Ezekiel 16:43-64  The Lord’s Useless and Faithless Bride, Part 3

[Study Aired May 13, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study continues with the Lord showing us our abominations. It focuses on how our sins as the Lord’s elect far outweigh that of our sisters Sodom and Samaria. Before we can go further, we need to understand what Sodom and Samaria represent. Spiritually, Sodom represents Jerusalem which is and is in bondage with her children. Therefore, Sodom is another name for Babylon or the physical churches of this world in which we spent the days of our youth. 

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city (Jerusalem), which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.  

Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 

Samaritans were the Lord’s people (the ten tribes of Israel with the exception of Judah and Benjamin) who rejected the rulership of Rehoboam, the son of king Solomon. Spiritually therefore, we can say that Samaria represents the Lord’s people who have rebelled against Him. Samaria is therefore another term for Babylon. 

1Ki 12:16  So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 
1Ki 12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
1Ki 12:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 
1Ki 12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 

In another perspective, we can also say that Sodom represents the people of the world who have no portion in the Lord, in the sense that they worship themselves as idols. Samaria, on the other hand, signifies other religions apart from Christianity.  

The study ends with the assurance from the Lord that He will remember the promise He made during our days of youth (our lives in Babylon) and will make it a promise which will last forever.

As is the Mother, so is her Daughter

Eze 16:43  Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations. 

As we indicated in the previous study, the days of our youth refer to our time in Babylon when we were naked and polluted by our own blood. Being naked means we were sinful. Being polluted in our own blood means our lives are dominated by our flesh.

Lev 17:11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Eze 16:22  And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. 

Here in verse 43, we are told that we shall surely be judged by the Lord as long as we continue to wallow in sin. It is important to note that the judgment of the Lord is the prerogative of His elect in this age. We are the meek that the Lord is guiding to walk in His ways through His judgment.

Psa 25:9  The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 

Eze 16:44  Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. 
Eze 16:45  Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
Eze 16:46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

We were just like our mother, the harlot, before the Lord came to us with the Spirit of His mouth and His brightness. Our mother here is Babylon or the physical churches of this world. In these verses, we are given to know some of the characteristics of our mother, the harlot. Our mother being a Hittite means that she is just like people of the world who are not given to know Christ.  This implies that we were just like people of the world during our stay in Babylon, a strange land where we are carried away captives by the evil one. Our father being an Amorite signifies the devil being our father. This is because Amorite comes from an unused name which means prominence. In this case, it is the devil who is prominent in a negative way. 

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

In verse 45, we are told that our mother loathed her husband. What is being implied here is that Babylon hates her husband Christ. No wonder she plays the harlot with another Jesus. In our time in Babylon, we thought we loved the Lord, but we were not prepared to obey Him. Obedience to the Lord is a sign that we love Him. 

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 

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.

We are also told that our mother not only loathed her husband but also her children. This means that Babylon is not a typical mother who loves her children. In her case, she hates her children. No wonder the food we receive from our mother in Babylon poisons us to become spiritual dead. That is why she is drunk with the blood of the saints. 

Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

As indicated in verse 45, our sisters also loathe their husband and children. In other words, they hate both their husband, Christ, and His children. Externally, our sisters refer to all kinds of religion, including Christianity, which hate our Lord Jesus Christ and kill their children as they become worse off, that is, spiritually dead. In verse 46, Samaria and Sodom are mentioned as examples of our sisters who loathed their husband and children. 

Jer 23:13  Say this about the prophets of Samaria: I saw something disgusting. The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. 
Jer 23:14  Say this about the prophets of Jerusalem: I see something horrible. The prophets of Jerusalem commit adultery and live a lie. They support those who do evil so that no one turns back from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me, and those who live in Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.
Jer 23:15  This is what the LORD of Armies says about the prophets: I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness throughout the land. 
Jer 23:16  This is what the LORD of Armies says: Don’t listen to what the prophets are saying to you. They fill you with false hope. They speak about visions that they dreamed up. These visions are not from the LORD. 
Jer 23:17  They keep saying to those who despise me, “The LORD says, ‘Everything will go well for you.'” They tell all who live by their own stubborn ways, “Nothing bad will happen to you.”
Jer 23:18  Who is in the LORD’S inner circle and sees and hears his word? Who pays attention and listens to his word? (GW)

The Sins of Sodom and Samaria

Eze 16:47  Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. 
Eze 16:48  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 
Eze 16:49  Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Eze 16:50  And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. 

The Lord is showing us in these verses that we have committed more grievous offenses against the Lord than our sister Sodom as He went ahead to narrate the offenses of Sodom. In other words, the Lord is showing to us, His elect, that we have committed more grievous sins than our brothers and sisters in Babylon. However, the Lord showed us His mercy.  The iniquity of our sister Sodom are pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness and their negligence to strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. Our pride is the result of our false doctrine of man having his own will to make his own decisions. We put ourselves in the status of the Lord when we think we make our own decisions.

Psa 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Psa 59:12  For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.

