The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 53 Discussion

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Isaiah 11:9-16 He Shall Set Up An Ensign For The Nations

Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Isa 11:10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Isa 11:11  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12  And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13  The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
Isa 11:14  But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Isa 11:15  And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
Isa 11:16  And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

The fact that this chapter concludes with a mention of "an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall be left from Assyria", makes clear this chapter is not primarily concerned with the millennium. Anything concerned with the "highway for... the few chosen" also known as "the remnant of His people" is speaking of some time before the beginning of the millennium for the simple reason that it is the elect, the "few chosen, the remnant of His people, the one hundred forty and four thousand", who are ruling the earth throughout that one thousand year period:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Any "highway for the remnant of His people" must surely be here at this very moment for that remnant to be walking upon it here and now if they are to "live and reign with Christ for a thousand years". Those who are "beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands" are manifestly "the remnant of His people" who live in the aions preceding the millennial reign of Christ, and preceding the time of mankind being ruled with a rod of iron which rulers will not tolerate the "worship [of] the beast".

With this in mind let's begin our study of the last part of this 11th chapter of the prophet Isaiah:

Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain" refers back to all the beasts of the previous verses:

Isa 11:6  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

All these wild beasts - the wolf, the leopard, lion, bear, the asp and the cockatrice - are all symbols of the one beast of Revelation 13, of which beasts we are told we must "read... hear, and keep" within our own lives.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

To understand Rev 1:3 and Mat 4:4 fulfills "the waters cover the sea" of Isa 11:9.

An integral part of "the things which are written [here]in" are these words concerning "the beast", which 'beast' we all just naturally are, is found in these verses:

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [Hebrew: ruach - spirit]; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

Isa 63:14  As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

What we are being told is that all these wild beasts within us will dwell at peace with all the domesticated beasts within us. The Lamb, the Kid, the Calf, the Cow, and the Ox, are one and all sacrificial types of the crucified Christ living His submissive, domesticated life within these clay vessels of flesh and blood, which 'clay vessels' are nothing more than another type of the wild beast within us which "cannot inherit the kingdom of God":

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [Christ] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Now let's read the next two verses and ask ourselves, "Is His remnant being recovered during the thousand years?" How could God be gathering His "remnant" during an age which is characterized as a time of being ruled with a rod of iron, which is immediately followed by the great white throne judgment in which all men are brought to God? (Rev 20:7-15) The only time for God to gather together the remnant of His people is in this age of grace, when He is dragging them to Himself against the will of both the flesh and the adversary.

This is what is happening in the here and now. This is not what will be taking place during the thousand year reign of "the Lord and His Christ" (Act 4:26-28, Rev 11:15).

Isa 11:10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Isa 11:11  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

Does anyone even teach that the Lord will "set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people which shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt..." etc. during the time of the thousand year reign of Christ? Does anyone think for one moment that God's elect will tolerate the existence of an Assyrian and Egyptian captivity of the Lord's remnant elect during a thousand year period which is characterized by a "rod of iron" in the hand of the Lord and His remnant elect?

Let's read once more who it is who the scriptures reveal is ruling all the nations of this world during that period which is symbolized by the phrase "a thousand years":

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel trumpeted. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world became our Lord's, even of His Christ; and He shall reign to the ages of the ages. (LITV)

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel coming down out of Heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain on his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold of the dragon, the old serpent who is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  and threw him into the abyss, and shut him up, and sealed over him, that he should not still lead astray the nations, until the thousand years are fulfilled. And after these things, he must be set loose a little time.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat on them. And judgment was given to them ["His... our Lord's... Christ", Rev 11:15], and the souls of the ones having been beheaded because of the witness of Jesus, and because of the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast nor its image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (LITV)

Here is what we are informed about those who "reign with Christ a thousand years... [over] the kingdoms of the world":

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

As we see it is "our Lord's... Christ" who is "the outcasts of Israel... His remnant", who "[take] part in the first resurrection", and who are given to "live and reign a thousand years" with Christ.

In spite of the obvious fact that these "remnant... outcasts of Israel" must of necessity take part in that "blessed and holy first resurrection" which precedes the thousand years, the adversary wants us all to believe that this entire chapter of Isaiah, including these next verses, has no personal application except during the thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ:

Isa 11:12  And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13  The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
Isa 11:14  But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

The adversary must keep us from seeing who we really are and what the promises given to us are. The last thing he wants us to know is who we are and what we have and what we have been given as the Lord's 'anointed... His Christ'.

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

These verses here in Isaiah 11 plainly affirm that "the outcasts of Israel" who will "fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines [and] spoil them of the east... lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon" are "Ephraim... and... Judah..." the 'Israel of God' (Gal 6:15-16) who will no longer envy each other.

Korah and company are given us as and example of this spirit:

Num 16:10  And he hath brought thee [Korah and the Levites] near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
Num 16:11  For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?

"The envy... of Ephraim shall depart" is part of the "exceeding great and precious promises: [by which we] might be partakers of the divine nature" (2Pe 2:14). So let's ask ourselves if there is anyone within "Ephraim and Judah", within the body of Christ, of whom we are envious? If there is, then let us beg our Lord to remove from us that spirit, and replace that spirit with "the sacrifice of thanksgiving" for that which we have already been given (Psa 107:22).

The Lord's Israel, His Ephraim and Judah, are grateful that the Lord is here and now, in this age, "conform[ing us] to this principle":

Gal 3:28  There are neither Jews nor Greeks, slaves nor free people, males nor females. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants and heirs, as God promised. (GWV)

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn't matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GWV)

These words in Isaiah are the Lord Himself speaking, and this is what He tells us of His words:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth [Greek: zōopoieō - gives life]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

When the Lord tells us, He "shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth", these "words are spirit, and they are life" for those who are granted to receive them as such.

