Proclamation Before Desolation | Good Tidings Before Liberation
The proclamation is for the people who will survive the desolation; thus, the unbelieving refusers will realize the good tidings in the liberation.
Literally, as before described in the Call, worldwide proclamations will be made foregoing the Armies of Heaven in Worldwide Battle. According to Isaiah, contextually speaking, one such utterance that will be sounded abroad to the Jewish Captivity is, the word, “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; He will come and save you” (Isa. 35:4). It shall be said, as the LORD is commanding, “Say” (Isa. 35:4), at such a time as the prophecy describes: when the Jews are afraid, without strength, and apparently doubtful if the God of Israel will come and save them from captivity in Babylon’s World. In like manner the distressed Jews will hear the words, “Fear not”, many times prior to their liberation from Babylon’s World (Isa. 35:4, 41:10, 13, 14, 43:1, 5, 44:2, 8, 51:7, 54:4, 14)! Such words like,
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” – Isa. 41:10-14
The dismay of their weak existence is a result of the iron yoke of Babylon upon their necks. Thus, to cheer them up (by way of Good Tidings), the LORD must speak to the Jews about the Babylonians, describing them: “they that were incensed against thee”, and, “they that strive with thee”, or, “them that contended with thee”, and, “they that war against thee” (Isa. 41:10-14). To the scattered Jews captive to Babylon prior to Day 1,290 (Zech. 14:1-2), the utter destruction of Babylon’s World means liberation. Right? Thus, the proclamation of its desolation is an exceedingly good announcement. This is why the utter destruction of Babylon’s World, otherwise known as the consummation, is at the heart of the Good Tidings which God delivers to the Jews right after the Winepress and just before the Armies of Heaven engage in Worldwide Battle (Isa. 40:9, 41:27, 42:1, 4, 6-7, 13-14, 52:7, 61:1). For, the message delivered to Babylonians worldwide in this timeframe is not merely, “Defy Babylon and live!” (causing a tumult in the Empire of Babylon). Greater explanation will be given elaborating upon the charges: elaborations like, for example, how “Babylon will die!”, and, how “The Jews will live!”, and other such like things but in thoroughly biblical terms.
In no uncertain terms the remaining inhabitants of the earth will be thoroughly pled with. In other words, they will know about both the consummation and the restoration even as it is coming to pass in realtime. My reader, remember, these are calendared events numerically marked by days. Day 1,290 marks the accomplishment of the consummation, or the completion of an utter consumption, while Day 1,335 marks the accomplishment of the restoration; and, to the glory of God, all nations will know about these two events even before they come to pass. The shear inescapableness of the near presence of God will make sure of this.
Divine Waiting: A Calculated & Timely Plan of Action
“And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.” – Isa. 30:18
Herein, in a Divine Rearrangement, the world and its people are being reversed and turned upside down; and, of course, it all starts with the Jews. Justly so, divine judgment comes to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile. Thus, through Babylon, the fat and hearty Jews will be made lean (Isa. 24:16). Through the 3 ½ Year Great Tribulation, the proud and prosperous Jews will be made meek and poor insomuch that they feel their own blindness and deafness (Isa. 29:17-19). The LORD will wait until the Jews are made to feel this way (Isa. 30:18-22). Yet, they will not be able to feel their own wretchedness with contrition until the whole race of Jews is nearly annihilated (Zech. 13:8-9, Isa. 57:15-17)! Thus, the prophecy indicates, the LORD will wait (Isa. 30:18): until the fearless become fearful (Isa. 33:14-15), the confident become confused (Isa. 61:7), the shameless become ashamed (Isa. 61:7), and the people feel both forgotten and forsaken by God (Isa. 49:14)! Why? For a near impossible heart-change that God has been pursuing for ages.
“But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.” – Isa. 42:22-25
Verily, God knows how to make the Jews lay it to heart. Therefore, shall the LORD wait (Isa. 30:18): until the debating mouths of gainsaying Jews are silenced into oblivion (Isa. 27:7-9); until the crown of pride is cast to the ground and the drunkards have vomited on themselves (Isa. 28:1-4); yea, until the glorious beauty of the Jews is faded and whithered like a scortched flower (Isa. 28:1, 4)! How? Namely, through shutting up these proud men into the prison quarters of Babylon until every Jew is weighed down with the spirit of heaviness and sitting in ashes (Isa. 61:1, 3)! Yea, until the hard hearts of the Jewish Captivity are brokenhearted (Isa. 61:1); or, until the proud mockers are made meek and mournful in the binding of their wayward feet with chains (Isa. 61:1, 3)! Therefore, shall the LORD wait until the Jews have called upon their false gods and received no answer from their dumb idols (Isa. 48:5, 30:18)! Yea, and when the Jews have reached the point of maximum lowliness and hopelessness as the crowning achievement of 1,260 Days, things will suddenly change.