Oba 1:3  The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

The fullness of bread means that Babylon has all the resources needed, but we use these resources to gain treasures here on earth where thieves break through and steal. In other words, instead of using the resources the Lord has given us to know Him more, we become like the rich fool who filled his barn and told himself that it is time to enjoy!! In other words, we focus on what we can gain here on earth.

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luk 12:16  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
Luk 12:17  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
Luk 12:18  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 
Luk 12:19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 
Luk 12:20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 
Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Abundance of idleness means we do not work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We have this mantra that whatever will be will be!!

Ecc 10:18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

As the Lord’s elect, we are admonished not to eat the bread of idleness. 

Pro 31:27  She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Not strengthening the hand of the poor and the needy means that Babylon is not a place that seeks the spiritual development of the Lord’s elect, signified by the poor and needy.

In verse 50, the Lord taking away Sodom is to warn us of the consequences of our actions if we continue to rebel against the Lord. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Eze 16:51  Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. 
Eze 16:52  Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 

As we indicated, Samaria is also a type of the people of God who have rejected their king who is Christ our Lord and therefore Samaria is Babylon. Again, the Lord is telling us that our sins far outweighed that of Samaria. As Paul said, we are indeed the worst sinners that the Lord is saving us by His grace. 

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 
1Ti 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 
Eze 16:54  That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 
Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 

These verses show us when our brothers and sisters in Babylon shall be saved. Although both Sodom and Samaria represent Babylon, Sodom and her daughters can specifically signify the people of the world who do not know the Lord. Samaria, on the other hand, represents other religions apart from Christianity who are trying to seek God through other means. What these verses under discussion mean is that the last on the line to be saved is our brothers and sisters in Babylon since they knew the Lord but did not worship Him as Lord but became futile in their thinking and committed more sins than even Sodom and Samaria.

Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

In verse 54, we are told that we shall suffer disgrace, that is, we shall be judged by the Lord as we remember the terrible things we have done during our time in Babylon.  In all of this, the Lord assures us that He will comfort us. The Lord’s comfort here means making a way in us for the glory of the Lord to be revealed through His judgment. 

Isa 40:1  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 
Isa 40:2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. 
Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

Eze 16:56  For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, 
Eze 16:57  Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. 
Eze 16:58  Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. 

In verse 56, we are told that we did not mention our sister Sodom during our time in Babylon which was the day of our pride. The false doctrine of the Lord burning all those who do not submit to Him in this life forever makes it impossible for us to acknowledge that the people of the world, signified here by Sodom, are also children of the Lord and that He has a plan for them. As a result, the physical churches of this world or Babylon are hated or despised by people of the world, represented in verse 57 as daughters of Syria and Philistines. This hatred is the fuel that will result in the destruction of Babylon in the fullness of time as shown by the Lord in the Book of Revelation.

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.

As stated in the beginning of chapter 16 of Ezekiel, the Lord’s intent is to show us our abominations. Thus, throughout this chapter, the Lord has painstakingly shown to us our lewdness and abominations.

Eze 16:1  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

In verse 58, the Lord is saying that we must bear our lewdness which refers to our wicked devices and abominations which has to do with something disgusting morally; especially idolatry or having an idol. 

Deu 29:17  And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

Deu 32:16  They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

The Lord is showing us our lewdness and abominations to serve as the occasion He is seeking to judge us. 

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 

Just as the Lord was seeking an occasion against the Philistines, because they had dominion over Israel, the Lord is seeking an occasion to come and judge our flesh or the old man (Philistines) who has dominated us during our sojourn in Babylon. 

The Lord’s Everlasting Covenant

Eze 16:59  For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
Eze 16:60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

In verse 59, the Lord is showing us that because of our lewdness and abominations, we have despised His oath by breaking the covenant. As a result, we shall surely face His judgment. 

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. 

Through the Lord’s judgment, we learn righteousness and become obedient children of the Lord.  This judgment, therefore, is not to destroy us. It is the Lord’s merciful act to restore His everlasting covenant with us, His elect.

Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 
Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 
Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 
Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

Eze 16:61  Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 
Eze 16:62  And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: 
Eze 16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth anymore because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD. 

As indicated, it is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man that we learn righteousness. Verse 61 is showing us the benefits of the Lord’s judgment. We shall be ashamed of what we have done against the Lord, and we shall learn to be merciful to our sisters, elders and the younger ones in the fullness of time during their judgment in the lake of fire.

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.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

Through the judgment of the Lord, we shall come to know Him as the Lord of everything. In verse 63, the Lord showing us our abominations and lewdness is also to humble us so that we become recipients of His grace. 

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 
Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 
Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 

May the Lord continue to show us our sins and help us to overcome as we see the day approaching. Amen!!

