Isaiah 65 - The LORD Answers the Prayer of the Remnant

A. The immediate answer: The LORD will indeed bless His genuine servants.

1. (1-7) The LORD sees the shallow repentance of the remnant.

I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by My name. I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts; a people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; who sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense on altars of brick; who sit among the graves, and spend the night in the tombs; who eat swine’s flesh, and the broth of abominable things is in their vessels; who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!” These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. “Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silence, but will repay; even repay into their bosom; your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,” says the LORD, “Who have burned incense on the mountains and blasphemed Me on the hills; therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

a. Isaiah 63:7 through 64:12 is the prayer of the remnant, voiced through the prophet Isaiah. It is one of the most beautiful and moving prayers in the Bible. Yet it does not seem to be representative of the heart of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Here, God speaks to that heart, a heart with a shallow repentance.

b. I was sought by those who did not ask for Me: The Jewish exiles in Babylon were examples of those who did ask for the LORD; but they would not find Him, because for the most part they sought Him insincerely. Yet, God would be found by those who did not seek Him - namely, the Gentiles.

i. Paul quotes this passage in Romans 10:20-21: But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” These were bold words indeed from Isaiah, “so bold, say Origen and others, that for this cause, among others, he was sawn asunder by his unworthy countrymen.” (Trapp)

c. I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people: It wasn't that the LORD had ignored the Jewish exiles in Babylon, and other like them. He stretched out His hands all day long to them. Some responded (like Daniel, or like the one prophetically praying in Isaiah 63:7 through 64:12), but most were a rebellious people.

d. Who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts: This defines what it is to be a rebellious people - simply, to walk in a way . . . according to their own thoughts. To trust in our own wisdom, our own judgment, our own thinking, is to be among the rebellious people.

i. This idea is repeated in several different places in Scripture. The phrase in the book of Judges that characterized the wickedness of that age shows it:everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6, 21:25). Proverbs expresses the idea like this:There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). To live according to their own thoughts may sound like freedom, but really it is bondage. God’s solution to living according to our own thoughts is revealed in Romans 12:2, to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

e. A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face: The walk of these people, according to their own thoughts, expresses itself in the most offensive and unholy ways before the LORD. The people sacrifice in gardens to idols. They sit among the graves, breaking the commands against contact with the dead (Numbers 19:11). They eat swine’s flesh, and drink the broth of abominable things.

i. Each of these sins were grossly offensive to the LORD. It is tragic, but true, that walking according to our own thoughts will always lead us in to direct, blatant, opposition to the LORD.

f. Yet all the while, even in the midst of such extreme offense before God, they can say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!” No wonder God considers such people as smoke in My nostrils. Therefore, judgment is promised to them: I will not keep silence, but will repay . . . your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together.

i. How could anyone think “I am holier than you!” when the are steeped in the sins described in this passage? This is a dramatic display of the blindness pride brings. They could say, “I am holier than you!” and really mean it, because of their deep blindness.

ii. Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon titled Self Righteousness - A Smoldering Heap of Rubbish on this text. In it, he describes how dangerous and insidious self righteousness is. “Moreover, self-righteous men, like foxes, have many tricks and schemes. They condemn in other people what they consider to be very excusable in themselves. They would cry out against others for a tenth part of the sin which they allow in themselves: certain constitutional tendencies, and necessities of circumstances, and various surroundings, all serve as ample apologies. Besides this, if it be admitted that they are wrong upon some points, yet in other directions they are beyond rebuke. If they drink, they do not swear; and if they swear, they do not steal: they make a great deal out of negatives: if they steal, they are not greedy and miserly, but spend their gains freely. If they practice fornication, yet they do not commit adultery; if they talk filthily, yet they boast they do not lie. They would be counted well because they are not universally bad. They do not break every hedge, and therefore they plead that they are not trespassers. As if a debtor for a hundred pounds should claim to be excused because he does not owe two hundred: or, as if a highwayman should say, ‘I did not stop all the travelers on the road; I only robbed one or two, and therefore I ought not to be punished.’ If a man should willfully break the windows of your shop, I warrant you, you would not take it as an excuse if he pleaded, ‘I did not break them all; I only smashed one sheet of plate glass.’ Pleas which would not be mentioned in a human court are thought good enough to offer to God. O the folly of our race!” (Spurgeon)

ii. Spurgeon also focused his attention of the most religious of the self-righteous: “Those who come with the language of repentance but without the spirit of it, are sometimes the most self-righteous of all, for they say ‘I am all right because I am not self-righteous.’ They make a self-righteousness out of the supposed absence of self-righteousness. ‘Thank God,’ say they, ‘we are not as other men are, nor even as these self-righteous people.’ Hypocrites all the way through.”

iii. Man is so corrupt that he can be self-righteous over almost anything. “This weed of self-righteousness will grow on any dunghill. No heap of rubbish is too rotten for the accursed toadstool of proud self to grow upon.” (Spurgeon)

2. (8-16) A promise of blessing for the true servants of the LORD, and a promise of chastisement for the false or shallow servants of God.

