(Through the Bible) Isaiah 11-15 — Chuck Smith

Isaiah 11: The Branch from Jesse and the Messiah’s Kingdom

Shall we turn to Isaiah chapter 11 for the beginning of our study this evening? In the 10th chapter, the closing part of chapter 10 of Isaiah, and again let me remind you that the chapter distinctions were made by men, not by the authors.

But years later, in order that we might be able to ready reference scriptures, in order that you might be able to find them easily, they divided the Bible into chapters and verses. And that is only for our benefit so that we can reference.

And so in the dividing of the Bible into the chapters and verses, this is not the way the Bible was written. But it's only divided that way for our benefit so that we can find a passage more easily. Rather than saying, well, it's in Isaiah, we can say, well, it's in Isaiah the 11th chapter in the first verse, you know.

And that way we can find it and it makes it much easier for us. But in the dividing, they did their best to make the proper divisions of chapters. But unfortunately, many times they cut off a thought more or less in the middle.

And because we are in a habit of reading a book, a chapter at a time, sometimes we start the new chapter without reference to the previous chapter in reading the Bible. Or we start just in one area and we just quit at the end of the chapter.

And many times the thought is carried over right on into the next chapter. Now, this is one of those areas where the thought in the end of chapter 10 is that God in his judgment is going to cut down the nations, like the trees of Lebanon, just going to hew them down and there's just going to be stumps.

God's going to wipe out the nations and all, leaving just sort of stumps. And so with all of these stumps, there shall come forth a stem or a rod, a branch out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

So you have the picture now of the nations being leveled, looking like just a forest that has been cut down, down to the stumps. But out of one, and that is out of Jesse, there is going to be a new life, a new branch coming forth, a stem.

And, of course, this is a beautiful prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. And the kingdom age, as the nations have been leveled as the result of the battle of Armageddon, and out of the debris, the new life will arise, and Jesus, the branch, out of the stem of Jesse.

And so this again is a prophecy concerning the Messiah, declaring that he shall come actually from the house of Jesse, which, of course, was the father of King David. And so it is a reaffirmation of God's promise to David that God would build David a house, that out of David's lineage, the Messiah would come.

The Spirit of the Lord and the Messiah’s Righteous Judgment

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and heroic actions would be a better translation of the Hebrew word that is translated might.

Not only does he make the right decisions, but he has the power to work these decisions out, to put them into action. A lot of times we may know the right thing to do, but we haven't the capacity to do it.

His is not only the counsel, the knowledge of what to do, but the ability to carry it out, the spirit of counsel and heroic actions, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And he shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.

And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, and shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Now, this is a reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ. This branch that is growing out of the roots of the tribe of Judah, the house of Jesse, the lineage of David. When he arises, the anointing of God's Spirit upon him, and more or less is referred to as the sevenfold anointing of the Spirit.

In Revelation, you read in the reference to the Holy Spirit there around the throne of God, and the seven spirits which are before the throne of God. A difficult verse to interpret. We know that there is one Holy Spirit.

What is the reference to the seven spirits that are there before the throne of God? There have been many suggestions that have been offered as to the possible interpretation of the seven spirits. Some have declared that there are seven archangels, such as Michael and Gabriel.

And in one of the books of the Apographa, the book of Esdras, you have Sanskrit and Uriah and Raphael, and you have the names of seven, what they call archangels or chief angels. And some believe that the seven spirits refer to the seven chief angels or archangels that are before the throne of God.

That is one possibility. Another possibility is that the seven spirits before the throne of God are a reference to the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ. As we find here, they use this eleventh chapter, verses two and three, as a reference for the interpretation of the sevenfold working of the Spirit in Jesus Christ.

The Spirit of wisdom, understanding, the Spirit of counsel, and the Spirit of might, or the heroic actions that we mentioned. The Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord, and of quick understanding, the sevenfold working of the Spirit.

So, which is the correct interpretation? Well, I just suggest you look into it and pray about it and find out what you're comfortable with. No way you can be dogmatic in that. They are both possible, that they are correct, and it's possible that they're both wrong, and that there is something else that we'll discover when we get to heaven.

And we'll say, oh, well, that's what they're talking about, the seven spirits before the throne. All right, you know. So, I've got a lot of things that are filed up here in the catalog that says, wait for further information.

And so, I hesitate being dogmatic on some of these issues. Where the Bible doesn't speak clearly on a subject is only sheer presumption for me to speak dogmatically. And I don't like to do that unless there is a clear indication in the Scriptures.

But those who say that it is the sevenfold or the complete working, seven being the number of completeness, complete working of the Spirit in the life of Christ as manifest in the life of Christ, use this passage as a reference to that idea.

