Isaiah 34 - 35

We end last time in ch 33 with a vision of a river that will go from the Mount of Olives to the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Ch 33 looked at the fear of the Jews for the Assyrians and the rebuked their unbelief to glimpses of the Millennium.

Now on to Chapter 34 where Isaiah changes track and we get a prophesy of Armageddon.

1 Come near, you nations, to hear;​​ And heed, you people! ​​Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, ​​The world and all things that come forth from it.

where Isaiah changes track and we get a prophesy of Armageddon. 1 Come near, you nations, to hear;​​ And heed, you people! ​​Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, ​​The world and all things that come forth from it.

Notice He is talking to the nations and the earth a clue He taking about the Great Tribulation.

2 ​​For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations,

Indignation of the Lord is an idiom of the GT. ​​And His fury against all their armies;​​ He has utterly destroyed them, ​​He has given them over to the slaughter. 3 ​​Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses,​​ And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

The Revelation tells us:

​Chapter 14

18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

1,600 furlongs is about 200 miles!

This will be a literal bloodbath!

4 ​​All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, ​​And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;​​ All their host shall fall down​​ As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

This imagery is repeated through out the Old and NT’s.Matthew

​The New King James Version Chapter 24

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

It seems there will be lots of meteors falling during the GT.

Video - The heavens receding like a scroll 12:54

He continues,

5 ​​“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;​​ Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

6 ​​The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, ​​It is made overflowing with fatness, ​​With the blood of lambs and goats,​​With the fat of the kidneys of rams.​​ For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, ​​And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 ​​The wild oxen shall come down with them,​​And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;​​Their land shall be soaked with blood,​​And their dust saturated with fatness.”

We need to remember that Edom is another name for Jacobs fraternal twin, Esau. Edom besides being a enemy of Israel is a symbol of the “flesh”. Remember Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. Edom is south and east of Israel today and includes Saudi Arabia. SA has been the major financier of antisemitic groups around the world.

8 For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance,​​The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 ​​Its streams shall be turned into pitch,​​And its dust into brimstone;​​Its land shall become burning pitch.

10 ​​It shall not be quenched night or day;​​Its smoke shall ascend forever.​​From generation to generation it shall lie waste; ​​No one shall pass through it forever and ever.

Saudi Arabia is interesting in that it has so much oil reserves and could explain Isaiah’s vision of V9 - 9 ​​Its streams shall be turned into pitch,​​And its dust into brimstone;​​Its land shall become burning pitch. 10 ​​It shall not be quenched night or day;​​Its smoke shall ascend forever. We can only imagine how long that would burn! ​​

11 But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, ​​Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.​​ And He shall stretch out over it ​​The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.

We can only imagine how long that would burn! ​​But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it,​​Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.​​And He shall stretch out over it​​The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.12 ​​They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,​​But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.​A picture of utter destruction. 13 ​​And thorns shall come up in its palaces,​​Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;​​It shall be a habitation of jackals,​​A courtyard for ostriches.14 ​​The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals,​​And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;​​Also the night creature shall rest there,​​And find for herself a place of rest.15 ​​There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs​​And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;​​There also shall the hawks be gathered,​​Every one with her mate.​16 ​​“Search from the book of the LORD, and read:​​Not one of these shall fail;​​Not one shall lack her mate.​​For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.17 ​​He has cast the lot for them,​​And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.​​They shall possess it forever;​​From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.” So a daunting description of the GT.. I am glad we will not see it.

Here, the line of confusion and stones of emptiness, is interesting because it is the same verbage as in the earth became without form and void. tohuw bohuw, Confusion or without form and emptiness or void. Which brings up the idea of the “gap theory.” The concept that there was a gap between v1 & V2 and that this is perhaps when the fall of satan occurred. We will see this again in Is 45.

12 ​​They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,​​ But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.​

A picture of utter destruction.

