The Whole Earth Destroyed

Isaiah chapter 24, we are going to read the entire chapter. See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it.

He will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants. It will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.

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.

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 still. The noise of the revelers is 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 when or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest. They raise their voice.

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 and the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth, we hear singing glory to the righteous one.

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 awaits 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.

In that day, the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon.

They will be shut up in a prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be ashamed. The sun ashamed. For the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before its elders gloriously.

Well, if you came expecting to hear a Christmas message this morning, I am sorry to disappoint you.

Lord willing, next week we'll do that. But for this morning, we're back in those words that God gave to Isaiah to tell us. And namely, chapter 24.

A chapter that tells us about a great judgment that is coming upon the earth. And God is the one doing it.

It's his activity. And the more that this chapter seeps into our pores, our spiritual pores, the more we will rejoice. That God sent a Savior to rescue us from just such judgment.

So we dive right in. Isaiah 24. And the first point is the coming judgment. The coming judgment. And it starts with this word see.

Or look. Behold. Here's something worth stopping and observing, thinking about. What is it?

The Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it. He will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants. And it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower, as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.

The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. Now, I want us to notice four things about this coming judgment.

First of all, it's universal. Right away, we see that this judgment is different from all the other judgments that have gone before it. For some 11 chapters now, we have been reading about God's local judgments that he's going to pour out upon specific nations that were neighbors around Israel.

And so Egypt is going to be destroyed. And Babylon is going to be destroyed in Assyria and Moab and and some 10 nations. Those were localized judgments.

But this judgment is worldwide in its scope. It's not localized and limited. It's universal and total.

The whole earth is to be destroyed. Indeed, 17 times in this chapter, the word earth is used to locate where this judgment is going to take place.

Not just in one nation, but the whole earth. Israel's covenant Lord is going to lay waste the entire world. Secondly, this judgment is devastating.

It's devastating. Our televisions bring to us pictures of devastation left behind in the wake of an earthquake, a tsunami or a super tornado, the path of destruction, a half a mile wide right through a whole state.

But Isaiah paints a different picture. It's not a half a mile wide and it's not moving through one nation or another. It's the whole earth devastated. Completely laid waste and totally plundered.

So we're dealing here with a cataclysmic destruction of cosmic proportions. Now, think about it. To lay waste the whole earth is to turn it into garbage, into waste.

One big landfill is what's left over when God is done with the earth. He'll ruin its face is another way that it's put.

Sometimes we see pictures of people whose faces have been ruined. Maybe they were out running and a wild beast came and just destroyed their face. Their face was ruined.

God's going to do that to the face of the earth. The very topology of the world, its surface features are going to be ruined. Such is the destruction coming upon the earth.

It will wither. It will dry up like a prune. And the earth will be thoroughly shaken, broken up, split asunder, fallen never to rise again.

Those are the words that Isaiah uses to paint in our mind's eye the picture of this coming judgment. Now, it's a devastation that not only comes on the earth itself, but also on its people.

And so the earth's inhabitants are burned up. Verse 6 says, they will be punished. Verse 21, they will be scattered. Verse 1, in this devastating judgment.

The third thing about this judgment is that it is impartial. It's impartial. God is going to be no respecter of persons in that day. All classes of humanity will be treated alike so that it will be the same for the priest as for people.

Now, as a boy, I remember there were certain stores in town that gave our family a 10% discount simply because we were from a preacher's family.

We were given special treatment. That product cost us less than it cost the general public. Preacher perks is what I call them.

And God is saying in that day there will be no such things. The same for priests as it is for people. Sometimes wealth and rank in society give people perks and exemptions that the common Joe doesn't have.

That's the way the world operates, you know. It's who you know and so on. But in this coming disaster from the Lord, it will be the same for master as it is for servant.

The same for seller is for buyer. Borrower is for lender. No exemptions from judgment. No special treatment. Devastating judgment will fall on all alike.

