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Isa 26:1-11 When Your Judgments Are In The Earth, The Inhabitants of The World Will Learn Righteousness

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.

We have demonstrated that the phrase "that day" in this prophecy of Isaiah almost always refers to the day in which "judgment... begins at the house of God" which 'house and kingdom' is "within [us]" (Luk 17:20-21 and 1Pe 4:17).

Verses 8-9 of this chapter give us the purpose and the certain fruit of all of the Lord's judgments:  "...When your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness".

I have quoted verses 8 and 9 of this chapter many times already, as we have been discussing this prophecy of Isaiah. The reason I have quoted these verses so many times is that they state so clearly what the purpose is of, and what is the fruit of, the Lord's judgments:

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.

I am jumping the gun to make the point that this is such wonderful news, and it shows us that the Lord's judgments should be something we greatly desire for the good of all men of all time, instead of the dreaded "day of judgment" in which we have all been told so many will forever be lost in an endless, eternal state of unimaginable misery, known as "the fires of hell, [or] the lake of fire".

Let's begin with our first two verses which encourage us to be grateful for the calling we have been given:

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.

"We have a strong city" simply because we are a strong city. We are "New Jerusalem... a bride adorned for her Husband":

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh 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 cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

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.

This is what must happen "in that day", the day of the judgment which "is now on the house of God" (1Pe 4:17):

Isa 2:11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

Isa 2:17  And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day

Isa 2:20  In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

That is what takes place when we see the phrase "that day", and we are told, "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. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in."

"Salvation will be appointed for walls and bulwarks... in that day." That sounds like a very positive day indeed, a day to be greatly desired and for which we should have the utmost gratitude.

In the "day of judgment" we will be made to know who we are and what the Lord is doing within us, and as we endure the fiery trials of that judgment we are admonished to always, and in all circumstances, place our trust in Him and in His love for us as His own special people:

We are assured that "in that day" of the Lord's judgments:

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:

Trust is faith in the righteousness of the Lord's judgments, and "without faith it is impossible to please God":

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

This is what, in contrast, we are told of the law of Moses in which we all just naturally trust when we are first called into the Lord's service as "carnal babes in Christ" (1Co 3:1-4):

Gal 3:12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Gal 3:22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23  But before faith ["of Jesus Christ"] came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith ["of Jesus Christ"] is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Here in Isaiah 23:3-4 we have an Old Testament witness to the coming "law of faith":

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Because:

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

There is no denying that the last half of Gal 3:12 is presented in a positive light in the verse from where it is quoted in Ezekiel:

Eze 20:21  Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

Anyone who points out that "even he shall live in them" is contrasted with those who "kept [not] My judgments" for the purpose of teaching that we must still keep the sabbath and the holy days and the laws concerning clean and unclean meats, etc., is missing the point which the holy spirit is making, which point is that "the law is not of faith". Such a perverted tactic could easily use Samuel's condemnation of King Saul for not killing Agag, the Amalekite king to justify murder under the right circumstances.

Isa 26:3  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" means we now know that our faith is not our faith at all. Rather, we now know that our "trust" is that our faith is "the faith of Jesus Christ", and that nothing depends upon us or our own faith or our own righteousness.

If indeed "the law of the spirit" is the same as "the law of Moses", then the doctrine of Christ would still be "an eye for an eye" and the doctrine of Christ would still be "leave nothing alive that breathes":

Exo 21:24  Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25  Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

In the Old Testament, Christ gave Israel "a carnal commandment" because He was working with a carnal nation. He is now dealing with a spiritual nation in the New Testament. A spiritual nation requires a New Covenant, which entails "the law of faith [and] a change also of the law" from "a carnal commandment" to "the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus" who overcame evil by "not resisting evil", and He conquered death "through death":

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Heb 7:16  Who [Christ our high priest] is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

The first 14 verses of the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy enumerate the blessings of being obedient to the Lord's commandments. The remaining 54 verses, almost a 4 to 1 ratio, all concern themselves with the curses that will come upon us if we stubbornly continue to disobey the Lord's commandments.

I mention the ratio of curses to blessings for the purpose of emphasizing how the holy spirit want us to include His judgments as an integral part of His work of the salvation He is bringing to all men of all ages.

Here are just a few of those 54 verses, symbolizing the spiritual fire of Paul's statement of salvation for all "yet so as by fire" (1Co 3:13-15):

Deu 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Deu 28:16  Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Deu 28:17  Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Deu 28:18  Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deu 28:19  Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Some very few did a fair job of keeping the laws of being obedient to the Lord's commandments. We are told Job was a good man who "feared God and eschewed evil".

