Rejoice and Be Glad!; Isaiah 25:9-12

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Perfect Peace; Isaiah 26

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Watchman, What Do You See?: Isaiah 21, Matthew 24:27-31, 42

 

As you know, there are different roles within the body of Christ.  One of those roles is to be a watchman.  It is a particular calling given to different people.  It is part of the role of prophet.  The watchman’s job is to warn people about the coming judgment so that they might repent and turn to the Lord before it is too late.  We see the role of the watchman in our Old Testament reading this morning.  That being said, it is the job of all of us to keep watch for ourselves.  Jesus told us to keep watch for His coming.  We hear that in our New Testament reading today.  Keeping watch for ourselves doesn’t mean that we have no role in the lives of others.  All of us are called to admonish one another as brothers and sisters in Christ so that we help one another to turn from sin and live holy and righteous lives.   

            Once again in Isaiah, we have judgments of the nations.  This time in Isaiah 21 there are multiple short judgments against many nations—Babylon, Edom, and Arabia, and in describing the judgment of Babylon, a warning for Judea.  We took a deep dive into the fall of Babylon when we looked at Isaiah 13 and Revelation 17-18.  We saw that the fall of Babylon was mourned by those whose livelihoods were enmeshed in that worldly, unjust economic system, but that it was celebrated by the saints in heaven, those who had been persecuted.  Here, Isaiah is terrified over the judgment of Babylon.  Why, because they are continuing in their eating and drinking unaware of the destruction about to befall them.  We saw In Isaiah 13 that even though the word “watchman” wasn’t used, Isaiah acted as a watchman for them.  He warned them of the coming judgment, but now he sees that the time from them to repent has come to an end and they did not.  They are continuing in their partying.  The Babylonian destruction comes suddenly out of nowhere.  We saw when we looked at Babylon before that this sudden judgement did come to pass exactly that way when in the middle of a party, King Belshazzar’s kingdom was stripped away.  Now the Lord calls Isaiah to appoint a watchman.  This watchman does not seem to be appointed for Babylon, since the riders are coming from there but for Judah.  Judah is not named in the text but is described as “my threshed and son of the threshing floor.”  The word threshed is in the feminine singular, while son of the threshing floor is masculine singular.  The watchman is doing his job on the wall, and nothing seems to be happening, when suddenly he sees a troop of riders with the horsemen riding in pairs and one calls out “Fallen, fallen is Babylon.”  The watchman seems distressed because he knows the people are unprepared.  He has tried to tell them what he has heard from Yahweh of the Armies and to tell them about the God of Israel.  He directs his prayer to the Lord, telling the Lord that he is doing his job.  The destruction of Babylon should be good news to an afflicted people.  Both Isaiah and the appointed watchman are distressed over the coming destruction of people who are in rebellion against God.  Do we feel the same the way?  Do we even care enough about others to warn them of what will happen to them if they continue to reject the Lord? 

            Our reading from Matthew speaks of Christ’s second coming as also sudden and coming seemingly out of nowhere.  We don’t know when it will be other than “after the tribulation.”  And in verse 14, which we didn’t read, Jesus speaks of the gospel first being preached to all the nations before the end will come.  Since it seems as if the world cycles through periods of great tribulation, we may or may not recognize when we are in the final one, so we are called to be alert, to keep watch, because we don’t know when the Son of Man will return.  Jesus does not want us to be caught off guard by His coming.  We may be surprised, but it should be a joyful surprise, fulfilling our hope for His return.  If we are prepared, we can look forward to His coming.  Jesus repeats this command in the next chapter Matthew 25:13 at the end of the parable of the 10 virgins.  We are to keep watch, to always be prepared for the coming of Christ.  The apostle Paul also talks about this in I Thessalonians 5:1-11

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

We are to encourage one another to live the way Paul exhorts us to, and we are to continue to share the gospel with those who have yet to hear.  We know this from what Peter says about the Lord’s sudden coming accompanied with sudden destruction in II Peter 3:9-13.  

