Isa 1:21-2:4
Isaiah 1:21-2:4 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
I heard the story from several sources, and I may have even perhaps told it to some of you;
that of a monk who heard a voice from God and travel east to ancient Rome and stopped the gladiator games ;
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Well I tracked down the source of the story, and this is the actually historical account of how the gladiator games really ended:
Theodoret of Cyrus (Cyrrhus in Syria), The Ecclesiastical History
Book V, Chapter XXVI: Of Honorius the Emperor and Telemachus the monk.
"Honorius, who inherited the empire of Europe, put a stop to the gladitorial combats which had long been held at Rome. The occasion of his doing so arose from the following circumstance. A certain man of the name of Telemachus had embraced the ascetic life. He had set out from the East and for this reason had repaired to Rome. There, when the abominable spectacle was being exhibited, he went himself into the stadium, and stepping down into the arena, endeavoured to stop the men who were wielding their weapons against one another. The spectators of the slaughter were indignant, and inspired by the triad fury of the demon who delights in those bloody deeds, stoned the peacemaker to death.
When the admirable emperor was informed of this he numbered Telemachus in the number of victorius martyrs, and put an end to that impious spectacle."
Though there are many embellishments in the way the story is commonly told, the central truth is still there, that God used the death of one man, a Christian, to put an end to over 400 years of bloody slaughter of slaves and Christians, and warriors for the insatiable lust and entertainment of people.
This is the effect of the Gospel in the world; to those who submit to the truth of the Gospel, there is peace, there is the laying down of weapons, and arms, to those who reject it, there is war.
Let’s pick up where we left off in Isaiah:
Remember, Yahweh is addressing His idolatrous and apostate nation, those whom He has chosen, His nation whom He has brought out of slavery, and given them their own land, and the righteous and holy Law, He subdued all the nations before them, He set them up as rulers and kings in the earth; yet they have turned to idolatry, harlotry, sacrificing their children to the gods of the nations, passing their children through the fire. They bow down to every green thing.
Yahweh has promised not only judgment, but that He will make them clean; He will purge them:
21 How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, “Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My foes.
25 “I will also turn My hand against you, And will smelt away your dross as with lye And will remove all your alloy.
26 “Then I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city.”
27 Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness.
28 But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away Or as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them.
1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
Part 1 - the Separation
Part 1 - the Separation
To begin, we must first see, The unfaithful city… the unfaithful city
To begin, we must first see, The unfaithful city… the unfaithful city
21 How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.
We see the unfaithfulness to the covenant, described in terms of unfaithfulness to a marriage. God cut a covenant with the nation, He pledged to be husband unto them, to be their God and they to be His people; but they have transgressed the covenant. Their apostacy is described in terms of harlotry, of adultery.
For at the first, when the nation was with Moses, we see the nation walking in the commandments of the Lord (kinda); but they have fallen away. We see certain periods of obedience during the times of David and Solomon, but even Solomon turned to idols during his life; and thus God split the kingdom into two.
Yet now she is an apostate nation: she was full of justice, righteousness once lodged in her, but now murders! Instead of a righteous and holy kingdom of priests; murders.
22 Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water.
First adultery, then adulteration.
Here is a metaphor of the silver of the nation becoming dross; the valuable is mixed with the worthless.
This is inflation ladies and gentlemen!
Because of their sin and unfaithfulness, the economic and material state of the nation worsens! The temporal blessings are taken away.. Here the money, is full of dross; that which has value is losing it’s value! The good things, like the wine is becoming diluted mixed with gross old water.
The temple, which in Solomon’s day was fully decked with every precious metal, slowly has become less valuable. the golden shields are turned to bronze, the silver, the money, is full of dross.
9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s palace. He took everything; he even took the golden shields which Solomon had made.
10 Then King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guard who guarded the door of the king’s house.
Now this event happened several kings before the current time this is prophesied, but it is a demonstration of the deterioration of the state of the nation.
The silver is mixed with dross, junk, gunk; non-silver, mixed into the silver. The pure is polluted; adulterated.
23 Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
The figure of the adulteration of the riches is expressed plainly and literally in the worsening state of all the individuals.
The magistrates of the state are wicked; because they do not fear of God, they cease to do justice. They pursue money, they use their office to gain wealth for themselves, rather than hearing the cause of those who are afflicted; the orphan with no parent is left without any advocate, and the widow with no husband has no one to plead her cause.
Instead of passing policies to take care of the poor and needy, their are doing insider trading and buying themselves new Teslas. Their office which is to serve the afflicted, has become a means to serve themselves.
The Judges are no judges at all. They take up not the cause of the orphan; they have forsaken entirely their God given duty to establish justice, and care for the afflicted and needy.
Ironically, the neglect of God’s commands for bribes and wealth, leads to the dilution of true wealth. The true riches fade, because God is the one who supplies the wealth, and when His cause is neglected, He turns off the faucet.
2 As we see the state of wicked city, now we shall see Yahweh’s Response. Yahweh’s response.
2 As we see the state of wicked city, now we shall see Yahweh’s Response. Yahweh’s response.
Through harsher judgments, God will purge, and purify and refine His people.
24 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, “Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My foes.
Because the “Fountains of Justice” (Alexander, 92) have been dried up, Therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts, the supreme ruler of all, the strong and mighty One, the God of Israel, “I will be relieved of My adversaries, And avenge myself on My foes.” I will render My justice against My enemies Myself.
The purge begins with the removal of His enemies from among His people.
Now; Yahweh will judge the nations, He will judge the Assyrians, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Jebusties, the graphites and the bad guy-ities. But this judgement; These are enemies within the body. Within the walls of God’s city. Within God’s Church, God’s people. These enemies are within.
He will avenge Himself on His adversaries; He is fully capable of taking up His own cause against His adversaries. He shouldn’t have to, the judges should be judging rightly; His people as His image bearers, ought to rule and hold dominion on the earth for Him, but in their failure, Yahweh will plead the cause of the poor and afflicted. He will destroy the wicked.
25 “I will also turn My hand against you, And will smelt away your dross as with lye And will remove all your alloy.
Yahweh threatens, yet promises restoration simultaneously. To this big clump of silver mixed with dross. (that’s the word of the day kids, dross) Yahweh will smelt it, He will through it into the fire, and burn it! And through doing that, He will separate out, and get rid of all the gunk, and trash.
Yahweh no longer speaks of the people’s silver, but the people are the silver now. God will smelt away His adversaries from His people. Through the adversarial heat of the Lord. He’s turning up the heat on them; the unrighteous will be burned off and separated.
26 “Then I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city.”
The literal effect of the figure is given; the purging will result in the restoration of righteousness. Righteous judges will sit in the seat where the wicked ones currently stand.
God’s judgment affects effects of the restoration of righteousness. God’s nation will be restored to a state of faithfulness, which will be evident to all. They will be called a faithful city.
The Judges of the people, the rulers, will be restored to the proper standard of the Law of God. And the people will be faithful to their covenant; they will no longer be harlots.
This is the work of the Lord, done through work of the Messiah:
Not to get ahead too of ourselves, but hear the same purging language from the Prophet Malachi, the last prophet before the 400 years of silence after the closing of the Old Testament revelation.
1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.
3 “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.
4 “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the Lord of hosts.
Fast forward 400 years later. There was a man sent from God who’s name was John.
And he started preaching, he prepared the people
For:
5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
And He was saying:
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Here the separation, the two groups.
The fates of the Silver and the Fates of the Dross (repeat)
The fates of the Silver and the Fates of the Dross (repeat)
Until now, God has spoken to His faithful people and threatened His enemies together as a whole. The promises are intermingled with the threatening.
But now see what occurs, but the separation, the one people group become more distinct; the first address is to the Church, the remnant, Zion, the faithful people of Yahweh.
27 Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness.
For Zion, God’s people, the Church, will be set free, purchased, and saved according to God’s justice. Not on the basis of arbitrary forgiveness, but according to God’s justice.
Think of the Church in the Old Testament, as a pregnant woman and her baby. (if you’re taking notes, please write “a pregnant woman and her baby.”
Is a baby still a baby in the womb? Yes; Are there differences between a baby within the womb, and one without? Yes; for the least part, it’s outside of the lady now. That’s a pretty big difference. The baby is free to move around, and cry.
Hear this about Zion:
7 “Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
9 “Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.
When the time was fulfilled, when the egg hatched, when the flower blossomed, when she gave birth, the Church as we know it today was born, built on the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles; When Christ arose, ascended into heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father having sealed the New Testament in His blood, having sent the Holy Spirit of promise to apply His atonement to His people,
What was always going to happen, happened. All along, the plan since God made a covenant to Abraham; and promised the serpent that his head would be crushed, and even from all eternity past. What was going to take place, took place, and is still taking place, and will one day be consummated when He returns, and Christ has His inheritance of nations.