Christ’s Word, the Antichrist, and the Battle of Armageddon

Now, He is coming to judge the earth. And His coming, in the brightness of His coming, is said that the Antichrist, the beast, will be destroyed with the sharp sword that goes forth out of His mouth. Now, the word of the Lord is like a sharp two-edged sword.

And there is such power in the word of God. And God said, let there be light, and there was light. It's known as divine fiat, the ability of God to speak something into existence. The tremendous power in God's word.

God no sooner says it than it exists. It's a reality. The moment God declares it, it comes into existence or into being. So, here is this Antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition, who has demonstrated such marvelous power that all the world is wondering after him.

Doing all of these wonders and signs and miracles so that the whole world is enthralled by this man of sin. Creating such a powerful military force that they say, who is able to make war with the beast?

Seemingly to overcome everything that gets in his path. He starts moving down to conquer Africa. He passes through Egypt. Gets to the borders of Libya and Ethiopia when the news comes that China is invading from the east.

And so he takes his troops and returns from the invasion to Africa to meet this invasion from China. And they meet together there in the valley of Megiddo. And as these tremendous forces of man are in this horrible war there in this plains of Jezreel, the valley of Megiddo, Jesus comes again.

And this man who has deceived the world, this man who has caused the world to stand in awe and wonder at his power and all, this man who the world looks up to as the greatest leader the world has ever seen, the most powerful man who has ever lived.

For Satan invests this man with all of his power and with all of his authority. Satan does for him what he volunteered to do for Jesus Christ if Jesus would bow down and worship him. When he took Jesus up into a high mountain showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said, all of these will I give unto thee if you will bow down and worship me.

And the glory of them for they are mine. I can give them to him ever I will. Jesus refused it. But this man accepts and Satan gives to him his throne, his authority. And this man is ruling over the world with the powers of Satan behind him.

And the whole world stands in awe. The two witnesses that God has sent that are anointed with power, Elijah and Moses or Enoch, whoever else is Elijah's companion. This man has power to put them to death.

And thus he asserts his power over God, greater than God's. And the whole world is wondering after him and saying, who can make war with him? And Jesus comes and says, you've had it. And the guy goes.

Just the word that goes forth out of the mouth of Jesus Christ is all that's necessary. He doesn't get in a big conflict with him, doesn't get into battle with him, he just speaks the word. And the guy is totally wiped out.

Oh, the power of the word of Jesus Christ. Now, he is coming then. He begins to judge. He gathers the nations together for judgment when he returns. Matthew 25. Now when he judges, he doesn't call for witnesses.

Christ’s Knowledge of the Human Heart and the Peaceful Kingdom

He doesn't need to. He doesn't need for someone to come in and testify against anyone else. In fact, when Jesus was here, John tells us that he didn't need that anybody should tell him about any man for he knew men and he knew what was in men.

Now that can be rather a frightening thing if you're on the wrong side of the fence. To know that here's a man and that's what the woman at the well of Samaria when she went to tell her friends and tell them, come and meet a man who told me everything I've ever done.

Oh, man. That's sort of heavy. Of course, that's the thing that attracted Nathaniel when he met Jesus. He said, well, behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile. He said, how did you know me? He said, well, when you were over there sitting under the fig tree, I saw you.

Oh, truly you are the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus said, you believe just because I tell you I saw you on a fig tree? Stick around. You're going to see a lot more than that. But he realized that Christ had this perception, the ability to see right into a man.

And Jesus exercised this perceptive ability, that of being able to see right into it. And so he does not judge by hearing testimony or witness. He knows. I mean, he judges by that thorough, total knowledge that he has of each of us.

The Bible says that everything is naked and revealed before him with whom we have to do. I mean, you can't hide or cover a thing when you stand before the Lord. He looks right through you and he sees everything.

His x-ray vision perceives all. I'm thankful that I have the shield of, it's not a lead shield, but it's a blood shield, the blood of Jesus Christ. That just wipes out all of the past. And I'm so glad for that forgiveness and that cleansing of the past through the blood of Jesus Christ, so that when he looks at me, he sees me pure, righteous, and holy.

And that's the only way I want it. I want to stay in Christ. I want to abide in him. I don't want to have to stand before him and have him just look through me and read me off and all. I like it. Living in Christ, where there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.

So he does not reprove after the hearing of the ears. He doesn't have to have anybody give testimony. But in righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth and will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth.

The Bible tells us that in the kingdom age he'll rule with a rod of iron. And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

And now the conditions that will exist when he reigns upon the earth, the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together.

