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Isa 63:1-6 – I Have Trodden the Winepress Alone

[Study Aired July 19, 2020]

Isa 63:1  Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Isa 63:2  Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Isa 63:4  For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
Isa 63:5  And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
Isa 63:6  And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

We have in this chapter a series of questions which the Lord Himself answers for us.

The Lord does this for our admonition and edification. It is the Lord Himself… “I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save” who answers His own questions, so we will not become confused about who is doing what to whom. These verses are referring to the day of [the Lord’s] vengeance (vs 4), and He wants us to know that this vengeance is coming from God Himself. Men are used of the Lord for both good and evil, but when the Lord does that, it is still Christ alone who has worked it, be it good or evil:

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now it was not [really] you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

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

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:

Later in this very same chapter of Isaiah we will read:

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.

With all these verses in mind consider the first question the Lord poses in this chapter:

Isa 63:1  Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

Bozrah is Esau, and Esau is the ‘Edom’ of this verse. As we will later see, Esau (Edom) throughout the Old Testament typifies the ‘Babylon’ of the New Testament, which ‘Babylon’ the Lord has predestined to be destroyed. It is Esau whom the Lord hated while he was yet in his mother’s womb having done neither good nor evil:

Rom 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Gen 25:30  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

Gen 36:8  Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save” is He who ‘comes from Edom’ and from Bozrah, the capital of Edom, with clothes dyed red in the blood of those whom He has judged and destroyed. The Lord wants us to know that the destruction of Babylon is a work He is personally overseeing and doing. To that end He poses the question:

Isa 63:2  Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?

This is what we read of in Revelation 14:

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
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.

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Look at what the Old Testament has to say about the ultimate fate of “Edom [who] is Esau”, who typifies “Babylon”:

Psa 137:7  Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
Psa 137:8  O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Psa 137:9  Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Here the holy spirit reveals Edom (Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, Israel) to be a type of Babylon the great, the mother of harlots! We are told, “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.”

The children of Babylon are the enemies of “the children of the kingdom” meaning the doctrines of Babylon are the enemies of the doctrines of Christ:

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy [the king of Babylon] came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Mat 13:36  Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

The previous parable of the sower in this same 13^th chapter established that the ‘seed’ sown by the ‘sower’ is “the word of the kingdom”:

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

It is not the Lord’s intention in this age to save the whole world. Instead it is His intention for Babylon to rule over the kings of this world and then through His elect, the ‘seven angels of Revelation 15, to pour out His wrath upon Edom, the type of Babylon:

Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

“Blood… even unto the horse bridle” (Rev 14:20) would indeed “stain all [ones] raiment”.

“Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones” (Psa 137:9) is speaking of each of us utterly destroying the doctrines of Babylon, the doctrines of Jacob’s twin brother, Esau… Edom… who, though he was the firstborn in the flesh, he was  the rejected firstborn of the flesh. “The little ones” of Babylon are actually ravening wolves in sheep’s clothing posing as angels of light while speaking as a dragon.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

We will “dash [her] little ones against the lively stones which we are, only after we are delivered from ravening wolves posing as angels of light:

Eze 22:27  Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
Eze 22:28  And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

The “untempered morter” of Babel is the false doctrines and lies, which are typified by “slime” which is used for mortar to hold together the inferior bricks which are used for stones in the foundation of and the establishing of Babel.

This is what we are told of the construction materials for the tower of Babel:

Gen 11:3  And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

Bricks burned thoroughly are still just as inferior to the Lord’s granite stones, as slime is inferior to mortar. Both typify just how inferior the lies and rebellions of Babel are to the Truths of the doctrines of Christ and obedience to those Truths.

Read again how the Lord contrasts the fruit of the lies and false doctrines of Edom… the fruit of Babylon, with the fruit of “Jerusalem above”:

Psa 137:7  Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
Psa 137:8  O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Psa 137:9  Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

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.

