Isaiah 2:1

The word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem states, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all the nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come ye and walk in the light of the Lord.'"

Let's pray. Father, as we look into your word tonight, I pray that you would speak to us and continue to build in us an anticipation for your return, for your coming. Lord, as we read, hear, and study about the last days, believing that we are living in the last days, I pray that you would cause there to be such an excitement in our hearts that we would long to share with those who don't know you.

And Lord, may that excitement, that knowledge of your coming, also produce in us a holiness, a righteousness, and a desire to follow after you in sincerity and in truth. Lord, work a work in our lives and in our nation that we would not believe what we are told. For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

Again, we see here in Isaiah chapter 2 a vision that Isaiah had. As we began last week in Isaiah chapter 1, verse 1, it said, "The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem." Now, when we come to chapter 2, verse 1, we read the word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw. It is an interesting concept to consider—the word that Isaiah saw. The Lord spoke to Isaiah, as He did to many of the Old Testament prophets.

Through visions and sometimes through dreams, God spoke to His people. There were times when He communicated through an audible voice or perhaps even an internal voice. In this instance, Isaiah appears to have seen a vision. This vision concerns Judah and Jerusalem. He receives a word from the Lord, a message from God in the form of a vision that is directed to the people he was living among in Jerusalem.

The timing of this prophecy is given in verse 2. It shall come to pass in the latter days or in the last days. If you're taking notes tonight, you may want to underline that in your Bibles, as it provides the initial context of this passage. When is this prophecy that Isaiah is speaking about or seeing a vision of going to come to pass? It shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the tops of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills. All nations shall flow unto it.

Notice that God is going to establish His kingdom in the last days, and all nations will come to that exalted place. As we continue to go through the book of Isaiah, this prophecy speaks of what we typically call the millennial reign of Christ. This time is described just a few chapters later in Isaiah chapter 11.

In Isaiah chapter 11, verse 4, it says about the Messiah, "But with righteousness shall He judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins."

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. The calf, the young lion, and the fatling shall be together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw like an ox. The suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den.

In the cockatrice's den, or in the snake's den, 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. We are looking forward to that day, aren't we? We're looking forward to the day when the Lord will bring about His kingdom. We were even instructed by our Lord in the Lord's Prayer, in Matthew chapter 6 and Luke chapter 11, to pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We're looking forward to that day. We're praying for that day as we were instructed to do.

The psalmist says, I believe in Psalm 122, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we're praying for the Prince of Peace to come and establish peace there, to establish His kingdom. I guarantee you there will be no peace in Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace is there. It doesn't matter who signs a peace treaty; it will not come until the Prince of Peace is there enthroned upon Mount Zion when He establishes His kingdom. There will be an awesome restoration that takes place.

As we continue to read here in verse 3 of Isaiah chapter 2, it says, "Many people shall go and say, 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.'" In verses 2 and 3, we read that all nations shall flow unto this kingdom. They shall come unto the Lord, not just coming to a place, but coming to a person. This is such an important aspect of Christianity as well. We don't come to a temple; we don't come to a place. We come to Christ Himself. He is the way whereby we can come before the Father.

He said there in the Gospel of John, in John chapter 14, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." He is the way by which we can come and approach God by grace through faith, that we can enter in boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in our time of need.

But there's coming a day when we will not have to do so spiritually. Today, we come before Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth, as Jesus told the woman at the well in John chapter 4. There is coming a day when all nations shall flow and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob." They will go meet with God Himself.

Do you see the global focus there in verses 2 and 3? All nations shall flow unto it. They will all come up to that place.

In Revelation chapter 5, we read of every tongue, every tribe, every nation, and every kindred gathered together, praising the Lord in that day. We say, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly." We're looking forward to that time.

Many of the people that Isaiah was living among and speaking to believed that God's word and God's grace were really only for their race; it was only for the nation of Israel. However, if you read through the Old Testament, you see that this is not the case at all. God's word, from the very beginning, was meant for all mankind, for all nations. God desired that His word would go forth. That's why He gave that promise to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, saying, "In you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Here again, we see that all nations shall come unto Him. Many people shall go up and say, "Come ye, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord of hosts, to the house of the God of Jacob."

