The Glorious Hope of Isaiah (#13: Armageddon)

A friend commented today that he was missing Isaiah, so after more than a month without a post, I opened up tonight to where I left off (chapter 24), and found some interesting verses at the end of the chapter.  It may be relevant to note that earlier this afternoon I read the entire book of Revelation.

The chapter concludes:

Is 24:21-23 (ESV) On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.

These verses occur right in the middle of two chapters that describe awful destruction (chapter 24) and a glorious hope (chapter 25).  Chapter 25, by the way, would be worth memorizing for when bad things happen to you (such as lice infestation in your family, beehive creation in your house, and/or a nasty trojan on your computer).  Chapter 25 describes wonderful things that we will return to.

The sequence of chapters 24-25, with judgment followed by redemption, matches a pattern seen frequently elsewhere in Scripture.  Given later revelation, I think it is quite easy to see chapter 24 describing the (end of the) tribulation and chapter 25 describing the millennial kingdom.  In the middle of this are these three verses, which describe, I believe, what occurs at the transition.

Judgment (v. 21-22): The judged include the “hosts of heaven” this is a reference to wicked angels.  In this I hear something similar to what is described in Rev 12:9, when the angels are thrown out of heaven.  (I’m not identifying the two; just noting the similarity.)

Judgment also includes the “kings of the earth.”  This sounds strikingly familiar to the aftermath of the “battle of Armageddon” (Rev 16:14-16).  There the three unclean spirits go and gather the “kings of the whole world.”  Their defeat is described indirectly when the “birds of the air” are called to gather for “the great supper of God” in which they feast on the “flesh of kings” (Rev 19:17-21).

That the defeated in Isaiah are “shut up in prison” and punished “after many days” seems to square perfectly with Revelation 19-20, where the losers are killed and after the millennium are raised for judgment (Rev 20:11-13).

Enthronement (vv. 23): That the sun is “ashamed” is clearly a figure of speech, for the sun does not think or have emotions.  I think it’s also unlikely that the sun’s brightness is in any way altered at this point.  What Isaiah is likely saying is that the glory of the “Lord of hosts” is so great that if the sun could think, it would be ashamed.

I think it’s quite reasonable to conclude, knowing what we do from previous revelation in Isaiah (and certainly from later revelation) that the “Lord of hosts” who reigns in Jerusalem is the Son of David, the rightful heir to the Davidic throne, the Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Immanuel.  Since we ‘re talking about Revelation, I believe this is the same scene described in Rev 20:4.  There it says explicitly that Christ is ruling, thrones are in place, and co-rulers are on them.  These are probably the “elders” that Isaiah mentions.

In short, Revelation is all a repeat.  Just read Isaiah.  :-)

[Seriously, as I study through books of the Bible in the past year, I keep thinking that “this one is my favorite,” “no, this one.”  But for real, I’m in Revelation right now, and I am absolutely blown away.  It’s like I haven’t read the book before.  Of course I have, many times.  But the difference this time is that I haven’t read it in a while, and meantime I have been soaking up some other books.  So when I hit Revelation, it’s like so much just makes sense.  Ok, some of it doesn’t (e.g., chapters 17-18).  My primary response is awe.  Awe at the wrath of God.  Awe at the perseverance of the wicked.  Awe at John’s experience.  Awe at God’s total control.  Awe at the complete and total justice that is coming.  And yes, I’ve also been studying (full) preterism lately, and I’ve been in awe that “Christians” would come up with such a heresy and that the church would tolerate it.  It is utterly wicked.  I guess I got off Isaiah a bit.  Sorry.  There’s a lot more going though my mind than my links to youtube videos might suggest.]