AM Oct 8th 2 Thess 3

October 8^th Get on and work together

6: Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. 7: For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; 8: Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: 9: Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. 10: For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 11: For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. 12: Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 13: But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. 14: And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

E. Epilogue Farewell and Salutation

15: Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16: Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 17: The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. 18: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

In this last section of his letter Paul gives a firm instruction to the leaders of the assembly that they are to act in discipline – in the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that they are to formally withdraw fellowship from every brother who ‘breaks ranks’ i.e. fails to take his responsibilities as a believer. He says this is not what how we instructed you to live. Every man has a station – a position in life. (For example - Fathers have a duty to provide for their family) Paul says you know that we behaved ourselves in a way that was consistent with the divine order. God has ordained us apostles that we were to be self supporting. So we worked hard to provide for our needs. In fact says Paul we worked very hard day and night so that we did not need to lay a responsibility on you to provide for us. Now Paul is careful to point out that this was not because they had no right to ask for support, but they did it so that they would be examples of how to live honourably. Paul reminded them that when they were with them, they said, if a man is lazy and will not work then he must go hungry. (A Jewish proverb) Paul says l hear that there are some who have stopped working and are busy looking into other peoples business instead of looking after their own. Now, he says, we command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that all of you work quietly in your own business and eat bread that you have earned. And do not become tired of doing this good thing. And if anyone does not obey this instruction - in this letter, then take note of that man and separate yourself from him so that he might be ashamed of himself and return to his senses. I don’t want you to never speak to him again or treat him as a leper - an outcast, but l want you to correct him as a brother. Excommunication was not with the intension of cutting off fellowship forever but with the purpose of bringing the erring brother back. Paul closes with a benediction. May the Lord of peace give you peace by all means. The Lord be with you all. Paul finishes off his letter in his own distinctive handwriting.

PM Oct 7th Isa 29

October 7^th

Isaiah, 29

1: Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. 2: Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. 3: And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. 4: And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. 5: Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. 6: Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. 7: And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. 8: It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. 9: Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. 10: For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 11: And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 13: Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 15: Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16: Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? 17: Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? 18: And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. 19: The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20: For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: 21: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. 22: Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. 23: But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. 24: They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

Isaiah, 30

1: Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3: Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. 4: For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. 5: They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. 6: The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. 7: For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still. 8: Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: 9: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: 10: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12: Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14: And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. 15: For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. 16: But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. 17: One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. 18: And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. 19: For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 20: And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 21: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. 22: Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. 23: Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. 24: The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. 25: And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26: Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. 27: Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: 28: And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. 29: Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. 30: And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. 31: For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. 32: And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. 33: For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

