa 22:13). Here in Isaiah we find the famed, “let us eat and drink for tomorrow we may die”, which is a reference to the thought of no judgment after death. Jesus made reference to this Scripture in the Parable of the rich man who retained his goods, but lost his soul in the process (Luke 12:16-21). This was termed “iniquity” or being unequal, they claimed “the Lord is our God”, but they also bowed to idols (Isa 22:14). The prophet is sent to Shebna the “treasurer” giving us the connection to the parable of Jesus in Luke (Isa 22:15-21). Then in verse 22 we find the phrase “key of the house of David”, yet in the Book of Revelation Jesus said He had the Key of David, is it the same Key (Rev 3:7)? Has to be there are only two references, this key is related to the “shoulder” pointing to government, the Sixth church will be the government of the Night. Then the proof, only the Lord can open or shut this door to the house of David (Isa 22:22 & Rev 3:7).

Some run into a snag here, II Kings has a different completion date than Isaiah, some think one was written after the other, the truth is one was finished after the other, but they are both correct. There was a scribe writing Kings, and one writing for Isaiah. Two legers, but it doesn’t mean they both had to finish writing at the same time.

Ahh, a mystery, the wording “Eliakim the son of Hilkiah” would be the Hebrew Eliakim Ben–Hilkiah, Eliakim means Whom God has sent, Hilkiah means Portion given to Jehovah, thus this isn’t speaking of Eliakim or Rab-shakeh, but The Son of God, Whom the Father Sent to gain Jehovah’s Portion. The word Portion means a Part of the total, thus it refers to the Remnant. This also explains the third person comments Jesus makes to the Sixth and Seventh churches, it appears as if He is speaking to them in a manner of introduction, but to the first Five churches He is speaking to them as their Lord. Strange? Not so, it’s seen here, if the Remnant are in the Night, then Jesus is obscure, hidden in the Volume of the Book, yet not Revealed until the Last Day when they look on Him they have pierced. This is seen in the phrase “He shall be for a glorious throne to His father’s house” (Isa 22:23). His “father’s house” is the House of David, the Remnant will have the “glory” of the former, thus there is the glory of the moon, the glory of the sun, the Glory of the Stars, all different (I Cor 15:41). The “restoration of Israel” is in the Father’s power, it’s the time to make the enemies of Jesus His footstool (Acts 1:6-8).

We also find the “vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons” (Isa 22:24). Say what? Clearly they are Vessels, but it’s the type draws our attention. The wording “small quantity” is the Hebrew Qaton meaning Least, Small in number, connecting to “a little strength” (Rev 3:8). All this has to relate to the time of the Night centered on Judgment, then we come across the “Sure Nail”. The Sure Nail, not nails, is the one for the feet of Jesus, the place of His footstool (Isa 22:25).

Another mystery opened with the wording “cut down” not the wording “cut off”,  they are different. The wording “cut down” is the Hebrew Gada meaning To fall a tree, or To cut down a Tree. The wording “cut off” is the Hebrew Karath, which we know now means To cut off a body part. The word Removed is also important, it’s the Hebrew Muwah meaning Withdraw, or Take away. This passage gives us a progression of events, the Sure Place will be Taken, the Tree will be Cut Down, the Burden of the Tree will be Cut Off as one Cuts off a Body Part, thus showing before the House of David is opened, the Tree will be Cut, the Good taken Away, the Wicked (Burden to the Body) cut-off giving us the Broken Body of Jesus at the Rapture. The Sure Nail belongs to one group, the Wicked, they are the footstool of Jesus. Even Thomas in his “doubting” stage knew better than to mention the nail in the feet of Jesus (Jn 20:24-25).

Then comes the burden of Tyre, yet Tyre is not the United States, rather it’s a symbol pointing to the House of Jacob (Isa 23:1 & 23:15). The merchants become the crown to Jacob who caused the changing of crowns from the promised crown of life, to the wicked crown of the Whore (Isa 22:4-10). The Lord has given a commandment against the merchant, thus the merchant isn’t a child of God who does business in the world, rather the merchant is one who thinks like the world (Ezek 28:13-16).

The concept behind the word “merchant” or “merchandise” shows us the person or subject is consumed with the love of money and possessions, they will use whatever they can, even the windows of heaven. The devil is the merchant of people, but the lust is the same root to all evil. In the Book of Revelation it’s the Seventh church who thinks it’s rich and in need of nothing, showing being rich is all they think about. Does it mean God won’t open the windows of heaven? No, God will open the windows of heaven after the earthquake producing the Rapture, which brings the earth back to its position as it was in the time of Noah. Being rich isn’t the issue, the mind behind getting there is. If the only reason we follow God, or go to meetings, or follow preachers is to get money, we’re in trouble. If the only reason we preach is to get money, we are like Balaam.

The earthquake Isaiah refers to is the last one turning the earth inside out (Isa 24:18), this would be after the Jacob’s Trouble, when the House of David becomes the House of Jacob. The earth will reel to and fro then fall, never to rise again (Isa 24:19-20). The inhabitants of the earth are “burned” and “few men left”; the “few” are those who see their names in the Book of Life on the last day (Isa 24:6 & Rev 20:15). The earth will be New in purpose and condition, instead of being the testing ground, it becomes the burning lake of fire. We think the word “New” means “new and better”, but there are different Greek words for the English word “new”. In reference to the New Birth it does mean New and Better, but in reference to the “new earth” it means “new in purpose”. The old purpose for the earth will be complete at the Judgment, then the new purpose begins, as hell widens her borders to become the lake of fire (Isa 5:14).

Isaiah 24:22-23 talks about the Judgment, prior God said the inhabitants will be scattered (Isa 24:1), here God shows them gathered in the pit. We see the Lord “reigns” in Zion and in Jerusalem, but we have to determine if it’s Zion of the earth, or Zion of heaven, or if this is Jerusalem of the earth, or New Jerusalem. The key is the phrase “before His ancients”, this shows the concept points to New Jerusalem, connecting to Revelation 20:4. Those who were partakers of the First Resurrection are taken before the 1,000 years of Peace and Safety, thus they reign with Christ in heaven. They are the ones who were beheaded for Jesus, yet being “beheaded for the witness of Jesus” doesn’t mean one had their physical head cut off. If it did, what about John, who died a natural death? Or the many others, like Thomas, Peter and many, many more who died in ways other than being beheaded? The word used in Revelation 20:4 is different from the one used in reference to John the Baptist being beheaded. The metaphor “head” means Authority, thus the mark of the beast on ones Head refers to them accepting and using the authority of the beast. Therefore we find the word used for beheading in reference to being beheaded for Jesus means one gave up the old authority for the authority of Jesus, behold all things are New.

This vision causes Isaiah to praise the Lord, as Isaiah sees the past is merely a preview of what is to come (Isa 25:1-12). God will make the city a heap, then the strong people will glorify the Lord. The terrible nations shall fear Him, showing every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord; however, for many it will be too late.

When the Sixth church is operating during the Time of Comfort, Judah will be singing the song of Salvation in heaven, the Wall will be complete (Isa 26:1). The Gates will be open by the Sixth church, they will be in perfect peace (Isa 26:2). The 144,000 are the gate builders, but the gates can’t be built until the wall is complete. The 144,000 will wait upon the Lord, trusting in Jehovah the everlasting Strength of Israel (Isa 26:4 & 25:9). The Lord will ordain the peace, the soul of man ordains the destruction (Isa 26:12 & 26:17-21). Once we understand the Restoration of Israel, we will also be able to witness to the Jew, as well as talk to cults without entering debates. All cult systems have three pillars, self-righteousness, corrupt end time teachings, and some book or person whom they think elevates them above the rest of the Body of Christ. They want to be the special of the special, the 144,000, the “only true Church”, or some other prideful element, but in truth without the Spirit they lack the ability to obtain any of their goals.

Isaiah then tells us about Leviathan: the Psalms tell us how God gave Leviathan to the children in the wilderness as food, or better He gave them power to overcome, but they held to their Egypt thinking (Ps 74:14 & 104:26). Leviathan is from an unknown origin, in Job it appears as if it’s a fire breathing dragon, the word points to a “sea monster”, thus it all makes sense when we read Revelation 12:7 where there was a fight between Michael and “the dragon”, then in Revelation 13:2 where the “beast of the sea” received power, authority and seat of Satan from the dragon, making Leviathan a metaphoric fire breather.

The children in the wilderness were free of Pharaoh, the children in the kingdom of heaven are free of the devil. Through death, Jesus destroyed (made ineffective) him who had the power of death, who is the devil (Heb 2:14). The children in the wilderness where their own enemy, the flesh is ours. However, in “that day” (day of the Lord) the Lord will bring His great Sword and punish Leviathan, He will punish the dragon in the sea (Isa 27:1. John says, “and he (the fifth angel) laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years”. One element, but with three characteristics, the dragon, the serpent, and Satan, all the same devil. After the 1,000 years we find the devil, the beast of the sea and the false prophet (Wicked) in the lake of fire at the judgment (Rev 20:10). Psalm 9:17 says the Wicked shall be turned into hell, yet we find hell is tossed into the lake of fire (Rev 21:14). The hope is finding our names in the Book of Life, in our case the signature is the New Man in us.

The Remnant have a different path than the Wicked, they will sing “unto her” in the “vineyard of red wine” (Isa 27:2). The her is the Bride, the “vineyard of Red Wine” is New Jerusalem covered with the Blood of Jesus, thus the Remnant sing Unto her, rather than sing As her. New Jerusalem will be watered every moment by living waters (Isa 27:3 & Rev 22:2).

The “Great Trumpet” shall be blown, they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, the outcasts in the land of Egypt shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem (Isa 27:13). What? This shows the judgment with the Great Trump, not to be confused with the Last Trump. How can this be? Those who find their names in the Book of Life are received by New Jerusalem (Rev 21:1-7). The Outcasts of Egypt, are those whom Egypt has rejected.

Instead of using a crown of self-righteousness, we find our Crown of Life is in the Lord (Isa 28:5). When the Spirit takes us to meet Jesus in the Air, the Crown will change hands and purpose. We are given the Crown of Life, but when Jesus returns it will be the Crown of the Spirit of Judgment (Isa 28:6). There are two different Greek words used in the Book of Revelation for the word Crown, in reference to the saints it means a Crown of Victory, but in reference to the Beast it means one of authority regardless of the source; therefore, only the saints with the Spirit have the Crown of victory (life).