Jer 26:13-24  Of a Truth the LORD Hath Sent Me Unto You to Speak all These Words

[Study Aired December 26, 2021]

Jer 26:13  Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
Jer 26:14  As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.
Jer 26:15  But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
Jer 26:16  Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.
Jer 26:17  Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
Jer 26:18  Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
Jer 26:19  Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
Jer 26:20  And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:
Jer 26:21  And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;
Jer 26:22  And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.
Jer 26:23  And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
Jer 26:24  Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

In our last study the Lord sent Jeremiah to stand in the court of the Lord’s house and tell Jerusalem, and all the cities of Judah, that God was about to make His own house “as Shiloh”. We saw that the significance of being made like Shiloh was to have the glory of the Lord removed from the midst of His own people because of their self-righteous rebellions against His commandments. The response from the Lord’s people being informed of the fact that He would not tolerate their self-righteous rebellion is the same in all of us:

Jer 26:8  Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
Jer 26:9  Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Jer 26:10  When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house.
Jer 26:11  Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

“All the people” includes you and me. We all just naturally rebel against the Lord’s judgments and demand to know: “Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant?”

We see ourselves in an entirely different light. We see ourselves as very righteous and giving and caring people, and indeed that may be the case. However, when we see those good works as coming from ourselves, it is at that very point those very “good works” become sinful works of rebellion against the Lord and His Truth, which is:

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.

Eze 33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

“If he trust in his own righteousness, and commit iniquity” tells us that self-righteousness is ‘iniquity’, and nothing is more repugnant to the Lord. Yet that is the very message of the parable about the Pharisee and the publican going up to the temple:

Luk 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The Lord will have us to know that He is our righteousness. Jeremiah makes this statement three times:

Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jer 33:16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

Jer 51:10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

We must indeed live righteously because grace works only “through righteousness”:

Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching [G3811: ‘paideuo’, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; [G165: ‘aion’ age]

It is true that we “know a tree by its fruit”, nevertheless we must acknowledge that “the Lord hath brought forth our righteousness”. If we think we have anything to do with making ourselves righteous or producing good fruit, then we are full of iniquity and judgment awaits us.

Jer 26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

The Lord works our righteousness, including our repentance, which He brings to us only through fiery trials of His grace such as Jeremiah is about to experience:

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

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.

This world esteems us to be “the savor of death”:

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2Co 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
2Co 2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

As a type of who we are, Jeremiah was “the savor of death” to the religious leaders and the people of God in his day:

Jer 26:14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.
Jer 26:15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

This is just as it happened to Christ. It was the very “Jews which believed on Him” who shouted for His crucifixion:

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father [“the devil” – vs 44].

Jeremiah’s situation is an Old Testament type of what Christ endured. It was Jeremiah’s own nation who was calling for his death. Nevertheless, as the Lord used Pharaoh’s own baker to help Joseph (Gen 41:9), as He used Saul’s own son, Jonathan, to help David (1Sa 20:9), the Lord here uses the king’s own sons and his own scribe, Ahikam, to rescue Jeremiah from “the priests and the prophets and all the people”:

Jer 26:16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.
Jer 26:17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
Jer 26:18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

Notice how fickle “all the people” are. When “the priests and the prophets” tell them Jeremiah is worthy of death, that is what they call for:

Jer 26:8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

Let’s compare this verse 8 from last week’s study to verse 16 of today’s study:

Jer 26:16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.

It was “the Jews which believed on [Christ] who also “want[ed] to kill [Him]”:

Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

You and I are “all the people” while we abide in the churches of Babylon, and our old man will always be working to retain his kingdom within each of us. Knowing this tendency of our flesh is why the holy spirit prompted Peter to tell us all:

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

“The whole world… [our] brethren that are in the world [are] groaning and travailing together in pain until now” even though they are not being judged in “this present time”:

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are [Greek: present tense] the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
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 [“your brethren that are in the world” (1Pe 1:9)], 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.

This ‘Micah the Morasthite’ of verse 18 is the author of the book of Micah. His prophecy was many years earlier, and it was addressed to both Jerusalem, the capital of the southern nation of Judah, and to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel:

Mic 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

By the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, the northern kingdom of Israel had already been carried out of Israel into the cities of the Assyrians. Those cities included the city of Babylon, whose king would in time take over the hegemony of the Assyrian empire, and it would come to be called the Babylonian empire. The Assyrians and the Babylonians are both Chaldeans. Nebuchadnezzar, also known as Nebuchadrezzar, was the king whom the Lord chose to begin the later judgment of His people by having them spend seventy years in subjection to that pagan kingdom. Micah prophesied while the Chaldeans were still under the hegemony of Nineveh and the kings of Assyria. His prophecy came to both Israel and Judah in the days of King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah listened to the words of Micah and repented, and the Lord spared Judah at that time:

Mic 1:2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
Mic 1:3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
Mic 1:4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
Mic 1:5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?

The princes, the king’s own sons, remind the people of that bit of their history and convince them to spare Jeremiah’s life:

Jer 26:19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus [if we kill Jeremiah] might we procure great evil against our souls.
Jer 26:20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:
Jer 26:21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;
Jer 26:22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.
Jer 26:23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

Urijah “fled… into Egypt”, and as always when we flee into Egypt for security, we lose our security. It is this very King Jehoiakim, who slew the prophet Urijah, with whom Jeremiah is contending. These ‘princes’ who are defending Jeremiah are the sons of King Jehoiakim.

