Isaiah Chapter 30 "The Egyptian League [1-17]." "Yehovah the Gracious [18-33]." This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org Isaiah 30:1 "Woe to the rebellious children saith the Lord, "that take counsel but not of Me; and that cover with a covering, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin:" This is continuing with the seven woes, and is the third woe that shall come in our generation. These "rebellious children" are the stubborn, or backsliding ones. These people chase all over the place to get their counsel from any one that appears to be an authority, yet they do not go to the Word of God for God counsel on the matter. The cover the truth over with a covering whereby those that are Biblically illiterate will accept it as the hand of God. Friend, if what they have is not of God's Spirit, then the only other spirit they can receive it from is one of Satan's spirits. This is why they continue to sin, over and over and in most cases in ignorance. This is a great teaching in that we also saw in Ezekiel 13:18-23, concerning those that sew their kerchiefs to cover over the outreached saving hands of Almighty God. Ezekiel 13:18 "And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of My People, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?" Apply these verses to whether or not your church fits the message in these verses. Ask yourself, am I blind to the truth, and do I not understand God's Word to know the truth for myself? There is a curse that is put on all those that cover over the outstretched hands of God, which is the way that God will actually save His children. That lie is what these verses are about. The "women" are the false religious teachers and preachers that sew these coverings that are concealing and hiding the truth from God's children. The armholes and kerchiefs are the spirits and the religious thing that are made to appear like they came from God, when they came from evil spirits to the minds of those applying the coverings. You hunt the souls when you use the traditions of men and the church systems that go against God's Word, to save the people that come to you in ignorance. You tell them that God sent you, and gave you your message of salvation, when God didn't send them, nor is their message from God and His Word. So what is it that they teach and instill in the place of what God's Word teaches? Ezekiel 13:19 "And will ye pollute Me among My People for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to My People that hear your lies?" Are you going out to teach your traditions for money and bread for your table? Do you think you are going to save the souls from dying with those doctrines fo men? God is not pleased with those that would cover over His Word with their lies, and try to dream up ways to save the souls of lives that should die. Those that should die are those that are Biblically illiterate, and refuse to study God's Word to keep them from being deceived by Satan the Antichrist. You make ways for those that don't know right from wrong, and refuse repentance in Jesus name, but you have created a way for their salvation that goes against My Word. Ezekiel 13:20 "Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; `Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly." Where is your faith my friend, in God or in your church system? This is our Heavenly Father making this statement, and you can count on it. If your beliefs go against what God says, then you are in trouble, for you are already wrapped up in the beast system, and taken his mark. Friend, you are not flying anybody anywhere, but using an evil and satanic doctrine to cover over the truths of God's Word. Your lies are part of Satan's deception that are given to keep God's children from preparing themselves for the spiritual warfare that is about to hit the earth. It is all part of the "mark of the beast" spoken of in Revelation 13:17. Revelation 13:17 "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." What doctrine does your church teach? Is your preacher selling the idea of flying out of here before Satan the Antichrist arrives on earth to deceive the whole world, or is he preparing you to stand your ground and preparing your mind for the deception and supernatural miracles that Satan will bring with him? God doesn't like it when anyone teaches His children to fly to save their souls, that isn't the way it is done. It is a lie. God instructs us to put on His gospel armor to stand and throw off the fiery darts of Satan. He does not like it when one puts their faith in fairy-tales, and fly-away doctrines to run like a bunch of chicken from the wolf. It is time to wake up. Ezekiel 13:21 "Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver My People out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." Jesus Christ is the one that will destroy the wicked one, and upon His return He will come against those that have fooled around with such nonsense as this "rapture doctrine". This doctrine has led so many people into a false sense of security. Those people that have been led by the rapture doctrine will be taken by the false Christ. They will see their error upon Christ's return which is the start of the Millennium age. However, their salvation then will be by their works and discipline for that thousand year period of the Millennium age, not by their faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance that we enjoy in this age of the flesh. Ezekiel 13:22 "Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:' " Ezekiel 13:23 "Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver My People out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord." Many Christians are all wrapped up in a strong delusion of flying away, and they will be unprepared for the time when Satan returns to deceive the people of the earth. Christ will not return to this earth, nor take His people out of this earth until after the "son of perdition", who is Satan, the Dragon, the serpent, the Antichrist, or by whatever name you call him, sits in the temple in Jerusalem and declares himself to be God. Jesus told you this in Matthew 24:15. That is what is called the "abomination of desolation", the abomination is when Satan does declare himself to be God. The desolation is when the whole world will believe him. The "rapture theory" is just like the "theory of evolution", for they both are based on a dream, and a lie. Just like we saw in the last chapter, though it refreshes their mind, when they wake up, the soul is still empty and hungry. When that spirit of slumber is removed from your eyes, those that have placed their security in those lies will realize that they have worshipped the wrong Christ. The only reason a person believes the fly-away doctrine is because you chose it yourself, it was convenient for you at the time. It was man's way to escape through his traditions, and not God's way. God will send a strong delusion that they may be damned. Isaiah 30:2 "That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at My mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!" Again this is going back to the "rebellious children" that place a covering over the outstretched hands of God. God is giving us another type, and the analogy is this: Why would they lean on Pharaoh when they are the children of God. We are to lean on God because that is what God desires. It is God that we are to go to for our protection and help when the times get hard. Don't run to any man, but learn to get into His Word for your instruction. God has made promises to us, and we have certain privileges all the time, and He wants us to rely on those promises. When we learn to rely on God and use our common sense we then have peace of mind. Isaiah 30:3 "Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." Put you trust in anything other then God, and watch how quickly you become confused. Isaiah 30:4 "For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes." "Zoan" is "the place of departure". Their leaders all ran to the place of control rather then to God. They would rather have the favors of governments and its false promises, then to trust in God. Isaiah 30:5 "They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach." This was the result of their actions. Isaiah 30:6 "The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, for whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them." After all the things that have happened to them, they seem to forget what has caused their problems. However, those people that run after those false preachers [Pharaoh] and church systems still load their beasts of burden down with gifts and money to get the favors of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh is not going to help them at all. Stop and look at those beggar preachers on television and elsewhere. They love for you to pack up your treasures and bring it to them. They promise and beg you to get your tithe committed to them, when they haven't even taught you enough to begin to mature, spiritually speaking. They say you owe them, when they are nothing but a bunch of beggars and thieves, sewing pillows of fairy-tales over the outstretched hands of God. God is asking you, why are you giving to those beggar preachers when they have taught you nothing, and spiritually you have profited nothing? If that is your choice, then don't run crying to God when there is not enough provision for yourself to live on. When you do give to God in the manner that He has written in His Word, then He will bless you greatly. Isaiah 30:7 "For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, "Their strength is to sit still." God is telling you that no matter what you bring or promise to those in authority, if you are going against God's instruction and warnings, they can't help you at all. This loses a lot in the translation, for what it is saying is that by sitting still, it is not giving any help. It is like an old dragon that does nothing but it's strength to sit is with it's mouth open. It wants you to place food into it, which it will consume but will still do nothing for you. It will continue to take as long as you give, but that is all it will do. This dragon will never help you. This dragon can be a church system, or even a religious organization or social group. The strength of that group is in their mouth, and as long as you are willing to place your money and time in it, they will continue to give you their promises and use you. Yet this group sits week after week singing the same songs, preaching the same fairy-tales, and they just don't do anything. Friend, if they do not teach God's Word they have no power with or from God. Isaiah 30:8 "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:" Isaiah is telling you to take note of this and write it down, for it will always be this way. If you seek help with anyone besides God, you are going to end up with nothing. Isaiah 30:9 "That this is a rebellious People, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:" This is