HELL IS EXCITED! (ISAIAH 14:9)

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 14-16

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

In the Kidron Valley at the base of the Mount of Olives are several Ancient tombs. In this photo you can see the backside of the Tomb of Zechariah and in the distance the Eastern Wall of the Old City of Jerusalem. Zechariah and Isaiah both made prophecies that could only find fulfillment in Jesus, Messiah/Christ.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Isaiah 14:24, 27

The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,

“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,

And as I have purposed, so it shall stand.

…For the Lord of hosts has purposed,

And who will annul it?

His hand is stretched out,

And who will turn it back?”

When Isaiah wrote the words in chapter 14, Babylon was not yet a world power. However, Lucifer (Satan, the devil), who had deceived the original people of Babel (Genesis 11), was still their god! He is called, “The god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV – other translations call him “The god of this world”). Isaiah contrasts Lucifer with the God, the Lord of hosts! Satan, filled with pride and in rebellion against Almighty God, says, “I will” five times. The Bible points us (four times) to the One called, “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 1:3, and twice in 2 Corinthians 1:3 & 11:31). The god of any religion who says, “God has no Son” (i.e. Islam), does not believe in or pray to the same God as Christians do. Jesus had the opposite approach to His Father God. He said, as He prayed before His arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection, “Father…not My will but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). On one occasion Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from Heaven” (Luke 10:18). Be assured that the purposes of Almighty God, the only true God, will not be thwarted. Our key verse makes that clear!!!

Chapters 15 and 16 contain Isaiah’s lament over Moab. He has some comfort for them in that a remnant will not be destroyed, possibly because of Ruth of Moab, great-grandmother of King David. The throne of David, eternally established in David’s offspring, Jesus, is a throne of “Mercy” and “Justice” (Isaiah 16:5).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, Your throne is forever established in Jesus, Messiah. Therefore, I “Come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). I have one cry several times every day: “HELP!” I pray to you, O God, “Our refuge and strength, a very present HELP in trouble!” (Psalm 46:1). Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

Daily in the news I read, hear, and see the same countries…Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Iraq and Iran, as the centre of world violence, confusion, and constant war. Not much has changed. Could it be that it is because Lucifer, the god of this world, is the god to whom most of these people still bow down? How thankful I am that the founders of my country, Canada, declared Psalm 72:8 in our founding documents. It’s found in our coat of arms as our official motto. It’s engraved in stone over the entrance to the centre block of our Parliament Buildings, “He shall have dominion [Dominus – Lord] from sea to sea and from the river [St. Lawrence] to the ends of the earth” [North Pole]. That’s a geographical description of Canada. King David wrote these words about the God he served. The prophet Zechariah said the same words in Zechariah 9:10. I’ve just read from Zechariah, who, as a true prophet, speaks for the God and Father of Jesus Christ. I know it’s Jesus to whom he refers because of Zechariah 9:9-10; 12:10 through 13:1-6; 14:4-8. I’ve just read these scriptures and am very encouraged that “The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand!'”

Yours with total 100% confidence in the Word of God as communicated through Isaiah, David, Zechariah, Jesus and Paul!!!

David

P.S. In one way I’m sorry to bring this up, but here it is. The people who attack Jerusalem for the last time bring this upon themselves (read Zechariah 14:11-12). The people of Jerusalem will be safe, but what of the attackers? Back in the 1950s I worked for Atomic Energy of Canada, and I learned from government documents of the effects of close-up (a mile or so) atomic weapon explosions. Here, Zechariah could not have more accurately described the disastrous effects on the human body. As I said, I’m sorry to bring such awful news, but I believe at some future time there will be an exchange of atomic weapons in the middle east.

This is the ancient mosaic floor in the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, located in the ancient Moabite city of Madaba. It is the oldest map of Jerusalem and Biblical locations. Madaba is a Christian city today, located just east of Mt. Nebo in the country of Jordan. This is the area occupied by Israel before their conquest of Canaan. The Bible spelling of this name is Medeba (1 Chronicles 19: 7) and this city is also one from which Moses viewed the promised land.

The interior of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George in Madaba, Moab, described in the photo caption above.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.