“Hath He smitten him, as He smote those that smote him? Or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by Him?” – Isa. 27:7
“For the LORD shall judge His people, and repent Himself for His servants, when He seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.” – Deut. 32:36
Then, of course, the gaze of Almighty God turns upon Babylon from Day 1,260 to Day 1,290. At the securing of Jerusalem by the treading of the Winepress, the fight for Jerusalem is over (Isa. 31:4); yet, the fight for worldwide dominion has just begun! Thus, with a sword proceeding from Christ’s mouth He will “smite the nations” (Rev. 19:15), and with a “fire” also, lo, He will “plead with all flesh” (Isa. 66:15-16)! Yet, before the slaughtering of Babylon’s World commences in every direction proceeding forth from Jerusalem (Isa. 27:7), the LORD is gracious to administer appeals to the heathen peoples of Babylon, such as, “Defy Babyon and live!” (causing a tumult in the Empire of Bablyon). Likewise, appeals of peace will be made to the Kings and Judges of the earth (“Be wise now therefore, O ye Kings: be instructed, ye Judges of the earth” – Ps. 2:10), namely that they would “kiss the Son”, or bow down in submission to His worldwide sovereignty, and in so doing they would surrender and become subservient to the invading Kingdom; or else, they could refuse and face the plainly stated consequences. Namely, that they would “kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and [they] perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little” (Ps. 2:12).
“Behold, the LORD hath PROCLAIMED unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken. WHO is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.” – Isa. 62:11-63:6
Simply put, the world doesn’t know WHO is coming for them! …but they will know. Namely, when the above description takes place in real time and an astonished world is made to wonder after the identity of this Man who does on this wise ascend from Edom! WHO, in this manner, is traveling in the greatness of His strength! WHO, in this adornment, is glorious in His apparel! For, then, a PROCLAMATION will be made “unto the end of the world” concerning the coming of this great One who just finished treading the Winepress. Yet, even though it will be proclaimed in the ears of humanity worldwide (Isa. 62:11), most Babylonians will need to see it to believe it: and, when the unimaginable sight does arrive on their horizon, they will know the full intent of the verbal proclamation sounded abroad from the heavenlies in that, Christ says, “the year of My redeemed is come” (Isa. 63:4)! Of course, Christ is speaking of the Jews. Yet, by this time, they are so wasted and weary by the hardships of the 3 ½ year captivity that most are delusional and hopless. Like the Babylonians, and alongisde all heathen peoples, most Jews are uncertain of what is happening and anxiously pursing their own survival. For, sadly, like the heathen, the Jews need to see it to believe it! So, my reader, how do you think the Jews will respond when such dreadful proclamations like those recorded in Isaiah 62:11-63:6 are sounded throughout the Empire of Babylon?
Well, had not Jehovah taken precautionary measures to forbid it, the Jews would have ascribed the events of the Last Days to their dumb idols (Isa. 48:5-7)! Thus, Jehovah foretold why He would raise up Christ (Isa. 41:25, 51:16, 53:1-12), also revealing what He says to Christ (Isa. 49:3-6, 8), only that when the Restorational Consummator does arise and speak to the Jews, they would hearken (Isa. 49:8-13)! Ah! What fearful shouts shall blast upon the heads of Babylonians worldwide, even as Nebuchadnezzar of old (“there fell a voice from heaven, saying…” – Dan. 4:28-33), as men boast themselves against the report of the Winepress! Thus, shall angelic rebukes proceed from the Horse-Riding Armies in the clouds as appeals of peace foregoing the merciless slaughter (Ps. 149:6-9, Mk. 12:25)! These public appeals are moments of divine appeasement – a quiet before the storm – a time where divine wrath abates and divine reasoning pleads (Isa. 27:4-5); but, if the bloodied God-Man (Isa. 63:1-6) is refused when He comes in the way of peace, they (even all of them!) will know the anger with which He tread the Winepress of the Fierceness of the Wrath of God in Jerusalem (Rev. 14:14-20; Isa. 27:7).
“Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy presence.” – Isa. 64:1-3
“Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man. The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself…Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.” – Isa. 33:7-10, 13
“…and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward His servants, and His indignation toward His enemies. For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.” – Isa. 66:14-16
Who knows? It could be that, at each and every borderland of every national sovereignty, “the LORD will cause His glorious Voice to be heard”, namely in the pleas of divine argumentation (“See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh…” – Heb. 12:25), and if the heathen peoples of Babylon’s World still refuse to wave the white flag of surrender, lo and behold: “the LORD…shall shew the lighting down of His Arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones” (Isa. 30:30)! For, the LORD will no longer abide quietly while Babylon rages onward! The LORD will no longer stand still or refrain Himself from executing vengeance on the enemies of the Kingdom of Heaven! Speaking of this, it was written,
“The LORD shall go forth as a Mighty Man, He shall stir up jealousy like a Man of War: He shall cry, yea, roar; He shall prevail against His enemies. I have long time holden My peace; I have been still, and refrained Myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.” – Isa. 42:13-15
Christ, the Messiah, is the “One from the North” (Isa. 41:25), the One beheld by the Two Witnesses (“Behold your God!” – Isa. 40:9), the “One that bringeth Good Tidings” to the Jews (Isa. 41:27) in that “He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:1, 13-17)! As a result of the Good Tidings being accomplished, lo, “the isles shall wait for [Christ’s] Law” (Isa. 42:4, because Christ “shall go forth as a Mighty Man” and conquer all in the liberation of the Jews from captivity (Isa. 42:13-14)! Definitively, according to Isaiah, this is the expressed meaning of the Good Tidings; this is the expressed message of the Publication of Salvation (Isa. 52:7)!
“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a Covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” – Isa. 42:6-7
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach Good Tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” – Isa. 61:1-3
In other words, the consummation is for the restoration, and without the consummation there can be no restoration. Jesus Christ, alongside Angelic Proclaimers, will declare to all of humanity what is here called, “the acceptable year of the LORD” (Isa. 61:2), which is also called by Christ, “the year of My redeemed” (Isa. 63:4), and the performance of this redemption begins at the consummation, which is, “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isa. 61:2)! The salvific unfurling of vengeance upon Babylon’s World means the liberation of the Jews and the coming of the Messiah’s Kingdom. Thus, this effort, led by Christ, is the Good Tidings of an inestimable difference (Isa. 40:9, 41:27, 42:1, 4, 6-7, 13-14, 52:7, 61:1)! In other words, this is the Gospel (Mk. 1:1, 14-15, 8:35, 10:29, 13:10, 16:15, Lk. 2:10, 4:18-19, 7:22, 9:6, Matt. 4:23, 9:35, 11:5, 24:14)! In very deed, to date, this is the fullest expression of the Gospel; the same Gospel that Christ proclaimed in His earthly ministry, saying, “The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel” (Mk. 1:15)! In retrospect, it is apparent that this was the original and supreme intent of the Gospel as it was first defined by the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 40:9, 41:27, 42:1, 4, 6-7, 13-14, 52:7, 61:1) in that this is the expressed intention of Christ in accepting and saving the Jews (Isa. 25:9, 26:1, 33:2, 6, 45:8, 17, 46:13, 49:6, 8, 51:5, 6, 8, 52:7, 10, 56:1, 59:11, 16, 17, 60:18, 61:10, 62:1, 11, 63:5 [Isa. 49:8, 61:2]).
Therefore, those who refuse to surrender to Christ at the worldwide proclamations will know the certainty of their end, and the reasons why, even as the LORD made Moab to know its final estate (Isa. 25:10-12). I repeat, the LORD will speak to the Babylonians about the Jews, and to the Jews about the Babylonians, while executing the consummation in preparation for the restoration! Even as it was foretold concerning Moab long ago, only now it will be completely fulfilled in this regional area and everywhere else, namely that the LORD will tread down all enemy camps and fortresses “even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill”; yea, and in so doing, by bringing it all “even to the dust”, the LORD will “bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands” (Isa. 25:10-12). Yea, the LORD will bring one Kingdom to the dust that He might raise up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed (Isa. 9:7)! Thus, shall every living Jew think upon the restoration even as they behold the consummation. My reader, how couldn’t they?
