When reading these chapters as
prophesies. One has to remember that they were written over 2500 years
ago. Explicitly they are prophecies that are comparing their world, the
ancient world, to something that would occur in the future. As
prophecies they are not comparing our world today, especially the
western world that has been so influenced by the Word of God to the
future. This is a very important distinction that if not made would
leave any interpretation offered inherently inaccurate. Keep in
mind that this author is not saying these prophecies are fulfilled.
Rather he is saying they are in the process of being fulfilled. Nor is
he saying that the fulfillment of them is a progressively straight line
upward towards their total fulfillment. That would be to tantamount to
ignoring moral agency. To what degree are they fulfilled? I'll
speculate that since the Roman Empire fell, in the cultures most
influenced by the Word of God, at the peak of that influence, maybe 35%. Now to be able to judge that as a statement, one would have to have at
least some kind of agreement with the author regarding of history and the government of God.
35% is not meant to be a scientifically accurate statement but to convey a reasonable reality. As a doctrine this will be
especially evident in Revelation 20 once the article gets to that. Keep
in mind also that these prophecies are not talking about the world in
general as much as they are talking about Gods people and their
influence on the world. Along these lines it is of the utmost of
importance that these scriptures be looked upon as the promises of God
to our generations. When we pray, "your kingdom come your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven." It must be understood that it is these
promises we are praying for. They are to be embraced by faith, and
labored toward just as souls or any other promise of God.
Isaiah 65:
17 For, behold, I
create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be
remembered, nor come to mind.
This is indeed something that has a
measure of fulfillment in the western world. In fact so
much has been forgotten of the ancient world that it's a hindrance to
writing this article. Way to much time is being spent in writing it just
to provide a very elementary education about this factor. People
genuinely have no idea of what it was like to live in the distant past.
People of our generation sight Hitler, Stalin and Mao as examples of the
greatest evil ever known to mankind. Yes, they are examples of great
evil. However in the ancient world they were the general rule not the
exception. In the ancient world they won their wars of conquest and
ruled all of mankind for millennia. In our world relatively
speaking they were quickly defeated (or are being defeated) by the
nations most influenced by the Word of God. Mao's China because of the
great sacrifice and martyrdom of Chinese believers and the current
circumstances of the world stands a real possibility of becoming one the
greatest Christian nation's ever known to mankind. No one can even count
the number of Chinese's communist officials who have secretly
become believers. We could literally wake up one day and find the old
order of China overturned and a new day of freedom and justice ruling
the most populous nation in the world. The national socialist Chinese
who soothsay a millennial reign of Chinese dominance in the world could
have their words fulfilled. Only not quite in a way they had in mind.
Can anyone in the western world imagine the most powerful leaders in the
world making public policy and war based on the study of sacrificed
animal (or human in it's worst case) entrails? No you cannot. Can you
imagine a third of your population as literal slaves captured in war or
bred and used primarily for sex and secondarily for labor? No, not
imaginable, at least in the nations who for centuries have allowed the
Word of God in their hearts. Can you imagine your democracy or republic
seeking to alleviate it's economic woes by invading and looting the
democracy next door to you. Impossible! Can you picture an endless
succession of leader's in who's arbitrary word literally holds the
power of life and death for you and everyone around you? Something that
so emotionally warps society that eventually they succumb to calling
these dictators Gods? What do you, who live in nations that to
even small degree's have accepted Biblical principles in their culture
have to compare to any of this? We can't even make movies for
entertainment value that depicts the lives of these emperors and their
exploits accurately because they would have to be rated X. This
could and should be a subject that Christian authors and historians
should write volumes of books about. Lest we forget! Now, does the
most detestable evil exist? Yes of course it does. But does it prevail
and rule the whole world in a perpetuity? That dear brother and sister
is the difference between the ancient world and this.
18 But be glad and rejoice for ever
in that which I create: for, behold, I create
Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
This is essentially the same promise made to
Abraham but prophesied to a different generation. That through his one
descendant, Christ, the nations of the world would be blessed.