The priests will follow the False Prophet, as they error in their “false wine” (Isa 28:7). Jesus said, He would spew (spue KJV; rid oneself of mucus) the lukewarm Laodiceans out of His mouth (Rev 3:16); Isaiah simply calls it, “the tables of vomit” (Isa 28:8). The understanding of these matters will be given to us, for eye has not seen, nor ear heard the things God has prepared for those who love Him but He has given us His Spirit to search out the deep things of God (I Cor 2:9-11). We are instructed by the Mind of the Lord, through the Mind of Christ (I Cor 2:16). Who can teach the understanding of the deep things of God? Those who have the Seed of God, they are those who are able to discern matters (Isa 28:11).

The “he in the world” also has a covenant, but it’s a covenant of death (Isa 28:15). To free us from the covenant of death, God gave us Jesus, the Great and Precious Corner Stone of Life (Isa 28:16). Before Jesus gave us the Cross and Resurrection it was impossible for anyone to begin the foundation, much less finish the work. Without a Corner Stone the wall can’t be built, without a Wall the city is lost; the Great  Corner Stone is only for those who believe (Isa 28:16); however, the same Corner Stone will place a “line in the sand”. On one side of the Line is the Righteousness of Jesus, on the other the Judgment of Jesus (Isa 28:17). There is a consumption determined on the whole earth, no one can stop it, but one can avoid it; however, it is nonetheless assigned to the Night, not the Day (Isa 28:22).

Using the wrong means to accomplish the result doesn’t change our position (Isa 28:24-28). If we saw a farmer plowing up his freshly planted seed, we would think he was crazy. If we saw birds working in the threshing room to get their food, we would think they were crazy. Why then do we attempt to reach Christ by any other means than the Spirit?

The word Ariel means Lion Of God, helping us define why John sees Jesus as the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah”. A Lamb isn’t a Sacrifice, a Lion is different; when the time comes, the Lion and Lamb will lay together as one, but during the Day we see the “Lamb Slain”, during the Night it will be “the Lion”. The only other place we find the word Ariel is in Ezra 8:16, there it’s a person’s name, giving us a clue, here it indicates Ariel is the Lion of God as Jesus. The use of Lion Of God with the reference to David draws this prophecy to the end times, a Lion is one who judges, thus the devil goes about As a roaring lion. We have the Lamb of God, the Lion is for Judgment, thus the Lion points to a Woe, showing Jesus as the Son of man has two positions, one as the Lamb, the other as the Lion (Isa 29:1).

In the end the voices will speak from the ground, as Isaiah 29:4-8 points to the Judgment where we find Thunder, the last Earthquake, a Great Noise, ahh a Great Noise, a clue, and Peter said, “the Day of the Lord will come as thief in the Night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a Great Noise, and the elements shall Melt with Fervent Heat, and the earth also and the works therein shall be Burned up” (II Pet 3:10). We see the same here in Isaiah, but Thank God for the Day of Salvation, Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Why are the voices speaking from the ground? There is no physical life, it’s appointed unto all men once to die, then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27).

The book is given to the learned, but they can’t open it; then it’s given to the unlearned, but they can’t understand it (Isa 29:11-12). Natural intellect isn’t going to understand Scripture, the languages yes, what other natural people say, but it still takes the Holy Ghost to interpret the Book. It’s to God’s Glory to conceal the matter, but the honor of the king to search it out (Prov 25:2).

We must be open to the Spirit’s correction, for we may find ourselves drawing close with our mouths, but our souls are far removed (Isa 29:13). The meek are those with patience, as the sister of faith; the meek shall increase with joy in the Lord, the poor in Spirit will rejoice in the Holy One (Isa 29:19 & Matt 5:3-14).

The Remnant will inherit the earth when the Mountain of the Lord sits on the Mountains of the world, then the devil (terrible one) will be bound (brought to naught – Isa 29:20). Although the devil will be bound, the offender in word will not; therefore, the House of Jacob will be ashamed, but the House of David will be saved (Isa 29:22). We assume if the devil is bound all evil must also be bound, we are mistaken, as the heart of man is evil with or without the devil. The false prophet begins with the working of Satan before the devil is released, it’s the work of the false prophet causing the release of the devil by the fifth angel. Paul says the son of perdition will come after the working (or with the workings) of Satan (II Thess 2:9). The title or word Wicked appears about 325 times in the Bible, nearly 300 of them in the Old Testament, Judas had plenty of warning.

Isaiah gives a dual prophecy to both those who use the spirit of antichrist, then those who join the false prophet. When we run around seeking counsel from man or use formulas to gain, we add sin to sin (Isa 30:1). We must go to the Spirit to Hear our course, method, or receive the exposure; faith still comes by hearing. When the words expose the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life, the unsaved soul uses anger or manipulation as a shield, but the spiritually minded receive the exposure unto salvation (Isa 30:1). As Babylon was taking the land, some of the people ran to Egypt for protection, adding sin to their sin. When we see Egypt coming against the Body we can either run to the Spirit to discern, or run to the Beast; the choice is ours, the result is already written (Isa 30:2-3). All this may seem negative to a degree, but to the child of God it’s positive adding to positive. How can we defeat the works of the devil, if we continue to use them? How can we defeat the works of the devil, if we don’t know what they are? How can we break the sword of the enemy, if we treasure it? All these lessons show us self-deception is a brick in the wall of pride, yet humbleness is the weapon of our warfare to destroy pride.

John listed the things of the world in an order holding a mystery; he told us the “he in the world” is driven by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life (I Jn 2:16). We can’t use the pride of life to destroy the pride of life, but one may be able to use the pride of life to close the eye gate, but we would still be using a worldly method, making pride the result. Isaiah gives us all the negative surfacing elements when man uses the pride of life to portray a religious stature which is neither Godly or Holy. The rebellious use the pride of life behind a religious mask (Isa 30:2); the rebellious trust in the shadow of the world, the shadow of intellectualism, the shadow of church dogma, the shadow of the self, but reject the Strength of His Christ (Isa 30:2 & Rev 12:10-11). The false strengths shall be to their shame and confusion (Isa 30:3).

There are the governments of the world, but there is also the government (Offices) of the Lord; Isaiah tells us the government rests on the shoulder of Jesus, not shoulders (Isa 9:6). The Neck is the place where the Head is connected to the Body, put a yoke on the Neck, one prevents the Head from connecting to the Body. The Yoke was destroyed because of the anointing, the anointing flows because of the Authority. When we become a “shame” it’s based on the lack of authority, not a lack of power (I Cor 11:1-7). Without the Authority, any use of power ends in rebellion; Jesus said Great Faith was based in the proper understanding of authority (Matt 8:9-10). Shame leaves us in a place where the people know there is no “profit” or Godly gain (Isa 30:5).

The lay out of physical land of Egypt in the time of Isaiah gives us the premise of Egypt in the natural realm. Upper Egypt was south, middle Egypt was in the middle, and Lower Egypt was north, thus when we enter Egypt we’re upside down and confused, if we sit in middle Egypt, we’re lukewarm. If we think we are at the top of Egypt, we’re still under it. The people felt if they ran to Egypt, they would be above the danger, but found they placed themselves in the lower position of destruction (Isa 30:6). Isaiah is told to write this down for a time to come, a time after the time to come forever (Isa 30:8). The “time to come” is our Season, the “time after the time” is the Time of Comfort yet to come. It becomes clear, a majority of the Old Testament talks of God’s judgment, thus the Good News is really Good. It gives us the opportunity to be separated from the Judgment of God through God’s Grace unto Salvation.

We will find a group coming to Jeremiah asking direction, the prophet will tell them the Lord wants them to go into Egypt, yet they will call Jeremiah a false prophet. There is no mention of them using this area of Isaiah as their basis, but it does give us the Proceeding word, here in Isaiah it’s the people running to Egypt on their own, in Jeremiah it’s the word of the Lord, two completely different premises (Jere 42:19-43:2).

God points to the rebellious children, as lying children, they refused to hear the Law of the Lord, making them liars (Isa 30:9). For us the Law of the Lord isn’t the Law of Moses: even the most misinformed Jew knows God gave the Law to Moses, then Moses gave the Law to the people, thus it’s called “the Law of Moses”. The Law of Jehovah is still the Law of  the Spirit, since God is Spirit. The rebellious refuse to hear the Law of the Lord, they make themselves Law Less (Isa 30:9). The nature of the rebellious is found in Isaiah 30:10, they tell the Seers, “See not”, and the Prophets “prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophecy deceits” (Isa 30:10). Do they really say this? Or is it the intent of their hearts? The intent, but some do say it, they want the prophets to speak one thing, making God force it come to pass. Prophets hear from God, they don’t tell God what to do. Today there are false prophets who speak from a lust to lust; Paul called it “itching ears” (II Tim 4:3). There are those who speak attempting to make God bring it to pass, they are false prophets, using the premise in reverse. They seek only the “pleasant things” attempting to please the flesh, rather than save their soul. Some sayings are hard, some offend, but the Word of the Lord is still sent to Heal us, not destroy us (Isa 30:12).

When we ignore the Word, or trust in oppression (fraud) or perverseness (to turn aside) we build a wall of pride separating us from God (Isa 30:12-13). The wall of pride causes iniquity, as they fail to turn toward the Lord. Our iniquity forces the Lord to use unpleasant means, at times breaking the vessel into pieces (Isa 30:14). In our case, if we return and allow the Potter to repair the breach, we shall find rest for our souls, but in the case of the Remnant we find the word Rest is the Hebrew Nachath meaning A descent, or Quietness, connecting to Comfort (Isa 30:15).

In all this, the Lord will wait to provide His Gracious Nature (Isa 30:18). For us exposure by the Spirit is a blessing, giving us the opportunity to say, “Get thee hence” just as Jesus told Satan to get behind Him (Isa 30:22 & Matt 16:23). This is far cry from running from the danger, as these people did. The saving of the soul brings the growth to the Seed of God as the increase for the Bread of Life (Isa 30:23).

