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We're there in Isaiah chapter 29. We're continuing our study through the book of Isaiah. And here we see basically a judgment against Jerusalem and the city of David. And we see another name given here. It talks about Ariel. So not Ariel the mermaid, this is Ariel the city. And you could look up what this would mean, but it's pretty much a transliteration from the Hebrew. And I don't speak Hebrew, but if you look it up, it's like a line of God, like the first part. You can kind of see El in there. Bethel means house of God. Bethlehem means house of bread. And you can kind of see El is usually talking about God. And then the Ari is talking about a line. So take that as what you want. But in the end, it's just a name that's given to the city. And I'm not going to get into details on that when I don't really know if that's exactly what it means. But that being said, it's just another name for Jerusalem or for Mount Zion. And it says here in verse 1, it says, woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city where David dwelt. Add year to year. Let them kill sacrifices. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow. And it shall be unto me as Ariel. And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with the mount. And I will raise forts against thee, and thou shalt be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground. And thy speech shall be low out of the dust. And thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit out of the ground. And thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. Moreover, the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away. Yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. So we see here that there's this judgment coming upon Jerusalem. Just to show you that Ariel was talking about Mount Zion, I just want to prove this to you. Because first of all, it says, Ariel, the city where David dwelt. Now that's a phrase that's used in the Bible. But just in this chapter, you can see that we're talking about Mount Zion. Go to verse 8. So Isaiah 29 and verse 8. And it keeps talking about fighting against Ariel, fighting against Ariel. Well, look at the end of that verse, verse 8 there. It says, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. Now go to 2 Chronicles 5, 2 Chronicles 5, verse 2. 2 Chronicles 5, verse 2. So I just kind of want to prove this to you. Now when we're talking about Ariel, we're talking about Mount Zion. We're talking about Jerusalem. And in 2 Chronicles, chapter 5, and verse 2. And you can kind of think of this because we're waiting for the city Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem. So Zion is what's in heaven right now. That's the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly Zion. But there's the earthly as well. So in 2 Chronicles, chapter 5, verse 2, it says, then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel unto, where? Jerusalem. To bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. So we have it all right there, really, is that we have the city of David, which is Zion. And they're talking about Jerusalem. And then go to Luke, chapter 2. Because I want you to see this as well. Obviously, we're going to be getting into Christmas here because it also calls Bethlehem the city of David. And I'm going to kind of explain how that would work. Because obviously, Jerusalem and Bethlehem are right next to each other. But in Luke, chapter 2, and verse 4, it says, and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. Now, we know that Jesus was going to come out of Bethlehem due to Bethlehem Ephrata. And we kind of already hit that with Ruth and where Boaz lived and all that. But you say, well, which one is it, the city of David? Is it Bethlehem or is it Jerusalem? Well, it's both. But here's a way to understand it. In Morgantown, the city of Morgantown, right? But if you're in Westover, Granville, Star City, and what's some other ones, that's Sabertown, all those places, what do you put as your address? Now, you can put those provinces, right? You can put those ones out there. But I work in Star City, and we put Morgantown. And people that live in Westover, a lot of times you put Morgantown, right? Because the bigger city is basically known. But then you have these little cities outside of that, right? And we call them cities here, but really it's just a town, right? Or a municipality or something like that. So basically, Bethlehem, you have Jerusalem, and then you have all these provinces around it, like Bethlehem and other places. And when you say Jerusalem, Bethlehem is kind of encompassed in that, OK? But it's obviously Bethlehem is like a little piece of that that's just this little province outside of Jerusalem or in that area. But even so, I live outside of all of that. I'm like in the Clinton district. You know what my address is? Morgantown. So that being said, there's a lot. I believe that makes sense. And obviously, David came from Bethlehem, right? And Jerusalem is where he reigned for most of his reign. So anyway, just a little Bible study on that. So when you're seeing Mount Zion, you're talking about Jerusalem, OK? And Ariel is just another name that's given for that. And there's probably truth to why it's called that, why he's calling it Ariel. But going on from that, notice what it says in Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 4. Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 4, it says, Now shall be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground. And thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit out of the ground. And thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. So it's interesting, because it's talking about this. Your voice is going to be like the one that hath a familiar spirit. And I believe what it's talking about is that you're slain. I'll explain what that means. But the reason it's talking about it's going to be like one that hath a familiar spirit. And then it goes on to say, they shall whisper out of the. It basically says their voice is going to be very slight and not very loud. That's the whole point is trying to get across there, which makes sense if you look at Isaiah chapter 8. Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 19, when you're dealing with people that have familiar spirits, they're whispering and muttering and peeping. And that's what the Bible says here. And it's basically, they're not crying out. They're just kind of like talking to themselves and kind of whispering and making these weird muttering noises. And notice what it says in verse 19. Isaiah 8 verse 19, it says, And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto wizards that what? Peep and that mutter. Should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead? So obviously, he's rebuking him here saying he should not seek unto those that have familiar spirits. But what is the attribute of those that have a familiar spirit, like a witch or a wizard, is the fact that they kind of whisper, and they peep, and they mutter. So that's what it's getting across to you. I don't believe it's telling us to go deep dive into talking about necromancy stuff or people that are into all that stuff. It's basically just telling you it's like that. That's how low the voice is. It's like a whisper. You say, what is this talking about? Well, go to Genesis chapter 4. Genesis chapter 4. So I believe this is talking about Jerusalem being taken out. Now, this could very well, there's obviously a lot of dual application. But if you think about this, Jesus, when he was here on the earth, talked about the fact that Jerusalem was going to be, that not one stone was going to be left upon another when it came to the temple, and that they were going to be destroyed. And so we know that happened. History tells us that happened. Obviously, we believe Jesus when he said that would happen to them. We know in the future that's going to happen again, to a certain extent. The whole world in general. But Jerusalem is mentioned as far as being destroyed. And what I believe this is saying is that when they die by the sword, and when people destroy them, God's not really hearing that voice crying from the grave. Now, I'm going to explain what I mean by that. Go to Genesis 4 and verse 8. It says, and Cain talked with Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, what hast thou done? Notice this. The voice of thy brother's blood, what? Cryeth unto me from the ground. Isn't that a little different? Because what does it talk about, all these people that died? All these people, it says they went down to the dust, but it says that their voices are going to be like a whisper. Not like Abel's. See, Abel's voice cried unto God. Now, obviously, this is symbolistic, right? It's not like his blood is actually talking. So it's basically talking about the fact that God's going to avenge that blood. You think about in the end times when you have the souls of the prophets under the altar, and it's basically saying, how long, Lord, dost thou not avenge our blood? And what I believe he's stating here in Isaiah 29 is that when this happens, God's not going to be like, I'm going to avenge that. Because what I believe happens to Jerusalem is what God wanted to happen. Now, in a lot of these cases, when Jerusalem gets taken out by Babylon, they went too far, right? And there's a lot of cases where that happens, where God uses another nation to take out his people and take out that nation. But then they go too far, and he's like, you went too far. Now I'm going to have to bring it at you. And so that's definitely the case. But that's why I believe it's a whisper compared to a crying out, like Abel's is, or a righteous person. So what's being said here is that these people were not righteous. They were wicked that died. And the whole chapter really hits on that and just reiterates that point that these people are wicked. They're not honoring God. These people are blind. They're not of understanding and all that. Now look at verse 6 of Isaiah chapter 29. Isaiah 29 verse 6. It talks about this type of judgment. And I love the consistency of God, meaning that it's just over and over again that God is the same. When it says, I am the Lord, I change not, it's true as the day is long. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The idea is that his judgment is always the same. It's just the same types of judgment, the same types of condemnations over and over and over again. And notice what it says in verse 6. It says, thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with storm and tempest and the famine of devouring fire. I'm sorry, famine. The flame of devouring fire. And the multitude of all nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition and that distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision. Now I want to get into that in a second, but notice what it says as far as what this judgment, when the Lord visits Ariel, okay? When it visits Jerusalem, it says it's going to be with thunder, with earthquake and great noise, with storm and tempest and the flame of devouring fire. Go to Revelation chapter 8. Revelation chapter 8. Because there's something that's very consistent about God's judgment at the very end. Now this passage here in Isaiah 29 could be talking about Babylon. It could be talking about after Jesus rose from the dead and how Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. It could be talking about the end times. Or it could be talking about all of them because it's pretty much the same types of judgments that's going on. And you can see when Babylon took out Jerusalem, what happened? They destroyed the temple. When it was destroyed after Jesus rose again from the dead, in 70 AD, what happened? They destroyed the temple. Now in the end times, that temple's going to not be completely destroyed. It's going to be cleansed. And I believe that the Lord Jesus is going to be rolling and raining from Jerusalem. And that's another sermon for another day. But in Revelation chapter 8, we see this is when God starts pouring out His wrath. So Revelation 6, you're dealing with the tribulation. You had the rapture in chapter 7. And then in chapter 8, the book is finally opened with the seven seals. It says in verse 1, and when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer. And there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth. And there were voices and thunderings and lightnings in an earthquake. Sound familiar? Because what we have in Isaiah, we had thunder, earthquake, great noise, storm, tempest. So you can put lightning in there, right? And the flame of devouring fire. That's how it starts. Let's see how it ends. Go to Revelation chapter 11. Revelation chapter 11 and verse 19. Now if you know Revelation, basically you can cut it in half as far as, from chapter one to chapter 11, it's telling a story from first century AD, then getting into end time stuff and then going all the way to the end. And then it comes back with the story and reiterates the story from chapter 12 all the way to chapter 22. So in chapter 11 and chapter 16, they're really parallel passages when you have the seventh trumpet that sounds in Revelation 11 and when the seventh vial is poured out in Revelation chapter six. Revelation chapter 11 verse 19, it says, in the temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail. Sounds familiar. Isn't it interesting how God's wrath starts with that and it ends with that? Go to Revelation chapter 16. Revelation chapter 16 and verse 17. Revelation chapter 16 verse 17. I just want you to see that consistency that we're talking about the Lord visiting them, right? So it's talking about what the Lord is doing to them and he's talking about this thunder, earthquake, great noise, storm and fire, okay? Fire is usually always in that. And in these cases, you have this great hail and that's fire and brimstone coming down is what you're dealing with there, right? Now in Revelation chapter 16 and verse 17, it says in the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying it is done and there were what? Voices and thunders and lightnings and there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth. So mighty an earthquake and so great. That, don't take that lightly right there. That means that's the greatest earthquake that's ever been on the earth ever. Then it says in the great city was divided into three parts. That's talking about Jerusalem, okay? And then it says in the cities of the nations fell and great Babylon came into remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath and every island fled away and the mountains were not found and there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven and every stone about the weight of a talent and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail for the plague thereof was exceeding great. So what do we see in all these passages? God starts off his wrath with voices, thunders, lightnings and an earthquake and fire, okay? And he ends it that way. So it's very consistent with what it's saying here but go back to Isaiah chapter 29 and notice what it says here. This is an interesting way of putting, I'll explain what I believe it's saying. In verse seven there it says in the multitude of all nations that fight against Ariel. So it's basically talking about these nations coming against her and coming against the city of Jerusalem. It says even all that fight against her and her munition and that distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision. Now what does this mean, okay? It's gonna explain it. It says it shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul was empty. Whereas when a thirsty man dreameth and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint and his soul hath appetite so shall the multitude of all nations be that fight against Mount Zion, okay? Now what is this talking about? Now we've all been there, right? Where you're in a dream and you're like eating something or you're trying to like drink something but you wake up and you're just, you're hungry, right? You're starving or whatever the case may be. You're trying to do something and never gets accomplished in your dream and you worked hard for that and it's just not there. Have you ever woken up and you're just like exhausted from whatever you were trying to do in your dream, right? So but what I believe it's stating here, it's basically stating here is that these people, it's gonna be like a dream meaning that the people that are coming against Jerusalem, they're never gonna be satisfied, okay? That means that they're gonna destroy but it's gonna be like one that dreams about destroying and then they wake up and they feel like they still have appetite, okay? That means that they're not gonna be satiated. So he's using that as an example, basically saying they come at you and they're gonna, it's gonna be like to them as if they dreamt that up and they didn't even do any of it and they weren't filled by any of it, okay? And so he's using that as an example that that's the type of people that's coming against you, that's how it's gonna be, they will not be satisfied until you're completely annihilated, okay? And so that's a scary thought. When you think about your enemies coming at you is that the fact that they will not be satiated, they're implacable is what it's really coming down to, okay? And so definitely very interesting as far as that goes. Now in Isaiah chapter 29, Isaiah chapter 29 and verse nine, we're gonna see some prophecies and we're gonna see stuff that's quoted in the New Testament, Isaiah 29 and verse nine here, it says, stay yourselves and wonder, cry ye out and cry. They are drunken but not with wine, they stagger but not with strong drink, okay? So it's basically saying that they're acting like they're drunken and all this stuff but it's not because they're actually drunk, okay? They're staggering around, falling around, fumbling around and it's not because of alcohol is what it's basically saying here. Notice what it says in verse 10. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes. The prophets and your rulers, the seers, hath he covered. Now I want you to really, if you don't mind underlining in your Bible, notice what it says there, For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes. Who did it? The Lord, okay? So that is what's going on here. It says, And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee. And he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee. And he saith, I am not learned. And so basically it's what it's saying is that God has blinded the eyes of these prophets and the rulers. He's blinded them that they cannot see to the point where when someone gives them the word of God, they can't understand it. Ever learning and never able to come into the knowledge of the truth. How about this? A natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Now they can't even know them, for they are foolishness unto them. The idea here is that he is fulfilling what Isaiah chapter six talks about, where it says he's gonna darken their eyes and all that. Now go to Romans chapter 11, because this is where it is quoted, or it's brought up. So we're gonna know who exactly he's talking about. And he's obviously talking about Israel, right? We're talking about Ariel, we're talking about Zion, we're talking about Jerusalem. So if this chapter fit a time period, this chapter fits Jesus' time period when he was here the first time. When he came the first time and he came unto his own, and his own received not, and he darkened the minds of these rulers and the prophets that were there, and you know what, there's just so much to this. Now it says here that he poured upon them the spirit of deep sleep. Now it's gonna use a different term, but it means the same thing. It's gonna talk about the spirit of slumber. Now that's where you get into that they feel like they're drunk and it's kind of like they're asleep, like sleepwalking or something like that. They're staggering around, they don't know where they're going. And Jesus said this about him, he said you're like the blind leading the blind. Okay, you don't know where you're going and you're just falling into a ditch, right? So in Romans chapter 11, I want you to see in verse one here, because just get to context, who are we talking about? Well, in Romans chapter nine and 10, he's talking about the fact that his heart is in heaviness for his brethren according to the flesh, and his heart's desire to God is that Israel might be saved, okay? So chapter nine and chapter 10 is in accordance with that, and then chapter 11, verse one here, it says, I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid, for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. So he's basically saying, hey, he didn't cast off, you know, he's basically saying, has he cast off all those people? And he's like, I'm one, right? So that obviously isn't true. That, you know, it's just like, no Jews are getting saved, they're completely, like, no one's getting saved. He's like, no, that's obviously not true. It says in verse two, God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew, foreknew what? That they would trust in him, okay? So obviously he knew that there was gonna be people that trusted in him, and many, yay, thousands of Jews believed on Christ back then. Okay, and it says, what ye not what the scripture saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets and digged down mine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then, at this present time, also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. That means that back then, guess what, it's the same way. Most people in Israel were not saved, most people were worshiping other gods, but there was a remnant, there was at least seven thousand in Elijah's day that were saved. And he's saying, listen, it's like that