Paul describes the Church in the Old Testament as a child under a tutor, in a certain type of slavery, until the New Testament was enacted.
1 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything,
2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.
3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
So back to the fate of Zion
Those who repent, those who turn from sin, and come to Yahweh, they will be redeemed with righteousness; according to God’s perfect Holy Character they will be redeemed, and according to His law; according to His righteousness, His justice.
For Zion, God’s people will be set free from their sin; they will be forgiven and restored, those who repent, those who turn back to Yahweh. They will be redeemed with justice, not with arbitrariness, but according to the just rule of law.
Through the death of Christ on the cross in the place of them for their sin.
The fate of the Dross
28 But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
Those who forsake the Lord, who continue in their own way will be crushed, they will be destroyed.
His adversaries will receive their own fate, they will be separated out. They will come to an end.
The particular sin of Idolatry is brought into focus here: Those who serve idols. Idolatry can stand here for the class of all manner and kinds of sins; Within the act of idolatry, the worship of false gods, come all sorts of sin.
He says
29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
They will be ashamed of the trees! Why the trees? Because they take the trees, cut them down, take half of the wood and make a fire to cook some eggs, and the other half they make a little statue and bown down to it. And they will be embarrassed at their gardens, because that’s where they did it.
They will be ashamed of the gods they have chosen! They will see the folly of their ways!
Let’s talk for a moment about Idolatry, Idolatry
There is no difference from worshipping a block of wood, and worshipping money, or worshipping fame, or worshipping sex, or worshipping the approval of your friends, or your grades, or your Xbox, or your dog, or Pewdiepie, or Trump, or anything else:
If you went to many other countries, you would see this type of gross idolatry, the worship of literal statues and images of God, but Idolatry is a matter of the heart; a matter of worshipping, of worth-shipping (giving worth too)- of overvaluing, of loving with all your heart, anything more than Yahweh; Anything more than Jesus Christ. Anything you love more than God is an idol.
Christ said: Luke 16:13
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
There is no such thing as parallel worship; God does not share His throne in your life.
He says
11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.
11 “I, even I, am the Lord, And there is no savior besides Me.
21 “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.
8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’ ”
The first two commandents:
1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Yahweh does not share space in a heart. He is, and there is no other. He deserves the full devotion of His people, His saints, the whole earth. For the heavens rejoice in the Lord
Those who forsake the Lord will be ashamed, they will be embarrassed of the paths they have chosen. They will know their error.
30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away Or as a garden that has no water.
As Yahweh is the giver and taker of life. He is the source of the living waters, those who forsake Him become as dry trees. They wither and die. They will dry up. The rejection of the paths of the Lord is choosing the path of atrophy, decay, death.
For Prov 8:36
36 “But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”
Those who wait on Yahweh are as living trees, planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth their fruit in their season, but those who reject Him dry up. The curses begin and come to them, they overtake them.
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
So look now at the fate of the Dross and their idols:
31 The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them.
The strong men, those rulers previously mentioned, along with the work of their hands, those idols that they cherish so much more than Yahweh, they will become a complete destruction. An utter desolation. Just as fire is used to purge the metal, so the fire here is the destination of the dross, they will be burned off, and there will be no one who can save them; their idol cannot, will not, save them in the day of destruction.
The who work not after the glory of the Lord. That man and his work alike will be overtaken. God’s means of punishment: fire. They will be burned together. There will be none to quench them. There is no recourse, no salvation, no deliverance for them on the day of Judgment.
John Calvin once said, “the human heart is a perpetual idol factory” (Institutes I.11.8).
Pagans (or Unbelievers) are very good at getting very good at one thing. Then they worship it.
The world is replete, replete. with engineers, mathematicians, athletes, scientists, doctors, dentists, politicians, lawyers, artists, musicians, etc. Many people doing many things.
And are these things sin? No. God has given us the world, and commanded us to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
The creation is good. He saw it, and said it was very Good. Yes cursed, because of the fall, but Good.
What is idolotary, but serving and worshipping the creation rather than the creator:
Paul writes:
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Idolatry is simply valuing the creation over the creator, loving the creation over the creator.