Today we are reading Isaiah chapter 29 and 30. In Chapter 29 Isaiah brings to Israel a prophecy regarding Jerusalem and Lebanon. The message is a woe of forth coming judgment. The city is called Ariel (The place where fire burns – the altar-hearth. The place for burnt offerings.) He says though you will kill sacrifices yet you will have distress, heaviness and sorrow. The Lord will camp against them and besiege them. The city will be brought down to the dust. The LORD will bring thunder, earthquake, great noise, storm and a devouring flame. All the nations that fight against Israel will be like a bad dream in comparison. The Lord will pour out a spirit of deep sleep and blindness on Israel. This vision is like a sealed book to Israel which men give to others to ask them to read it, But they answer we cant read it because the scroll is sealed. The scroll is given to an illiterate man but he cannot read it. Then Isaiah says something that Christ quotes from saying this people come near to me with their mouths but their minds are far from me. The only fear they have is fear of the teaching of men. Then the Lord says that the Lord will do an amazing thing the wisdom of the wise will become foolishness and the understanding of the wise men will be hidden. Then another woe – To those who refuse to seek the Lords guidance. They says the Lord doesn’t know and so who knows what we do. They will turn the truth on its head. They will say, will the clay say why did you turn me upside down? In a little while Lebanon will be turned into fruitfulness. The deaf will hear and the blind will see. The meek will be full of the joy of the LORD and the poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel – Christ. This brings the Beatitudes into a new light. The Terrible one –antichrist is brought to nothing and the scorner is consumed and all those who look for new ways to sin are destroyed by the Lord. Then v22 the Lord speaks saying Jacob will never be ashamed, nor frightened, but Jacob (in resurrection) will see his children who sanctify the Lords name and the Holy One of Jacob – Christ. Those that went astray will be brought to understanding and those that murmured will learn true teaching. Isaiah chapter 30v1-17 is a passage in which He describes the Egyptian league. They take counsel against the Lord and seek to make a separate peace with Egypt. The Lord will bring them to shame. The Lord will make any help from Egypt to fail. He describes them as rebels, liars and refusing to hear the law of the LORD. They forbid the prophets to speak to word of the Lord but only to tell smooth things and lies. Then the lord himself – Christ will speak. He will rule them and break them like a potters vessel. Those that do return will be saved, (From judgment) they will have peace and confidence and this will strengthen them. But they will not return. The LORD will wait v18 until he will be able to be gracious to them. He will have mercy on them because he is a God of Judgment and all who wait on him will be blessed. The people of Zion will find the Grace of God and when they call on the Lord even though they don’t deserve it he will answer them. This is describing when Israel enters into the New Covenant. They will then not need anymore teachers but the Spirit of the Lord will be their direct supernatural guide. They will finally forever turn from their idols as an abomination. The Lord will send them rain and fruitfulness. Every high hill will have its own rivers and streams of waters in that day, when there was a great slaughter when the towers will fall. Then Isaiah brings something very unusual he says the light of the moon will be as bright at the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter. This will be in the Day that the Lord converts Israel and heals them. Then having dealt with Israel the Lord will turn to judge the nations Matt 25. The Lord will destroy the Assyrians. The army of Assyria will be destroyed by God by great fire burning them up.

AM Oct 7th 2 Thess 3

October 7^th 2 Thessalonians 3

1: Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. 3: But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. 4: And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. 5: And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

Paul is bringing his letter to an end. This part might have been written in Pauls own handwriting. He says pray for us… And then he lists two points for prayer. 1. That the preaching of the message of the Gospel will have swift progress in the world and that it might be acknowledged in its true power and glory as it is in you. 2. That we (Paul, Silas and Timothy and their fellow-workers) might be saved from the clutches of men who are out of their minds and evil in what they do, because not everyone is a believer. Then Paul says the Lord is faithful and he will establish you in the faith and keep you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord regarding you that you will do and want to do - the things which we instructed you. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

PM Oct 6th Isa 26

October 6^th

Isaiah, 26

1: In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2: Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. 3: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4: Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: 5: For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. 6: The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. 7: The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. 8: Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 9: With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10: Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD. 11: LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. 12: LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. 13: O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 14: They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. 15: Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. 16: LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. 17: Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. 18: We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19: Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 20: Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21: For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

Isaiah, 27

1: In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2: In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. 3: I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. 4: Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. 5: Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me. 6: He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. 7: Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? 8: In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. 9: By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. 10: Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof. 11: When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour. 12: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. 13: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

Isaiah, 28

1: Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! 2: Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. 3: The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: 4: And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. 5: In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, 6: And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. 7: But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8: For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. 9: Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10: For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 12: To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. 13: But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. 14: Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15: Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17: Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18: And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19: From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. 20: For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. 21: For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. 22: Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. 23: Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. 24: Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 25: When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and rie in their place? 26: For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. 27: For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. 28: Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. 29: This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