And then lastly, this final judgment is certain. It is sure to happen. No matter that it's been some 3,000 years since Isaiah said this and we still haven't seen it.

It's still certain. It's going to happen. Isaiah, how can you be so sure about that? And you know what he says to us at the end of verse 3?

The Lord has spoken this word. That is the guarantee. He uses that phrase. The Lord has spoken throughout his prophecy.

When he would guarantee the certainty of the thing promised. The Lord has spoken. And what he speaks happens as we saw on the Sunday school hour.

His word cannot go out of his mouth and come back empty or unfulfilled. Hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?

Yes, he shall. Remember. Remember. He just speaks the word. And the centurion servant is made better.

Because with the word goes a power to affect what he says. And so this judgment has been spoken by the Lord. It's as good as done.

It's going to happen because the Lord said so. So this universal, devastating, impartial judgment of God is more certain than your waking up tomorrow morning.

The Lord has spoken. Now we want to know why it is that the Lord is going to destroy his own creation. This earth. Why is it going to be so devastated?

And the reason is revealed in verses five and six. The earth is destroyed because its people have disobeyed God's laws.

The text tells us the earth is defiled by its people. They have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.

Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must bear their guilt. Therefore, earth's inhabitants are burned up and very few are left.

What is the explanation? It's the people breaking God's laws. That's sin in shorthand. Sin is lawlessness.

God says you shall not. And men say I will. God says you shall. And men say I won't. And sin brings a curse. It's rebellion against our maker and judge.

And it brings this ultimate destruction upon the earth and its people. Now, we need to see that he's not just talking about the Jews who disobeyed God's law.

He's not just talking about the people of Israel who had God's law written. They had it on a stone tablet from God's own hand. They also had it in parchment.

No, this is talking about all the people of the whole earth. They've all broken God's laws. They're all answerable to God's law.

Now, Pharaoh thought he wasn't answerable to the commands of Israel's God. You remember when he was given such a command. God, this God of Israel, the Lord Almighty says, let my people go.

And Pharaoh says, who is Yahweh? That I should obey him. I don't know him. I don't have to obey his laws.

His commandments don't mean anything to me. But what did he find? He found that the destinies of men and nations are determined by what they do with the laws of Israel's God.

Maybe it's just little Israel there, but Israel's God's law rules. And he enforces his moral laws upon men of all nations.

He's king of the entire universe. Now, that's the very thing that Paul was arguing for in the first three chapters of Romans. He's gathering up all men, Jews and Gentiles, and putting them in the corral called lawbreakers.

He's saying they're all lawbreakers. Jew and Gentile alike. There's no one righteous. Not even one.

Everyone is going their own way. They've turned their back on and are breaking God's laws. Therefore, in judgment, every mouth will be silenced and the whole world will be found guilty before God.

You see, how can that be true of the Gentiles who didn't have the law written? Well, Paul addresses that in chapter 2 of Romans in verse 14 and 15. He says, because the Gentiles who do not have the law written as the Jews did, they do by nature things required by the law.

The same law that the Jews had. And so they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts.

Their consciences also bearing witness in their thoughts, now accusing, now even defending them. So all men in all the earth are guilty of breaking God's laws, even if they don't have Bibles.

There's enough of God's moral laws in the creation and in the conscience that it leaves all of them without excuse if they break His laws.

What have they done with His laws? They've suppressed them. They've considered them not worth keeping. And so they worship other gods when even creation tells them they shouldn't do so.

They make idols in the form of all sorts of things. They disobey their parents. They murder. They commit adultery.

They steal. They lie. They covet. They covet. They covet. The man who never saw or heard about the Ten Commandments still knows that God's law that says stealing is wrong.

Just watch him when the things stolen are his. And it will show you that he understands that requirement of God's law. Never read it in Exodus 20.

But he's got it down pat. Stealing is wrong. The same man who would go ballistic if you cheated him out of $100 in a business deal. Or you cheated him a couple strokes in a game of golf.