Isaiah moves to the Time of Comfort again, during the Time of Comfort the animals will eat clean provender, yet it all leads to the great slaughter (Isa 30:24-25). The term “seven days” points to a Short Time until the Completeness; Isaiah 30:29 shows us this is “the Night”, but we also see “a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest and hailstones”, all pointing to the plagues in the very latter days (Isa 30:30). Verses 32 and 33 of Isaiah 30 sound like “music in the war”, in part it’s correct, there will be music in heaven, but hell on earth.

Isaiah again talks about the error of running to Egypt for help, it may seem God is redundant, but man’s hard heart calls for redundancy in many areas to break the wall of pride (Isa 31:1-9). Metaphorically we can see how running to the world for help, protection, security, need or salvation is error. If they are patient and hold to the Lord, He will come and fight for Zion (vs. 4). The wounded head is seen in verses 7-8, they will cast away their idols, then shall the Assyrian fall to the sword, those who live by the sword, shall die by the sword (vs. 7-9).

Now the prophet jumps ahead again, a King shall reign in Righteousness (Day),   and rule in Judgment (Night – Isa 32:1). For those of the Day, a man shall be a hiding place, or able to Stand, even the Convert will have strength, and Rivers of Water shall come from what was a dry place, there shall be a Shadow of a “great Rock” in a weary land, eyes who could not see will see, and the ears who could not hear will hear (Isa 32:2-3). Paul said eye has not seen, nor ear heard, but we do now by the Spirit (I Cor 2:9-10). This then relates to the opening of the Day, evidenced by the Rock, Eyes seeing, Rivers of Water, ears opening. Even the heart of the Rash shall understand knowledge, there shall be changes in the natures of people, they shall not be what they were, there shall be a newness (Isa 32:4-5). However, there will be those who reject the Change. They are the Wicked, defined here as the “vile person” who will speak “villainy”, the word Villainy means as a Villain; it’s the Hebrew Nebalah meaning Wickedness, it comes from the Hebrew Nabal meaning Foolish connecting to the Fool talked about in Proverbs. The “vile person” will “work iniquity”, “practice hypocrisy”, devise wicked devises, destroy with lying words. This is the nature we are saved from as the Word in us divides brings clarify, discerns thought and intent to keep us from the ways of the Wicked (Heb 4:12 & Isa 32:6-8).

We then find a metaphor helping to explain why it seems Paul in the eyes of the unlearned is a chauvinist. The prophet says, “you women who are at ease”, but is he talking about Gender or something else? To the Jew this is clear, it refers to an “Eve attitude”, it has nothing to do with gender, thus Paul being a Jew uses the metaphor in reference to Jewish teachers of the Law, or those who connect themselves to the ways of the Foolish Woman in Proverbs, but he in no way is being a chauvinist. He also uses marriage as an allegory to the leadership and congregation, but he didn’t intend for the wife to hack off her husband’s head and wear it around like a hat. Metaphors draw a picture, but the legalist sees no picture, they devise bondage when the context is freedom.

Isaiah gives us a chain of events, the Spirit will be Poured out from on High, then the Wilderness will be a fruitful place, then comes the Judgment (Isa 32:15-16). We then find “the work of righteousness shall be peace”, this points to the Day. James said, “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them who make peace” (James 3:18). The Effect of Righteousness is “quietness and assurance forever” (Isa 32:17). The word Quietness is the Hebrew Shaqat meaning To be unmolested, or To give rest, connecting to “rest for our souls” after we receive the yoke of Jesus. The word Assurance is the Hebrew Betach meaning A place of refuge, it’s after this “work of righteousness” we find the people will dwell in a “peaceable habitation” and “quite resting places” which is a reference to the Time of Comfort. Then the Hail and the city will be made low, which points to the Plagues and Judgment. However, Blessed are those who Sow beside Waters, we must sow Mercy whenever, and wherever we can.

The Longsuffering of God in the Season of the Day is seen in Isaiah 33, the Wicked spoiled during the Day. It seemed as if they got away with it, but Woe unto them, they shall be spoiled and feel the ways of their treachery in the end. However, the saints who waited on the Lord will see their Salvation in the “time of trouble”, this is a reference to the last resurrection, and those find their names in the Book of Life (Isa 33:1-2). Isaiah 33:5 shows us the Righteousness comes after the Judgment, but the New Man is created after God’s True Holiness and Righteousness to avoid the Judgment, huh? For those who Sleep in Jesus or those in the last resurrection it will be Judgment before the Righteousness (Life). It’s not the case with those who are Partakers in the First Resurrection, they have Life and God’s Righteousness before the fact. There is a vast difference between resurrected unto Life, and being raised by the same Spirit who raised Jesus.

During the Time of Comfort the Remnant, or the Firstfruits unto God, will have the judgment of the earth (providing for mankind), but the Firstfruits of the Spirit will have their Righteousness in heaven (white robes – Isa 33:5). Wisdom and knowledge divide the Seasons and times; we have the Wisdom of God by the Spirit, the Remnant will have the Knowledge of God found in the Two Witnesses (Law and Prophets – Isa 33:6). Zion will have bad fish (sinners), they have no Fear of God. It would almost seem as if they have “super faith”, but they fail the test of Giving God the glory for all things. Closing our eyes to the world, isn’t victory, putting them on Jesus is (Isa 33:15-21).

Isaiah travels to the last day, the Great Day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment. The Lord is our Judge, Lawgiver, King, He shall save us (Isa 33:21-23). We tend to look at the Time of Comfort as some heaven on earth; however, it will be as it was in the days of Noah. Although they will not have sickness or disease they will not have the Spirit either; although the devil will be bound, it will still be the Season of Night. We work while it is yet Day, for the Night comes when no man can work (Jn 9:4). We have a better promise, this is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice, for the Night cometh with the Judgment (Isa 33:24). During the Season of the Night the Workers of the Day will be with their Lord; Zion of the earth will have Remnant (Isa 33:20). The Remnant will see the abomination set up, but they will hold to “The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us” (Isa 33:22). Jesus returns as “King of kings, and Lord of lords”, but why not “Son of God for the sons of God”? Why not? The sons of God will be with Him, returning as New Jerusalem. Jesus will not judge as the Son of God, rather He judges as the Son of man, making the Judgment based on Mercy, not Grace.

When we reach heaven there will be no sickness, war, or evil, we will never say again “I am sick”. We are those who are forgiven for our sins and iniquity by the will of the Father, but the workers of Iniquity used Iniquity as a tool, they are the drunken in the Night (Isa 33:24 & I Thess 5:7). The “he in the world”, or son of perdition is a product of the spirit of the world, the one opposed to the Spirit which is of God. The Wicked will break the Covenant, they regard no man, to them the ends justifies the means. He who walks upright, he who speaks Truth, who refuses gain from the oppressors, stops his ears from hearing of blood, his eyes from seeing evil, he shall dwell on high (Isa 33:15-16). Sounds like an eye gate thing, it is, but it’s directed at those who keep the Commandments of God in the Night. We have the unique opportunity to have a change in nature, where our ears seek  the Rhema sounds as our eyes seek the Lord.

Isaiah 33:17-24 speaks of the promise to pass the books as they find their name in the Book of Life, when they look upon Zion of the earth, yet their hope will be New Jerusalem descending for them (vs. 20). The context here is not the Lord has saved them, rather it’s future tense, He will save. They are the ones who will be overcome, but nonetheless win in the end. This all connects as we see the prophet speaking of the Judgment in 34:1, as taking place on the earth. This is clearly the Judgment, we find “the mountains shall be melted with their blood” (Septuagint reads, “be made wet with their blood), what? How can blood melt a mountain? Go figure? The metaphor Mountain refers to a Nation, it’s the blood causing the mountains to turn into the lake of fire, as hell widens her borders. When we read how their “slain shall be cast out”, it doesn’t seem fair, but the wording “cast out” is the Hebrew Shalakh meaning To throw out, or To throw away, in this case it’s good news. Those they have Slain will be cast away from the torment, giving us an extra incentive when faced with a nasty son of perdition who is mocking or slandering. We on the other hand give Mercy, Bless and curse not, never render evil for evil. Why use the same weapons the Wicked do? That’s foolishness, yet when we apply Mercy, they see it as a weakness, assuming they won the battle, but they are self-deceived (Isa 33:4).

When the world claims all its good works, the Lord will say, “Seek you the Book and read” (Isa 34:16). The Bible is a Holy Book given by God explaining many things, one of those things tells there is none good but God. Someone may be nice, but it doesn’t mean they are good. A person may be smart, funny or likeable, but it doesn’t mean they are good. Even if someone does something good, the idea, motive and ability came from God; give God the glory, not man (James 1:17).

On the last day the books will be open for the Jew, as the rest will be judged according to their works of mercy, then they will look upon the Book of Life to find their name. Anyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life will not be able to leave this earth. Even if the Jew passes the books (Law), they still must find their name in the Book of Life, thus the Law of Moses cannot grant one heaven, it was not intended to (Isa 34:16-17 & Rev 20:12-15).

The Book of the Lord also contains the truth of the end times, the responsibilities for the Body and the Remnant. The Book will give us the dividing line, showing us where we Rightly Divide the Word. We don’t Divide the Word in the midst of the 1,000 years, we don’t Divide the Word at Noon, it’s already written; the Division is between Day and Night (Gen 1:4 & 1:18). Once we understand the Woman in Revelation 17 is the city, her mate is the Beast of the Sea, her counselor is the Beast of the Earth, we will stop seeking the “glory of the moon”, as we begin to seek the Glory within (Isa 34:16 & Rom 8:18). The phrase “no one of these shall fail” doesn’t mean the people, it points to the prophecies. In the end the City will be filled with the demons of hell, the people left behind after the Judgment will dwell therein forever and ever (Isa 34:14-17).