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Israel boasted:

Deu 6:25  And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

The rich young ruler kept the law "from [his] youth up", and the apostle Paul was "according to the righteousness which is in the law, blameless":

Luk 18:18  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Luk 18:20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But the commandments given men before Christ were "carnal commandments" which could produce nothing more than self-righteousness, at best. Job was rebuked for his self-righteousness:

Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

The rich young ruler's keeping of the law from his youth up was just as unimpressive to the Lord as Job's self-righteousness:

Luk 18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

What applied to Job and to the rich young ruler also applied to Israel and to the apostle Paul. Israel's efforts to "follow after the law of righteousnes" was not of faith, nor was Paul's 'blamelessness... in the righteousness which was in the law':

Rom 9:31  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Rom 9:32  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

Any attempt to claim credit for anything - good or evil - "is not of faith", and our Lord is bent on seeing to it that "no flesh [will ever] glory in His presence".

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.

There it is! The scriptures teach that we cannot even take credit for our own sins. Even my sins 'are no more mine, but sin that dwells in me'. That brings us to our next verse, which has confirmed those words of Romans 7:

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.

Paul doesn't even take credit for the sin in his life. Then he tells us that God has not chosen many wise after the flesh, not many mighty and not many noble. Instead, most of those whom He has chosen are the foolish of this world for the very purpose of confounding the wise of this world. He has chosen the weak of the world to confound the mighty, and the base and despised are those whom God has chosen, and yes, even things that yet are not, to bring to nothing the things which already are. These are those who are called of God to bring down them who dwell on high in this age. It will be the feet of the poor and needy of this age who will bring the high and lofty to the ground, even to the dust.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

"The poor... and... needy" of this age who are granted to acknowledge that they are 'made wise, and righteous, and are sanctified, and redeemed [only] in the Lord' and not of themselves, are 'the Lord's Christ'. The Lord's Christ are not just naturally just [or] upright. The Lord's Christ are those who have been humbled by the Lord's chastening grace and His fiery judgments, of which fiery judgments we are told:

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.

Who has ever said "in the way of your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for you"? Are you waiting for the Lord "in the way of [His] judgments"? The fact is that all men are waiting in the way of His judgments. Most simply are not aware of that fact.

Most of the ministers of the churches of the Babylonian harlot Christian system speak of "judgment day" as if it is a future end-of-the-world event at which most of the Lord's creatures will be cast into a literal lake of literal fire, to be tormented there in excruciating pain for all eternity with no hope of being reformed or forgiven of their sins. That message is the exact opposite of the message of these three verses of this chapter of Isaiah. The holy spirit tells us, "in the way of your judgments... have we waited for thee... I have desired you in the night, yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you early because when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."

Where is the doctrine of eternal torment to be found anywhere in this Biblical doctrine which is clearly telling us that God's judgments cause the inhabitants of the world to learn righteousness? What does the New Testament teach is the Lord's purpose for His judgments? Will the New Testament accord with these words here in Isaiah 26? The answer, of course, is yes, indeed it does.

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Paul uses the pronoun 'we' when he says, "that we should not be condemned with the world." He is including himself in those who are now being judged, and this is what he says of judgment:

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

"Every man" will be judged and "every man... shall be saved... by fire." So what does Paul mean by "When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world"? To what exactly is the world condemned? Peter's first epistle helps us to see more clearly what Paul is saying in 1Co 11:32 when Peter tells us:

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?

There is our answer. "The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." Judgment does not 'end at the house of God', as the Babylonian harlot churches teach. In this temporal life God's chastening judgment simply "begins at the house of God".

How many "altar calls" have threatened, "If you leave this building today unconverted, and if you happen to die in an automobile accident, you will spend all eternity without end in the unending, relentless, tormenting fires of hell?" Then they quote:

2Co 6:2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

The deceived minister then emphasizes the words "the day of salvation" and "now is the accepted time" as if this life is the one and only time in which salvation will ever be offered to mankind. They totally ignore the words "a time accepted". Paul is quoting this verse of Isaiah:

Isa 49:8  Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

According to Strong's Concordance the translators have added the article to make it appear as if this life is the only "day of salvation", when in reality that simply is not true. Here is 2Co 6:2 with Strong's numbers. Note there are two words in the first case, and there are three words in the second instance, for one number. In both instances the word 'the' appears to be added by the translators:

2Co 6:2  (For^G1063 he saith,^G3004 I have heard^G1873 thee^G4675 in a time^G2540 accepted,^G1184 and^G2532 in^G1722 the day^G2250of salvation^G4991 have I succoured^G997 thee:^G4671 behold,^G2400 now^G3568 is the accepted^G2144 time;^G2540 behold,^G2400 now^G3568 is the day^G2250 of salvation^G4991.)