Today we are reading Isaiah 26, 27 & 28. This section began in Ch 25v1 and continues to Ch 27v13 and it describes the Mercy of God to Israel. Chapter 26 begins with a song in Judah v1-21. Isaiah brings to us a remarkable prophecy in fact he brings to us a song which will be sung in The Day of the LORD. The song is all about the salvation of God which is found within the city of Jerusalem. They will sing that the gates of the city will open to the righteous nation which keeps the truth. Then we have the famous phrase, you will keep them in perfect peace whose minds are resting on the LORD. This will be because they are trusting in him. The song is Trust you in the LORD for ever, because in the LORD JEHOVAH is the only source of everlasting strength. Then in v5-6 we read of the wicked who will be humbled by the Lord. The poor will tread on the mighty. Then Isaiah switches back to the righteous v7-9. He says their way is uprightness and their way is weighed by the Lord. The righteous will seek the Lord early and all the earth will learn righteousness. Then he switches back to the wicked v10-11 He says that they will refuse to learn righteousness nor look on the majesty of the LORD. The Lord will oppose them and destroy them by fire. Then he goes back to the righteous v12-13. The Lord will command peace on them and they will be set free the dominion of their enemies. Then he speaks of the Rephaim saying that they are the dead. They will not be raised from death and even the memory of them is going to perish v14. Then he speaks of the righteous nation saying that they will increase. They cried to the Lord when they were disciplined in trouble v15-19. Then going back to the Rephaim he says again they will not rise again. Then he says of the righteous nation that they will be preserved v20 They are to shut themselves in until this terrible time will be overpast. In v21 he says of the wicked that they will be destroyed. In Isaiah 27 he brings a prophecy that the LORD will bring a massive judgment on three sea monsters which are probably three great enemies of Israel (Babylon, Assyria and Egypt). Some of what the Lord says here is very obscure for us today. It will probably become very plain in the Day of the LORD. What is clear is that Jacob will take root and Israel will blossom and bud and the whole earth will be full of her fruit. Then in the rest of the passage Isaiah speaks of the Enemies and Israel twice. In v7 He speaks of the judgment of God. Then he says that the sins of Jacob will be purged v8-9. In v10-11 He speaks of the enemies of Israel. Their cities will be made desolate and their homes forsaken. Cattle will live in their homes. Then he speaks of Israel again saying that the river of Egypt will be diverted and the people (The children of Israel) will be gathered one by one and on that day a great trumpet will be born and they will be gathered from Assyria and from Egypt and they will worship the LORD in the holy mountain in Jerusalem. In Chapter 28 Isaiah begins a new section going through to ch 35v10 in which he declares a series of woes interspersed with descriptions of Jehovah’s glories. Chapter 28 is in two parts v1-22 is the condemnation of Ephraim (Samaria and Israel). The chief sin of Ephraim is pride. They are drunkards and they have a fading beauty. The Lord will instruct them v1-6. Then from v7-8 Judah is characterised by alcohol in excess. The very best of men, the priests and prophets, who should always be sober, are overcome with wine. The Lord will teach knowledge to the babes in arms v9. The Lord will teach them line on line and he will use men with a speak impediment and in a strange language. Yet for all this they will not hear v12. This is the NT gift of languages but it is in the day of the LORD. (The gift of languages may have ceased for now but it will reappear in the day of the LORD. The teaching they receive by the gift of languages will be a sign of judgment, as the gift always was v14-15. The Jews religious leaders who hear it will laugh at it. They will be unable to repent because they have committed themselves to lies and falsehood. Then Isaiah brings this famous verse v16 The LORD says he will lay a foundation stone in Zion, He says that it is a tried stone, a precious stone a sure foundation. Christ himself is this stone. All others are laid in relation to him v16-17. Next Isaiah speaks of Judah and those who scorn at the LORD. v18-22. The Lord brings judgment of the men of Judah is his fierce wrath. From v23-29 Isaiah speaks of the Lord the instructor. He says listen to me. The Lord teaches the farmer how to sow and when to sow.

AM Oct 6th 2 Thess 2

October 6^th D. Practicalities Stand firm together

13: But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15: Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. 16: Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 17: Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

Paul continues with his thoughts regarding the Day of the Lord and the antichrist and he says we are bound to give thanks to God for you – loved of the Lord, because he chose you to be delivered from these dreadful things that are coming, He will deliver you by the work of holiness by the Spirit of God and by faith in Christ. (He describes the work of God in their lives in reverse order. The deliverance is the taking up of the church to glory, and then we have the sanctification of the Holy Spirit and then faith in Christ.) This gospel says Paul was with the ultimate purpose of delivering you from the time of wrath and bringing you into glory, (this takes place at the rapture). And so, says Paul, stand secure and hold on to the doctrine which we taught in person or wrote in letters - which we received from the Lord. And Paul closes with a prayer, May the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father who loved us and who has given us a wonderful eternal assurance and a good hope of deliverance through grace, comfort our hearts and establish you in every sort of good works.