Thus says the LORD: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it,’ so will I do for My servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there. Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for My people who have sought Me. But you are those who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad, and who furnish a drink offering for Meni. Therefore I will number you for the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter; because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear, but did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.” Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, My servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed; behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and wail for grief of spirit. You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; for the Lord GOD will slay you, and call His servants by another name; so that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My eyes.

a. “Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it,” so will I do for My servants’ sake: Despite the unholy rebellion and pride of some of the remnant, God still has His servants, and He will bless and restore them. The will be regathered into His land, for He says: “My elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there.” He has a special place for My people who have sought Me.

i. The picture of Isaiah 65:8 is striking. The idea is that God finds a few “good grapes” among the corrupt cluster of His people. It is for the sake of these - for My servants’ sake - that the Lord shows blessing and restores. “Found suggests that the grapes were oozing as they were picked and that this was specially prized. Hence there is some good. . . Marvelously, then, the Lord finds his people a blessing, and he prizes and guards them.” (Motyer)

ii. “If the Church had clearly understood this simple example, then, it would not have dared to teach Israel’s total rejection. Even as He would have saved Sodom for the sake of five righteous people, so He will spare Israel, His vine, for the sake of His servants, the cluster of good grapes.” (Bultema)

b. But you are those who forsake the LORD: Not all are numbered among the servants of the LORD. They are destined for judgment, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear, but did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight. On top of all their other sins is the sin of simply refusing to listen to God’s correction.

i. It is one thing for us to fall into sin through weakness or ignorance; such sin is indeed sin, and God must deal with it as such. But refusing to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit is far worse. It is bad enough to be speeding down the highway; it is worse to ignore the flashing red lights in your rear view mirror.

ii. Wolf on Gad and Meni: “They were presenting offerings to the gods ‘Fortune’ and ‘Destiny,’ so their destiny would be the sword.”

c. Behold, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry: Because of this, the true servants of God among the remnant will be blessed, but the false servants will be cursed. Why? It is necessary, so that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth. If God does not reward His true servants, and curse His false servants, then God is not shown to be the God of truth.

i. The God of truth is literally “the God of (the) Amen . . . the God who says ‘amen’ to all his promises, affirming their reality and his trustworthiness to keep them.” (Motyer)

B. The ultimate answer: The LORD will redeem and remake all of creation.

1. (17-19) The promise of a new heavens and a new earth.

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

a. Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: As the ultimate answer to the problem of man’s sin, God will create a new heavens and a new earth. This takes place after the millennium, the glorious thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ, when this very earth and sky is done away with and God makes a new heavens and a new earth.

i. Peter used this promise to encourage believers to holy living: Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). In the book of Revelation, John also sees this: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea (Revelation 21:1).

ii. From John’s context we see that this new heavens and a new earth comes after the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and is connected not with the millennial earth, but with the eternal state. If all we had to go by was Isaiah’s statement, we would automatically connect this new heavens and a new earth with the millennial earth, because immediately after Isaiah 65:17-19, we clearly find the millennial earth described. But based on what we find in 2 Peter and Revelation, we must see that Isaiah is in the prophetic habit of switching quickly from one time frame to another, speaking of the eternal state in Isaiah 65:17, and of the millennial earth in Isaiah 65:20-25.

b. And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind: This is another indication that Isaiah 65:17 does not speak of the millennial earth. Other passages of Scripture referring to the millennium show that there will be definite remembrance of former times on the earth. The whole temple ritual existing in the millennial earth (Ezekiel 40-46) will be a remembrance of the former days of Levitical sacrifice. The former nations of the world will remain (after judgment), and will serve the LORD and Israel (Psalm 72).

c. I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing: There will be aJerusalem in the eternal state, in the new heavens and a new earth. Revelation describes - in stunning imagery - the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven to the new earth (Revelation 21:2-27). It is in this Jerusalem, the eternal New Jerusalem, that the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

i. John clearly connects this promise to the New Jerusalem: And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).

2. (20-25) The blessed state of the millennial earth.