the way it is with these foolish people that refuse to seek help through the Word of God. They want to believe a lie, and it doesn't bother them to throw their money at the feet of these fools. They are rebellious against God, and their mind is set on not hearing the laws and commandments of God. This goes for most of those that call themselves Christians, for they are Biblically illiterate, and they just don't care. Isaiah 30:10 "Which say to the seers, "See not;" and to the prophets, "Prophecy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:" These "seers" are their prophets and teachers, and not the prophets of God. Doesn't this sound like most churches today? They are always looking for the easy way out, the pie in the sky, and the fly-away fairy-tale to escape what God says is going to come upon them. They like their ears soothed with lies and sweet things that will not disturb their sleep. They tell you, "You don't need to study Revelation and the Minor Prophets of God's Word, you will be gone." And that is exactly what God warned you about above in Ezekiel 13:18-22. Are you so stupid that you would risk your eternal soul on the voice of one of these fairy-tale fly-away dragons? Friend, if it is not God's Word taught as it should be taught, then it is the precepts of men. Isaiah 30:11 "Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us." "Go ahead and get out of the way", and that "way" is Christ. This is what the people say when they look to the precepts of men. They are begging Christ to leave their presence, and leave them alone. Isaiah 30:12 "Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, "Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:" God is speaking directly to them that despise His Ways. Because you have chosen to trust in fraud, and the perverseness of man, and have rejected My Ways, this is what will happen. Isaiah 30:13 "Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant." God is going to allow them to push and stretch in their wicked ways. They will be like a dam site that is being overrun by the water of a flood, and when the dam can take only so much pressure, it bursts and the water heads out in all directions in destruction. That is how God is going to destroy those that find pleasure in despising His Ways. They will be just like that "high wall", or dam. There is a far deeper meaning within this. Who is suppose to be your wall? God builds a wall around us that will never bulge and break when the pressure gets too great, and that wall is our Heavenly Father. He gives us our protection and He is where we are to go for our safety and help. God is giving us a clear picture of what happens to our trust and faith if it is not built up in Him. When you count on a church system, and denomination, or a religion that does not follow God's Word but follows traditions, your wall of protection will break. Isaiah 30:14 "And He shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that it is broken in pieces; He shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit." God is promising you here that if you place your faith in something other then Him, He will break you in pieces for that act. God is saying that when He gets done with you there will not be enough pieces left over to make anything of value. The fire is the God, who is the consuming fire, and the water is the truth from His Word. This is saying that when you shape your vessel from the false teachings of men, He is going to break that vessel to where you couldn't hold even a drop of that water, which is the truth. In our generation it is directed to those that will be covered over with the spirit of slumber, that stupor that will so blind them spiritually that they will not be able to understand truth even if it is explained to them. As they start to drift off the right path, as the years go by those paths get farther and farther apart until the time will come when their minds will become so fixed in the lie, that it is all they will believe. That is how any of man's religions start, and why people will give their lives to protect a lie. To them their lie is the Words from God. It is God that will send them their strong delusion so they will be damned by their own mouth and choice. Our Father is a very jealous Father, and if you chose to reject Him, that is fine by Him. He will gladly allow you to do your own thing. But stop and think for a moment what the outcome of your choice will be. Isaiah 30:15 "For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall by your strength: and ye would not." Friend, this is also a promise from God, that no matter how far you have gone in ignorance, once you have seen the light from His Word, and turn to the Father in repentance in Jesus' name, He will give you that rest that only comes through Christ. This is how you are saved. "Confidence" is faith and trust in the living God. "Quietness" is to rest and find comfort in His Word, which is His promises. God has offered this peace of mind and forgiveness to all that will receive, but those that are fixed on believing a lie have rejected all of God's promises. They want no part of it, but only to chase after man made precepts. Today many preachers try to draw their crowd and then they call it religion. They start with a verse to get your interest, but then head off in another direction. However in the end, those that came to listen to them received nothing of the true emotions of our Heavenly Father. Isaiah 30:16 "But ye said, `No; for we will flee upon