And No one will escape this coming judgment. It will be world wide and will impact everyone. In Jeremiah 30:11 we learn that one of the Lord’s objectives in the Great Tribulation will be to completely destroy all the nations among which His people have been scattered.
The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. (Isaiah 24:3-5)
The cause of this judgment is the disobedience of the people of Earth. The everlasting covenant is the agreement whereby the Son (Jesus) agreed to die for our sins and in exchange the Father (God) agreed to forgive us. Mankind is not party to this agreement, we are only its beneficiaries. The Hebrew word translated broken here means to frustrate the intent of the agreement. The Father and the Son have done their part and kept their word, but the people of Earth refused to accept its provisions and be saved. It’s this disobedience that will ultimately bring God’s judgment, because He offers no other provision for their escape.
Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. The gaiety of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all gaiety is banished from the earth. The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest. (Isaiah 24:6-13)
We’ll see a reference to Babylon in a few verses. I think these verses speak of a typical city on Earth. Throughout the age of man, cities have always been more corrupt than the small towns of the country side. It makes sense that they would all be totally destroyed.
They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD’s majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” (Isaiah 24:14-16a)
Tribulation believers will be the only ones on Earth who understand what’s going on. They will see God’s righteousness in these judgments and will praise Him for them.
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls-never to rise again. (Isaiah 24:16b- 20)
Jesus said that the judgments of the Great Tribulation will exceed anything the world has ever seen or will see again.(Matt. 24:21) That means Isaiah’s use of language reminiscent of the Great Flood is actually an understatement. When it’s over, no building will be left standing, every mountain will have fallen. Earthquakes will open up huge gaps in the surface of the Earth.
I believe that one purpose of the Great Tribulation will be to prepare Earth to be made new, to be put back into the condition it was in when Adam arrived. That means everything that man has done to defile and pollute the planet will have to be reversed. I believe it will also have to be straightened on its axis, brought back onto a 360 day rotation around the Sun and have its world wide sub-tropical climate restored as well.
The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. (Isaiah 24:3-5)
The cause of this judgment is the disobedience of the people of Earth. The everlasting covenant is the agreement whereby the Son (Jesus) agreed to die for our sins and in exchange the Father (God) agreed to forgive us. Mankind is not party to this agreement, we are only its beneficiaries. The Hebrew word translated broken here means to frustrate the intent of the agreement. The Father and the Son have done their part and kept their word, but the people of Earth refused to accept its provisions and be saved. It’s this disobedience that will ultimately bring God’s judgment, because He offers no other provision for their escape.
Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. The gaiety of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all gaiety is banished from the earth. The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest. (Isaiah 24:6-13)
We’ll see a reference to Babylon in a few verses. I think these verses speak of a typical city on Earth. Throughout the age of man, cities have always been more corrupt than the small towns of the country side. It makes sense that they would all be totally destroyed.
They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD’s majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” (Isaiah 24:14-16a)
Tribulation believers will be the only ones on Earth who understand what’s going on. They will see God’s righteousness in these judgments and will praise Him for them.
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls-never to rise again. (Isaiah 24:16b- 20)
Jesus said that the judgments of the Great Tribulation will exceed anything the world has ever seen or will see again.(Matt. 24:21) That means Isaiah’s use of language reminiscent of the Great Flood is actually an understatement. When it’s over, no building will be left standing, every mountain will have fallen. Earthquakes will open up huge gaps in the surface of the Earth.
I believe that one purpose of the Great Tribulation will be to prepare Earth to be made new, to be put back into the condition it was in when Adam arrived. That means everything that man has done to defile and pollute the planet will have to be reversed. I believe it will also have to be straightened on its axis, brought back onto a 360 day rotation around the Sun and have its world wide sub-tropical climate restored as well.