We must not tolerate any of the doctrines of Babylon. As we encounter them, we are to “destroy everything that breatheth” because those doctrines are just as determined to “rase” and destroy us, and they will “teach [us] to do after their abominations”:

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:
Deu 20:17  But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
Deu 20:18  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

In the same manner that the Lord speaks to us as if we could “work out our own salvation”, so here He speaks as if we choose of ourselves to refuse to help Him ‘tread out the grapes of Edom’.

Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

“Of the people there was none with me… their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments” demonstrates that the Lord is speaking of our carnal-minded old man and not of “the last Adam” who is in the process of becoming a “new man”, which “new man” is Christ Himself “and His Christ” who ‘treads the winepress alone’. Only Christ can be Christ, and all impostors and “false Christs” in this world can never fool the Lord who “Knows [His] sheep [and is] known of His:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Joh 10:14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Before we are given to discern the Lord’s voice, we will all “fall seven times… lose [our] first love” and let that woman Jezebel become our teacher. Because of our complete failure, the Lord will use that total failure as an occasion to pour out “the seven last plagues which fill up [His] wrath” upon the Babylonian, kingdom of Edom within us:

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
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.

“No man” means that even the flesh of Christ cannot inherit the spiritual kingdom of God and Christ had to endure His wrath for a little moment:

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Mar 15:34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

If we are granted by the Lord’s predestined mercy to be judged and to “fulfill… the seven plagues of the seven angels” in “this present time”, we will be judged in ‘this present time’ and will be given to rise up from the dead in “the resurrection to life” as opposed to “the resurrection to damnation (Greek: krisis, judgment) at the post-thousand year reign, great white throne judgment:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Joh 5:27  And [the Father] hath given him [Christ and His Christ (Rev 20:1-6)] authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [prior to the thousand year reign]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Greek: ‘krisis’ judgment… great white throne judgment (Rev 20:11)].

Peter tells us the same thing in these words:

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 4:17  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?

The trials by which the fiery words of God are designed to try us are common to all men of all time. What is not common to all men is ruling and reigning with Christ a thousand years prior to the “sorer punishment…” which shall come upon all who “obey not the gospel of God [in] this present time”:

Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of [the great white throne] judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

All men will endure the day of the Lord’s vengeance. We will all groan in pain and be tormented day and night in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb, but those who do so in “this present time” will be given a crown of life to rule with Christ in the resurrection to life, while all others will be ruled over, judged and eventually shown mercy by “the Lord and His Christ… the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”:

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire [“The lake of fire (which) is the second death], prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Nowhere in scripture are our “fiery trials [of] this present time” ever referred to as “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”, and no one in the first resurrection is ever referred to by the Lord as “Ye cursed”. It seems incredible that such a point must be made but there are so many Preterists who are teaching the false doctrine that, “Everything is within, and if you see anything ordinally then you can and you will miss the spiritual meaning.” That false doctrine is in direct contradiction to this ordinal statement which tells us the exact opposite is true:

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

If you have been led to believe that the natural is within and therefore “that which is natural is [not] first” but is simply within, then it is you who have missed the “spiritual” message of scripture which is:

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
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.

“The first man… the second man” are ordinal words. “As we have borne… we shall also bear”, are also ordinal terms. “As we have borne” is in the aorist tense, but “we shall also bear” is in the future tense, another ordinal statement. “We shall be changed” is also in the future tense. The words “when [and] then” are expressing the order in which the Lord is working all things.

“The consummation of the ages are come” upon us, but death is not yet destroyed prior to the thousand-year reign.

1Co 10:11 Now all this befalls them typically. Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of the eons have attained.

“He must reign till… The last enemy to be destroyed is death” are both ordinal statements which cannot be fulfilled as long as flesh and blood exist.

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.

“No more sea”, the ‘sea’ out of which the beast arises (Rev 13:1), means there will be no more flesh.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

The destruction of death requires that the source of death must first be destroyed, and that is exactly what we are told will take place when “fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours… the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.” “The four quarters of the earth” signifies the whole natural realm:

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Then what do we see in the very next verse. Is it not “a great white throne” where all the dead, all men who have ever lived and were not judged in this time, will be judged?

