By Dana G Smith
Keywords: Apocalypse, America, LORD, God, signs, Isaiah
Words: 1850
Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
Isaiah 24:4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
The curse has devoured the earth...men have changed the ordinance of God...
Isaiah 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Isaiah 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
The writings of Isaiah bring to us a picture, many times, of a dramatic and unfolding nature, one that beholds the LORD God, who is dealing with a rebellious Israel. This picture is what many people think when reading or thinking about Old Testament scripture. For many today, however, these writings are outdated and do not apply. On the other hand, some scholars, researchers, and writers have found this a valuable biblical resource. This is one that brings insight into the past and gives revelation into the future.
There is no doubt; God had to deal with Israel. Their history became open for the entire world to see. Many know of the Jews dispersion into the entire world for their rebellion against the God of Israel. As well, the iniquities of the Jewish people have been on the biblical tablet of history. With all this comes a sighing and a believing that the books of the Old Testament are simply history and do not apply to us today. Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth.
When we see the historical biblical record of those people who lived in what we call the era of the Patriarch’s, it reveals much within the pages of brilliant vivid prophetic language. A language so picturesque that one can almost see what the author is speaking about. For instance, in the above verses we see that the LORD (Adonai) makes the earth empty. In this process it is made waste and turns the earth upside down. By doing this, the people of earth are scattered. Is the earth literally going to be ‘upside down’? The language is a prophetic revelation of a time when the LORD moves on humanity in judgment. He can move on individual nations and peoples at any moment in history. He will also move on the entire nations, peoples, and lands in the last days. In the end, we call these dealings the "Day of the Lord". This day, however, is not a 24 hour day, but can, in fact, be a year long. It can also represent a time period of judgment, in which the Lord God deals with people. In this dealing, people become confused, frightened, and embroiled in a dispute of a heavenly magnitude. Jesus Christ spoke of this time as one which would make ‘men’s hearts fail them for fear’. He also spoke of this time as one which would be a "snare" upon the whole world. In the process of going through this time period, people will think the entire world has gone nuts. There will be earth changes, people who are evil, wicked, and some who are godly. It will be a time of nations going to war with each other, violence increasing, famines, plagues, and more. All will be the result of what is going to happen in the last days.
For Isaiah’s apocalypse as I call it, the reason is simple, the ‘curse will have devoured the earth’. That curse, which happened at the fall of man, will finally be reaching its course. It will completely take over all aspects of the earth, literally devouring as it were. In addition, we find that a second reason is mentioned which is; man has ‘changed the everlasting ordinance’ of God, thus transgressing Gods laws, breaking the everlasting covenant.
Man, however, doesn’t want a covenant with God. Man also has a way of his own along with science, creativity, and knowledge. It is this knowledge that the Serpent told eve, "You would be as Gods knowing good and evil". The fact that man might know good and evil is subordinate to the fact that knowing does not make one follow good. Man is embroiled in a war of end time proportions that pits good versus evil. Man today, thinks he is God, while nations do as they please. In all this the world stands against the LORD as revealed in Psalm 2, which says of those in the earth, that they "want to cast aside Gods bonds from them".
Simply put, man doesn’t want a God in heaven to tell him what to do. This being the case, the war of all wars is coming, which is the eternal struggle to dethrone God and his Messiah, the King of Kings. It is in this classic struggle that man now finds himself embedded with wisdom and knowledge. As such, man doesn’t have any second thoughts about crossing genes, creating human-beasts, splicing across the species at will with no second thought of the consequences. Add to this the fact that man puts his morality against that of God. It is now okay to kill little humans (abortion), it is okay to promote sodomy, and it is okay to have sex at will with any one or anything. Man is free, he is God, and in charge, or so he thinks. This brings the nations and the men who run them into a head on conflict with the Lord God. Scripture says of men, ‘they are wise to do evil’. The battle is here today, and the Lord God is sending signs that he is displeased. Will the nations listen? Will man ever understand?