Or 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are from God, who has reconciled us to himself by
Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19
Meaning, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not
charging their trespasses against them; and has committed to us the word
of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did call to you through us: we beg you in Christ's behalf, be
reconciled to God. 21 For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no
sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Psalm 67
19 And I will
rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping
shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
These promises are typical of New Testament language describing
the salvation of God. Obviously they apply
ultimately to heaven but in those New Testament verses listed in the
hyperlink they are speaking of this life on earth. In regards to Bible
prophecy about the era of this New Jerusalem they take on a much broader
meaning though. They speak of the removal or
lessening of the maladies that plagued the ancient world because of
the horrid sin in control of it. Some of these maladies are listed in the next
versus.
20 There shall
be no more there an infant of days (who dies), nor an
old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an
hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be
accursed.
Did you know the average life span in the
ancient world after the Hebrew patriarchs died off has remained around
forty-fiftey years? This holds true in much of the developing world today.
The prosperity and peace (that is part of these promises) is close to
doubling that. Who really knows where this will stop. It is not hard to
imagine this jumping to 100 years plus if there is peace and prosperity
in the world that favors scientific breakthroughs and right living. The
question is as with all these promises. Did you think God did not
foresee what many are so blessed with in today's world in stark contrast
to the whole of the ancient world? Indeed it is one of the many
fruits that came as a result of changed hearts and the light of the
Gospel in a dark world?
21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they
shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not
build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for
as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall
long enjoy the work of their hands.
As just an example. The founding documents of
the United States of America specifically list the right to own property
and to possess the fruit of ones own labor as divine rights that come
directly from heaven. Something a government by the people and for the
people is established to promote and protect. Although most nations that
have these rights do not recognize them as divine. Many have followed
the example of the United States in practice. These are divine rights that takes
eternal vigilance to protect. The wicked never sleep in their pursuit of
taking what does not belong to them. Emperors and kings
could at their word take everything your hands have made and execute you
if you protested. The standard practice of these Kings to
increase their wealth was to send armies who were in essence their
slaves to steal the wealth created by neighboring countries. In a
seemingly never ending era's where government existed to enrich the King
and his supporters with the wealth created by others. This
promise\foretelling of the rule of law that exists in the western world
is phenomenally being fulfilled.
23 They shall not labor in vain, nor
give birth to (children) for trouble; for they are the
seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their children with them.
Children have been the booty of invading
armies since time began. Look at the abominable practice of child sex
trafficking today as a benchmark. Imagine it being sanctioned by
your government as perfectly legitimate? Imagine your government being
the largest entity involved in this criminal enterprise? Well that is a
picture of the ancient world, all of it, during it's entire existence.
One might object saying there are governments involved in this today.
Well of course their are. There are billions who have never even heard
the Gospel too. Roman emperors had children in their courts for the
explicit purpose of abusing them. How much more so the kings of lands
much more barbaric. This had always been considered normal for nations
outside the influence of the Government of God. Just what do you think
made these pracitses abominable in the eye's of the general population in the first
place? The Gospel perhaps? To take it a
step further. Where did the idea come from that parents had a divine
right to raise their children according to the dictates of their own
consciences? Even more than this. How is it that parents are so
enlightened, that educating their own children has proven far superior
to any
local or state run educational systems? Does the whole
western world accept this as a right. No! But the fight is on! (Will you
fight) These are just examples of many that could be brought forth to
show just how this prophecy and promise is being fulfilled as a result
of the influence of the Gospel and the Government of God.
Lets look on the other side of this coin. What political coalition of
Bible rejecting people in the western world contain as
part of that coalition academics who are advocating to de-criminalize
adult-child sex? The same have already successfully advocated the repeal of
laws against sodomy. They are now seeking to make sodomy part of the
very fabric of nations? What political coalition of people contain
as part of that coalition have constituencies and groups who want the
state to control the education and therefore the raising of children?
