The scripture of the day in YouVersion Bible app today is,
Many times just reading the verse of the day doesn’t give the context of why or what a verse is relating to so I go to it and read the entire chapter. Today was a good day to do that. The introduction of chapter 26 starts out with “In That Day” so what day it is speaking of must be found in the previous chapter 25,
Isaiah 25:9 And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation (H3444- Yeshua -Jesus).”
Now to chapter 26,
Isaiah 26 NKJV- A Song of Salvation
26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
God will appoint salvation (H3444- Yeshua -Jesus) for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.
5 For He brings down those who dwell on high,
The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
6 The foot shall tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness;
O Most Upright,
You weigh the path of the just.
8 Yes, in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
9 With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works in us.
13 O Lord our God, masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Your dead shall live;
Together with my dead body they shall arise.
Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her blood,
And will no more cover her slain.
Isaiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit paints a picture of the times of tribulation for the saints of God. This scenario has been played out at times in the history of Israel but some day will be fully experienced in all of it’s glory. “The Earth Shall Cast Out the Dead”
While throughout history, God has brought the chastening of His people through judgments like famine, pestilences, and even being taken captive by their enemy after losing wars. These have all been intermediate judgments pointing to the “finale judgment.”
Throughout history, the judgments God has brought to chasten his people and the earth’s inhabitants has been restrained and mixed with Grace with the hopes of bringing Repentance. To turn from sin and idolatry and to turn wholeheartedly to God but too often doesn’t bring about that result,
Isaiah 26:10 Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
After so many harsh judgments have been executed upon the inhabitants of the earth which are all described in the Book of Revelation leading up to this verse, it says this,
Revelation 9:20-21 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
The picture of God protecting His Faithful during or before bringing great judgments is painted throughout the Bible from Enoch, Noah, Lot and the Exodus. Willful sin and the refusing of God’s Grace to Repent brings with it a “hardening of the heart and a reprobate mind” if the refusal to repent continues. In the daily walk of any person, even True Christians, God provides “Light” to topics in scripture or how to proceed in a situation. If the “Light” God offers is rejected often enough, it leaves only one alternative, Darkness.
Darkness, or error to believe a lie begets more error. It’s just the way walking in the darks works.
2 Thessalonians 2 NKJV – The Great Apostasy
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,(The Rapture) we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, (The Holy Spirit) that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
When the Faithful Followers of Yeshua Jesus, all of whom are indwelt with the Holy Spirit of the Most High God, Jehovah are raptured, “taken out of the way” the power of their prayers of intercession to loose the power of God and restrain evil will be gone also from the earth. The Holy Spirit will still be in the earth and many will eventually sincerely repent and turn to Jesus Christ. I don’t hear anyone teach or have I found scripture of a 2nd rapture event for those people. All indications are that they will go through the “great tribulation” and will be required to NOT take the mark of the beast because if they do they will forfeit their Salvation (Yeshua – Jesus).
There is NO middle of the road. You can’t be neutral. It is impossible to be a conscientious objector, keeping your hands clean of the spiritual battle. Jesus said,
Matthew 12:30 ESV
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Revelation 3:15-16 ESV
“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
The Bride of Christ who will be “7 … taken out of the way,” raptured, won’t be around to see the antichrist so they won’t be here to suffer all the evil he brings about,
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
If you claim to be a child of the Most High God and Jesus Christ is the Lord, Master of your life, start acting like it now. Don’t play games with God and with satan. Make a commitment to be sold out for all Father God desires of you. The rewards in doing that are “Eternal Perfect Peace” that Isaiah spoke of. Or you can choose to live your best life now and pay the price for it eternally with unimaginable suffering and regret, eternal regret. The eternal regret for refusing to make and commit to the right decision may be worst than the suffering. An eternity of “what if.”
Hebrews 3:7-11 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.
10 Therefore I was angry with that generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways.’
11 So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
Hebrews 4:6-7 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
In The Word 