Notice that in verse 3, He will teach us His ways. We are not going to meet with a rabbi or a pastor. You're not going to look for Pastor Chuck or Pastor Miles. Pastor Jesus will be there—the Shepherd, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the good teacher. He will be there to teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

When Jesus rules and reigns here upon the earth, there will be an established peace and a forced righteousness. The Scriptures reveal in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and a number of other apocalyptic passages that when Jesus is here upon the earth, peace and righteousness will reign. There will be no more war during that millennial reign of Christ because He will bring about righteousness upon the earth. He will bring about peace upon the earth. We read that they will take their swords and beat them into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Their instruments of war will become instruments of fruitfulness, not of death.

Many believers and non-believers alike look forward to the coming of that day. Amen? We look forward to the day when there is no more war. Jesus promised in Matthew chapter 24...

Before this day would come, there would be nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There would be wars and rumors of wars. Ever since Jesus spoke those words, there has not ceased to be non-stop war on the earth. For the last 2,000 years, somewhere on the face of the earth, war has been ongoing. People have been killed. Nations have been rising up against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms.

We see this in our day because, in our own nation, we have been in the midst of war for a very long time now. Every single generation that our nation has had has seen war in their times. Nowadays, we see that we have multiple wars occurring at once, with nations rising against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms. When we observe these things, we no doubt long for the day when they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their pruning hooks into swords. We look forward to that time when there is a cessation of violence, when war is done, and man is no longer learning war any longer.

After the Second World War, one of the things that stirred the establishment of the United Nations was the desire to end armed conflicts around the world. During the modern era, man thought he could bring about a certain nirvana on earth, an enlightenment through science and technology. However, what that produced in the long run, in the 1940s, was the atomic bomb. This modern era did not bring the nirvana that man was hoping for, but rather great destruction that caused fear throughout the entire earth.

In many ways, man began to despair, and that is where the post-modern era started to build up, marked by a rejection of all these scientific advancements and a turning away from them. In fact, today, if you go to New York and visit the Upper East Side, you will find the United Nations building. There, you will see a great statue made by a Russian artist, depicting a man beating a sword into a plowshare, based on this verse. It was the desire of the United Nations, when it was established, to do away with armed conflict. Even today, that is what they seek to accomplish, which is why they strive to bring about some sort of diplomatic resolution when problems and crises arise throughout the world. They do not want to resort to violence; they do not want to resort to war.

There are many people who understand and share the same feeling. However, we must recognize that before Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4 can come to pass, another prophecy will be fulfilled. If you look in your Bibles, in the book of Joel, chapter 3, we see something almost identical said by the prophet Joel.

In Joel chapter 3, we will pick it up in verse 9. God is speaking through the prophet Joel and says, "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles. Prepare for what? War. Proclaim among the Gentiles. Prepare war. Wake up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near. Let them come up."

Look at verse 10: "Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' Assemble yourselves and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about. Cause your mighty ones to come down, O Lord."

"Let the heathen be wakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there will I," God says, "there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put in your sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come get you down, for the press is full. The vats overflow, for the wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision."

"The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem. The heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel."

"So shall you know that I, the Lord your God, am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her anymore."

I want you to notice the timing of this verse because it comes prior to the passage we just read in Isaiah chapter 2. Isaiah chapter 2 talks about Jerusalem being at peace and the kingdom of God being established in Jerusalem.

But what is taking place in Joel chapter 3, also in the latter days, comes before that. Before man will beat his sword into a plowshare and his spear into a pruning hook, God tells the people of the earth to beat their plowshares into swords and their pruning hooks into spears and get ready for war because God is going to come to judge. Before He brings righteousness upon the earth, before He sits enthroned upon the kingdom that you and I pray for, "Lord, thy kingdom come," He will come with judgment and He will come with a sword.

We read that the heathen, those who have turned against God here on earth, will gather themselves together to fight against God. I want you to consider that for a moment. There is coming a day when man is going to gather together with swords, with spears, or with modern-day weaponry—helicopters, tanks, guns, and missiles. They will gather together in the valley of Megiddo, which is in Jerusalem, and they will come to fight against God.

I'm surprised I didn't hear any laughs because that has got to be one of the most comical and foolish things that anyone could ever do. If you want to fight against God, you're going to lose. I think of Jacob in Genesis chapter 32. He wrestled with God and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Or I think of Saul of Tarsus in Acts chapter 9, where God says, "Saul, Saul, why are you kicking against me? Why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you to kick against the goad." This is a foolish plan that you have, Saul of Tarsus. You will be destroyed if you fight against me.

And yet, there is coming a day when mankind, in rebellion against God, will gather before God there in Israel, in the valley of Megiddo, to fight against Him. This is something we call the Battle of Armageddon. It's there in the valley of Megiddo, and God is going to come to judge them. Isaiah chapter 63 tells us that a sword will go forth out of His mouth and it will kill all of those who come against God. The blood will run up to the horse's bridle for 1,600 furlongs. Through the entire valley, there is going to be a river of blood on that day. It does not sound like a good thing. And yet, man will come against God. He may even show up with nuclear weapons to fight against Him.

What does God do when this happens? Look at Psalm 2. In Psalm 2, we get a glimpse.

In Psalm 2, a Psalm of David, we see God's reaction to the nations of the world gathering together to fight against Him. I imagine for a moment if all the nations of the world, with all of their nuclear weapons, tanks, and guns—hundreds of millions prepared for battle—came to fight against you. Would you be a little concerned? Well, you might. Is God?

Psalm 2, verse 1 asks, "Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?" This refers to a foolish, empty-hearted plan. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, His Christ, or His Messiah, saying, "Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us." This is the mindset of man when he gathers together to fight against God. He says, "We're getting rid of Your rule over us, God. We don't want You to rule over us any longer."

All the nations gather together, but God sits in the heavens, and He shall laugh. When God sees this, He shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. When all of mankind gathers together to fight against God, there are multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, the day of the Lord in the valley of decision. God is not going to be quaking; the earth will be, though.

We see in this passage that when He comes, the heavens and the earth are going to shake. In Joel 3, verse 16, it states, "The heavens and the earth shall shake, and the Lord will be the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel." God will not be afraid; God will not quake, but the earth will. When He stands to judge His people, when He sits to judge the heathen round about, He says, "Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe."

As you begin to build this picture, you find that little bits of information—coded information about this event that is going to take place—are found all over the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. It's found in Joel 3, verse 10; it's found in Isaiah 63; it's found in Matthew 24; it's found in Revelation 14 and Revelation 19. The picture is this: God gathers all of these.

Rebellious men gather in the valley of decision, which is called His winepress. The vats, the wine vats, will overflow. Isaiah 63 says that He will tread the winepress alone. Revelation chapter 19 states that His robes will be stained with blood as He treads the winepress of the wrath of God in the valley of decision.

"Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Strengthen yourselves, men, as you go to fight against God." But it will be for naught. This is what will happen before the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4 is fulfilled. Joel chapter 3, verses 10 and onward will come to pass before Isaiah chapter 2, when they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. This is going to come to pass.

How do we know? God said it in Isaiah chapter 2, verse 2, and it shall come to pass in the last days. It shall come to pass. When will it come to pass? Well, that's a study for another day, but we'll talk about it as we go through the book of Isaiah. It shall come to pass.

Now, if we know that there is a day coming when God will come and fight against mankind and judge those who have sinned against Him, and a Christ-rejecting sinful world, if we know that this will take place and that after that point He will establish His kingdom here upon the earth, how many of you, knowing that, do not want to be in the winepress of the wrath of God but want to be standing with Him on that day? I should see every hand, maybe even two hands for each person.

So, look at the exhortation given in Isaiah chapter 2, verse 5. Knowing that these things are going to come to pass, we read, "O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord." The apostle Peter said something very similar in 2 Peter chapter 3. In 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 14, he said, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, seeing that you're looking..."

Forward to these things coming to pass, be diligent that you may be found in Him in peace, without spot and blameless. If you know that this is what the end is going to be, God is going to come and judge the earth, and a sword is going to go forth from His mouth. He will destroy a Christ-rejecting and sinful world. Then, if that's the case, we better be diligent to be found in Him in peace.

Not just the Apostle Peter, but the Apostle John in 1 John chapter 3, verse 3, said, "And every man that has this hope purifies himself, even as He is pure." If you know that this day is coming, then you prepare for that day. Get ready because He is going to come.

So, how do we get ready? Well, Isaiah says, "Walk in the light of the Lord." In John chapter 1, we read in verse 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made that was made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.

Now, there was a man sent from God whose name was John, speaking of John the Baptist. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through Him might believe. He was not that light; John the Baptist was not that light, but he was sent to bear witness of that light. It was the true light which lights every man that comes into the world.

