(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) So, Isaiah chapter four, definitely not a really long chapter, but there's a lot of good information in this chapter. And so as you remember, Isaiah chapter two through five is all a continuation. So we're kind of picking up where we left off in chapter three, and chapter three is where we seek the judgments that God is putting upon Jerusalem for the wickedness. You have babes and women ruling over the men and taking away all their substance as far as their bread and water. And in chapter four here, it's very interesting because you can understand where it's coming from because it's talking about these seven women taking hold of one man, and so there's obviously a lot of judgment and there's a lot of wrath that has been upon them. But notice what it says here in verse one. It says, and in that day, seven women shall take hold of one man saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel. Only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. And so the big thing that I see in this chapter is the fact that these women, they're not even asking for this man to take care of them. They just want a different name. They want to be called by a different name so that the name they had before is tainted. It's been tarnished, and they just want a good name. And this is a principle in the Bible as far as having a good name. Go to Proverbs chapter 22. Having a good name is very important, and you kind of think of different names that have bad connotations. How about Judas? Judas has quite a bad connotation. I don't think most people are naming their children Judas. Maybe Jude. Maybe Judah. Not Judas. Okay, now I know it's the same name, but you know what I mean. Obviously everybody knows when they hear Judas, they're thinking of the traitor, the one that betrayed Jesus. And so you think of Benedict, right? Well, you know, Benedict Arnold. You think of the turncoat, you know, the traitor, you know, in the Revolutionary War. Or you can think about Benedict the Pope, right? So that always, Pope Benedict, that always just, I'm just like, really? Benedict Arnold is your Pope now? But you think of names that have a tainted, why is it tainted? Because of what they did, right? Judas was not a bad name, right? It was just literally a derivative of Judah. And so it was a good name, but it was tainted by what Judas did. And same thing with Benedict Arnold, and you know, you could go down the list as far as names that have been tainted. But Proverbs chapter 22 in verse 1 there, it says this. It says, a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor rather than silver and gold. Okay? So what do we see here? Actually, it's kind of the same exact thing. They said, hey, we don't want your bread, we don't want apparel. And what is that? You know, basically goods. It's obviously bread and, you know, food and raiment is kind of the necessities. But they're basically saying, we don't even want that, we just want a good name. We just want your name, okay? And go to Ecclesiastes chapter 7, Ecclesiastes chapter 7. This is obviously something you should be thinking about, especially men, as far as, since we bear our family name, it carries down through, and so we need to be thinking about how we're representing that name, okay? Does your last name have a good connotation based off your character, your integrity, what you did in life, or does it have a bad connotation? And so, you know, I, you know, for example, my last name is Robinson, and I believe that has a good connotation, as far as if you look back at my grandparents and what they did, my dad, my grandpa, you know, like in going back through the line, you know, there's nothing tainted about that name that I know of, okay, at least that's common knowledge. But I'm not saying to go into endless genealogies and figure out if your name has been tainted or not. But all I have to say is that, you know, to me, I believe that's a good name. I like that name, and I'm glad my grandparents weren't a bunch, you know, like my forefathers weren't a bunch of derelicts, okay? Now in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 1, it says this, it says, a good name is better than precious ointment, and a day of death than the day of one's birth. So we see that a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, a good name is better than precious ointment. Now this particularly for the ladies are something that you need to be thinking about when you're getting married, because, you know, you're going to be bearing your husband's name, okay? And so you're kind of choosing that, okay? Choosing who you marry, and as far as the name that you're going to be associating, you're going to be like, well, today you don't really have to take the name. Yeah, you don't have to, but this is a biblical concept. Go to Genesis chapter 5, Genesis chapter 5, as far as taking the man's name, okay? When I got married, actually Brother Dave is the one that announced us when we came into the reception area, and actually while Pastor Huggins announced us, but then obviously when we went into the reception area, Brother Dave announced us coming in as Mr. and Mrs. Jason Robinson, and not only the last name, but the first name too, and you'll see this on a lot of documents where it's literally like Mrs. Jason David Robinson, and it's talking about Holly, because she has my whole name. Now obviously in most documents, most things she writes down is Holly Robinson, you know, she's going to write down her, but you know, the Kirk name is no longer, that's her maiden name, you know, that's no longer, you know, with her as far as that goes. It's Robinson, okay? And so, but notice what it says here in Genesis chapter 5, in verse 1 