Ahikam was just as respected in Jehoiakim’s court as he was in the court of Josiah, Jehoiakim’s father. So, Jeremiah has some powerful allies in the king’s court even as he is sent to prophesy against the kingdom of a king who has already slain one of the Lord’s prophets, and Jeremiah knows that his life is indeed in imminent danger.

Jer 26:24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Ahikam is one of the men sent by King Josiah, Jehoiakim’s father, to Hulldah the prophetess to know what would come of Judah for being found so far away from the words of the book of the law which Hilkiah the high priest had discovered in the temple while it was being restored.

2Ki 22:12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest [“the high priest” (vs 4)], and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying,
2Ki 22:13 Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.
2Ki 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.

Ahikam was placed in Josiah’s court and made to partake in many celebrated events just for the purpose of giving him standing with the king and with the people so he could be used by the Lord to intervene on Jeremiah’s behalf.

The Lord’s eyes are upon His elect in the same way:

Pro 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Zec 2:7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
Zec 2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
Zec 2:9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.

That is our study for today. Here are the verses for our next study:

Jer 27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 27:2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,
Jer 27:3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
Jer 27:4 And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
Jer 27:5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
Jer 27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
Jer 27:7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
Jer 27:8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
Jer 27:9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
Jer 27:10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
Jer 27:11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
Jer 27:12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
Jer 27:13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
Jer 27:14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
Jer 27:15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
Jer 27:16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD’S house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
Jer 27:17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
Jer 27:18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.
Jer 27:19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,
Jer 27:20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
Jer 27:21 Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;
Jer 27:22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 38 Discussion

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Isa 8:5-10  The King ​o​f Assyia... Shall Pass Through Judah

Isa 8:5  The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
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:
Isa 8:8  And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
Isa 8:9  Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

To understand the Lord's message to His creatures we must first understand the meaning of these words:

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

There is simply no way Ahaz, a type of us, can see an invisible God as more powerful than the threatening king of Assyria.

A good example of how our flesh cannot accept God's promises to protect us is this statement:

Job 12:22  He [the Lord] discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

Christ discovers the deep things, out of darkness, and "He brings out to light the shadow of death" because He is doing just that at this time only for His elect:

Isa 45:2  I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Isa 45:3  And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Isa 45:4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: [Eph 2:2-5]
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Which means:

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Christ's 'name' and His 'face' are His doctrines and His Words.

I am well aware that Isaiah 45:1-7 is addressed to Cyrus, the king of Persia. But that is just the outward, the letter, the earthly application of those words which actually speak to you and to me concerning what the Lord has in store for those who believe His Words in this age. He is 'going before us' to accomplish the very same things, only this time it is being done in a permanent and spiritual sense:

Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

The point is that it is Christ's own words by which He "...created the darkness, [and by which He] commands the light to shine out of darkness". But because our natural thoughts are not His thoughts, our "light [is] darkness [and] how great is that darkness"!

Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

That darkness is so great that we believe "the first man Adam", the deceived, rebellious, epitome of spiritual darkness, was in reality created in physical and spiritual perfection. We do not know that it was God's own hand which created Adam in that darkened state. It is in that darkened state, which we consider to be light, that the Word of God itself is twisted to maintain our false doctrine of a man who was created in physical and spiritual perfection because we are told:

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

And, after all, are we not also told:

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Yes, "the first man Adam is "the... very good... son of God" but that does not make him a physically and spiritually perfected Son of God. Satan himself is a son of God inasmuch as God is called "the father of spirits":

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

It is because of the false doctrine of the fall of man, which is considered to be 'the light' and the truth of scripture, that our so called 'light' has blinded our eyes so that we cannot see these clear statements of the Word of God:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked ["first man Adam"] for the day of evil.

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

Joh 12:40  He [God Himself] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious ["very good"] had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

We cannot see that Pharaoh's hard heart is also a type of our own hardened heart which has been hardened and blinded by the words of Christ Himself:

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.
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.

Isaiah makes it clear that Pharaoh's hardened heart is just a type of what the Lord is doing in all of His people:

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.

But all these truths are considered by the natural man to be lies and falsehoods, because at first our light is actually darkness, and we simply cannot see or understand how a just and loving God could possibly create evil or make wicked men for the day of evil. We simply cannot, as immature Christians, accept the Biblical doctrine which tells us:

Joh 12:40  He [God Himself] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

We simply cannot see or understand how "Adam, the son of God" could possibly have had a relationship with His Father and at the same time be in total spiritual darkness. Neither can our immature "carnal... babes in Christ" minds understand that the ancient nation of Israel also had a relationship with God while being in total spiritual darkness.