Now, He, the light, was in the world, and the world was made by Him. Speaking about Jesus, the world was made by Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to His own, He came to His own people, the children of Israel, during His first coming, but they did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. It goes on to say in verse 14, God's light...

The Word was in the world, but the world did not perceive it. They didn't recognize it. The Word became flesh. Jesus, the light, came into the world as a man 2,000 years ago to His own people, but they did not receive Him. Why did they not receive Him?

There was a night when Jesus was in Jerusalem, and a man came to Him by the name of Nicodemus, as recorded in John chapter 3. Jesus said something to Nicodemus that has become the most translated verse of the Bible: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

He that believes on Him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Now notice this in John 3, verse 19: "And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil."

Why is it that His own people did not receive Him? They loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light; neither does he come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed or reproved. Man is afraid to come to the light because he fears that if he comes to the light, if he comes to Christ, then his sin is going to be exposed, reproved, and judged.

Satan would have man believe that if he comes to Christ, if he comes to the light, then God will strike him dead. So, Satan says to run and stay in the darkness. But we who have believed upon Jesus and come to Him find that this is not the case.

Look at the book of 1 John in your Bibles, at the end of the Bible. In 1 John chapter 1, John says...

Verse 1 speaks of Jesus: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and we bear witness and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, was manifested unto us."

That which we have seen and heard we declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Verse 4 states, "And these things we write unto you, that your joy may be full."

This then is the message which we have heard of Him and declare unto you: God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Now, if we say that we have fellowship with Him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But verse 7 tells us, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood—get this—the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Man hates the light; he does not come to the light because he is fearful. Satan has deceived man into thinking that if he approaches and comes to the light by grace through faith, his sins will be exposed, judged, and reproved, and that God will destroy him. But the truth is, if you walk in the light as He is in the light, yes, your sin is exposed, yes, it is revealed, but there we see that His blood is able to cleanse us from all sin. Amen?

His blood is able to cleanse us from all sin. The word "cleanse" there is the very same Greek root word used in John chapter 15, where Jesus talks about God pruning the dead branches and removing them. The blood of Christ is able to cleanse us; it is able to remove that sinful flesh from us as we come to the light.

Now, can you see why the word of the Lord to His people during the day of Isaiah was, "Listen, judgment is coming. Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord so that we be not under judgment."

That we can receive His grace. God's desire was that His people would return to Him. Why? Well, Isaiah chapter 2, verse 6 states, "Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob." God had forsaken His people, the house of Jacob. Why? He tells us because they were replenished from the east. They were soothsayers like the Philistines, and they pleased themselves and the children of strangers.

Their land was also full of silver and gold; neither was there any end to their treasures. Their land was also full of horses; neither was there any end to their chariots. Their land was also full of idols; they worshiped the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers had made. The mean man bowed down, and the great man humbled himself. Therefore, God said, "Forgive them not."

If they would come and walk in the light of the Lord and reject all of these other things they were living in, then God would forgive them. But because they continued in their sin and refused to heed the word of God, He would say, "Forgive them not." There is no forgiveness for the unrepentant. Although Jesus' work on the cross is sufficient to bring forgiveness to all mankind, there is no forgiveness for the unrepentant.

God is full of grace. God is full of mercy. He has mercy for thousands; He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 and 7 say, "But He will by no means clear the guilty." This means He will by no means forgive the guilty sinner who refuses to repent. The children of Israel were filled with sin. We read about their sin in verses 6 through 9.

The first thing we are told about their sin in verse 6 is that they had an abundance of cultish practices. If you're taking notes, they had an abundance of cultish practices. They were replenished, as we are told in the beginning of verse 6; they were replenished from the east. All the mystic, cultish practices of the east filled their land.

Their nation, that word "replenished," could actually mean "full" or "abundance." They were abounding with what? Well, with soothsayers like the Philistines. They took pleasure in the children of strangers. First off, they were filled with cultish practices.

Verse 7 tells us that they had an abundance of wealth. Their land was also full of silver and gold; neither was there any end to their treasures. They were filled with wealth and overabundance, and that was what their focus was upon. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6 in the Sermon on the Mount: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, and here was a nation filled with wealth.

Although the nation of Israel was filled with sin at this time in Judah's history, in Jerusalem, the stock market was well above 10,000. The people were living it up, as we will see in chapter 5. They were focused on real estate, interestingly parceling pieces of land together to build bigger kingdoms for themselves. They were filled with silver and gold, with no end to their treasures.

