The Fate of Our Nation, Part 3, THE DEATH OF TRUTH Prophecy Chat by Sharon L. Clemens

    Part 3 of The Fate of Our Nation continues our look into Isaiah's discourse chapters 2 to 5, Signs of Coming Judgment. Judah's judgment in the Old Testament is a vivid example of what will happen to any nation that rebels against God. This is the last installment in the study from Isaiah. I highly recommend the last segment of this article, The Bottom Line. What is the bottom line?  THE DEFINING SIGN OF IMMINENT JUDGMENT IS--THE DEATH OF TRUTH.

ISAIAH READS LIKE TODAY'S HEADLINES.

    To warn ancient Judah of coming judgment, the prophet Isaiah described signs of their rebellion against God. In Part 2, we ended in chapter 4 verse 1. In verse 2 of chapter 4, the prophet interrupts his list of grievous complaints against his own people with an INTERLUDE to give hope to those who take his words seriously.

* Even when the Lord's righteousness demands judgment, His mercy causes Him to extend comfort. Chapter 4 is a preview of the future renewal of Zion when Israel's Messiah will return to establish His earthly kingdom. At that future time, Israel's judgment will be past and their time of renewal, redemption and blessing will begin.
* Chapter 4 is also a Messianic prophecy. The Branch of the LORD is a reference to the coming Christ. The word "branch" occurs in several places in the Old Testament--a word clue in prophecy identifying other Messianic prophecies. The word may also be "shoot," "stump," or "rod," [Isaiah 11:1] as in a wooden rod or shoot sprouting out of the stump of the family tree of Jesse. Such prophecies identify Christ as a descendant of Jesse, the father of King David. Christ is a branch from King David's family tree. For other "branch" prophecies, see Jeremiah 23:5 and Zechariah 6:12. In each of these passages, Messiah is described as a great King who will execute judgment and restore righteousness in the earth.
* When Christ, the Branch, ascends the throne of David, Isaiah tells us "the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing," like the Garden of Eden [Ezekiel 36:35]. Isaiah comforts the remnant of believing Israel with this promise, both the remnant of his day and the remnant of the future day of the Kingdom.

God, The Master Gardener

    In contrast to the Lord's promise to provide a glorious earth for those of Israel who escape judgment, the Lord describes His disappointment with the faithless in Israel. In chapter 5, God calls the rebellious nation of Israel His disappointing vineyard. They show no evidence of spiritual fruitfulness. We will soon be gardening here in Zone 5 of Illinois. If you enjoy gardening as I do, you know how disappointing it is to till the soil, amend it with fertilizer, and plant seeds--only to have it produce poorly. So it is with the caring gardener of Israel. The Lord sings to Judah a lament--a sad ballad. God did everything to make his vineyard of Judah productive, but His loving care did not work. Judah turned away from Him and asked Him to leave them alone in their idolatry, and so He shall. No longer will He care for the tender vines; He will leave them to their destruction.

Woes Are Curses

    After the Lord sings His lament, He speaks more signs of judgment, but this time they are in the form of WOES or curses. Specific sins of Judah are now linked to direct curses they bring upon themselves as a consequence of sin. [Isaiah 1:19-20]
* 5:8 -- Judah's greed and materialism are exemplified by joining house to house, or amassing wealth such as real estate for the sake of wealth.
* 5:11 -- Isaiah describes a lifestyle devoted to pleasure, rather than Godliness. Hedonism and the immoral lifestyles of the rich and famous are paraded in the tabloids, and dysfunctional rock stars have become role models for our youth.
* 5:13-14 -- As a consequence of Judah's amassed sins, wars descend upon them and the dead mount up--so much so that Hell must expand to hold all the lost. In our day, wars are increasing in frequency and intensity, as Jesus warned in Matthew 24.
* 5:15 -- "Each man shall be humbled..." If we do not willingly humble ourselves, He will humble us. Ref. Luke 20:18. Our choice is to willingly repent, or Christ will break us Himself in ultimate judgment. The Lord alone will be exalted.
* 5:18-19 -- Isaiah is ridiculed; the people dare God to hurry His judgment, if it is true. This is the blatant attitude of the world today--daring God to judge them!

THE DEATH OF TRUTH --THE BOTTOM LINE

VERSE 20 SUMMARIZES THE FALLEN CONDITION OF JUDAH. THE NATION DESCENDED SO FAR INTO SIN THAT EVIL IS CALLED GOOD, AND GOOD EVIL.
Dr. Dave Breese calls this social condition moral inversion; truth is turned upside-down!
Satan has managed to replace God's truth with his lies. When truth no longer exists, God's judgment cannot be far behind.

    Our nation is also in a state of MORAL INVERSION. Sin is flaunted, even defended as a human right, while moral values and holy living are ridiculed. Godly people are blamed for social ills because of their "hatred" and "intolerance." Isaiah's warning has come to America--Lies will be truth and truth, lies. Re-defining truth is one of Satan's propaganda techniques. Christ is THE Truth, but the new spirituality claims there are many truths or many paths to god, whoever god is perceived to be... When TRUTH is replaced with many truths, the concept of truth is validated. Everything cannot be right. For something to be right means others things must be wrong, by definition.

