(Isaiah 24:1) Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants...
Most of the chapter describes the sins of the people and the punishment on the earth during the Tribulation.
Then, in three verses (21-23), a lot of events are covered and succinctly explained.
Jesus will come again and have the victory at the Armageddon battle.
All people who will have become believers during the Tribulation will join Jesus in the Millennial kingdom. And all believers from all time will be there in glorified bodies to see, experience and serve!
Meanwhile, right after the Armageddon battle, all unbelievers and all demons will be thrown into the abyss.
At the end of the thousand year reign, Satan will be released for a short time to entice people into challenging God. Those who have been born into the Millennium and have decided not to believe in Jesus will join cause with Satan as their leader. (We are not told whether or not the other demons will be released along with Satan.)
The last battle will be swift, then Satan (and all demons) will spend eternity in hell. There will be justice and eternal punishment for all demons!...
21 (Isaiah 24:21-23) So it will happen in that day, that the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high, and the kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in the dungeon, and will be confined in prison; and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders.
22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in the dungeon, and will be confined in prison; and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders.
(Isaiah 34:4) And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree.
From this we see:
- demons deserve punishment (Is.24:21)
- demons will be thrown into the abyss at the end of the Tribulation, and will be in hell forever after the last battle at the end of the Millennium (Is.24:22, 34:4)
Personal experience: we all would love to see and experience world peace. We would all love to see swift justice. And this will ultimately happen - in the Millennium! Meanwhile, we have to do our best to survive and get along - which is best done with God's guidance and in God's strength.
We can only control what we ourselves do and how we react. Even with our own children, we cannot control them. We have been put in the role of parents to love, train up, discipline, and guide them to be equipped as adults - ready to face a world that is not fair and often evil.
Today's takeaway: we are to leave the act of vengeance and punishment to the Lord, and focus on serving and living in God's will...
(Colossians 3:23-25) Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.
(Romans 12:14-21) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I can read the same scriptures over and over again! It never hurts to be reminded! As well, we can see verses with a fresh perspective while reading it with a different theme in mind!...
(Romans 5:1-11) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
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