We also see how the “wild beasts of the desert” shall meet with the “wild beasts of the island”, then with the “satyr”, of course these are of course metaphors. Not only are these Beasts, but they are Wild Beasts. The word Satyr is the Hebrew Sair, we saw this in prior lessons, but for review it means a Shaggy, Hairy, Rough goat, it was used to refer to a “hairy demon”, a “goat demon”, or a “a goat idol”, the Satyr is seen in many idols of the past. However, in a prophetic sense we find the mystery in Revelation 13:11; the False Prophet comes as a Lamb, but has Two Horns, since when does a lamb have horns? This use of the word “lamb” indicates a religion connected to the Lamb of God, but the horns show the goat inside, or as Paul said they have a mask of righteousness, but inside Satan rules. The two horns indicate two elements of power, one is taller than the other, thus they have more power in one season than the do the other. In our Season one horn points to the spirit of antichrist, the other is for the Night as the false prophet.

The “wild beasts of the desert” connect to Psalm 72:9, where they are known as “they who dwell in the wilderness”, they are the “enemies” who lick the dust. God said the devil would eat the dust (flesh), thus the Wicked are flesh minded. In Psalm 74:14 the same Hebrew word was used, defined as the unbelieving children in the wilderness, but the wilderness was also a place where the priestly order came into being. In Isaiah 23:13 it’s defined as “them who dwell in the wilderness”, there we find it’s connected to the Chaldeans and “the Assyrian”. From this we find these “wild beasts of the desert” are those who enter but refuse to Believe, they are the doubters and pouters, the murmurers and complainers (Jude 16). These are not islands, these are the wild beasts of the island, showing they were lifted above the sea, but remained as wild beasts, like a shark out of water who can breath the air, it’s still very nasty indeed (Isa 13:22).

In Isaiah 13:21 we find the wild beasts of the desert, as the mystery begins to open. The wild beasts of the desert have “houses”, yet God wounded the head of the house of the wicked (Hab 3:13). These beasts are in the wilderness, they are the Tares, although they have houses, they are “desolate”. So what? The word “house” is the Hebrew Bayith meaning Tent, or Palace, it points to the Things found in the interior. The “desolate houses” is the Hebrew Almanah meaning Widow, in Revelation 18:7 the Woman says in Her heart, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow”. This shows how the Woman thinks she is rich and in need of nothing, assuming she is a Queen, because she sits on a throne, but the throne is Zion, yet later she is seen riding the Beast, thinking she is a Queen, indicating the Beast as her king. The wild beasts of the islands moved to the wilderness (earth), to become the wild beasts known as the false prophet.

We enter the wilderness of God to put our eyes on Jesus, and open our ears to the Spirit. The wilderness is the solitary place, but it’s where we find gladness of heart (Isa 35:1). When God brings the exposure of the soul, we can either walk around in self-pity, or pick up our hands praise ye the Lord to confirm our walk (Isa 35:3 & Heb 12:12). When we are faced with fear, we seek the courage of God in the covering of the Anointing. Surely God is with us, He will take care of vengeance and recompense (Isa 35:4). Is this bad? Not at all, it keeps us on the path of Mercy, we don’t concern ourselves with God’s side of the Covenant, He is faithful and just, knowing when vengeance should be applied.

How can blind eyes be opened, if we refuse to open ours? How can ears be opened, if we refuse to open ours? (Isa 35:5-6). We have a promise, the blind eyes we held in the world will See, ears which were deaf to the Ways of God will hear (Isa 35:5 & I Cor 2:9-10). The Cross of Jesus has two sides, Salvation first, Judgment second. We can understand why Jesus said, “For Judgment I am come into this world, they which see not might see; and they which see might be made blind” (Jn 9:39). God’s Judgment is a matter of separation, sheep form the goats, wheat from the tares, good fish from the bad. When we are separated into the Light then we can See and Hear the things God has for us.

The Book of Acts shows the disciples didn’t have to call themselves Christian, rather they were called Christian (Acts 26:28). Today the title means all sorts of things, if someone isn’t a Jew, they think they are Christian, but the title only appears twice in the Bible, making it very special (Acts 26:28 & I Pet 4:16). The disciples did call themselves The Way, showing Progression; God says, there will be a highway opened through the wilderness, it shall be called, The Way Of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it, it shall be for those who have the Waters (Mercy of God) breaking forth in abundance (Isa 35:8, 35:6 & Jn 7:37-39).

A highway or street takes a person from one location to another, the Wilderness is not Egypt, but neither is it the Promised Land. It’s the place between, the place of exposure and testing, yet the “wild beasts” assume the wilderness is the Promised Land, their need is taken care of, they have the covering (Unction) over the group (Body), they presume they are the “holy ones”. Unless they submit to the Spirit of the Lord, and move from their unequal ways, they will find they are the “rocks”, not the Rock.

Jesus repaired the Street, the Way is open for anyone who will Believe in Jesus to leave the confines of the earth and enter the Glory of heaven. They shall be the Ransomed of the Lord, they are heavenly Zion with singing on their lips and everlasting joy in their hearts (Isa 35:9-10). Heaven is so holy no “ravenous beast” shall go there, but the Redeemed shall walk there (Heb 12:18). The Ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion; the word Ransomed is the Hebrew Padah meaning To rescue or Deliver. The rest of verse 10 defines heaven, no more tears, sorrow, or death, as a promise to us.

In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib the king of Assyria came against Judah (Isa 36:1). Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz, it was Ahaz who sent word to Tiglathpileser the prior king of Assyria saying, “I am your servant and your son” (II Kings 16:7). Hezekiah means Strengthened by JAH, the messengers of Sennacherib challenged Hezekiah’s camp. When Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, then covered himself with sackcloth (Isa 37:1). Sackcloth is always a sign of repentance, thus the Two Witnesses point to repentance in the latter days, not Salvation (Rev 11:3).

Hezekiah will do something the house of Jacob will fail to do in the latter days; Hezekiah will send for the prophet Isaiah. The Word from Isaiah for the messengers of Hezekiah was, “Thus says the Lord, Be not afraid of the words you have heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me” (Isa 37:6). We could say, This is fine for those people but what has it to do with the end times? The prayer request generated the statement pointing to the “Remnant” (Isa 37:4). God was true to His Word, Assyria turned from Hezekiah then did war with Libnah (Isa 37:8). The Remnant will appear to be overcome when they are killed, the Law and Prophets become ineffective as they are found in the Street. The people will sing and send presents to one another, but then comes sudden destruction. God never takes the killing of His own lightly.

Sennacherib didn’t give up, he sent a letter to Hezekiah challenging the God of Israel (Isa 37:10-14). Hezekiah again intercedes for the Remnant by praying for God to save them from the hands of the “kingdoms of the earth” (Isa 37:20). Some of us think our prayers are limited to space and time, but here Hezekiah is interceding for the Remnant when all Seven Mountains of the world gather together against Jerusalem. God reminds us how He changes not, the past events are only previews of events yet to come, the Lord is always able to deliver the righteous. God defended the city again, then Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, then worshipped in the house of his god. While there, his own sons came in and killed him (Isa 37:25-38). In the latter days it will be the sons of Jacob who kill the Remnant removing Mercy from the earth.

Hezekiah then fell sick unto death, Isaiah prophesied Hezekiah would surely die (Isa 38:1-2). Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, asking the Lord to remember him, then the Lord granted Hezekiah fifteen more years (Isa 38:1-5). It would seem as if the Lord changed His mind, or perhaps Isaiah gave a false prophecy; after all the prophet did say the man would die, then he didn’t. Ahh, write a book, expose this man, No, the man did die, but his life was extended based on his repentance, the prophet was right, thus he didn’t say, “you’re going to die now”, rather he said, “thus says the Lord, Set your house in order: for you shall die, and not live” (Isa 38:1). Did the man set his house in order? The best way a man can, by repentance. Did the man finally die? Yes, look around, he isn’t here. The Lord wasn’t going to kill Hezekiah, rather the prophet merely said the Lord knows Hezekiah would die. Hezekiah didn’t inquire of some idol, rather he sought the face of God, thus God protected him another fifteen years, yet the man surely died in the end. Repentance changed the position of the man, if there was no repentance the man would have died then, but repentance moved him to a different position. We saw this with Moses, the people changed positions from destruction to the shadow of Moses sparing them.

The children in the wilderness made the request for someone to stand between them and God; thus it was more important for the religious leaders to receive Jesus, than it was for the common person. The Comfort for the people was on the way, God provided a messenger to point out the path with the only requirement God desired. This messenger called out, “Prepare you the Way of the Lord” (Isa 40:1-3). Notice it’s the Way of the Lord, not ways. This Way was the Highway, although narrow, it was nonetheless the way to be free of darkness. Preparation is the means setting us in a ready position to receive.

Repentance is based on admitting our condition and position is a failure based on our sins. We blame no one else, other than ourselves, we must admit we have sinned.  To sit around saying, “well I would have been holy if it wasn’t for the world You gave me”, never produces the fruit of repentance. Repentance always entails taking the blame on ourselves, rather than placing it others (Isa 40:6-8). In our case repentance without the added aspect of Belief in Jesus is still self-repentance.

When Jesus came, the Arm of the Lord was presented, Jesus shall feed His flock, and gather the lambs “with His Arm” (Isa 40:11). As Eve came from the bosom of Adam, so did Jesus come from the Bosom of the Father, but Jesus takes us into His Bosom (Isa 40:11).

Who has instructed the Lord? Who can tell God what to do? Yet, we are instructed by the Mind of the Lord through the Mind of Christ to know all the things God has for us (I Cor 2:9-10, 2:16 & Isa 40:12-14). The joined nations of the world are nothing in God’s eyes, it’s the individual God is looking for (Isa 40:15-17). The early Jews considered it a sin to make a likeness of any man; the tradition came from the idea of how man making a likeness of man would soon end in man making a likeness of God. What can man make with his hands to depict God? (Isa 40:18-26). Those who worship pictures must see something, all the carnal minded must see if the likeness meets their approval; however, those with faith need not see to love and obey; “blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have (past tense) believed” (Jn 20:29).

The meek in our Season wait on the Lord, they shall have their Strength renewed by the Spirit (Isa 40:31). In our case this is day by day, for the Remnant it refers to the last day. In Psalms we found two areas regarding the Meek, those of the Day inherit the Spirit, those of the Night the earth.

