Chapter 30
(2024 - 45 minutes in and I have yet to read a word of this chapter. Focused instead on "in those days" and "in that day". I am very excited about these as keys to unlock prophecy. But now, I need to get on with my reading. And...I just read it through.)
2021 - The first 18 verses are in prose format, then it goes to block.
2024 - It occurs to me that it might be helpful in the future to keep an outline - or two or three proposed outlines from people smarter than me - handy as I study this book. I just looked back at the MSB outline of Isaiah. It has a whole section running from 28:1 to 35:10 labeled "Warnings Against Alliance with Egypt". I do see that theme so far - Egypt listed prominently - but come on! Look at 29:13ff. These are also prophecies of the distant future. It bothers me when we try to make them all both near and far. Why would it be that way, which generates confusion not understanding. I don't think we have any reason to believe that Isaiah thought he was writing to people in the church age, 3000 years down the line. He was writing to a current audience, the people around him, with whom he could argue and to whom he might explain the prophecies. So you get something like 29:13, in Isaiah, and quoted again by Jesus, should we not consider that blindness and deafness STARTED in Isaiah's time, and continues to this day, rather than that it applied then, under the OC, and then in the NC we get a completely different instance of that curse on Israel? I think we can find prophecies that were fulfilled, completely and utterly, in the past. The fall of Assyria, the fall of Babylon, Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah. Done and done. But these others, where we can make a good case that they are not yet fulfilled, might well be looked at as ongoing, not discrete. Imperfect verbs, not perfect, and not participles.
Isaiah is such a hard book, in part because I am just not able to distill a single hermenuetic for interpreting the book. It's like I have to change the tools for interpretation that I am using chapter by chapter, or even verse by verse. My mind rebels against this. God is not the author of confusion!!! So keep trying. When I started this year I seized on this idea of "in that day" as a sort of red flag that we are addressing a prophecy specific to a given time - a different time than the last "in that day". And now today I see this possibility that prophecies might be in place for thousands of years - ongoing, still affecting Israel.
And yesterday, in Luke, we saw the phrase "in those days" used five times. It is about a specific time, not an "age" or a period of time, but a specific time. The first one is "In those days Mary arose and went..." That was a one time deal. The fifth time is a little more general, but it is still not at al mysterious as to the time it is about.
A lament that Judah/Jerusalem has determined on its own, apart from God, to appeal to Egypt for help. Goes on to say this strategy will fail miserably.
2021 - Vss 1-3 detail what God dislikes about the conduct of the nation of Israel. Israel has made a plan - but not God's plan, they've entered into an alliance but not one inspired by God, and they have chosen a destination but asked for no directions. God has been left out at every critical point. Vs 3 is the predictable, inevitable result:
[Isa 30:3 ESV] Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
2024 - Also relevant here is this verse: 2 Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! [Isa 30:2 NASB95]. As I recall, this same thing happens in Jeremiah. He too warns the people not to go to Egypt, and tells them if they do, they will all die there. And then they force Jeremiah to go with them...
2021 - Next, in vss 6, 7, there is an added (stacked might be a better word) prophecy of how this "man made" strategy will fail. It says that Israel is going to carry their goods on donkeys and camels through the Negeb. I found it interesting that several creatures that live in that desert are named, and this one really caught my eye:
[Isa 30:6 ESV] An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.
I have seen other references to this flying fiery serpent - here is another, also in Isaiah: [Isa 14:29 ESV] Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent. The suggestion in the BLB Interlinear is that the"fiery" part refers to the burning that accompanies the poisonous bite. So a poisonous snake is in view. But what about flying? It is interesting that the same word translated fiery serpent can also be translated Seraphim, the angel with six wings. Which certainly do fly. I read most all of what BLB Interlinear says about the word translated fly. If we are going to say "fiery" is a reference to poison - a characteristic of the snake, then perhaps instead "fly", we should go with "cause to fly", as in when you see this poisonous snake, it causes you to run away from it. Interesting that the creatures of the Negeb listed are lions, adders, and this serpent. Maybe it was some kind of a poisonous "mountain boomer", with wings, though it doesn't actually fly? Here is another verse: [Num 21:8 ESV] And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." Same word used for fiery in this verse as in the other two...but bronze serpents are not poisonous, so they have no burning sensation from a bite.
