A Warning to Faithles Ones

What, though, will be the fate of faithless ones in Judah?  Isaiah paints a  grim picture of their impending doom at the hands of Assyria.  (Read Isaiah 33:7) Judah's military 'heroes" cry out in fear at the Assyrian advance.  "Messengers of peace,"  diplomats sent to negotiate peace with the warlike Assyrians, face mockery and humiliation.  They will weep  bitterly over their failure.  (Compare Jeremiah 8:15)  The brutal Assyrians will not pity them.  (Read Isaiah 33:8, 9)  He will ruthlessly ignore covenants he has made with the inhabitants of Judah.  ( 2 Kings 18:14-16) The Assyrian will 'condemn the cities' of Judah, viewing them with contempt and scorn, having no regard for human life.  The situation will be so devastating that the land itself will, as it were, mourn.  Lebanon, Sharon, Bashan, and Carmel will likewise mourn over the desolation.

Similar circumstances will no doubt develop  in the near future as the nation begin their assault on religion. As in Hezekiah's day, physical resistance to these destructive forces  will be futile.  Christendom's  "heroes"-will be unable to come to her aid. Political and financial 'covenant,' or agreements, designed to protect Christendom's interests will be violated .  (Isaiah 28:15-18)  frantic attempts  to stave off destruction  by diplomacy will fail.  Commercial activities  will come to a halt, as Christendom's properties and investments are confiscated or destroyed.  Any who still have friendly feelings toward Christendom will do little more than stand at a safe distance and mourn her passing.  (Revelation 18L9-19)  Will true Christianity be swept away with the false?  No, for Jehovah himself gives this assurance:  " 'Now I rise up,' says Jehovah, 'now I will exalt myself; now I will lift myself up.' "  (Isaiah 33:10) Finally, Jehovah will intervene in behalf of faithful ones, like Hezekiah, and halt the Assyrian's advance. -Psalm 12:5

The unfaithful cannot count on such protection.  Jehovah says:  "You people conceive dried grass; you will give birth to stubble.  Your own spirit, as fire, will eat you up.  And peoples must become as the burnings of lime. as thorns cut away, they will set ablaze even with fire. Hear, you men who are far away, what I must do!  and know, you  who are nearby, my mightiness.  In Zion the sinners have come to be in dread; shivering has grabbed hold of the apostates: 'Who of us can reside for any time with a devouring fire?  Who of us can reside for any time with long-lasting conflagrations?' "   (Isaiah 33:11-14)  These words evidently apply to the time when Judah faces a new enemy, Babylon.  After the death of Hezekiah, Judah reverts to her wicked ways.  Over the next few decades, conditions in Judah  deteriorate to the point where the entire nation has to suffer the fire of God's anger. -Deuteronomy 32:22.

Wicked plans and schemes hatched by disobedient ones to avert God's judgment prove to be of no more substance than stubble.  In fact, the proud, rebellious spirit of the nation will actually trigger the events leading to its destruction.  (Jeremiah 52:3-11) Wicked ones will "become as the burnings of lime"-utterly destroyed!  As they contemplate  this impending doom, the rebellious inhabitants of Judah experience a sickening dread.  Jehovah 's words to unfaithful Judah illustrate the situation of Christendom's members today.  If they do not heed God's warning, a grim future awaits them. 

Next time: "Walking in Continual Righteousness"

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000