Download Study

Download Discussion

---

Isa 64:1-6 All Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags

[Study Aired August 16, 2020]

Isa 64:1  Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
Isa 64:2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
Isa 64:3  When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
Isa 64:4  For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
Isa 64:5  Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

“Oh that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might flow down at your presence” are the Old Testament way of saying “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” in the so-called Lord’s prayer.

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The Lord connects our mercy on others with “[His] kingdom, power and… glory”. Inwardly, it is the Lord’s “kingdom… power, and… glory” which will “rend our heavens” and will cause our “mountains [the “powers and principalities” within us] to flow down at His presence”. The flowing down of our mountains is in effect the destruction of the kingdom of the man of sin within us who is “consumed with the brightness of His coming.”

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Isaiah speaks for those who are comfortable in the devouring fire and the everlasting burnings:

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;

However, this is how we all first feel about that “devouring fire”:

Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

This is true even today. We just naturally much prefer Moses’ ‘voice’ to the ‘voice’ of the True Shepherd.

Being comfortable while dwelling in the everlasting burnings and the devouring flame is the product of having our heavens purified from all the defilements which fill the heavens of our father, the devil, also known as “the prince of the power of the air.”

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.  

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye [and I] walked according to the course [G165: aion, ‘age’] of this world [G5889: kosmos, “this present time” (Rom 8:18)], according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

The Old Testament tabernacle of Moses, and the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel, were “the patterns of the things in the heavens”. The tabernacle and the temple were made with men’s hands. They were mere patterns of the true. The true “heaven itself” is the hearts and minds of His people. The true heavens are within you and me if indeed the Lord dwells within us.

IF Christ does dwell within us, then He is there only because He has rent the heavens of “the prince of the power of the air” who is also known as “that old serpent called the devil and Satan” and is casting him out of our heavens (Rev 12:9). Christ dwells within us through His fiery words (Jer 5:14) and is “purifying [our] hearts [“the heavens” (Heb 9:23-24)] by faith”:

Isa 64:1  Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,

Here is this event as it is described as taking place within each of us in the New Testament:

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

“The tribes of the earth” are “the mountains”, all our false doctrines, which “flow down” at the presence of the Lord.

Isaiah continues his description of what it is like when Christ comes to us both inwardly and outwardly:

Isa 64:2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence.

Keep in mind that these words are intricately connected to Isaiah petitioning the Lord to “rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might flow together at Thy presence”. Now let’s see what “the waters [which are] caused… to boil” represent in this verse.

The word ‘waters’, like every word of scripture, has both a negative and a positive meaning. The positive meaning is the Word of God as in these verses:

Joh 4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Joh 4:15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Isaiah is beseeching the Lord to “cause the waters to boil… and cause the mountains to flow down”. Such a request is incorporating the negative application of the word ‘water’:

Exo 7:19  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

Psa 18:16  He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

Psa 69:14  Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Psa 144:7  Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;

Here are a couple of verses which contrast the positive waters with the negative waters:

Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
Isa 8:7  Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

“The waters of… Assyria” are also called ‘the rivers of Babylon’:

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

These are the waters upon which the great whore of Revelation sits:

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:

The scriptures interpret the meaning of these ‘waters’ for us:

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.

These are the waters which will be caused to ‘boil’ “when the melting fire burns… to make known [the Lord’s] name to [His] adversaries [causing] the nations to tremble at [His] presence” within us and in time without.

What is this ‘melting… burning… fire’? I think we all know:

Deu 33:2  And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

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.

Isa 64:2  As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!

This darkened world does not understand any of these “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, so it is inevitable that anything the Lord does will overtake both the world within us and the outward world as a thief in the night:

Isa 64:3  When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.

“Terrible things which we looked not for” overtook the whole world in the days of Noah, and in every generation since Noah. The destructions of both Sodom and Babylon are a couple of such examples of very sudden unexpected destruction by the Lord upon His enemies when they least expected it.

