(The Word for Today) Isaiah 13:1 - Part 1 — Chuck Smith

To the word for today. The word for today is a continuous study of the Bible taught by Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently teaching from the Old Testament.

And for those of you following along in your Bibles, we'll be continuing today in Isaiah chapter 13 beginning with verse 1 as we continue with an in-depth message entitled The Prophecies Against Babylon, Part 1.

Now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck.

Near and Far Fulfillment in Biblical Prophecy

So much of Bible prophecy has what we refer to as a near and a far fulfillment. Many of the prophecies had an immediate and addressed immediate situations but in a secondary sense they looked down the road and there was a secondary prophetic aspect to what was being said.

And in the prophecies of Isaiah we find so often this dual kind of fulfillment of the prophecy. That immediate and then that far fulfillment that would take place. In the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ we realize that there was that which was the immediate or that which was to be fulfilled in his first coming but also that which would be fulfilled in his second coming.

And many times the prophecies as they were given were not really divided so that issues of the first coming as well as the second coming were just bunched together. The 61st chapter of Isaiah is an example of that and Jesus when he took the scriptures in Nazareth when he began his public ministry reading the 61st chapter of Isaiah stopped at the portion of the prophecy that dealt with his first coming.

He did not read on in the portion that dealt with his second coming but stopping at the portion that dealt with his first coming he said this day is this scripture fulfilled in your eyes. And that first part was fulfilled in his first coming.

That portion of the prophecy that would will be fulfilled at his second coming he did not read into that. He left that because that would be fulfilled at a future date. And thus the prophets of the Old Testament so often just wrote of immediate situations but there was a prophetic element that was to be fulfilled in the yet distant future.

The prophets did not always discern. In fact the New Testament tells us that they did not always understand the things that they wrote about. They sort of desired to understand them more fully. But writing through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they just wrote down as the Spirit inspired them not always fully understanding themselves the things that they wrote.

Isaiah’s Prophecy Against Babylon

Now as we are dealing then tonight with the prophecy of Babylon we find in chapter 13 it opens with the burden of Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amos did see. Now with the prophecy of Babylon there was to be the near fulfillment and we say near fulfillment however the prophecies of Babylon when they were made by Isaiah at this point Babylon was not a real power in the world.

Babylon was not the major, it was a power but not the major power. Assyria was the major power in the world at the time of this writing. Later on Assyria was defeated by the Babylonians and Babylon became the major power and Babylon was the nation that conquered Judah the southern kingdom.

So at the time that he wrote this prophecy it was at the time of the death of Ahaz which puts it at around 726 BC. This is the time at which the northern kingdom Israel was falling to Assyria and was being carried away by the Assyrians.

However he goes beyond Assyria and some a hundred years later 150 years later Babylon is to be destroyed so that near fulfillment would be the 150 years later in the destruction of Babylon but with the dual aspect the prophecy as we will see in its context really deals with the end times in the time of the Great Tribulation and so there is the dual fulfillment of this prophecy concerning Babylon.

Lift up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand that they may go into the gates of the nobles for I have commanded my sanctified ones I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger even them that rejoice in my highness and thus the noise of a multitude in the mountains like as of a great people a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together for the Lord of hosts is mustering the host of the battle.

So when Babylon was destroyed and we will read prophetically that it was destroyed by the Medes and the Persians it was not destroyed by a confederacy of nations from all over the world. So this prophecy that he is speaking here concerning this destruction of Babylon was not fulfilled in the overthrow of Babylon by the Medo-Persian Empire but it becomes quite obvious that Isaiah is talking about another destruction of Babylon which would be yet future which would be accomplished by a amalgamation of many nations the host of the kingdoms that God would gather together for the purpose of destroying Babylon.

The Gulf War and the Gathering of the Nations

Now it is important to note that the ancient Babylon is the modern-day Iraq and what we see happening at this very moment is that there is gathering together in Saudi Arabia a vast host from many different nations primarily from the United States and we are currently in the process of sending 220 ,000 more troops into that area in order that we might change our forces from just a defensive force to one that will be able to launch a military attack against Iraq to force them to leave Kuwait and thus this scripture accurately describes what is going on at this very moment in Iraq as the nations kingdoms plural of nations plural are gathering together as the Lord of hosts is mustering the host of the battle now almost everyone is declaring that war in the Gulf is inevitable.

Margaret Thatcher this week said that Hussein has two options one to peaceably withdraw his troops and thus it would be the honorable option of pulling out of Kuwait peaceably. If he does not do that then he must face the fact that he will be driven out militarily and thus Baker and Bush Margaret Thatcher and everyone is saying that Hussein cannot remain in Kuwait.

Hussein says that he will not leave Kuwait and that they will die rather than leave Kuwait. So we've come to an impasse and thus the Lord is mustering the host for battle and they come from a far country now that could not refer to the Medes and the Persians because they were adjacent to Babylon they come from a far country from the end of heaven.

Now in reality if you were over there in the time of Isaiah and you were writing of troops coming from the United States into the Gulf region to battle against Iraq or Babylon you would say they were coming from the ends of heaven the opposite side of the earth.

From the end of heaven even the Lord and the weapons of his indignation. The word indignation is a word that is used in the Old Testament for the great tribulation that God had said was going to come upon the world in the last days.

The word indignation is used over and over in the Old Testament you can reference that and it is used for the period of the great tribulation to destroy the whole land and so how ye for the day of the Lord is at hand.