And a little child shall lead them. We see not the world that God created. We see a world that is suffering the curse because of man's sin. And the curse has spread out into the animal kingdom. It's spread out into the whole area of the earth.

The earth is cursed. Thorns and thistles shall the ground produce. The animals at war with each other. That's why nature does not give us a true picture of God. It can declare to us His glory, His power, His majesty, His might.

But it doesn't declare His love because the earth is in rebellion against God. But when Jesus establishes His kingdom, even the animal kingdom will be at peace. And I can see a little child taking a lion by the mane and dragging it around, you know.

What a tremendous pet that's going to make. My little daughter. Oh, my little daughter. Oh, that's been a while. My grown daughter Cheryl, now a mother. As she was growing up, always had a great fascination for lions.

Loved to draw lions. She wanted a lion for a pet. Never got it. But the day will come when a little child will lead him about. The cow and the bear shall feed. Their young ones shall lie down together.

The lion shall eat straw like an ox. No longer carnivorous. And a nursing child shall play on the hole of the asp. Very poisonous snake. And a weaned child shall put his hand on the carcatrace's den. And they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Now that's what you're praying for when you pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. As I say, you do not see the earth today as God created it, as God intended it.

You see the earth as it is suffering as the result of man's rebellion against God. And that is why it is manifestly wrong to blame God for all of the pain and the hurt and the bloodshed and the evil and the hatred that is in the earth today and demonstrated in all of these horrible things.

It won't be that way when Jesus comes to reign. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for a sign of the people and to it shall the Gentiles seek and His rest shall be glorious.

Now this is what the disciples were expecting Jesus to do when He came. And that is why they were so upset and disappointed when He was talking to them about the cross, about His death. But Lord, when are you going to set up your kingdom?

When are you going to make this glorious ensign that all of the Gentiles will come flowing, you know, to Jerusalem and all to receive of the benefits and the glory? But this remains for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Israel’s Restoration and the Gathering of the Elect

It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people which shall be left. Now God is gathering now and has gathered now the Jews back to Israel.

It's in the process of gathering them back as a nation has been reestablished. But not all are going back. Not all are even interested in going back. There are many of them that are now leaving Israel because of the prohibitive taxes and inflation and it's just difficult to live over there right now.

And some 22 ,000 people left Israel last year to move to other parts of the world because of the difficulty of living there under these trying conditions. So God will gather them the second time. When?

When Jesus Christ comes again. Then He's going to gather together His elect from the four corners of the earth. In verse 12,. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the outcast of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Now, in Matthew's Gospel chapter 24, those people who take a post-tribulation rapture position usually use Matthew 24 as one of their key texts for proving their point. Where Jesus, in talking to His disciples about the signs of His coming and the end of the age, declares, Immediately after the tribulation, verse 29, of those days shall the sun be dark and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven and then shall all of the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And He shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together His elect from the four corners of the earth or from the four winds from one end of heaven to another. And they say that that is when the rapture takes place.

As the Lord at that point gathers together His elect and His elect, they say, is the church. Now they take that position because they are not thoroughly familiar with the Old Testament and God's dealing with the nation Israel.

For Isaiah tells us, and he is referring to this very same event that Jesus referred to as the elect are gathered together, that the elect are actually from the house of Judah and they are the outcasts of Israel.

They are not the church. And, of course, also Isaiah further confirms that in the 27th chapter and in verses 12 and 13, which, of course, we will be getting to in a few weeks. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river into the stream of Egypt.

Ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel, and it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown. And they shall come which are ready to perish in the land of Assyria, the outcasts of the land of Egypt.

So speaking of the trumpet and the gathering of the people together, and in verse 31 of Matthew, and they shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet. Again, a reference to the gathering together of the Jews after His return as He sets up the ensign and gathers together the Jews from the four corners of the earth where they have been driven in the dispersion.

So, that gives you a scriptural clear understanding of Matthew 24 and shows that the elect cannot be the church. I do not know why some men persist in their teaching that the church is going to have to go through the great tribulation.

It is something that it seems that Walter Martin gets on almost every broadcast. He's like on a one-stringed guitar or something. It's about the only thing he can get wound up in. And it's really too bad because he has a very vast knowledge of the cults, excellent knowledge of the cults, and he is a good teacher, but he seems to constantly be harping on this issue.

But it's a harp with only one string and it doesn't make much music. I love Walter Martin. He's a good friend of mine, but we just happen to disagree at this point. And the unfortunate thing is he always puts his programs right around mine and where we only bring up the subject occasionally as we are teaching the whole Gospel and declaring to you the whole truth of God.