“Terrible things which we looked not for” is also how Christ came to each of us. He began destroying our old man when we least expected it. Isaiah has already revealed to us that we are all first blinded by the Lord Himself from seeing and understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

“Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears.” In other words, the Lord did not intend for us to see, or hear, or be converted until His preordained time. It is this sixth chapter of Isaiah from which Christ was quoting when answering His disciples’ question about His method of teaching the multitudes in parables:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? [“Great multitudes” verse 2]
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

That is the default spiritual position of every human, and while the gospel has come to all men, few are chosen by the Lord and dragged to come out of that spiritual stupor and darkness.

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

This statement… “Many are called, but few are chosen” appears only in these two above verses. In the first appearance in Matthew 20 “Many are called, but few are chosen” follows the parable of the workers in the vineyard, with the workers who are hired last at the 11^th hour being paid first. In Matthew 22 the phrase “Many are called but few are chosen” follows the parable of the king who made a marriage dinner for His Son. Those who were the last to be invited were the only ones to attend the marriage supper.

In both cases the last called are equated with the “few chosen”, and the first called are equated with the many who are not chosen to have a part in the Lord’s wedding supper.

This “wedding… dinner” in Matthew 22:3-4 is the same “marriage of the Lamb” and the same “marriage supper of the Lamb” of:

Rev 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

John, who typifies all who are given to be at “the marriage supper of the Lamb”, was so grateful to the angel who showed Him “all these things” (Rev 22:8) that He wanted to worship the angel instead of the bridegroom.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

While “the redemption of the purchased possession” is yet future, the purchase itself is not future.

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought [aorist tense] with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1Co 7:23  Ye are bought [aorist tense] with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

The down payment of that redemption is a present and continuing reality within the kingdom of God, which is within each of us (Luk 17:20-21). It is Christ who made, and through us is still making, that down payment, and we are already His:

Eph 1:12  That we should be [G5750, present tense] to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest [down payment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession [“The marriage supper of the Lamb… the first resurrection”], unto the praise of his glory.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we [G5748, present tense] the sons of God [in “the earnest of our inheritance”], and it doth not yet appear what we shall be [at “the redemption of the purchased possession”]: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

When we read “we shall see Him as He is” what we are being told is that “the eyes of our understanding [are] being enlightened that [we] may know what is the hope of His calling [us], and what [is] the riches of the glory of His inheritance [which is] in [us].

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

As “the eyes of our understanding [are] being enlightened… to see Him… we are changed into [His] image from glory to glory… day by day” as we continue in Him to “see Him as He is”:

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit [Word, Joh 6:63] of the Lord.

“The eyes of our understanding being enlightened” is what is meant by “We shall see Him as He is’ because we are who He is (Mat 25:40-45 and Act 22:8), and yes, “See[ing] Him as He is” includes having “the eyes of our understanding enlightened to… [know] what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who [really do] believe [all of this is true], according to the working of His mighty power”.

It is all “according to the working of His mighty power”. It doesn’t depend upon us for anything. It is all “the working of His mighty power… work[ing] all things together for good [within and without us] after the counsel of His own will”, and not after our will.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called [to be the firstborn among many brothers], them he also justified: and whom he justified, them healso glorified.

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Our Maker and Creator wants us to know that He is at this very moment “working all things after the counsel of His own will… for [our] good”, and that we should not be anxious or worried about what He is doing, because He is working it all together to our glory.

Mat 6:34  Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (ASV)

Let’s simply believe what we are told in our next verse:

Isa 64:4  For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

From Adam to Isaiah “men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen… what you have prepared for [those] who wait for [You]”. Daniel was plainly told the same thing when he was informed that this knowledge was sealed up and was not for him to understand:

Dan 12:1  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

If we could only determine what is “the time of the end” then we should be capable of determining when “Your people shall be delivered… and knowledge shall be increased”. Well, we are blessed to be informed of when the ends of the ages began arriving and when knowledge began to be increased. The spirit searches the deep things of God (1Co 2:10), and this is what the scriptures teach concerning when the ends of the ages began:

1Co 10:11  And all these things as types did happen to those persons, and they were written for our admonition, to whom the end of the ages did come,

There it is in plain English and plain Greek. The ends of the ages have come upon us from the time Christ came to make known to us His Father and Himself! This is a particularly good example of “knowledge shall be increased”:

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Notice the exact opposite tenor of how the spirit related to Daniel in the Old Testament, as opposed to how Christ relates Himself and His Father to us under His New Covenant which he has made with us:

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

“This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” is about as far from Daniel 12:4 as is possible:

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

This 24^th chapter of Matthew is nothing less than a condensed version of the much greater “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1), and the book of Revelation begins and ends with the same tenor concerning the urgency of our times as Christ expressed in Matthew 24.