here, it says, this is the book of the generation of Adam in the day that God created man. In the likeness of God made he him. Male and female created he them, and blessed them and called their name what? Adam. In the day when they were created. Called their name Adam. So you say, wow, that's just tradition, no that's Bible, okay, that the wife would bear the husband's name, okay, because when he made Adam, he called him Adam, he called him Adam because he made him out of the dust of the earth. And then he made the woman out of his rib, and he called their name Adam. Now obviously Adam called her Eve because she was the mother of all living, okay? So, but the idea of having a surname or having a name associated with your husband as women, that is very biblical. And by the way, this passage wouldn't make sense if that wasn't something that was being done, you know, as far as them saying, hey, we just want your name, we don't want anything else, we just want your name. Because they want their reproach taken away. Now as believers, okay, in a spiritual aspect, we are getting a new name when we believe on Christ. Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. You think of, I don't have this one written down, but I'm gonna get to it, about 2 Chronicles chapter 7 verse 14, it's a very famous verse when you think about this, but if you remember at the very beginning of Isaiah 4, you're going to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. But in Isaiah 4, 1, it says, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. Okay, you can definitely see how this applies, talking about God, you know, that we want his name and take away our reproach. But in the Old Testament here, he's talking about his people that are called by his name, and verse 14, it says, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now this is obviously talking about people that are already saved because, you know, they're already called by his name. He's talking about my people which are called by my name. He's not saying, you know, be called by my name and turn from your sins and all this. But as believers, we're supposed to turn from our iniquity and get right with God and he promises to heal us, right? In New Testament, what does it say? That we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, yeah, it's the same in the New Testament. But in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 there, notice what it says in verse 1. It says, would to God you could bear with me a little in my folly and indeed bear with me, for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Okay, so this is a biblical principle. Now, you don't take this stuff too far as far as these examples, okay? Because we're also, you know, it talks about us being brethren and, you know, like we're brethren with Christ. He's not ashamed to call us brethren. But another place we're called like the chaste virgin, the wife, right? And I want to show you those passages. And so, but it's just showing you that relationship, showing you these physical things where you can understand why we'd be taking his name, okay? So we're getting called by a new name because, well, one, we're born into the family of God. So you can look at the adoption. We're born into the family and we're the adopted sons. But we're also as a chaste virgin, virgin to Christ, you know, as kind of like this marriage between Christ and all believers, okay? And how we would get a new name because of that. But in Revelation chapter 19, Revelation chapter 19, just to kind of show you another place where it's likening us unto a wife, unto Christ, so Revelation chapter 19 and verse 6 there. And I believe this is really showing you that only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. You know, the idea of just having your sins washed away, isn't that enough, right? And it doesn't say that the husband, you know, this man, you know, that he's just like, that's all you're getting is my name, you know? But it's kind of like this idea of like, that's all I really want. I just want you to take away my reproach, right? And when you come to Christ, isn't that the case? You're just like, I just want to be saved from hell. And but God obviously gives us way abundantly, more abundantly than that, you know. He's not, he doesn't stop there. But really, when you're coming to Christ, that's really what you're looking for, right? You just want your sins forgiven. You don't want to go to hell. You want that reproach taken away. In Revelation chapter 19, verse 6, it says, And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude. And as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. Okay, so now we have the lamb and his wife. Well, it's going to explain who that is. It says in verse 8, And to her, who, the wife, was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. Okay, so we get this picture, you have the lamb, you have this woman that's arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of what? Saints. Okay. Now, you don't have to turn there, but you can look at New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. It's talking about that's the lamb's wife, you know, arrayed and all that, and obviously when you're talking about a city, a lot of times you're talking about the people, right? If you say the city of New York, what are you talking about? You talking about the buildings, or are you talking about the people in New York, right? And you could be talking about the buildings, you know what I mean? But at the same time, a lot of times when you're saying the city of Sacramento, the city of New York, the city of Tampa, or something like that, you're talking about the people in it. Right? It's like for God so loved the world, who's he talking about? Is