PM Oct 5th Isa 24

October 5^th

Isaiah, 24

1: Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2: And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. 3: The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. 4: The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. 5: The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6: Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. 7: The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. 8: The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9: They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. 10: The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. 11: There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. 12: In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction. 13: When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. 14: They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. 15: Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. 16: From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. 17: Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. 18: And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. 19: The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. 20: The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. 21: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22: And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. 23: Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

Isaiah, 25

1: O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 2: For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. 3: Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. 4: For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. 5: Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. 6: And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7: And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 8: He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. 9: And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 10: For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. 11: And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. 12: And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

Today we are reading in Isaiah 24 & 25. Isaiah chapter 24 begins a new section which continues right on to ch 27v13 in which Isaiah declares judgment and mercy on Israel. Ch 24v1-23 is the judgment and Ch 25v1-27v13 is the mercy. We begin in v1 were Isaiah declares that the judgment of God will fall on the land. It will come on v2 the people, priests, masters, maids, mistresses, buyer, seller, lender, borrowers, taker of usury, and the giver of usury. The land will be depopulated. Then Isaiah says that the Lord will be glorified in his judgments in the whole earth v13-16. Fear of death will come on the inhabitants of the earth. The very foundations of the earth will shake. There will be great things going on in the earth itself. It will roll and shake very much v19-20. This will be the judgments of the kings of the earth. They will be gathered and imprisoned and visited by God after a long time v21-22. The moon and sun will cease to shine on the earth. This will all occur in the Day of the LORD of hosts when Christ reigns in Mount Zion and Jerusalem and all his OT saints are raised in glory. In Ch 25 Isaiah begins his section describing the Mercy of the LORD and he begins with praise. In that day men will praise the LORD for all his wonderful acts and counsels. The enemies of God will be totally destroyed. Their cities will be levelled never to be built again. All nations will fear the LORD, because he will emulate righteousness toward the poor and needy v2-5. The Lord will restore Israel bringing them into fatness and joy. He will remove the veil that lies over their eyes. He will conquer death. He will wipe away all tears from off all faces and he will remove the rebuke of the nations from Israel v6-8. In that they will say This is our God we have been waiting for him, he will save us. This is the LORD that we waited for, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation v9. People ask how were the Old Testament saints saved? Well they weren’t. Their salvation was future and bound up into the Day of the LORD. In v10 he speaks of the mountain of the LORD brought to rest and of the destruction of Moab. The Lord will totally humble Moab v11-12.

AM Oct 5th 2 Thess 2

October 5^th 2 Thessalonians 2 C. Programme of the Lord The Day of the Lord

1: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2: That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4: Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5: Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6: And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10: And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Paul continues to encourage the believers not to be tossed about like a small boat in a storm, nor to be confused by so-called prophetic utterances, nor by messages or fake letters that are supposed to have come from Paul, which say that the day of the Lord has arrived. He says, do not be led astray by any of these or other methods because the day of the Lord will not come until there is a general departure from the faith and the antichrist is revealed to the world – the son of damnation. Paul says that this man will oppose God and seek to dominate every religion and cult in such a way that he will sit in the temple in Jerusalem as if he is God. (Don’t you remember these things when l told you all this? says Paul) The Holy Spirit prevents this happening until the time appointed. This great evil is a thing that is already at work in the world. The work of the antichrist is secretly at work but the Holy Spirit stands in the path of the antichrist to prevent all this from happening and he will continue to do so until the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way. (This will occur at the Rapture) And only then will the antichrist - the evil one, be revealed. He is the one that Christ will personally kill by the breath of his mouth. He will destroy him by the glory of his presence. Paul describes the antichrist as one whose promotion will be due to the supernatural power of Satan, who will perform powerful signs and wonders which deceive men. The antichrist will use every deception of unrighteousness to those who are unbelievers – who do not love the truth that they might be saved. And so God will send them a total blindness so that they will believe ‘The Lie’. (I.e. that the antichrist is God) So that they will be judged who do not believe the truth of God but have pleasure in sin. Paul reveals so much in this passage about the antichrist and explains that he cannot come to power in the world until the Holy Spirit, in the Church, has left this world.