For John says,
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
And Christ said,
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
This culture thinks the only thing worth serving is oneself, no longer marduk, nor Asteroth, or Zeus or Thor or Jupiter, but the biggest idol around today is oneself:
I found this neat article from the university of Berkeley, California, about finding your purpose:
Indeed, a sense of purpose appears to have evolved in humans so that we can accomplish big things together—which may be why it’s associated with better physical and mental health. Purpose is adaptive, in an evolutionary sense. It helps both individuals and the species to survive. (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_your_purpose_in_life)
Having a “sense” purpose (not an actual purpose, but a general feeling of purpose) helps the species to survive, and will make you look great in a swimsuit, and feel great.
Here is Tony Robbins, the prophet himself, the guru, his 1st step in his 12 step program to finding your purpose:
1 Search inward: “You can never truly understand how to find your purpose by listening to others’ opinions and seeking outside approval.
Everything you need is within yourself. The only thing holding you back is your own limiting beliefs. With each limiting belief you identify and replace with an empowering belief, you develop greater self-awareness. And when you’re in control of your emotions, you’re in control of your life.”
Everything you need, is within you. You make the grass grow. You put the sun in the sky. You knitted yourself together in the womb; all that’s holding you back from your true purpose, from being happy; are your limited beliefs. You believe silly things like, “I am poor, and unattractive; I am only human, and not my own god.” Your situation in life, is only because you don’t believe in yourself enough; you don’t love yourself enough; you’re holding your back from your greatest you; look inward and you will be set free!
God says:
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
And
The man and his idol will burn together!
If you’d like to find Tony’s 12 points they’re available at (https://www.tonyrobbins.com/stories/date-with-destiny/what-is-my-purpose/):
Tony Robbins, while I am picking on him a bit; is hardly the least offender; this thinking is everywhere.
We see many who spend their lives, pursuing their purpose, putting their hand to the plow to work, build, create; and they fall down and worship the work of their hands
You’ve heard it said to look inward, to follow your heart, but God tells you:
31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Jesus tells you:
37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
Part II: This vision of the exalted Church and the reign of Yahweh
Part II: This vision of the exalted Church and the reign of Yahweh
1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.
“The prophecy begins with an abrupt prediction of the exaltation of the church, and the gathering of nations into it, and a general pacification, or peacification of a bringing of peace as a result of it.” (Joseph Alexander, 97, modified quote)
To briefly substantiate the claim that this is the Church.
Speaking of those who have joined the Church of the New Covenant, the author of Hebrews says:
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
Those who come to the Church of Christ have come to Mt. Zion, yes Mt. Zion is a literal mountain, but the meaning here is deeper, and used as one of many symbols or motifs for the Church, the assembly, of Yahweh.
There is Mt. Zion as the same location as the Church in the New Testament.
We also have the word ἐκκλησία, used in the Old Testament here:
If you’d like to look these up later,
In Heb 2:12, the author quotes a psalm in the OT,
12 saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
That word Congregation is the word ἐκκλησία, meaning gathering, or church;
Also, Stephen the NT Church’s first martyr:
speaking in ACTS 7:38 about Israel in the wilderness says
38 “This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you.
You may say, wait, Jesus says to Peter: “On this rock I will build my Church” again remember: pregnant woman.
What is Christ talking about? You see, still in Christ’s day, He is still laying the groundwork for the house of God, which is His Church, His assembly, His kingdom:
Eph 2:19 making the point about Gentiles being brought into the citizenship of Israel and the household of God says this:
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
And the same image in Rev of the New Jerusalem which has the names of the 12 tribes of Israel written on the gates, and the foundation stones have the names of the twelve Apostles written on them. And we see a similar thing there that we see here, the nations streaming into it.
The Church is not God’s side plan, His side chick, His second bride, until he gets back on track with the different group of Israel: Christ has always had one flock.
14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
Jesus says also speaking of the Gentile centurian:
10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.
11 “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew and John both quote this Prophecy when Christ comes to Jerusalem:
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
Paul quotes Isaiah:
33 just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
If Christ is your king, and you believe in Him, you are truly saved, regenerated, born again, have recieved the Holy Spirit, you are a member of Zion.
That is all to say:
Isaiah sees the Church exalted, and the nations of the world streaming into it, and the result being a pacification, peacefulness, peace on earth.
In the latter days, meaning, hereafter, in the latter days, which I believe to refer generally in most instances to the period during the reign of the Messiah, between the first and second advent.