today. Because he's one of those, you know? Paul's writing this, he's one of those people, one of the remnant, and he says, according to the election of grace, meaning that, and if by grace, then is it no more it works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. So in chapter nine and 10, he just got done talking about how they were trying to get justified by the works of law, but they stumbled at that stumbling stone that has to be by faith. Now, let's get into what Isaiah 29's talking about. So we see that, right? We're talking about Israel according to the flesh compared to the election, meaning that those that believe on Christ through by grace through faith, okay? So in verse seven there, it says, what then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. So why is he bringing up the scripture? He's talking about how, hey, listen, the election hath obtained it. Meaning, what's he saying here? He's basically saying, those that were of Israel that believed, they're the election. They believed on Christ and were elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, and were elect because he foreknew who would believe, okay? And that being said, he says the rest were blinded, and he's gonna quote a scripture to prove it, okay? According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear unto this day. So what is this scripture talking about in Isaiah 29? It's talking about the Jews of that time that God had poured out the spirit of slumber, or spirit of deep sleep, as it says in Isaiah, and they're staggering around and don't know where they're going. They're the blind leading the blind. They also say that basically they had this book that sealed. Now, when I think of this passage, I think about the translators to the readers, and I think I preached on this talking about the unknown tongue, but the translators to the readers brought this passage out talking about why it was so important to have a translation in what they would call the vulgar tongue, which just means the common tongue, okay? Vulgar doesn't mean bad language, okay? Now, we use that because when you say vulgar, you're kind of meaning like not high-end language, right? You're basically, you would associate bad language with like low-end type of language, okay? But vulgar just means common, and they basically use this passage saying, if I bring you the word about in Latin or Greek and Hebrew and you don't understand it, then it's like bringing a book to somebody saying, hey, it's basically a sealed book at that point, okay? If you don't know what this means, if you don't know English and I hand you this book, you might as well just have seals on this thing and not be able to open it, because what's the difference? And it's like when you teach your children how to read, right, they can look at it and they can seize their stuff on there, right, but they can't understand it. They can't read it until they learn how to read it, okay? And the whole point is that they take it under somebody and saying, hey, read this for me, and it says I can't for I'm not learned, right? Meaning I can't read. But the idea here is that God has put on them the spirit of slumber, the spirit of deep sleep to where they can't understand it. They can read it. They could sound it out, read it, but they cannot comprehend what it's saying, okay? And that's why it's getting across there. Now go to Isaiah chapter 29, verse 13, because we're gonna see another passage that's brought up that was going on during Jesus' day here on the earth, and it says in Isaiah 29, verse 13, it says, wherefore the Lord said, forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. So we know this is quoted in New Testament. Go to Mark chapter seven. You also find this in Matthew, but he brings this up, okay? So Paul brings up Isaiah 29, and Jesus brings up Isaiah 29. That's why Isaiah is up there. Basically, you have Psalms and Isaiah. When it comes to the books that are quoted in the New Testament, Psalms and Isaiah are neck and neck. Okay, I think Psalm wins out, but it's also a bigger book, so I gotta give Isaiah a little slack on that, but Isaiah and Psalms are up there in the running as far as the most quoted books, and you can see that. How many times am I like, here's where it says this in the New Testament. Here's where they quote this in the New Testament. So if I'm going to the New Testament a lot during this, it's because of that, okay, because this whole book is pretty much, it's just pointing you, pointing you to what's gonna happen, and yay, the whole Bible does that, but Isaiah particularly. Isaiah 29 says, talking about the fact that they draw near with their mouth and their lips, but their heart is far from me, in Mark chapter seven, verse six, it says, he answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people on earth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do, and he said unto them, full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. So that's what this passage is talking about. It's basically saying, they're saying that they honor me, but their heart isn't there, okay. It's just all for show, and they're saying that they're doing it, but their heart isn't there, and their teaching for doctrine is the commandments of men, and in Isaiah chapter 29, it says that their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. So it's just another way of saying the same thing, but basically it's the precept of men is the commandment of men, where the fear's coming from. They want people to fear the fact that they need to wash their hands, or they need to wash pots, or whatever the commandment may be, it's not in the Bible. Okay, so if we have any type of precept, or if you have a precept in your house, listen, that should never trump God's precepts or commandments, so God's commandment should always be first, and if any of your commandments that you have in your house, or even here at the church that would go against what God says, then you go with God every time. So we don't wanna be in that camp, and listen, a lot of people think, well, you're a fundamentalist, you have all these rules. Yeah, I mean, I have rules in my family, and as a pastor I have rules in this church, based on biblical principles, but when it comes to something, if it goes against the word of God, that's where you step up. So children, if your parents have a rule, and you're like, well, I don't see that written, like, thus saith the Lord, thou shalt clean my room, but your parents are saying, clean your room, you need to do what your parents say, because the Bible says to obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, and you know what, but if your parents tell you to go do some sin, then you don't do that, okay? Then that's a point where obviously God's authority trumps the other authorities, and I hate to use the word trump in the season that we're in, but it's a word in the vocabulary, so anyway. So that being said, this is brought up, it's something that was prophesied, but do you think that that was just in Jesus' day, that that was going on? No, definitely not, I mean, it was happening in their day. Do you think that it's not happening today? Look at the Catholic church, and the precepts of men. Listen, I mean, you talk to people that are Catholic, and they're just like, well, what