No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.

a. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days . . . for the child shall die one hundred years old: Quickly - as is the prophetic habit - Isaiah shifts gears, and now speaks not of the eternal state, but of the millennial earth. There will be death in the millennial earth, but in the transformed biology and ecology of the world under the reign of Jesus Christ, people will live incredibly longer, as they did in the days before the flood.

i. In the millennial earth, people will live so long that if someone dies being one hundred years old, people will consider that one accursed.

b. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit: The millennial reign of Jesus Christ will not only be a time of biological transformation, it will also be a time of social transformation, when perfect justice reigns over the earth. Never again will someone be robbed of the fruits of their labor. If you build a house, no one will steal it from you. You will inhabit that house. If you plant vineyards, no one will steal the fruit of it. You will eat their fruit. God gloriously promises, My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

i. This may not sound like much, but for those who live in profoundly unjust times, this simple justice sounds like a miracle.

ii. One significant reason there will be such justice on the millennial earth is because Satan will be bound for these 1,000 years, unable to work his destructive mischief on the earth (Revelation 20:1-3).

c. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them: There will be babies born and children raised in the millennial earth, and this is another indication that we are not in the eternal state. In the eternal state, we neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven (Matthew 22:30). In the millennial earth, those allowed to enter are blessed of the LORD, and they and their descendants will populate the earth.

d. It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear: The millennial reign of Jesus Christ will not only be a time of biological and social transformation. It will also be a time of profound spiritual transformation and intimacy. There will be an immediate and constant sense of the presence of God, and His knowledge will cover the earth (Isaiah 11:9).

i. This does not mean that every on the millennial earth will be saved; only that the opportunity for such close relationship will be widely enjoyed. We know that not all will be saved during the millennial earth because:

·        At the conclusion of the time of the millennial earth, Satan is released from his confinement and finds many willing servants on the earth (Revelation 20:7-9), whom he gathers for one last - and strikingly futile - rebellion against God.

·        Zechariah 14:16-19 and Psalm 2 describe the firm rule of the Messiah during the millennial earth, dealing decisively with those who do not surrender to His reign, enforcing righteousness all over the earth.

ii. Though not all will be saved on the millennial earth, we may suppose that the proportions will be reversed. Today, it is but a remnant that are saved, because many are called but few are chosen(Matthew 22:14) and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it(Matthew 7:13-14). In the millennial earth, the few will be those who don’t know the LORD and are not saved.

iii. One of the reasons why most are saved and know the LORD on the millennial earth is because not all survivors of the Great Tribulation are allowed to populate the millennial earth. After the Great Tribulation - which in judgment reduces the population of the earth by at least a third (Revelation 9:15, 18) - Jesus Christ will return to the earth, and in the judgment of the nations, determine who will be allowed to populate the millennial earth (Matthew 25:32-34). The millennial earth will have a “screened” population, that in terms of righteousness, will not be perfect, but better than the present earth.

e. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together: The millennial earth will also see a remarkable ecological transformation. No longer will predators stalk their victims. Instead, even the wolf and the lamb will get along, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

f. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD: This is the glorious result of the transformation that happens during the millennial earth. The world will be different biologically, spiritually, socially, and ecologically.

i. The Bible speaks powerfully to other aspects of the millennial earth. Tragically, the Church through history has often ignored or denied the promise of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. The early church until Augustine almost universally believed in an earthly, historical reign of Jesus, initiated by His return. Tyconius (in the late 300’s) was the first to influentially champion a spiritualized interpretation, saying that this Millennium is now (amillennialism). His view was adopted by Augustine, the Roman Catholic Church and most Reformation theologians. Growing out ofamillennialism is the doctrine of post-millennialsim is an outgrowth of amillennialism, saying the millennium will happen in this age, before Jesus’ return - but that the church will bring it to pass. But the clear teaching of the Bible isn’t a millennialism or post-millennialism, but what is called pre-millennialism - the teaching that Jesus Christ will return to this earth before the millennial earth, and He is establish and govern it directly. There are more than 400 verses in more than 20 different passages in the Old Testament which deal with this time when Jesus Christ rules and reigns personally over planet earth.

·        King David will have a prominent place in the millennial earth (Isaiah 55:3-5, Jeremiah 30:4-11, Ezekiel 34:23-31, Ezekiel 37:21-28, Hosea 3:5).

·        There will be blessing and security for national Israel in the millennial earth (Amos 9:11-15).

·        The Millennium a time of purity and devotion to God (Zechariah 13:1-9).

·        Israel will be a nation of prominence in the millennial earth (Ezekiel 17:22-24).

·        There will be a rebuilt temple and restored temple service on the millennial earth (Ezekiel 40-48, Ezekiel 37:26-28, Amos 9:11, Ezekiel 20:39-44).

·        The New Testament specifically promises a literal reign of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:32-33).

·        In their resurrected state, the saints will be given responsibility in the Millennial Earth according to their faithful service (Luke 19:11-27, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 2:26-28; 3:12,22, 1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

The Lukewarm Church

30 “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.                    (Ezekiel 33:30-32 

In the book of Revelation, chapters  2 and 3 contain the seven letters Christ dictated to John to be sent to seven churches that existed in John’s time in Asia Minor. I have heard several sermons and read some exposits of these chapters that were geared towards these seven churches each representing one of the seven church ages. For this to be true there would have to be seven separate, distinct church ages that we could clearly line up with the each church description in these two chapters. First, let me say that I am not 100% convinced that this is valid  but it is intriguing.

For reference here are the seven churches and the church age each “represents.”

• Ephesus – the apostolic period of the church (A.D. 30-100).
• Smyrna – the age of martyrs of the church in the second and third centuries.
• Pergamos – the age of the state church, beginning with Constantine and continued until the first pope was recognized to have authority over the Roman Catholic church (A.D. 313-590).
• Thyatira – this church corresponds to the time period when the church was firmly established not only as a church, but also as a state (A.D. 590-1517). It begins with the first pope, Gregory the Great, and continues to the time of the Protestant Reformation.
• Sardis – this church represents the Reformation era of the church (A.D. 1517-1790).
• Philadelphia – represents the age of the missionary church which began with the rise of modern missions under William Carey (A.D. 1730-1900).
• Laodicea – represents the apostate or lukewarm church of the last days (A.D. 1900-present).

Again, I am not completely convinced of the validity of this hypothesis, however, it is compelling in many respects. I would like to concentrate on the last church mentioned, Laodicea, because I do believe that its description by the Lord Jesus in Revelation 3:14-22 does resemble the sorry condition of the Church in our own time. Here is the passage in its entirety.

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 “‘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. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” Revelation 3:14-22 

Needless to say, I have also heard various interpretations of what Jesus meant by “lukewarm.” Some feel that this is describing a church that has lost its fire. Some believe that  they are simply distracted. All they need to do is get busy again. Others have said that Jesus’ description, taken in its entirety, gives us a picture of a church full of unregenerate, un-redeemed, lost people who are simply religious. I am in agreement with the latter. I also am in full agreement that Jesus’ description of the church of Laodicea is a valid comparison with the 21st Century church we are in now.

Let’s dig some here in this passage to see what markers Jesus was pointing out to us that we can compare to our own experience. First, he says that they are neither cold nor hot, but are lukewarm. This lukewarmness could also be described as halfheartedness. In the passage I placed at the top of this post we read of God’s description of the Judean exiles in Babylon with Ezekiel. He says they delight in “religious” things, but only to be entertained by them, not to hear from Gods in order to obey Him. Does that sound familiar? Doesn't the Willow Creek and/or Purpose Driven Church models create church environments actually built entirely in and around entertaining these types of people? The Seeker Sensitive churches actually create an climate that encourages this.

The next characteristic we see in v17 is that these people in Laodicea were backsliders. They were sinful unregenerate people. The Puritans referred to these people as “temporary Christians.” They believed when it was convenient for them to do so, but as soon as things got tough they split. As long as the only requirements put on them are religious in nature then they stay and appear to be part of the church, however, as soon as God’s genuine requirements of personal holiness are brought to bear they can’t stand. They are all form and function with no spiritual substance. They can stay and be content in a formal church setting, but forget that repentance stuff.

The Laodiceans were also indifferent. “Hey, so what if that speaker we had in here last week is anti-Trinitarian, he spoke well and I got a lot out of his message.” I call this the Unitarian complex. This is prevalent today within the Emergent Leaders, their mouthpieces, and apologists. They accuse everyone who has a problem with their indifference of being judgmental. 

We see also that since these are un-redeemed, unregenerate people they are also subject to reprobation. They have no way to control their sinful desires because they do not have the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Since they can’t control their sinful desires they do away with the “rules” so that all are welcome. After all, God doesn't expect anyone to be perfect and He loves everyone the same, so come on in.

They are self-righteous. Their theology has blinded them to the point that they see themselves as having a corner on God. Why? They have a secret. The secret to having a corner on God like them is possess that same secret. While we study theology to know God as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word, they say this is a work of pride and God wants us to be humble so the secret is to profess that it is impossible to know the truth and so this “humility” God will bless. This is post-modern Gnosticism. They have him while everyone else calling themselves Christians are simply bogged down in old-fashioned religion. They say they are rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing. Even in their paganism they believe they are on the inside track with God while, in reality, they are in spiritual poverty, They are full of the world and destitute with God. Their spiritual blindness keeps them from seeing their own condition. Instead they see what they want to see. When a believer rebukes them or shares the truth with them they scoff and refuse to listen. This is Spiritual Pride.

So, does Jesus’ description of the church at Laodicea bear any resemblance to our 21st Century church? I say yes. We are in the midst of a very long and protracted downgrade that Charles Spurgeon fought in his day. We are reaping the fruits of well over an hundred years of growing apostasy that began with the liberalization of the church in the 19th century. Humanism has all but replaced the genuine Gospel with a counterfeit gospel that preaches a different Jesus. Spiritual blindness is rampant. Church after church is falling under the spell of the Purpose Driven Church model where within the sheep are entertained and taught to focus on each other rather than God.

