Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai
INTRODUCTION
Isaiah 34 begins a prophecy that spans two chapters (34 & 35), and deals with things of the end times. Isaiah 34 deals with the judgment of God during the Great Tribulation period, while Isaiah 35 will talk about the blessings that will come to the world when Jesus returns. In today’s study, we see the prophet Isaiah being transported into the future, and onto the final battle of Armageddon
Verse 1: A Demand for Universal Attention – An Invitation of the Nations
“Come here and listen, O nations of the earth; let the world and everything in it hear my words.”
After the promise of heaven and hell from chapter 33, God expands His judgment to all people. God is not partial in judgment, for "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23).
In the previous chapters, the judgment of God had either been directed to Babylon or Assyria, but here we see God’s judgment directed to all nations because it is only at the end of times that “all nations” will be rallied by the anti-Christ to come against Israel. Revelation 16:13-16 tells us that when the sixth vial is opened, lying demon spirits are sent out to the kings of the whole world to bring them down to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty,” more popularly known as the Battle of Armageddon. If we look around the world today, there are several things that are being put in place that will ensure that at the end time, all nations will be able to unify. One of them is Globalisation. In Genesis, God dispersed the people at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9), but at Armageddon, the anti-Christ will rally the whole world against Jerusalem. That is why the call was being made to all the nations of the earth, the world and everything in it.
Verses 2-7: A Scene of Blood and Confusion - God’s Coming Judgment on Edom
“2 For the Lord is enraged against the nations; his fury is against their armies. He will utterly destroy them and deliver them to slaughter. 3 Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land; the mountains will flow with their blood. 4 At that time the heavens above will melt away and disappear just like a rolled-up scroll, and the stars will fall as leaves, as ripe fruit from the trees. 5 And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens, then watch, for it will fall upon Edom, the people I have doomed. 6 The sword of the Lord is sated with blood; it is gorged with flesh as though used for slaying lambs and goats for sacrifice. For the Lord will slay a great sacrifice in Edom and make a mighty slaughter there. 7 The strongest will perish, young boys and veterans too. The land will be soaked with blood, and the soil made rich with fat."
These verses reveal the fury of the Lord Jesus, and we should therefore make no misstate, the cross is the only beating Jesus will ever take. When He comes again He will spill the blood of the armies of the world. He will utterly destroy the armies of the world. As depicted by the destruction of Edom mentioned here. It is no doubt a picture of the ultimate end of all who oppose God and His people (verses 6-7).
Ezekiel 36:5 tells us that Edom was a perpetual enemy of Israel
“5 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’
Isaiah 63: 1-6 says:
“Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his magnificent garments of crimson? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation; I, the Lord, the one who is mighty to save!” 2 “Why are your clothes so red, as from treading out the grapes?” 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone. No one was there to help me. In my wrath I have trodden my enemies like grapes. In my fury I trampled my foes. It is their blood you see upon my clothes. 4 For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to redeem them from the hands of their oppressors. 5 I looked but no one came to help them; I was amazed and appalled. So I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I meted out judgment. 6 I crushed the heathen nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground.”
When we studied the book of Revelations 11 years ago, in chapter 14 Verses 16-20 we learnt about the bloody judgment at Armageddon, where the of bloodshed will be so much that it will yield a flow of blood deep enough to come up to the bridle of a horse. A "thousand and six hundred furlongs" is the distance in which the blood will flow "unto the horse bridles" 1,600 furlongs is about 183.86 miles which is approximately 296km. The distance between Newry and Cork is 291km. We are talking about a flow of blood across Ireland deep enough to drown a horse!
Verse 8: The Reason Given for These Judgments
“For it is the day of vengeance, the year of recompense for what Edom has done to Israel.”
Time and time again in our study of this book, we have heard the prophet Isaiah explain the reason for God’s judgments. God is a just God, and no matter how the world tries, no one can prove He is not just. Because of sin, God will destroy the nations. All the enemies of the Lord will one day be gathered together in battle and slain by God Himself. See Revelation 19:11-21, 20:7-10.
Just before the coming of the Lord, society will be as it was in the days of Lot (Luke 17:28). While he focused especially on Edom, he was using that proud nation as an example of what God would do to all the Gentile nations during the coming of the Lord. As a result of God’s judgment on Edom, it will lie desolate for many generations (v. 17).
Verses 9-15: Continued Desolation
“9 The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire. 10 This judgment on Edom will never end. Its smoke will rise up forever. The
land will lie deserted from generation to generation; no one will live there anymore. 11 There the hawks and porcupines will live, and owls and ravens. For God will observe that land and find it worthy of destruction. He will test its nobles and find them worthy of death. 12 It will be called “The Land of Nothing,” and its princes soon will all be gone. 13 Thorns will overrun the palaces, nettles will grow in its forts, and it will become the haunt of jackals and a home for ostriches. 14 The wild animals of the desert will mingle there with wolves and hyenas. Their howls will fill the night. There the night-monsters will scream at each other, and the demons will come there to rest. 15 There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs; she will hatch her young and nestle them beneath her wings, and the kites will come, each one with its mate"
Verses 9-10 depict the world-wide carnage of the Battle of Armageddon. God made humans stewards over the earth (Gen 2:15). When a person sins, whatever they touch becomes defiled (Hag 2:13-14). A person’s sin therefore has wide-reaching consequences, even to the point that the land can be cursed (Gen 3:17). That is why it is so very important that we take care of whatever is in our charge.
Verses 16-17- CONCLUSION
“Search the book of the Lord and see all that he will do; not one detail will he miss; not one kite will be there without a mate, for the Lord has said it, and his Spirit will make it all come true. 17 He has surveyed and subdivided the land and deeded it to those doleful creatures; they shall possess it forever, from generation to generation.”
Verse 16 isn’t only an assurance of justice from a just God but an assurance of His promises as well! Search the book of the Lord and see all that he will do; not one detail will he miss.Isaiah 55:10-11 says:
“10 As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry, 11 so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.”
This is such a reassuring promise. But you don’t know unless you search the book of the Lord. It is our responsibility to search the book of the Lord (the Bible) and see that God's prophecies and declarations are always fulfilled. The wicked will inherit a terrible, ruined land from generation to generation, that is, forever. But you and I have a sure promise of the Lord’s goodness, here on earth and for eternity. Matthew 19:29 says:
“And everyone that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life."