These argue that parents rights are subservient to government policies
and have fought continually and tireless to make homeschooling illegal?
(They have lost in the USA but have set their sights on the rest of the
western world.) Of course this same political entity advocates strongly
the killing of unborn children in the womb for convenience sake. This
political entity is the
international political left. (In the Untied States they control the
Democrat Party.) If one calls or believes themselves to be Christian and
supports leftist politicians this clearly puts them on the side of those
resisting and\or fighting the influence of the government of God. Make
no mistake that God will deal with that person as an enemy of all
righteousness. This despite what some have believed about a personal
relationship with Christ that somehow overrides what one is practicing
in their politics. There is nothing like ones politics that show where
ones heart is truly at.
24 And it
shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they
are yet speaking, I will hear.
Most Christians have no
difficulty in in claiming this scripture as part of the normal personal
Christian experience. Why not take it a step further and tie this verse
in to the promises and prophecies articulated in these chapters? After
all it is within the context of these chapters. An age where prayer
being answered along the lines of these promises and prophecies is
normal. As opposed to lets say the prayers of the saints under the heavy
hand of Gentile emperors for thousands of years. Praying for
deliverance, freedom and justice but it never comes? How many of you who
have been believers for decades prayed for the fall of the Soviet
Empire? To some this was as natural as breathing. Their spirits groaned
this prayer every time the subject came up. Then one day suddenly. to
the shock and awe of the whole world it disintegrated. Almost as if no
one expected or ever foresaw such a thing happening. Believers within
that empire were instrumental bringing this about when all things were
made ready. God knew, he heard the prayer of the saints and the martyrs.
He answered while they were yet praying.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed
together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall
be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, says the LORD.
While illustrations like this make nice
pictures of heaven to hang in Sunday school classes. The use of animals
and plants to describe people and peoples is replete in the Bible.
Accordingly this is simply saying that believers of all types and
nationalities will be as one in this illustrative city. They will not be
fighting and killing each other just because they are from different
nations. Needless to say that is unless dictators force them to at the
point of a bayonet. Believers are the
true internationalist movement to change the world for the better. Or at
least the sooner they realize this the sooner we can work together to
"build that city on a hill." Also, there is an internationalist movement
that has been around for 100 years to oppose the spread of the Gospel
called international socialism. The children of this world are sometimes
wiser than the children of light.
Isaiah 60
Isaiah 60 1. Arise, shine; for your light is
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Matt. 5: 14-16 2. For, behold, the
darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the
Lord shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen
upon you.
Revelation 21: 23
3. And the Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the
brightness of your rising.
Rev. 21: 24
4. Lift up your eyes round about, and
see: all they gather themselves together, they come to you: your sons
shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 5.
Then you will see, and flow together, and your heart shall fear, and be
enlarged; because the abundance of the sea
shall be converted to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
This is the result of taking the Gospel to the
entire world. It is a process not an event. For instance (these
numbers are taken from memory so please excuse any inaccuracy.) In 1900
A.D. 1000 people a day were accepting Christ worldwide. By the 1980's
20,000 per day. By 2010 100-200,000 per day. Will this trend continue
forever upward? No, if it did the population of the entire world will
have accepted Christ by approx. 2040. Although the world wide mission
movement can certainly claim credit for some of this. Most of it now is
done by native peoples going to their own people. Dare this author say
that the fruit this yields in the next generation might just be
unimaginable! Especially to western minds who have convinced themselves
that everything is getting worse. (How sad!) Yet western minds do not
even know to acknowledge the many area's of improvement that happen in
their own countries. Part of which is a direct result of so many people
having personal encounters with Christ. Their focus is
on the evil whether that evil it is gaining the upper hand or not. The
perception is based on a false belief in the spirit of the believer will
make it look as if it is so even if it isn't For instance: With
all their faults, was there any such thing as mega church in the USA or
Europe 60 years ago? Yet now there are tens of thousands of them.