This how the revelation of Jesus Christ opens:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

This is also how the revelation of Jesus Christ closes:

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

“Shut up the words, and seal the book…” is the exact opposite of “seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book”. “Seal [it] up… even to the time of the end” is the exact opposite of “the time is at hand… this generation shall not pass till all these things shall be fulfilled.”

Now let’s go back to 1 Corinthians 2 and read the very next verse where we left off Paul quoting where Isaiah tells us that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard” the things the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. While that is where most all ministers stop reading, you and I will go on to read the very next verse:

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

This is not the place to demonstrate just how much “knowledge has been increased”, but this is the place to point out that even Daniel informed us that:

Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

This 4^th verse of Isaiah 64 is quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

This verse is always quoted at funerals in the churches of Babylon. But not one minister in 1,000 goes on to read the very next verse which I will quote together with verse 9:

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

What a revolutionary statement!!! So exactly what does God have prepared for those that love Him, and how has He revealed it to us by His spirit? Here is the answer to that question:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The Lord has revealed the things He has prepared for us by His Words, but as both Christ, in Matthew 13, and the apostle Paul, earlier in this same second chapter of 1 Corinthians reveals, “It is not given to [the multitudes] to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, or as the apostle Paul put it:

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The Lord Himself blinded the eyes of them that believed not or “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (Mat 13:10-15 quoted above, and Eze 14:9).

Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Therefore when we read:

Isa 64:5  Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.

It is very instructive to notice that the English word “continuance” in this verse is translated from the Hebrew word, ‘olam’ which is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word aion, meaning ‘properly an age’. So, what we are being told is that the Lord meets with pleasure those who “rejoice [in] and work righteousness” but His wrath abides on those who remain in the sins of this ‘olam’, this age.

Here is a little better version of what this verse is saying:

Isa 64:5  You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? (ESV)

“…A long time’ is definitely a better translation of the Hebrew word ‘olam’ than is the word ‘continuance’. Nevertheless, it still does not get the point across that there is an evil age in which we must all live out our part:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. [For “the aion of this kosmos,  this world, “the day of evil”]

Paul tells us the same thing, and the King James once again hides from us the fact that the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word ‘olam’, which is the Greek word ‘aion’, is involved:

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course [G165: aion, ‘age’] of this world [G5889: kosmos, this evil world], according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

We can rest assured that the sum of the Lord’s words informs us that whether we continue in “the aion of this kosmos” (the age of this world  or we “rejoice in righteousness and remember [the Lord] in [His] ways” it was all predestined and is being worked out by the Lord “after the counsel of His own will” and not ours:

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure [Job 23:13-14] which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

God’s elect are “predestinated” to be His elect, but no such person assumes himself to have arrived at the first resurrection. Anyone who is predestinated to be in the first resurrection will have this mindset concerning how we think of our predestination:

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

The man “whom He will harden [is] that prophet… [whom] the Lord [has] deceived” (Eze 14:9). Therefore, our salvation is all His work, as He so clearly tells us:

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

What this all means is that as Job eventually came to see:

Isa 64:6  But we are all [of ourselves] as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

After being reproved of the Lord for “all [of his] righteousnesses”, this is how Job said the same thing:

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Nevertheless, our iniquities and our filthy rags cannot separate us from the love of our Lord and our Father. If He really is our Father in “this present time”, then, as Job tells us, “He performs the thing that is appointed for me”.

Our next study will reaffirm the Lord’s love for His children who He has “predestinated” to be His children in “this present time” (Eph 1:11) and:

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.

The whole creation is waiting for our manifestation on the stage of this world.

Here are our verses for our next study which, Lord willing, will finish this 64^th chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 64:7  And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Isa 64:9  Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
Isa 64:10  Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Isa 64:11  Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
Isa 64:12  Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?