he talking about the physical earth, physical dirt, or is he talking about the people? He's obviously talking about the people. God commended his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Right? So that obviously applies. Now go to John chapter five, John chapter five, just to kind of show you just how this correlates with us, because we are literally going to have our father's name on our foreheads at the very end. So the idea of being called by his name is definitely going to apply to us, right? And if you think about it, I mean just think of a father, son, and then marrying a wife, right? The son has the father's name, right? And then obviously when the wife marries the son, she bears that name by marriage. Does that make sense? So it's kind of giving you this picture of how we get the father's name, if you will. It's through the son. The man cometh unto the father but by me. And Jesus says in John five verse 43, it says, I am come in my father's name, and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. So Jesus came in the name of his father. He bore the name of his father. And we know that to be true, because Isaiah nine six. Now I'm not going to preach a whole sermon on explaining this, but it does say in Isaiah nine six, it says, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And so we know, why is he called that? Because he came in the name of his father. He did all the works of the father. He was an expressed image of the father. He was called the Everlasting Father, right? Now we know he's a different person. It's just like the son, obviously, is not the father, right? But it's kind of like the fact that I bear my father's name, Robinson. Okay, that doesn't mean I'm my dad, okay? But I bear his name. I'm called by his name. And guess what? My dad was called by his father's name. And guess what? My wife is called by that name now, when I married her. The day I married her, the moment I married her, guess what? She ceased to be Holly Kirk, and then became Holly Robinson. So it's that picture that you see there where we are getting that name. Now there's obviously passages in the Bible how God's going to give us a new name. There's going to be a special name that's going to be given to us. In Revelation, it talks about the white stone that he's going to give every believer, or everyone that ever comes, which by the way, is everyone that believes. Who is he that ever cometh but he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God. But we're going to have that. But ultimately, the name that we're really attaching to here is the father's name. It's going to be written on our foreheads. And Revelation 14, go to Revelation 22, Revelation 14 is talking about the 144,000, which are believers, by the way. So let's not, you know, sometimes I think we look at the 144,000 like there's this magical group of people. But these are literal Old Testament saints that are believers that have a specific job just like the two witnesses, which I believe is Moses and Elijah. But you know, they have specific jobs that they're going to be doing during the wrath and everything that's going on, but they're believers just as much as we are. But it does say in Revelation 14 verse 1, it says, And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on the mountain Sion, and with him 144,000, having his father's name written in their foreheads. So keep that in mind. Obviously, the 144,000 have him written in their foreheads. And I'm not saying that when the rapture happens, that doesn't happen the moment we're raptured. Because what I'm going to show you in Revelation 22, it's just stating a fact that all believers will have his name in their foreheads. So I'm not here to tell you like when that happens exactly, but know this, that eventually it's going to happen to all believers. But in Revelation 22 and verse 3, it says, And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. And his servant shall serve him, and they shall see his face. Who's his face that they're going to be seeing? The father, right? No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the father, he hath declared him. But this is a great moment here where we're actually going to see the father's face. And it says, And his name shall be in their foreheads. Which lines up perfectly with Revelation 14, talking about the father's name being in their foreheads. Okay. And it says, And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. So that's the finale. Obviously, that's a great passage that we can hold on to. But at that point, wouldn't you say your reproach has been wiped away? Every tear's going to be wiped away at that point, and all pain's going to be gone. We're going to be rolling and reigning with God forever and ever. So that's a great day. And it says, I don't want bread. And it says, A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. But listen, when you take the name of, when you believe on Christ, and you bear his name, guess what? Riches are coming with that. You know what I mean? A lot of those riches are determined on what you do for him and how you live for him. But it's just an awesome truth there with the fact of, you know, how we are espoused unto Christ as a chaste virgin. And that's just a cool, you know, like we, I think we mostly focus on the fact that we're children of God, than the fact that we're married with Christ. But you know, it talks about husbands and wives, and it says, I speak concerning Christ in the church. This is a great mystery. Okay. But with all these illustrations, you don't take it too far. Okay. You know, and people do that. They do do some wicked stuff with taking that, that are like, you know, like trying to make it too literal with a husband and wife or