The high-jacking of the church is nearly complete. There are two clear paths before us. Either God sends a tremendous awakening to counter Satan’s lies or the Church we have before us is the Great Harlot that is judged by God in the Great Tribulation. I fear that the latter is the most probable, but I pray for the former. God’s will be done.

Mike Ratliff Soli Deo Gloria!

Having An Eternal Perspective

Having An Eternal Perspective

“If we would remember that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodsman's ax, we should not be so ready to build our nests in them.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon,
Morning and Evening Devotional, p. 141

The Lord’s Plumb Line

7 This is what he showed me:behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. Amos 7:7 

In John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress, the characters’ names usually define their character. For instance there is Ignorance. He refuses to believe Christian and Hopeful when they tell him that unless he goes through the narrow gate to begin his pilgrimage, he will not be allowed into the gate of the Celestial City. Then there is Talkative who equates making a fuss about one’s sin with actual repentance. Early in Christian’s pilgrimage, he comes across two other pilgrims named Formalist and Hypocrisy who come from a country called Vain-Glory. They tell Christian that the shortcut that they took to the path, bypassing the narrow gate, was necessary because it was too far to travel from Vain-Glory to it. All were revealed to be counterfeit Pilgrims and none of them made it into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ save Christian, Hopeful and Faithful.

These characters had one thing in common. They were all pilgrims on the path to the Celestial City, but they entered it on their own terms. They walked according to their own rules. Man is fallen. He is incapable of knowing God or His ways without the grace of God regenerating the heart. However, even though the gate to salvation is narrow and hard to find, His standards are still higher than any Man can attain outside of His grace. He does not lower His standards nor put away His plumb line.

The prophet Amos uses some powerful metaphors, such as God’s sieve in Amos 9:9. In chapter 7 verse 7 we read of God holding a plumb line in His hand. What is a plumb line? It is used in building. To build solid, straight structures, we must use one to be as precise as possible. Spiritually, God tells us that in all that we build up, we must act by the sure rule of righteousness.

God builds this way.                                                                                                                         He removes the old walls when tested by the plumb line, and thereby found faulty.                         Truth requires the removal of falsehood. Unlike Men,                                                                         God builds in truth, reality, holiness, and purity. Those who know God and are known by Him should build the same way. Good solid structures are never built hastily, but are built according the highest standards. Spiritually and practically, truth should be our object. This standard is higher than man’s.  

Our building by faith should never be according to the eye of man because then we become man-pleasers. Instead, we build by the Word, in God’s sight, after Christ’s example, by the Spirit, unto holiness.

As we obey God in His building of the Church, we should build just so. We should flee any temptation to be man-pleasers and thereby corrupt our work.  

We do it right when we teach the Scriptures only in all things. We preach nothing but the Gospel. We begin by laying sinners low by the Law, and exalting the grace of God. We lead men to holiness and peace by the doctrines of truth. We exercise discipline that our churches may be pure.

Decades ago, in the late 1980’s, our Pastor called a business meeting right after services one Sunday morning. Then several men went up on the platform. The Chairman of the Deacons presented the case of one of our members  to be disciplined for not repenting of leaving his family for another woman. One of the men on the platform had gone to the man to counsel him, but he refused to repent. Then two of them went together, but he still refused to repent.         After much prayer and several attempts to get the man to return to his family, they brought the matter to the church. We voted the man out of our membership and committed to care for his family.

When I shared this with some of my coworkers, they were shocked that we would do such a thing. I was told more than a few times after that that we were a bunch of hypocrites and all we were doing there was driving people away from Church.                                                                    I tried to show them that this is what we do when we are obedient, but it fell on deaf ears.

God’s plumb line is used for testing. We should always use it on the wall of self-righteousness, conceit, boasting, careless living, and trust in ceremonials or religiosity.         God most certainly uses it in our lives. If we are really His then we will find ourselves continually being offered opportunities to obey Him or not.                                                       When we do finally stand before Him our works will be judged with it. Those who do not know Him will stand before the Great White Throne and God will judge them with it.

31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 1 Corinthians 11:31 

We must use God’s plumb line on ourselves. To not do so leads to the blindness of self-deception. We should examine ourselves most Persistently  leaving no stone un-turned in our hearts.

God’s plumb line will be used for destroying.                                                                                 All genuine Christians will be saved justly through our Lord Jesus Christ, and in their case every sin will be destroyed, and every trace of evil will be removed before they enter the Celestial City, which is, of course, Heaven. This is our Glorification.                                         Those who  reject Christ Jesus as the way the Truth and the Life, will find their doom intolerable, because they, themselves, will be unable to deny its justice (Luke 19:27).                                     They will know that their misery is deserved. God’s sentence based upon His plumb line will be infallible. There will be no revision.                                                                                                        His judgments are impartial and just, therefore, each verdict will stand forever. (Matthew 25:46)

“Nothing will induce me to form an impure church. ‘Fifty added to the church’ sounds well at home, but if only five of these are genuine, what will it profit in the Great Day?” – David Livingstone – Missionary to Africa.

