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Isa 25:1-12 Death Is Swallowed Up In Victory

Isa 25:1  O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
Isa 25:2  For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
Isa 25:3  Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
Isa 25:4  For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
Isa 25:5  Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
Isa 25:6  And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
Isa 25:7  And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
Isa 25:8  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Isa 25:9  And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Isa 25:10  For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
Isa 25:11  And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
Isa 25:12  And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

Verse 8 of our study today says, "He will swallow up death in victory", and this verse is quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Testifying to the certainty of this Truth, we begin with this statement:

Isa 25:1  O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

"[The Lord's] counsels of old are faithfulness and Truth." If the holy spirit tells us, both here in Isaiah 25 and again in I Corinthians 15, that "death is swallowed up in victory", then that is what "of old" has been proven to be true, and that is what will happen. His counsels have never yet failed to be "faithful and true". How, then, is it that the great harlot and her daughters almost all claim either that death will instead send most people to an eternal lake of literal fire to be tormented for all eternity, or else they will be annihilated in that "lake of fire". Annihilation IS death, and eternal torment can hardly be called "death [being] swallowed up in victory". That blasphemous doctrine of eternal torment at the hands of a loving heavenly Father is rather more like telling us that 'peaceful rest in death is swallowed up of a monstrous hate-filled father who enjoys the spectacle of unending torment for the sake of torment, with no lesson to be learned and with no hope and no end in sight.'

We all know that the scriptures actually teach what we see here in this chapter and in 1 Corinthians 15. Death really will be swallowed up in victory, and death will not have so much as one victim over whom it can claim victory because we are told by the same holy spirit that "AS in Adam all [men] die, EVEN SO in Christ shall [that same] all [men] be made alive" and given victory over death.

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Here, and in many dozens of other scriptures, we are assured that in the end, Christ does not will that anyone should perish in death, but that instead it is His will that all should come to a knowledge of the Truth and be saved:

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (KJV)

Most translations use the words 'wants all men to be saved... wishes... or desires all men to be saved'. The Bible In Basic English (BBE) is typical of most translations:

1Ti 2:4  Whose desire is that all men may have salvation and come to the knowledge of what is true. (BBE)

The Greek word translated here variously as 'will, desire, want, and wishes' is the Greek word 'G2309 theleo', and all of those English words are worthy and acceptable translations of that Greek word. However, what you and I need to realize is that the sum of the Truth is revealed to us in this verse of scripture and many others like it, which declare very plainly to us:

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. (KJV)

What we are being told is that our Creator is not quite like you and me. His wishes and desires are not in question of being fulfilled. "What His soul desires, even that [very thing] He does [because] He performs the thing that [He has] appointed for me." Also, we just happen to know that "[His] desire is that all men may be saved and come to the knowledge of what is true" (BBE).

Now here are these same two verses in Job 23 from the BBE translation:

Job 23:13  But his purpose is fixed and there is no changing it; and he gives effect to the desire of his soul.
Job 23:14  For what has been ordered for me by him will be gone through to the end: and his mind is full of such designs. (BBE)

"By Him will be... He performs the thing that is appointed for me... what has been ordered for me by Him..." These words all sound very much like that doctrine which the Lord's word really does teach us from Genesis 1:1 to Rev 22:21, which is:

Psa 139:16  Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all [my] days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. (NWT)

Just out of curiosity I checked to see what Greek word the ABP+ had chosen to translate the Hebrew into the Greek here in Job 23:13, and low and behold:

Job 23:13  But if even^G1499.1 he^G1473 judged^G2919 thus,^G3779 who^G5100 is^G1510.2.3 the one^G3588 contradicting^G471 him;^{G1473 G3739} for^G1063 he^G1473 wanted^G2309 and^G2532 did.^G4160

Yes, that's right, there it is! They chose the Greek word 'theleo^G2309'. So while they may be blinded to what they have revealed to themselves, the Truth remains, "What His soul desires, that He does [in] all things!"

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:

Isaiah 25 is a brief summary of 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 17-22, as we will demonstrate as we proceed through the twelve verses of this chapter, beginning with:

Isa 25:1  O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

This is just one more verse which verifies that:

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

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:

As proof of His sovereignty over "all things" we are told:

Isa 25:2  For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

The city under consideration has not changed. It is the same as the one just mentioned in this same narrative:

Isa 24:10  The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
Isa 24:11  There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
Isa 24:12  In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

"The city of confusion" isn't even aware of the fact it is so confused and conflicted. This is our prized and most valued 'city' within us. Our old man defends this 'city' to the death. Yet "confusion" is the very definition of Babylon. Babel was so named because that was where the Lord confused the languages of mankind and from whence the Lord scattered men around the globe:

Gen 11:5  And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Gen 11:6  And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Gen 11:7  Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
Gen 11:8  So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Gen 11:9  Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

The book which gives us the Revelation of Jesus Christ within ourselves tells us this about ourselves as we are made to partake of the doctrines of "the city of confusion":

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Rev 17:7  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

So this 'woman' is not a literal 'woman' at all. The 'waters' are not literal, and the 'great city' is not a literal city. This 'woman' is called "that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth". We know from the scriptures the 'earth' symbolizes those to whom the Lord is speaking through His words:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

The words "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord" are addressed to the great city of the capital of our 'earth' which is "Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children" within us. When Christ comes into our hearts and delivers us from this 'woman', we are no longer under her dominion, and we come to see just how confused we were while we were under the influence of "the bondwoman":

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Not one minister in a million, much less all those who are led by their ministers, has been given eyes that see that "Mount Sinai in Arabia... answers to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children". Neither can they see the plain and simple Truth, which is "the son of the bondwoman shall NOT be heir with the son of the free woman". For that reason Paul, under the inspiration of the holy spirit, concludes, "So then, brothers, we are not the children of the bondwoman, but of the free." It is these 'children of the freewoman' who are here in Isaiah 25 called "the strong people", and the son of the bondwoman are here called the "city of the terrible nations":

Isa 25:3  Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

"The city of the terrible nations" is "the city of confusion", which is being destroyed within us, and we are told that city, too, will come to "fear [the Lord]". However, that blessed state of mind comes only through fiery judgment upon "the city of confusion", which simply cannot receive the things of the spirit because they are foolishness to us at that time in our walk.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

"The things of the spirit" are understood only by those who are "poor in spirit" but are "rich in faith":

Jas 2:5  Listen, my beloved brothers, did not God choose the poor of the world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he promised to those who love him?

We are the "heirs of the kingdom", and as such we are hated of "the son of the bondwoman", also called "the terrible ones":

Isa 25:4  For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

This is "the fiery trials" which are the "judgment [which is now on] the house of God" (1Pe 4:12 and 17). It comes to us through the 'great harlot, the terrible ones, the son of the bondwoman'. "The dream is one" (Gen 41:25-26). These are all symbols of the very religious, very self-righteous children of the bondwoman, who are the religions of this world. Only by coming to see ourselves as first being "the terrible ones" do we ever overcome that cursed spiritual affliction of hating those who are "born after the spirit".

Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

But we are assured that the Lord's loving, chastening and scourging will come to "all in Adam", and we are told that it will come to them "by the church", through those who have been given to triumph over the beast and his image and the number of his name and over "the terrible ones" who we all are in our original marred condition:

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.

"The beast" is the "terrible ones" of our next verse.

Isa 25:5  Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

Satan does not usher in his own imprisonment. That task is given to "an angel... from heaven" who has the key to the bottomless pit. It will be those of us in Christ who will place Satan in that abyss for "a thousand years":

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.

"Judgment was given... to them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus." It is given to "them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus" to judge both this world and angels like Satan:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

When we "try the spirits to see whether they are of God", we are already "judg[ing] angels" in preparation for placing Satan and all of his angels under the house arrest of the abyss of the flesh of mankind for a symbolic thousand years, before he is to be released to again deceive this world. All of this must first take place within us as Satan was restrained within us by the law of Moses, only to be released again to give the Lord the "occasion" He is seeking to destroy forever the kingdom of our rebellious old man. When we are given to "try the spirits to see whether they are of God" and to  be able to say with our Lord:

Joh 8:28  Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

And with the apostle John:

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Then, and only then, will we be positioned and qualified to spread out a feast for all those whom the Lord will drag to that feast:

Isa 25:6  And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
Isa 25:7  And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

"Wine on the lees" is the saving of the 'best until last' (Joh 2:10), and we know that "wine" is "my blood" of the New Testament.

Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mat 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

That kingdom is within us, and we are drinking that wine with Christ at this very moment (Luk 17:20-21).

This feast is given and presented only by those whose faces have had "the vail that is spread over all the nations... destroyed, [and] the face of the covering cast over all people" will then be destroyed, and we can then feast upon the "fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined... [of] the things of the spirit" (1Co 2:13-15).

But this will only be accomplished "in this mountain". We will see this phrase again in verse 10, and there we will learn when and where "this mountain" must appear, and when He "will destroy... the face of the covering cast over all people and spread over all nations".

Isa 25:8  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

These words are repeated in the revelation of Jesus Christ, for us to keep and observe (Rev 1:3), before we can be qualified to feed others:

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

No more tears and no more death! "He shall swallow up death in victory, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces", and the rebuke of His people he will take away from off all the earth, not because of anything we do, but simply because: "the Lord has spoken it."