too literal with a father and son kind of thing. And it's just kind of, it's to give us an illustration of, you know, our relationship with God. Okay. So, but going back to Isaiah chapter four, there's only six verses here. So, but, but there are some interesting things that are said. And in Revelation, I'm sorry, Isaiah chapter four and verse two, this is what I want to talk about is the branch. You probably remember reading this through the prophets and the minor prophets is the branch, the branch of righteousness, the branch of the Lord. And in Isaiah four and verse two, it says, and in that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the Lord of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. Now, I personally believe that this passage, when you, when you read the rest of this passage in Isaiah four is more so getting in the fact that Jesus Christ is going to rule and reign for a thousand years on this earth. He's basically renewing the earth, if you will, as far as things are getting replenished and, and, you know, and just different things we're going to be seeing at the end of that chapter there is dealing with his reign here on the earth before the new heaven, new earth. Now, there's a lot of things dealing with him being the branch that would correlate with the new heaven, new earth, okay? But here's the thing, he doesn't cease to be the branch, okay? You know, like when the new heaven, new earth happens, he's still the branch of righteousness. He's still that branch, right? So, so you may see, and what I'm going to show you is some passages make it, it's more so talking about the new heaven, new earth, okay? But in this case, I believe we're dealing with, you know, the thousand year reign. So go to, go to Isaiah chapter 60, Isaiah chapter 60, and you've probably seen this in your Bible if you're reading through your Bible and you see branch in all caps when you're in like Zechariah, and so you're like, what in the world is this branch? It's obviously important, but obviously the branch, when you're dealing in Zechariah, it's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, it's talking about the Lord, but even here, I believe what it's getting into is what does that mean that he's the branch? It's more so the fact that he's renewing the earth, if you will, and I believe the thousand year reign is kind of like going back pre-flood times as far as people living longer, and it was a little better before the flood, and all that stuff that was going on, and then obviously new heaven, new earth is going back to paradise, okay? So we're pretty much in the worst state of the world right now, right? You had paradise, you had the Garden of Eden, then you had, after the Garden of Eden, they were kicked out, pre-flood, people are living almost to a thousand years old, and just different things are going on there, but then after the flood, the lifespan starts shortening and all that, and so I believe that thousand year reign is kind of going back to pre-flood, and then after the thousand year reign, you're going back to paradise, and that's just the way I see it when you're looking in Isaiah and looking at these different passages, dealing with the thousand year reign, but in verse 18, so you're in Isaiah 16 verse 18, it says violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise, okay? So we know that in the thousand year reign, it says that they're not going to learn war anymore, right, and nations are not going to be rising up against nations, so we know that to be true, but notice what it says in verse 19, and this is where you can say, well, I think this might be more so talking about the new heaven, new earth, because it says the sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee, but the Lord shall be unto thee in everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be thy everlasting light, and the days of thy morning shall be ended, thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified, a little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation, I the Lord will hasten in his time. Now you say, well, that last part, you know, what's that talking about? Well, I don't believe this is talking about, like, age, okay? I think it's talking about quantity, meaning that, I think the second part of that really shows you what it's talking about. It says a small one a strong nation, okay? So when it says one shall be a thousand, it's kind of like when it talks about, you know, one shall put ten thousand to flight, you know, it's kind of like the strength of one is like a thousand, right? Or the small one's like a nation, as far as their strength and their might, okay? And so I don't believe this is necessarily talking about, like, age and, like, how long people are going to live, okay? So if you want my, what I believe is this is probably more so dealing with the new heaven, new earth, with the branch here, okay? But like I said, does he cease to be the branch in the new heaven, new earth? No. But go to Jeremiah chapter 33, Jeremiah chapter 33, and this is where I believe Jeremiah 33 and Zechariah is where I believe personally this is clearly talking about his thousand year reign here on the earth, and that ties back to Isaiah 4, okay? So but in a lot of these things you have the kind of near future prophecy. Actually you probably have the near future in this, this is coming up soon, you know, like with Hezekiah and different things that are going on. Then you have, you know, like thousand year reign, which is not near future, but it's definitely in the far future, but then you have the even further future which is new heaven, new earth, okay? But in Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 14, Jeremiah 33 and verse 14, it says this, it