Isaiah 34:1-9
Isa 34:1
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people:
let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come
forth of it.
Isaiah 34 is a chapter which warns all the nations of the
world that God will judge every nation on earth.
The nations are not just physically hearing but they are to hear with
understanding that they are receiving a warning.
This warning goes out through all the earth and that warning is sounded
out by the body of Christ which is found in all nations of the world.
This great judgment that is coming will not just be on the people who
have sinned against the LORD but it will also come against the earth itself and
all it produces whether it generates trees or animals or anything else.
The sin of man has affected the entire earth and therefore the entire
earth has to be judged.
Isa 34:2
For the indignation of the LORD is upon all
nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed
them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
The anger of the LORD is upon all nations because there
is no nation on earth which has not come against the body of believers in some
way from murdering them to silencing them.
The armies of the world will be feckless when it comes to facing the LORD
and his wrath as no weapons which they can produce will ever avert the judgment
coming upon them. Just as God
destroyed the Assyrian army, he will destroy all the armies of the earth and it
does no matter what country it is.
For they are the spirits of devils,
working miracles, which go
forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:14)
It is known as Armageddon when the LORD will be victorious over all the
nations which will attempt to fight him in the final battle.
Armageddon has nothing to do with modern Israel and the fantasy fight in
the fields of Megiddo. That is
another created fallacy of dispensationalism.
Isa 34:3
Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall
come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their
blood.
The picture here is like that of an army on the
battlefield which was slain and the bodies left to decompose resulting in a
massive stink because of the corruption.
A similar scene is found in Revelation.
And the winepress was trodden
without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse
bridles, by the space of a thousand
and six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:20)
Here we are reading a very gruesome description of the judgment of the
unbelievers. First, we are told that this judgment is done outside the city.
This would allude to the city which is the body of believers.
And he carried me away in the spirit to a
great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21:10)
Our judgment was paid for by Christ and therefore we do not stand for any
type of judgment since all our sins have been removed and paid for.
The judgment is being graphically described as being a great bloodletting
judgment. The 1600 furlongs would equate to 200 miles. Since the whole world is
being judged at this point, this number is symbolic and it would be easier if it
was looked at as 4 X 400. 4 is the number of universality which means that the
world on judgment day is being symbolically depicted as a great blood bath which
would be universal. The bridle of a horse is approximately 5 feet off the ground
but varies as the horse walks. This too would be a symbolic description that the
judgment will be so intense that the blood will cover the earth up to five feet
in height. Of course, this is symbolic to show that the judgment is universal
and awful. The winepress is symbolic for the Great White Throne Judgment where
no unbeliever will escape and that is why the symbol of blood is universal.
There are some who try to make this verse literal but it will not stand the
scrutiny and the context of this chapter.
Then the mountains are shown to be melted with their blood which means
that there would be so much blood that it would affect the structure of the
mountains. Of course, this too is
symbolic as it is showing that judgment day will be horrendous for the unsaved
of this world.
Isa 34:4
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the
heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall
down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from
the fig tree.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that
are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all
these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and
hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (2 Peter
3:10-12)
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled
together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
(Revelation 6:14)
When the judgment of God comes upon the earth, it will
encompass the entire universe as it harmonizes with 2 Peter 3:10-12 and
Revelation 6:14. As the leaves fall
from the vine in the fall, it shall be like that on judgment day when the entire
branch will be destroyed along with the leaves.
The hosts in this verse is speaking about the sun, moon, and stars which
is symbolic of the entire universe.
The scroll when it is rolled together means the reading is over and it is being
put back. Here when the scroll is
rolled up it means the last day has come along with judgment.
Isa 34:5
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall
come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
The sword of God is determined in Heaven but the result
will be executed upon the earth. It
will come down on Idumea which are the Edomites who refused passage to the
Israelites when they came out of Egypt.
They are representative of all the countries which have opposed the true
gospel and have come against the body of believers.
The people whom God has cursed are all the unbelievers of the world who
will face the wrath of God at the judgment seat of Christ.
Isa 34:6
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made
fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of
the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great
slaughter in the land of Idumea.
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood as a person
who drinks until they are filled.
Based upon the previous verses, the time of judgment has come because the
iniquity of the world is now completed and the judgment of God is made fat with
fatness which alludes to the fat which was used in the sacrifices in Leviticus
7. In Leviticus 7:5, the priest
takes the fat and burns it upon the altar which shows that the judgment of all
people, no matter who they are, will become total.
Then Bozrah which is spoken of here is the one in Idumea.
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. (Isaiah 63:1)
Idumea is in view because they were the outright enemies of the
Israelites even though they were related to them through the lineage of Jacob
and Esau. The fact that they were
related made it worse because Edom should not have acted the way they did toward
Israel. That principle will become
evident on Judgment day when the great slaughter takes place.
Isa 34:7
And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the
bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their
dust made fat with fatness.
The unicorn could be speaking of a rhinoceros which is a
single horned creature.
Will the unicorn be willing to serve
thee, or abide by thy crib? (Job 39:9)
The rhinoceros was not a domesticated animal used for service around a
farm or a mill. In this verse it
might be speaking of the fact that the judgment will come upon both the wild
animals and also those domesticated for service like the bulls.
It is probably better understood that the unicorn and the bulls are
symbolic for all the mighty men who thought they were something on earth but now
they are facing the judgment of God.
The judgment shall be so immense that the blood will sink into the ground
and there will be so much that it would turn the dust into clods of dirt.
This is how thorough the judgment of God will be.
Isa 34:8
For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and
the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Physically speaking in Judah, the LORD is going to
recompense by taking vengeance upon Edom who walked in opposition of Israel.
Zion before the cross is ancient Israel but each use of Zion has to be
looked at in its context and determined how it is used.
On the last day, Zion, which is the body of believers will be defended by
the LORD as he takes vengeance on all the nations and people groups of this
world who came against the true body of believers.
Reward her even as she rewarded
you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she
hath filled fill to her double. (Revelation 18:6)
The reward which the citizens of the kingdom of Satan will receive will
be doubled for their hatred of the body of believers and for Christ.
Isa 34:9
And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and
the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning
pitch.