“All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him [the Jews]: He will do His pleasure on Babylon, and His arm shall be on the Chaldeans.” – Isa. 48:14
Before it came to pass, and while they didn’t believe it to be true (for the most part), the story was told in their ears! Thus, I say, being a Jew, who could resist thinking upon the restoration even amidst the consummation? For, prior to the 2nd Advent War breaking out in their local area (and meanwhile all the Jews of Jerusalem were repenting – Zech. 12:8-14), worldwide proclamations will go forth, to wit: every fearful Jew will hear the words, “Fear not” (Isa. 35:4, 41:10, 13, 14, 43:1, 5, 44:2, 8, 51:7, 54:4, 14)! Every weak kneed and trembling Jew will hear the words, “Be strong” (Isa. 35:4)! All disbelieving Jews who have lost all hope that Christ will come, will hear, “your God will come” (Isa. 35:4)! Yea, and after losing faith in all their idols and, at having been rejected by the God of Israel for a long season, the disheartened and unacceptable Jews will hear about the coming of a new day, it being called, “the Acceptable Year of the LORD” (Isa. 61:2)! After attempting their own deliverance, and failing, and after all hopes of personal vengeance upon Babylon have become utterly unimaginable and unthinkable, the Jews will hear a loud voice, announcing, “the Day of Vengeance of our God” (Isa. 61:2)! The badly hurt Jews in their worst estate will hear the heavenly proclamation, called, “Good Tidings” (Isa. 40:9, 41:27, 42:1, 4, 6-7, 13-14, 52:7, 61:1), and thus be made to think upon the God of Israel; yet, how hardly could they believe it without seeing it (Jn. 4:48, 5:36, 10:25, 32, 38, 14:11)!
“Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” – Isa. 26:20-21
“Thus saith the LORD, In an Acceptable Time have I heard thee, and in a Day of Salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a Covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves…” – Isa. 49:8-9 (2 Cor. 6:2)
The Jews, running and hiding at the sight, and quaking at the loud sounds, will fear and tremble during the onslaught of war upon Babylon’s World during the consummation; yet, when all is said and done (and the prophecies of the consummation are accomplished), the voice of the Messiah will audibly beckon the frightened prisoners to freedom, saying, “Go forth” (Isa. 49:9)! Yea, and while they are still trembling in darkness and hiding in the dread of what comes next, they’ll hear, “Shew yourselves” (Isa. 49:9)! Why? The day of Babylon’s damnation is, for them, “a Day of Salvation” (Isa. 49:8), a reality the Jews are yet to reckon with for shear astonishment and wonder! They have yet to gaze upon what has happened, or realize its significance, and thus the voice beckons them, “Go forth”, and, “Shew yourselves” (Isa. 49:9)!
Thus, upon venturing out of their quarters, or climbing out of the dark regions of their hiding places, their eyes will behold the brave new world of Babylon’s pride now utterly consumed! In looking, and while panning left and right, they’ll behold the cities of Babylon in utter desolation (“the desolate cities” – Isa. 54:3)! In looking up, they’ll behold the heavens in blackness (Isa. 50:3)! In looking about, they’ll behold piles of stinking fish that lay where bodies of water once were (“Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? Even according to Thy fear, so is Thy wrath.” – Ps. 90:11); marveling, they’ll wonder at the power of divine anger unleashed in the fiery blaze of the consummation insomuch that it licked up the waters and left the fish on dry ground (Isa. 50:3, 42:15)! Then, in looking in the distance, they’ll see how the mountains have departed from their places and the hills were removed in the great shaking that reeled the earth to and fro (Isa. 54:9-12; Isa. 24:19-20)! Thus, in beholding a fiery consumption comparable to the waters of Noah’s day that annihilated the world (2 Pet. 3:4-14), and living through it, the astonished Jews will then remember the word spoken to them beforehand by the voice of One who flew in celestial splendor, saying,
“Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.” – Isa. 50:2-3 [Babylon’s World turned into a Wilderness]
“For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.” – Isa. 54:9-12 [The Intention of God in the Destruction of the World]
Now, the Messiah has the Jews standing at attention as they look upon the unburied bodies of their former captors scattered across the landscape and, at once, they’ll remember the word, “Lo, they shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up” (Isa. 50:8-9)! The LORD, true to His threats, now compels the Jews to lift up their eyes to the heavens, and, also, in looking upon the earth beneath, it’s all for the fulfillment of the word spoken beforehand, in the saying,
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished.” – Isa. 51:6
“For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool:” – Isa. 51:8
“And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” – Jer. 25:33
Herein, and for a crowning achievement of the Messiah, the LORD makes a public display of all Babylonians who refused the divine pleas for peace; hence, the recipients of the offer (the lone survivors), alongside the staggering footsteps of the Jews, do walk about and behold the bodies of the dead like moth-eaten garments hurled about the city and sprawled along countryside; and, meanwhile, the land is still smoking for heat from the scortching blast of the mighty consummation! In beholding it all (“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved…” – 2 Pet. 3:11), and bethinking themselves, the Jews will weep and howl in remorse for how they have mistreated their Messiah (Rev. 1:7)! In walking, weeping as they go, the Jews will look upon the worm-eaten bodies of those who unrelentingly mistreated them (Isa. 51:8)!
