The American Wisdom Series

Presents pamphlet #6426

The Book of Isaiah
Chapter 26

The events foretold of in our Father's Word pertaining to this final generation of the fig tree are rapidly coming to pass before our very eyes. For example, the multi-headed one world political system, the first beast of Rev. 13:1 we call the New World Order, has now risen from among the sea of people and is rapidly increasing in strength like a bear, and in swiftness and prowess like a leopard, and in its ability to rip and shred as with the great cheek teeth of a lion, anyone who stands in its way. To wit, terrorist acts and the international war on terrorism have provided new "cause" for the nations of the world to unite while at the same time allowing many nations to circumvent due process of law and implement check-point security measures and high-tech surveillance (prowess) systems that are increasingly infringing upon the liberties and privacy of their citizens. That is not to say nations should not take measures to provide for the common defense of their countries and to secure their borders, etc. However, peace provided through the restrictions and monitoring of its citizenry is not really peace at all! In other words, you can be safe and secure in a jail cell but when you wake up you will find you have only the liberty granted by your big brother the jailer.

Yes, we hear the cry of "peace and safety (1 Thes. 5:3)" as the building of the New World Order continues to accelerate. However, apart from Almighty God, no matter how high a citadel or how strong a fortified city man establishes on his own in order to provide for his own safety and well-being, it ultimately cannot and will not stand. And so shall it be with the great fortified city that is being built at this very moment, even Babylon the great of these last days, that it shall become as that dung heap and pile of dust we read about in chapter 25! For you "see", unless the presence of Almighty God surrounds you, there is no wall of protection or "homeland security", be it national, international, or individual. To that end, this remarkable 26th chapter of Isaiah will give us not only an outline of how our Father's wondrous plan shall unfold in these last days, but it will also give us an in-depth view of the purpose behind His chastisement and vengeance upon the ungodly!

We first begin with the good news that we have the victory over the beast and that our Rock in whom we trust, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is returning at the sound of the 7th Trump and the walls of the great city being built in these last days are going to come crashing down. And in that day shall the LORD establish His world ruling kingdom upon Mount Zion and every knee from every nation shall bow to the name of, to the authority of, Jesus Christ, the Word of God. That good news of the coming kingdom, called the gospel of the kingdom (the King and His domain), will soon be proclaimed to all nations when God's elect are delivered up to give witness and testimony before the kings and rulers of this world (Mark 13:9). When that great day of His return has come, Jerusalem will need no security fence or fortified walls, for "the glory of the LORD shall be in the midst of her and unto her a wall of fire round about". It is written... and so shall it be.

Zech. 2:4-5
And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: [5] For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

Zech. 2:10-13
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. [11] And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. [12] And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. [13] Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for He is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Isaiah 26:1
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appointforwalls and bulwarks.

salvation, yeshu?a?h yesh-oo'-aw H3444
^{Feminine passive participle of H3467; something saved, that is, (abstractly) deliverance; hence aid, victory, prosperity: - deliverance, health, help (-ing), salvation, save, saving (health), welfare.}

Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

[2] Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

gate, sha?ar shah'-ar H8179
From H8176 in its original sense; an opening, that is, door or gate: - city, door, gate, port (X -er).

[3] Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

And in that day His people, i.e. God's elect, shall stand as His righteous nation and the nations of the world shall be joined unto them (Isa. 60:2, Zech. 2:11).

Zech. 2:11
And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

[4] Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Deut. 32:4
 He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.

Deut. 32:31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

Deut. 32:32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

Deut. 32:33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

Deut. 32:34 Is not this laid up in store with me and sealed up among my treasures?

Deut. 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

Isaiah 26:5
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.

name, onoma on'-om-ah G3686
 From a presumed derivative of the base of G1097 (compare G3685); a “name” (literally or figuratively), (authority, character): - called, (+ sur-) name (-d).

Isaiah 26:7
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.

Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Yes, it is true that Father is going to use the rod of iron to teach everyone in the Millennium the ways of His righteousness, and it shall produce peace and harmony for 1000 years in stark contrast to the previous 6,000 years of man's ways. During the Millennium Satan shall be bound in the pit but when the 1000 years is ended, it is written in Rev. 20:3 that he (Satan) will be released for a little season, for a season of testing to see who will yet follow him or choose to hold fast to the mercy seat of truth and justice.

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Rev. 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Here is an excerpt from our study of chapter 10 concerning that desolation by the Assyrian:

Isaiah 10:3
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

Do not be deceived by any means (2 Thes. 2:3), God is sending the desolator, that "abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet", who is the death angel, the son of perdition, Satan himself as the spurious messiah, to make the land (spiritually) desolate and to take captive the hearts and minds of the children.

desolation, show', sho, Hebrew 7722; or (feminine) show'ah, sho-aw'; or sho'ah, sho-aw'; from an unused root meaning to rush over; a tempest; by implication devastation :- desolate (-ion), destroy, destruction, storm, wasteness.

When Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9) they shall take the world by storm through means of great signs and wonders and miracles that the false messiah shall perform in the sight of men. Make sure you know where to spiritually flee so that you are not caught up in that storm, that flood of his lies and deception (Matthew 24:16-20) that spew forth from the mouth of the dragon! Those who have wisdom and knowledge from the Word of God know that when they see the Assyrian come upon Jerusalem, as in when they see the abomination of desolation come stand in the holy place where he ought not, that they are to flee to the mountain of God, to hear His Voice and follow His instructions.

[4] Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Unless you have the "seal of God" in your forehead, meaning you have the knowledge and wisdom of His Word etched in the forefront of your mind, then you are "without Him" and you will bow down as a captive and fall to the sword of the Assyrian in these last days! And don't let some preacher-type deceive you by telling you that you are not going to be here when the king of Babylon, Satan, comes because Jesus Christ is going to come first and "rapture" you away. We are reading from the very Word of Truth that it is God Himself who sends the Assyrian to chastise those who have angered Him by forsaking His Word to follow after the traditions of men, who put their trust in the works of their own hands and the systems that men have devised to provide for their well being. In fact, we will find the chronological order given in the next few verses (6 & 12) just as Paul gives it to us in 2 Thes. 2. Let us also be reminded that historically the Assyrian did come upon our people and they were taken captive and carried away and many did fall under his sword. This was done as an ensample to give us a type to "see" and is written in His Word "for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11)".

[5] O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

This is a divine summons, a decree that our Father will use the Assyrian as His rod of correction to chastise His people as part of the "outstretching of His hand" against an impious and godless nation, even against His own children who cannot tell the difference between the "profane" and the "holy" and thus cannot discern between the "unclean" and the "clean".

[6] I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

The important thing to remember in this verse is that it is God Almighty who is in control and it is He who sends the Assyrian against His people and gives him charge to take the spoil, etc. In other words, sending the Assyrian, who we will document in chapter 14 is a type of Satan as thr false-christ, is part of His plan in this final generation to show His people who provoke Him to wrath and jealously, that the path they choose to follow in ignoring His Word always leads to captivity, oppression, and ultimately death! But remember also that God is not angry with those who love and serve Him... but rather with those who work iniquity and especially those who mislead His children to cause them to stumble and fall.

[7] Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

Satan and his locust army have no idea that they are instruments in the hand of God, even His rod of chastisement against His people! In fact, these arrogant liberals think that it is by "their might" that they are taking the kingdom and world dominion unto themselves... but as verse 12 will document, God is complete control... always has been, is now, and always will be! And when His work is finished He will chop down the tree of the knowledge and good and evil and all the rest of Satan's little would-be-gods in one fell swoop!

[8] For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

No, Satan's little princes (sars in Hebrew) of darkness are just kings (melek's) for an hour (Rev. 17:12), but it is the saints of the most High who take the kingdom and possess it forever and ever. It is the Zadok, the just ones, God elect, who shall be kings and priests and altogether reign with Jesus Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6)! (End of excerpt)

Isaiah 26:10
Let favor be showed 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.

However, for many, though they will not "see" through the tribulation of the false-christ because they are sorely deceived and shall even worship Satan as Jesus, they shall have a rude awakening when the true Christ returns, whom they will not be expecting because they will believe He is already here, and they shall realize the shame of their spiritual nakedness! They will then realize that they had been taken to wife by the false messiah, that they had fallen to the spiritual sword of the Assyrian, that they had been slain by the fiery darts (lies and deceits) of the wicked, even the wicked one!

[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.

Next we are going to see a parallel to that which is written in the 11th chapter of Revelation concerning the "day of vengeance" yet to come.

We are studying our Father's plan of salvation and how it is that He shall culminate the end of this flesh age, how He shall "wake up His people" and cause them to turn unto Him, and how He shall bring all "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" to their knees in submission to His authority. In that day, when the five month reign of Satan has ended and the true King of kings and Lord of lords returns to this earth, there are two things people are going to witness at the birth of a new age.

First, as we learned in verses 11 & 12, His people will finally come to "see" and "be ashamed for their envy at the people", i.e. when they see God's elect, those who have "gotten the victory over the beast (Rev. 15:2)", glorified and standing with Jesus Christ on Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1), exalted as kings and priests and ready to rule and reign with Him for a thousand years (Rev. 20:6). The two witnesses will have been slain (Rev. 11:8) and now risen from lying in the street (plateia) of the great city (Rev. 11:12) for three and a half days and their adversaries shall behold them.

Secondly, as we shall learn, in contrast to their witnessing the glory of Christ and His saints at the 1st resurrection, which is the raising of the just ones to the status of eternal life, the other thing people are going to see is the everlasting destruction, the consuming, of the "dead", who are those fallen angels of Genesis chapter 6 who came to earth without being born of water and who are now reserved in chains to the judgment of the great day (Jude 1:6, 2 Pet. 2:4).

Then at the end of the Millennium, the decision of those who are still liable to die must be tested to see whether they will enter into life by remaining steadfast to Jesus Christ and becoming as those whom they saw exalted at the sound of the 7th Trump, or perish in the lake of fire by once again following Satan and his liberal ways when he is released for that short season of testing (Rev. 20:3) and becoming as one of the "dead" whom they saw destroyed at the sound of the 7th Trump.

