The future holds horror for those who rebel and hope for those who humble themselves and honor the living God.

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1 Introduction Do you ever wish you could know the future? Isaiah gives prophecies of hope and horror! The future holds horror for those who rebel and hope for those who humble themselves and honor the living God. How do we know there is promised horror? The prophet describes those who rebel as cowering in fear (vv.6-10; 19-22); they are cast down (vv.11-13); the proud are humbled; they will be crushed (vv.14-18). Joel Rosenberg in his book Epicenter has a series of chapters that begin Future Headline and the Kremlin joins the axis of evil and forms military alliance with Iran. Global tensions soar as Russia targets Israel ; new war erupts in Middle East as earthquakes, pandemics hit Europe, Africa, Asia ; Iraq emerges from chaos as region s wealthiest nation, Jews build third temple in Jerusalem, Muslims turn to Christ in record numbers. Impossible? Now Isaiah describes a future world; a world which learns the ways of the Lord (vv.1-3); a world where all nations come to a temple in Jerusalem for worship and instruction in the Scriptures. There is a description of world living in global peace, where the Lord Himself settles disputes; where nations beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. In the next several chapters Isaiah has a vision, a picture of a future kingdom that includes a temple, and a judgment. The judgment is described as the Day of the Lord and later a glorious restoration of Israel made possible and assured by the Branch of the Lord (a title of Jesus Christ; chapter 4:2-6). Thy Kingdom Come " The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. " (Isaiah 2:1, NKJV) The word concerns Judah and Jerusalem. "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. " (Isaiah 2:2, NKJV) 1

2 God s government will be established in the latter days or in the last days. Are we living in the last days? There are those who would say that the last days began with the birth, death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. There are others who would say that the latter days or last days refer to the Messianic Era (Ezek.38:16; Hos.3:5). Certainly Peter quotes Joel in the book of Acts (1:17) and applies the expression and it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, to the period beginning with the first coming of Christ, his incarnation and earthly ministry; what we might call the present era of redemption. I suspect the latter days here refers to the end of human history, to time after the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The mountain of the Lord is a reference to the Lord s House; the temple in Jerusalem. The expression occurs two other times in the Old Testament (2 Chron.33:15; Mic.4:1). Mountains were often a symbol or a metaphor for governments or kingdoms. Micah saw the same vision. " Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. " (Micah 4:1-3, NKJV) The government is established on Mount Zion in the city of David, Jerusalem. The government is headquartered in a future temple. The whole world streams to this place. Clearly this makes the seat of government in Christ s future kingdom the most important place on the planet earth. Is this a metaphor? Is this a spiritual future, in a spiritual Jerusalem? Why would the whole world stream to Jerusalem? I suspect because it is the place where the Lord rules and reigns. The leaders of the world will travel to the capital of the world. There are those who reject the Biblical notion of an earthly reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. They believe that at the end of time, Jesus will return, and the heaven s and earth will pass away and we will be transported into what has been called the eternal state-the place of the consummation of all things. 2

3 "Many people shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. " (Isaiah 2:3, NKJV) "He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4, NKJV) It would appear that there is a time when God judges the nations and rebukes them. "O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord. " (Isaiah 2:5, NKJV) Isaiah tears away the curtain and gives a brief, glorious glimpse of a world where Christ reigns and the Messiah exercises global governance, headquarters in Judea and Jerusalem. Judea and Jerusalem will be the capital of the whole world sometime in the future. Now the vision evaporates and the prophet brings us back to the blunt present and the sinful circumstances of the nation. "For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners. " (Isaiah 2:6, NKJV) Isaiah will give us a vision of what is known as the Day of the Lord, the day of Judgment. Note what Isaiah says; For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob. Wait I thought God would not forsake Israel. He does not forsake them in the sense He ceases to love them. Judea and Jerusalem had abandoned the Lord. People who turn from the Lord and turn to the world for help and hope cannot reasonably expect hope from the Lord. In the last days of human history people in general and Israel specifically will be guilty of five grave offenses. These serious transgressions, these serious offenses will result in terrible judgment. Future judgment on the future channel. 1. People who fall deeper and deeper into the occult, divination, looking for supernatural answers apart from the Word of God. 2. People who form and foster evil alliances with the wicked and the unbeliever. 3. People who place their trust in anything other than the God of the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4. Those who persist and practice idolatry. 3

4 5. Those who stubbornly reject him time after time. Occult Revival There will be an occult revival. Because they are filled with eastern ways. These are the false religions of the east, magic, superstitution; They are soothsayers like the Philistines. This is the practice of divination. People want to know the future. People will seek to know the future from natural sources, and supernatural sources. The Bible prohibits or forbids occult practices, divination, sorcery, soothsaying. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer," (Deuteronomy 18:10, NKJV) "For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you." (Deuteronomy 18:14, NKJV) " You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying." (Leviticus 19:26, NKJV) "Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger." (2 Kings 21:6, NKJV) "I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no soothsayers. " (Micah 5:12, NKJV) Evil Alliances And they are pleased with the children of foreigners. Does God expect His people to be xenophobic? No but God does expect His people not to form evil alliances with unbelievers. The picture Isaiah gives is one of the children of Israel holding hands with the ungodly in evil partnerships, forming marital and business alliances for the purpose of making money. God condemns those believers who believe that spiritual separation is some kind of holy 4