And I'm not out on a bandwagon to defend a position. It's just whenever we go through the Bible in declaring the whole counsels of God, we show you what the Bible teaches. But it seems that he has to harp every single broadcast on this particular issue.

But I wish he'd get a few more strings in his harp. I'll hear from him on this and we'll have a good time. We really have a great love for each other. It's just that we have a good time when we get together.

It's always exciting. I'm not through with it. We're going to pick it up again when we get to chapter 13, but we've got other things between now and there to talk about. We've got a lot of things to talk about.

So God is gathering together his elect from Israel, from Judah, from the four corners of the earth. Matthew 24. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart. The adversaries of Judah shall be cut off. Ephraim shall not envy Judah.

Now, of course, there was great jealousies and envies. There were civil wars between the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. Ephraim representing the northern kingdom and Judah, of course, the southern kingdom.

And there won't be any more conflict between them. There'll be one. As in the prophecy of Ezekiel, God said when he gathers them back together into the land, they will no longer be two nations but one nation.

This division between the northern and southern will be over and they will be one nation on the face of the earth. But rather than being at each other's throat, they will be on those around them and they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines towards the west and spoil them.

That's the area of Gaza, the Gaza Strip. And, of course, Israel did pounce upon them and destroyed them and took that territory. They shall spoil them of the east together. That would be those of Jordan and the West Bank that they have taken.

They will lay their hand upon Edom and Moab. Jordan is modern Moab. And the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea. And with His mighty wind shall He shake His hand over the river and shall smite it in seven strains and make men go over dry shod.

And there shall be a highway for the remnant that will come from Assyria like as was to Israel in the day that He came out of the land of Egypt. And in that day, this day of the Lord, when He returns and establishes His kingdom, thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise Thee.

Though Thou wast angry with Me, Thine anger is turned away and Thou comfortest Me. This is, of course, the declaration of Israel who had been dispersed in the anger of the Lord. And now as they are returning, they are returning to God, they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced.

And they shall weep over Him as one weeps over their only Son that is lost and all. And this beautiful recognition by the nation Israel that Jesus is indeed the true Messiah. And so they will praise the Lord.

And they will say, You were angry with us, but now Your anger is turned away and now You are our comfort. Behold, God is my salvation. That's the name Joshua or Jesus. The acknowledgement of Jesus. They are acknowledging that God is my salvation.

Jehoshua, the name of Jesus. I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. And the word Jehovah is salvation is the name Jesus. So it speaks here very clearly of the recognition of Jesus as the Savior.

Even as we are told, Behold, He comes with the clouds, every eye shall see Him. They also which pierced Him shall mourn and all. The recognition that Jesus, Jehovah, is their salvation, has become my salvation.

Jehovah-shua. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Jesus stood and cried saying to them, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. But they refused to come. And so in Revelation, the last chapter, Jesus said, Let him that is a thirst come and drink of the water of life freely.

In that day they will accept the offer and they will draw with joy the water out of the wells of salvation. In that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord. Now that seems to bug a lot of people because it seems to be an indication that person's getting sort of turned on and some people object to people getting turned on to the Lord.

I have a friend who was a pastor here in Santa Ana and he pastored the Northside Church of Christ. He started coming to some Bible studies that we were holding here in Costa Mesa and he really got turned on to the Lord.

And because we were always going around, all the kids in the Bible, we were always going around just rejoicing and the Lord saying, Oh, praise the Lord. And as he began to see the work of God and as God began to work in a vital way in his life, he started saying, Oh, praise the Lord.

Well, he finally was called before his church board. And one of the orders that the church board gave to him was don't use the phrase praise the Lord anymore. It's undignified. And he was forbidden by his church board.

Well, he didn't last long because when you see God working so much, it's just awfully hard not to say praise the Lord, you know, when you really see the work of God being accomplished. There is a magazine, religious magazine that is filled with satire and sarcasm.

It's called the Wittenberg Door, published down in San Diego area, El Cajon. And these guys are always panning some segment in the body of Christ. And I understand that the latest pan is against the charismatics.

And in one of the descriptions of them, it refers to these people who are always going around saying praise the Lord, you know, trying to sort of put down the exuberance, the joy, the excitement that we experience when we see God really working.

Well, praise the Lord. In that day, they're going to say it. And so I don't see any problem saying it today. When you really see, they're excited because God is working. They're excited because they're taking now the wells of salvation.

They're excited because they have discovered that Jesus is the Messiah. Well, I've discovered that he's the Messiah, so I should have the privilege of going ahead and saying it now. Praise the Lord for the glorious salvation that we have through Jesus Christ.

