Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 34:1-9 God’s Elect are the First to Endure His Vengeance and be Purified with Brimstone

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Isa 34:1-9 - God's Elect Are The First to Endure His Vengeance and Be Purified With Brimstone

Isa 34:1  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
Isa 34:2  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Isa 34:3  Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
Isa 34:4  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
Isa 34:5  For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
Isa 34:6  The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
Isa 34:7  And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
Isa 34:8  For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Isa 34:9  And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

These verses of Isaiah, inspired of the holy spirit, certainly form a foundation for these words which the same holy spirit inspired the apostle Paul to write:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

No one in either "the first resurrection" or in "the second death... the lake of fire" will enter into the temple of God until the seven plagues have been "fulfilled" within the life of "every man":

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

These seven plagues are "the judgment of the great whore" within each of us:

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The seventh angel's vial being poured out produces an earthquake greater than any previous earthquake, and the result of that earthquake is that the great city of Babylon is divided into three parts to be judged and "to give unto her the cup of the fierceness of His wrath". This must take place before anyone can enter into the temple of God in heaven.

This "hail out of heaven" is the Truth of the doctrines of Christ which "shall sweep away the refuge of lies", which is all the doctrines of Babylon:  doctrines like a trinity Godhead, an immortal soul, eternal hell fire, and the false doctrine that man has a will that is free from any influence from God:

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

The hail, and the fire are common to all men in both the first and the second resurrections. So we are told:

Isa 34:1  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
Isa 34:2  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

"The earth and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it" is an all-inclusive category encompassing all men of all ages partaking of "the indignation of the Lord upon all nations" and again reinforcing:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

This chapter of Isaiah is the basis for the words of Revelation 16 and the filling up of the wrath of God against all the lies of Babylon within us:

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell:and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Babylon is first mentioned in connection with "the indignation of the Lord" and in connection with "all nations" in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation:

Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

What we are about to learn is that Esau, Edom and Idumea are one and all speaking of Babylon. So the holy spirit continues to inspire these words:

Isa 34:3  Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

Babylon is spiritual 'Esau', the rejected anointed of God with whom we are to have no agreement or alliances, and yet we are not to hate these our weaker brothers who are "yet carnal... babes in Christ" and are to us "the smell of death", just as we are to them:

2Co 2:14  And thanks is to God who always causes us to triumph in the Christ, and who makes manifest the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place, through us.
2Co 2:15  Because we are a fragrance of Christ to God, in those being saved and in those perishing:
2Co 2:16  to the one an odor of death for death, and to the other an aroma of life for life. And who is adequate for these things? (ACV)

A dead "old man... in this present evil age" is the making of a living "new man" who is convinced of God that he "can do all things through Christ... in this present evil age". A living "new man" acknowledges that he has Christ within him "in this present evil age [while yet] in [an] earthen vessel":

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching us [Greek: paideuo, chastening us] that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Greek: aion, age)

It is the death of our old man which is "an odor of death for death" being spoken of here in:

Isa 34:3  Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

When this dying of our old man begins to take place in our lives, every false doctrine in our heavens is also revealed, and our heavens begin to dissolve and roll together as a scroll:

Isa 34:4  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Let's look at how the holy spirit uses this verse about our "heavens" in the New Testament, and we will have a better understanding of the types and shadows of this verse of scripture:

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

The wording differs somewhat, but the subject is the same "indignation of the Lord upon all nations" (vs 2), called "the day of God" here in 2nd Peter 3:12.

The day of God, the day of His wrath and "the indignation of the Lord upon all nations" are one and all the judgment of the great whore, which must take place before anyone can enter into the temple of God in heaven:

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

But "the great day of His wrath", which is this same event against our Babylonian pride and rebellion, is first mentioned in Revelation 6:

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

This "great day of His wrath" here in Revelation 6 is the same as "the fierceness of His wrath" poured out on "great Babylon" in the seventh vial of Revelation 16:

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

Whatever else may be signified by Isaiah 34:4, one thing which is certain is that the dissolving and rolling together of the heavens and the falling of untimely figs all signify "the wrath of the Lamb... the great day of His wrath... great Babylon [being] give[n]... the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath".

All of this takes place within every man who is given to enter into the temple of God in heaven. In other words, "the great day of His wrath" is the beginning of our day of judgment in which we will "learn righteousness":

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.

Here is the New Testament fulfillment of this verse for you and for me, if indeed we are given to see and to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

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.

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation ["Much tribulation" - Act 14:22]: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

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.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
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.

This 34th chapter of Isaiah, along with all the rest of the "sum of [the Lord's] Words", demonstrates that the fire, brimstone, and the torments of that fire and brimstone, are common to "all men". Here again are the first two verses of this chapter:

Isa 34:1  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
Isa 34:2  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

This represents our own Babylonian, Esau, Idumea rebellious spirit which must be, and is being, destroyed by the seven plagues of the seven angels which fill up the wrath of God against rebellious 'Babylon' within each of us.

Isa 34:5  For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
Isa 34:6  The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
Isa 34:7  And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

As pointed out earlier, Esau is Edom or "Idumea". We will see clearly in our next study that Esau, Edom, and Idumea are all types of Babylon the great the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth. Babylon is "mystery" (secret) Babylon, representing all the religions of this world, which have all of mankind deceived and blinded to what is really written in the Word of God. All the religions of this world are in extreme opposition to the laws of God and are viscerally filled with hatred toward the doctrines of "our Lord and His Christ":

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
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.

Much of the "many waters" of Babylon profess to be Christians, and at the same time are "drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus". Scripturally speaking that 'blood' and those 'martyrs' need not be literal. All that is needed to become a spiritual murderer is to hate your brother:

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding [Greek: 'G3306, meno] in him.

Eternal life 'abides' in all in whom Christ's words 'abide' or "continue". In other words, eternal life abides in those who "do the things" [Christ] tells us to do:

Mat  7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Telling others we should "tremble at His words" while doing the exact opposite does not go over well with our heavenly Father. He literally hates hypocrisy.

Mar 7:6  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Here is one of the places where Isaiah points out our hypocrisy:

Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Isa 29:14  Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isa 29:15  Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

Eternal life does not abide in those who hide themselves from Him under the lies of Babylon.

The "waters...where the whore [sits] are":

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 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

These "peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, [and] kings of the earth" are the very same all-inclusive group against whom the first two verses of our study today are addressed:

Isa 34:1  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
Isa 34:2  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

This great harlot is not just Christianity or Judaism or Catholicism. This 'woman' "reigns over the kings of the [whole] earth". This great whore is all the religions of this world who will not submit to the laws and thoughts of Christ and His Father, and this chapter of Isaiah is telling us what will happen to us when we are living in rebellion against Him and His laws. God's wrath is poured out upon "all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Rom 1:18), and this is how His wrath is described in the scriptures:

Isa 34:8  For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Isa 34:9  And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

"The day of the Lord's vengeance" is poured out upon Idumea, upon Esau, and upon all the religions of this world "for the controversy of Zion", and next week, if the Lord wills, we will see that Babylon is judged prior to the first resurrection. That is true inwardly, and it will one day be true outwardly at the end of this age, and at the very beginning of the "thousand year reign" Christ and His Christ.

Next week we will see how the words from this 34th chapter concerning God's judgments upon Idumea are quoted in the book of Revelation in reference to Babylon and all of her fornications.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?:

Isa 34:10  It [the Lord's wrath] shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
Isa 34:11  But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
Isa 34:12  They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
Isa 34:13  And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.
Isa 34:14  The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
Isa 34:15  There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
Isa 34:16  Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
Isa 34:17  And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.

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