Oh that our Christian leaders would grasp this truth! Sadly, just a few ‘get it.’                               The focus on ‘doing church’ is not to build a pure church setup according to God’s plumb line, but to build one with wood, hay, and stubble as building materials.                                             They do this by going for numbers alone.                                                                                       They accomplish this by bringing the world and its ways into their churches then create something that is not a real church at all.

God is holding His plumb line.                                                                                                          I fear that what passes for Christianity in our time is failing the test.                                                   May God have mercy on us.

Mike Ratliff Soli Deo Gloria!

Are we bearing the marks of Christ or are we bearing the mark of the beast?

14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor un-circumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. (Galatians 6:14-17 ESV)

The Apostle Paul did indeed bear the marks of persecution on his body. He had been found to be worthy to suffer shame for the name as had Peter and John (Acts 5:17-42). Paul had been stoned, beaten, imprisoned, run out of town, and would die as a martyr. Why were they persecuted so? They preached the truth. They preached against sin and works theology. They preached the Cross. They preached the exclusivity of the Gospel and against pluralism. They held that God’s truth was absolute. This is the message the natural, unregenerate person hates. This is the message the pseudo-Christians hate as well because the clear bright light of God’s truth reveals their compromises and false doctrines.

This always results is some level of persecution. All Christians should bear some marks of some kind that testifies to their faithfulness to the Lord. These marks could be physical or they could take the form of insults from coworkers, professors, or the defenders of those forms of Christianity that are heretical. These marks could take the form of the loss of a job, the sacrifice of worldly goods for the sake of gospel ministry or other such things. The marks of Jesus do not have to be from physical abuse, but all of them, no matter in what form, give evidence of the believer’s love for our Lord in his or her willingness to suffer all manner of hardships for the truth of the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:16-12:10). These believers do not attempt to substitute their own efforts for God’s grace and then claim to be Christians while following a false gospel. This is bearing the marks of Jesus.

In John 9 we read of a man born blind was brought to our Lord (John 9). They asked the Lord Jesus who had sinned, the man himself, or his parents that he had been born blind. This is the either/or fallacy. It assumes that the reason is one of only two options. Our Lord told them that this man was born blind for neither of those reasons, but that the works of God might be manifest in him (John 9:3). In this, we must understand that Christian suffering may indeed come upon believers for the very fact that they are faithful. They may indeed refuse to compromise and may indeed preach and teach things that cause offense to some. However, we must never forget that God is allowing these things that the works of God might be manifest in them. This is all part of being found worthy to suffer shame for the name in partaking of the sufferings of Christ on the Cross.

While all believers should bear some evidence of their faithfulness to Christ Jesus as marks, not all do. The contrast to this is bearing the mark of the beast. I am sure all of you have read of the number 666 being that mark.

16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom:let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Revelation 13:16-18 ESV)

“what the number 666 represents is at least as significant as the beast’s human identity. When John tells us that this is “man’s number,” he may even mean that this number does not refer to a specific individual, such as Nero, but to a series of individuals who behave as Nero did. As Beale points out, “The omission of the article in 13:18 indicates the general idea of humanity, not some special individual who can be discerned only through an esoteric method of calculation. Therefore, in both verses ἄνθρωπος [man] is a descriptive or qualitative genitive, so that the phrase here should be rendered ‘a human number’ (so RSV) or ‘a number of humanity.’ It is a number common to fallen humanity.”

“In light of the beast’s attempt to parody the redemptive work of Christ so as to receive the worship of the nations, the idea that this number is to be understood as the number of fallen humanity makes a great deal of sense. If seven is the number of perfection, the number six comes close, but never reaches the goal.”1

“What, then is the mark of the beast? It may indeed be directly tied to Nero as indicative of his personal wickedness and hatred for God’s people, but Nero does not exhaust what is implied by taking the number-worshiping the state or its leader in order to avoid persecution for confessing that Christ is Lord. The beast is manifest to some degree throughout the inter-advental period but is restrained until the time of the end through the preaching of the gospel or the providence of God (see 2 Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 20:1-10).

The meaning of the number is at least as significant as identifying to whom it applies. The number of man, 666, is “perfectly imperfect” in contrast to the number of perfection-seven. The thrice repeated number “6″ implies endless work without rest. The creational pattern was for humans to work for six days and then rest on the seventh as did the Creator. But in this case, those who take the mark of the beast work endlessly and never do enter the hoped-for- Sabbath rest.