Will nevertheless think nothing of cheating on his taxes or cheating on his wife. Oh, he knows the law. That it's wrong to cheat. But he still cheats.

He breaks God's law. And when he accuses another, he accuses himself, you see. Because he shows that that law is known by him.

And yet he violates it. He knows that the whole earth. He knows that he's under God's authority. And yet he brushes God's law aside.

So that's why the whole earth, and not just part of it, is going to be turned into a garbage dump. Because all the people of the earth have disobeyed their king.

Now, we can't help but see then that the earth is made to suffer because of the people. The earth is defiled by its people, the text says.

Man's disobedience has brought a curse, not just on himself, but on his environment in which he lives. Verse 5 says, the earth is defiled.

It's polluted by its people. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Law-breaking people pollute the earth.

They make it defiled. The supreme environmental threat to this planet is not carbon gas emissions. But it is rather sinners breaking God's law.

Because that will turn the earth into an ash heap. That's the real threat. That's the greatest threat to man's environment.

We see the pattern everywhere in Scripture. When Adam and Eve first broke God's commandments, what happened? Well, they were not only cast out of the garden, but the ground was cursed for Adam's sake, wasn't it?

In Noah's day, when men's violence violated God's law against murder and bloodshed, what happened to the environment of man?

Well, God washed it clean with a global flood. The environment suffered. A curse consumed the earth because it's defiled by its people's sin.

When the nations in Canaan broke God's law, they defiled the land and the land vomited them out. And so when Israel came into the promised land and then they broke God's commandments, the same land was defiled and vomited them out.

In a way into captivity they went. And so here, what do we find? The same pattern. The whole earth, the entire world, is defiled by its people.

Therefore, a curse consumes the whole earth. So it's the earth environment itself that suffers, but it's also the inhabitants.

Earth's inhabitants are burned up. Verse 6 says, It's destroyed not with water as in Noah's day, but with fire, as Peter says, that the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

The elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and everything in it laid bare. The earth and ungodly men suffering the same judgment.

So sin brings a curse on man and his environment. But here at the end of verse 6 is the first glimmer of hope in the chapter. It's a chapter filled with universal judgment.

And yet it says, Earth's inhabitants are burned up and very few are left. Oh, there's some left. Isn't that a wonderful little phrase?

Very few are left. Here's the remnant. Saved through the fires of judgment. There were eight in Noah's day. Saved through the water. There will be very few left from this judgment of fire.

They escape the curse of God. Now, we know from the rest of Scripture, the only way to escape the curse of God for sin is by trusting in the substitutionary curse bearer.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the broken law by becoming a curse for us. As it's written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.

And so Jesus took the curse of his people and he went to the tree bearing their sins and he was cursed on our behalf. And that's why there are very few left that make it through this scene of final judgment.

Well, the third thing we want to see in this chapter is the world song silenced. The world song is silenced. Now, Isaiah sees the whole world partying.

It's quite a vivid imagery. He sees them partying, trampling on God's commandments, taken up with its self-pleasing lifestyle. But he also sees the judgment it is bringing and he announces the party's over.

And it's this party atmosphere that expresses so well for Isaiah, the world's philosophy on life, grabbing all the gusto you can get because you only go through once.

And so we live to gratify immediate pleasures and desires. And it's all about earthly pleasures alone. And that's the way the world lives.

It's it's all apart from God as well, apart from God and his restraining laws. That's the way the world operates.

They live for themselves, not for God. And so we have the world partying. They're eating. They're drinking. What are they eating and drinking? The good gifts of God, aren't they?

But without God and without his laws. Not to his glory. They're abusing his gifts to serve their own lusts. They're using God's things without God's laws.

And so they're described as merrymaking. It's all upbeat at this party. And and yet the joy is so shallow. It's all tied to earthly pleasures and feelings alone.

It's it's it's as frothy as the head on their beer. There's nothing to it. And that's the picture of their joys. No joys in God, just cheap joys of earth and satisfying self.

God is not in all their thoughts. And so we have the picture developed further. The alcohol is flowing freely. It's loosing their tongues. It's making for lots of noise.

And now they're talking over the noise of their revelry. Trying to speak to one another over their their loud music. And drunkards are telling their tawdry jokes.

And the raucous laughter of the crowd fills the room. Eating, drinking, being merry. Like the rowdy parties of Mardi Gras. Or that happen in every university across our nation on the weekends.

Or in some bar. Or some nightclub or private party. Where the good times are rolling and people are partying hard. That's the picture Isaiah paints of our world.

But when God shows up in judgment. The world's long wicked party is over. And their party song is silenced. And it's replaced with groans and gloom.

Verse 7. The new wine dries up and all the merry makers groan. The gaiety of the tambourines is still. The noise of the revelers has stopped.

The joyful harp is silence. No longer do they drink wine with a song. The beer is now bitter to its drinkers. There's no more joy in their drinking.

Fading is the worldlings pleasure. Indeed the scriptures tell us the pleasures of sin are but for a season. And that short season is over forever.

The ruined city lies desolate. In the streets they cry out for wine. Not because of joy. But to drown out their sorrows. To just dull something of the judgment that is coming upon the earth.

All joy turns to gloom. All gaiety is banished. There's no place for joy and gaiety on the whole earth. So what's happened to the world's party?

God showed up. The God whose moral laws they are breaking. By their very living. He's come to repay them.

He's come to punish them. And so it's payday. That will interrupt and end forever the party of the world. Their source of joy is gone.

And friend if your joy is tied to the world. Then when the world. Not sure what happened.

We'll go here. If your source of joy is the world. Then what happens when the world is destroyed? Well your joy is gone. Isn't it?

Oh but if your joy is anchored in Christ. If your joy is tied to him. And his kingdom. Well then your joy lives on. When the judge returns.

And so the scene is. It ends in verse 13. This segment here. And you have this ruined world. And what's it look like?

It looks like an olive tree after harvest. They take the rods. And they beat on the branches. After spreading out the blankets below. And all the olives fall down on the blankets. And that's what the world looks like.

Looks like somebody took the rod to it. And all the people have fallen off. They're gone. Or like a grape vineyard.

After harvest. And all that's left are the gleanings. A few olives here and there. A few grapes here and there. The grim reaper.

Has harvested. And there's only a few left. Again you hear that. That note of hope again. But there are a few left.

And we ought to be surprised. Not that there are so few left. But there are any left. Because we all have sinned. And the wages of sin is death for all of us. And so we ought to wonder. How is it.

That there are a few grapes left on the vine. A few olives left on the tree. They are the redeemed remnant. That came through the judgment.

Like the aid and the ark. Came through the judgment in Noah's day. And so as the world's party song is silenced. Isaiah hears another song swelling. It's the song of this redeemed remnant.

Because the real party is just starting. And we'll see that in chapter 25. The feast of all feasts. Is starting.

But oh now is this song. Of the redeemed heard. To replace. The song. Of the world. It was April 19th.

1775. In Lexington Massachusetts. Tensions had risen to a boiling point. So much so that on this day. There was an armed standoff. Between the British troops on one side.

And a militia of local farmers on the other. And then one of the farmers. Squeezed the trigger. And the American Revolutionary War.

Had begun. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Later referred to that. As the shot. Heard round the world. In other words. This wasn't just local news.

That affected a few local farmers. Around Lexington Massachusetts. What happened that day. With that one shot. Would affect people.

All around the world. The shot. Heard round the world. Here Isaiah speaks of a song. Heard round. The world. Verses 14 through 16.

They raise their voices. They shout for joy. And the joys are different now. Than the drunkards joy. 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. Do you hear it?

Gloria. Glory to the righteous one. That's what they're singing. Notice the song. Heard round the world. It's loud. It's joyful.

But it differs from the drunkard song. In that it's all about God. It's all about his majesty. His greatness. His exaltedness.

His sovereign rule. But it's especially about. His righteousness. Glory to the righteous one. They can't get over.

How righteous. This God is. Now think what they've just witnessed. These who've been. Saved through fire.

They have just witnessed. The destruction of the earth. And all his and their enemies. And so they now sing with. Wonder and amazement.

Glory to the righteous one. How right. Are his ways. How just and true. Are his.

Actions. Ending all wrongs. Putting all things right. You hear the same song in Revelation. When when you see his judgments fall upon the earth.

Hallelujah. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. For true and righteous. Are his judgments. Or when the seven last plagues are poured out on the earth.

What is the praise. Your righteous acts. Oh Lord have been revealed. The seven bowls of God's wrath poured out on the earth. You are righteous in these judgments.

Yes Lord God almighty. True and just are your judgments. These. Survivors from. The world's destruction.

Sing glory to the righteous one. This parting world doesn't have a clue how righteous God is. How. How determined he is to punish sin wherever it's found.

He's so righteous that he didn't even spare his own son. When he bore not his own sins but borrowed sins. Sins of his people that were put upon him. And yet. God is so determined to punish sin.

That when he found sin on his own beloved son. He didn't spare him. But he cut loose the full curse of the broken law upon him. And the devastation and destruction that his own deserved.

Fell on his own son. Don't think for a moment. Unbeliever. That if God. Did not spare his own son. When he showed up in the place of judgment.

Bearing. Other people's sins. That you will be spared from God's full judgment. If you show up. Bearing your own sin.

Without. The substitute. Righteous one. And so every survivor of this judgment. Knows that they're not. That they are not saved in that day.

Because God went light on sin. They're not saved. And they didn't survive the judgment. Just because. God took it easy on them. No. They know that God's righteousness.

Was not compromised. In the least. They know that he is so righteous. That he damned his own son. Instead of them. And they sing glory.

To the righteous one. That's why you find the saved. Later on singing. And the name that they give. For the Lord is the Lord. Our righteousness.

Our righteousness. Isaiah has been thinking. Of the joyful song. Of the surviving remnant. In that day.

But then it's like. He suddenly jerked back. Into reality. He's hearing the song. He's seeing the praises. Of Jesus being given. To the one. To whom they're due. And. And then he's jerked down.

To earth. Because. That day hasn't come. Yet. And what must come first. Is this. Final. Horrific. Universal. Devastating. Judgment.

And so. Isaiah. At the end of verse. Sixteen. Is jerked back. Into the reality. Oh yes. That judgment. Must yet fall. And fall. Not on a few. But on all.

But a few. And so he says. In verse 16b. But I said. They're singing. Glory to the righteous one. But Isaiah's having trouble. Singing. At this point. And he says.

But I said. I waste away. I waste away. Woe to me. The treachery. The destruction. That is coming. On the earth. The last time we heard him say this.

Woe to me. Was when he stood before the king. In all of his righteousness. And holiness. And he says. I deserve to be. I'm done. I'm a goner. With my sin. Just the sin of my tongue.

Woe to me. Now it's woe to me. Because he sees. What's going to happen. To all mankind. In that day. Now these prophets.

Were only men. Among men. And when they receive. These prophecies. Of judgment. It took the life. Out of them.

They were struck. With shock. And horror. At the judgments. Coming. On their fellow men. We've seen. Daniel. Overwhelmed.

When he received. His prophecies. Of judgment. His face. Turned pale. All strength. Went from him. He was physically. Sick. For days.

And that's what. Isaiah. Is here. Experiencing. Oh yes. It's going to be. A glorious day. And praise. And worship. Will go to the righteous. This. But. But. Oh.

As he thinks. About the people. Of the earth. And what awaits them. He is like. His savior. That greatest. Of prophets. Who yes.

Pronounced judgment. Upon Jerusalem. Jerusalem. But it was through. His sobbing. Tears. That he did it. Oh. Jerusalem. Jerusalem.

If only. You had recognized. That I was here. To bring you peace. Peace. So. Isaiah.

Is taken up. With. The tear. That he's seen. Fall. Upon the earth. And he piles upwards. Tear. Pit. And snare. Coming. It's like a bad dream.

And you're running from some. Terrible thing. Only to fall. Into a pit. Another terrible thing. And as you're crawling out of the pit. And you've just get out. And sigh of relief.

You stumble into another snare. There's no way of escape. That's the picture. And it's not a dream. That's a living nightmare. That's what Isaiah sees. Coming upon the earth. And the language is used.

Of the global flood. To show that there is. It's not a local thing. That's happening. Rather he says. The floodgates of the heavens. Are open. The foundations of the earth. Shake. Just as they did. In Noah's day. The earth is broken up.

The earth is split asunder. The earth is thoroughly shaken. It reels like a drunkard. It sways like a hut. In the wind. Why is the earth. Wobbling. And unable.

To stand. In that day. So heavy upon it. Is the guilt. Of its rebellion. That it falls. Never.

To rise. Again. Take a good look. At this earth. On your way home. Today. This earth.

Is to fall. Under such a judgment. That it will never. Rise. Again. Beyond recovery.

The judgment. Is final. It will be destroyed. And so it will be a new earth. That God will create. One in which the old. Is passed away.

And all. Will become new. He goes on. To describe. This judgment. Will include. The fallen angels. In heaven. As well as the kings. On the earth. Because. Behind the rebellion.

Of men on the earth. Is the work of demons. And fallen angels. Stirring men up. To rebel. Against their creator. And so he's going to. Herd them together. Like prisoners.

Bound in a dungeon. And they'll be thrown. Into the lake. Of burning sulfur. Revelation 20. Tells us. And they'll be there. Not just.

Demons. But the. Unbelieving. The vile. The murderers.

The sexually immoral. Those who practice. Magic arts. The idolaters. And all liars. Their place will be. In the lake of fire. Along with demons. Yes. He's hurting them together.

Like prisoners. Bound. In a dungeon. In a dungeon. And Isaiah. Mentiones. One last thing. About this final judgment. And that is the effect. That it will have.

On the sun. And the moon. The earth's two greatest lights. He says. In verse 23. The moon will be abashed. And the sun. Ashamed. Sometimes.

We. We share stories. About our most embarrassing moments. When people are embarrassed. They blush. Or they turn their face away. They hide their face. Let's say there's a candle.

Burning. At night. And it's proud. Look at my light. Look how bright I am. Look at all that I illuminate. And then the sun rises.

And the candle blushes. And is no longer seen. Because of the brightness. Of the sun. Now. Let's take the sun.

The brightest of earth's lights. And the moon. Along with it. What is it. That would cause. That brightest of lights. To blush. And to be ashamed.

And to hide its face. Well it's the glorious reign. Of the Lord Almighty. You see that. Verse 23. The last verse. The four. The reason they blush.

The reason they're ashamed. And embarrassed. Is for the Lord Almighty. Will reign on Mount Zion. And in Jerusalem. And before its elders. Gloriously. When all of his enemies.

Are smashed. Beneath his feet. The majesty. And splendor. Of his reign. Will cause the sun. And moon. To hide their face. It's hard to know.

How much of that's poetry. And how much of that is literal. The sun refused to shine. When the light of the world. Entered into the darkness. Of God's judgment.

On Calvary. Didn't it? Well might the sun. In darkness hide. And shut its glories in. And Christ. The mighty maker. Died. For man.

The creature's sin. The sun went dark. On that day of judgment. On Golgotha's hill. God was pouring out his wrath.

Upon his son. But when Christ returns. To this earth. To reign in glory. There will be another. Time. When the sun.

Hides its face. In embarrassment. And refuses to shine. It will be totally unnecessary. Isaiah tells us about it. At the end of his book.

In chapter 60. In verse 19. Of this new heaven. In this new earth. He says. The sun will know. Will no more. Be your light. By day. Nor will the brightness. Of the moon. Shine on you.

For the Lord. Will be your everlasting light. And your God. Will be your glory. And the apocalypse. Of John. Takes us right into that. New heaven. The new earth. In Revelation.

21. 23. Right into that. New Jerusalem. That comes down. From heaven. From God. Into this new. Earth. That he has created. And John says.

The city. Does not need. The sun. Or the moon. To shine on it. For the glory. Of God. Gives its light. And the lamb. Is its lamp. And the nations.

Will walk. By its light. You see. When. Jesus returns. And. God reigns. In Christ. Gloriously.

Over all things. In a way. That's demonstrated. For all to see. The sun. And moon. Will be needed. No more. Because of this light.

Sparkling out. From the new. Jerusalem. And so. The book of Revelation. Gives us the commentary. The fulfillment. Of these words.

When the seventh angel. Sounds his trumpet. There was a loud voice. Heard in heaven. Which said. The kingdom of this world. Has become the kingdom. Of our Lord. And of his Christ. And he will reign. Forever and ever.

There is the son of David. Reigning gloriously. In the new Jerusalem. And the 24 elders. Yes. Before its elders. Gloriously. There they are. Who are seated. On their thrones.

Before God. Fell on their faces. And worshiped. God saying. We give thanks to you. Lord God almighty. The one who is. And who was. Because you have taken. Your great power.

And have begun. To reign. The nations were angry. And your wrath. Has come. The time has come. For judging the dead. And for rewarding. Your servants. The prophets. And your saints.

And those who reverence. Your name. Both small. And great. And for destroying. Those who destroy. The earth. And then.

The glory of his reign. Will be more. Resplendent. Than the sun. And so after all. The smoke and dust. Clears. From this destruction. Of this earth.

This is the glorious scene. That appears. In the new heavens. And the new earth. It's the Lord almighty. Reigning. Gloriously. In full display. Of his splendor.

Before the worshiping. People. Of God. And angels. That never fell. And that's where Isaiah. Is leading us. In his book. That's where.

Chapter. 60 and 61. Are taken. To that new heaven. And new earth. That's. That's where the last. Of the chapters. Of the bible. Leave us.

In that new heaven. And new earth. That's where world history. Is heading. To that final judgment. And the Lord almighty. Reigning gloriously. Before those.

Who reverence his name. Will you be there? Will you be in that crowd. Singing glory. To the righteous one. Delighting in the Lord. Your righteousness.

That God can be righteous. And yet. Declare you. A sinner. Righteous. For Jesus sake. What if he came today. Would you be glorying.

In Christ. He's coming. In power. In great glory. That will leave the sun. And moon. Ashamed. But it need not. Leave you ashamed.

Did you know that? John the apostle says. And now dear children. Remain in Christ. Christ. So that. When he appears. We may be confident.

And unashamed. Before him. At his coming. Isn't that something? His coming. Will not be like. The manger. So lowly.

So humble. If you judge. Jesus. This king. By the manger. You'll miss him. He's coming back. With power. And great glory. Sun.

Shaming glory. And when. His people. See him. They will not need. To be ashamed.

But will have confidence. And be unashamed. Before him. At his coming. What is it. That can cause. A sinner. A poor redeemed sinner. To not be ashamed.

When the sun is blushing. At his coming. It's the. It's to be found. In Christ. In Christ. Dressed. In his righteousness.

Alone. Faultless. To stand. Before the throne. No reason. To be ashamed. No reason. To be afraid. And so he comes.

Well what have we seen here. Then in Isaiah. This morning. Well we've seen. That after 11 chapters. Of God's judgments. Poured out on specific nations. In certain localities. We have this final chapter.

On God's judgment. Upon the whole earth. And these two. Are not always kept separate. God's local judgments.

And his final judgments. Though they are separated. By some thousands of years. Sometimes they're mentioned. In the same breath. In the same verses. The same paragraph.

And it's not always easy. To know. Is he talking about some local. In time. Judgment. On the earth. Or is he talking about the big one. The final judgment.

And the reason those are. Somewhat. Muddled and murky. And brought together. Is not that the Lord. Could not have made them. Clear. In separating them. But that they belong together.

The little. Local. Earthly. Judgments. Are harbingers. Forerunners.

Pointers. To the last. Great. Big judgment. That's what you have. Eleven chapters. Of the little judgments. All leading up to what?

The big judgment. Microcosms. Of the mega. Judgment. That's the pattern. That we have in Isaiah. Because these two. Belong.

Together. So we're reading. And. Even in chapter 13. Of Isaiah. And you're reading about. The destruction of Babylon. And then all of a sudden. You're reading about the destruction. Of the whole earth. And you know. Wait a minute.

Which is it? Well it's both. Because the destruction of Babylon. Is pointing to a greater destruction. At the end. Of the whole earth. And so you're reading.

Matthew 24. Luke 21. And Jesus is talking about. A destruction. That's coming. You're saying. Okay. I think I see. He's talking about. The destruction of Jerusalem. In 70 AD. When the Romans came. And destroyed the temple.

And the city. And then you keep reading. No wait a minute. That sounds like. His destruction. At the end of the world. And that everything's being destroyed. Which is it?

Well it's both my friend. The one points. To the other. And the lesson for us. Is clear. We are to never. Think about. And observe.

The little. Temporal. Local. Judgments. Without thinking about. And preparing for. The final. Big one. Because the same judge.

Will be there. As was here. Here. And here. And the same laws. Will be there. Enforced. That were enforced here. Here. And here.

And the same need for a savior. Will be seen there. As was seen. In these temporal judgments. Isn't it kind of God. To shoot some warning. Shots across the bow.

Of the ship. Before he has. The direct hit. What are you doing. With those. Where people. In Jesus day. Who saw these judgments. And they thought. Oh.

Those people. Must have really been wicked. Because that tower. Fell and crushed them. Jesus. You've missed the point. Why did the tower. Fall and crush them. It's not because. They were more sinful.

Than you. Rather. Unless you repent. You also. Will perish. Do you see the principle. When you see. These judgments of God. Falling upon the earth.

What are you to do. You are to repent. And to run to this savior. Trust in him. Turn from your law. Breaking. Walk in his ways. Prepare.

To meet. Your God. What a kind. What a kind. Lord. We have. What a gracious word. Whenever you see. These judgments. And you read of the next.

Earthquake. And you read of the next. Tsunami. We ought to not only think of that final judgment. We ought to think of that judgment on. Golgotha that day.

And glory. In the righteous one. Who was judged. For us. Let's turn in our hymnals. And sing of it in number 237. Lo. He's coming.

Not as a babe in a manger. But with clouds of glory. Descending. 237. Let's pray. Our father. We sit beneath your word.

This morning. And we hear you tell us. Of things that. We can't even imagine. Things that caused your prophets. To shudder. And go sick for days.

Oh would you give us. Ears to hear. Hearts to receive this word. That it wouldn't just roll off our. Ears. And leave us unchanged.

Make us Lord. To be ready for that day. By fleeing to the righteous one. Clinging to his obedience. And his death.

And so to appear. Dressed. In his righteousness. In that last day. And if we're ready. Break our hearts.

For those who aren't. And send us among them. With this word from heaven. To make peace with our God. While there is yet time. Thank you Jesus.

For. Coming to earth. To suffer that judgment. Yourself. For your people. Thank you that. It enables us. To look forward to this day. Unashamed.

And even to sing. Come Lord Jesus. Quickly come. We praise you. In your own precious name. Amen. Amen. Thank you.