5 joke. God wants us to live holy, righteous, morally pure lives. When you choose to live holy, moral and pure people will reject you. But if you embrace the world, and what this world values and loves, you will become like this world. "Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots. " (Isaiah 2:7, NKJV) It s the economy stupid. Our land is full of silver and gold. There is no end to our treasures. God will judge the people because of their confidence in treasure, in money, in the things of this world. God does not condemn wealth. God condemns confidence in wealth. God is not honored when we place our trust in money rather than Him. It would appear that in the last days economic and social security will become more and more important to an unbelieving world. Rather than seek God people will seek wealth. With the desire for more wealth, more riches, more stuff, will come the need to protect that stuff. There will be constant war, constant striving, constant fighting for natural resources that feed the economic machine. Only the Lord Himself can bring peace and execute justice. "Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made. " (Isaiah 2:8, NKJV) The Lord s judgment falls on all who embrace and practice false worship. The land is full of idols. What is idolatry? Quite simply, it is the worship of something created, rather than the worship of the Creator. Idolatry is the substitute of loyalties and affections that belong only to the Lord. Only the Lord deserves your undivided confidence. Many people believe idolatry is bowing down to statues and offering sacrifices to images made with human hands. It is that and more. Modern man has idols of history, pride, money, power, nature, and man made religion. The apathy and pessimism and even despair are all a result of a personal and cultural abandonment of the historical and biblical faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my belief that the right and the left have both become idols in and of themselves and we must focus not on social and political justice but rather on personal repentance, we must abandon our personal idols, and once again embrace Jesus Christ as Lord of all. God is looking for a people who refuse to be owned by any of this world s 5

6 systems and are willing to be wholly owned by the Lord and who are willing to speak the truth in love and accept the consequences of whole hearted obedience to Christ. The prophet Hosea wrote; they made idols for their own destruction (Hosea 8:4). Would you purchase a gun if you knew your child would kill himself or herself with that gun? Would you purchase poison if you knew your loved one would find it and drink it? Would you drive your grandchild to a lake or a cliff if you knew the child would throw himself off or throw herself into the water? In the last days the earth will be filled with idolatry. False gods are the creations of man s twisted, sinful, perverted imaginations. False gods are the gods constructed by human reason and fallen nature. These are the gods that look very much like the God of the Bible, except the god of our imagination allows us unrestricted freedom to do what we want, and there is no fear of punishment. We invent a god who loves sin, who hates justice, who rewards the selfish and the self centered, and punishes the person who seeks to keep us from indulging ourselves in our own wickedness. "People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them. " (Isaiah 2:9, NKJV) The Lord will execute justice and judgment. What is Isaiah saying? The people are beyond repentance and forgiveness. Their hearts are so hard, so stubborn, so resistant to God s Word and God s love, and God s gospel. They are so hard towards Jesus, His love, His personal sacrifice, their unbelief is so set and so firm, that they are compelled to continue in their sin, in their rebellion. These are the people who love pleasure, entertainment, wealth, power, possession more than they love God. They reject the Lord over and over and over and over again. Finally they become so hard that they are beyond repentance, they will never give up their worldly pleasures, they will never surrender their selfish ambitions, they will never seek God, they will never no never accept Christ and seek His forgiveness. Then God has no choice justice and judgment must be executed against the hard-hearted and stubborn of this world. " You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." (Acts 7:51, NKJV) "But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6

7 who will render to each one according to his deeds : eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;" (Romans 2:5-9, NKJV) Does that disturb you? The Day of The Lord "Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up And it shall be brought low Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; Upon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; Upon every high tower, And upon every fortified wall; Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day, But the idols He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. " (Isaiah 2:10-21, NKJV) 1 This passage of Scripture is a description of the panic, the dread, the fear, that overtakes and overcomes those who reject God. People run and hide under rocks and caves. People look for underground bunkers, desperately seeking to escape the glory and the majesty and the splendor of the living Lord God. They have denied Him their whole life and denied Him with their whole heart. And now they see the living Lord Jesus, resurrected and glorified. His majesty and glory humble the arrogant and the proud. Christ alone will be exalted in the Day of the Lord (v.11). The whole world will be humbled in the Day of the Lord (vv.12-18). The sum and substance of creation, the cedars of Lebanon the oaks of Bashan we might as well say the giant sequoias of 1 The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1996, c1982 7

8 California, the towering mountains, the majestic peaks of the world will be humbled; the collective military might of all the armies of the all the nations will be humbled; every tall tower, every lofty fortress, every fortified city will be humbled in the presence of God s judgment. Every business, every economy, every commercial ship, every private yacht, will be humbled, every palace, every getaway, every hidaway will be humbled; and every proud man, and every famous man, and every wealthy man, and all men, will be humbled. Every idol will be smashed, all false worship will be utterly, totally, destroyed. Think for a moment; the only way to escape God s judgment and wrath is to totally separate from the wicked and idols and idolatry. Look at verse 22; Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he? Sever means to stop stop stop depending on other people other human beings and trust only in the Lord only the Lord is worthy of your worship, trust, confidence. Conclusion 8