Nor is their any less along the lines of smaller churches. Do you think
this has had no effect on the population as far as righteousness is
concerned? Have crime rates gone up in the land of mega churches? Crime
rates are down drastically since this phenomena! Are they the reason?
Not on their own. Enlightened government takes punishing crime seriously
and government in the USA has gotten very serious. Where did this light
come from in the USA as opposed to the 1960's when leftist doctrine was
loosing the nations criminals on the citizenry? In Central and
South America 60 years ago there were handfuls of
Evangelical\Pentecostal Christians, persecuted and martyred by the
powers that be. Now the population of believers is reaching critical
mass. Brazil boast some of the largest Pentecostal churches in the world
to the tune a a few hundred thousand who attend two or three churches.
Everyone knows of the millions in Africa that have and are coming to
Christ. Is this prophecy a lie? When it proclaimed that the abundance of
the sea, meaning the nations of the world would be converted to you,
just what was it talking about! Does the eastern and Muslim world even
know about the tsunami coming it's way? It's coming, the first waves are
already hitting their shores. Will you dear brother or sister remain in
this self created darkness or will you come out into the light that the
nations are running to? Is everything going to be great, no more wars,
no more opportunities to sorrow? Of course not but the fight of
your faith has to get out beyond just a personal level.
6. The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian
and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and
incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. 7. All the
flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth
shall minister to you: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar,
and I will glorify the house of my glory. 8. Who are these that fly as a
cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
These are examples of the Bibles use of animals
to symbolize peoples. The scripture is clear that
the house of the Lord is Gods
people. (Of all nations.)
9. Surely the isles shall wait
for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far,
their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the Lord your God,
and to the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. 10. And the sons of strangers shall build up
your walls, and their kings shall minister to you: for in my
wrath I struck you, but in my favor have I had mercy on you.
11. Therefore your gates shall be open
continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring to
you the wealth of the Nations, and that their kings may be brought.
12. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish;
yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
Here we have the city of the lord, Gods people,
dwelling in ancient Israel, suffering wrath due to the unbelief and
wickedness of their countrymen. God is prophesying to them of a New
Jerusalem rising from the ash heap that all nations would be part of. He
is speaking to the believer and not the nation. That this New Jerusalem
would be built by believers of all nationalities. That it's gate would
always be open and the flow of peoples to it would never end. Again all
of it illustrative of the realities you can witness with your own eye's
if you have eye's to see and know where to look! We have a further
picture also of the harsh realities of the
nations that do not accept, or have not really heard the Gospel are
"utterly wasted." How much more so if they completely apostasies like
Nazi Germany did? This is the known history of the world as a science.
To the degree of influence that God has in a nation through his word and
his people is the degree of blessing, justice and prosperity or visa
versa degeneracy, disaster, death, and destruction. You can look at every
nation on earth even just since the Roman Empire fell to see this
reality, that is if you know history. In the free world: To the degree
that a nation contains believers and yields to their righteousness is
the degree that nation is on an upward trend. To the degree that it errs from this path is the degree that it gets on a downward trend.
Simple strait forward truth that should motivate a people who have the
power to do so to sway their nation back to the Lord and back to his
principles.
13. The glory of Lebanon
shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my
feet glorious. 14. The sons also of them that afflicted you shall come
bending down to you; and all they that despised you shall bow themselves
down at the soles of your feet;
and they shall call you; The city of the
Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Here we have one of many examples of tree's
being used to symbolize certain peoples. The rest of
the verse illustrates the dominion that the nations most influenced by
the Word of God have exercised over the nations who have had little or
no influence from it. Since the Roman Empire fell, in the inevitable conflicts
between these nations and peoples the trend has been: Those who God was
part of the fabric of their nations have come out on top. This has
occurred with great loss, but it has occurred. What has to be understood
about this is common sense. This city, the New Jerusalem exists to one
degree or another in nations where the Gospel and the law of God have
great influence. To destroy this "invisible" city means having to go
through or destroy the nation that hosts it. Therefore it's the
nation itself that emerges victorious for this prophecy to be fulfilled.
An example used many times on this webpage is the Untied States. A
nation outright and indisputably founded upon the principle's of the
Word of God for nations. A nation that has regular visitations from
heaven in the form of revivals. A nation that is growing into the ideals
written into it's founding documents rather than having completely
arrived. A nation facing much conflict from within and from without by
those who oppose Gods government in the earth and the fairness and rule
of law it's brings. A nation along with others that are like minded
however imperfectly that has been forced to impose it's will on others
to insure world peace. Or to insure that wicked empires cannot use other
conquered nations as a base to conquer it. And....a nation that I hope
all who read this are praying will once more awaken to the mandate
imposed on it by it's founders. To bring the freedoms, justice, and
liberty via the Gospel to every nation on earth.
15. Whereas you had
been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellency,
a joy of many generations.
This verse illustrates the comparison between
the physical city of Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem. The first was temporal,
subject to the will of men and therefore subject to destruction. The new
is from heaven and subject to God alone. It is eternal in the sense that
God's people are eternal beings but in this context, it is to exist for
along time in the earth. There is no prophecy past this. This is to be
the order of the world until the physical universe ends. Many many
generations will enjoy life on earth because of it. One needs to ask
themselves why God created man in the first place and other such
questions. Then they have to come up with the right answers. He has a
long term plan for his creation. That is what this prophecy means from
Isaiah 51:16 And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have
covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and
lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, You are my people.
The foundations of the world, the new world and the new heavens,
are laid in the Gospel and this New Jerusalem that sits on mount Zion
which is the
very mountain in Daniel's first vision that fills the whole earth.
Or..Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform
this. And chap. 42:1 Behold my servant
(Jesus), whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I
have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth justice to the
Gentiles.
16. You shalt also suck the milk of the
Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and you will know that I
the Lord am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 17.
For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for
wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make your officers peace,
and your exactors righteousness.
This is an
illustration of the amazing wealth of free nations in the era after the
fall of the Roman Empire.
18. Violence shall no more be heard in
your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shalt
call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
19. The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness
shall the moon give light to you: but the Lord shall be to you an
everlasting light. 21. your people also shall be all righteous:
they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the
work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
22. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong
nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.
To keep it short. The reason violence, wasting
or destruction is not within the borders of this city. The reason the
physical sun and moon don't shine on it. The reason
all the people
who dwell there are righteous is because it is not a physical city.
Verse 22 is a good illustration of how a seed planted in one heart
can bring multitudes to Christ.
Isaiah 54
1. Sing, O barren, you that did not bear; break forth into singing, and
cry aloud, you that did not travail with child: for more are the
children of the barren woman than the children of the married wife, says
the Lord.
The Apostle Paul gives a very specific
interpretation of this scripture in
Galatians 4: 27.
That Sarah, Abrahams wife and her son Isaac symbolize the second
covenant while Hagar and Ishmael represent the first covenant.
2. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them
stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your
cords, and strengthen your stakes; 3. For you shall break forth on the
right hand and on the left; your children shall inherit
the nations and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Notice very carefully that it is not
those who preach the Gospel first
that inherit the nations but their descendants. These are important
distinctions. There are those who preach the Gospel under great
affliction and persecutions. There are those who are freedom fighters
(if necessary) who fight against tyranny once the peoples hearts are
turned to the Lord. (People like George Washington perhaps?) Then
finally there are those, the descendants who reap the blessings that
others have sown with their blood. In all of this, Gods church is told
to fear not. Commit yourself to the task at at hand, whatever the
circumstances or time may be. It is all part of the process, you will
not be ashamed for your work, and whatever part you play you will
inherit eternal life. As a prophecy the focus of this is on the end of
that process where nations are inherited and the desolations of the
ancient world are rebuilt.
4. Fear
not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be confounded; for you shalt
not be put to shame: for you shalt forget the shame of your youth, and
shalt not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more. 5. For your Maker is your husband; the
Lord of hosts is his name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The
God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Same thing. The saying: "He shall be
called the God of the whole earth." Is just another way of
saying the whole earth will acknowledge him. This
coming to pass is of course subject to the same processes.
6. For the Lord has called
you as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when
you were refused, says your God. 7. For a small moment have I forsaken
you; but with great mercies will I gather you. 8. In a little anger I
hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I
have mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer. 9. For this is like the
waters of Noah to me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should
no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be angry
with you, nor rebuke you. 10. For the mountains shall depart, and the
hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says the Lord that has mercy
on you.
These verses along with verses 4-5 are crafted
in such a way as to show the nature of the old covenant verses the new.
In the old, a single race was chosen to bring the Word of God into the
world. Naturally and typically then within that race their would be
believers that were outnumbered by unbelievers. When the unbelievers got
the upper hand in administering the government and course of the nation
then the nation itself, both believers and unbelievers would face natural
consequences called "wrath." Now this never has nor ever will change as
far as nations are concerned. In the new covenant however there is a
totally different dynamic. God the husband, God the Father is no longer
the husband of an Old Testament single nation of believers and
unbelievers that only symbolized the New Testament that was to come. Now
he is the husband or the father of all believers who exist in all
nations. A little more specifically: The believers of Old Testament
times were Gods true wife also. In fact they are the ones being spoken
to in these verses, But they suffered rejection because of
Gods multifaceted plan to use the nation of Israel to bring Christ and
the Gospel into the earth. This rejection was not directed at them
personally, they are in heaven. It's just that they had to live out their
faith within the context of a nation, a city, a mountain, and rites and
rituals of the Mosaic law that were merely symbolic and prophetic of the
what the author likes to term the Great Gospel Age. The rejection they
suffered specifically consisted of
them not receiving the promised blessings of the Government of God that
the nations would receive in time through Abrahams one descendant Jesus.
This blessing in it's fullness was promised and prophesied to occur only
after the fall of the four empire age of the gentiles. That is what is
illustrated by the marriage supper of the lamb. That Gods people after
thousands and thousands of years finally receive the promised physical
blessings that are prophesied all through out the Bible. The real
mystery to all of this? That these blessings would occur only with the
participation of man influenced by the Gospel. Apparently, this is still
a great mystery! So then it can easily be seen why God will never
be angry with his wife and work only for her benefit. Because she loves
him alone, she trusts him, she follows him. Those who claim to be
Christians but do not love him are not Gods wife, that simple.
11. O you that are afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not
comforted, behold, I will lay your stones
with fair colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12. And I
will make your windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all
thy borders of pleasant stones. 13. And all of children shall be taught
of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of your children. 14. In righteousness shall you be
established: you shalt be far from oppression; for you shalt not
fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. 15. Behold, they
shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather
together against you shall fall for your sake. 16. Behold, I have
created the blacksmith that blows the coals in the fire, and that brings
forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to
destroy. 17. No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and
every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
righteousness is of me, says the Lord.
In verses 11-12 we have direct references to
the New Jerusalem in Johns Revelation. Verses 13 and 14 again
articulate major promises of God that would be fulfilled in their time.
Specific promises
of liberty, freedom, national safety, long term periods of peace.
These are typical of the prophetic scriptures concerning the age
following the Roman Empire and beyond. However it is moderated
with reality, the very reality of this prophesied age. That peoples and
nations would seek to gather together in alliances and wars to limit or
destroy the freedoms and liberties that Gods saints and those who are
allied with them enjoy. The
promise of scripture is that their plans will ultimately fail.
