The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 23 Discussion

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Isa 5:24-30 They Shall Come With Speed Swiftly:

Isa 5:24  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 5:25  Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isa 5:26  And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
Isa 5:27  None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
Isa 5:28  Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
Isa 5:29  Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
Isa 5:30  And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

The theme of all the Old Testament prophets is the judgment of God's people for their sins and the deliverance of God's people through that judgment. That theme continues with these verses we are covering today.

Paul sums up the theme of the Old Testament prophets with these words:

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.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The first verse of today's study gives us this same message of salvation through the judgment and destruction of the kingdom of our rebellious old man:

Isa 5:24  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

The rottenness of the root of the seed of the serpent within us is equated with "the fire [which] devours the stubble, and the flame consum[ing] the chaff" of the kingdom of our old man.

"The day" spoken of by Paul is the same as "the day of the Lord" spoken of so many times here in Isaiah and throughout the Old Testament prophets:

Isa 2:11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isa 2:12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

In Judges 14 we learn how the Lord always gives Himself an occasion that justifies the destruction of our old man and His kingdom. He provides for Himself a very good reason to take the brute beast we are and destroy that beast, and He takes away the dominion of our old man, the dominion of the beast within us all.

The humbling of the lofty looks of our old man and the bringing low of everyone that is lifted up does not mean the Lord will save our old man. Nothing could be further from the Truth. Our salvation comes only to a new man who begins his life in these clay vessels, but that new man comes to Christ only through the death and destruction of our old man just as new fruit comes only through the rotting away of the seed of the old fruit.

Here is what Isaiah has already told us:

Isa 1:28  And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

There is no attempt at all to salvage the rebellious flesh and blood of our old man. He and his kingdom within us are slated "to be taken and destroyed".

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

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;

Our carnal-minded, rebellious, old man was "made to be taken and destroyed", but God wants us to know why that is so. To that end He uses the corruption which we are for "an occasion against" the kingdom of our rebellious, carnal-minded, old man, as revealed to us in the story of Samson's struggles against 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.

Because we have been granted to understand that mankind must "live by every word that proceeds out of the  mouth of God" (Mat 4:4), we now are given to know that we are both Samson and the Philistines against whom he struggled. We now understand this is not a 'one shot event'. This historical event reveals to us that God had this all planned out in advance, and He already knew exactly how Samson would react to the Philistines, among whom God had sent Samson to dwell when He made Samson to marry a Philistine woman. "It was of the Lord [because] He sought an occasion against the Philistines, for at that time the Philistines [our self-righteous old man] had dominion over [God's people] Israel."

But like Pharaoh many years earlier, Samson's rebellious, carnal mind had to be destroyed, and it was through that destruction that Samson was given the victory he could not attain while still alive in a dying body of rebellious flesh and blood:

Jdg 16:28  And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 
Jdg 16:29  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
Jdg 16:30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

It is for "the eyes of [our] understanding" that we, too, are willing to die daily, and be crucified with Christ. Only with spiritual eyes and spiritual understanding will we be given to know God and His Son, which is what life eonian is:

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

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 1:9  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 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

We are not given eyes that see except through the death of our old man. Pharaoh typifies our carnal-minded old man, who refuses to let the Lord's people go so they can serve Him.

This is what the Lord told Moses, before he ever sent Moses down into Egypt to deliver His people:

Exo 4:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. 

Exo 7:3  And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

God's "signs and wonders in the land of Egypt" were the ten plagues He poured out upon Egypt by the hands of Moses and Aaron. Those plagues, according to Pharaoh's servants' own account, 'destroyed Egypt' even  before the firstborn were taken from every home:

Exo 10:7  And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

But God continued to harden Pharaoh's heart, even after He let Israel leave Egypt, and this again provided God with the "occasion [He] sought" to destroy Pharaoh and His kingdom:

Exo 14:4  And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

Exo 14:17  And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

A 'hardened heart' is a heart which is in rebellion against God and His ways. A hardened heart gives God the occasion He is seeking to destroy our self-righteous, rebellious, old man. So we are told:

Isa 5:25  Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

What are these '"hills [which] did tremble"? These hills are Pharaoh's servants who informed Pharaoh "Egypt is destroyed". These 'hills' are the "imaginations, and... high things... [the] thoughts... that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God" within our hearts and minds.

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

That is what "the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets" means. Our carnal-minded old man is rebellious to the bitter end. It was after the destruction of Egypt's first born and after the carcasses of the firstborn "were torn in the midst of the streets" of Egypt that Pharaoh still pursued Israel into the Red Sea to finally be swallowed up and destroyed.

The lesson for us is that "the man of sin" is sitting in "the temple of God" within our hearts and minds, and he is loathe to give up his throne, and he will not do so except he be destroyed from within us. He was never intended to inherit the kingdom of God. He was made to be taken and destroyed:

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;

Here is how Christ is in the process of judging and destroying that "natural brute beast" within each of His children, and this is how He will also judge this outward world:

Isa 5:26  And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

In the book of Psalms these "nations from far" are likened to spiritual 'bees':

Psa 118:10  All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
Psa 118:11  They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Psa 118:12  They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.

When we are obedient to Christ, He sends hornets to drive out the giants in our land, and when we rebel against Him "[we are] chased... as bees do, and [they] destroy [us]" (Deu 1:44).

