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TH1145: On-Line
Teaching Notes
Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 13, as we continue our study through the Word of God. As we move into this portion of Scripture, and for the next 11 chapters, that is chapters 13-23, we are going to see Isaiah speak of God's judgment upon the gentile nations that were surrounding Israel and Judah. This portion of Scripture is sometimes called "The book of burdens".
ISAIAH 13
VERSE 1
1. Why were these words so heavy, so burdensome upon Isaiah? Because they were going to affect thousands and thousands of lives with devastating affects. And thus, Isaiah is going to deliver this weighty judgment, first to the Babylonians.
VERSES 2-3
1. At this point the Babylonians were not a world power, the Assyrians were. In fact, they would not rise to power for another 100 years or so, and yet God is speaking of their destruction by His "sanctified ones". Isaiah is speaking of the Medes and the Persians, that God is going to use them as His instrument of judgment against the Babylonians. In fact, when we get to Isaiah chapter 45, 150 years before Cyrus king of Persia was born, God called him by name and spoke of his captivity of Babylon, how it would all take place. And on October 12, 539 BC the nation of Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians. God does use pagan nations to bring about His judgment upon other nations, even His own people. We read in Jeremiah 25:9 that God calls Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king from Babylon, His servant, for it would be the Babylonians that would bring about God's judgment upon God's people, the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
VERSES 4-5
1. The Babylonians fell to the Medes and the Persians, and not by a multi national military force. In fact, they were an adjacent enemy and not from a distant land. So what is going on here? As we have seen as we look at prophecy, as God speaks against a certain nation of people, there is a near fulfillment and then a complete future fulfillment. I believe that the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy is found in Revelation chapter 17, as the Great Harlot, Mystery Babylon, which is the religious center of the world, will be destroyed. And in Revelation chapter 18, Babylon the Great or the commercial center of the world is destroyed.
2. In Genesis chapter 11 we read of a man named Nimrod, who lived in the area of Shinar, who lead the people into false worship. It was there that the tower of Babel was built, not to reach into heaven, but a place where they could worship the stars, worship the heavens. And God brought judgment upon them and confused their language. Now Babylon is in the same area as Shinar, and it became the center of occult worship and a commercial center of the world. When Babylon fell their priest moved their activity to Pergamos, and then during the time of Constantine this pagan religion moved from Pergamos to Rome. And many of the things that the Roman Catholic Church have in their mass, their beliefs, have been adopted from the Babylonians. And there is coming a day when this false religious and commercial system will rise up again, and God will bring it down.
VERSE 6
1. The "Day of the Lord" does not speak of a literal day. The Hebrew word YOM does speak of a literal day when it is connected with a number, such as in Genesis 1:8 which says, "And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day." But here in Isaiah it speaks of a period of time that seems to begin sometime after the rapture of the church and ends with the creation of a new heavens and a new earth.
In regards to this day we read in Joel 1:15, "Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty." Also, in Joel 2:1-2, 10-11, we read "Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations...The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?"
It is a time of God's judgment upon a Christ rejecting world and His dealing with the nation of Israel, completing the last 7 year period in regards to the 70 seven year periods that were pronounced upon Israel. They are dark days, days of God's judgment, and moves into a time we call The Great Tribulation, which is the last 3 1/2 years before Christ returns. And this Day of the Lord, goes through the millennial kingdom and culminates with the glorious creation of a new heavens and a new earth.
Peter points this out in II Peter 3:10-13 when he says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."
VERSE 7
1. Amos tells us of this day, "Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?" Amos 5:18-20. Just when you think you have escaped, you get it! In fact, things are so bad, that Jesus tells us of this time that men's hearts will fail them because of the things they see coming upon the earth. (Luke 21:26). Imagine seeing a scary movie, and the terror you feel, only this time this will be real and there is no escape!
VERSE 8
1. The Scriptures speak of the Tribulation period being like a woman in childbirth. During the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period things are not so bad. The pains are far apart and not to intense. But as the last 3 1/2 years begin, the Great Tribulation, the pains increase in frequency and intensity and people will cry out for the rocks and mountains to fall upon them and kill them so they won't have to face the wrath of God any longer. It is as Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:1-3, "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape." You will not be able to escape God's judgment, there will be no place to hide!
VERSE 9
1. Who is this judgment upon? SINNERS! God is punishing those who stand in their own righteousness, which is like filthy rags. But, for those in Christ, we stand in the righteousness of God that has been imputed to us by Christ. This judgment is not for us. Again, it is as Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:4-9, "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." Those who are in spiritual darkness will be overtaken by this day. For those who are in Christ, this day is not for them, but they will be taken out of this world prior to God's wrath being poured out. As Peter tells us in II Peter 2:9, "then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." Yes, God knows how to deliver us, and He will deliver us!