To whom will man liken God, or what shall be Equal to God? (Isa 40:25). This one verse opens the concept of Jesus being “God the Son”,. When Jesus said “I and [My] Father are one”, the Pharisees had a theological fit. They understood what Jesus was saying, so much so they picked up stones to kill Him, yet they were under Roman law, and no Jew was allowed to take a life without the expressed permission of the Romans. What could bring the anger of the Jews to the point of taking a chance of violating the Roman law? Jesus asked them, “Many good works have I showed you from My Father; for which of those works do you stone Me?” (Jn 10:32). Jesus was asking which One of the works, yet it wasn’t the works, but His words. The Jews answered, “For a good work we stone You not; but for blasphemy; and because You being a man, make Yourself God” (Jn 10:33). They knew exactly what Jesus said, yet they had the facts reversed, Jesus wasn’t a “man making Himself God”, He as the Word in the bosom of God who was made (not created) a man. The Jews were holding to this verse in Isaiah, but failed to see to Whom they were talking.

The Lord is the “First and Last” not the “first or last” (Isa 41:4). Man has a first and a last, with a time between, but man cannot be last while being first, or first while being last. Saved man has a beginning by the Newness of Jesus with no end, but nonetheless man cannot be first while being last. This ability of God is called “omnipresence”, or being able to be in all times, at the same time. The concept is hard for the natural mind of man to conceive, but it explains the difference between the prophet of God, and one who foretells. A prophet of God is not guessing at the future, or seeing what the future might hold, rather the prophet is only speaking into the natural what God has seen from His omnipresence. Knowing this we can see there is a difference between “first and last”, and “the first shall be last”; although Isaiah opens the phrase, “the first shall be last, the last shall be first”. The Remnant were the first promised, but they are last to receive; whereas we were the last promised, but the first to receive. To the Jew the sunset begins the day, but for us it’s the morning, thus the Day to the Jew is last, but the Cross made us first.

God tells the Remnant to be patient, fear not and stand, for He is with them (Isa 41:10). There are times when we simply don’t understand, but we must believe, “God is”, before faith has a chance. Before we run off out questioning God, we must ask ourselves, “Where were we when He created all things?” (Isa 41:22). God knows, we don’t. The Remnant are known as the Remnant of the Seed of the Woman, they are not the Seed, but a Remnant of it. The word Remnant means to finish, or the remaining part. It will be the Remnant who will make the enemies of Jesus His footstool by giving their lives as they stand in Mercy in the Commandments of God. As it began with God judging, it will end with God judging. However, before the time, God will open the Day by sending Himself as the Word in the image of man to save man. His glory He will not give to another; therefore, in order to have the Glory of God, one must have the Seed of God (Spirit of Truth) in us (Isa 42:1, 42:7-8 & I Jn 4:1-4).

Jesus brought His Law of the Spirit for those of faith (Isa 42:4). Isaiah again goes to the end times joining the First coming of Jesus for Salvation to the Second Coming for Judgment (Isa 42:10-25). God created Jacob, but formed Israel (Isa 43:1). What? Wait, hold on, Jacob the man was a reproduction, Israel came from the man, did God make a mistake, or maybe the prophet is in error? Not at all, the soul of man is a creation, thus our souls are being formed by the New Man, they are not being created by the New Man. The flesh is a reproduction, but it nonetheless came about when God formed the flesh of Adam, yet the soul is the prize in this. The soul of Jacob was created, yet God formed the nation through God’s intervention in the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by Covenant.

God then says, “I have called you by name; you are Mine” (Isa 43:1). Does it mean God calls out our name? No, it means God has called us by His Authority. Once we accept the call we are bought with a price. Redeemed means to obtain a possession already paid for, it’s the concept in Hebrews 10:38-39; the Just know Jesus paid the price. The Cross opened the Door to Salvation, when we accept the terms of the Covenant, we are a purchased prize. How important is it? God cares for us not only because He loves us, but because He has a vested interest in us, the Blood of Jesus. As a token of the purchase we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which came as a result of being baptized with the Holy Ghost and Fire. There will be times when the fire takes us into events which don’t seem good, nonetheless, God has a purpose and a goal, He is with us (Isa 43:2-5). We are created for the Glory, not because of it (Isa 45:7). We cannot be a Witness without the presence of God’s Servant (Jesus) in us by the Spirit (Isa 43:9-10). The only Savior for man is Jehovah, thus Jehovah came in the form of a man to save man; therefore, some want to be Witnesses for Jehovah, yet deny having the Spirit, but the Spirit is the very element bringing Jehovah to their heart (Isa 43:11-13).

God places us in various events for our own good, often the exposure brings to the surface elements we are attempting to hide or suppress. In order to redeem us, the Lord places us in conditions to expose the old man, so He can heal our souls (Isa 43:14). Once we leave the Sea, we cross the Water, then enter the wilderness where all things are New (Isa 43:18-19). Old things have passed away, or are in the process thereof. If we impute the flesh dead, it has lost its effectiveness, yet the old nature gains it power through the flesh. The Cross is the place where natural elements cease for us, the old nature, even the Law of Moses is nailed to the Cross. God formed us for Himself, those who appreciate Salvation give praise without fear or hindrance (Isa 43:21-28). Praise is our offer of thanksgiving, it becomes a mainstay in our overcoming ability. Our praises break down the walls of pride, overcome the gulf of ego, and knock down the stronghold of self.

Some shall say, “I am the Lord’s”, yet one can only confess this, if in fact they are a servant with Jesus is their Lord; no one can call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (Isa 44:5 & I Cor 12:3). Others will say they are of the house of Jacob, but some will associate to Israel (Isa 44:5). The Two Seasons are seen in Isaiah 44:3, first is the Church as God has poured out His Spirit, then comes the Remnant who will see the windows of heaven open. This also opens the concept of “first and last”, we know God says He is also the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End, but why “first and last”? If the last shall be first, and the first last, does it mean God is the Last First? Both Seasons belong to the Lord, both have a purpose. The title Alpha and Omega, or First and Last show God is not bound by time, the End was in hand before the Beginning began.

There is no other God, yet there are various paths with various gods (Isa 44:8). There is the path of Lucifer, the path of self, yet there is the true path of the Lord; all of them are presented for us to make a choice; choice without choice, is no choice at all. Man’s soul wants to control all things based on man’s fear of the future (Isa 44:12-20). God tells Jacob to remember the foolishness of idols and images, for the time will come when one will come with an image of a man (Isa 44:20-21). Now wait, didn’t God just say to forget the former? Yes, but now He says to remember? What gives? We remember the effects, not the pain or anger. This also gives us a clue to the end times, God said “Let us make man in our image”, in the latter days the false prophet says, “let us make an image of man”.

The Time of Comfort is a time when the devil is bound, the transgressions of the people will be blotted out, thus they will worship images, forgetting the Lord their God (Isa 44:22-28). The Remnant will be in a position akin to the position of the Jew prior to the Cross, thus Jesus spoke many things to the disciples who represented the Jews regarding the things in the Night, yet He also knew they would not experience them, thus before Pentecost they were not Born Again, they stood as representatives of the Jews, as Jesus prophesied to the house of Jacob. “Pray it not fall on the sabbath day” is real to someone under the Law of Moses, but not to someone who seeks to be a Partaker in the First Resurrection.

Jesus told us to Follow Him, but in order to Follow Him we must deny the self and pick up our cross. Jesus went before us to make the crooked places straight, His faith has endured, thus Jesus gives us the treasures of darkness, not silver and gold, they are people held in bondage to the world (Isa 45:1-3). The “Dispensation” of the Day is the time of the Spirit; Paul found the anointing isn’t something we take with us to the places we desire, rather the anointing goes before us preparing a place for us.

Choice in the world’s eyes is not choice, but a means to insert self-wants and self-desires; however, God gives us perfect moral choice. He created both good and evil, both light and darkness (Isa 45:7); therefore, all things are under His dominion, the result determines the means, the means never determines the result (Isa 45:9-10). If God is Light, how can He create darkness? By removing Light. How can God create evil, if there is no evil in Him? By removing good. Creation is making something from nothing, absence of Light produces darkness, absence of Good leaves evil. It stands when God created the angel He knew the result, thus even the angels have choice, if not the one-third would not have been able to join to the devil. Therefore, we will find God has created the Waster to destroy, showing all the Waster knows to do is destroy; the Waster cannot do good, much like the word “envy” in the phrase, “spirit lusting to envy”. The Waster is a prime example of good being removed to leave nothing but evil unto waste. The devil caused all heavenly attributes to be removed when he sinned on earth against God’s creation; the result was twofold, the devil is limited to the natural, he is complete evil, nothing in him could be used to bring restoration, thus he cannot be restored, yet he is created, thus God knowing all things knows the Waster can do nothing but destroy.

The makers of idols, whether idols of stone or in the mind will end in confusion, yet Israel shall be saved (Isa 45:15-17). The means brings a world without end, but the earth without end is in conjunction with everlasting lake of fire. Since hell is cast into the lake of fire, we find hell is without end, just as the lake of fire is without end. If there is “Eternal” Salvation, then there must be “Eternal” Judgment, thus an element within the Doctrine of Christ is having the knowledge of Eternal Judgment (Heb 6:1-2).

The Lord seeks Righteousness, but in order to gain His Righteousness we must have the Kingdom of God by the New Man. The Lord has declared all events before they were events, nothing surprises Him (Isa 45:21-22). This also shows how silly it is to make some attempt to impress God. Our self-righteousness isn’t going to impress God one little bit, our faith will please Him, but even faith doesn’t impress God.

The Declaring of the Lord is confusing to the carnal mind, some assume because God spoke way back then, it’s past for man, but it’s not the case. God will declare us “out of the wilderness” before we enter. God will speak to us in faith, when we approach Him in faith, thus more often than not, God is speaking things as a not to us, but a were to Him. However, if don’t understand the concept we might assume we’ve been there and done that, when in truth we haven’t been anywhere, or done a thing. Before the battle begins, God declares our victory, it’s a matter of the witness bringing it to pass in our lives.

The Prophets speak many things relating to the End Times and Judgment as if they are past tense, yet we know the Judgment is yet future. Why? God rested, there are things alluded to in the Old Testament pointing directly to the New, yet they appear as past tense or present tense. God is still Alpha and Omega, often He is telling us what He sees yet to come by declaring it to us in the present tense, since it is present tense to Him. There are times when God is in our time frame telling us of things yet to come, but it doesn’t change His Alpha and Omega position, we must learn to discern by the Spirit.