Where else have we read these very same words? Did not Christ Himself tell us:

Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

When are the Lord's elect, His Ephraim and His Judah, to be gathered together by His messengers? This is what we are told just a few verses later about the timing of these words:

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The gathering together of the Lord's Ephraim and Judah, His elect, will be fulfilled in "this generation", meaning every generation of those who "read [and] understand... all these things [which] are spirit and are life". It is Christ's words in the mouths of His messengers which "shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other".

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Mat 24:15 admonishes us to glean the spiritual meaning of what we are reading here in Matthew 24 as well as all of the Lord's words, because in reality they are all spirit and life. So what, then, is the spiritual meaning of the Lord raising up an ensign to the nations?

Here is Strong's definition of the Hebrew word translated as 'ensign':

H5251
נֵס
nês
nace
From H5264; a flag; also a sail; by implication a flagstaff; generally a signal; figuratively a token: - banner, pole, sail, (en-) sign, standard.

 A 'nes', pronounced 'nace', is a flag... a signal... a banner... a sign.

Here is how it is used in the Old Testament:

נס
nês
Total KJV Occurrences: 20
standard, 7
Isa_49:22, Isa_62:10, Jer_4:6, Jer_4:21, Jer_50:2, Jer_51:12, Jer_51:27
ensign, 6
Isa_5:26, Isa_11:10, Isa_11:12, Isa_18:3, Isa_30:17, Isa_31:9
banner, 2
Psa_60:4, Isa_13:2
pole, 2
Num_21:8-9 (2)
sail, 2
Isa_33:23, Eze_27:7
sign, 1
Num_26:10

It is most commonly translated in the King James Version as 'standard'. But it is also translated as 'ensign... banner... pole... sail... and sign'.

Here is one of the seven times 'nes' is translated as 'standard':

Isa 49:22  Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

The Lord's "standard" makes it clear and distinguishes who are His elect to whom the Gentiles must bring in their sons and His daughters.

The next most common English word used to translate this Hebrew word is the English word 'banner'. Here is an example of the use of that word:

Psa 60:4  Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

Because of our faithfulness to His Word, "the Truth", we will be made to be the object of the Lord's glory to be bestowed first upon us. The apostle Paul also declares:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Here is the one time this Hebrew word 'nes' is translated as 'sign'. This is a negative application of this word:

Num 26:10  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign [Hebrew: nes].

Korah and company became "a sign", an example to us all of what happens to us when we reject the Lord's order, His schedule of events, and His sovereignty in our lives.

The Lord's elect, like the Lord Himself, are called "the light of the world... a city on a hill" which cannot be hid.

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Anyone who believes he can just keep a low profile and avoid the persecution of the cross has a very sad lesson to learn. While we are told that if we are persecuted in one city flee to the next, and we are admonished against casting our pearls before swine and not to give that which is holy to the dogs (Mat 7:6), nowhere are we ever told that we can deny the Lord's doctrine and escape our own judgment. We must all drink of Christ's cup and endure His baptism of dying daily and being crucified with Him:

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

That is the very meaning of:

Psa 60:4  Thou hast given a banner [Hebrew: nes - a sign] to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

We are not left to guess what this 'standard', banner or sign is. Like Joseph, we must wear the clothes our Father has given us. Those garments are designed to make us stand out from the rest of our brothers. 'Clothing' in scripture signifies either righteousness or the lack thereof, depending on whether they are clean or filthy.

Gen 37:2  These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Zec 3:4  And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

Wearing the clothes given us by our heavenly Father is the same as bringing to Him their evil report. Wearing the clothes He has prepared for us to wear signifies that we fear our heavenly Father more than we fear our brothers in this world. Our obedience and faithfulness to Him automatically condemns our brothers.

Christ asks the simple question:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Then He goes on to make clear what is the standard He has raised up to distinguish those who are His "that it may be displayed because of the Truth":

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Joseph signifies us. Our brothers who hate us and cannot speak peaceably to us, equate to these words of our Lord:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Christ's "name's sake" is for the sake of His doctrine. If we "endure to the end [we] shall be saved", which brings us to our last verses in this 11th chapter:

Isa 11:15  And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
Isa 11:16  And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

The Egyptian sea is the flesh of all men, His mighty wind is the power of His Words, His spirit, which will destroy the river, the words and doctrines of "the Egyptian sea". The 'seven streams' of the river of Egypt signify the complete destruction of all the wood, hay, and stubble", which is the doctrine of that Egyptian river which comes up out of the bellies of those who believe those false doctrines of death and destruction.

It is "rivers of living waters" which then will come "out of [the] belly" of those who have the words and doctrines of Christ.

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The "highway... like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt", we must remember, was not an easy path. It was a 'highway' which contains ten rebellions and lasted for forty years of trials in the wilderness, enduring the wrath of God against those ten rebellions:

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

What that means is that "the remnant of His people, which be left from Assyria", are those who come out of Babylon, fulfill the seven last plagues in their lives and stand with Christ on the sea of glass mingled with fire.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

For whom are these plagues "full of the wrath of God" designed? Who is expected to fulfill these seven plagues?

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

This is the judgment of the great harlot within all of us. It is only after keeping the seven vials of the seven last plagues of the wrath of God, that any of us can then "come out of her [and] enter into the temple... in heaven":

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will see that we also here and now, in this age, in down payment form, receive the rewards of our faithfulness, and we will discover how we are given to be able to endure the wrath of God upon the kingdom of our old man:

Isa 12:1  And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
Isa 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Isa 12:3  Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Isa 12:4  And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
Isa 12:5  Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
Isa 12:6  Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

These words are not just for the future. They also have a very present application because "the time is at hand" to keep the sayings of this book:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.