VERSE 10
1. We read of these cataclysmic events in Matthew 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."
Also, in Revelation 6:12-17 we read, "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'"
VERSE 11
1. God is punishing the world, the "earth dwellers" for their evil, their rebellion against Him. We, as Christians, are not earth dwellers, but pilgrims and strangers, just passing through. Our citizenship is in heaven, (Philippians 3:20). This is not our home, but we look towards heaven for a city whose builder and maker is God, (Hebrews 11:10). Thus, as Jesus said in Revelation 3:10, "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth."
VERSE 12
1. As you read through Revelation chapters 6-18 you get the details of the destruction that will take place. And Isaiah is telling us that man will be rare in those days because of the destruction that takes place. In Revelation 6:8 we are told that 1/4 of the earth's population will be destroyed. In Revelation 9:15 another 1/3 of the earth's population will be destroyed. In just these 2 sections we see half of the worlds population destroyed. We will go from 6 billion people to under 3 billion people in a very short period of time. In fact, it is so bad that Jesus said in Matthew 24:22, "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." There will be more dead than living during this period of time!
VERSE 13
1. God is going to shake this earth so violently that every island and every mountain will be moved out of its place. In Hebrews 12:25-29 we read of this time, "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.' Now this, 'Yet once more,' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." God is going to shake the earth to its very foundation, and only those things that are spiritual will last, everything else will be removed.
2. A similar event is spoken of in Isaiah 24:19-20 where we read "The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again." Some speak of a polar axis shift or reversal that can cause this wobbling affect of the earth. Some scientist believe that every 5,000 to 6,000 years the polar axis shifts or reverses itself. Another thought comes from Immanuel Velikovsky, not a believer. In his book, Worlds In Collision, he demonstrates how at one time the planet Venus was a comet. And at one point in the past, Venus past so close to the earth that it pushed the earth out to a farther orbit than what it was previously in. And Venus was then captured into a orbit, and became a stationary planet. One of the reasons he believes this, besides others he lists in his book, is the calendar year changed from a 360 day year to a 365 1/4 day year, as the calendars had to be changed to reflect the change in orbit. Whatever God uses to shake this earth, it will be shaken!
VERSE 14
1. When terror comes upon people because of the cataclysmic events that are taking place, they will flee for their lives, trying to find loved ones to be comforted by.
2. Now Isaiah moves back to the present near fulfillment, judgment upon Babylon.
VERSES 15-16
1. War is ugly and the weak, those that can't fight for themselves, are abused. It just shows the heart of man, the ugliness of it all. Now Isaiah is speaking of events that are going to take place some 150 years from now, as the Babylonians are defeated by the Medes and the Persians.
VERSE 17
1. This nation will not be bought off, but will accomplish their task of destroying Babylon.
VERSE 18
1. Again, the ugliness of war. As you read through this you may wonder how God can allow this. Understand this, God did not create the world like this, but man choose to live this way by rebelling against God. And thus, his nature reflects that of Satan and not of God. They seek to take captive and destroy peoples lives. And many of these nations are only reaping what they have sown upon others.
VERSES 19-22
1. The city of Babylon was awesome, some 15 square miles with a double wall for protection and the Euphrates River running through it. And yet God was going to allow the Medes and the Persians to bring them down, never to rise again.
2. Now what about modern day Babylon, Iraq? It is not in the exact location of ancient Babylon but built some distance away. In fact they have located the ancient city and have put up some of its ancient structures, but it remains uninhabited. And archeologists have said that when they began to excavate Babylon, they could not get the Arabians to stay in the area, but they camped outside of the ancient city. Now some may feel that this is stretching it a bit, that Babylon is rebuilt. I don't think so. Jericho was destroyed and not to be rebuilt, and yet today, in Israel, you can go and see Jericho, it is a city. What happened? This new Jericho is not built on the ancient city of Jericho, but several miles away. The ancient city of Jericho is still barren as is Babylon!
ISAIAH 14
VERSE 1
1. Under the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, the Jews were set free from their captivity, and in 536 BC some 50,000 out of some several million Jews returned home under the leadership of Joshua and Zerubbabel. Also following the Jews home were some proselytes or those who came to believe in the Lord that were not Jews.
VERSES 2-8
1. Now we see this partially fulfilled when they returned from Babylon. But this will ultimately be fulfilled when those Jews who have escaped the power of the antichrist will return home. And Jesus will set up His kingdom here on earth, and then and only then will peace fill this earth. And our hearts will be filled with such joy that we will break forth with songs unto the Lord.