Jesus as the Logos, took on flesh, He spoke the Rhema pertaining to the Spirit and life regarding the Day (Jn 1:11-8 & 6:63). Rhema ears seek the spiritual things of the Life in Christ in order to obtain faith. Jesus is Righteousness, Grace, Truth and Glory, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess He is Lord (Isa 45:22-23). Some think those in hell will be giving the devil the glory, not so, these Scriptures show us how they will beg, knowing Jesus is Lord, but it will be too late for some of them to escape the terror of hell. The Psalms told us there is no remembrance of the dead, but the dead will remember.

In the Lord the “seed of Israel” (not Israel) shall be Justified. This is not the Remnant, since they are of the Seed of the Woman, rather this points to Jesus as the Seed, but it also includes us as those who have the Inheritance by the Seed. This is still prophetic, the Seed took on flesh as the “seed of David”, but was declared the Son of God by the Spirit of Holiness through the Resurrection (Isa 45:24 & Rom 1:3-4). Therefore, it doesn’t say “true Israel”, but “the Seed of Israel”, not seeds as many.

When we see the word “Servant” mentioned prophetically it generally speaks of Jesus, but there is also the Servant known as the Body of Christ, thus we find areas pointing to Jesus in us. We are raised In the Righteousness of Jesus, the Spirit directs our Ways as the Bride makes Herself ready. We don’t Worship the Lord for “price or reward”, rather it’s based on Appreciation (Isa 45:13).

Those who are justified will be glorified (Rom 8:30 & Isa 45:25). It could cause concern, or make one think God has picked some from an A list, yet doomed all others no mater if they seek Jesus or not. Not so, God desires all to be saved, yet we know few are chosen. God doesn’t make the decision, man does. God provides, man decides; man has the keys. No one in hell can blame God for being there, rather God gave man the means and opportunity to be free, thus if anyone ends in hell, it was their decision to do so. Isaiah is providing choice, the people can receive it, or reject it. If they receive, they change courses and escape the punishment to come, if not, they end in the punishment, but they still have the choice.

Some follow idols, some make them, man can make idols of the mind, ending in his own confusion (Isa 45:16). When we follow idols we are considered the same as the idol (Isa 46:1). Following the spirit of disobedience after entry into the Body is what causes the Wicked to return to perdition. We are told “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him, but we are not of them who draw back to perdition; but of them who believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb 10:38-39).

When we stand in faith, we stand face to face with Jesus, rather than hide behind Him; therefore, we come boldly to the throne of Grace. The idols go into captivity, those who stand behind them, fall with them. Whether it’s an idol of flesh, stone, mind, following the Beast, trusting in one of the horns of the Beast, using the Name of the Beast for self gain as a nature; makes no difference, the Beast falls and those with the Beast fall as well. When we separate ourselves from the Beast, then we can have confidence in God’s deliverance (Isa 46:4).

Isaiah reaches to the end times, seeing the “he” who makes the bed of adultery for the Woman. The image in the last days will be the image of a man, the people will place the image of the man in the place it should not be. They will claim the image is Christ, as they say “here is Christ”, the voice behind the image will be the false prophet, as he becomes the “life” of the Image of the Beast. As Nebuchadnezzar was the voice behind his image, but Nebuchadnezzar was not Adam Like, the false prophet will be, adding the third Six to the “threescore and six” (Dan 3:1).

For the 1,000 years the Sixth church will care for the world, as they spread the knowledge of the Lord; they will know their wealth is a product of the windows of heaven being opened. We look for the Door, they will look for the windows, but the windows won’t open until the Door is closed. Their blessing will be based on filling the Storehouse in Jerusalem, but the Seventh thinks it’s rich and need of nothing, next the Woman becomes so self-deceived, she thinks she is the Savior of the World. It was God alone who brought Israel from Jacob, it wasn’t Jacob who made Israel. They will take “him” and set “him” in “his” place, and “he” will stand in “his” place, as they refuse to remove the “he”. One shall cry unto “him”, but “he” cannot answer nor save them out of their trouble. In reference to the image being set up we find the use of “he” (or him) used six times, in reference to giving praise to the image we find the use of “he” (or him) used three times giving us three six’s, the image will be of a “him”. (Isa 46:6-7).

Our examples are these former things of old, great intellect doesn’t impress God, nor does it save our souls (Isa 46:8-13). The devil plants his nature in the minds of men who refuse to face their own pride, some use their pride to come against the devil, yet the devil could care less, as long as they use he ways.

In Isaiah 47:1 we find two metaphors, “O virgin daughter of Babylon”, and “O daughter of the Chaldeans”, we notice the Daughter of the Chaldeans isn’t a virgin, but the Daughter of Babylon is. The Woman is known as Babylon, not here it’s the Daughter of Babylon, thus this refers to those found in the Woman when she turns to become Babylon the idol worshiper. This is not the “Seed of the Woman”, the Remnant are not the Seed of the Woman, they are Remnant of the Seed of the Woman. In Isaiah 47:3 we find this Daughter is naked and a shame, in the Book of Revelation we find the Laodiceans are naked (Rev 3:17). The Laodiceans are found in a place they should not be, yet they are also warned to “come out of Her” (Rev 18:4). Isaiah 47:10 shows how the Woman thinks she is God, as she says in Her heart, “I am, and none else beside me”. When we determine our position has moved into a position where we appear as Babylon, we are dust (flesh), yet in our Season repentance is the first step to restoration (Isa 47:1).

The Laodiceans are naked, although they have all the financial wealth of the world in their hands. Their nakedness is a shame, a condition brought about by the fall, pointing to the fallen Adam nature (Isa 47:3). The daughter of Babylon will no longer be called the “The Lady Of Kingdoms”; therefore, we find this “daughter” was a virgin, yet she is not the Woman, since the Woman is Babylon, who could she be? The Strange Woman, the False Prophet, the change in gender is not a mistake, it shows how the adultery of the Wicked makes them both a he and she. The Daughter of the Chaldeans is the Woman, this is found in the use of the word “Chaldeans”, thus showing she ends as Babylon, the offshoot of Chaldeans. The division between these two “daughters” is found in the use of Babylon for one, and Chaldeans for the other. The Daughter of the Chaldeans says in her heart, “I will be a Lady forever”; thus religious conceit rules her (Isa 47:7). Paul said “for even the women did change the natural use into what is against nature” (Rom 1:26). John reports how she says, “I sit a Queen and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow” (Rev 18:7). She ignored the obvious by believing riches are a measure of holiness.

God will pollute His own inheritance by bringing a burdensome yoke (Isa 47:6). The Woman thinks social change will bring her peace, but her actions produce more bondage and defeat. She sought the pleasures of God, but didn’t seek God, rather she said in her heart, “I Am and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children” (Isa 47:8 & Zeph 2:15). The ignorance leads to religious conceit as a veil so thick it blinds the very soul of the person. God says, two things will come in a moment, she will lose her children, and she will enter widowhood. She makes a declaration, then God makes a declaration, but God’s is the one coming to pass.

She will trust in the wickedness of the False Prophet, who has the natural ability to control, as she becomes the Oppressing City. She has natural wisdom and knowledge but not of God (Isa 47:10 & James 3:15-16). God tells the Woman, and all who trust in religious conceit, to stand with their foolish intellect, idols, astrologers, stargazers and monthly prognosticators, see if they can save them (Isa 47:10-13). Behold, the fire shall burn them all, the Power of the flame shall consume them in a moment (Isa 47:14-15). Not a pretty picture, but one determined from the foundation of the world.

Looking at Isaiah 46:13 one would think Salvation will come from the Remnant, but if we look at the verse we will find this is prophecy regarding Jesus. The word Salvation used in this verse is the Hebrew Teshuah in the Greek we know it as Soteria meaning Salvation. This verse doesn’t say Zion will bring Salvation, rather it says Salvation will be Placed in Zion, and in Israel, it came to pass during the earthly ministry of Jesus. From Zion to the Israel, to all points of the earth Salvation is preached.

The House of David is the Sixth church, the House of Jacob the Seventh, yet both are called by the Name of Israel (Isa 48:1). The metaphor “waters of Judah” doesn’t refer to the Church, the Mercy of God will be the method of operation for the Sixth church, but the Seventh church will mention the “God of Israel”, but not in Truth or Righteousness (Isa 48:1). This is found in Isaiah 48:2 in the phrase, “they call themselves of the holy city”, thus we find it’s not calling themselves The Holy City, but of it, connecting to the Laodiceans.

Itching ears seek to be more special than the special, their ears are not open to the Lord, but they are open to winds of doctrine, their eyes are not looking to the Lord, they are seeking self-glory (Isa 48:8). God put us in the fire of affliction (Baptism of fire) to purify us for His Name’s sake, but He will also pollute the kingdom of heaven by allowing the tares to enter, yet the wheat will be saved in the Kingdom of God (Isa 48:9-11).

Isaiah again looks at the house of Jacob, showing the First and Last (Isa 48:12). God purposed the Time of Comfort, it will come, what the House of Jacob does with it determines the result (Isa 48:12-14). The Lord teaches us to profit, He will teach the House of David to profit, but when the House of Jacob turns the teaching to the self, negating the purpose of the teaching the end will be near (Isa 48:17-22). God speaks about the called purpose of Israel, Paul used some of this text to rebuke the Jews; however, if we don’t understand this as the called purpose we will confuse Paul’s wording in his quote (Isa 49:1, 49:6 & Acts 13:47). Paul had the ability to rebuke to the bone, yet do it in love. The context in Isaiah points to Israel as we read, “and said unto me, You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (Isa 49:3). Here the Servant is defined as Israel, there are two ways God is glorified, first is by the purposed intent, wherein we represent Him as intended, next is when God is forced to bring judgment on us to prove He is just. They shall know it’s God, one way or the other.