One of the true marvels of God's plan is that by then all people will have walked through this flesh age, through the Valley of the Shadow of Death*, and will have died the first death* in order that they may better understand the real death, which is the second death. Not only that, after having personally received their just recompense according to their works, for a thousand years they will have been taught the difference between the holy and the profane in order to cause them to be able to discern between that which clean and that which is unclean (Ezek. 44:23). To that end, always remember that our Father is completely fair and just, which means there will be no doubt that each and every soul was afforded plenty of opportunity, experience, and knowledge with which to make his or her choice to either enter into life or die that second death!

*Note: It is written that prior to the judgment it is given unto all men once to die. That means they must be willing to come down from heaven above (anothen, John 3:3) and be born of water and die the first death, which is merely the death of the flesh body.  Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." However, the death of the flesh is only a shadow death or a type of the real death, which is the death of the soul in the lake of fire. That is why Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 10:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear [revere] Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Again, the fallen angels of Genesis 6 chose not to obey the command to be born of water and have thus condemned themselves to eternal destruction.

With that background in mind, let us now conclude our study of the 26th chapter of Isaiah.

Isaiah 26:13
O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

lords, ??? ???? 'adon 'adon, aw-done', aw-done' H113
From an unused root (meaning to rule); sovereign, that is, controller (human or divine): - lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with “Adoni-”.

The following verse from the great book of Joel, quoted by Peter in Acts chapter 2, documents what we just said.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call* on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

*call, H7121 ??? qara' kaw-raw'
A primitive root (rather identical with H7122 through the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (that is, properly address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications): - bewray [self], that are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon), cry (unto), (be) famous, guest, invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclaim (-ation), pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.

Rev 17:12 And the ten horns [horns are symbolic of power] which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

Rev. 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Isaiah 26:14
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.

The point is that all people are going to see both Satan's host perish and God's elect glorified at the sound of the 7th Trump! Thus the consequences of the choice they now have to make in the Valley of decision will be made manifest in their sight! They will now have a thousand years to "consider the man" bound in the pit, the one that "caused the earth to tremble, that did shake nations (Isa. 14:16)". And again, because of the wonderful and marvelous plan of "Yahveh's salvation", they shall fully know Satan's ultimate fate, and potentially their own, because they will have both experienced the first death and witnessed the eternal destruction of the fallen angels at the fall of Babylon the great. That they can compare to both the glory and honor of the saints of the Most High and the true worldwide peace and harmony produced and spread from Mt. Zion throughout the world during the Millennium as the result of all nations and peoples strictly adhering the laws and statutes of God's Word.

[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.

Then shall the people understand the marvelous and wondrous works our Father had prepared for the end of this flesh age and the good that was accomplished from the "negative" part of His plan when He purposely sent the Assyrian upon the land as the rod of His chastisement... bringing forth the time of trouble known as the great tribulation of the false-christ. Remember we read about that back in the 10th chapter. Isaiah 10:5-6 "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. [6] I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." And so it is that the time of trouble is upon us and shall even wax much worse when the abomination of desolation himself comes and stands in the holy place where he ought not (Mark 13:14).

Isaiah 26:16
LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

mystery, musterion, moos-tay'-ree-on, Greek 3466; from a derivative of muo (to shut the mouth); a secret or "mystery" (through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites) :- mystery.

Luke 23:29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shal lsay, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

[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.

Mat. 24:8
All these are the beginning of sorrows.

sorrows, ????? odin o-deen' G5604
Akin to G3601; a pang or throe, especially of childbirth: - pain, sorrow, travail.

Isaiah 26:18
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.

1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

The Greek word for "try" is "dokimaz" which means "to assay, to make trial of, put to the proof, examine, as metals by fire, etc., to prove, try". (This definition is taken from "A Critical Lexicon and Concordance", Kregel Publishers, by E. W. Bullinger.)

1 John 4:2
Hereby...

[2] Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

Hebrews 2:14
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Romans 1:3
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

Next verse in Isaiah.

Isaiah 26:19
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.

To wit, there shall definitely be a great "awaking", an earthquake, as in an enormous worldwide shake-up at the sound of 7th Trump. Have you ever read Revelation chapter 11 concerning God's two witnesses who shall be killed and lie in the street (plateia, i.e. open arena) of the great city for three and a half days, but who then shall rise at the coming of the Lord and His saints... and their enemies shall behold them? At that same time, that same hour, there shall be "a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven."

What a time we have to look forward to! Our Father's plan is truly awesome indeed and when the veil of this dimension is brought down, i.e. when this flesh age ends and that great awaking occurs, the simplicity of His wondrous and marvelous works will be made manifest to all... right before their very eyes! They shall see the glory of Christ and of His saints who made it to the Light at His coming, and the eternal destruction of those who chose darkness over the Light!

In conclusion, here is some good advice from your Father:

[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.

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.