horses;' therefore shall ye flee: and, `We will ride upon the swift;' therefore shall they that pursue you be swift." They think that they can create their own way, and design their own methods of salvation, only God is telling them that no matter how swift their powers of religion they create, and well they have ridden their horses [church systems] God is going to bring them down. At the appointed time of Christ's return, they all will be driven into the sand. Isaiah 30:17 "One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill." This word for "beacon" in the Hebrew tongue is "toren", and is like the mast of a ship. It is void and stripped of its limbs. This is saying that this stripped tree trunk is like a watchtower or ensign on the top of a mountain giving out a warning to others as to what happened to me when I followed this path. God is not only going to remove your limbs but your bark, to make you an example to others. No matter what the faith that this person had, don't follow his way or you will end up the same way. This type of person is always on the top of their mountain, doing their things that keep them too busy to get into God's Word. They will care for their houses, cars, business, and you name it, but they never get around to what is really important. In the end they are like this old scared up tree trunk, limbs stripped off, and their bark of protection, those many promises from their job, church systems, and what ever societies they belonged to, that just didn't fill their needs. However this is what God wants you to do, as recorded in Jeremiah 17:7. Jeremiah 17:7 "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." Blessed is the man that places the Lord first, that knows that the cars, houses, job and so on comes after the things of the Lord. "Blessed" means that God will take care of you in all things. Jeremiah 17:8 "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." This tree is not like that scrubby old tree trunk on the mountain top, but it is living, fresh and giving forth of spiritual life. It doesn't matter when the heat comes on it, for there is plenty of water, or spiritual truth deeply rooted in her. The whole purpose of your life here on earth in the flesh and living in Him, is that you yield fruit for Him. You only yield fruit when your roots are well rooted in His Word. We see the difference in the choice that you have. You can be blessed or you can be cursed. You can chase after those man made systems, or get into the Word of God and receive His blessings. Isaiah 30:18 "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." Are you going to wait for Him? Are you like that tree planted by the river of living waters that receives life eternal? If He can wait for you, you can wait for Him. Isaiah 30:19 "For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee." If there is no more tears, and every person has full understanding, then we are talking about the Millennium age. We know that when the throne of Jesus Christ is on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, that God's people are all part of that kingdom. Isaiah 30:20 "And thought the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:" Once the Millennium kingdom is here, and the base is established, God will never withdraw His teacher from them any more. The teacher is Jesus Christ, and what is important is that you can see Jesus in all of His Word. Jesus is the living Word of God. God has also given us a promise here that He will protect you, even when a little heat comes your way, but when we have our roots taking in the water of His truth, we can handle it. God's people are not cry-babies, but are can-do type people. How do you handle that adversity that God allows to come upon you? As long as you stay in God's Word, you will have the strength to face any oppressor that attacks you, and that is God's promise to you. Isaiah 30:21 "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it," when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." When your ears are in tune to His Word and His Spirit, then God will direct you as to which way you should turn. That instruction comes as you are walking in the way of His Word. It is the Holy Spirit of God that guides you in the course that you are to follow, when you are in tune with Him. That guidance comes through the teaching of His Word. That is why it is important that we remain constant in His Word. Isaiah 30:22 "Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, "Get thee hence." The cloths and the coverings mentioned here are the same kerchiefs that were mentioned in Ezekiel 13:18-20. They are the teachings and doctrines that certain preachers sewed to cover the outstretched arms of God. It is those teachings that teach the souls of men and women to fly, when God said that He didn't have any part in it. God is telling His teachers that claim His name and His word, to take those kerchief and filthy doctrines and keep them away from you. We are to treat those false doctrines like it was a filthy menstruous cloth. God is using this natural things of life to show the destruction that Christ will bring upon the earth, though God will protect you through it all. Those that preach a way of escape from this deception, and destruction, have made their own way and traditions for escaping from these days. We don't want to escape any of it, for when we see it come to pass, it shows us that God does control all times, and that He does keep His promises. When you are in right standing before