Paul indicates the Servant as the Body of Christ, as he says, “For so has the Lord commanded Us, saying, I have set You to be a light” (Acts 13:47). Paul also defined the metaphor “isles” when he quoted Isaiah pointing to the Gentiles who are called of God (Acts 13:48). The Servant is clearly noted as “Israel” in Isaiah 49:3, but as a nation by Paul, as the Holy Ghost saw us as nations within the kingdom as well. God shows how the Servant will have a Sharp Sword from the Servant’s Mouth (Isa 49:2), here the Servant is Jesus at the Judgment (Rev 1:16). However, the Word of God is Sharper than any Two-edged Sword, meaning the Word is not a two-edged sword. None of this says Jesus is Israel, rather we see the purposed Servant as the Nation, yet we see the true Servant as Jesus.

We see this Servant rules as God, placing it in the Garden when Jesus takes the fourth cup. It would appear the labor is in vain, but then the Servant knows He was “formed” in the womb (not created) to bring back the captives (Isa 49:5). Then comes the Body of Christ and Paul’s quote, therein we find the “Light to the Gentiles” is the Way of Salvation established by Jesus (Isa 49:6). Isaiah looks forward to Jesus showing the “day of salvation” not the “day of judgment” (Isa 49:8). Paul sees this as the Salvation of the Lord being extended through the Born Again Servant to all nations.

After the “day of salvation” comes the Restoration of the House of David, then the Lord will have Mercy (waters of Judah) on them who shall lead (Isa 49:9-10). Those who lead are defined for us in the Book of Revelation as the “144,000” Jews picked from the twelve tribes. When the earthquake comes to remove the Church, the Islands will be removed. The earthquake bringing the Rapture will also shake the earth, bringing the land masses back to one. The metaphor “island” refers to those who are raised above the Sea, thus they shall be removed as well. John sees three elements in the last days, he was standing above the Sand of the Sea, as he saw the Beast of the Sea, and the Beast of the Earth, but no Rock, or Church, they cease on earth when the Time of Comfort opens.

Jesus brought us the New Covenant, disassociating us from the Old, but the Remnant are still subject to the Old; therefore, not one word or jot shall fail from the Law of Moses until All is fulfilled (Isa 49:8). The Cross established a people full of the heavenly Glory of God to provoke the Jew to jealousy, but the reality of God saw us provoking the Jew to laughter. The reality of God also saw the falling away from the faith; therefore, God saw the opportunity to complete the Time of Comfort by removing the Faithful Christ Church, yet all things are good to those who love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose (Isa 49:9-17 & Rom 11:11).

There will be a falling away from the Faith, including those who no longer believe in the virgin birth, the miracles, prayer, the Bible, or the Faith of Jesus. The falling away will be caused by natural minded religious leaders who hinder us from the Marriage of the Lamb, they do so by speaking lies in hypocrisy (I Tim 4:1-3). When the Day of Salvation ends, the Night of Judgment begins, thus the Falling Away has a purpose as well, it divides those of the Heavens from those of the earth.

The Heavens will be Joyful, the Earth will break forth into singing, then the time when the Lord will “comfort His people” begins (Isa 49:13). Wait, if the Night is Judgment, why do they break forth in singing? Oh wait, I got it, the Time of Comfort begins with Peace and Safety, then ends with sudden destruction. Correct, during our Season we find wars, rumors of wars, pestilence and famine, yet there are the excuses, “if it were not for the wars I would serve God with all my heart”, thus God removes the excuses by bringing the Night, but it will also prove they lie, for they will set up the abomination in the place it should not be. In God’s Wisdom we find God will remove any and all excuses, whether peace and safety, or war they still blaspheme God when events don’t please their flesh.

As God looks toward the end times, He sees our time and says, “I will lift up My hand to the Gentiles and set up My standard (Cross) to the people and they shall bring your sons in their arms and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders” (Isa 49:22). The daughter of Zion refers to the Remnant, Jesus said the sons would cast out devils and testify against the Pharisees, but the Remnant won’t cast out devils. Why would they, the devil is bound during the 1,000 years showing they have a “little strength”. If the Remnant have “more power” than we, why not bind the devil now? The Day of Salvation is for the Greater Light, not the Lesser Light, we have Power over the devil.

Prior Isaiah told us how Jacob will ride on the shoulders of the Philistines to take Moab, Edom and the children of Ammon, but here God sees the Christ Church bringing in the Remnant by our departure; God gave His glory to us, we as the Bride shall come to the Lord (Isa 11:11-14, 49:18 & 49:22-23). When we are gone the only thing left to be accomplished will be making the enemies of Jesus His footstool, which is the Judgment, thus the Time of Comfort may look good on earth, but it leads straight to the Judgment. However, the Lord will most assuredly bring the Remnant into the Kingdom at the end; the Lord is still the Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob (Isa 49:25-26).

God asks for the evidence regarding the Bill of Divorcement, but it doesn’t mean God sold the children in the divorce, nor does it mean the City was divorced. The City is the daughter of the nation, thus God retained custody of the City, or the Woman could never bring forth the man child (Isa 50:1). When Jesus returns, there will be no physical life, all the earth will be filled with death (Isa 50:2); thereby bringing to pass, “it’s appointed unto all men once to die, then the judgment” (Heb 9:27). This is clear when we see the Beast and False Prophet already in the Lake of Fire at the Judgment, no wonder every knee will bow, they come out of the Lake of Fire to face Jesus, assuming by bowing and confessing Jesus they will be pardoned; however, there is the resurrection of the damned, the warnings are clear. The Time of Comfort will be the time of darkness compared to the Day, but it doesn’t mean the earth will be full of demons, rather it means it will be the Night, Salvation will be stayed during the last half of the hour (Isa 50:3).

At God’s Rebuke the Sea (world) is made dry, the rivers a wilderness, and the Fish stink. This is not referring to the Good Fish, rather the Good fish were taken in the Rapture, this refers to the Bad Fish. How do we know these Fish are the Bad? There is “no water”, a metaphor for Mercy. This connects to Paul’s sayings in Romans regarding the vessels of honor and dishonor, the difference between the two is “mercy”. Regardless of the Acts done, mercy must be our motivation (Isa 50:2).

Isaiah’s prophecies do tend to jump around, he moves from the king in his day to the very end, back to the time of Salvation, into the Night, then back again to his time. Without the Holy Ghost it would be confusing to anyone, much less this prophet, yet he remained faithful to his office. Not much of an excuse for us, amen?

Another reference to the Time of Comfort is found in Isaiah 50:3, not only will the “heavens” be clothed with Darkness, but the Sackclothe will be their covering, thus the Darkness in this case isn’t a sign of repentance, but the sackclothe is, the word Darkness refers to the Night. This connects to Revelation 6:12 at the breaking of the Sixth Seal as a sign of the changing Seasons. The earthquake marking the Rapture sees the Sun as “black as sackclothe”, but the Moon became as blood as the “stars of heaven fell unto the earth”; thereby showing when the Night opens there will be repentance (sackclothe), but at the end there will be darkness as the Woman and False Prophet join to destroy the Law and Prophets, by destroying the Remnant who are of Zion (moon). Three types or groups are seen, the Sun refers to the nation Israel, but we find Israel begins the Time of Comfort as the House of David. The Moon is Zion, not the city, but the foundation of the city. The stars falling are the Wicked, they enter the Earth to become the Beast of the Earth. The “heaven departed as a scroll as it is rolled together” (Rev 6:14). Departed as something rolled together? The Gospel of Peace is for our Season, this added concept points to the Rapture, showing heaven will be closed during the Time of Comfort. The “Gospel” for the Night is the Everlasting Gospel, pointing to Judgment (Rev 14:6).

Jesus submitted to the punishment, not for self-abuse, but to remove us from abuse (Isa 50:5-6). Each time someone struck Him, it was for us, the shame He bore was our shame, not His (Isa 50:7). Jesus looked through out all time and asked, “who is it among you who fears the Lord?” (Isa 50:10). Each time one of us answered, “Here am I Lord, send me”, it encouraged Jesus to continue. Jesus saw the result and suffered the Cross for a joy.

Isaiah 50:10 speaks of the call to all of us who were in darkness, Jesus as the Servant called us into His glorious Light. We entered then Trusted in the Name of the Lord,  as we Stay upon our God (Isa 50:10). The word Stay is the Hebrew Shaan meaning To lean on, as one would seek a support.

Isaiah 50:11 speaks of the Bad Fish, showing they are opposed to the Faith of Jesus. Although faith and belief are different they do connect in the Now, but the Wicked assume their faith is as good, or better than the Faith of Jesus. Here we find different sparks leading to “strange fire”, the word Sparks here means Burning darts, pointing to the fiery darts of the Wicked (Eph 6:16). They walk in the light of their own fire, they shall lie down in sorrow (Isa 50:11).

Isaiah tells us to Follow after Righteousness, the New Man is created (formed same meaning in the Greek) with the Righteousness we seek. We look to the Rock, but we also consider the pit we are saved from. This gives us the junction, we know the Rock is the Body, but we seem to forget the Body is the Body of Christ; the same Body seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, thus the Body has an Anointing, when we refer to the Rock as the Anointing, or Christ, yet it’s still the Body of Christ (Anointed).

Two points of Incentive, seeking the hope, and fighting the voice calling us back to the world. Paul used Abraham as our example, but Abraham didn’t have a tape library, a series of meetings he could go to, or a gathering of the brethren. Abraham heard God and believed, then Abraham was presented the Covenant so it could be by faith. Sarah obeyed her husband, even in the face of astonishment; God tells us to look at Abraham and Sarah (Isa 51:2). God calls us “alone” not by denomination, group, or theological gatherings (Isa 51:2).

After these verses pointing to Faith in our Season, God then promises the Time of Comfort (Isa 51:3). This is another clue showing the Day coming before the Night. God will Comfort Zion, the word Comfort is the Hebrew Nacham meaning To take revenge, or To be comforted in death. What? The Time of Comfort is Peace on earth, what gives? Ahh, purpose, it will be a time of testing for those of the earth, a time for them to consider their ways. The Remnant will be comforted in death, but the Wicked will not.

God shows Zion as a “she”, her wilderness will be like Eden, her desert like the Garden of the Lord, and Joy and Gladness shall be found therein with thanksgiving and the voice of Melody (Psalm). All this sounds like “heaven on earth”, but it’s still the Night. The reference to Eden, with the Garden seems strange, since they are one and the same, or are they? Eden is the purpose for the Night, the Remnant will finish the prophecy from Genesis 3:15. The “Garden of the Lord” points to Gethsemane, the time when the Cup of the wrath of God will be poured out.