While it is true that we ought not settle for coming to know the Father and His Son in a later "day of salvation", it is not true that the scriptures teach that this temporal realm is the only day of salvation. If that were true, then everyone who lived before Christ came and died for our sins, 'the only name under heaven whereby men must be saved', is lost and can never be saved:

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The Truth is that neither Christ nor Peter nor Paul ever once taught that this temporal life is the only 'day of salvation'. The exact opposite is true. Christ tells us He will "draw all men" to [Himself]:

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw [Greek: drag] all men unto me.

Peter's doctrine was the same as his Master's doctrine:

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Paul also confirms the doctrine of Christ over and over:

1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

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.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's ["firstfruits"] at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

Do the words "Who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe" in any way infer that Christ is the Savior exclusively of those who believe in this temporal age? Of course not! It sounds much more like "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive... each in his own order... even so as by fire."

1Co 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The apostle John is on the exact same page as the apostles Peter and Paul:

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Biblical fact is that there is judgment. and there is hope of life beyond the grave, and that is the answer to what Paul meant by "we should not be condemned with the world". The world will be judged and will learn righteousness in a later judgment.

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. ["...he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire" - 1Co 3:15]

This is the "condemned with the world" of:

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [to the great white throne judgment] with the world.

That is also the answer to Peter's rhetorical questions, "If [judgment] first begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God, and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" The answer is: "every man's works will be tried... by fire... [and] every man... shall be saved... yet so as by fire" through the greatest work of grace mentioned in scripture, which is the work of the fire of "the lake of fire" where death will be destroyed.

So the "fire" of the Lord's word is what saves us. We are all "saved... by fire" because just a few verses earlier Peter tells us that we, too, are right now being tried and judged by "fiery trials", and Isaiah tells us that it is God's Words in our mouths which constitute the 'fire' of "the lake of fire":

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

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.

This is the message which is missing in the doctrine of many who only see the verses of scripture assuring us that God "will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth [that] God is love, [and that He] is the savior of all men, specially of those that believe" without realizing that salvation is a process which involves being judged.

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.

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1Ti 4:11  These things command and teach.

Being judged in this age does not save us from eternal torment, because there never was any such thing.

What we are being saved from is sin and death:

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What being judged in this age accomplishes is that we are given the special privilege of being the firstfruits of the Lord's sacrifice for the sins of all men. The inspired word "firstfruits" requires that there must also be a later harvest. As "firstfruits unto God and the Lamb" we are also promised to be given the honor of judging this world, and we are granted to rule with Christ during the thousand-year reign of Christ. We are also given the distinction of later being the fire of "the lake of fire" because we have the words of Christ in our mouths. There in the lake of fire is where we will also "judge angels" in the outward sense.

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?

None of these promises are given to our "old man". That man was made "marred in the hand of the Potter" for the specified purpose of "dying daily" and being destroyed after being brought to repentance.

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.

Joh 3:30  He ["Christ in me"] must increase, but I ["the old man"] must decrease.

Our "old man", composed of "sinful... flesh and blood, cannot inherit the kingdom of God". It is our old man who must decrease as Christ in us increases. He must die daily within us because that old man, of himself, "will not learn righteousness", and he will be devoured by the fire of the enemies of the Lord's words:

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.

"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" is not a contradiction in terms. It is just the Old Testament way of saying:

1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

These verses simply confirm this verse of Proverbs:

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

"The wicked for the day of evil" is "the vessel of clay", which, by design, was "marred in the hand of The Potter". "The wicked... marred... vessel of clay" is an integral part of the work the Lord is working. Like the scaffolding which must be placed around a home under construction, after our old man has served his purpose in the formation of the new man, that ugly scaffolding must be taken down and never again be put up, because the house has now been completed.

This process is revealed to us in many ways throughout scripture, but as Joseph told Pharaoh, "the dream is one", and so it is with the way King David portrays this same process:

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.

As the apostle admonishes us:

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.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will finsh this 26th chapter of Isaiah. We will acknowlege the hold which the man of sin held upon us for so long. Then, and only then, will we "pour out our prayer" to the only God who can deliver us out of our distresses. We will also see that the goal of destroying death will be accomplished when we are told: "the earth shall cast out the dead."

Isa 26:12  LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
Isa 26:13  O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
Isa 26:14  They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
Isa 26:15  Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
Isa 26:16  LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
Isa 26:17  Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.
Isa 26:18  We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
Isa 26:19  Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Isa 26:20  Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
Isa 26:21  For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.