says, Behold the days come, said the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah in those days, and at that time I will cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. Notice it says, verse 16, in those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely, this is the name wherewith she shall be called the Lord of righteousness, or Lord our righteousness, I'm sorry. And it says, for thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel, neither shall the priests of the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings and to kindle meat offerings and to do sacrifice continually. Now here it says, I'll grow up unto David, and it's talking about David shall not want a man to sit upon the throne. We know that Jesus is of the seat of David and that he promised David that of his loins, he would sit upon the throne. The Lord said, of your loins, I will sit upon the throne, meaning that God was gonna sit upon the throne, meaning that he was gonna be of the seat of David. And that obviously you see things here like their name shall be called the Lord our righteousness, they're gonna be called by his name, and the fact that obviously the saved are gonna be in Jerusalem, but also the fact that he's ruling, but he's also gonna be the priest at that time. Okay, so it's talking about Levites here, which you can see the kind of near future application because you still had the Levites at that time in the Old Testament, but go to Zechariah, because Zechariah, I believe, is just looking straight at the future there with the Lord Jesus Christ. So Zechariah chapter 3, so kind of at the very end of your Old Testament there. Second to the last book there, Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 8, so I'm just kind of showing you the places where the branch is mentioned, and you could say, well, I think that's more new heaven, new earth, or say, well, I think that's more, talking about the thousand year reign, and I wouldn't disagree with you, but I think that both apply in a lot of these cases. It's just the fact that in some cases it's pointing towards the way future, which is new heaven, new earth, and then some's pointing to the not so way future when you're dealing with thousand year reign. So in Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 8 here, Zechariah is, you know, in this prophecy and all this stuff that's going on, it's talking about Joshua the high priest. Now Joshua the son of Jostadag is the high priest, right? So he's a man that was at that time, he's a physical man, but at the same time the word, the name Jesus is Joshua, meaning that Jesus, it comes from Joshua, that's how you wrote it in Greek, you know, as far as that goes, so that's why there's two places in the New Testament where it's talking about Joshua the son of Nun and it says Jesus. And so you can definitely see how this parallels, you know, to Jesus in the New Testament as far as Joshua the high priest, okay? But it says in verse 8 here, it says, here now, oh Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. And in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree, okay? So there's a lot in here, but obviously if you know Revelation, when you see the lamb in Revelation chapter 5, what do you see? A lamb with seven eyes. And the seven eyes are what? The seven spirits of God which go to and fro through the earth and not getting into that tonight. But all I have to say is that this is obviously talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, the stone that was laid, the chief cornerstone, all that stuff is being talked about here. But that being said, go to Zechariah chapter 6, Zechariah chapter 6, and what you're going to see here is you're going to see the branch is the king and priest, okay? In the Old Testament, you can have a king and you can have a priest, but you can have both, okay? If you remember, that's how Uzziah became a leper, right? Uzziah the king was trying to do the incense and he was trying to perform the priest's office and remember, he was made a leper unto the day of his death because of it, okay? But Jesus Christ is king and priest, prophet, priest, and king, you know? So you kind of see like in Zechariah, you see Zechariah is the prophet, you see Joshua is the priest, and Zerubbabel is the governor or the king, but Jesus is all that, you know? He's the prophet, priest, and king. But in verse 12 there, it says, and speak unto him saying, thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying, behold the man whose name is the branch and he shall grow up out of his place and he shall build the temple of the Lord, even he shall build the temple of the Lord and he shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule upon his throne and he shall be a priest upon his throne and the council of peace shall be between them both and the crown shall be to Helam and to Vijah and to Jethiah and to Hen the son of Zephaniah for a memorial in the temple of the Lord and they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you and this shall come to pass if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. So this passage here is clearly talking about the future where Jesus Christ is going to rule and reign. He's going to be prophet, priest, and king. I mean he's going to be, but specifically here the branch is going to be ruling on his throne and he's going to be the priest on his throne because Jesus is the high priest forever after the Oromelchizedek, but he's also the king of kings. So this branch, what is it talking about? Well, in both cases of the thousand year reign, what do you have? You have this renewal, right? You kind of have this, you know, where things are becoming more fruitful if you will. In the thousand year