2022 - Fiery may be that its scales are highly reflective, red or orange, like that rufous hummingbird I saw at Vallecita lake. It looked like a fire sitting on a branch deep inside that bush. Hmm...I am not aware of any snake like this today, but there could have been one. But flying? In the dessert that did not mean it falls out of trees on you. Maybe it chases you, and is VERY fast? Here is what Barnes says, and I have to say I feel pretty good about my own speculations. This is long, but it is interesting:
"And fiery flying serpent - (מעופף שׂרף s'ârâph me‛ôpēp). Septuagint, Ἔκγονα ἀσπίδων περομένων Ekgona aspidōn petomenōn. This is the flying serpent so often referred to in the Scriptures. See a description of it in the notes at Isaiah 14:29. It is known to have abounded in the Arabian deserts, and was doubtless found also in Egypt as being in the same latitude, and infested with similar reptiles. Niebuhr thus describes a species of serpent which answers to this account. 'There is at Bakra a sort of serpents which they call Heie Sursurie, or Heie Thiare. They commonly keep upon the date trees; and as it would be laborious for them to come down from a very high tree in order to ascend another, they twist themselves by the tail to a branch of the former, which, making a spring, by the motion they give it, throw themselves to the second. Hence, it is that the modern Arabs call them the flying serpents - Heie Thiare. Lord Anson, as quoted by Niebuhr, also speaks of them as follows: 'The Spaniards informed us that there was often found in the woods a most mischievous serpent, called the flying snake, which, they said, darted itself from the boughs of trees on either man or beast that came within its reach, and whose sting they took to be inevitable death.' There was a species of serpent which the Greeks called Αξοντίας Acontias, and the Roman Jaculus, from their swift darting motion, and perhaps the same species is here referred to which Lucan calls Jaculique volucres. That these venomous reptiles abounded in Egypt is expressly testified by profane writers. Thus Ammianus says (xxii. 15), that 'Egypt nourishes innumerable serpents, basilisks, and twoheaded serpents (amphisbaenas), and the seytalus (a serpent of a glistening color), and the acontias (Latin, Jaculus), and adders, and vipers, and many others.'"
Some translations (not word for word translations, but idea translations) call this a "replica of a poisonous snake". This is a goose chase I guess. I thought there was another place this was used of end times, but I have not found it. NASB95 leaves out "fiery" altogether, but leaves in flying. MSB says it is all just a picture of a rich caravan plodding through a land fraught with dangers. Even so - the adder and the serpent are two different creatures, and the choice of adjectives sure makes you think there is something fearsome about the serpent. Perhaps it hides in trees and "jumps" on passersby? Looked up an article on snakes in Israel. These days, only the viper is a poisonous snake of concern. And it warns you it's there, and it never chases you. So just get away from it when/if you see it. In the south, rarely, there are adders, black cobras, ringed snakes...and others. When a cobra spreads, it has the appearance of wings on both sides of its head. Maybe that's what "flying" is referencing? Later in the day I tried to Google whether or not a cobra bite causes painful burning. I couldn't find that. What I did find was a statement that said most people who have been bitten by cobras are no longer available for comment. I'm sure the information is out there, but I wasn't able to find it.
2022 - This verse:
7 Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her "Rahab who sits still." [Isa 30:7 ESV]. This name, Rahab, shows up many times in the Bible. Usually, it is about Rahab the harlot who lived in Jericho. But that is not at all what it means here. Wow...I kind of opened myself a can of worms here...Let's start with Barnes:
"In this passage there can be no doubt that it refers to Egypt. So in Psalm 87:4; Psalm 89:10 (see the margin). Why it was given to Egypt is unknown, and can only be conjectured." The passages in Psalms are just the ones I was thinking of - though I had no idea where they were - when I said Rahab shows up a lot. Rahab is Egypt, for some unknown reason. It is apparently also a difficult translation. Look at how other versions put it:
7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength [is] to sit still. [Isa 30:7 KJV]
7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore I have called her Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. [Isa 30:7 NKJV]
7 Egypt's promises are worthless! Therefore, I call her Rahab--the Harmless Dragon. [Isa 30:7 NLT]
7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless. Therefore I call her Rahab the Do-Nothing. [Isa 30:7 NIV]
7 Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her "Rahab who has been exterminated." [Isa 30:7 NASB95]
7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. For this reason I call her 'Proud one who is silenced.'" [Isa 30:7 NET]....and so on. What a huge variation, telling you just how difficult this passage is. What does seem to be certain is that Rahab is Egypt. That is the foundational truth here. The "addendum" is what they can't seem to agree about.
Lastly, I had thought this name showed up in Revelation, but in the ESV, at least, it does not. Here is what BLB gives as the definition of the word rahab, a masculine noun:
pride, blusterer
storm, arrogance (but only as names)
mythical sea monster
emblematic name of Egypt
Why would a prostitute in Jericho have a masculine noun as her name? Oh my...are we sure Rahab in Jericho was a woman? Well...yes we are. In Joshua, the name is shown as a proper feminine noun. Further, we know this particular Rahab was female because this:
5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, [Mat 1:5 ESV]. Looking at this would make it four generations from the fall of Jericho to David. Is that enough time to fit in all of Judges and Samuel and all that, or could this be a different Rahab? Here are two other NT references to Rahab:
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. [Heb 11:31 ESV]
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? [Jas 2:25 ESV]. No mistaking to whom these refer.
This final verse in a goose chase that has lasted a long time:
25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. [Jos 6:25 ESV]. Look at all the pronouns. her, her, she, she. Looking at the BLB forward inline, all those pronouns are feminine.
What I still do not know for certain is whether or not this is the very same Rahab that is in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1. I am still not certain of that. I do know that I have heard over and over through the years that Rahab was in the genealogy of Jesus...but...how exactly do I know that???
One more...25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. [Jos 6:25 ESV]. But...is this the same Rahab as in Matt 1??? I also Googled "is Rahab in Jesus' lineage" and tons of references show up saying that she was. So instead of adjusting my thinking to see the Rahab in Matthew as just some random woman in the lineage of David, but not THE Rahab, I need to adjust my understanding of just how quickly we got from Joshua to Ruth through Judges and 1,2 Samuel to David. I would like to figure out exactly how many years those books all cover. And come back and put it in here. I would really like to do that.
2022 - Later - The book of Joshua starts in about 1405 BC. Jericho was conquered very early in the book. (Chapter 6). David was born in about 1040 BC. So 350 years later. So it goes Salmon and Rahab, son Boaz (who married Ruth, tying to that book), grandson Obed, Great grandson Jesse, father of David. So David is the fourth generation from Salmon and Rahab. That makes her certainly the Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus. So Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and 1Sam cover 350 years or so, only, of Jewish history. I thought it was a LOT more than that! Furthermore, the chronological Bible puts those 4 books in the same order as the canon. They are sequential. So...that all fits, and it is my understanding of the timeline that needs adjusting, not the person of Ruth.
2023 - Perhaps Egypt is called Rahab because Egypt is a place you go for refuge and escape but a place that does not always - or even usually - supply those things. Egypt might seem like a good idea when you're dissatisfied with your situation, but in the long run only does more harm than good. Egypt talks a good game, but rarely gets off the bench and onto the field. That might make a little sense.
But for spending all this time on vs 7, I now have to just read through chapter 31, with no pauses. I am out of time in 2022.
Isaiah is instructed to write these things down, and pass them on to the future, so it can be seen that Israel was rebellious, and that God warned them what would happen. That the people refused to hear what the prophets declared, would not heed the warning, and in fact actively tried to silence those proclaiming the truth to them. Because of this, a sort of "bulging weakness in the wall" arose, and at some point, that was going to break suddenly, catastrophically, disastrously for Jerusalem. Things will build and build, until finally the weak spot gives, and it is all over in an instant.
2021 - Perhaps the idea is also that there is not going to be a warning when the nation falls. They won't have time to pack up and move off to Egypt with all their goods. Their destruction will be sudden, catastrophic, and unexpected. This is probably what is in view.
Here are the verses:
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; 14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern." [Isa 30:12-14 ESV]
This is about the final stages of God's patience with those who rebel against him, who refuse to hear the warnings, who trust in man's wisdom. The progression to this point has been that as we turn away, He begins to warn. The way that was smooth begins to get bumpy. Slowly at first, but increasingly difficult. Signs begin to appear - indicators really - that we are no longer being blessed. God's hand is no longer on us, making even our enemies to be at peace with us. More and more the randomness of sin becomes prevalent. Injustice, corruption, the lack of personal restraint - all these become more and more prevalent. They are everywhere we look. As this continues, a critical weakness appears, though we are unlikely to recognize it as such at this advanced stage. But it is there. A sign of this stage is that we do not want to even hear the truth anymore. We don't want to be reminded of our accountability. And then the "dam breaks", or the "wall collapses", and we are suddenly overwhelmed, our "world" destroyed, our confidence put to flight, and that without remedy. It is just too late. This is truth I think. This sequence is repeated over and over in the Bible. This could be summarized for FB, using 12-14 maybe? (2021 - Used verses 12-15 in Oct 2020. It doesn't look much like this though. Could probably use it again as the progression of God's warning to God's wrath against nations.)
Something else occurs to me. God is longsuffering only in human terms. God is eternal, There is no long and short with Him. So when the evil seem to get away with things forever, it is only forever to us. A human lifetime is a blink of the eye to God. So to Him, the evil doings of an individual don't last very long at all, and in the grand scheme of eternity, are of little consequence. We see that in many places in scripture that describe the transience of a human lifetime. Like dew on the grass, or a shoot until the sun hits it. In eternal terms, how much harm can really be done in a human lifetime, when viewed through the lens of eternity? Even Hitler's evil becomes unimpressive when looked at this way. This too would be a good one for FB, with a few scriptures on human lifespan.
2021 - The remedy for the looming catastrophe is in this verse:
[Isa 30:15 ESV] For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling, A footnote in TCR says that "returning" could equally be translated as repentance. In fact, NASB95 and NIV do translate it that way. They don't like for you to have to puzzle out what "returning" might really be about. ESV and KJV expect you to take a little time, and think about what is meant by "returning". It's not all that hard really. But the NASB95 and NIV don't think we're smart enough to extract the "intent" of the passage, so they do it for us, cutting off a lot of nuances that we might otherwise consider. Repentance is pretty much a one off idea. Returning...implies a journey, not a moment.
2021 -Vss 15-17 give me the impression that when the destruction comes, people will flee in all directions, irrationally, even when there is no real threat. And in their unplanned and panicked rush, they will in fact "stand out" and so be easily tracked down and captured by their enemies, as if they were sending them a signal as to where they can be found. Disaster on disaster, humiliation for those captured so easily. Can you hear the soldiers jeering and laughing at their stupidity?
2021 - Vs 18 makes use of the imperfect tense:
[Isa 30:18 ESV] Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. I think this translation might be a better one in this case:
[Isa 30:18 NASB95] Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. But it might just be that I prefer to think of God in this way. Longing to be good to us, instead of waiting.
The use of the imperfect tense means the time of the action is not really certain - the action is in progress, or was, or will be - but the fact is, God magnifies himself when He is gracious to us. But His justice will not allow the rewarding of disobedience.
Starting with vs 19, the time of Israel's return to following God is prophesied. This looks to me to be about Trib and Great Trib as the Jews embrace Christ and return to Israel in great numbers, then on into the Millennial. He is just, and will respond as soon as they turn to Him, call upon Him.
2021 - [Isa 30:19 ESV] For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
"Shall dwell..." is imperfect, meaning time is not conveyed to us by the verb. At the end of the verse, "he answers you" is in perfect tense, meaning it is a completed action,whether past, present, or future. I think the idea is that we cry, God hears, and once He hears, there was, there is, or there will be an answer. But God always responds to our cries.
(tgt, wrath, 6th seal)
2021 - Vss 19-22 could be a reference to the return from Babylon, because Israel really gave up idol worship once they came back from there.
Here is in interesting verse:
[Isa 30:22 ESV] Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!"
We saw this very similar passage before:
[Isa 2:20 ESV] In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
[Isa 2:21 ESV] to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
Back in Isaiah 2, it seemed to me that it was the unsaved, during Great Trib, who were being talked about in this verse. But in 30, the very similar language seems just as certain to be about the Jews in Zion. So maybe, in both passages, we are seeing the repentance of Israel world wide during t/gt, and as many as can find a way return to Jerusalem during that time, and abandon their idols - or their secularism, or their disbelief in Christ - and turn to God once again.
And we see it here too:
[Isa 17:7 ESV] In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel.