We all, like Simon the Pharisee (Luk 7:36-40), invite Christ into our home, and we want to feed Him and curry His favor and claim His name. Nevertheless we are still the son of the bondwoman with the name of Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children written on our forehead. When Christ puts the name of His city, the New Jerusalem, on our forehead, then we can minister to Him as His true bride, as symbolized for all generations by Mary the sister of Lazarus whom Christ raised from the dead when she did for Christ what Simon the Pharisee simply could not yet do:

Luk 7:44  And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

At that very moment Mary was spreading a feast for Simon and for you and for me, if we are granted in this age to partake of that feast:

Isa 25:9  And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

It is not natural to wait on the Lord, but those who are given to do so are greatly rewarded:

Psa 37:9  For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Isa 40:28  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Isa 40:29  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Isa 40:30  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Isa 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Waiting on the Lord is the same as "the trial of [our] faith". It is a fiery trial, and none of us can avoid the pain of that 'fiery' trial because our "fiery trials" are the "chastening [and] scourging" of the Lord, of which we are told:

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

"Chastening and scourging" are included in the "fiery trials" we are admonished to expect as we become more and more attuned to the mind of Christ and less and less attuned to the mind of our old man. This is the process of the daily dying of our flesh and the loss of the kingdom of our old man with all of his fear of men and all the idols of his heart:

Psa 107:17  Fools [you and I] 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!

Do the words "because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities" in any way contradict the scriptures which declare the Lord's sovereignty over our sins? Absolutely not! The two are not mutually exclusive; rather they are both true, because the Lord has ordained that light would come out of darkness, good would come out of evil, and obedience would only follow disobedience. "Then [we] cry unto the Lord... then are [we] glad" can come to us only after our iniquities and transgressions have been fulfilled (Gen 15:16), and after we "are at [our] wits' end", as Job so graphically illustrates:

Job 34:5  For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.

We take it upon ourselves to critique the Lord's ways, and we must be judged for that before we can see our own self-righteousness. We question the Lord's judgments as we are being judged by the Lord. It is this part of "sin in our members" which precipitates the Lord's fiery judgments upon our own self-righteousness:

Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

It is revealed to us that the whole process, from beginning to the end, "is of the Lord":

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Pro 20:24  Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

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.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

We, as the Lord's clay vessels, are "marred in [His] hand", and He never makes a mistake. He made us with "sin in [our] members", and He made us subject to "the law of sin... in [our] members". This is the simple truth of why the Lord has ordained His judgments upon His own Creation:

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

James tells us:

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

The devil does not uphold the law of sin in our members. That law was placed there and is sustained by the Lord Himself to give Himself the occasion He is seeking to judge us and to teach us through that judgment by His righteousness.

I repeat what is the most ignored part of the gospel and of confessing  who is Jesus Christ:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

"The hand of the Lord" is His judgment upon the kingdom of our old man, variously defined by the names of all the peoples round about His people, "the Israel of God". In these verses, our old man is called 'Moab':

Isa 25:10  For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
Isa 25:11  And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
Isa 25:12  And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

Here in verse ten we again for the third time see the phase "in this mountain", and now we are being told that not only will "the vail... upon all nations [be] destroyed", but we are now also being informed that "Moab shall be trodden down under Him... and He shall bring down their pride... to the ground, even to the dust".

"This mountain" which is referenced three times in these few verses is:

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

You and I are that mountain because a 'mountain' in scripture symbolizes a kingdom, and we all already know this doctrine of our Lord:

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

This mountain, "the kingdom of God is within you" and you will "trod down... Moab [your old man] under [you]... and bring down [his] pride [within you], because "the vail that is cast over all nations [is being] taken away" from your heart, and you and I are being given liberty and "are changed into the same image [of Christ] from glory to glory".

Now let's put verse seven together with 2 Corinthians 3:14-18, and see what, when, and where this mountain is and all that takes place within it:

Isa 25:7  And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16  Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

You will say to me: 'It said this vail will be removed from "all people and all nations", and I will say to you, Amen!, but just like the judgment that will come upon all men, the removing of this vail must "begin at the house of God", and "the manifold wisdom of God" will be made known to all men "by the church", which is "the body of Christ":

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?

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom 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:

So "this mountain" comes to be within us "in that day", and that day is "the time [which] is come that judgment must begin at the house of God... this generation will not pass away till all these things shall be fulfilled" within the lives of those who read and understand (Mat 24:15 and 34-35).

Knowing of the Lord's judgments upon the kingdom of our old man, what are we to do? This is what we are admonished to do:

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

1Pe 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 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Our next study will include the verses about the fruit of the Lord's judgments in our lives which I have already quoted so  many times:

Isa 26:1  In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Isa 26:2  Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isa 26:4  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Isa 26:5  For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
Isa 26:6  The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
Isa 26:7  The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Isa 26:10  Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
Isa 26:11  LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.