Isa 48:12-22 The Lord Has Loved Him...He Will do His Pleasure on Babylon...Tell This, Utter it Even to the End of the Earth - Discussion

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Isa 48-12-22- The Lord Has Loved Him… He Will Do His Pleasure on Babylon… Tell This, Utter It Even to The End of The Earth

Isa 48:12  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Isa 48:13  Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
Isa 48:14  All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
Isa 48:15  I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
Isa 48:16  Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
Isa 48:17  Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
Isa 48:18  O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
Isa 48:19  Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
Isa 48:20  Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
Isa 48:21  And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
Isa 48:22  There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

Once in Colossians and twice in the book of Hebrews we are told that the things of the Old Testament are “shadows of things to come”:

Col 2:17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Our verses for this study are a prophecy of the destruction of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus. However, the physical destruction of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus, according to Colossians 2:17 and Hebrews 8:5 and 10:1 is “a shadow of good things to come”, and this prophecy typifies the climactic anti-type of the destruction of all the false religions of this world, referred to as “Babylon the great the mother of harlots and of abominations of the world” in Revelation 17 and 18. The great harlot system must be destroyed first within us, and later, this prophecy here in Isaiah 48, is also a shadow of the climactic destruction of the religions of this world at the hands of Christ and His Christ. This “end of the age… last time” event is at this very moment taking place inwardly in all the Lord’s elect, symbolized in these verses by the work the Lord is prophesying 200 years in advance that He would do to Babylon through Cyrus

1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

There will also eventually be an outward end of this dispensation and an end of this age with an outward destruction of spiritual Babylon which will, at the appointed time, be replaced by “the kingdom of God”, the Lord and His elect:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

This seemingly impossible event is prophesied in greater detail a few chapters later:

Rev 15:5  And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

We will see in a few minutes that these “seven angels” are the anti-type of Cyrus, who literally destroys the physical city of Babylon. What the Lord did through Cyrus is a type and a shadow of what He is first doing within us in this age, and it is also a type and shadow of what He will use us to do to spiritual Babylon outwardly after the first resurrection:

Isa 45:1  Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
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.

Here is the very same prophecy in the book of Revelation:

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 
Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
Rev 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Let’s take note that it is the seven angels who are the Lord’s instrument of Babylon’s destruction, as well as being made the rulers of “the kingdoms of this world” (Rev 11:15):

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

It is to the “seven angels”, typified and foreshadowed by Cyrus, whom the Lord is using and whom He will use to destroy Babylon and rule the nations of this world to which the Lord addresses these words:

Isa 48:12  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 
Isa 48:13  Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. 
Isa 48:14  All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 
Isa 48:15  I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

“Which among them hath declared these things” while referring to Cyrus in its literal typical sense, it is the Lord’s elect, His “seven angels”, who “ha[ve] declared these things”. It is the Lord Himself who “makes [the work of the seven angels] prosperous”. The work of the seven angels is really the work of Christ, first in our lives, and His work in our lives in no way depends upon us, though it seems otherwise to our flesh:

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

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The Lord knew Cyrus “by name” hundreds of years before he was born (Isa 44:28), and He wants us to know and acknowledge that everything He did through Cyrus was just as  much a work of His hands, as was the work He did to Pharaoh through His “two witnesses”, Moses and Aaron. He wants us to know that the work of the seven angels to destroy Babylon within us and after the first resurrection is also the work of His hands:

Isa 44:28  That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

The seventh angel pours out his vial into the air precipitating the greatest ‘earthquake’ in the history of the ‘earth’. This great earthquake causes the great city of Babylon to be divided into three parts, indicating the process of judgment which has come upon the anti-type of ‘Babylon’ within, which must also come upon outward ‘Babylon” soon after the “blessed and holy first resurrection” (Rev 20:4-6).

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

An integral part of this judgment is a plague of 70-pound hailstones  (”the weight of a talent”) which symbolically comes upon Babylon which brings men (us) to their wits’ end causing them (us) to “blaspheme God” instead of repenting of their (our) sins.

Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

In the third verse of the first chapter of the book of Revelation we are clearly told that it is the reader who must “read, hear, and keep the things written in [this book]”:

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

So, we the readers are given to see and hear the things of the spirit. We are the first to be judged by the fiery words of God and the first to “read… hear… and keep the words of this prophecy” (Rev 1:3):

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

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

Before the Lord’s words can be fire in our mouths, it must first do its fiery work within us, and we must first see ourselves as the unfaithful whore, Babylon the Great. After being judged we will then become the seven angels who, through death and resurrection from the dead (Rom 6:1-4), come out of the temple in heaven to judge and destroy Babylon.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

This destruction of Babylon is also typified and foreshadowed as being accomplished through the hail which symbolizes the Truth of the Word of God which “shall sweep away the refuge of lies” which ‘lies’ are themselves symbolized by Babylon itself, “the great city… where also our Lord was crucified”:

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.

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

In our last study the Lord was declaring that He is not shackled by the false, lying, Babylonian idols of our heart. There were false prophets in ancient Israel prophesying peace and prosperity for Israel, even as the nation continued its descent into the pagan worship of the nations around them. The ‘gods’ of that time were literal idols which were either carved of wood or cast of molten metal into the form of the supposed ‘gods’ of that time. The Philistine god, Dagon (1Sa 5:1-6), was supposedly half man and half fish. The “idols of [our] hearts” today are our false doctrines (Eze 14:1-9). But God is no more beholden to our false doctrines than He was to the inanimate idols of the ancient pagans.

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

When the Lord speaks of the heavens and the earth, He is speaking of us, to our earth and to our heavens, which must be purified of all ‘the idols of [our] hearts’:

Isa 48:13  Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

The physical heavens and earth are but types and shadows of the “new heavens and new earth” to which we are being conformed, and the book of Hebrews makes clear to those with eyes that see the things of the spirit:

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves [that would be us] with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself [That is us, Joh14:18], now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Christ had earlier made it clear that He would enter into us:

Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to [“enter into”] you.

Notice how often the Old Testament refers to us as ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’:

Lev 26:19  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

Deu 4:26  I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

Deu 11:21  That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.

Psa 113:6  Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

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 37:16  O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

Isa 40:10  Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
Isa 40:11  He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Isa 40:12  Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Isa 44:24  Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Isa 66:1  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

All these statements are addressed to the Lord’s people, symbolized by the phrase, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth”. Are ‘the Lord’s people’ only the righteous of this world? No “Hear heavens, and give ear O earth” is not addressed to us as the righteous of the world. It is more aptly addressed to us as “the chief of sinners":

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. 
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Mar 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

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.

Being humbled and coming to see just how all flesh is wicked is essential to being prepared to be a priest of God who can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities”, and we are as He is in the world (1Jo 4:17):

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Our Head was “made sin” (2Co 5:21), but was not given to commit a single trespass, but “His body” knows all about trespasses, and through ‘His body’ He is not only a sin offering, but through us Christ also fulfills the trespass offering as the scapegoat and the second bird of the offering for the incurable leper as given us in Lev 16 and 14 respectively. As such we are as much an offering for the sins of the world as is the Lord Himself because “as He is so are we, [and we must] fill up in [our] body that which is behind [lacking] of the afflictions of the Christ in [our] bodies for His body’s sake which is the church”:

Lev 16:7  And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

Our sufferings are right here in Colossians 1:24 declared to be “for you… the church” just as much as were the sufferings of Christ Himself. “As He is so are we in this world”, and that being true we, too, are “a living sacrifice… for a scapegoat… filling up what is behind [lacking] of the afflictions of Christ in [our] flesh for His body’s sake which is the church… to make an atonement with Him (Lev 16:10)”.