Verse 17 shows how the wicked scheme and rise up in judgment
against Gods people. They accuse them of every evil and pass judgment
against them to justify their plans for dominion. Seems one can hardly
read the news today without seeing this. The wicked trumpet their
morality as if it's somehow superior to that of morality preached by
Christ and his apostles. The promise of this is that the judgment of
Gods saints who's righteousness comes from heaven will pass sentence on
the deeds of the wicked and not visa versa.
Let's look at this in light of the tyrants
and the wanna be dictators of today's world. Do they not go to every extreme to hide
their deeds from the eyes of the rest of the world, especially the
western world? Are not billions of dollars and the labor of
millions devoted to the
propaganda of hiding evil deeds and motives? Why is this, why hide? What is it
they are hiding from? What power compels them to do so when the
oppressed under them can do nothing? Don't
leftist politicians in western democracies and republics have to lie
about almost everything they believe and stand for to get elected? Why
is this? Why lie if there is no standard of right and wrong that you are
being held up against? The prophecy here is not that cultures that have or have had
powerful influences from God and his word will not vacillate anymore.
It's that the truth, if it be known will become the standard to which
all other viewpoints are measured. This is how the people of truth judge
and pass sentence on the "world." "Know you not that the saints shall
judge the world." the apostle says? Further this says it is the heritage
of the servants of the Lord to occupy that role. Remember now this is
all written in comparison to the ancient world where as Pilate said to
Jesus, "what is truth?" The reality of those days was whatever the
powerful said was truth was truth. This meant if they demanded your
submission to their idolatries and that you acknowledge them as Gods you
had better accept that as the truth. The general public submitted
themselves to this to survive in a dehumanizing slavery of the mind and
body. In contrast to that world this prophecy is being fulfilled
dramatically in the earth. Even with all setbacks the truth is
triumphing in the world.
Isaiah 62
1. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I
will not rest, until the righteousness of it go forth as brightness, and
the salvation of it as a lamp that burns. 2. And the Gentiles shall see
your righteousness, and all kings your glory: and you will be called by
a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. 3. You will also be
a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand
of your God. 4. You will no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall your
land any more be termed Desolate: but you will be called Hephzibah, and
thy land Beulah: for the Lord delights in you, and thy land shall be
married. 5. For as a young man marries a
virgin, so shall thy sons marry you: and as the bridegroom rejoices over
the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
In these verses we have the
same general promise to Jerusalem that it will be called by a new name
which is now known to be the New Jerusalem. Johns vision in the book of
Revelation mimics these same verses and places them in a timeline that
begins to occur after the fall of the Roman Empire in 1453 A.D.
6. I have set watchmen
upon your walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor
night: you that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, 7. And give
him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in
the earth.
These verses tell how all of this will come to
pass. Every time a believer is praying for revival. Praying for awakening.
When they pray for their nation or pray for souls. They are literally
doing just what this verse says. They are praying to God to make the New
Jerusalem a praise in the earth. This is the essential work of the
Gospel and making disciples of all nations. These watchmen
are the millions of beleivers down through the ages who labor for the
souls of men, the precious fruit of the earth.
8. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of
his strength, Surely I will no more give your corn to be meat for your
enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink your wine, for the
which you have labored: 9. But they that have gathered it shall eat it,
and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink
it in the courts of my holiness.
This shows the commitment of the Lord to his
agenda of blessing his creation.
10. Go through, go through the gates;
prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather
out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. 11. Behold, the Lord
hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say to the daughter of
Zion, Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and
his work before him. 12. And they shall call them, The holy people, The
redeemed of the Lord: and you will be called, Sought out, A city not
forsaken
Again widely acknowledged prophesies about the
Gospel and those who accept it, the redeemed, called a city.
There are many more
scriptures about the New Jerusalem and the Government of god that could
be gone over like these ones. This sampling is just to give the reader
idea's of interpretations along the lines of this article. If one
accepts the premises of this article you will find that interpreting
things in like manner will come quite naturally.
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