Daniel’s Seventy Weeks and the Final Seven Years

Now the day of the Lord is a phrase that is constantly used through the scriptures to describe the day of his wrath, the day of his vengeance and the day of the great tribulation. Now in the prophecy that God gave to Daniel he said that there were 77's that were determined upon the nation of Israel and upon the holy city and he describes the events that will take place in that 77 year period or 77 years period or 490 years and he said that from the time that the commandment would go forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem which had been taken, the Jews had been taken to Babylon in captivity and Daniel was writing in Babylon, from the time the commandment would go forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah the Prince would be 69 7's or 483 years and from the time that the commandment was given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem by Artaxerxes to Nehemiah 445 BC it was 483 years later that Jesus came, the Messiah, the Prince.

But Daniel predicted that the Prince would be cut off and that the Jews would be dispersed. Jesus we know was crucified, he did not receive the kingdom and the Jewish nation was dispersed now that leaves one seven-year period that is yet to be fulfilled.

That seven-year period is yet future. It will be a time when God will be dealing again with Israel and with Jerusalem and the people the Jews and during this final seven-year period it will end the last three-and-a-half years of it will be the great day of the Lord the day of God's judgment and the day of God's wrath that will be poured out upon the earth.

Daniel says there shall be a time of trouble such as the world has never seen before. Jesus said it will be a time of great tribulation, greater than the earth has ever seen at any time or will ever see again.

In the book of Revelation beginning with chapter 6 and going through chapter 18 there are great details given to you of the events that will be taking place in that three-and-a-half year period of time.

The Great Tribulation and the Antichrist’s Desecration

The day of the Lord, the day of his indignation, the day of his wrath and the time known as the great tribulation. It will be a period of three-and-a-half years but it begins in the middle of the 77 of Daniel and it is all activated by the Antichrist going to the temple of God that has been rebuilt in Jerusalem and profaning it as he stands in the Holy of Holies and stops the daily worship and sacrifices and proclaims that he is God and demands to be worshiped as God and this will be the final sacrilege sort of the straw that breaks the camel's back so to speak this will be the final sacrilege of man that will bring the wrath and the indignation of God upon the earth.

So this destruction of Babylon is tied together with the nearness of the day of the Lord. How ye for the day of the Lord is at hand when at the time that Babylon or Iraq is destroyed by this army that has been mustered from all over the world.

Therefore shall all hands be faint and every man's heart will melt. This is talking about the great tribulation period and Jesus speaking of it said men's hearts will be failing them for fear of the things that are coming upon the earth and thus as Isaiah said every man's heart shall melt, corroborated by Jesus in Matthew 24 as he spoke of the tribulation period.

And they shall be afraid for fear of things that are coming upon them. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them and they will be in pain as a woman that is in travail and they shall be amazed at one another and their faces shall be as flames or as on fire.

So behold the day of the Lord cometh that is the great tribulation. It will be cruel with wrath. In the midst of this time they will cry for the rocks in the mountains to fall on them and to hide them from the face of the Lamb for they declare the day of his wrath has come and who shall be able to stand.

A day that is cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate he will destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Now some of the events of the great tribulation will be cataclysmic cosmic kind of events.

For he tells us that the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light the sun shall be darkened in his going forth and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. So great cataclysmic events taking place in the cosmos and the Lord said I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and I will lay low the haughtiness of the awesome.

Why Chuck Smith Expects the Church to Be Removed

So the day of God's wrath the day of God's judgment against whom? The evil in the world a punishment for them and the wicked being punished for their iniquity. This is one of the many reasons why I believe that the church will not be here when this event takes place that is the pouring out of God's wrath indignation and judgment upon the earth.

Because our iniquities have been forgiven. Jesus took the punishment for your sin and this seven-year period will be the time in which God's spirit will be poured out upon the people of Israel, the Jews and God will be dealing with them once again which precludes the church being here.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit among the Gentiles in gathering out a bride for Jesus Christ will have been completed and thus the church will have been removed and once the church is removed it opens the door for the revelation of the Antichrist who comes on the scene at the beginning of this last seven-year cycle when God begins to work among the Jews.

Pastor Chuck Smith will return with a few closing comments.

But first I'd like to remind you that today's message is available in its unedited form on cassette or CD. Simply write or call and ask for ordering details on tape or CD number C3248. Again that's tape or CD number C3248.

As we come to a close in today's program we'd like to introduce a brand new book written by Pastor Chuck Smith entitled six vital questions of life. Once again Pastor Chuck has helped us to understand the scriptures with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

In his new book Pastor Chuck considers six life-changing questions asked by the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans and then expounds upon the biblical answers that can revolutionize your Christian walk with God.

After discovering this revelation the change was so profound in Pastor Chuck's own life he says it was almost like a second conversion putting him in the winner's circle. So if you have any questions concerning your relationship with God the book six vital questions of life by Pastor Chuck will reassure and reinforce God's special plan and purpose for your life.

To order Pastor Chuck's new book six vital questions of life for yourself or for a friend you can call the word for today at 1 -800 -272-WORD or write to us at P .O. Box 8000 Costa Mesa California 92628.

Once again that number to call is 1 -800 -272 -9673. And for those of you that would like to visit our website you can do so at www .TWFT .com. Or if you'd like to email us you can do so at info at TWFT .com.

Well coming up next time on the word for today Pastor Chuck will be continuing his fascinating study through the book of Isaiah. That's coming up next time on the word for today.

Living Faithfully in Light of the Day of the Lord

Closing comments here's Pastor Chuck again our father we thank you for the plan that you have announced your purposes that you intend to fulfill. And Lord we realize that if this indeed is so then the day of the Lord is at hand the day of your great judgment upon the earth upon the wicked and the evil.

And so Lord we realize that it is the day in which we should lay aside every weight and sin which so easily besets us that we might run with patience this race that you have set before us as we look unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.

And so help us Lord to live all out for you in these final days. We thank you Lord that we're children of the light. Help us to walk as children of the light in a way that brings glory and praise unto you in Jesus name.

This program is sponsored by the word for today the radio ministry of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa California.