It was Christ Himself who told us clearly:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

As His Father sent Him, “even so” Christ is sending us. Which begs the question, “Exactly what did His Father send Him to accomplish?” That question is answered very clearly for us in this same gospel:

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

It is Christ Himself who considers us, “His body” to be Himself, as is repeated over and over in scripture:

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

It seems counter-intuitive that “the chief of sinners” can also be called the Lord’s people, whose lives will be offered as a living sacrifice with the Lord’s sacrifice, as the saviors of this world, but that is exactly what we are told must happen. The Lord’s people who love Him most are those who see themselves as those who have sinned most, as the Lord tells us when we are first a self-righteous Pharisee:

Luk 7:36  And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.
Luk 7:37  And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
Luk 7:38  And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Luk 7:39  Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
Luk 7:40  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
Luk 7:41  There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
Luk 7:42  And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
Luk 7:43  Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 
Luk 7:44  And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Luk 7:45  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
Luk 7:46  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Luk 7:47  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Now we should begin to understand that every word about how evil and rebellious Israel was and how her sins exceeded the sins of the nations around her is addressed first to us as His bride in the New Testament, and what “Live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4) means.

We should also be able to see and understand that even these words are addressed to the Lord’s people who see themselves as “the chief of sinners”:

Isa 48:16  Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
Isa 48:17  Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. [“…but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”]
Isa 48:18  O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
Isa 48:19  Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
Isa 48:20  Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob. 
Isa 48:21  And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
Isa 48:22  There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

“Go forth of Babylon” is the inspiration for the same commandment give us in:

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.

It is the water flowing out of the Rock which sustains us even while we are wandering around in the wilderness and desert, which is Babylon. Where did that water originate? In the New Testament body of Christ, we are still drinking of that same “Rock”:

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

The incredible stubbornness displayed by Israel in the wilderness and the death in the wilderness of all those over 20 years of age, are all types and shadows of our own carnal-minded, stubborn and rebellious old man who cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 15:50).

Let’s become familiar with who we first are as the Lord’s people. If we do not see ourselves as Cain who killed his own brother, as Pharaoh who oppressed the Lord’s people, and now as Babylon continuing to oppress the Lord’s people, then the scriptures will profit us nothing, and we will be nothing more than self-righteous Job.

Notice to whom Jeremiah 22 is addressed:

Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

And what symbol does the Lord use as a type of His people, the “the king of Judah… and [his] servants”?

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

The Lord also mentions ‘the heavens and… the earth’ when speaking to His people in Zechariah:

Zec 12:1  The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

The burden of the Word of the Lord is “for Israel”. The Word of the Lord is only for the Lord’s elect who are healed of their spiritually blind and spiritually deaf “marred” condition and composition.

Look again at how our study began today:

Isa 48:12  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 
Isa 48:13  Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

In Isaiah 1:3, in Jeremiah 22:2 and 29 and now here in Isaiah 48:12-13 are all accounts of the Lord speaking to His own people, and He refers to them as “the heavens and the earth”.

I have been emphasizing how “the dream is one” principle is carried throughout the scriptures:

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Following that principle, the Lord has seen fit to say most everything He says twice but using different words to do so. Such is the case when He tells us “the Lord… stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth”. The point He is making is that it is He who “formed the spirit of man” within him as “the heavens” within us, and for the moment the heavens within us are bound up in a vessel of clay, which He calls “the earth”. It is these “earthen… vessels of clay”, which He also calls “corruptible… flesh and blood”.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The Lord reveals to His elect that it is He who has created both our heavens and our earth, and He wants His elect to know that the heavens and the earth, our minds and our bodies and all that takes place in both, are the work of His hands, and the script was written for every man before he was ever born. So of course, “when [He] calls unto them, they stand up together”:

Isa 48:12  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Isa 48:13  Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. (ASV)

There was no way anyone in Isaiah’s day could possibly have known that the Medo-Persian empire would one day conquer the mighty Assyrian-Babylonian empire of King Nebuchadnezzar, much less name the Persian king who would conquer Babylon. Yet that is exactly what the Lord did through His servant Isaiah 200 years before it happened, foretelling that event and even giving us the name of the Persian King who would carry out the Lord’s will concerning the rebuilding of His temple:

Isa 44:24  Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 
Isa 44:25  That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
Isa 44:26  That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
Isa 44:27  That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
Isa 44:28  That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

This again is a prophecy of the work of the Lord’s elect whom He is using to build His temple today.