13 ​​And thorns shall come up in its palaces,​​ Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;

​​It shall be a habitation of jackals,​​ A courtyard for ostriches.

14 ​​The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals,​​ And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;​​ Also the night creature shall rest there,​​ And find for herself a place of rest.

15 ​​There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs​​And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;​​There also shall the hawks be gathered,​​Every one with her mate.​

Here we are getting a picture of a devastated land where only the creatures of the desert wilderness are found. However, it has been suggested that it may deeper than that. In v14 the jackals are “howlers” in Hebrew and the wild goat is “satyr”. As in a satanist goat. The screech owl is “liliyth” in Hebrew. There are many myths regarding liliyth and she was said to be the first wife of Adam. So all that to say there is an evil spiritual under current in this passage.

16 ​​“Search from the book of the LORD, and read:​​ Not one of these shall fail;​​ Not one shall lack her mate. ​​For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.

17 ​​He has cast the lot for them, ​​And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.​​ They shall possess it forever;​​ From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.” So a daunting description of the GT.. I am glad we will not see it.

Lets move on to Chapter 35. A lot more uplifting as we look again into the Millennium.

1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,

​​And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;

2 ​​It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,

​​Even with joy and singing.

​​The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

​​The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

​​They shall see the glory of the LORD,

​​The excellency of our God.

Here we get a huge contrast from the howling demons of the GT in Chapter 34 to a blossoming desert. Even creation is groaning for the return of Christ and will rejoice at his return.

3 ​​Strengthen the weak hands,

​​And make firm the feeble knees.

4 ​​Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

​​“Be strong, do not fear!

​​Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

​​With the recompense of God;

​​He will come and save you.”

Does this sound familiar? It should. The writer to the Hebrews pick up on this

Hebrews 12:12 NKJV

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

Hebrews 12:12–13 NKJV

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

The writer to the Hebrews is using this Isaiah passage to encourage those who had been going through chastening and tough circumstances. In the same Isaiah is giving encouragement to those who have come out of the GT.

​Isaiah continues;

5 ​​Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

​​And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6 ​​Then the lame shall leap like a deer,

​​And the tongue of the dumb sing.

​​For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,

​​And streams in the desert.

7 ​​The parched ground shall become a pool,

​​And the thirsty land springs of water;

​​In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,

​​There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

Here we remember that John the Baptist was in prison and had gone through a season of doubting and asked Jesus if He was the One or should he look for another.

Matthew 11:2–6 NKJV

2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

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In this account in Matthew, Jesus is referring JTB back to the proofs of the messiah right here in . The blind see and the deaf hear and so on.

No we get to one of Isaiah’s favorite images. The Highway.

8 ​​A highway shall be there, and a road,

​​And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.

​​The unclean shall not pass over it,

​​But it shall be for others.

​​Whoever walks the road, although a fool,

​​Shall not go astray.

9 ​​No lion shall be there,

​​Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;

​​It shall not be found there.

​​But the redeemed shall walk there,

The Hebrew word for highway indicates what our English word literally says: "a high-way." It speaks of a raised road, lifted above the ground. It is a high, glorious road to travel on!

It is interesting that the early church was first called”the way.” Following Jesus is a way of life, a “higher” way - if you will. When we walk on the highway of Holiness we don’t get fouled up with the things that cause one to go astray. Isaiah says,

Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.

Also there is safety on the High-way - No lion’s (satan is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour).

The idea is just stay on the path, the devil cannot get to you there.

10 ​​And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

​​And come to Zion with singing,

​​With everlasting joy on their heads.

​​They shall obtain joy and gladness,

​​And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The idea of the ransomed is one who has been redeemed by his Goel - Kinsman Redeemer. We were slaves sold under sin and Jesus Christ our Goel payed the debt we could never pay.

No wonder we come to Zion with singing and everlasting joy on our heads.

Even when you don’t understand and it gets tough, stay on the highway. It will be worth it.