In this, let us look close at some recent signs that some would say are nothing. I say these are just the kind of things, examples as it were, of what God sends upon nations to wake them up. Scripture such as Isaiah’s is full of types and pictures of how God deals with nations by sending natural calamities upon them. In the end, just as scripture also says, "those who love death hate the Lord".
In the west, as I call it, there are surrounding states which have certain fire warnings associated with the past droughts we all have suffered from. In our state, however, we were issued a ‘red flag warning’. This means critical fire weather conditions are occurring now or will be shortly. Combine this with strong winds, low relative humidity, and the warm temperatures, then you will have quote: "explosive fire growth potential". [National Weather service, Riverton, Wy]
Now, let’s add another situation that is occurring this week. The Weather forecasters on a major network yesterday coined the term "Ring of Fire" to describe the coming heat wave to the Midwest and eastern seaboard. The heat wave hit in its intensity yesterday, as well, the Tennessee Valley Authority saying "they could break all previous records" of using up megawatts due to the heat. The temperatures in major cities hovered around 100 degree’s but with the humid air, it felt much hotter. For instance in Cincinnati the blazing heat felt like 110 degrees, revealing how the extreme heat figures in this ‘Ring of Fire’ as many continue to ‘weather’ (pardon the pun) the high temperatures.
In addition to all this, we have another strike for New York. It wasn’t long ago that this city was in the news with an explosion from down under the city streets. Now this city on the shores of the Atlantic, with a statue resembling Ishtar standing on the so-called hallowed shores of this metropolis, endures another attack. The National Weather service, who has a lot to do these days, said that a rare tornado touched down several times in Staten Island and in Brooklyn. There was damage, but the city did not have time to wait before a second event occurred. The culprit was an inch of rain an hour for three hours. This caused flooding. The concurrent flooding following the Tornado was not enough, however, for the subway shut down. This was the third strike in a ballgame that day between nature that God controls and the city that man tries to keep going. In the end, the city and man lost. The transit system became flooded with the torrential rain and was forced to close. This closure was in the early hours before rush hour.
Moreover, continuing in our investigation into what is happening in America, we come to the horrific bloodshed in America. This is apart from abortion and other murders. An example of this is revealed in the murder rates of New Jersey’s largest city which has shot up 50 percent since 1998. One recent event that was in the news was one of four young kids, college students who were forced to kneel against a wall and shot in the head at close range. This was not in Iran, Iraq, or the Sudan, or some other place. It was in Newark.
In another city, one you know well from Katrina who struck it two years ago is New Orleans. There are not as many people in New Orleans living today. Now a Tulane University researcher named Mark J. VanLandingham, Phd has produced shocking statistics of Murder rates in New Orleans. According to the findings murder rates jumped by 14 % between 2004 and 2005, but they went up an unbelievable 69% between 2004 and 2006. [Murder Rates in New Orleans, 2004 to 2006." Mark J. VanLandingham, PhD, MPH, Tulane University, New Orleans. ]
It is no wonder that MSNBC called the northeast a "bloodstained corridor" citing recent FBI statistics of murder rates in major cities in the USA. They cited Philly who was 'losing one resident' a day to violence'. Boston, Philly, Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Newark have all seen Murder rates go up. [www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19513374/]
Do you think that the LORD God is trying to get the attention of the people in the US? Many today seem to think we are a nation unto ourselves. We do not have anything to worry about. We can do as we please. In the end, "all the nations and the wicked who forget God will be turned into hell." Isaiah spoke to Israel and the world of a LORD who deals in the affairs of man. Among the nations, those who reject the LORD will face his wrath, tribulation, and trouble. Isaiah pictured this with words like "mourns, fades, and languishes". He also wrote the words "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." If a man is to be wise, it would be, therefore, wise to listen and understand what the Spirit sayeth through the prophet Isaiah.
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