reign, it's getting better, but it's not at the final state yet, but then in the new heaven, new earth, it's completely renewed, right? I have made all things new, you know. Behold all things, old things are passed away, behold I've made all things new. That's what it says in Revelation chapter 21 and so that's what you've got going on there. So go back to Isaiah chapter 4. Isaiah chapter 4, notice what it says in verse 3 here and it says, and it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning. Now I have a whole bunch of verses here on the book of the living, the book of life, but really I probably don't need to go into that because I think you know what that means, right? Meaning that, you know, think of Revelation 20, 14, death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death and whosoever is not written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, right? So when we're talking about the book of the living, the book of life, I believe we're talking about the fact of being saved, right? So it's just telling us that we have everlasting life. Those that are written in that book have everlasting life. And the thing is here is that in the thousand year reign, I believe, if you think about this, and the thing I want you to really focus on is at the end of verse 4 there, it talks about you shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, okay? Now tell me what just got done happening, that's probably not the right way to say that, how you just done did that, you know? What just happened, you know, before we get to the thousand year reign? We have God pouring out his wrath, right? So you have the anti-Christ is getting power for 42 months, but that's cut short as far as how long we're there for it, and then God's bringing the fire, right? The spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning happens, right? And the world is cleansed at that point, going into the thousand year reign. And so you're going into the thousand year reign after kind of this cleansing that happens, and you know, when you say, well, you know, the people that are in Jerusalem, they're the ones that are in the book of the living, well, here's the thing. We know in the new Jerusalem that only the Savior can be walking there, right? So I mean, you can definitely see how this applies there. But I'm bringing it home to the thousand year reign, what's really going on there? Well, I believe the people that are ruling and reigning there are going to be us, the saved, right? And so, you know, the nations are going to bring into it, you know, the nations are going to come up to Jerusalem and they're going to worship the Lord Jesus Christ and all that. So they're separate nations that are still there, but I believe that those that live in Jerusalem are saved, okay? Whether this is just talking about those that, you know, are saved from time past that are in glorified bodies at that time, or if in order to live in Jerusalem, you have to be a believer, right, at that time in the thousand year reign. But we do definitely see how this would apply in the new heaven, new earth, right? Because the new heaven, new earth, it's talking about the fact, actually go there, go to Revelation chapter 21, or Revelation chapter 21, so it's talking about, you know, those shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem, and in other places it's talking about, you know, not being blotted out, to blot them out of the book of the living and not to be written with the righteous. So we know that those that are written in the book of life, the book of the living, are righteous. And this is, you say, well, are you saying you gotta be righteous to go to heaven? No, because the Bible, you know, what Paul said is that, not that I have the righteousness of the law, I'm sorry, the righteousness which is by the law, but the righteousness which is of God by faith. And Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, so we're talking about God's righteousness, the righteousness of Christ being imputed unto us, that's why we're righteous, okay? So obviously believing on Christ is how you would be made righteous and that you'd be in the book of life there. Now, in Revelation 21, this is definitely where you can see a lot of these cases where you're talking about the branch that says there's no more sun, you know, as far as there's no need for the sun, okay? Because in Revelation 21, that's the big key about the new heaven, new earth, is the fact that Christ is the light, the lamb is the light, God is the light. Now I don't believe this is saying there is no sun, okay, it says there's no need for the sun, because it'd be kind of like, what it's really showing you is that God is so much light that it dwarfs the sun. So think about that for a second, but that's basically what you're dealing with. So in verse 23 there, it says, in the city, had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did delight in it, and the lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it, and the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there, and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it, and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lot, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. So there's where you have the fact that they're holy, obviously they're righteous, they're saved, and they're written with the living, which is obviously the Lamb's book of life, or the book of the living, if you will. I believe that the Lamb's book of life and the book of living are the same thing. That's just my personal belief on that. But you can definitely see how this ties into the new heaven, new earth, but again, I think that you still have that application with the thousand year reign, and this is