VERSE 9
1. This is speaking of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon who was killed by the Medes and the Persians the same night he mocked God by having a drunken party using the temple vessels of God. And that night he saw the hand writing of God upon the wall, which Daniel interpreted as "God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it...You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting...Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Daniel 5:26-28. And that very night judgment fell and king Belshazzar was killed. And all the previous world kings, who rejected God, are there to welcome Belshazzar to HELL!
VERSES 10-11
1. For those who believe in the foolish idea of soul sleep, are dead wrong! Even here in Isaiah we see the dead outside of God having an awareness of their surroundings. And the ultimate authority, Jesus, tells us in Luke 16 that in Hell people are tormented, they feel pain, they are aware of their surroundings, and yet can do nothing about the situation they are in, it is too late!
2. Now we are going to move from the king of Babylon to the power behind this king, and not only this king, but all leaders of nations, all communities. It is the force that is behind the evil! In Daniel 10:12-13 we read, "Then he said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.'" This angelic messenger was held up by the demonic forces in the area of Persia, until Michael came and broke through. And as this angelic messenger gives Daniel this message, he says, "...'And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.'" Daniel 10:20. There are spiritual forces at work behind the scenes, both good and evil. Don't think that it is just a coincidence that Madison, the place where our State Capitol is located, the place where the University of Wisconsin is located, all those impressionable minds, is also the seat of all kinds of occult practices, witchcraft and-so-on. We need to pray not only for our local government but for the students who attend college there. There is a spiritual battle going on!
VERSE 12
1. Jesus said in Luke 10:18, "...'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.'" Satan was the anointed cherub, in charge of the angelic realm, God's number one created being and in charge of worship in heaven. He was full of beauty and wisdom. And yet that was not enough for him. And because of pride, as we shall see, he lost his position before God. His name, Lucifer, means "day star" or "son of the morning". Think of it this way. As you look at the brilliance of a star in the early morning, suddenly it vanishes as the sun rises. Lucifer started out brilliant but has faded, and will eventually fad away completely!
VERSES 13-15
1. Here we see the five "I wills" of Lucifer. Pride has filled his heart. No longer is he concerned with the will of God, but his own will, for he wants to be God. Now that lie is seen in the Garden of Eden when it was waved before Eve, and she bought into it. Hinduism focuses on becoming god's. The New Age is into this idea also. M. Scott Peck said "God wants us to become himself (or herself or itself). We are growing toward godhood. God is the goal of evolution."
And now that same lie is being brought into the church with amazing success! Earl Paulk says "Dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods." Kenneth Copeland proclaims "You don't have god in you, you are one." And Benny Hinn pronounces, "I am a 'little Messiah' walking on earth." Now as much as they like to promote this lie of the devil, the Scriptures are clear to the fact we are not God, nor will we ever be God! In Isaiah 44:6-7 we read, "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them." You see, there are no other god's no matter what they may say!
VERSES 16-17
1. We have this false idea that Satan is this ugly creature running around in red underwear, with a pitchfork tail - how foolish! He was beautiful when he was created, and he disguises himself as an angel of light to deceive, and when we see him we will be amazed at how this beautiful creature could do such evil!
VERSES 18-21
1. Once again Isaiah is speaking of the king of Babylon, Belshazzar. You see, in his death he was not put in the tomb of a king, with all the pomp and circumstance that goes with that position. The Medes and the Persians thrust him through with the sword and tossed his body out in the street to be trampled under foot.
VERSE 22
1. God is going to wipe out the Babylonians.
VERSE 23
1. God is going to sweep them away.
2. Now God is going to pronounce judgment upon the Assyrians.
VERSE 24
1. When God makes a promise, when He puts forth His plan, it is not something we have to worry about, God is faithful and what He says He will do. His Word is faithful, His Word is sure, His Word will stand. It is as Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"
VERSES 25-27
1. The Assyrians, at this time, are coming against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, on the verge of taking them into captivity, and then they will come down upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah. But their plan will fail, and the angel of the Lord will destroy 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night, sending the rest home, fleeing for their lives. God's Word stands, man's plans will fail!
VERSES 28-31
1. God's judgment is now upon the Philistines. He is telling them not to rejoice over the judgment of Assyria, the ones that struck them, because another will arise and be just as devastating.
VERSE 32
1. As God pronounces His judgments upon the gentile nations, He also points us to the ultimate judgment of the nations, as He prepares to set up His kingdom, and Jerusalem will be filled with peace, there will be peace in its streets once again. As we conclude tonight, let me leave you with these words from Psalm 98. We read, "Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the LORD with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm, With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it; Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity."