With the conclusion of chapter 33 we have completed the study of the five WOES pronounced at that time by the prophet. This section of the Book of Isaiah properly concludes with an "aftermath"--a description of God's judgments of the world which is set forth in Isaiah, chapter 34; and an "epilogue"--a description of the Millennial Age, found in chapter 35.

From verse 1 of chapter 34 we see that the prophet had the nations of earth in mind. Before God moves He calls the attention of the nations to what He intends to do. He warns them of this impending action. That this is a world situation here described is evident from verse 2: "For Jehovah hath indignation against all the nations, and wrath against all their host." Following this statement are these words: "He hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter." The marginal reading is, "he hath devoted them to destruction ..." The marginal reading is preferable because it fits into the facts of the context. God is giving the warning before the judgments fall. Hence He states the decision to which He has come: namely, that He has in His plan devoted them to destruction. He will therefore carry out His threat.

From verse 3 we see that the slain of Jehovah will be everywhere throughout the world. Bodies decaying and decomposing and giving forth disagreeable odors. A similar prediction is found in Jeremiah 25:32-34. Isaiah, in verse, 4, foretold the dissolution of the heavenly bodies during this time when God punishes the nations of earth--in the Tribulation Period. He therefore declared, "And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig tree." This language is to be taken at its face value because there is nothing in the context to indicate a departure from the literal meaning. This theme the Apostle Peter discussed in the third chapter of II Peter. An examination of its context shows that the apostle was speaking of the events of the day of Jehovah. At that time, according to his prediction, the heavenly bodies will be dissolved and pass away with a great noise and the earth will burn with intense fire. There will be volcanic eruptions here and there on the earth. The smoldering fires that are deposited in the earth will burst forth into mighty conflagrations. Since Peter gave that description in reply to the mockers who question the second Coming of Christ, it is evident that he was talking about the Tribulation and what will occur at that time. All the facts of the context point in that direction. It is, however, unfortunate that many Bible commentators have overlooked the time element of both the Isaiah passage and the one in II Peter and have applied them to the events connected with the conclusion of the Millennium.

Returning to Isaiah, chapter 34, let us note the prediction of verses 5 and 6:

"For my sword hath drunk its fill in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. 6 The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom." With the sword men fought in the days of Isaiah. It is the symbol of war. According to this prediction the sword of the Lord at the time here foreseen will have drunk its fill in heaven; then it comes down to earth to execute judgment upon Edom. To what does this refer? When one remembers that Isaiah was speaking about the Tribulation and when one examines the Book of Revelation, chapters 6-19, which deal with the Tribulation, one comes to the conclusion that Isaiah in our present passage was talking about the war which will be in heaven--Michael and his angels fighting against the devil and his forces--and which conflict is mentioned in Revelation 12:7-12. This event occurs in the middle of the Tribulation. After Satan and his hosts are driven from the battlements of heaven, they come to the earth and engage in feverish activity, knowing that their time is very short. But the sword of Jehovah, who wins the victory in heaven, also comes down to the earth and wins a signal victory here against these mighty powers of darkness, as well as against the inveterate enemies of God in the form of men.

The sword of God especially comes to Bozrah as we see in verse 6. This was one of the leading cities of Edom. When the Lord Jesus returns in flaming fire at the conclusion of the Tribulation, He will first appear in Bozrah. Isaiah, in chapter 63, verses 1-6, gives us this information. Habakkuk likewise in the third chapter of his prophecy sees the Messiah after He has struck His terrific blow in the land of Edom.

In verse 6 the prophet spoke of the slaughter of the population of Edom as if they were animals that are sacrificed. "The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom." In the next verse (7), continuing his thought on this point, the prophet spoke of certain ones as wild oxen and bulls, that likewise are slaughtered at this future time.

That this prediction will be fulfilled is guaranteed by the fact that God has "a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion" (vs. 8). An examination of the history of Edom in its relation to Israel shows that the Edomites, though they were blood-kin of Israel, were inveterate enemies, committing every crime against them possible. He who touches Israel touches the apple of God's eye. No weapon that is formed against Israel shall prosper. The day of recompense will surely come. God exhausts all means at His disposal to bring wicked men and nations to repentance. When He has exhausted all His means of restoring them, there is but one thing which He can do; namely, to bring judgment upon such incorrigible ones. In this category the Edomites are found. Therefore the Tribulation is called "a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion."

In verses 9 and 10 of this chapter the prophet gives one of the most graphic and lurid pictures of the condition of the land that one can find anywhere. The streams instead of being filled with water will be "turned into pitch," and the very dust of the land will be turned "into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever."

Instead of there being men, as formerly, throughout the land, "the pelican and porcupine shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein." It will be a kind of zoological garden in which the wild, vicious beasts that now roam the earth because of the curse upon them will be kept on exhibition. Why this will be, I cannot say. But such is the plain declaration of the Word of God, which I accept and believe with all of my heart. At some time we shall know the reason why God thus reduces the land of Edom to such a condition and why He will allow all of these vicious animals to be in that land. Of course they will never be permitted to leave that country and wander out upon the rest of the earth which, with the exception of that land and possibly Babylon, will be delivered from the curse at the second coming of our Lord.

In verse 16 is the following exhortation: "Seek ye out of the book of Jehovah, and read: no one of these shall be missing, none shall want her mate; for my mouth, it hath commanded, and his Spirit, it hath gathered them." The Scriptures constitute the Book of Jehovah. In it He has given us His revelation concerning things that are to come. Scattered throughout its pages are the names of many of the animals that now exist. Every animal thus appearing in the Book of Jehovah will be in that zoological garden with its mate. The guarantee that this condition will exist is the fact that God has commanded it and His Spirit will bring them together. Jehovah has cast the lot for this unique land and this zoological garden. It will certainly be there in fulfillment of the plan and purpose of God. According to verse 17 it will continue throughout the Millennial Age--from generation to generation. Whether or not the people from various parts of the earth will visit this portion of the world--the land of Edom--we cannot say. It is quite likely that they will. I might illustrate this by calling attention to the fact that there were certain reservations on the battlefields of France which were set apart and which were left exactly as they were the day the Armistice was signed in 1918. These became national parks, memorials of that mighty conflict. It may be that God sets apart the land of Edom which will be in the terrible condition mentioned in verses 8-10 and in which will be gathered the ferocious animals mentioned in this passage and also referred to in other portions of the Word in order to make the land a kind of museum, illustrating the terrible consequences of the curse which fell upon the earth when man sinned. I am simply throwing this thought out as a possible explanation; but since the Scriptures are silent on this point, we shall do well likewise to remain silent.

VII. WORLD BLESSING-MILLENNIUM (35:1-10)