There was also an abundance of horses and chariots. Now, you may ask, what's wrong with horses and chariots? Well, nothing really in and of themselves, except that God told them it was forbidden for them in the book of Deuteronomy to multiply horses and chariots unto themselves. Why? As the psalmist says in Psalm 20, "Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God."

You see, Israel was to be trusting in God and not in their military might. Yet, these people, 2,800 years ago during the time of Isaiah, in the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem, trusted in their military might. God said this is sin.

Now, that should stop us in our tracks. The only superpower left in the world today—do we trust in our horses and in our chariots? Do we trust in our cruise missiles?

In our nuclear submarines, I would say yes, we do have an abundance of cultish practices, wealth, horses, and chariots. In verses eight and nine, we read that their land is also full of idols. They had an abundance of idols and worshipped the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers had made. The mean man bows down, which means the men or the people bow down to these things. The great man humbles himself.

There was worship and humility in Jerusalem and in Judah, but it was directed toward false gods, not to the true and living God. Because of this, God says, "Forgive them not." They were filled with cultish practices, wealth, horses, chariots, and idols. As we continue through chapter two and the remainder of our time tonight, we will see that they were also filled with pride. Repeatedly, God is going to speak to their pride.

I ask you, is our nation in any way filled with the very same things that God would say to the children of Israel 2,800 years ago for this reason: "I withhold forgiveness"? Do we have cultish practices in our nation? I saw an interesting excerpt in the news last week that one of the industries doing very well during this economic downturn is the soothsayers, fortune tellers, and palm readers. They were interviewing one of them at a place just up here in Los Angeles. When asked what kind of questions she was receiving from people, she said that normally the questions are about their love life. However, lately, people have been coming in and asking, "Am I going to lose my job? Am I going to be able to make my rent?"

She charges $250 an hour, and I think if you're going to a palm reader to find out if you're going to make your rent and you're paying her $250 an hour, something is a little skewed. Some wires are mismatched. We are indeed a nation full of cultish practices.

Full of wealth, focused upon wealth—no, not America, horses, and chariots. We've already talked about that. The abundance of idols is something we've discussed before. I know that when we reference or talk about idols in the Old Testament, our minds instantly go to little statues, little golden and silver gods that people bowed down to or brought offerings to. We think, "Well, you know, we're so progressive; we're so far beyond that sort of stuff."

However, anytime you see an idol in the scripture, it would be best to consider that it's anything that someone puts their trust in other than God. We have a nation today that is in absolute despair because many people have lost a whole lot in their 401(k). Where was their trust? Many people have lost equity in their homes or jobs that they had put their trust in. The idols of our nation have been shaken, and we're going to see, when we get to Isaiah chapter 19, that it is an indication that God has removed His hand of protection from a people when their idols have been shaken.

In verse 10 of Isaiah chapter 2, we read, "Enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust for the fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty." The lofty looks of men shall be humbled. There is the pride of the people: the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down. The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Would you circle those three words, "in that day," at the end of verse 11?

In that day, when the Lord moves for judgment—the terrible day of the Lord—when He moves for judgment, the haughty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of man bowed down, and God will be exalted. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty. Underline "the day of the Lord" in verse 12, and maybe in the margin of your Bible or on your bulletin, you might want to make this note: the day of the Lord is any time when God intervenes in the realm of humanity.

Any time in human history where God intervenes in the realm of humanity, the Spirit of God intervenes. Every time we see it in the Scriptures, it is always associated with judgment—the Day of the Lord.

Notice that the Day of the Lord, God intervening for judgment upon the earth, is focused on verse 12: "Everyone that is proud and lofty, upon everyone that is lifted up, he shall be brought low." This includes all the cedars of Lebanon, those great strong trees that people trust in for their strength. It applies to all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, as well as all the oaks of Bashan, the high mountains, and the high hills that are lifted up. It encompasses every high tower, every fenced wall, all the ships of Tarshish, and all the pleasant pictures.

The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low. The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Circle those words again: before the Day of Peace, when men shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, the Day of the Lord's judgment and wrath will come first. He will level every high and exalted thing that stands against Him.

In verse 18, it states that He shall utterly abolish anything that man trusts in other than Him, which will be destroyed in that day. In verse 19, it says they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth for the fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty when He arises to shake terribly the earth.