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.  11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking

We hear that the Lord doesn’t want anyone to perish, and that’s part of the reason He hasn’t returned yet.  By the way, don’t take it for granted that someone as heard.  We will see this with the judgment of the Arabs.  Both Peter and Paul speak of Christ’s return as something to which we should look forward with hopeful anticipation, not something to be dreaded.  The world may be afraid when Christ returns, but we should not.

            Next we see the judgment of Edom.  Here Isaiah is the watchman.  The Edomites are the descendants of Esau.  This time Isaiah is the watchman on the wall who sees the coming destruction.  This destruction will be ongoing.  In Isaiah 21:11 The watchman is asked what does he see.  He replies, “Morning comes, but also the night.”  There is a reprieve, but trouble will come again.  Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping lasts for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”  For Edom, joy would come in the morning, but the weeping in the night was going to return.  Then the watchman says, “If you would ask, ask, come back again.”  We tend to hear that is someone continually checking on the status by asking the watchman what’s going on.  The watchman is the one speaking.  He could be speaking like, “I don’t know why you keep asking; the news isn’t any different or getting any better.”  Or it could be taken like, “If you want to ask again later, return, and come back to see if anything has changed.”  The Hebrew has 3 verbs—“If you want to ask, ask (a command) return or go back, which can also be interpreted “repent”, and then come.”  This is actually an invitation for those facing destruction to ask for help, like the Moabites were invited to as we hear last week, repent, change your ways, and then come back again.  Rev. Samuel Lindsay connects this passage to the death of Jesus.  Remember that the Herods were Edomites who practiced Judaism.  The morning came for the Jews.  Jesus is the morning, but Herod the Great first tried to kill Jesus, and then Herod Antipas was also partly responsible for the death of Jesus.  The Herods continued to reject the gospel.  Agrippa I was responsible for the persecution of the church and ended up dying from parasites.  Agrippa II also rejected the Lord.  Paul preached the gospel to him on multiple occasions, but he ended up not believing and sending Paul to Rome.  He was the last Herod.  The Herods could have embraced Jesus, but instead, they rejected the light, and so further darkness would come upon them.  Like the Moabites we heard about last week, the Edomites quickly ceased to become a distinct people.  There are no Edomites today. 

            The watchman’s job is to tell people what’s coming.  If he doesn’t do his job, he is at fault for the people being unprepared.  We see this in Ezekiel 33:3-6.  

[If the watchman] sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

The watchman cannot make people do the right thing, but it is his job to warn the people about looming danger.  In this chapter, Isaiah acts as a very concerned watchman as he sees destruction coming.  He isn’t worried for himself, but for those on whom judgment is coming.  He isn’t worried for himself because the judgment doesn’t apply to him.  He is in right standing with the Lord. 

            The final judgment in Isaiah 21 is upon Arabia.  There is no watchman to look out for them but they are warned by Isaiah.  The warriors of Arabia will quickly be reduced to a few. 

As watchmen, we are called to keep watch for Christ’s return.  As we do so, we are to watch out for ourselves.  Watching for Jesus doesn’t mean standing around looking at the sky, nor does it mean merely observing signs of doom and impending doom.  It means, as we heard from Jesus, Peter, and Paul to watch our own lives, to make sure we are doing that which we want Jesus to catch us doing when He returns.  It also means looking out for our brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage them in godly living.  Some of us are called to be watchmen for those who do not yet know Christ, to warn those who have rejected Jesus to come to repentance before it is too late.  Today’s Advent word is hope.  It’s easy to see destruction and looming destruction in our world, but there is also hope.  Remember that judgment is justice.  While the Day of Judgment is a day of terror for those who do have rejected Christ, for those who know Him, it is the fulfillment of hope when sin and evil will be vanquished fully, finally, forever.   In her poem, “A Day is Surely Coming,” Valerie Bridgman writes: 

 

A day, certain and on its way
And we feel it approaching
Slowly first, then in a quickened pace
Like a promise, on its way
To being fulfilled
A day when justice and righteousness
Is executed as surely as the day breaks Sun shines, rain falls, fog gathers
At foothills. 

 In the midst of destruction, where do you see hope? 

 

A Loving and Just King; Isaiah 15-16

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Two Crowns; Isaiah 28:1-8

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The Gathering of the Saints--God's Fruitful Vineyard; Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-13, John 15:1-11

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The Devil is Defeated!; Isaiah 27:1, Rev. 20:1-10

 

On Reformation, it is customary to sing Martin Luther’s most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress” as we have done.  The second half of verses 3 and 4 go with our texts today, “The prince of darkness grim—we tremble not for him.  His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure.  One little word shall fell him.”  That one word Is Jesus, whose kingdom is forever.  Today we hear that the devil is defeated, and is defeated soundly by Jesus Christ. 

            The opening of our Isaiah texts talks about the defeat of leviathan.  Leviathan is described as a fleeing and twisted serpent and a dragon.  In Canaanite mythology, leviathan was a sea serpent.  Leviathan represents the enemies of God, but leviathan also represents Satan.  This we see in our Revelation passage.  In verse 2, we learn that the dragon, the serpent of old IS the devil and Satan.  The abyss was believed in Jewish mythology to be at the bottom of the sea.  In Rev. 20, we see an angel coming out of heaven with the key to the abyss and a great chain who binds Satan and throws him into the abyss for 1000 years.  This angel is either Jesus Himself or it is an angel who has received the key from Jesus, whom we know holds the keys.  During this time, Satan is unable to deceive the nations.  Historic amillennialism, the majority view of the Church around the world and the view held by most of the early church fathers, teaches that this has already occurred and occurred at the cross.  There’s a wonderful scene in the Passion of the Christ movie that shows Satan gloating as Jesus is being crucified, but the moment Jesus says, “It is finished,” and dies, the temple veil is torn and it cuts to Satan in chains screaming angrily at the bottom of the abyss.  Scripture that speaks to the devil being defeated already include Hebrews 2:14-15, which says, “Sine then the children [that is God’s children] share in the blood and flesh, He Himself [that is Jesus] likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of the death, that is the devil, and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.  Just before His death, Jesus said in John 12:31, “Now judgement is upon the world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” And in John 16:11, Jesus says, “…the ruler of this world has been judged.”  In Colossians 2:15, Paul talks about the evil spiritual forces being conquered in the past tense and from verse 14, we know this happened at the cross.  “having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through it.” 

            Satan being in the abyss though does not mean Satan is without influence in the world.  We are told to resist the devil and flee from him.  We are supposed to be on guard against the devil.  But Satan cannot act without permission from God. Still if Satan is bound why do we so much evil in the world?  Our Revelation text says that at the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released to gather the nations against Christ.  He will accomplish that, but they will be unsuccessful and will be destroyed with Satan being cast into the lake of fire.  Then the “rest of the dead” will be raised and judged.  Is it possible the 1000 years has ended and we are in the last days when Satan has been freed to gather people against Christ?  Possibly.  Could it be the fault of the Church—that we have been lazy with Christ’s mandate to expand the kingdom?  Is it our fault for not living and proclaiming the gospel, for failing to love our neighbors?  For not believing in the power of God at work within us? 

            There is a day when Satan is destroyed.  Isaiah 27:1 says the Lord will kill the dragon.  Rev. 20:10 says, “the devil who deceived the nations was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”  This is the end of Satan.  When will it be?  Our Isaiah text says, “In that day.”  “That day” is the day of Christ’s return.  It is the same as the Day of the Lord.  We know this is so because of the end of chapter 26.  26:21 says “Yahweh is about to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.”  The Lord is coming to earth to judge the living and the dead, as we confess in the creeds.

The other historic view, called historic premillennialism, is that Satan will be thrown into the abyss when Christ returns.  Rev. 20 is the only passage that talks about a 1000 year reign of Christ with Satan being in the abyss on one side of it and being cast into the lake of fire on the other side of it.  It also has 2 resurrections, the dead in Christ being raised at the beginning the 1000 year and the rest of the dead being raised at the end of it.  Again, the 1000 years is not necessarily meant to be taken literally.  This view says that when Christ returns, the dead in Christ rise first and reign with living believers for a time.  This view takes into account verses like I Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  And I Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to mee the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”   After that time Satan will be released to see if he can deceive the nations and rally them against the saints on earth, and the “beloved city”—Jerusalem, which represents the people of God, but they will be consumed with fire from heaven before being able to do anything.  The part of Revelation 20 that we didn’t read talks about the resurrection of everyone who are judged according to their deeds, with anyone whose name not being written in the Lamb’s Book of Life also being cast into the lake of fire. 

While it’s hard to make sense sometimes of the amillennial view, it’s also hard to make sense of this view of 2 separate physical resurrections of the dead.  In the part of Rev. 20 which we didn’t read.  We read of 1 resurrection where believers and unbelievers are separated. These verse sounds a lot like what Jesus Himself talks about in Matthew 25, when He will return with His angels at the end of the age to separate the sheep from the goats.  Amillenialism teaches that the first resurrection of the believers happens when we are baptized, and there are many Scriptures to support this.    Ephesians 2:5-7 READ. Colossians 2:12, “Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised u with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead.”  Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you have been raised up with Christ, see those things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Be intent on things above, not on things that are on the earth.”  Romans 6:4, “therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”  And there are other verses.  We are those who are blessed for we have participated in the first resurrection.  There is a resurrection to come, when we will receive our glorified, imperishable bodies.  But even now, we have new and eternal life in Christ. 

We know that Christ is reigning now and has been since His ascension into heaven.  I Corinthians 15 talks about the reign of Christ. READ I Corinthians 15:25-28.  And the saints will reign with Christ.  This role is especially given to the disciples and patriarchs and to those who endure persecution, the martyrs.  But also for all who persevere in the faith to the end of their lives.  In Rev. 3:21, Jesus gives this promise to the believers in Laodicea:  “The one who overcomes, I will grant to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”  Paul quotes from a piece of church liturgy in II Timothy 2:11-12, “For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.  If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.”  This promise of reigning with Christ is found in the Old Testament as well.  Daniel 7:27 says, “Then the kingdom, (sovereignty), the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One.  His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.”  I Corinthians 6:2-3 says, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to try the trivial cases?  Do you not know that we shall judge angels?” 

            It’s easy to get discouraged.  We see the Church in decline in the western world.  We see our society becoming more and more corrupt.  We see human life denigrated.  We see evil called good and good called evil.  It looks like Satan is gaining ground, but it’s a lie.  It’s a lie that he wants us to believe.  We are not defeated!  We are raised with Christ.  We are more than conquerors.  Just before Jesus died, in John 14:30, He said the ruler of this world, (the devil) has nothing in Him.  That is, had no power over Him.  The devil was already powerless against Jesus.  Jesus wasn’t going to give the devil the attention he desired.  We have Christ in us and we don’t have to give the devil a foothold in our lives either.  He can be powerless against us.  We can resist the devil, and he will flee from us. 

Every time someone comes to Christ, the Church is advancing.  The Church IS advancing.  Funny enough, it’s advancing most clearly and stridently in some of the places where it’s hardest to even be a Christian.  It’s advancing where it is illegal to own a Bible. Maybe it’s going to take some persecution for us to realize that Jesus was serious about the Great Commission. The Church is advancing where people lose their lives for declaring Jesus is Lord!  And despite what it looks like, the church is growing here in our community.  There are people being delivered from addiction.  The hungry are being fed.  People are coming to Christ.  Baptisms are happening.  Disciples are being raised up.  There is a new small church movement, called dinner church, in the US where the church is advancing.  People are coming to Christ, being delivered from bondage, and being discipled.  If each of us just leads 2 people to Christ and helps them to grow as disciples, the Kingdom of God will grow exponentially.  Many of you have done this through the raising of your children.  It doesn’t mean we have to stop with 2!  Don’t be deceived—Satan is on a tight leash.  He cannot act without seeking permission.  One day, he will be cast into the lake of fire.  We are commanded not to give the devil a stronghold.  Jesus has not abandoned us and has given us all the tools we need to push back the darkness.  God’s promise to bring all of His people into His kingdom is one that cannot and will not fail.