[Isa 17:8 ESV] He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
It is interesting, and perhaps key, that both 2:20 and 17:7 refer to mankind in a universal sense, not distinguishing between Jew and Gentile, nor saved and unsaved. In 17:7, the word is "adam", and a note says that in the OT, this word means "mankind" far more frequently than it means "a man". That very same word is used in 2:20. So if we tie these three passages all together in time, and we say they are all talking about the same circumstances, then we see from Isa 2 and 17 what is going on with the planet during Great Trib, and we see the corresponding events in Zion at the same time. Mankind, in the worldwide sense, has realized at this point that there is a God in heaven and that His wrath is playing out in a supernatural way. No one at that time will be trying to say what is happening to the planet is just "nature" doing its thing. Recognizing that there is a God, mankind is going to try and rid himself of any association with idols, possessions, material things, and will abandon all those things to run and hide from the wrath of God. At the same time, the Jews in Zion, and indeed in all the word, will be opening their eyes and ears and recognizing the Lord God, and putting away anything that distracts them from him.
So. I do think all three of these passages are connected, and so I need to go back to those other two - sometime - and make sure that my interpretations are consistent. I believe these three passages are about Great Tribulation, and about the time the Wrath of God is pouring out on the earth.
I found yet another one!
2021 - Here is that same language for the fourth time!
[Isa 31:7 ESV] For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. I am convinced that the previous three times we saw this language, we were talking about the wrath of God during Great Trib. I am just going to fiat that it means the same here.
(2021 - I have to speed up. Almost two hours on 22 verses.)
But vss 23-25 speak of a more peaceful time. This does not look like t/gt at all. The verb tenses are imperfect and sequential perfect. Perhaps that sequential part is the key, as it looks back to a different verb...not sure which one. I don't know how Hebrew works, but this explanation of the sequential perfect makes me think I'm on the right track:
A Sequential Perfect verb often expresses the same kinds of action as the Imperfect conjugation, but it also connects to an earlier verb to form either a sequence of time or a sequence of thought. However, in Biblical Hebrew a Sequential Perfect verb has an additional and unique potential to express the same kind of action as the verb immediately preceding it.
So in this case, perhaps it is sequential in time, and this is about what will go on in Jerusalem AFTER the Great Tribulation. Peace will reign, crops will be planted and Israel will enjoy the milk and honey they were promised so long ago. I think that's the way to read this.
What is this verse about?
26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the LORD binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow. [Isa 30:26 ESV]
No darkness in the Millennial kingdom? MSB says it means the "benefits" of these natural bodies will be increased during this time, benefiting and not detrimental as you might think. He references Rev 16:8, 9 as what this is NOT about:
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. [Rev 16:8-9 ESV]
But I don't remember anywhere else that talks about the sun and moon being brighter.
2022 - There IS a verse in Revelation that talks about both sun and moon getting dimmer. I have interpreted that to mean that crops won't have enough light for photosynthesis, and that will lead to worldwide starvation. In context with this verse, perhaps it means that though they have the same "apparent" brightness, the light just won't support plants anymore. And then in the Millennial, it will be the same brightness, but amplify the effect of light on photosynthesis to produce massive crops. Eden-like crops!
Here is the verse: 4th Trumpet: 12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. [Rev 8:12 ESV]
2021 - based on previous paragraphs, I do think this is about the Millennial and how things will work then. Remember that a LOT of the inhabitants of that 1000 years are the dead come back to life - surely in resurrected bodies. These bodies won't have problems with extra bright sunlight. Look at the last phrase in vs 25 also, "...in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall." Sure seems like a reference BACKWARD to the battle when Christ comes with his heavenly armies just before the Millennial begins. It all fits. (2022...don't quite remember what I was thinking here. Dead back to life during the Millennial?)
2021 - I read quickly through 27-33. I think we are still talking about that last battle, which I think is what we were talking about in vs. 25. God is going to bring the future Assyria to that battle at his Second Advent, destroy them, and send them to the place prepared for them. Vs 33:
[Isa 30:33 ESV] For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
This looks like it ought to be included in my judgment study. Doesn't Matt 25 say that the condemned at the Sheep and Goat go into everlasting torment? When the bottomless pit is opened, black smoke comes out. Maybe this is connected directly to that.
2022 - Look at that picture! A fire laid into which the King of Assyria and his men are to be thrown. When it is time to light that fire, to kindle it, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, makes it burst into flames. What a picture that is!
2021 - I just cannot get over the way it all meshes together, from Isaiah, to Daniel, to Matthew, to Revelation. How can anyone believe that God is not the ultimate writer of the Bible? No man could ever make these passages that are seemingly nebulous, independent, and undecipherable, all come together consistently and with increasing certainty of interpretation and connection.