Call upon His name. Declare His doings among the people. Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord, for He has done excellent things. This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, Thou Inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

And so this is the glorious acclamation and praise and all that comes when Jesus returns and sets Himself up as the King over the earth. And that whole recognition now as the Lord reigns finally over the earth.

As His kingdom has now come and soon His will is to be done here on earth even as it is in heaven. And we're going to enter into this glorious new age. Oh, who can't say praise the Lord to that? You know, when we see the world as God wants it to be.

Babylon, Prophecy, and the Great Tribulation

When we dwell together in love. When we dwell together in peace. When we dwell together in just this full openness of love one to another. Ah, it's going to be glorious. Now, as we move into chapter 13, and He speaks of the burden of Babylon, which Isaiah saw.

You remember that we mentioned when we started the prophecy of Isaiah that in many of the prophecies there was what we called the near fulfillment and the far fulfillment. The prophecies were sort of like a two-edged sword in that they had an immediate connotation, but oftentimes there was also a future connotation.

So in the seventh chapter when He said, Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, shall call his name Emmanuel and all. And that had an immediate kind of a connotation, not of the virgin bearing a son, but a child born at that time before he is old enough to really know much the kings would be destroyed from Samaria and from Syria.

But the far was a prophecy of Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary as was interpreted by Matthew in his gospel. So the near and the far of the prophetic fulfillment. With Babylon, in the book of Revelation, chapters 17 and 18, we have details of the destruction of the ecclesiastical Babylon in chapter 17 and the commercial Babylon in chapter 18.

Now, this particular cry against Babylon is the same as Revelation 17 and 18. It is talking about the ecclesiastical commercial Babylon of the last days. So this prophecy is carrying us out to these end times.

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. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for my anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.

The noise of the multitude of 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 hosts to the battle. The kingdoms of nations, this of course, Jesus said kingdoms against kingdoms.

Nations shall rise against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms. This would be one of the signs of his second coming, the worldwide state of wars. And so the gathering of God of these nations, the kingdoms of nations, this great gathering which is spoken of in Psalm 2, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?

For they have gathered together, the kings of the earth have gathered together against Jehovah and against his anointed, or his Messiah saying, we will not let them to rule over us, but God who dwells in the midst of heavens shall laugh at seeing that he has them in derision.

And yet he will establish his kingdom upon the holy hill of Zion. So the whole Psalm 2 comes into this picture here. As we see now, the kingdoms of nations gathered together in this last portion of the great tribulation period.

And we're dealing now with that final period of great tribulation prior to the return of Jesus Christ. As the nations have gathered together really in a sense to try to hinder the establishing of the Lord's kingdom.

They come from far countries, from the end of heaven, even the Lord and the weapons of his indignation to destroy the whole land. How ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand. It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

The day of God's vengeance and wrath. The day of God's judgment that is to be poured out in the great tribulation. Therefore, shall all hands be faint and every man's heart shall melt. And they shall be afraid.

Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them. And they shall be in pain as a woman that travails. They shall be amazed at one another. Their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light. The sun shall be darkened. We are told this in Matthew 24. Definitely, we're in the great tribulation period. The sun will be darkened and his goings forth and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Now, upon whom is this coming? God's people, the church, those servants that have been faithful unto him. God forbid we have not been appointed unto wrath. Paul tells us in both Romans and in Thessalonians, in case you didn't get it the first time.

But God says, and I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity. It is a punishment against the evil world and against the iniquity of the world. But God has not appointed us unto wrath.

Our iniquity has been forgiven through Jesus Christ. He bore God's wrath for my sin and therefore I will not have to face God's wrath when it is poured out upon the world. It is to be poured out upon a Christ-rejecting world, but I haven't rejected Christ.

And that is why when Jesus talks about these very things in Luke 21, He says in talking of these things, Pray ye always that you'll be accounted worthy to escape all of these things and to be standing before the Son of Man.

So when these things begin to take place, don't look for me down here. I'll be up around the throne of God saying, Worthy is the Lamb to receive glory and honor and might and dominion and power. I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

I will make a man more precious than fine gold. There will be a tremendous slaughter. Even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore, God said, I will shake the heavens and the earth shall remove out of her place.

Now this is interesting because more than one place God has made reference to the earth being shaken out of its place. In fact, God speaks about the earth staggering to and fro like a drunken man. We'll get that as we move on in Isaiah.

Isaiah tells us that. And will be moved out of her place. It would seem that the earth has gone through changes in its past. It would appear that at one time the earth's orbit was a 360-day orbit rather than the 365-and-a-quarter.

It would seem that at one time the earth was not tilted at 23-and-a-third degrees on its axis. Because we know that at one time there were tropical jungles around the North Pole. There were forests in the South Pole area.