did the Pope say? What's the priest say? What's the bishop say? And they're always changing, you know? They're ever movable, but see, God doesn't change, and when it comes to morality, his laws are always the same, okay? And so, you know, this is a great passage to really just show you, hey, he blinded their eyes, but also, you know, why? Because they were hypocrites in their worship toward God, they were saying they loved God, but in their hearts, they were far from God. So just a lot of great passages that we see in here. Go to Isaiah chapter 29 again, and verse 15, Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 15. Notice what it says here in verse 15. It says, woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, who seeth us, and who knoweth us? Now, this is a truth, if there ever was one, that bad things happen at night, or bad things happen in the dark, okay? Meaning that people want to hide what they're doing, okay? When you think of the BLM, the Black Lives Matter, when did they do a lot of that rioting? They waited till night. They weren't doing it in broad daylight, because they want to conceal themselves. They want to do it when they're masked in darkness. And you know, listen, the wicked, you know, they hate the light. Why, lest their deeds should be reproved. But see, if you're doing that, which is right, you do it in the day, right? Because you're not worried about the fact that someone's seeing you do it. You know, if someone sees you do it, then great, you know? But you don't care because it's righteous, okay? But people that want to do wickedness, they want to do it in a corner, they want to do it in the dark, they want to do it, and they want to say, hey, no one sees us. No one's seen what we're doing. We're getting away with it, right? But notice what the Bible says. First of all, this, this is a true statement right here. Proverbs 15, three says this, the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. So you may get away, you know, from people and what they see but ultimately, are people gonna be able to judge you? Okay? You know, when it comes to the unsaved, can people throw you into hell, right? It says fear not him that is able to kill the body but fear him that is able to destroy both body and soul in hell, meaning that God is able to, is the one that's gonna actually judge you on that, ultimately. And it says that his eyes are in every place, he's beholding the evil and the good. And so just because you're in a dark corner or no one sees it, listen, God sees it, okay? Now in Psalm 32, go to Psalm 32 and verse five, Psalm 32 and verse five, and this is the idea of covering up iniquity and trying to hide it, okay? And you know what, people take pleasure in that. They love the fact that they think that they're getting away with something and all that. And that's just a part of the simple nature that's in us. And Psalm 32 and verse five, it says, I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin, Selah. So it says, I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and my iniquity have I not hid. Okay, so there's the idea of hiding it, meaning that you're just not confessing it to the Lord. You know, you're kind of trying to hide it, like, oh, I'm not really doing this, okay? And you're just kidding yourself, because obviously God knows what's going on. But go to Proverbs chapter 28, go to Proverbs chapter 28. Proverbs 28, with that same token of covering up or seeking to hide it. And Proverbs 28 and verse 13, it says, he that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Now obviously, there's a lot of verses about, you know, covering sin being a good thing. And what that means is that in those cases, what you're talking about is that it's being forgiven by God, right? It's being covered, it's being concealed, meaning that if you see a brother that's erring from the way and you convert him from the error of his way, then you've covered a multitude of sins and saved the soul from death. The idea is that you kind of concealed the matter before it got out of hand, okay? And that's good, meaning that they reconciled it, they confessed it to God and dealt with it, okay? But what you don't want is someone that's in sin and then you're just hiding it, you're concealing it, okay? And churches do this, okay? Where people are being abused or things happen that need to be uncovered and need to be exposed and people cover it up, and that's wicked, okay? And listen, God knows it's there. And you know what, if there's any type of sins like that in our church, and that's why you hear these horror stories of children being molested or women being abused and all this stuff, and churches and stuff like that, and it's just covered up. And it happens in other religions, and it happens in all that stuff, and you think of the Catholic Church and all that, and the cover-ups, they try to cover up all this sin, and it's wickedness. And the Bible says, Woe unto them that seeked deep to hide their counsel from the Lord. And they try to do these sins in the dark. They think no one's seeing them, right? They're like, who sees us? God does, okay? And it comes down to this, is that things that are done in secret, in the dark, are pleasurable to people, and that's why people do it, okay? And Proverbs chapter nine, verse 17, stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten and secret is pleasant, but he knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell. So that's a strong statement. And this is talking about the strange woman that's trying to entice a married man, okay? And there are people out there, there are women that are homewreckers, and they take a lot of pleasure in doing wickedness like that, okay? And they seek after people that are married, the same would apply with men and women and all that stuff as far as men seeking after women that are married, because stolen waters are sweet to them, okay? And wickedness, things that are done in the dark, things that are done in secret, those things, to them, it's just pleasurable, or a pleasurable, man, I can't talk. But the idea, though, is that things should be done in the day, things should be done righteously. You know what? And, you know, whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge. But the idea is that marriage is honorable and all and the bed undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge. And you know what, so with marriage, you know what? That's where it's supposed to be, and it's not supposed to be done in a corner somewhere, it's not supposed to be done in the dark somewhere, in fornication, and without being married. And you know what, God sees it. So that's what they're saying, is like, who sees this? And it kind of reminds me of Malachi, where it says, where's the God of judgment? You know, they're kind of asking that question. So, but going on from that, and you kind of see in this chapter that we kind of have different things that are being said. It's obviously all about judgment that's going on with Jerusalem, but it's kind of hitting different points. It's talking about how the prophets are blinded. It's talking about here, about how they're trying to conceal their sin, they're trying to do it in secret, no one's seeing this. And, you know, just all the different avenues about what's going on with this people. It starts off saying that, hey, when you die, you know, the voice of your blood is gonna be low on the totem pole, okay? It's gonna be like a whisper. It's gonna be like someone that's peeping and muttering. And so just all these different avenues that are going forth here. Now, in Isaiah chapter 29, verse 16, it says, surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay. For shall the work say of him that made it? He may be not. Or shall the thing frame say of him that framed it? He had no understanding. Now, this is interesting, we was talking about the potter's clay, and it's interesting because you're dealing with, a lot of these people are a reprobate, right? They've been blinded, their foolish heart has been darkened, all that. Go to Romans chapter nine, because let's look at what it says here, because it just got done talking about in Romans chapter nine about how he hardened Pharaoh. It says, who have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. And it was talking about Pharaoh, and how God brought him down to basically get glory, okay? And what I believe it's saying here in Isaiah chapter 29, verse 16, is that, surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay. Meaning that God's gonna use that, okay? You turned all this stuff upside down, and you have done all this, but God's gonna mold that into where it's gonna give him glory, and it's gonna be prosperous, right? So God is just basically using what people, the bad things they do, he's trying to mold that to try to get more people saved, and try to give glory to himself. And Pharaoh is one of those great examples of that, where he hardened him, and darkened his heart. Ultimately, so Rahab got saved, and many other people got saved, and God was known throughout the whole world because of what happened there. And I believe he's saying the same thing here with this, is that the whole world's gonna know that you got judged because you disobeyed me, right? And throughout the Old Testament, you'll see this as like, well, Moses is like, don't destroy them, because then they'll say, well, you brought them out there, and couldn't save them, and stuff like that. So it's kind of using that logic of like, don't destroy them, because the people are gonna think that you couldn't bring it through the wilderness, or whatever, right? But then, there's other places where God's like, no, when I destroy them, the people are gonna know that I destroyed them because they did not obey me. They're gonna know that it's because they went after other gods, and ultimately, he's gonna give the glory, and people are gonna fear because of that. Now, in Isaiah, I'm sorry, Romans chapter nine, verse 19 there, it says, thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter pourer over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared in the glory, even so, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, I'm sorry, even so, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. So he's explaining why he's doing that, because you may say, well, why does God harden people? Well, here's the explanation. Why is he doing it? So more people would get saved. That's why he's doing it. And he's using this idea of the potter and the clay, and what people do here, though, is they say, well, this is him doing this in the womb, you know, right? He's making this vessel fitted unto destruction in the womb, okay? That's quite a leap, okay? Because I don't remember reading about baby Pharaoh in the womb, and God hardening baby Pharaoh's heart, okay? No, he was a full-grown man when God was hardening his heart, and all that stuff was going down, okay? But you know what he did? He took that vessel, and he fitted it unto wrath and destruction, didn't he? And you know what doing that did? It took a lot of other vessels that he fitted unto righteousness and godliness, okay? And that means that God is our maker. We are his creatures. And listen, everybody is a creature. That's why it says to preach the gospel to every creature. Not everybody's a child of God. Only believers are children of God. But everybody's created by God, okay? We're all made in the image of God, right? Made man in the image of God, and his woman is the glory of the man, and you know what, we're all made by God, and he can mold us and do whatever he wants with us, right? Now thank God God is not willing to any should perish, and then he'll have all men to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth. So we have a merciful and gracious God who wants everybody to get saved, but ultimately there comes a point where he can mold people into being a reprobate, okay? And the reason for that is because he wants to use that. What does it say in verse 22? What if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? Meaning that, why are there still reprobates? Why are these wicked people still walking on the earth? Why didn't he just kill them right now? They're dead men walking anyway. Well, maybe, right? It's kinda like, Paul's like, well maybe God is doing this for a reason, right? And obviously this is under the inspiration of Holy Ghost, so this means this is true, okay? It says, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared to glory, talking about whether Jew or Gentile. So he's using those vessels of wrath to show his power, okay? And you know what? We need to know that God's thoughts are above our thoughts, and he knows better than us, okay? Now, go back to Isaiah chapter 29. Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 17. Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 17. And honestly, I could preach a whole sermon on all these points. You know, I could preach a whole sermon on that right there. I could preach a whole sermon on the idea of not concealing your sin. You know, not doing things in darkness and trying to hide from God what you're doing, right? I can preach whole sermons on the fact that there's people that God blinds and, you know, giving them the spirit of slumber, and there's people that can't understand the Bible, whether they're reprobate or whether they're just unsaved people that are natural men that cannot receive the things of the spirit of God. You know, I could preach a whole sermon on every one of these things. That's why these chapters are so packed, and you know what? We're gonna go through a chapter a week, Lord willing, but don't think that after we get done with this study that we've turned over every stone, okay? There's a lot more here that just time would fail. Now, in Isaiah chapter 29, verse 17, knows what it says here. It says, is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest. And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Now we're getting some good news, right? So we've been getting like doom and gloom through this whole thing, right? But if you remember at the very beginning, who's he talking to? The rulers and the prophets, okay? But who's he talking about here? The deaf, the blind, the meek, and the poor. See how it's good for them? And isn't that the way it was in Jesus' day? Who was getting healed? Who was receiving the blessings? Who was hearing the word of God? But it was the deaf, the blind, the maimed, the poor, the meek, right? And it's interesting because even the unlearned, right? And I'm not saying that the apostles couldn't