The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 67 Discussion

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Isa 17:1-7 Damascus... Shall Be A Ruinous Heap

Isa 17:1  The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
Isa 17:2  The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Isa 17:3  The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.
Isa 17:4  And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
Isa 17:5  And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
Isa 17:6  Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.
Isa 17:7  At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. 

This week we will begin to see the judgment of the kingdom of our old man, our own flesh, as it is presented to us in the form of Syria, one of Israel's most persistent enemies. Syria typifies our own flesh being the type of Jacob, who we are informed was himself "a Syrian":

Deu 26:5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

Jacob was "a Syrian", and countries in scripture are represented both by their capita​l cities and by their kings,​ as these verses demon​strate:

Isa 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
Isa 7:9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

John saying "all that is in the world... is not of the Father, but is of the world" refers to the end product of the work the Lord Himself is working in His elect through the evil of "the first man, Adam", which He Himself tells us He created for the express purpose of destroying the kingdom of our old man within us. Syria is a type of that kingdom of our old man. Damascus is the capital of Syria,​ and as such stands for Syria, just as Jerusalem the capita​l of Israel, stands first for Israel as a whole.

Isa 17:1  The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

The outward fulfilling of this prophecy took place during the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah:

2Ki 16:7  So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
2Ki 16:8  And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
2Ki 16:9  And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

This is the inward application of "Damascus... shall be a ruinous heap:

2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Syria symbolizes this "man of sin" within us. We are the temple of God", and Syria within us will be "consumed with the spirit of His mouth, and... destroyed with the brightness of His coming". Notice that what comes out of the mouth of the Lord is His spirit - "the spirit of his mouth". Another way of expressing this same thought of what the Lord is doing to Damascus within us is:

2Sa 22:7  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
2Sa 22:8  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
2Sa 22:9  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

"As He is so are we in this world" (1Jo 4:17), so we are told this about ourselves in His service:

Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

These are more of His words out of His mouth:

Isa 17:2  The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Aroer is a province of Syria. Aroer being "forsaken" signifies the demise of the kingdom of our old man. Mansions 'in Aroer' which once housed the leaders of the kingdom of our old man are now filled with fearless beasts,​ and there is no one to run them off, because Damascus has been destroyed within us. At this point we are witnessing our own demise, and we are helpless to do anything to stop the collapse of all we have worked to accomplish. These flocks are not our flocks. Things are not going the way we had planned,​ but we are now helpless to drive them out,​ and we are now reduced to simply witnessing the presumptuous appropriating of our life by powers against whom we simply can do no war.

Here is Isa 17:2 repeated in the book of Revelation. Here are the words of the book which we must all "read... hear, and keep" (Rev 1:3):

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Our defenses are gone from us because we have turned our backs on our Lord, and we have been given over to our own destructive desires with which we are not equipped to do war. So we continue to to learn of what the Lord is working in our lives at this time:

Isa 17:3  The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.
Isa 17:4  And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

"The remnant of Syria... shall be as the glory of the children of Israel" in this case is the same as saying, 'Syria will be as the glory of the children of" the Philistines, and as the glory of Edom, Moab, and Ammon because, "the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean".

The fact that ancient Israel typifies the kingdom of our old man is also revealed to us at the beginning of the judges:

Jdg 2:12  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
Jdg 2:13  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Jdg 2:14  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
Jdg 2:15  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

Jeremiah told Judah and Israel the same thing. Jeremiah goes on to explain how the Lord will make "the glory of Jacob... thin, and the fatness of his flesh... lean".

Isaiah and Jeremiah are speaking to you and me as the Lord's true people of whom "Jacob", Judah and Israel, Jerusalem and Samaria are merely types and shadows.

Eze 5:6  And she [Judah and Israel - the Lord's own people] hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
Eze 5:7  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;
Eze 5:8  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.
Eze 5:9  And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

We have known the Lord better than the nations around us, and yet we have turned our backs on Him and His ways. "To whom much is given, much is required" (Luk 12:48), and for this reason God is given the occasion to treat us as "chief... of sinners", and to "do in [us] that which [He] has not done, and whereunto [He] will not do any more the like, because of all [our] abominations". Ezekiel 5:9,​ as well as "every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Mat 4:4), is for you and for me and for all mankind.

The result of these things coming upon us is this:

Isa 17:5  And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
Isa 17:6  Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

The "it" of "And it shall be as when the harvestman gathers the corn..." refers to the judgments of the previous two verses which are pronounced upon the Lord's people and "the nations that are round about" us.

