seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Isaiah 25:1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth
and devastate it;
he will ruin its face
and scatter its inhabitants—
2 it will be the same
for priest as for people,
for the master as for his servant,
for the mistress as for her servant,
for seller as for buyer,
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.
3 The earth will be completely laid waste
and totally plundered.
The Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth dries up and withers,
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens languish with the earth.
5 The earth is defiled by its people;
they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,
and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers;
all the merrymakers groan.
8 The joyful timbrels are stilled,
the noise of the revelers has stopped,
the joyful harp is silent.
9 No longer do they drink wine with a song;
the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city lies desolate;
the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out for wine;
all joy turns to gloom,
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,
its gate is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing:
“Glory to the Righteous One.”
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!
Woe to me!
The treacherous betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!”
17 Terror and pit and snare await you,
people of the earth.
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.
The floodgates of the heavens are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken up,
the earth is split asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion
that it falls—never to rise again.
21 In that day the Lord will punish
the powers in the heavens above
and the kings on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
like prisoners bound in a dungeon;
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished[a] after many days.
23 The moon will be dismayed,
the sun ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.
a. Isaiah 24:22 Or released
Whenever there is "end times" prophecy people are interested. It's easier to hold something off if you get a look at it first. Everything I have read about "end times" says that there will be a violent earthquake..... I've only been in one earthquake [that I know of]. I didn't know what it was but I didn't like it. Hubby told me what was going on. I like having two feet squarely on the ground. I like having solid ground to stand on.
This commentary is from bible-studys.org.
This section of Isaiah’s prophecies (24:1 – 27:13), is often called the Little Apocalypse because it looks beyond the immediate judgment of Israel’s Gentile neighbors to the final judgments of the Tribulation period and the ushering in of the messianic kingdom. These chapters present universal judgments followed by universal blessings. The Lord moves in cataclysmic judgment upon the earth (erets), not simply on the “land” of Israel.
In these verses “land” should read “earth”. The severity of the Tribulation period is indicated by the statement that “the Lord maketh the earth empty, and … waste”. “Turneth it upside down” is better read “distorts.” Thus, through war God empties the earth and leaves it a devastated and distorted wasteland. The cities of the earth are described as “desolate” and “burned” as a result of this universal destruction.
Verses 7-9: “Merry-hearted do sigh”: The future Day of Judgment will terminate all merriment derived from natural sources (Rev. 18:22).
Verses 13-23: The universal nature of this eschatological judgment leaves the people of the earth “as the shaking of an olive tree” (i.e. empty and retaining only negligible remains). The reference to the “uttermost part of the earth” emphasizes the universal extent of this prophecy. This devastation will be so great that “the foundations of the earth do shake” from the aftershock.
Thus, the “earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard”. God’s judgment will rock the very stability of the planet, reminding the people of earth that they have rebelled against Him. The “host of the high ones” (Satanic powers), and the “kings of the earth” (earthly powers) will be “gathered in the pit … shut up … many days.”
After a period of time “shall they be visited” (literally “punished”). Notice the obvious parallel to (Revelation 20:1-3), where Satan is bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years and then loosed for a “little season,” only to be finally cast into the lake of fire.
Verses 17-18 “Pit … snare”: The figure of an animal caught in a trap set by humans frequently symbolized the principle that life is a series of inescapable traps.
This is from enduringword.com.Because they have… changed the ordinance: The Hebrew word for ordinance here is torah, which often means the law of God and the word of God. Mankind is ripe for judgment because we have changed God’s word into something “lighter,” into something “more acceptable.”
Mankind has changed the law of God in the sense of changing the basic moral code which men have recognized and lived by for centuries. When once it was universally recognized that it was wrong to lie, wrong to cheat, wrong to be sexually immoral, wrong to do so many other things, today all of that is approved and celebrated! We have changed the ordinance, and are ripe for judgment!
Mankind has changed the word of God by replacing it with substitutes, or by fashioning it into something more suitable to his liking. Every time a preacher soft-peddles the gospel, every time a politician twists the Scriptures to rise in the opinion polls, every time a counselor wrenches the context of God’s word to make it fit a crazy psychological theory, they have changed the ordinance, and are ripe for judgment!
The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open: The Bible describes some of this judgment during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 6:13-14), and specifically mentions a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth (Revelation 16:18). No wonder Isaiah says, the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard!
The LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously: At the end of the Great Tribulation, God will usher in a thousand years of His glorious reign over all the earth from Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. God’s purpose in judgment isn’t simple vengeance or vindictiveness, it is to bring about a glorious new world.
We use to watch a show on Nick called "Rugrats". One of my favorite episodes is when Chuckie [the oldest boy rugrat] has to get his first haircut. Oh what a confusing time for those rugrats...... they were sure that if Churckie got a hair "cut" he would bleed to death. It was so endearingly funny and cute. God has to figure out a way to warn me..... so He picked people like Isaiah to tell people like me what is going to happen so I can prepare.
Consider this.... the earth is a ball..... dirty with stupid humans who think they are better than God. They think it's ok to build plastic ocean islands made of discarded trash. They think it's ok to tell people God is a fantasy. They think it's ok to steal from the poor and withhold treatment from the sick. They think they need to keep the poor around so people who are in a better class will be tolerant of the fortunes of the rich. They think I'm ok with saying "well at least I'm not poor."
Now if I had a dirty ball... the first thing I would do is run it under water to rinse it off..... 'flood'..... and then I would shake really well.... 'earthquake'..... maybe hit it with the hair dryer..... 'fire from the sky'..... and finally it would be clean and dry and ready..... for inspection.... judgement.....
The vision of shaking an olive tree was commonplace in Isaiah's day. Olives and olive oil were commodities. The most economical method of harvesting the olives.... was to shake the tree. Of course.... not all the olives were harvested....not every single one.... a few were left behind.... a few for the poor. Of course it's not too cost efficient to leave too many.... and it's not prudent spend the money hunting down every single piece of fruit.
So those who are left behind on earth.... the ones left to gleen..... because they were too poor to bother with..... they get all the spoils.... meager and meaningless as they might be. I mean who really wants a crystal tierra after a meteor, earthquake, and tornado have torn up everything? Some things will just be meaningless.
Last edited: