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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Isaiah cried out with joy when he saw Christ in His glory: “O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them” (Isa 25:1 NLT). Your Son is coming again to judge the nations for their pride and establish His Kingdom on Mount Zion! I say with John, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20 KJV). Today in Your Word Today you shared with me “Isaiah’s Apocalypse.” This section of Isaiah describes the devastation and suffering that will take place during the Tribulation as well as the peace and blessing that will follow in Christ’s millennial Kingdom (Isa 24–27). Isaiah graphically depicted the ruin that will befall the earth during the Tribulation. The language reminds me of what you did during the flood: “The Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate” (Isa 24:1a). Everyone will fall under your judgment—the master and the slave, the people and the priest, the buyer and the seller. The earth will be “utterly broken,” “split apart,” and “violently shaken” (Isa 24:19). Then your Son will return to earth, and He will “punish the host of heaven, in heaven, [demonic forces] and the kings of the earth, on the earth” (Isa 24:21–22; cf. Rev 20:2–3). He will establish His Kingdom and reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (Isa 24:23). In that day you will “swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isa 25:8; cf. Rev 21:4). In that day, the people of Judah will sing this song: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isa 26:3–4). I rejoice to think of that coming day, but what does this future hope have to do with my present problems? How should knowledge of Christ’s future Kingdom affect me today? Isaiah offered a prayer that speaks to this question: “Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts” (Isa 26:8 NIV). The certainty of your coming Kingdom should encourage me to live a righteous life. I must be walking in the Spirit, waiting on you, and spreading the good news of the gospel. If I do, I will be there to witness the day when you will punish Leviathan (Satan) with your “hard and great and strong sword” (Isa 27:1)! I will be there to sing about your fruitful vineyard, a renewed and spotless Israel. I will be there to hear the blowing of that great trumpet, and I will witness the time when “those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem” (Isa 27:13). It will be worth it all, when I see Jesus! Reflection Judah was no doubt pleased to hear Isaiah prophesy about their future glory, but Isaiah also made it clear that you were going to exile Judah in order to purge her wickedness (Isa 27:7–9). The people wanted your blessing, but they didn’t want to go through your refining fire. Request Father, help me stay on the path of righteousness while I wait for your Son’s return (Isa 26:7). Put a fire in my heart that will blaze up in zeal and devotion for your coming Kingdom! Thanksgiving Thank you for giving me a peek into the future of Christ’s glorious reign! I say, “Next year in Jerusalem!” In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “He Keepeth Me in Peace” — Clara M. Brooks. Meditation Verse: Isaiah 26:3. |