Isa 17:3  The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.
Isa 17:4  And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

In type the reference is to the invading Assyrian armies whose rapaciousness will be very thorough. Only under such dire circumstances will "the man of sin" within us be destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ (2Th 2:8) because it is only under such circumstances that:

Isa 17:7  At that day [of judgment] shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

Here is a New Testament doctrine which speaks of "the fatness of [the] flesh [of our old man] wax[ing] lean"​.

Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

King David has already given the Lord's people this doctrine in these words:

Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; [From Babylon, Rev 18:4]
Psa 107:3  And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
Psa 107:4  They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Psa 107:5  Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Psa 107:6  Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:7  And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:9  For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Psa 107:10  Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
Psa 107:11  Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
Psa 107:12  Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Psa 107:13  Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:14  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
Psa 107:15  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:16  For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
Psa 107:17  Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
Psa 107:18  Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
Psa 107:19  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Psa 107:23  They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

This is the Lord's template by which He is working all He is doing within us. It is He who "leads us to destruction and [then] says return you children of men". It is He who "makes us to err from His ways and hardens our​ hearts from His fear, [and then He] returns [our] inheritance".

Psa 90:3  Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

However, we do not return until we have been brought to our wits'​ end. That is just how God works with His creatures,​ and we all have the same "one event" experience:

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

It is He who "commands and raises the stormy wind, and lifts up the waves thereof". He does so for this reason:

Psa 50:15  And call upon me in the day of trouble [judgment]: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

So it really is the Lord Himself who turns us to destruction, and then He commands us "Return [to Me] you children of men":

Psa 90:3  Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Our old man and his entire kingdom despises the Lord's sovereignty over everything which our old man says, thinks and does, but that does not change the fact that He does so,​ and then He implores us:

Jer 3:22  Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

World events all appear to the natural man to be the logical outgrowth of preceding events, but according to a very recent report in the world of secular scientists,​ they have discovered there is something beyond what they can see and what they can understand, which defies what they think they understand:

There is a world renowned scientific laboratory in Europe which is known outside Europe by the acronym CERN. Here is the Wikipedia entry for this European laboratory:

The European Organization for Nuclear Research French: Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire), known as CERN; French pronunciation: [sɛʁn]; derived from the name Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire), is a European research organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. CERN is an official United Nations Observer. Established in 1954, the organization is based in a northwest suburb of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, (46°14′3″N 6°3′19″E) and has 22 member states. Israel is the only non-European country granted full membership.

The term CERN is also used to refer to the laboratory, which in 2016 had 2,500 scientific, technical, and administrative staff members, and hosted about 12,000 users. In the same year, CERN generated 49 petabytes of data.

CERN's main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research – as a result, numerous experiments have been constructed at CERN through international collaborations. The main site at Meyrin hosts a large computing facility, which is primarily used to store and analyse data from experiments, as well as simulate events. Researchers need remote access to these facilities, so the lab has historically been a major wide area network hub. CERN is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web.

And this is their latest discovery which I have cut and pasted from an article in a digital publication by the name of Red Flag News.

CERN researchers are baffled at how matter thrived in the early universe when it should have been destroyed by antimatter, a discovery which evokes a theory that the universe is controlled by a mysterious realm lying outside space and time. The researchers made a technological breakthrough when they compared the magnetism of an antiproton to that of a proton using a new technique which is 350 times more precise than the measurement taken in January.

But they found that, despite the breakthrough, there wasn’t a difference between the two, meaning that matter and antimatter should have destroyed each other eons ago, preventing the universe from even existing.

Yet obviously that’s not what happened.

“All of our observations find a complete symmetry between matter and antimatter, which is why the universe should not actually exist,” said research lead Christian Smorra. “An asymmetry must exist here somewhere but we simply do not understand where the difference is.”

“What is the source of the symmetry break?”

The author concludes:

"Perhaps the physical laws of the universe are steered by something – or someone – outside the universe; in other words, the universe isn’t the “base reality” but is rather one level of existence contained in another superstructure unknown to man."

I do not know the author of this article, but I do know the author of these words:

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of [God, and His Son] from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Heb 11:27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

In our next study we will, Lord willing, cover the last half of this 17th chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 17:8  And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
Isa 17:9  In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
Isa 17:10  Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
Isa 17:11  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
Isa 17:12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
Isa 17:13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
Isa 17:14  And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.