The Fate of Our Nation, Part 2 Signs of Coming JudgmentProphecy Chat by Sharon L. Clemens

In my first installment of The Fate of Our Nation, I began to list the SIGNS OF COMING JUDGMENT of a nation that is in rebellion against the one true God as God revealed them to the prophet Isaiah. In Part 2, we will continue to list these signs--signs of imminent destruction that are as relevant for our day as they were for the prophet Isaiah's people. The Lord reveals His future plans to His elect; His sovereign will is found in His prophetic word, for those who have an eye to see. [Amos 3:7] Unfortunately, mankind has a tendency to ignore God's warnings [Isaiah 6:9-10].

Isaiah Chapter 3

Chapters 2 to 5 of Isaiah comprise one discourse or revelation which Isaiah received from the Lord. The prophecy was directed toward the southern kingdom of Judah when first given and would be imminently fulfilled in the captivity of Judah by the Babylonian world empire. However, Bible prophecy was given with an immediate and an ultimate [future] fulfillment. The immediate fulfillment proved to the people that the future fulfillment would also be perfectly fulfilled, but in God's perfect timing. This is called The Law of Prophetic Foreshortening, or The Law of Immediate/Ultimate Fulfillment. In Bible prophecy, the ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT is the most significant part of the prophecy. It is estimated that 90% of Bible prophecy still has a future fulfillment. All remaining prophecy to be fulfilled pertains to what is called "the end times" or The Second Coming of the Lord.

It is my supposition that Isaiah's warnings indicate we are nearing His return. The demise of our nation is symptomatic of global problems that will usher in the one-world government of Satan's man, Antichrist. Antichrist's Beast
empire is man's final attempt to prove he can save himself--without God.

This is a lie of Satan. But it is a lie mankind wants to believe.
[Daniel 2; Daniel 7; Rev. 13; Rev. 17-18]

Isaiah chapter 3 reads like today's headlines.

Can the Lord be far behind?

* COMMERCE AND SUBSISTENCE CUT OFF: 3:1-3. Just as the Lord cut off Jerusalem's food and water during the siege by Babylon, so a nation will suffer from want if they are in rebellion against God. The Lord will also allow destruction of the leaders of the people on every level--judges, prophets, elders, military officers, businessmen, lawyers, magicians and politicians. Note that if your Bible translation reads "expert enchanter," that it can also be "eloquent orator," or "politician." In our day, our politicians spout impressive-sounding words to deceive and manipulate the people they are to lead. Our nation's economic woes are a sign of God's warning.

* INCOMPETENT LEADERS: 3:4-5. Just as Israel's kings were like babies, ruling childishly, so a nation that has forgotten God will be given over to incompetent leaders who lead through greed and selfish ambition, like spoiled children fighting over the biggest piece of cake at the party! The worst sort of anarchy will prevail in such a society--everyone stepping on someone else, neighbors fighting neighbors, youths revolting against authority, criminals sneering at honorable men. There will follow a complete breakdown of social and political order.

* LEADERS CHOSEN OUT OF DESPERATION, RATHER THAN WISDOM: 3:6-7. The people are so desperate for leadership, they will beg anyone with anything of basic value or outward "image" [clothes] to lead them. Substance will have little to do with it.

* COMPLETE BREAKDOWN OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: 3:8. Because a nation speaks against their Lord through their actions and immoral laws, their human answers will fail; history proves that humanism [belief in man's ability] fails to truly fix anything. How can the Lord allow men to be "lovers of themselves" and succeed? [2 Tim. 3:1] The answer is, He cannot because their actions offend His glory.

* DEFIANT FLAUNTING OF SIN: 3:9. The sin of the nation degenerates beyond secret sin; sin is flaunted and openly paraded in defiance of God's moral law. Because sinners glory in sin and seek the notoriety of Sodom, they doom themselves to Sodom's fate.

* COMFORT FOR THE REMNANT: 3:10-11. In God's mercy, He gives a word of comfort for those who maintain their righteous walk with Christ, even in the midst of national judgment. Isaiah assures the saved that "it shall be well with them." Likewise, the wicked shall suffer the consequences of their evil choices.

* 3:12. As in vs. 4 and 5, the rulers of a nation nearing judgment are like children, playing king--and as weak as "women," symbolically speaking.

* 3:13. Rather than standing to defend the elect, The Lord stands up here as the great Prosecuting Attorney presenting his case against his people. [The Lord will restore Israel in the end times and ultimately fulfill all His promises to them; but here, Israel is suffering the consequences of rebellion in the past. See chapter 4 of Isaiah as a reminder of Israel's future blessing.] The Lord is a righteous judge.

* 3:14-15: The leaders of a nation are held accountable first and are first to feel His wrath, because instead of protecting the weak, they defrauded them!

* ARROGANCE JUDGED: 3:16. As a vivid example of pride and arrogance, God uses the example of women who forget the attractiveness of natural humility and the beauty of women who look to Godly men such as fathers and husbands, for their protection. Instead, they usurp authority and parade themselves in ornamentation, hoping to attract attention. Rather, women are to seek the beauty that comes from within.

* 3:17-26. Because such women have put off the covering of protection God provided, the Lord prophesies that their clothing and jewels, perfume and cosmetics, will be replaced with filth and ugliness--the opposite of their sinful intentions. Instead of creating desire and admiration from all who see them, they will be an object of shame.

* 3:16-4:1. As an example of how God extends prophecy to the future fulfillment, the judgment of arrogance is extended to the Tribulation, which is identified by the words, in that day. In the 7 years leading up to Armageddon, the Lord will judge wicked women indirectly by allowing a slaughtering of males in the judgments, resulting in a shortage of husbands and wage earners. Women will be debased from arrogance and independence to humiliation--begging for a man's protection The protection they abused, they will now do anything to obtain.
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Next week, I will continue this timely study of Isaiah chapters 2 to 5, The Fate of Our Nation. In chapter 5, the prophet's warnings turn to WOES, or CURSES upon the rebellious nation.

* Do not miss Part 3 of The Fate of Our Nation in which Isaiah warns of end times propaganda methods Satan will use to deceive the lost.
* We will also answer the question, "Why did Christ come to the earth?" The answer may not be exactly what immediately comes to mind, but understanding Christ's mission will help us define our Christian worldview in order to defend against Satan's attacks.

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@verizon.net]