When placed in the larger context of the New Testament, Christians are said to be “sealed” unto Christ in their baptism (Rom. 4:11; see also Rom. 6:1-11). The mark of the beast may be the theological equivalent of the rejection of baptism (in the case of apostasy) or the rejection of Christ’s lordship through the confession that Caesar (or any other political figure) is Lord. This comports with the New Testament’s repeated warnings about apostasy being connected to the final manifestation of the beast (see Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 20:7-10).” 2

With that in mind my brethren, here is a post by Kim Riddlebarger relating this excerpt from his book, The Man of Sin, with some events in the visible church, which too place about the same time as its publication. We do not know, yet, who the Man of Sin is. We do not know when our Lord will return. However, we know that the Word of God does tell us that there have been and will be many “Antichrists.” The mark of the beast is apostasy, which is what happens when professing Christians reject God’s truth and in one form or another fall into a state of unbelief. These pseudo-Christians may claim atheism or they may become part of the apostate, compromised, visible Church that is spiritually dead. This would also include all those forms of “doing church” that are un-biblical in nature. These are inclusive in the term “mark of the beast” because they are all part of un-redeemed fallen humanity instead of according to the Grace of God.

Therefore, we must all examine ourselves. Are we bearing the marks of Christ or are we bearing the mark of the beast? I pray that each one reading this will be convicted by the Holy Spirit to repent and strive to be the faithful, holy, disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ that we are called to be.

By Mike Ratliff Soli Deo Gloria!

HE GAVE THEM NEW CLOTHES

They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

They are in the midst of a garden paradise, recipients of the bountiful goodness of the Lord God. He had created them and placed them there with a blessing: ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’

Near to where they stand is the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Before the woman had been created, the Lord God had commanded the man concerning that latter tree, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’

Also in the garden is a serpent. He is more cunning than any beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

The serpent speaks. The woman listens.

‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’

An ostensibly innocuous question. And the woman has the answer, so she thinks.

She converses with the serpent.

‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”’

The woman overstates the prohibition.

Perhaps this is her error, or perhaps it was the fault of her husband when he relayed to her the Lord God’s command.

One of them, certainly, had added a hedge to God’s word – one tiny addition. For God had commanded the man not to eat of the tree’s fruit, but He had said nothing about not touching it.

(How easily we add to what God has spoken.)

With that one addition – oh how small and seemingly insignificant! – the woman opens the door to her adversary the Devil.

The serpent, liar and murderous deceiver that he is, assures the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’

And so the woman entertains temptation and gazes at the tree.

What a beautiful tree! How good it would be for food!

Enticed by her desire to become wise like God, she reaches out and takes its fruit.

(See, she is unharmed! The serpent was right! Surely there is no danger here.)

Having suffered no consequence from touching the fruit, she eats it. In contravention of God’s command, a fatal act.

The woman also gives to her husband, who is with her.

(Why has he not intervened to keep her from harm? Does he not see the danger?)

The man had heard the clear words of God’s voice forbidding him to eat this fruit. He had heard the Lord God’s prescient warning, ‘For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’.

In willful, unbelieving rebellion against his Creator, the man raises the fruit to his lips and eats. Sin enters the world through Adam, and death through sin. Having eaten, the eyes of the man and his wife are opened. And what they see is their own nakedness.

By God’s benevolent grace, the very instrument of their Fall is the means by which they recognize their fallen state. Innocent, they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Guilty, their open eyes now know their own evil and lack of good: they are sinners against the Lord God and breakers of His holy Law.

As are we. For all Adam’s children born of the will of the flesh are born dead as slaves to sin. From pride or desperation, we array ourselves with the filthy rags of our best good works. And thereby we only add to the guilty dept we owe to the holy, clean and righteous God. They were both naked, the man and his wife, and now they are ashamed. They sew fig leaves together and make themselves coverings.

Yet their forlorn manufacture of leafy clothes cannot cover the shameful guilt of their sin. Nothing they do can scrub away the deadly stain; it runs too deep. And so, hearing the sound of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day, they hide themselves among the trees of the garden.

Their effort is in vain.

The Lord God calls, ‘Where are you?’, and they are found by His voice. Just as the leaves of a tree were insufficient to cover their naked guilt, even so a whole garden of trees cannot hide their shame before the Lord God who uncovers the thought and intent of every heart.

The man answers, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’

The Lord enquires as to the source of their knowledge. ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’

Confronted with their guilt, the pitiful confessions come, such as they are. Not contrition, not repentance, but a frightened attempt to divert their burning shame in the presence of the Lord God’s voice.

‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’

‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’

The voice that once spoke blessing now pronounces judgment: upon the serpent who beguiled; upon the woman who was deceived; upon the man who disbelieved and disobeyed.

And in passing sentence, the righteous Judge manifests His boundless mercy and grace. For He promises a Seed: a Messiah who will crush the head of that serpent and destroy all his works.

(Can it really be? Can the stain of our guilt before a holy God be erased? Can ournakedness be covered?)