Isa 44:26  That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: 

The Lord “confirms the word of His servant and performs the counsel of His messengers” because His messengers do not think above what is written, and they tremble at His words.

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other.

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

Isa 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isa 49:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isa 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Isa 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
Isa 49:5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isa 49:7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

Isa 46:6-13 My Counsel Shall Stand, and I Will Do All My Pleasure - Discussion

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Isa 46: 6-13 My Counsel Shall Stand, and I Will Do All My Pleasure:

[Study Aired September 22, 2019]

Isa 46:6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
Isa 46:7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
Isa 46:8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isa 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Isa 46:12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
Isa 46:13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

I will take this opportunity to remind us of these verses of scripture before we begin our study today:

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [Greek: ‘tupos’, types of us]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
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.

Keeping this truth in mind when we read our first verse, while the pronoun is “they”, the fact is that “these things happened unto them and they are written as types [of us].”

Isa 46:6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
Isa 46:7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

This ‘hired goldsmith’ is the hired shepherd we all hire to take the Lord’s words and make an idol which appeals to us.

Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Joe 3:5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

We have all lavished the Lord’s gold and silver upon false prophets who have taken the Lord’s words and twisted and contorted them into idols of our hearts which were much more appealing to our flesh than are His doctrines, which all teach us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God and must, in the end, be relinquished and destroyed:

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

“…And he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship” (vs 46). This is just how attached and dedicated we all are to our false doctrines, our “idols of [our] hearts”. We literally cling to them with our lives simply because we truly do “believe a lie” and cannot acknowledge that there is a lie in our right hand”:

Isa 44:20 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way [our deceived old man].
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [our deceived old man]
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

By Christ’s own design, Satan’s house works together to destroy ‘the Christ’, ‘the seed of the woman’, the Lord and His anointed, at every opportunity.

2Sa 15:12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counseller, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.

As a type of us, Israel conspired against her own anointed king:

2Sa 15:12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counseller, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom [King David’s rebellious son].

King David was a type of Christ and His Christ, who are also rejected by His own subjects, as is demonstrated in His parables:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Luk 19:11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
Luk 19:12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
Luk 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
Luk 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
Luk 19:15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
Luk 19:16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
Luk 19:17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
Luk 19:18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
Luk 19:19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
Luk 19:20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
Luk 19:21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
Luk 19:23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
Luk 19:24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
Luk 19:25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
Luk 19:26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.
Luk 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me [In the lake of fire].

Christ’s ‘rule’ over us is our adherence to His doctrines. His doctrines are His ‘gold’ and His ‘silver’, His ‘pound’ and His ‘talents’ which He bestows upon us:

Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

“Images of men” are the lying false doctrines of our own corrupt hearts. We “bear” them, and we fight for them. We believe that our false doctrines of “a place of safety” or a “rapture” will somehow keep us from having to fulfill in our own lives the seven last plagues of the wrath of God upon the kingdom of our corruptible flesh. However, the truth does not depend upon lies, and this is still the Truth:

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

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

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.

Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The one thing about which all this world agrees is that the Lord and His Christ will not be tolerated as the rulers of this world:

Gen 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words [Mat 10:22].

Applying the Lord’s Word “line upon line and precept upon precept, we can understand that it is our ‘idols’ which justify our rejection of Him and His doctrines. So we now need to remember that the ‘idols’ of the Lord’s people are their “idols of the heart”:

Eze 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Eze 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Eze 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Eze 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
Eze 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.