Isaiah 51:4 talks about the Light, this is neither the Greater Light or the Lesser Light, but the Light spoken of in Genesis 1:3, as the Self-producing Light, which we know is Jesus (Jn 1:8-9). Here we find the Light will “Rest”, the word Rest is the Hebrew Raga meaning A short space of time, or a point to a time after the Rapture until the Time of Comfort is over. For the Remnant the Righteousness will be near, but the Salvation will have already gone forth, then the Arms of God are seen as the Law and Prophets judging the people (Isa 51:5). Then we gain more understanding on the metaphors Island and Isles. An Island is the larger aspect, the Isles are much smaller, here in Isaiah 51:5 we have a reference to those who Sleep in Jesus as isles, yet the Islands will be taken in the Rapture.

Again we are told how the New Earth will be New in design, yet all those who dwell therein will die, but the Salvation of the Lord remains in heaven forever. Therefore, we are assured the Dead in Christ must be raised First then those of us who remain will be caught up with them. The Remnant are called as a group, not as individuals. The Time of Comfort can’t take place as long as one Christ Like person is walking on this earth. This doesn’t mean anyone who says they are Christian, rather it means those who hold the Seed of God. The Rapture must take place in order for He who now Lets, to Let the Time of Comfort take place.

John says the devil will be bound during the Night, Paul says, the devil will be taken out of the way (Rev 20:7 & II Thess 2:7). Toward the end of time when the Fifth Angel opens the pit, the devils are turned loose possessing many, with a few passing the fire on the Last Day. We have a much better promise, one assuring us the self-nature can be denied, the spirit of man defeated, we can be free indeed by the Spirit of Truth. At times we may question the premise, but the New Man is always working to save us.

In the latter days it will be the bitterness, hate and greed drawing the devil and his demons out of the pit. The Fifth Angel is only giving to man, what man desired. Then the demons will cause the Seven Mountains (Beast) to come against the City in the great war. They will attack the City, but only after the Abomination is set up, and only after the City has cast away the Law and Prophets. When the four quarters of the earth run to the wall, then the Great Trump will sound.

However, prior, the Sixth Seal will open the Time of Comfort as the Sixth church (Remnant) will be the Redeemed (Garden like state). They will return to Zion, obtaining Gladness and Joy, the two signs of the Blessing being poured out. Then we find the Mark of God on the Remnant as their Joy, thus they maintain their little strength through Joy (Isa 51:11-12 & Rev 7:1-8).

The Time of Comfort is seen again as God tells the Remnant how man shall die, and the “son of man” shall be as grass (Isa 51:12). Wait, isn’t Jesus the Son of man? Yes, but the term refers to anyone walking in Mercy, the 144,000 will not speak prophetically, but they will walk in Mercy, making them sons of men. Jesus as the Son of man brought the Father’s Mercy, the Resurrection declared Him to be the Son of God, we are sons of God by having the same Spirit in us.

The “sons of men” shall be as grass, the word Grass is the Hebrew Chatsiyr meaning Green grass seen in a Garden, thus the Remnant will operate in Mercy, not Grace. It’s the Seventh church who forgets it was God who gave them the power to gain wealth.

Faith counters fear, when fear enters, we forget the Lord, or all He has done, then God asks those who “fear the oppressor”, Where is the fury of the oppressor? In the end the Oppressor is in the lake of fire, we are in heaven, Fear not child of God, our Lord reigns (Isa 51:13).

Isaiah takes us to the last resurrection where the Lord tells Jerusalem to stand up,  this is after the cup of the Lord’s fury has been poured out (Isa 51:17-23). The wording “stand up” in Isaiah 51:17 is the Hebrew Qum meaning To wake from sleep, this has to refer to the Last Resurrection, not the First. Clearly it’s after the Cup of Fury has been poured out, not before, those who are Partakers in the First Resurrection go before the 1,000 years not after (Rev 20:6).

God gives the Remnant a means to avoid hell, as He pleads with Zion to submit and allow the change of garment from corrupt to mercy in order for Jerusalem to depart from the unclean (Isa 52:1). John shows this as God saying, Come out of Her My children, be not a partaker of Her sins (Rev 18:4). Assyria oppressed the children of God, Assyria is the metaphoric term pointing to idol worship, at the hands of the false prophet.

For the Woman two things will come Quickly, desolation and destruction. With the desolation will be famine, with the destruction will be the Sword. Why? She forgets Who comforted her, as she kills the 144,000, the very product who brought the Comfort. The ability to remain in the Time of Comfort is Mercy, the very heart of the Commandments of God. When they destroy those of Mercy, then reject the Law and Prophets, then the Woman will join with the Beast of the Sea by following the Beast of the Earth. It’s the Beast of the Earth who brings it all to nothing; no wonder God calls the sons of perdition His enemies, yet they are around today, they are being formed into the vessels of dishonor fitted for destruction (perdition – Rom 9:22-23).

The term “Awake, Awake” is not the same as “stand up”, the word Awake in Isaiah 52:1 is the Hebrew Tuwr meaning To open ones eyes as it relates to clarity. Although Zion will have “little strength” it’s still a Strength, but the Seventh church is told to apply eye slave, to Wake Up to who they really are, and what they are doing.

Zion is told to put on Strength, Jerusalem is told to put on the Beautiful Garments, but are these Garments the same as our White Garment? No, this is the Glory of the Sun, pointing to the Woman in Revelation 12:1, but the Garment is missing in Revelation 17:1-5. They have sold themselves for naught, they shall be redeemed without money, yet they are rich and think they are in need of nothing. Their redemption is near, even at hand, whether they take it, or not, is still a matter of choice.

On the other hand, Beautiful upon the Mountains are the feet of him who brings Good Tidings (Isa 52:4-7). We are the redeemed, the Remnant shall be redeemed, but not with money or man’s efforts. The “watchmen” are us, when the Night comes we will see Jesus face to face in heaven (Isa 52:8). It’s after this face to face encounter where we find the waste places of Jerusalem have Comfort (Isa 52:9). On the day of judgment when they look upon Him they have pierced, they will know His name, then they will receive the Name (authority) as their New Name (Isa 52:6). The metaphor Mountains points to nations, as does the metaphor ten toes, thus he who brings the Good Tidings walks over the mountains, rather than being under them. The mountains are Gentile in nature, thus separating the Body of Christ from the Remnant, since the Remnant remain in Jerusalem with the nations coming to them (Isa 52:7-8). Again, when our Season ends, the Lord will comfort Jerusalem (Isa 52:9-12). The Comfort for Israel was paid for by Jesus, just as our redemption was paid for.

Isaiah now tells us what our salvation entails, as well as what we are expected to receive to complete the process. This area is not a list of pick and choose, rather it contains the suffering Jesus did for us to set us free. It doesn’t matter if we ever raise the dead, what matters is our belief in the ability of God to manifest through us to accomplish the task. Our first call is “come out of her”; for us this not only refers to coming out of the world, but separating ourselves from systems holding unbelief. To the Remnant it means to depart from the Woman and Her abominations (Isa 52:11-13, II Cor 6:17, I Cor  11:1-7 & Rev 18:4). Jesus didn’t come as a high priest or some obvious rich man, He came in the form of a man, He stood as the Son of man in God’s Mercy, but His outside appearance was not striking, His inner presence was the Image. His visage (outward appearance) was so marred at the Cross, it was not like any man, His form more than the “sons of men” (Isa 52:14). The purpose was to Sprinkle many nations, and kings shall shut their mouths at Him, there is no retort to Truth (Isa 52:15). There are kings and there are kings, the bad fish are kings nonetheless, just as the good fish are kings, it’s the type of king making the difference. This promise doesn’t mean there won’t be those who speak against us, just as it doesn’t mean there aren’t those who speak against Jesus, it means their words have no effect, their mouths of slander are darts, but we have the Armor of God.

Isaiah begins with man’s view of the Cross, Jesus did grow as a Tender Plant, one of Mercy, Kindness and Truth, yet He had no form or comeliness. His outward appearance was not of Beauty, wherein one should desire Him (Isa 53:2). Jesus didn’t come to win us over by His physical beauty, rather it was a Beauty from within. He was despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, acquainted with Grief, and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, we did not esteem Him. However, this is man’s view at the Cross, not God’s view. He borne our grieves, carried our sorrows, thus the Cross is an action of God, but based on our sins. The religious leaders assumed Jesus was guilty, after all God didn’t stop the Cross, if this Man was innocent, surely God would not allow Him to die. They missed it, since they are looking for an outward appearance, a man of pomp, a man of wealth, a man who would welcome their self-righteousness with open arms. Jesus was not responsible for the Cross, we are, each of us must receive the Cross in order to receive the understanding regarding the sufferings of Jesus. The suffering we go through is also based on the flesh, the flesh of Jesus suffered for us, we suffer the pangs of the flesh for Him. Neither does it mean our holy suffering is based on projecting faulty theology, or for the sake of our sect, nor for the sake of something we did. We violate man’s law, then claim we are suffering for Christ, wrong, we suffered for our wrong. “For what glory is it, if, when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? but, if, when you do well, and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God” (I Pet 2:20). Peter breaks the Suffering into two groupings, then adds the word “patiently”, thus it’s not only the suffering, but taking it patiently. It becomes clear, to the religious leaders it did appear as if God was causing the Cross as a form of punishment on Jesus, but they failed to see their sins caused the Cross (Isa 53:3-5).

Prior God asked, “Who will go for us?”, now the prophet asks, “Who will believe our Report?” (Isa 53:1). How can they truly believe if we’re not sent by the Holy Ghost with signs and wonders following? (Rom 10:14-15). Jesus did grow as a Tender Plant from the Root of David, Paul tells us Jesus was made (formed, not created) as the seed of David, but declared the Son of God through the Resurrection (Rom 1:3-4). Therefore, these events leading to the Resurrection are acts by the Son of man, as Jesus stood for us by giving Himself so we might live (Isa 53:2). The Cross is an act of Mercy, the Resurrection one of Grace, we must have both in order to make it.

Let’s continue in Part 2…

By Rev. G. E. Newyer, s.b.i. les7 Rev 10/©2003