Him, why would you be afraid of the Lord. He is our protection from all evil that would come upon us. Isaiah 30:28 "And His breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err." Those people that would mislead people with their fly-away doctrine, which is not written in God's Word, will be quieted on the day of the Lord. God is going to bridle the tongues of those that will lead people into accepting that first messiah that comes to fly them away, and deceives people with his supernatural abilities. The bits that God puts in their jaws will bite. There are two instruments mentioned in this verse, the "sieve" and the "sifter". God will immediately sift out those with vanity, that is those that their worlds are nothing but hot air. They claim to be a teacher or preacher, and they don't know the most simple things of God's Word. God will allow their trot to be peddled, as long as there are people that are stupid enough to listen to their tripe. Isaiah 30:29 "Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel." "The Holy solemnity" that is kept, in the Hebrew text refers to the Passover feast, as prescribed in Leviticus 23. In New Testament time our Passover is in our remembrance of the blood of Christ, and the stripes that were taken for us. It is what we call the "Communion" today. We are to continue to take communion until He returns on the day of the Lord. However, many will stop taking it when they think that Satan is the true Messiah, when he commits the abomination of desolation. Friend, we are to keep taking that cup, and break the bread of the communion right up to the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and that is to the end time when we are changed from these flesh bodies into our incorruptible bodies of the Millennium age. As long as you are in the flesh body, we are instructed to continue taking the communion. Daniel warns us of a time when communion will stop in Daniel 9:27. Daniel 9:27 "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.' " The sacrifice and the oblation that ceases here, is the communion, and it stops because Satan has committed the abomination of desolation by calling himself the Messiah, and the world will believe him, all except the elect of God. Most Christians will believe that Christ has returned to earth, and that the communion does not need to be taken in remembrance any more. Why? They believe he is with them in person, only the one that is with them, that they will worship is the false christ. They have been deceived, and married the wrong husband. You ate the Passover lamb the night before the death angel passed over your door. On that night the death angel had to pass over the children of Israel that were marked with the seal, or blood of God. Those that did not receive this mark or seal, had been deceived into another protection, and were part of those that the death angel would take, or strike. That death angel in our generation is Satan, who will come as the counterfeit messiah, who will look and say the things that people want him to say, but he is a fake. Satan will come with all the supernatural powers and fine words that sound so true, but they are twisted to be nothing but lies. Those that do not have that blood seal of God's truth in their minds, will think Satan is the Christ, and will worship Him as the Christ, and by this act they will lose whatever promise and rewards they had, for they have thrown it all over to the feet of Satan. We are told here not to be afraid of God, but the death angel was set as the type of the Passover. The Passover is a time of celebration, and it is the highest day in Christianity. We see this in I Corinthians 5:7; "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." Before Christ went to the cross, the blood of lambs and goats were used for the temporary covering for sin. After Christ went to the cross and shed his blood for the sins of those that would receive Him, that blood of Christ then become our one and only sacrifice for sin. We are told in Revelation 13:11 that there are two lambs coming: "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." He has the two horns of power, and looked like a lamb [the Lamb of God, only he spoke like a dragon because he was the dragon, Satan.] Isaiah is giving us the prophecy that is foretelling the event of this coming to pass, in this twenty ninth verse. Isaiah 30:30 "And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and 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." Friend, this is the first day of the Millennium, and what a great day this is going to be. Ezekiel wrote about this day in Ezekiel 38 and 39. When the seventh trumpet sounds, God is going to destroy those armies that come against His people with giant hailstones, and a rain of fire and brimstone. You don't have to be afraid of this time, for that battle is not against you. God will build a wall around you and protect you from harm. This is why we are given the type of this same thing, when the three Hebrew Children were cast into the fiery furnace in Daniel 3. When Nebuchadnezzar looked, there was a forth person with them. Daniel 3:25 "He answered and said, "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the forth is like the son of God." When God walks with us, you don't have to be afraid of our Father fire, for the same consuming fire that destroys the wicked will give warmth and comfort to His children. Isaiah 30:31 "For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod." Remember that the "Assyrian" is a type of Antichrist, as we read in Isaiah 14. This is saying that God is going to use this Assyrian, or Satan the Antichrist as a rod to correct His children. Jesus even told us in Mark 13:11 that we would be delivered up before him, and in that moment we are not to even think ahead of time what we would say, but that we are to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through our minds and mouths at the time when the Antichrist is ruling on earth. Mark 13:11 "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." "That hour" is the hour or a five months period when Satan is deceiving the whole earth, and especially those that would not read His Word. Those that have accepted the rapture doctrine have already accepted the "mark of the beast", and they are ready to fly away with the false Christ. They can see nothing wrong with it, in fact, they think it is something holy. So the "voice of the Lord" spoken of here, is the voice of God speaking through His faithful servants. Those servants are those men and women written of by Joel the prophet in Joel 2:28-32. It will be the same tongue spoken on Pentecost day, where by when it is spoken every person on the face of the earth will understand it in the dialect in the neighborhood that they grew up in. Acts 2:7 "And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, "Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?" Acts 2:8 "And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born." These men were in Jerusalem for the Pentecost, and in the names of their home lands given, it represented ten different languages from all over the world. Peter answered them in the sixteenth verse. Acts 2:16 "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;" Acts 2:17 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, `I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and you young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:" There will be no need of an interpreter in that day, for it also shall be understood in every tongue [language] on the face of the earth. That is the tongue of the Holy Spirit, and what "speaking in tongues" is all about. This will be the voice of God, the Holy Spirit speaking through the mouth of his people that will speak against the false messiah. It is written in Luke 21:14, 15 that even the gainsayers will be convinced by what you have to say, for they will know that it is not you, but God speaking through you. Luke 21:14 "Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:" Luke 21:15 "For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist." It is the unforgivable sin if you are one of the elect, and know what is going to take place in these latter days, and you then refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you when you are called up before their counsels to speak. That is denying the Holy Spirit the opportunity to speak, and it is the unforgivable sin. When you do that there is no forgiveness for you, ever, and we are told not to even intercede in prayer for that person. That is what is called "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit". Luke 12:10 "And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven." Luke 12:11 "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or What ye shall say." Luke 12:12 "For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." This warning came directly from Jesus Christ Himself, in all places, and it is directed only to those that are going to stand against Satan, and are sealed in their minds with the truth of God's Word. Friend, it is directed to you and me, and all those that are sealed with the armor of God in their minds. We are expected to stand against the firey spiritual darts that Satan will send our way. This should not frighten you, but it should thrill you, for on that day you don't have to worry about what you will say, because it is all prearranged and all you have to do is trust in the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work through you. That is your purpose and destiny in life. Isaiah 30:32 "And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will He fight with it." This looses a great deal in the translation. What this is saying, is that I [God] allowed Satan to be My rod of correction, but now the True Rod, that comes with the power of God's might will bring forth His might by the King of kings and the Lord of lords. When Jesus Christ comes to earth, He will come with His rod of Iron to make all things right. Revelation 19:14 "And the armies which are in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." Revelation 19:15 "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." The time of this happening is at the sounding of the last trumpet, when all flesh shall be changed, and Jesus Christ will return to set up His Millennium kingdom. Satan is removed at this time to the pit, along with all evil and forms of idolatry. Isaiah 30:33 "For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; He hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." TOPHET 8613 Tophteh (tof-teh'); probably a form of 8612; Tophteh, a place of cremation: KJV-- Tophet. TOPHET 8612 Topheth (to'-feth); the same as 8611; Topheth, a place near Jerusalem: KJV-- Tophet, Topheth. TOPHET 8613 Tophteh- Tophet = "a place of fire"; a place in the southeast end of the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem. It is the same as entry 8612. "Tophet" is a place of burning fire, and this burning place was ordained to happen even from the