Yet that is exactly what we have been shown in our studies in Isaiah. Chapter one sets the tone for this entire prophecy:

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

But wasn't Isaiah sent to Ahaz with comforting words concerning the destruction of the two kings who were seeking to destroy the house of Ahaz the son of David and the kingdom of Judah? The answer is, yes, he was, but God's physical blessings are used throughout scripture to blind us from seeing our impending judgment. It is Christ Himself who tells us:

Ecc 8:11  Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

That verse describes how we have all dealt with sin in our own lives in the past, and it also describes how King Ahaz reacted to God's blessing of mercy upon him and his rebellious kingdom. It tells us how we react to God's patience and His mercies upon us while we are in our sins. We tell a lie, and nothing happens. We steal something, and it seems we got by with it. We hate our brother, which makes us a murderer, and we seem to get along just fine (1Jo 3:15). "The waters of Shiloah... go softly..." and we rejoice when we see others who are 'reaping what they have sown'.

Isa 8:5  The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

What Ahaz and Judah rejoiced in concerning Rezin and Remaliah's son was that they had fallen prey to the king of Assyria. Ahaz certainly was not rejoicing in what Rezin and Remaliah's son Pekah were attempting to do to him and to Judah. Isaiah 7 and the first four verses of Isaiah 8 are all concerned with how the Lord was about to judge the northern kingdom of Israel, also called 'Ephraim' after Israel's most populous tribe. Israel, which was also called Ephraim, is symbolized by "Pekah the son of Remaliah", its king, and Samaria as its capital. Pekah was allied with Rezin, the king of Syria, against Judah and Judah's king, Ahaz.

Isa 7:1  And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
Isa 7:2  And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his [Pekah's] heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

"His heart was moved... as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind" means Ahaz and his people were 'shaking in their boots', to use a modern English idiom. But the Lord delivered Ahaz, and instead of repenting of his own apostasy and sins, he and his people gloated over the fall of Samaria to the extent that Ahaz went to Samaria to meet the Assyrian king who had destroyed his fellow Israelites.

Ahaz and we are commanded never to rejoice when the Lord chastens our enemies. These words had been scripture for many years before Ahaz came along:

Pro 24:17  Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Pro 24:18  Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Isaiah's admonition to Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah was not to rejoice in the fall of Samaria and Damascus, rather his admonition to Judah is to repent of their own sins and to obey God and place their trust in His gentle waters. But Ahaz, as a type of us, much preferred to put his trust in the rushing mighty waters of the kingdom of the Eurphrates, the king of Assyria, and he refused to trust in the invisible God of His Fathers.

Here is the story of Ahaz. Here is the story of your flesh and my flesh:

2Ch 28:1  Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:
2Ch 28:2  For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
2Ch 28:3  Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
2Ch 28:4 He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
2Ch 28:5  Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.
2Ch 28:6  For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
2Ch 28:7  And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king.
2Ch 28:8  And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Notice now the mercy and patience the Lord shows toward Ahaz and Judah:

2Ch 28:9  But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.
2Ch 28:10  And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God?
2Ch 28:11  Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.
2Ch 28:12  Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,
2Ch 28:13  And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.
2Ch 28:14  So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.
2Ch 28:15  And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.

This now is how Ahaz responds to this act of God's mercy toward him and his nation. This is how our flesh first responds to the mercy we are shown at this time in our "one event" (Ecc 9:2):

2Ch 28:16  At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.
2Ch 28:17  For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.
2Ch 28:18  The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.
2Ch 28:19  For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD.
2Ch 28:20  And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.
2Ch 28:21  For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not.

"He made Judah naked" means that Ahaz removed all restraints in Judah, and set an example of lascivious living for the whole nation. All of God's patience and mercy is despised and taken for granted as weakness on the Lord's part. Our returning to our own vomit is the fruit of the false doctrine of substitutionary atonement. We accept His mercy as the healing of a very deadly wound, and we actually feel confirmed to continue serving the beast with whom we are convinced we cannot do battle and expect to win.

2Ch 28:22  And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. [This is our own flesh]
2Ch 28:23  For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. [The whole world seems to be doing well, so I will just throw my lot in with the world, and avoid the shame of bearing the cross of Christ]
2Ch 28:24  And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
2Ch 28:25  And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers.
2Ch 28:26  Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
2Ch 28:27  And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

Ahaz, a type of you and me, was convinced that he could not withstand the power of the king of Assyia:

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? [Who can make war with the kings of Assyria and Babylon?]

In time Judah's king was carried away by the Assyrians into Babylon, just as the Lord had earlier done to Israel:

2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

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:

Under King Ahaz Judah is not yet being judged as severely as Samaria and Ephraim. Nevertheless, Christ is speaking to both Israel and Judah as we read in this same chapter:

Isa 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Isa 8:14  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

The Lord still sees Jerusalem as the capital of both nations, and He is intent upon judging both. In the sense that Judah is also rejecting Christ and His laws and His protection, she is also rejoicing in Rezin and in Remaliah's son. Both Israel and Judah "refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly", preferring instead the waters of the mighty Euphrates, preferring the doctrines and the protection of the king of Assyria over the protection of an invisible God who insists that Israel separate herself from all other nations by being obedient to Him and to His laws.

Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

Since "both the houses of Israel... refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly... therefore...  the Lord brings upon [both of the houses of Israel] the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria," who will take them completely out of the land and place them in the cities of the Chaldeans, and the Babylonians.

Isa 8:8  And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

"O Immanuel" lets us know these words are for us. All of this has already been written in Ahaz's and Judah's books (Psa 139:16). Nevertheless, the Lord always uses our sins for the occasion He is seeking to destroy the kingdom of our old man and to humble and, through that humiliating destruction, bring forth a new man who is conformed to the image of Christ.

But before the total annihilation of our old man we will conspire against our very Creator in an effort to maintain our own will and to retain the kingdom of the beast within our hearts and minds. The wild beast, which we are by nature, is loathe to relinquish the throne he has held for so long. Nevertheless, fortunately for us, it will all be in vain, and all of our attempts to retain the ability for us to continue to satisfy the man of sin will all come to nought.

Isa 8:9  Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Outwardly we are determined to 'make America great again' while we remain in our sins as a nation. We think 'The Art of The Deal' will work by making the great red dragon our ally. But "it shall come to nought... and it shall not stand" because Christ Himself has "spoken the word", and "God is with us" who prefer "the waters of Shiloah that go softly'.

Our "covenant with death" will be annulled by Christ Himself at the appointed time:

Isa 28:15  Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
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.
Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

All of our efforts to retain and rule our world for the rebellious wild beast who sits in the temple of God declaring himself to be God will also come to nought, and the kingdom of the beast within us will be completely destroyed by the brightness of His coming and the understanding of His doctrines.

2Th 2:6  And now you know what holds back, for him ["the abomination that makes desolate" Mat 24:15] to be revealed in his own time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only he is now holding back until it comes out of the midst.
2Th 2:8  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming, (MKJV)

This is all being done and is being accomplished through the process of being judged and dying daily to all these things of the flesh which are shown by the example of King Ahaz being within each of us in our own time:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

We bring nothing to the table. Our part in God's plan for mankind was written before we were born, and He was working our lives while He still had our hearts hardened and was still making us to err from His ways (Isa 63:17).

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 Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 37 Discussion

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Isa 8:1​-4 Samaria [Israel] Shall Be Taken Away Before The King o​f Assyria

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Remembering that the king of Assyria is a Chaldean king, and is therefore the same as the king of Babylon, and understanding that Babylon symbolizes all religions sitting upon all the kingdoms of this world, in deception and in opposition to the Words of God (Rev 12: 9 and 17:15), we will continue our study of the long process of the fiery judgment which is now upon us as the Lord's house (Luk 20:9 and 1Pe 4:17).

Chapter seven closed with this thrice repeated warning concerning "that day", the day of the judgment of the kingdom of God within us,​ which is in need of being cleansed and is now being judged:

Isa 7:23  And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver coins, shall be for briers and thorns.
Isa 7:24  [Men] shall come there with arrows and with bow, because all the land shall be briers and thorns.
Isa 7:25  And all the hills that were dug with the mattock, thou shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep. (ACV)

Chapter 8 continues that same message of warning but with these words:

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

Here is how the LITV renders these two verses of scripture:

Isa 8:1  And Jehovah said to me, Take a big tablet and write in it with a man's pen: Make haste to plunder! Hurry to the spoil!
Isa 8:2  And I took faithful witnesses to record for me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

In its outward, literal application this is a prophecy of the coming invasion of Judah and Jerusalem by the king of Babylon. In chapter 7 the prophecy tells us that a child will be born whose name is to be Immanuel, and the prophecy is that "before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings."

Isa 7:13  And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 7:15  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

It is true that the prophecy of Immanuel in chapter 7 concerns Samaria in league with Damascus, but Samaria is the capital of the northern king​dom of Israel and is therefore still addressed to the Lord's own people. Lord willing, it is addressed to you and me.

In this chapter 8 is the prophecy of the fall of Judah and Jerusalem. It is still the prophecy of our own judgment, which is reiterated with a witnessed recording of a prophecy which says "Make hast to plunder! Hurry to the spoil!"​

But chapter 8 concerning Mahershalalhashbaz is not a separate prophecy from the prophecy of Immanuel in chapter seven. These two prophecies are actually one prophecy which uses two separate symbols, just as Pharaoh's two dreams used two separate symbols which we are told were actually one dream with one prophetic message.

In the same manner in this second prophecy of the Lord's judgment of His people​,​ Isaiah is instructed by the Lord to gather witnesses and record a second prophecy of the same impending judgment and destruction of Damascus and Samaria, followed by the judgment and destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.

Then we are told:

Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Is not this the exact same message we were given in the prophecy of the birth of Immanuel and the judgment of Israel?​

Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 7:15  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest [Damascus and Samaria] shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Outwardly this 7th chapter is addressed to King Ahaz, the king of the southern kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem. Ahaz was not counted as a 'good king', and he therefore typifies our own God-condemning Job, and our own self-righteous, self-justifying King Saul.