why, because at the end of Isaiah 4, go to Isaiah 4, I believe that the fact that it talks about there being a night there, at that time in Zion, in Mount Zion, is showing you that we're talking about the thousand year reign and not the new heaven, new earth in this passage. Because I'm not saying there's no night on the earth at all in the new heaven, new earth, I just believe there's no night in the new Jerusalem. And I don't believe, because you may think, well, it's just new Jerusalem. No, I believe that there's a new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem's in it, but people are coming in and out of it, saved people, obviously, and then you have outer darkness where all the lost are at, where all those that are in a lake of fire. But I believe there's going to be nations, it says the nations shall bring in the glory into it, so there's going to be still separate nations even in the new heaven, new earth, and you're like, well, what's going on there? Listen, you know as much as I probably know as far as what it says in Revelation 21 and all that, so the thing is, is that what I'm trying to get to here is that in Isaiah, chapter 4, verse 5, and verse 6, obviously the last two verses here, notice what it says. It says, and the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for upon all the glory shall be a defense, and there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from the storm and from rain. So I personally believe that since there is night, but I believe this is showing you what's going on in Jerusalem during the thousand-year reign, that God is literally making this cloud that's by day over every dwelling place that's there. Okay, so every dwelling place that's in Jerusalem at that time during the thousand-year reign has this cloud that's basically like shade during the day, and then at night there's this fire that's, you know, a defense at night, and you say, well, that sounds familiar. Yeah, because that's exactly what God did with the children of Israel in the wilderness, okay? And if you remember, what number are we on in Isaiah? We're on chapter 4. What book of the Bible is that? Numbers. Which is, if you were going to look at a book of where they're wandering in the wilderness, that would be the book, right? Because in Numbers, in chapter 13, is where they go into the Promised Land, right? They send the 12 witnesses into the Promised Land. They come back, give the evil report, except for Caleb and Joshua, and then they wander for how long? Forty years. That all happens in Numbers, okay? And that's where you have, and don't believe me, go to Numbers chapter 9. For sake of time, I'm not going to show you all the places where it mentions this, but there was this cloudy pillar, and then there was this pillar of fire at night. So the cloudy pillar was there by day, and then the pillar of fire was by night, and basically whenever this pillar would move, they would move, okay? When it stayed, they stayed, okay? But this was constant. So in the daytime, it was a cloud, and at night, it was fire, and so you see the same thing kind of going on, but in the thousand year reign, it's kind of like it's still there, but every dwelling place has that. It's not just like the temple or the tabernacle where this was happening, and so, but it says in Numbers chapter 9 verse 15, it says, and on the day that the tabernacle was reared up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely the tent of the testimony, and that even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire until the morning. So it was all way. The cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. Now in Psalm 105 and verse 39, it says this, he spread a cloud for a covering and fire to give light in the night, okay? And so just for, you know, when you're going through Numbers and all that, you're gonna see it over and over and over again. You'll see it in Exodus, and you'll see it, you know, talked about in Deuteronomy, but Deuteronomy was literally given in one day, okay? It was just Moses giving the second giving of the law, well, in one day before he died, but Numbers is really the storybook of them being in the wilderness for 40 years, okay? And it's interesting that Isaiah 4 is talking about this fire and cloud at night, you know, like the cloud in the day and the fire at night. I don't think that's a coincidence, right? Because we talked about how Isaiah is the mini Bible, if you will, and how these chapters, I believe, correlate in a lot of cases, okay? And so, but the thing is, we say, well, what's the importance of that? Well, the thing that it keeps talking about there is a defense, you know, it's given a defense. What's the cloud giving you? It's giving you defense from the sun, right? So you're not just getting burnt by the sun, but then the fire is giving you defense by night because it's dark, right? And basically keeping a defense of your enemies, and God was defending Israel when they were wandering in the wilderness, okay? Now go to Ezekiel chapter 38, this is the last thing I'm going to show you here because this is why I believe that Isaiah 4 is more so dealing with the thousand year reign, okay? Now Ezekiel 38 and 39 is about Gog and Magog, okay? And that is mentioned in Revelation chapter 20, Gog and Magog is the battle that's going to happen immediately after the thousand year reign, okay? So the timeline of Ezekiel 38, Ezekiel 39 is after the thousand year reign, okay? So that in mind, it's going to be talking about Jerusalem here, and it gives us a little information about what Jerusalem was like, okay, before they tried to take it out, okay? Now we know the story that Jesus just burned, you know, he consumes them with fire, right? So you can see the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, and if anything you don't see the spirit of burning, then look at the lake of fire and the great white throne judgment that happens after that, okay, before you get into the new heaven, new earth. But in Ezekiel chapter 38 and verse 8 here, Ezekiel 38 and verse 8, it says, after many days thou shalt be visited, in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people against the mountains of Israel which have been always waste, but it is brought forth out of the nations and they shall dwell safely all of them, and this is something that's brought up over and over again, is how they're going to dwell safely, there's not going to be war in the land, nations aren't going to rise up against nation, like, it's a time of peace, that thousand year reign Satan is bound for a thousand years, like, it's just a time of peace, there's no war, but notice in verse 9 here it says, thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, so he's talking about Gog and Magog, right? So he's talking about them descending on this city and you're going to come as a storm, so he's kind of talking to them, so God's talking to them, it says, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, and many people with thee, thus saith the Lord God, it shall also come to pass, that at the same time, shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought, and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages, that's interesting, unwalled, I will go to them that are at rest, and that dwells safely. All of them dwelleth without walls and have neither bars nor gates, that's a little different than New Heaven, New Earth, right? There's a wall, it's 144 cubits high, and there's 12 gates, and each gate is made of one pearl, right? So that's New Jerusalem, but the Jerusalem where Jesus is ruling and reigning, there's no wall, there's no gates, the villages don't have any, why? Because he's protecting them by fire at night, and by the cloud by day. Jesus is the protection, okay? And obviously he's gonna come through in this, but it says, in verse 12 there, it says, to take a spoil and to take a prey, to turn thine hand upon desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods that dwell in the midst of the land, okay? And so this is getting, and at the same time, I'm not going into the whole story, but Dog and Magoth's gonna be destroyed, right? So read Revelation 20, it happens like that, and that's the worry, but this gives you more of a detail of it, okay? And it's interesting that, you know, in Jerusalem when Jesus is ruling and reigning, is the fact that he's kind of going back to the wilderness style of, you know, the cloud, the pillar of fire, and all that stuff, and it's also interesting that, didn't we read about the fact how the law was gonna come out from Zion, right, and how we're, it's kind of like you're going back to the law and the mountain of God, and you have the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud, but guess who's leading it now? The Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of the Levites being the priests, we have the high priests at the order of Melchizedek. And instead of the judges, you have the judge, you have the king, the king of kings and lord of lords as leading the charge. It's the perfect government, it's the perfect safety, and you say, well, okay, I can see that, but, you know, what's the kind of near future thing, application? Well, when they go into Babylonian captivity, do you remember what they built first? The temple with no walls. And it talks about that. It says, it talks about in the minor prophets how you have the house of God in a city with no walls, and you can see how that applies to how it's going to be in the thousand year reign. Because there's no need of walls when you have the Lord Jesus Christ as your defense, you know, you have him protecting you. And so that's an interesting look into some of these things as far as, you know, just how that's going to be in the thousand year reign. I know we're going to figure it out, right, but it's, I think it's fun to kind of look into that and just kind of think about how different it's going to be. But I think it's really interesting on how some, a lot of the same elements that were in the Old Testament he's going to be using in, you know, later on in the future. And it really just shows you that God's the same God, you know, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so, you know, if the cloudy pillar and the pillar of fire was good back then, guess what, it's good in the thousand year reign. And so I just kind of love seeing that, how he's using the same things he's using in the Old Testament when he's rolling and reigning. And using it, and so I just think that's fun, that's interesting. But let's end with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for today, thank you for your word, and thank you for the book of Isaiah. Just pray that you would help us understand it, help us to use it in our daily walk with you. And Lord, we just pray that you would open our eyes to the deep things of God in the book of Isaiah, and Lord, we just look forward to going through more of these chapters. I do pray that you'd be with our church members, those that aren't feeling well, those that have been sick recently. I think of my daughter, I think of just others in the church as far as just their kids dealing with RSV or fevers and stuff like that. Just pray that you'd heal those in our church. I pray that you would help this pandemic, epidemic, whatever it is, to go away quickly so we don't have any distractions or anything like that when it comes to soul winning. And Lord, we love you. I pray all this in Jesus Christ's name, amen.