    Christianity is an enemy of Godless humanity because it is a religion that claims the only truth. Our Lord said He is the only way, truth, and life [John 14:6]. Christ is truth, and Christ's coming to the earth was for the purpose of BEARING WITNESS TO GOD'S TRUTH--all of it. [John 18:37] Nothing of God's truth and doctrine can be compromised. Truth is WHOLE or it is not truth. As we wait eagerly for Christ's return at the Second Coming, our Lord will once again return to restore truth and righteousness on the earth. The moral inversion we see demonstrated in our nation is proof of His imminent return.

TRUTH IS THE CORE ISSUE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

IF SATAN SUCCEEDS IN DESTROYING THE CONCEPT OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH, HE WILL DESTROY THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY--
BECAUSE CHRIST IS TRUTH.

    As believers, we are fighting a war between TRUTH and LIES or deception. In Matthew 24, deception was the first sign Christ gave that the End Times had come. It has now been over 2,000 years since Christ came the first time. Since that time, the same moral inversion Isaiah saw in Judah has again over-whelmed the earth. God is allowing time for the lies of Satan to so corrupt the world and deceive the lost, that the world is close to implosion. In fact, the earth would destroy itself in Armageddon if not for God's mercy. Matthew 24:21-22 states that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved alive on the earth. But for the sake of the elect, the Lord will shorten the destruction of the Tribulation. He will return just in time to save the world from complete annihilation [Zechariah 14].

An example- The Shack:

    Bible teachers are warning the church that although some false prophets are purposefully perverting the truth of scriptures, it is the subtle deception that is ensnaring the largest numbers. For example, popular books that claim to be Christian combine truth with the leaven of lies, using truth for deception. A current best seller, in both the secular and Christian markets, is The Shack. It is recommended in evangelical circles as a book worth reading because of the "good" in it. It brings tears to the eyes and "heals" the emotions, its fans claim...but it is blasphemy to our Lord. Time does not allow for a thorough discussion of The Shack; it has been the topic of many programs, which can be studied on line. Suffice it to say that God and His Word are diminished and demoted to a humanistic level in order to make God accessible; but we are to exalt Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords; we are never to diminish His holiness. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is also profaned, and the transcendent nature of God over His creation is presented in a pantheistic, contemplative spirituality way.

    The truth that God is above His creation and yet upholds it by the power of His Word [Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3] is replaced with a pantheistic, New Age belief: The book refers to god as "the ground of all being" that "dwells in, around, and through all things--ultimately emerging as the real" [page 112, The Shack]. This is New Age "speak," not Christianity. This false doctrine means that God is the essence of all that exists, that He dwells IN all humans and all creation. That is why pagans and pantheists believe trees, animals and plants are living beings on the same level with man... because god lives in them too! But this is not Bible truth--it is pantheism [god is all] and panentheism [god is in all]. It is, in fact, the false religion of Hinduism.

    The description in The Shack that God "dwells in, around, and through all things" does not mean that God upholds everything, as in Colossians 1:16-17 -- "All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in [by] Him all things consist." The Jameson, Faucett and Brown commentary says Colossians means that not only are all things called into being from nothing by Him [He is Creator God], but He maintains them in their present state. BUT HE IS NOT LIVING IN ALL THINGS OF HIS CREATION--This is Bible truth. The only sense in which Christ is "in" man is when a believer of the Church Age receives Christ as Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit then "indwells" the believer [Romans 8:9-11]. The Holy Spirit is something the believer "has," not something he "is." The indwelling Holy Spirit in us does not make a believer God.

    New Age teachings are the OPPOSITE: If pantheism and New Age spirituality are studied, this "ground of all being...ultimately emerging as the real" is a false belief for claiming that man IS God. It is blatant heresy. All New Age religions teach that the god consciousness in us will eventually enable us to reach a higher level of consciousness in which we realize that we are god! This is the age-old lie Satan spoke to Eve in the garden...and it still works. "...you shall be as God..." Genesis 3:4. The lure of The Shack is its emotional theme and its overt casualness toward God.

GOD'S COUNTER-ATTACK

    Satan re-defines truth to be lies, but when Christ returns, He is going to turn the tables, deceiving them with their own deception:

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 -- "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

    Just when Satan believes he has conquered the world with lies and deception, the Lord will return and condemn all those who followed Antichrist--the real lie. Because the lost will not receive the truth of Jesus Christ and His Gospel of salvation, Antichrist and his followers will be sentenced to eternal Hell. They will be convicted because of their own self-deception.

    The Lord's divine justice and rule of righteousness will be restored on the earth during His Millennial Reign. Truth will triumph because our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. This is the glorious future we look forward to with anticipation!

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]~~~~