“Art Thou not it which hath dried up the sea…” – Isa. 51:10
“But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.” – Isa. 51:15
“I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;” – Isa. 51:12
“Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame…” – Isa. 47:14
Then, they’ll remember the Egyptians, whose bodies washed up on the shores of the Red Sea (“Art Thou not it which hath dried up the sea…” – Isa. 51:10, 15). They’ll remember how, at last, Egypt was totally void of greenery, and devastated for loss of cattle, at the devouring mouths of locusts and the deadly blows of hail (“Art Thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?” – Isa. 51:9). They’ll bethink themselves, and remember, and they’ll mourn after the God of Israel, because in the burning consumption all flesh is known to be grass (Isa. 51:12), and in the consuming fire the glory of man is as the flower of grass (Isa. 34:12, 40:6-8, 15-18, 23-24, 41:11-12, 23-24, 29, 47:14), so that in the consummation the Jews will suddenly awake unto faith in the discovery that Jehovah has awakened for them as in the ancient days!
“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the LORD thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people.” – Isa. 51:9-16
Even though, at this time, the heavens have effectively passed away insomuch that the elements have melted with fervent heat, and, even though the earth and its works are burned up in the fiery blaze of the consummaton (2 Pet. 3:10-12), the Jews will realize the fact that only the Maker of heaven and earth could so wondrously destroy in this manner! Thus, in the aftermath of the consummation they’ll realize the supreme purpose of creation at the Genesis of time; for, it pleases God that, at the end of time, the Jews would realize the divine purpose in the beginning of time. The Jews will look unto Him “that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth” (Isa. 51:13, 16), expressly because in the consummation of these things the LORD “covered [the Jews] in the shadow of [His] hand” (Isa. 51:16)! Therefore, in the aftermath of omnipotence wielding destruction, the Jews will feel ashamed for how they feared the destroying power of their Babylonian oppressors (Isa. 51:13). In the aftermath of omnipotence enraged in divine fury, the Jews will feel ashamed for how they feared the fury of their captors in the days of their captivity (Isa. 51:13). Now, in this surreal moment of epic catastrophe, the Creator will speak from heaven unto the scattered Jewry of Zion, saying, “Thou art My people” (Isa. 51:16; 45:18)
“And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people.” – Isa. 51:16
“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” – Zech. 13:9
Even so, it shall be: when the LORD awakes unto judgment on behalf of the Jews (“Awake, awake…” – Isa. 51:9-16), the Jews will awake unto faith in the God of Israel (“Awake, awake…” – Isa. 51:17, 52:1-2) and call upon His Name! For, who could resist the unction of divinity that speaks of old and anew? The Jews, who were floored with hardships during the captivity, and, prostrated in the dread of the consummation, will be animated by the unction of the divine word, “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury” (Isa. 51:17)! Literally, in the awakening (“Awake, awake…” – Isa. 52:1-2), the Jews will “shake [themselves] from the dust” and “arise”, they will “loose [themselves] from the bands of [their neck]”, even as the LORD spoke concerning the “captive daughter of Zion” in Isaiah 52:1-2. Thus, in experiencing what was foretold, and, while impulsively doing what was formerly said, the Israelites will know that the LORD has pled their cause even as it was written of old (“Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold…” – Isa. 51:21-22).
Amidst these punishing judgments (“I will punish” - Jer. 51:44; “I will do judgment” - Jer. 51:47) the freshly liberated Jews will think upon Jerusalem (Jer. 51:45, 50). Yea, even as groans and cries do roar throughout the wasted Empire as the wounded lie slain all throughout the Land (Jer. 51:52, 54), the Jews will weep as they endeavor to make their way back to Jerusalem (Jer. 31:9)! While Babylonians worldwide lose faith in their idols (Isa. 45:20) and while every man breathes their last fleeting breath as one among the rest who lay in the streets and fields waiting to expire, the Jews will mourn in confoundment for the Law that they have broken and the Jerusalem they abused and forfeited (Jer. 51:51)! Yea, they will mourn for Christ, even as they awake and arise to His beckoning voice in anticipation for what comes next.