Now I want to go on in Isaiah 24. We’ll go on to verse 17 of Isaiah 24:
“Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth! And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he who comes out from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall falter like a hut; its transgressions shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall and not rise again.”
I don’t know how that language could be more vivid. In half a dozen different phrases it presents exactly what the writer of Hebrews says, all things that can be shaken will be shaken. There are no exceptions.
Then I want to read the close of this 24th chapter because it indicates the climax which God has appointed. And, God has His own climax, His own plan, His own program. Beginning in verse 21:
“It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will punish on high the host and exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in a pit [or a dungeon]; and will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished [or dealt with]. Then the moon will be disgraced, and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders gloriously.”
What is the climax? It’s the establishment of the Lord’s kingdom on earth with Jerusalem as its capitol. And, it’s going to take all that Isaiah has described to bring us to that place. So, when we pray as we should pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” whether we realize it or not, we’re releasing the events that are described in Isaiah 24.
It says ‘the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed’. As I understand it, the glory of Jesus in His kingdom will be so awesome that the moon and the sun will look pale by comparison. Jesus said in Luke 9:26:
“When the Son of man comes in His own glory, the Father’s glory and the glory of the holy angels.”
There’ll be a triple glory: the glory of Jesus, the glory of the Father and the glory of the angels. Any kind of light that most of us have ever even imagined will be totally insignificant by comparison with the brightness of that light. I have spoken to friends, more than one, who had a brief visitation in heaven and they all said the same thing. The light was as bright as a million suns but it never hurt the eyes. So, I am not preaching a negative message, I’m just describing what will happen for the kingdom of God to be established on earth.
So, the next time you feel like praying the Lord’s prayer, just stop and say: “do I really mean what I’m saying?”
Father, it is true that I so often pray without really realizing what it means. I pray enlighten me through Your Holy Spirit so I may pray according to Your will and Your Word. Lord, I just cannot imagine now all these things that will happen, but I trust You will keep me safe and help me to continue to follow You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