Here is how God uses spiritual 'bees' to do His bidding:

Deu 1:43  So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill.
Deu 1:44  And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

When we, like King David, are 'compassed about by all nations', it is because we need to fight against and overcome these nations within the kingdom of God within us (Luk 17:20-21). God uses spiritual 'bees' to judge us for our sins, and in doing so He also 'teaches us righteousness', as He uses these spiritual 'bees' to destroy our enemies:

Exo 23:28  And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

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

The point being made with all these verses is the same as the message of the book of Job where Satan himself and the evil deeds he entices us to perform and the evil the adversary brings upon us, are all called 'the Lord's hand':

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand [Christ's hand] now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand [Satan's hand]. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now [Christ's hand], and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand [Satan's hand]; but save his life.

That lesson of the book of Job, and the lesson we are being taught concerning these nations which the Lord is 'hissing' and calling to come and judge us, is that if these 'bees' are working for us, they are driving out the giants in our land, for the good of our new man, or if they are working against us, it is for the destruction of our old man. When we are granted to understand that the 'land' occupied by these giant Canaanites is our carnal-minded physical bodies, then we can understand that these spiritual 'bees' are nothing more or less than evil spirits which are instruments in our Lord's hands. These spiritual 'bees' at times work at driving out the Canaanite giants in our land, working against our old man, while simultaneously working for the good of our new man. It all serves to demonstrate how Christ is working "all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph 1:11), 'working all things together for good to them who love God and are the called according to His purpose' (Rom 8:28).

Notice closely the strength and stamina of these "nations"(vs 26) who Christ sends to "compass [us] about like bees" (Psa 118:12).

Isa 5:27  None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

'Girding one's loins' is to prepare for battle, and to loose one's loins is to be conquered and to lose the battle:

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 [Cyrus], and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

These very same 'nations... like bees' are likened to locusts and are called the Lord's "army" in the prophecy of Joel.

Joe 2:25  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

In typical "line upon line" manner this very same army of locusts is likened to horses and "a great people and a strong" earlier in this same chapter:

Joe 2:1  Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Joe 2:3  A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
Joe 2:4  The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Joe 2:5  Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
Joe 2:6  Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

Again "None shall be weary nor stumble among them;" (Isa 5:27):

Joe 2:7  They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Joe 2:8  Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
Joe 2:9  They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
Joe 2:10  The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Joe 2:11  And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

When the time comes for the self-righteous kingdom of our old man to be destroyed, it is accomplished in short order by an enemy who is strengthened by the Lord Himself. It is accomplished by "His army".

Isa 5:28  Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

When our Creator says it is time for the kingdom of our self-righteous, rebellious, old man to be humbled and to be destroyed, then he will simply cause that to happen. But just as He destroyed Egypt with His own words coming out of the mouths of His "two witnesses", Moses and Aaron (Zec 4:3-6 and Rev 11:3-4), He will also destroy the kingdom of our old man through His own Word coming from those who are faithful to those words. But Pharaoh typifies our old man, and we, too, resist His chastening to the bitter end. As the Old Testament type of our old man Pharaoh is destroyed by ten plagues, and the seven last plagues of Revelation 16 is just the New Testament account of those same plagues which were poured out upon Egypt. Both the plagues of Egypt and the plagues of Revelation 16 first take place spiritually within "every son He receives" (Heb 12:6), and this is how we all first just naturally respond to "the brightness of His coming" within us:

Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire [These very words of judgment].
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness [Total spiritual darkness]; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

The fruit of the fourth and fifth vials is that we "blaspheme the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and [we] repent not to give him glory [and we] repent not of [our blasphemous] deeds. We are told (Rev 1:3) that "the time is at hand [to] read, hear and keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book", and the seven vials of Revelation 16 are an integral part of "the sayings of the prophecy of this book".

The book of Job interprets Revelation 16 for us. We just naturally react as Job reacted, and we deny that we have ever at any time blasphemed the name of God even as we condemn Him to make ourselves righteous:

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Those are not my words. It is Christ Himself who tells us Job was guilty of "condemning [God, to make himself] righteous". It is Christ Himself who informs us that Job's self-righteousness was the same sin as the sin of Judas within us. It is we who have condemned and crucified Christ. It is integral to the sin of self-righteousness to condemn Christ for not recognizing our superior righteousness. So we must therefore 'contend with the Almighty... reprove... and disannul [His] judgments. We must condemn Him to make ourselves righteous'.

But this spirit is dealt with swiftly as we read earlier in this study:

Isa 5:26  And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

 Notice the speed with which Christ judges this self-righteous spirit within us:

Job 1:13  And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
Job 1:14  And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:
Job 1:15  And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:16  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:17  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:18  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
Job 1:19  And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job 1:20  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
Job 1:21  And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Job knew who was working against him whether anyone else knew it. Job knew that God is a sovereign God who was working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11).

Isaiah tells us the same thing:

Isa 5:29  Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
Isa 5:30  And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

"Their roaring... like a young lion" is the roaring of those nations God sends against us, His own rebellious people. It is His own people who are the prey which are carried away by these roaring young lions, and it is the kingdom of our self-righteous, rebellious, old man who is "the land [which is now covered with] 'darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.'

But it is all working together for our good simply because:

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

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.

Yes, we are saved by God's sovereign grace, but grace chastens and scourges us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts and judges the kingdom of the man of sin within each of us.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 
Tit 2:12  Teaching [Greek:  paideuō -chastens] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

In the end it all works together for good to them who love God and are the called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28) because:

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.