Other than that, what is the difference between Isaiah 7:16 concerning the immaturity of Immanuel and this verse in Isaiah 8 concerning Mahershalalhashbaz?

Let's compare these two verses side by side:

Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest [Damascus and Samaria] shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Isa 8:4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

The answer is, there is no difference, because both prophecies are the same prophecy, just as Pharaoh's two dreams were one dream:

Gen 41:1  And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
Gen 41:2  And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
Gen 41:3  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
Gen 41:4  And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
Gen 41:5  And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
Gen 41:6  And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
Gen 41:7  And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
Gen 41:8  And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

What do these two very different dreams mean?

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

Pharaoh's two dreams had just one message, and the two prophecies of Isaiah 7 and 8 are also just one message foretelling our own judgment.

Who does Isaiah symbolize? Who does Isaiah's wife, "the prophetess",​ symbolize? Why are we told that Isaiah "went in unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son?" Why are we told the name of Isaiah's son?

We will jump ahead a few verses and get the answer to this last question here in this same chapter:

Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

That is the reason we are given for why we are told the names of Isaiah's sons names. So Mahershalalhashbaz is a sign of "Make haste to plunder! Hurry to the spoil!" Mahershalalhashbaz, along with all of Isaiah's children, "are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in mount Zion." Mount Zion, of course, is simply the highest, most prominent point in Jerusalem and was also known​ as "the city of David", ancient Israel's most prominent king. There is, as we will see, great spiritual significance in Isaiah's revelation of the function of his children in spiritual 'Israel' and in mount Zion.

Isaiah, as the Lord's prophet,​ is speaking for and represents Christ Himself, and Isaiah's wife therefore symbolizes Christ's wife. Therefore their children are the spiritual symbols of the children of Christ and His wife the church. Speaking plainly, Isaiah's children typify the witness of each of us as Christ's Christ, His elect,​ who speak for Him in this age.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Eph 5:22  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 

Now let's go back to the meaning of the name 'Mahershalalhashbaz'.

Here is how Strong's renders the meaning of this name:

H4122
מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז
mahêr shâlâl châsh baz
mah-hare' shaw-lawl' khawsh baz
From H4118 and H7998 and H2363 and H957; hasting (as he (the enemy) to the) booty, swift (to the) prey; Maher-Shalal Chash-Baz; the symbolical name of the son of Isaiah: - Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Total KJV occurrences: 2

We have seen that:

Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

What does this verse have to do with us? Notice for whom these prophecies are directed​. Isaiah's children "are for signs and wonders [only] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwells in Mount Zion".

What does all of that mean? Where is spiritual 'Zion'? According to the scriptures, who do Isaiah's sons symbolize? What are the signs and wonders Isaiah's sons will declare in Israel? Here is the Biblical spiritual answer to all of these questions:

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he [Christ] is not ashamed to call them [you and me] brethren,
Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Those symbolized by Isaiah's sons are to "declare thy name unto [their] brothers in the midst of the church, and... sing praise unto [Him]".

In Hebrews 12 we are given more details about these symbolic children which God has given Isaiah, as a type of Christ's children, His Christ:

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

What do these verses have to do with Isaiah's sons? Notice these words: "Ye are come to mount Sion." Now remember what we were just told about Isaiah's sons:

Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

Now we know who Isaiah's sons symbolize. Now we understand that the signs and wonders they proclaim are only for those who dwell with the Lord in mount Zion. They are, in this age, only for "the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in heaven".

And​ where are we at this very moment?

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Every prophet of the Old Testament speaks only the words they have been given to speak by Christ. They are all speaking for Christ who we are told is "the Word".

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

In the sense that Isaiah is speaking for Christ,​ he is a type of Christ. So Isaiah's children typify the children of Christ. Therefore it is Christ's children who are for signs and wonders in Israel,​ and it is only the Lord's Israel who will be given eyes that see and ears that hear those "signs and wonders" because we are told, "I will declare thy name unto my brothers in the midst of the church... the children which God has given me.​"

What are the signs and wonders to be declared to the Lord's Israel?

Psa 22:27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psa 22:28  For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.

Who is given the charge of this proclamation?

Psa 22:30  A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
Psa 22:31  They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

This is confirmed by Peter:

1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Who are these who are "accounted to the Lord for a generation"?

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

All these verses confirm what we just read about the children God gave to Isaiah, and who it is who "should show forth the praises of Him who has called [us]".

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he [Christ] is not ashamed to call them [you and me] brethren,
Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

The greatest sign or wonder or demonstration of the power of God that will ever be shown in any generation of mankind will be to know and to hear those who "show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light​."

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

The apostle Paul explains this to us:

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
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:

How few are those who are given to realize that "the demonstration [of the "signs and wonders in Israel"] of the spirit and of power" is the word spoken by Isaiah's symbolic children of "the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory? Who knew that the Isaiah's children symbolize those who would "sing praise unto thee... [and] declare [His] name unto [their] brothers in the midst of the church"?

Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

That is why we:

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 

As "the general assembly and church of the firstborn" we are commissioned to proclaim both the judgment of Israel and Damascus, those more outward enemies of the Lord's people who are far easier to recognize than all the self-​righteous, inward sins and rebellions within the Lord'​s own people. The prophecy of Mahershalalhashbaz actually misleads us into thinking that our judgment has been postponed, when in reality it is at hand:

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

"​The riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria", and we have been granted to hear the wonderful gospel of the death and resurrection of the Son of God for our sins, and yet we will still have to be made to see that we ourselves are but "carnal babes in Christ" who are yet only capable of receiving the milk of the word and not strong meat because we are "yet carnal" (1Co 3:1-4).

And that is exactly what we will see, Lord willing in our next study into the depth of the thorough purging process of our judgment:

Isa 8:5  The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
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:
Isa 8:8  And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
Isa 8:9  Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Ours is a long and thorough judgment​, but when it is accomplished we will rejoice in the wisdom of our Judge:

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

I know you are very busy. But it is such a relief to FINALLY have someone who has been shown the same things I have! Thank you Jesus!

I am stealing time here and there to read more of your entries, I have not yet found an answer: Do you believe it is necessary to speak in tongues?

Also, I have not yet read your info on it, I was simply thrilled to find that you believe all are saved as God recently showed me, but, could you direct me to your view on what happens in the times to come, when we are separated the sheep from the goats what happens?

Thanks

C____

Hi C____

Please go to the tongues section of the web page and read those letters. I believe this is the most in depth treatment of this subject that is to be found. Languages need translators. Unknown babbling needs no translation, because there is nothing to translate. If you try the spirits, you must try them against the Word. The Word calls for “languages.” It does not call for “Unknown tongues.”

You also asked about separating the sheep from the goats. This has nothing to do with Christ’s next coming. Physical Israel will be converted “when Sodom and Samaria [ are converted] then will you [ physical Israel and Jerusalem] be restored to your former estate [ find favor with God].” This will not happen “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” In other words “When Sodom…” comes to God, “ then you [ physical Jerusalem and physical Israel] will be restored to your former estate.”

Eze 16:48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Eze 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Eze 16:50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
Eze 16:51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.
Eze 16:52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
Eze 16:53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then [ will I bring again] the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
Eze 16:54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Jerusalem here symbolizes both physical Israel, which has rejected her Messiah, but it also symbolizes “those who say they are [ spiritual- Christian] Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan.” This chapter of Ezekiel is a prophecy of those who will be cast into God’s purifying ‘lake of fire.’

When will this occur?

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

In other words Israel will be brought back to God “ when Sodom comes in…” Until that time the truth concerning physical Israel is:

Rom 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
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.

Why has this knowledge and grace been given to the “election?” The answer is right here in this same chapter. In spite of what orthodox Christianity teaches, there is a “fall harvest.” There will yet be a “feast of ingathering, at the end of the year.”

Here is the reason for an elect firstfruits:

Rom 11:15 For if the casting away of them [ physical Israel] be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? [ The second resurrection of all the dead of all time. “When Sodom is restored…”]
Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit [ the elect] be holy [ all mankind], the lump is also holy [“God is love”]: and if the root [ Christ] be holy, so are the branches.
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief [ now and at the second resurrection], shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Rom 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, unti l the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [ Until “thy sister Sodom is restored…”]
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
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.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

It is ” through this mercy of yours that they also obtain mercy.” But even though they will be raised as spiritual bodies, they must yet endure the ‘lake of fire… in the presence of the lamb.”

That the elect administer this lake of fire is proven in Isaiah.

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?

So who is this “devouring fire?” Who is this “everlasting burnings?” Who “dwells with… Our God… a consuming fire?” Is it Satan and his angels? Is it the wicked? No, it is not:

Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously [ the firstfruit elect], 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;
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

These are those who are at home in the spiritual fire in the presence of the lamb. These are those who “will not be hurt of the second death… which is the ‘lake of fire.”

Exactly what this symbolic fire is is symbolized by the torment of Joseph’s brothers in Joseph’s presence when he spoke to them by an interpreter. Joseph could easily has said ‘Hey, boys it’s me, Joseph. I’m going to save you and all the known world.” But that is not what he did. He literally tormented his brothers to bring them to see what they were and what they had done. Even after revealing himself to them and assuring them that he was their salvation, they were still tormented another 17 years by their own unconverted minds. They truly believed that as soon as their father Jacob died that Joseph would then kill them all for what they had done to him in his youth. They were yet, even while in this ‘lake of fire,’ still carnal minded, and that carnality has to be burned out of us all. This is all only in type and shadow. The ‘lake of fire’ is Genesis hidden in Revelation. It is also Revelation revealed in Genesis.

I hope this answers your questions.

Mike