Read that again! The Lord just told us that He deceives each of us. He stretches His hand out upon us, and He punishes and destroys our carnal-minded, self-righteous, rebellious, old, first man, Adam, “That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me… but that they may be my people and I may be their God.”

“I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I… will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel”. The old Mike Vinson has been and is being destroyed day by day through the renewing of my mind:

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

It is while we are still dominated by sins and false doctrines that the Lord sees fit to admonish us:

Isa 46:8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.

The Lord does not hesitate to remind us that we are transgressors by nature, and that anything we do to glorify Him is a work of His own hands, and certainly not ours. We are referred to as a ‘worm’, as ‘beasts’, as a harlot, and as a lump of marred clay:

Job 25:6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

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.

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

“In the ages to come” sounds as though it is in the future tense, but it is in the Greek present tense, and the Lord is speaking of those things that are not as though they were:

Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

It is also instructive to note that the two phrases “quickens the dead” and “calls those things which be not as though they were” are both also in the Greek present tense.

The Lord wants us to know beyond any doubt that our salvation is not in our hands, but it is all in His hands and for His pleasure.

Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

The Lord can very easily “declare the end from the beginning” because He has written every day of our lives in His book before there were any of them:

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. (ASV)

The Truth is that what we do, even our wicked ways, just like Joseph told his brothers, is not really us doing it at all, but God Himself “work[ing] all things after the counsel of His own will”, and “according to the good pleasure of His will”:

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

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

The Lord tells us very clearly, that the rise of the Persian Empire was just for the sake of returning His people to their homeland and rebuilding His temple:

Isa 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east [Cyrus, the Great, our own sins reproving us (Jer 2:19)], the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Lev 26:18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

Lev 26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

Isaiah 46:11 was penned about 200 years before the birth of Cyrus the Great. The Lord had already determined that the Babylonian captivity was to last 70 years, signifying that our own time in Babylon must be completed and the seven last plagues must be poured out upon us before we will be given to enter into the Lord’s temple “in heaven”:

Jer 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer 25:12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

Jer 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

Dan 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished.

While the whole world is focused on dates and times, the Lord has given His elect eyes to see and hear these words as they apply to all prophecy:

Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand):

1Co 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men edification, and exhortation, and consolation.

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

The time was at hand when those words were first penned, and they are “at hand” today for those to whom it is given to understand that the Lord’s words “are spirit [and do] not pass away”:

Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

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

These words convey the same message which the Lord repeats in Revelation 1:3. Every generation of the Lord’s elect must “read… hear… and keep the things which are written therein”.

We as a “stouthearted” person are “far from righteousness”, and yet the Lord is merciful, and “He performs the thing that is appointed for [us].”

Isa 46:12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
Isa 46:13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

To the very last, the Lord keeps on reminding us just how unworthy we are of ourselves and how He is the One working “all things after the counsel of His own will” with no input from us:

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

This, and this alone, is all any of us bring to the Lord’s table in offering anything to Him:

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

What we are is of the Lord’s making, and it is not in man to direct his own steps:

Pro 20:24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

‘Not many wise, mighty or noble’ (1Co 1:26) means there are no wise, mighty or noble, otherwise the spirit would not have inspired Paul to conclude, “He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.” Anyone who thinks that he or she is ‘wise, mighty and noble’ in and of themselves is not fit to be in ruling with Christ in the kingdom of God. It is only those who see themselves as a worm and as the foolish, weak and base of this world who are chosen of God to rule with Him over the nations.

Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

This kingdom is the one-thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ, His resurrected saints, are given to rule this world with Him:

Rev 20:1 AND I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

This is what we are blessed to read, hear and keep because the Lord is…

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

…And this is His pleasure:

Isa 46:13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory [‘the Israel of God’ (Gal 6:15-16)].

Here are our verses for our next study:

Isa 47:1 COME down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Isa 47:2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Isa 47:3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Isa 47:4 As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 47:5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
Isa 47:6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
Isa 47:7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.