Isaiah 24 vs 1-19

Isaiah Chapter 24 Verses 1 – 3

This chapter speaks of the final condition of the world and really the things of this world. There’s hope, not for this place, this kingdom as it were, but there is a coming kingdom. John saw it, Jesus revealed it to him, in Revelation 21:1-4, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.””

But the world as it is today will come to a point of finality and as it is with any fallen condition, as it is with any form or function of sin/unrighteousness, along the way there is decay and elements of devastation. This is what God purposed that His people would be set apart from and truly why Jesus came, died to take away my sin, rose from the grave, ascended/returned to heaven and was cleared to send the Holy Spirit. That by yielding, as Christians, to the Holy Spirit, we would know the least amount of distortion, emptiness, and waste possible in our lives.

Turning to Jesus saves me unto eternal life but He also saves me from a devastated life. It’s all equal and the same for all. As verses 2 and 3 give us the great equalizing power of sin… Young, old, rich, poor, smart, not-so smart… sin turns things upside down equally for us all. But God has come that we may be turned upright with footing placed on solid ground… And we’ll see as we go into the next chapter, as the world and the way of the world devastates, the people of God are strengthened, fed, refuged and rather than weep in wastefulness, they rejoice in Him.

Isaiah Chapter 24 Verses 4 – 6

That’s precisely what has happened. How did we get here? What has happened in the story of humans? Laid out very clearly here that there was a point of creation and that creation was created by a perfect Creator. And therefore, what was created was perfect. The order or ordinance of creation was perfect. And then something changed. Something was broken. Not by God, but by man. And that brokenness spread to all the earth and what was originally created was devoured by what it became.

I know its bad news, its bleak but this is it. This is how we got here. And yet there is good news also. That God has sent His Son into this mess. Perfection amongst imperfection. Not to be polluted Himself but to provide a mechanism, a vehicle, a Way for the polluted to be made clean. And that’s what He did. Sinless throughout His entire work on this earth, to the point that death could not hold Him. This is why no other way works. No other way does that. No other way deals with the pollution of the soul even to the spirit. 

I follow Jesus because I know Him. He has revealed Himself to me and even today He and I talk. We walk a bit together each day. I follow Jesus because He has sent His Holy Spirit into my heart of hearts and He convicts me, leads me, shows me, teaches me of sin, righteousness and of judgment. 

I follow Jesus because I have found His Word to be truth. His ways to be valid. His commandments and teaching to be infallible and when everything else fails and proves to be a lie, always what Jesus has said stands alone as proof of who He is… He never fails. He knows no loss and He is always right which means He is in complete control. 

But even if all of that was gone and not there, I would follow Jesus because His mode and method of salvation unto eternal life is the only one that makes any mathematical sense as it’s the only offering that defeats the one true issue, the one single solitary issue that persists between lesser man and a higher being and that is this issue of propensity towards mistake. Imperfection. Sin. Nothing else, no other offering deals with the issue of sin. But Jesus does…

Isaiah Chapter 24 Verses 7 – 16

Most agree that these verses give a glimpse into the time of the Great Tribulation. People are still in the streets, but the world resembles a bare olive tree or a vine after all the fruit has been harvested. There’s desolation and we see a phrase here quite haunting that “All joy is darkened.” And, we also see what we know occurs during the Great Tribulation alongside of all the trouble…, people come to faith…

Revelation Chapter 7:9-14, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So, he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.””

Isaiah Chapter 24 Verses 17 – 18

I call this the promise of the flesh! In my own strength, doing it my way, changing the ordinance given by God, really just thinking I know better than Him, an anxiety (and all that is, is a form of fear) sets in. Peace is a promise of Jesus. He said once to His disciples in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…” And there’s a peacelessness, and anxiety of the heart that sets in apart from Him. I read this week a quote that said, “The heart of a man settles where he finds peace. Not money, not beauty, not status, but peace.”

Then things just sort of turn into the pits. Sometimes not so sort of… Can’t get ahead, something always tearing me down and many times its from the inside out. And no matter what I try, who I met, who I cling to, who or what I follow, that cycle repeats. Darkness sets in. Depression becomes what I know of life. It’s a snare, a trap… 

And yet already we’ve covered that Jesus establishes by His work in my heart of hearts the strength of peace and even courage in peace as we read in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” He leads me into good pasture/places, straight aways…, Psalm 5:8, “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make your way straight before my face.” And He sets me free from the millions of snares prepared for me and my life by my flesh, this world and the enemy. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free!”

I love this, this thought. And I have seen it also be infallible, absolutely consistent and true across my own life and every life I’ve ever observed, the consequence of the flesh and mindset out of harmony with God is always fear, pit, snare…, and AND, the benefit of faith and mindset surrendered to the Lord is always peace, strength, and freedom.

Isaiah Chapter 24 Verses 19 – 23

Isaiah says that the earth will be violently broken, split open, shaken exceedingly and will reel to and fro like a drunkard. Revelation 16:18 tells us that near the end of the Great Tribulation there will be “a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.” 

The host of exalted ones probably speaks of the judgment of the fallen angels. The kings of the earth gathered together…, their education, money, acclimations, all their worldly success is meaningless when righteousness is what is required…

Revelation 19:19-21, “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

Its then that “the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously.” At the end of the Great Tribulation, God will begin what’s described in Revelation 20:4 as the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ. A thousand years on this earth before all is rolled up, put away, and all things are made new. Precisely what God can do with a life today of anyone who would say, “I’m done being armed by and aligned with the enemy of my own soul,” and puts Jesus on the throne of their heart…