The Coming and Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ: The Appearing, Part 3

From: Young Christian: Volume 2, 1912

• 4 min. read • grade level: 11

THE APPEARING.

In Isaiah 2:12-21¹²For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: ¹³And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, ¹⁴And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, ¹⁵And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, ¹⁶And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. ¹⁷And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. ¹⁸And the idols he shall utterly abolish. ¹⁹And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. ²⁰In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; ²¹To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. (Isaiah 2:12‑21): “For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.... And the idols He shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they make each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.”

In Isaiah 13: “I have commanded My sanctified ones, I have also called My mighty ones for Mine anger, even them that rejoice in My highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty,” ... “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity,” (Isa. 13:3-11³I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. ⁴The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. ⁵They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. ⁶Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. ⁷Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: ⁸And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. ⁹Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. ¹⁰For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. ¹¹And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (Isaiah 13:3‑11)).

“Behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many” (Isa. 66:15-16¹⁵For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. ¹⁶For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. (Isaiah 66:15‑16)).

After the judgment of the Western powers under the beast, the terrible foe of the Jews, the king of the North, “The Assyrian” will be smitten by the Lord. Used by God as the rod of His wrath to chastise the apostate Jews, when they bow to the idol and the beast, he exalts himself against God, and is then himself judged (Isa. 10:5-12⁵O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. ⁶I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. ⁷Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. ⁸For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? ⁹Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? ¹⁰As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; ¹¹Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? ¹²Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. (Isaiah 10:5‑12)). He comes as a destroying storm upon the land (Isa. 28:2²Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. (Isaiah 28:2)), attacks antichrist in Jerusalem, at the head of a powerful army, takes the city, and overthrows many countries (Dan. 11:40⁴⁰And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (Daniel 11:40)-41). The king of the South (Egypt) pushing at antichrist, the willful king, at the same time (Dan. 11:40⁴⁰And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (Daniel 11:40)), is also conquered by him (the Assyrian); but tidings out of the East and out of the North troubling him, he returns with great fury to destroy and utterly take away many of the Jews— plants the tabernacles of his palace between the seas close to Jerusalem, and is then smitten by the Lord (Dan. 11:41-45⁴¹He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. ⁴²He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. ⁴³But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. ⁴⁴But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. ⁴⁵And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. (Daniel 11:41‑45)).

A graphic description of his last march to Jerusalem is given in Isaiah 10, where he is seen to shake his hand against the city; but just as he thinks to possess it a second time, “Behold,” saith the prophet, “the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror.”(Isa. 10:33³³Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. (Isaiah 10:33))

A striking type of the Assyrian’s fall is seen in the destruction by the angel of the Lord of the mighty army of Sennacherib (Isa. 37:36³⁶Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. (Isaiah 37:36)).

This closes the judgments of God on Israel and the nations; the Deliverer, the Lord, comes out of Zion, and delivers His faithful remnant (Rom. 11:26²⁶And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: (Romans 11:26)). “Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O My people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and Mine anger in their destruction” (Isa. 10:24-25²⁴Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. ²⁵For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. (Isaiah 10:24‑25)). “The consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness” (Isa. 10:22²²For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. (Isaiah 10:22)). Isa 11-12 teem with millennial blessing.