read, right? But that's what they called them. They said, you're unlearned, right? In the ways of your doctrines, right? The ways of the doctrines of men. But go to Luke chapter seven, because it's very interesting that in this day, it's talking about all this fruit that's coming about, and the fact that the deaf are gonna hear the words of the book, right? So the deaf are gonna hear, the blind are gonna see, the meek are gonna be increased with joy, and the poor shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. And it just made me think of this passage with John the Baptist, okay? Because John the Baptist is saying, hey, are thou the Christ, or do we look for another? He's basically kind of questioning. He's in prison, and he's wanting to know, are you the one? Even though he's the one that just said before that, behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And he bare record that this is the Son of God, right? But even John the Baptist has doubts, and just like, is this, are you the one? He just needs to be reminded, yet yes, right? And notice what it says in verse 18. And the disciples of John showed him of all these things, and John calling unto him, two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, art thou he that should come, or look we for another? When the men came, I'm sorry, when the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, art thou he that should come, or look we for another? And in the same hour, he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind, he gave sight. Then Jesus answered and sent it to him. Now, this is what his reply is to John the Baptist, right? He's saying, are you he that should come, or do we look for another? And Jesus answering said unto them, go your way and tell John what things ye have seen, and heard, how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached, and blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. You know what that, he's pointing you back to Isaiah. Okay, and there's other places for the sake of time where you haven't got there yet, okay, where it states the same type of stuff, okay, about what Jesus was gonna do. But you can even see that here in Isaiah chapter 29, in the fact that, hey, the deaf are gonna hear the word of the book, the blind are gonna see out of obscurity of darkness, and they're gonna rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. So here's the good news. When all this stuff's happening where, you know, the prophets are being blinded, they can't understand anything, listen, there are people that are being blessed by the Lord at this time, blessed by the Holy One of Israel. They say, well, how do you know that's Jesus? Well, the spakey of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, not his flesh to seek corruption. When you look at where that's quoted, it says, it will not suffer as Holy One to seek corruption. So yeah, it's talking about Jesus, okay. Now I'm not saying Holy One couldn't be referring to the Father and couldn't be referring to the Holy Spirit, but it's a term that could be talking about either one of them, any one of the persons of the Godhead. But going back to Isaiah chapter 29, I need to hurry up here and finish off this chapter. Like I said, there's a lot of stuff in here, but we see this kind of good news, if you will, and it's kind of like the bad news, like people are being cut off, people are being destroyed, people are, their minds are being darkened, you know, like all this stuff's happening, but then it's like, hey, but these guys are being blessed. And that's what you see in Jesus' day, and guess what, that's what you're gonna see in our day. So in Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 20, this is really where you see God abasing the wicked. It says, for the terrible one is brought to naught, and the scorn or is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off, that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of naught. And it's basically talking about people that are oppressing the righteous, and it's talking about how God is gonna bring them to naught. You could really look at this in James chapter five. In your homework, read James chapter five. And the idea of God talking about how the labors, the hires of the, the labors of the field, they're, it says that their, their hires kept back by naught, and it talks about how, you know, their cry shall be heard in the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and, you know, basically he's seeing that they're oppressing, and it says you've killed the just, and they, you know, and all this stuff, okay? It's talking about that, and then it's talking about his coming. So, you know, he's basically saying, go to now, you rich men, and he's basically talking about how you're gonna be judged, and you're oppressing the righteous. Now, it's interesting because going, going into Isaiah chapter 29, verse 22, it says, therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall, Jacob shall not, shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. So there's this dichotomy of, like, the idea that you're dealing with all these children of Abraham, right? I mean, everybody that's being darkened here is of Israel, and they're children of Abraham, fleshly speaking, but it's saying that, hey, I redeemed Abraham, and then he's talking about, you know, Jacob not being ashamed, and the house of Jacob not being ashamed. Go to, go to Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter three, and the idea here is that you're talking about people that are saved, people that believe on the Lord, and that have been imputed to righteousness, and that those people are not gonna be ashamed, because he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed. He that believeth on him shall not be confounded. He that believeth on him shall not make haste. And the idea here is the fact that, hey, listen, all these people that call themselves Israelites they're all gonna be consumed. He's gonna bring them to naught, but all those that put their faith in Christ like Abraham, because it's bringing up, he's like, I've redeemed Abraham, and he's using Abraham as an example, which is definitely interesting, because the Bible does that in the New Testament, and Galatians chapter three and verse six, it says, even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, so what happened there? He was redeemed. He redeemed Abraham, but it says, know you therefore that they which are of faith the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God justified the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, and these shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faith by Abraham. And at the end of the chapter it says, and if you be Christ's, then are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And so I believe it's giving you a little glimpse of that, and the fact that, hey, as Abraham was redeemed, so those that are of Jacob that believe are also gonna not be ashamed, like Abraham's not ashamed, but we are a part of that. And Romans chapter nine talks about the fact that they are not all Israel which are of Israel. And those that are of the children of flesh, it says these are not the children of God, but the children of promise are accounted for the seed. And so it gets into that a little bit in this chapter. Go to finish off the chapter here, Isaiah chapter 29 verse 23. And I see a progression here, meaning that it's basically talking about, hey, listen, the death, the maimed, they're all gonna be blessed by the Holy One, they're gonna rejoice in him, but you know what, these wicked ones are gonna be cut off, but listen, like Abraham was redeemed, listen, those of Jacob that believe, they're not gonna be ashamed. And then in verse 23 and 24, I believe he's using those people that believe to get people of Israel saved, okay? And I'll explain that. In Isaiah chapter 29 verse 23, it says, and when he seeth his children, the work of my hands in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name. So basically what it's saying here is that when you see his children, whose children? It's just talking about Jacob, right? It's talking about Abraham who'll be redeemed, and Jacob, those that will not be ashamed. And when it says he seeth his children, I believe it's talking about like Israel. You know, when the physical Israelites see his children, notice what it says, but when he seeth his children, the work of my hands in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. So there's like a light at the end of the tunnel here, okay? And this is really where, when you look at Romans chapter 11, it's kind of like they've fallen, but did they fall that they would be destroyed? You know, God forbid. And it's like this light at the end of the tunnel that we see dealing with that. But notice in Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10 is the last thing I'm gonna show you here. Because it's basically saying they see his children in the works of his hands, meaning that I'm talking about, you know, the fact that by his own will, he begat us by the word of truth, that we should be a fruits of his creatures, you know? And it talks about the fact that we are his workmanship. We are, you know, the new creature which he's created and all that. And I believe he's basically saying, hey, when they're in the midst of them, what's going on here? It's provoking them to jealousy, okay? And that's what God says. That's the wisdom of God that we don't really comprehend and don't see. But in Romans chapter 10 and verse 16, it says, but they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Uzziah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Isaias is very bold and saith, I was found of them that sought me not, I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel, he saith, all day long I have stretched forth mine hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. So he's basically saying, hey, listen, Moses talked about this, Isaiah talked about this, that, hey, listen, the Gentiles are gonna believe, and he's gonna provoke them to jealousy. And notice what Paul says in the next chapter, in Romans chapter 11, Romans chapter 11, Romans chapter 11, verse 13. For I speak to you Gentiles, and as much as I am the apostle to Gentiles, I magnify in mine office, if by any means I may, what? Provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. And that's his prayer to God, is that Israel might be saved, right? And he's basically saying, hey, I hope that I can provoke them to jealousy, provoke them to emulation by you, so that I can save some of them. And I believe that's what it's saying here in Isaiah, at the end of Isaiah chapter 29, is it's basically saying, hey, but when he seeth his children the work of mine hands in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, right? So there's a switch going on there. Not everybody, right? We know that a lot of Israel didn't believe, but there was many that believed after that, that were Jews. And after the Gentiles were receiving it, it's kind of like the Gentiles were believing it, and reading the word of God, and getting on fire for the things of God, and they're just like, wait a minute, we grew up with this, right? And it's kind of like this provoking of like, we grew up with this, we should be knowing this, we should be the ones that are leading the charge, and then they get saved. Because they're, you know, if the lumpy holy, that, you know, I'm misquoting it, but in Romans chapter 11, it's really talking about this, you know, that if a wild branch is grafted into, you know, the olive tree, how much more shall the natural branches, right? And that's what it's getting into. Now today, when you're looking at Judaism, it's a little different, okay? Because today, Judaism is really the hard-hearted, rabbinic Jews that were blinded, okay? Because back then, you had people that were of, like, you know, believed the Bible, and you know, would actually listen to what it has to say. So the Jews that are here today, it's a little different than the law of the Jews that were there back then. Today, pretty much is the remnant of the Pharisees and Sadducees, right? It's just the remnant of them. And I'm not saying, listen, I wanted you to the Lord once. He was a young man that grew up in Judaism. So I'm not saying Jews can't get saved, okay? But you're talking about back then, listen, the Jews that he's talking about in this passage are those that, like, went on to believe and start churches and were called Christians at Antioch and other places, you know what I mean? And so people are like, well, see, you know, we need to go to Israel and provoke them to emulation. It's a little different, right? Because the Jews that came out of Israel, they left brown and came back white, right? And honestly, most of them are Ashkenazi Jews, even by their own profession, which Ashkenazi Jews, if you know your history, were people that converted to Judaism, okay? And which, whatever, you know? But the thing is is that, you know, they claim, well, we're Semites, you know? Maybe, I think we all are. So, but to think that you're like the true Jews that came out of there, yeah, right. Most of them, you know, were coming from Ashkenazis, went to Russia and, you know, all these other places and all that. But that's another sermon for another day. But Isaiah chapter 29 is packed. There's a lot of information in there. Again, I could do sermons on all those different topics, but hopefully you understand Jerusalem is being judged, and in particular, I believe it's talking about Jesus' day. It's basically talking about the fact that it's gonna be judged, and this is why, you know, they, with their mouths, they, you know, they drew no eye onto God, but their heart was far from them, but God blinded their hearts, blinded the wise men, took away all their wisdom, and he revealed to them the babes, and he healed the sick, the lame, the deaf, you know, the blind, he raised the dead, and then, you know, unto the Gentiles were preached the gospel to provoke those people back into the true, you know, belief. So let's end with a word of prayer to Heavenly Father. We thank you for today, and thank you for your word. Thank you for the book of Isaiah. Just pray that you help us to know it, and Lord, just so much that we can know as far as these chapters go, and just pray that you'd help us to use it for your glory, and be with us throughout this week. Pray you should be with our jobs, and help us to provide for our families, and Lord, we love you, and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name, amen.