Remember what Joel 3:10 said: "The heavens and the earth shall shake." Here we see this correlation. When the Lord comes, His glory will go forth, and men will be afraid. They will hide in caves; they will hide in holes. The Scripture states exactly the same thing that Revelation 6:15 says.

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, the mighty men, and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. They said to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb." God is coming with vengeance. The haughty, the proud, and the arrogant of this world—those that trust in horses and chariots, those that have their focus on the wealth of this world, those that bow down to idols and call out to soothsayers and palm readers—on that day, when the wrath of the Lamb of God will come, they will hide in the dens and in the holes. They will cry out to the rocks and say, "Hide us from the glory of the Lord."

He is coming. Isaiah 2:20 states, "In that day," circle those words again, "in that day a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they have made each one for himself to worship. They will cast them to the clasps of the rocks and into the tops of the ragged rocks for the fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty when He arises to shake terribly the earth."

In that day, when the Lord comes, men will flee and seek to hide in dens and in caves in the earth. We see there in verse 20 that they will take their false gods, which they have made for themselves. They will have these images of silver and these images of gold, and they will cry out to them, saying, "Oh, please save us! Oh, please help us!" They will find that these idols are ineffective and cannot help. It says that they will take those idols and throw them to the moles and into the caves with them.

So, what is the application? In verse 22, Isaiah says, "Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?" Isaiah reminds the people, "Listen, don't trust in man. He is not going to be able to save you; he is not going to be able to help you."

In that day when the Lord comes, the nuclear arsenal of America will not be able to help man who is in rebellion towards God. In that day, all the ships that man has created and all the instruments of war that he has made for himself will not be able to help him. Great bunkers that man will try to make for himself will not conceal him when the Lord comes to bring wrath upon the earth. There is only one place to find refuge, and so Isaiah would say to his people in his day and to us in ours, "Come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord."

There is a day coming when He shall come again. It says in the book of Isaiah and in another passage of Scripture that His sword will be bathed in heaven; it will be readied in heaven. He will come on a white horse to judge the earth, and He will descend from the heavens and touch down at the very same place that He ascended from, the Mount of Olives. It says that the Mount of Olives will cleave, one side to the north and one side to the south; it is going to crack in half when He comes to judge the earth.

There are some who say, "Do you really literally believe this?" Yes, I do. Why? It shall come to pass in the last days; the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. One of the things that we are going to see as we go through the book of Isaiah is that God has already fulfilled an abundance of the prophecies written in this book, and He will make good on those that have not yet come to pass.

Right before He comes, Israel will become a nation again in a moment, in one day. The book of Isaiah says, "Has anybody ever heard of this? In one day, a nation being born?" On May 14, 1948, a nation was born in one day. Exiled from their land for more than 1,900 years, they came back to the land of Israel. I just read an article today that there are many people leaving America.

Today, many Jews are returning to the land of Israel. I don't know if you remember, but we had a prophecy update about a year ago, and I told you that something significant was going to happen. The children of Israel are starting to leave America to go back to the land of Israel. The Associated Press just this week published an article on people leaving the United States to return home.

We are witnessing the fulfillment of the very things that Jesus foretold would come to pass before His return. He will come again, and the Scripture says that those who are His will return with Him. I want to be there on that day. Let me say, I will be there. Will you come? Let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Let's stand and pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word, which has told us the end before it comes. One of the clearest marks of Your authorship of the Scriptures is these prophetic passages where You reveal things that are going to happen before they do.

As we see in the New Testament, he who has this hope purifies himself. Therefore, the one who is looking for these things is diligent to be found in You, in peace, without spot or blemish, and love blameless. Lord, we know tonight that we can only be blameless by Your blood, which cleanses us from all sin.

In the last book of the Bible, in the second to last chapter, Lord, You revealed through John the Apostle that the kingdom You establish will have no need for the sun or the moon to shine in it because Your glory will enlighten it.

The Lamb, Jesus, you are the light of that place. Lord, we look forward to that day when we will physically walk in the light of the Lord. But by grace through faith, tonight, Lord, we step in and say, "Lord, we want to walk in the light as you are in the light and have fellowship with one another."

Having fellowship with you, knowing that you have removed our sin as far as the east is from the west, we praise you and thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Really, we are in a beautiful place, and we are talking to our hearts. Thank you.