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the [first] earth and the [first] 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.

These verses are fulfilled only “when the thousand years are expired”. There can be no white throne judgment until after the thousand years “are expired”. All sermons to the contrary will not cause the Word of God to fail. Those cast into the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment “shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” [the eons of the eons] just like those who were judged in “this present time” and were raised up in “the resurrection to life” over a thousand years prior to “the resurrection to damnation” (Greek: ‘krisis’, judgment):

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [prior to the thousand year reign (Rev 20:1-6)]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Greek: ‘krisis’, judgment at the great white throne].

So the differences between those who are in “the first resurrection… the resurrection of life” and those who are in “the resurrection of judgment… when the thousand years are expired” is that those who are given to have part in “the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev 20:6). Additionally, they “which have the firstfruits of the spirit [and are the first to] read, hear, and keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book” will then be used by Christ to “judge angels” and become the conduit of the mercy to be extended to all men of all time:

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? [For a thousand years (Rev 20:6)] 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? [At the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death (Rev 20:14-15)] how much more things that pertain to this life?

“All things come alike to all men” (Ecc 9:2) simply means that all men of all time will be judged by the very same fiery words of God, including being ‘tormented with the fire and brimstone of the Words of God day and night for ever and ever in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.’

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
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.
Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Therefore, these words also apply to us:

Isa 63:4  For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

It is the seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God which, in this present time, are the Lord’s judgments upon the house of God. We are not of “the house of God” if that judgment does not “begin at 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?

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.

Therefore, if we are the temple of God (1Co 3:16), the time is come that judgment must begin at us, and the Lord Himself must be treading the grapes of His judgment in our lives, to the point that He identifies with us as being Himself… to the point of being able to say:

Isa 63:5  And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
Isa 63:6  And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

Here is what Jeremiah tells us the Lord does to us “with [His] own arm” when we “lose [our] first love”:

Jer 21:5  And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

Jer 21:6  And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

This revelation comes to us only through those who have repented of all the sins of the seven churches of Revelation 2-3. In other words, the words of Christ come to us only through His Christ, “he that overcomes”:

The church in Ephesus:

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Rev 2:6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

The church in Smyrna:

Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

The church in Pergamos:

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Rev 2:16  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The church in Thyatira:

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Rev 2:21  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Rev 2:24  But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Rev 2:25  But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

The church in Sardis:

Rev 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Rev 3:2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Rev 3:4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

The church in Philadelphia:

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Rev 3:10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
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.

The church in Laodicea:

Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

He that overcomes all these weaknesses and sins inwardly in “this present time” will be used of the Lord to rule the nations with a rod of iron 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.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

If we want to do something about the state of things in this obviously perverted and dying earth, then we must overcome the weaknesses and sins of the seven churches, and we will be used by the Lord in this manner:

Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob [the Lord’s elect] is not like them [those in Babylon]; for he [the Lord] is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod [of iron] of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
Jer 51:20  Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
Jer 51:21  And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
Jer 51:22  With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
Jer 51:23  I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
Jer 51:24  And I will render unto Babylon [Esau, Edom] and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.

Jer 51:29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
Jer 51:30  The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

Jer 51:35  The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
Jer 51:36  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
Jer 51:37  And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
Jer 51:38  They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
Jer 51:39  In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

Jer 51:46  And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

Jer 51:53  Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:54  A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

This is the fate of Babylon the great in the day of the Lord’s vengeance. Inwardly there is an order to the destruction of Babylon, and outwardly there is the same order… the natural destruction of Babylon for a thousand years must precede the spiritual destruction of Babylon in the lake of fire.

That is our study for today. Next week we will see that the Lord’s mercy always follows His wrath:

Isa 63:7  I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
Isa 63:8  For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
Isa 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Isa 63:10  But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Isa 63:11  Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
Isa 63:12  That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
Isa 63:13  That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
Isa 63:14  As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.