first earth age. It was then that Satan was judged, the "son of perdition", and sentenced to that place at the completion of these times of testing in the flesh. That time of hell fire will come at the end of the Millennium age, and does not exist at this time. It is the time of the great white throne of judgment. Revelation 20:11 "And I saw a great white throne, and Him That sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works." If you bow to Antichrist in this generation, your name is not in the book of life, but you will stand at the end of the Millennium age, answering for your works done in the Millennium. Remember that God is going to annul your marriage to the Antichrist at Christ's return, however, you will still be judged only by your works in the Millennium age, to have your name placed in the book of life. There is no salvation by faith in the Millennium age, for it will only be by your works. Those that do not bow to Satan in the flesh will have their name in the book of life, and receive their rewards on the first day of the Millennium age. Revelation 20:13 "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." The "dead" are those spiritually dead that bowed to Satan. They will not have immortality until after the great white throne judgment. Revelation 20:14 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." The first death is the death of your flesh body, while the second death is the death of your very soul. Only God can take that life from you. Revelation 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." After the great white throne judgment of God there are only going to be those whose name is written in the book of life, for all other souls will be cast into the lake of fire, and turned to ashes for ever more. No there will not be eternal suffering, but those who rejected Christ will just not exist in any form, not even in the minds of your loved ones. You will cease to exist anywhere, even in any memory. That is the second death. What God stated in this chapter of Isaiah, Jesus restated in the book of Revelation. If someone tells you that the Old Testament is dead, they just don't know what they are talking about, for most of the book is dealing with you and I and our generation that is living in the time of the end. Their spiritual eyes are closed, and they are drifting around is a stupor waiting for the coming of Christ, when it will be Satan the Antichrist. Get back to God's Word and pray that God's Spirit will open your eyes to the truth from His holy Word. The burning fire that was planned in that first earth age, was not planned for you, but for the king, the fake king that shall come before the true king. The burning of Tophet is for only those that chose to go to that place of burning, along with Satan. God made that burning place large enough to hold all that choose to go there, by their rejecting salvation offered by God through the blood of Jesus Christ. That is why we must repent and pray in Jesus name, for there is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved. "Tophet" of ancient times is in the valley of Hinnom, and then it was the garbage pit for Jerusalem. That was the place where the trash of the city was burned, and the fires of that pit were never put out. Jesus spoke of this place when He talked about hell fire. The consuming fire that comes upon the earth during the time of the false king, when those that want to be deceived are taken by him; for those that truly want to follow God, the fire is a something that is good. That fire will rid the world of those that refuse to accept our Heavenly Father's plan. That is a positive thing. Of course there is the thousand year Millennium period between the cleanup time and the burning of the unclean. During that time God will give everyone a time to hear the truth and act upon it by their own choice. ------------------ Additional Word Reference: TOPHET (from Barnes' Notes) TOPHET Tophet was the seat of idolatry, particularly of the worship of Moloch. The name also of `the valley of Hinnom' was given to it; and hence, the name "Gehenna" [geenna (grk 1067), Matt. 5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6), as denoting the place of future torments, of which the valley of Hinnom, or Tophet, was a striking emblem. This valley was early selected as the seat of the worship of Moloch, where his rites were celebrated by erecting a huge brass image with a hollow trunk and arms, which was heated, and within which, or on the arms of which, children were placed as a sacrifice to the horrid idol. To drown their cries, drums were beaten, which were called top (heb 8596), or topiym (heb 8596), and many suppose the name Tophet was given to the place on this account (see 2 Kings 16:3; 21:6; 23:10)]. The name `valley of Hinnom, ' or Gehenna, was probably from the former possessor or occupier of that name. In subsequent times, however, this place was regarded with deep abhorrence. It became the receptacle of all the filth of the city; and hence, in order to purify the atmosphere, and prevent contagion, it was needful to keep fires there continually burning. It was thus a most striking emblem of hell-fire, and as such is used in the New Testament. Hezekiah was firmly opposed to idolatry; and it is not improbable that he had removed the images of Moloch, and made that valley the receptacle of filth, and a place of abomination, and that the prophet refers to this tact in the passage before us.
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