I won’t go through all the verses here, but a few. Hebrews 1:1-2 the author says:
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
And Peter quotes this prophecy in Joel as fulfilled on the day of Pentecaust:
17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams;
And so, it shall happen in the latter part, in the later days, or after this, the mountain of Yahweh, in the widest sense, including mount moriah, where the timple stood) will be established (permanently fixed) as the chief of the mountains (i.e. above them) and will be raised above (away from and by implication more than or higher than) the hills, or the other mountains. And all the nations will stream into it. (Joseph Alexander, pg 97)
Isaiah 2:3a (NASB95)
3 And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.”
The gathering of the nations is described in more detail; the people relate that they are seeking the God of Jacob, that they may be instructed in the truth; in true religion, which in the Old Testament, Jerusalem or Zion was the exclusive recipient (Alexander, 98).
They exhort one another, let us go up the mountain! They encourage one another. Let us go to the house of Jacob! That we may walk in His ways. We see the whole world seeking the true religion here.
Do not say: This will not happen, look! Russia and Ukraine, Biden and Kamala! have you read the paper today?
Shall God’s people not interpret God’s word from His mouth, and not from the newspaper?
I implore you to take a grander vision: think of where the Church is now as opposed to where is was 2000 years ago, with 11 apostles standing on a mountaintop watching their Lord ascend into the clouds. Think how much He has built:
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
33 He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.
35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
To God a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day. He has promised the exaltation of His Church, that the Father may give to His Son the nations for an inheritance, and the ends of the earth for a possession:
Hear what Daniel says, speaking of what God will do in the days of Rome:
44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
45 “Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Think of how far the Gospel has come in these 2000 years, and think of how much more there is to go. Yet you may say, “have you seen the state of the Church?” Yes, I agree, in America, there is much by which to be grieved, but the faithful remnant are here; they are working, and those who have the faith to trust God’s promises will see the fruits of their labor.
This is not even to mention the explosion of the Church in China, Africa, all over the world God has His people, and His is building. Build with Him! Let Him build through you! Become a living stone! A disciple making disciple! What greater cause is there to take up, that that of the living God, for the battle is His and He will make Himself known through and often despite His imperfect people.
Isa 2:3b
For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The true rule of faith and practice, the word of Yahweh, His standards, His law, His word, His judgments will go forth out of Zion, out of Jerusalem! For the truth will be preached throughout the earth, for it was given for this very purpose.
The elevation of true religion will be evident, and seen by all.
4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
For the one who gives the Law will be present to judge between the nations. He will make decisions, and end their disputes. His intervention will bring peace; and the necessary result is the cessation of war; so much so, to so great an extent, that the knowledge of the very art of war is forgotten, and it’s tools are given another use. (Joseph Alexander, Vol I:98)
You may say, Christ is not with us now, so He can’t render judgment, what does Christ say at the end of the great commission? Anyone? “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He is powerfully present among His people, and it is through that presence that the nations will be discipled. Yes; one day He will return in His body, but that does not mean that Christ is not with us today, for He gives His power to His faithful; and He is speaking through His living word.
This prediction wasn’t fulfilled in the Pax Romana, and it’s still not fulfilled now; it is contingent on the previous condition, that the nations be converted, that they come into the Church.
Wherever people are actually faithful to the Gospel, to the truth of Christ, understanding His death for sinners that they may become righteous, wherever it is understood, the natural effects are peace on earth. The Gospel is peaceful in its spirit, it’s fruit, it’s effects (Alexander, 98). Wherever people are faithful to the Gospel, there is peace.
For in the Gospel is the forgiveness of sins; the wiping away of iniquity, and transgression. Because Christ became sin on behalf of sinners,
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The sinless became sin, for us. The Father crushed the Son, the Father turned His back on the Son, for His eyes are too holy to look upon sin;
and He did that for your idolatry, unfaithfulness, disobedience, hatred, pornography, sexual immorality, lies, thefts, coveting, shameful deeds. He did that for you to be wiped clean.
And Rom 5:1-2
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
In Christ you have peace, you have peace with Yahweh; and if God is for you, who can stand against you?
We have the word of Yahweh that this word, this message, this law will go throughout the whole earth, and the nations will pour in, they will ascend the holy hill, the mountain of Zion.
They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
Conclusion!
Conclusion!
I’d like to conclude with this verse:
In Revelation, the Lamb who was slain begins to open the prophetic scroll by breaking it’s seven seals:
1 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.”
2 I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.”
4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
For the Gospel will go out and conquer; and those who do not submit to the Gospel of peace, will have their right end: war. But Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
*Pray*