The serpent brought guilt and shame to the naked man and his wife. The serpent brought fear. The Promised One shall take away their shame and guilt and bring new clothes. His perfect Love shall cast out fear.

And in earnest of His promise, the Lord God kills and makes tunics of skin; the first animal blood is shed to cover sin and shame. Yet the stain remains, for it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. And so countless more impotent sacrifices would be offered for Eve’s children, each death a reminder of sins, of nakedness, of shame.

To keep the man from eating of the Tree of Life and living forever, the Lord God drives him out of Paradise, placing cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to that tree. In the fullness of time, the long awaited Seed arrives. Not with kingly pomp, but in the squalor of a stable. The Son of God, the Lord from Heaven, makes Himself of no reputation and takes on human flesh. In the form of a slave, He is born to a virgin named Mary.

God made Man is born under the Law of God to redeem those who were under the Law. That Law – holy, just and good – promised blessing and eternal life in return for obedience. But it condemns and kills everyone, for all Adam’s children have inherited his guilt, and not one of them has been able to fulfil the Law’s demands.

Until now.

An angel of the Lord commands that this Seed be named Jesus, meaning ‘God saves’, ‘for He will save His people from their sins’.

Through 33 years of perfect obedience in fulfilment of the Law, Jesus fashions new clothes for His chosen Bride, the Church. Better than fig leaves, better than animal skins, these are robes of His very own righteousness.

Nearing the completion of His earthly work, the Bridegroom makes a New Covenant with His Beloved. The First Adam took forbidden fruit from His wife and at her bidding ate. This Last Adam breaks blessèd bread and gives it to His Bride, bidding her eat. ‘Take, eat; this is My body broken for you.’ In like manner, He proffers cupped wine, saying, ‘Drink, all of you. For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’

And then He lays down His life, obedient even to the death of the cross.

The spotless sacrifice Lamb of God takes His Bride’s place and for her becomes a curse. His body broken – see! – the blood of the New Covenant pours from His head, His hands, His feet. For without the shedding of this blood there can be no remission of sins. The price of her sin must be paid to propitiate the wrath of a thrice holy and righteous God – yes, even this terrible price.

The Lamb takes from His Bride her filthy rags, casting them away as far as the East is from the West. With the wine of His precious holy blood, He who is without blemish washes clean His blemished Bride. And this blood accomplishes what animal blood never could, cleansing her of every sinful stain. ‘See’, He says to her, ‘I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.’

‘It is finished’, He cries. And bowing His head, He gives up His spirit. What of the promised rich robes? Having stormed the gates of death, this holy Lamb takes up again the life He laid down. Not even all the powers of death can make Him faithless to His word.

The Father, well pleased with His Son, declares acceptable His perfect sacrifice for sin and, in exceedingly great power, raises this Lamb from the dead, seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named – not only in this age but also in that to come. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. At this name of Jesus, every knee shall one day bow – of those in heaven, of those on earth, and of those under the earth. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The Bride is now holy and without blemish. She has been clothed with rich robes fit for her marriage to her King. And in her wedding joy she sings:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

And thus the death that came into the world through the sin of the First Adam is by the Last Adam conquered. Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Having purchased His Pearl of Great Price at the cost of all He had, this risen conquering King casts open for His precious Bride the way to the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. Once more He bids her eat and drink, that she might forever live:

‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven – not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.’

They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.Yet the First Adam by disobedience fell, and sin and death came. The Last Adam by obedience triumphed, and sin and death were put to flight.Now He and His Bride are clothed with His righteousness, and they are not ashamed. In His resurrection life, sin and shame and death are forever vanquished.There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Gen. 1:28; 2:8–9, 15–17; 2:25–3:24; 6:5; 1 Chr. 28:9; Ps. 40:6–8; 103:8–12; Is. 6:3;25:8–9; 45:23; 61:10–11; 64:6; Ezek. 16:6–12; Zech. 3:4; Matt. 1:20–25; 13:45–46;26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 2:6–7; 22:19–20; 24:39–40; John 2:19; 6:53–58;8:34; 10:14–18; 20:24–25; 19:1, 17–30; Acts 4:12; 26:18; Rom. 1:16–3:31; 4:23–25;5:1–2, 12–20; 6:6, 21–23; 8:1–5; 9:22–24; 10:13; 14:11; 1 Cor. 11:23–26; 15:45–47,54–56; Gal. 3:1–18, 27; 4:4–5; Eph. 1:15–23; 2:4; 4:24; Phil. 2:5–11; 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:13–14; Heb. 2:17; 4:12; 8:8–13; 9:11–15, 22–23; 10:1–18; 12:24; 1 Pet. 5:8; 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 John 2:2; 4:10, 18; Rev. 1:5–6; 2:7; 4:8; 12:9; 16:7; 20:2.