2001 Special Bulletin #4

Isaiah 30:25-33 seems to address directly the World Trade Center tragedy:

And on every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be streams running with
water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will
be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up
the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.

Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place; burning is His anger,
and dense is His smoke; His lips are filled with indignation, and His tongue is like
a consuming fire;

And His breath is like an overflowing torrent, which reaches to the neck, to shake
the nations back and forth in a sieve, and to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle
which leads to ruin.

You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival; and gladness of
heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, to go to the mountain of the
LORD, to the Rock of Israel.

And the LORD will cause His voice of authority to be heard. And the descending of
His arm to be seen in fierce anger, and in the flame of a consuming fire, in
cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones

For at the voice of the LORD Assyria will be terrified, when He strikes with the rod.

And every blow of the rod of punishment, which the LORD will lay on him, will be
with the music of tambourines and lyres; and in battles, brandishing weapons, He
will fight them.

For Topheth has long been ready, indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has
made it deep and large, a pyre of fire with plenty of wood; the breath of the LORD,
like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.

Verse 25 states that there will be streams of water on every lofty mountain and high hill. Water often represents the Word of God in Scripture (see Ephesians 5:26). Mountains often represent governments, and high hills societies or movements. This speaks of the Word of God coming abundantly to governments, and even other large groups and movements during this time. This does seem to be happening, and I believe is a direct result of the prayers for our leaders.

Verse 26 speaks of the light being much brighter in the day when the Lord binds up the fracture and heals the wound of His people. Verses 27 and 28 speak of the burning anger of the Lord being released, and His voice of authority being heard. How will He do this? The answer is in Romans 13:1-4:

Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no
authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they
who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have
no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same;

for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it
does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who
brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.

I have heard Christians asking if we should retaliate for this tragedy because of the Lord's exhortation to turn the other cheek when struck. We need to understand that civil governments have a different mandate than the mandate the Lord gave to His church, and confusing these two mandates has brought considerable confusion over the centuries.

The Lord is preparing His church for ruling in the age to come, but we are not called to rule in this present age. That mandate has been given to civil governments until the Lord sets up His kingdom on the earth. Civil governments are "a minister of God" that "does not bear the sword for nothing," but is "an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil." Since we are commanded to pray for our governments we should pray for them to be able to fulfill this mandate effectively.

 Verse 29 from Isaiah speaks of there being songs and gladness of heart. I'm sure that no one feels like rejoicing right now, but as Psalm 30:5 declares, "...weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning." Why is the rejoicing coming here? Because as the rest of verse 29 states, this is going to turn people to "the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel." This war will bring many into His kingdom.

As the remaining verses in Isaiah state, great punishment from the Lord is coming upon those who do evil, and there will be great rejoicing because of it. There is rejoicing whenever the Lord exercises His authority on earth, and it is right to rejoice in the judgments of God, as we read in Psalm 98:1-9:

O sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand
and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.

The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in
the sight of the nations.

He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of
Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing
praises.

Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre; with the lyre and the sound of melody.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.

Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains sing together for joy

Before the LORD; for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with
righteousness, and the peoples with equity.