Isaiah 34
I. (1-39) Condemnation
A. Chapters 1-12 - Prophecies against Judah
B. Chapters 13-23 - Prophecies against the Nations
C. Chapters 24-27 - Prophecies of the Day of the Lord
D. Chapters 28-35 - Prophecies of Judgment and Blessing
1. \\#28:1-29\\ Ephraim’s Future
2. \\#29:1-24\\ Jerusalem’s Future
3. \\#30:1-33\\ Israel’s Future
4. \\#31:1-9\\ Egypt and Judah’s Present
5. \\#32:1-20\\ Israel’s Future
6. \\#33:1-24\\ A Message from God
7. \\#34:1-17\\ The Destruction of Edom - This chapter has not been
fulfilled. It is an endtime prophetical chapter. Even after
the Babylonian conquests, new prophecies of Edom’s complete
destruction continue, meaning that this nation will have some
type of endtime revival so that it can again be destroyed.
A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS CHAPTER MIGHT BE, THE END OF THE NEW
PALESTINIAN STATE.
7. \\#34:1-17\\ The Destruction of Edom
a. \\#1\\ "Come near, ye nations… the earth…the world…and all things
that come forth from it." - God calls everyone and everything to hear
this message.
b. \\#2\\ God’s indignation and fury have risen. God is speaking of the
armies of the world being utterly destroyed. This was not fulfilled
in the Assyrian conquest in that much of the army retreated back to
Assyria. It is a clear endtime prophecy.
c. \\#3\\ "Their slain…" and "…their stink…" are indications of the
large number of unattended dead. That the blood shall be melted out
upon the mountains sounds like the New Testament passage:
Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the
vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six
hundred furlongs.
d. \\#4\\ "And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved…" Likewise,
this passage is the Old Testament equivalent to:
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree
casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places.
e. \\#5-6\\ For my sword shall be bathed in heaven…. The sword of the
Lord is filled with blood…." - The Lord calls what is happening a
"blood bath."
f. \\#5-6\\ God’s sword "shall come down upon Idumea… for the Lord hath
a sacrifice in Bozrah…." Idumea is another name for Edom. Bozrah is
a principal city in Edom. While this judgment is on the whole earth,
God has singled out the land once called Edom. Today, the land is
called Jordan. God has made numerous prophecies of the destruction of
Edom and even though no nation today is called by that name, the
descendents of those people still inhabit the land today. It is my
belief that these inhabitants will form a nation upon which these
prophecies will be fulfilled.
1. Malachi prophesied 200 years after Babylon effectively destroyed the
nation of Edom.
Malachi 1:4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and
build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but
I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The
people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
2. God prophesied that Edom would finally be destroyed at the hands of
the Jews, not the Babylonians.
Ezekiel 25:14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people
Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my
fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.
g. \\#7\\ "unicorns" - Although thought of today as a mythical creature,
the Bible uses the term to speak of an animal that was obviously common
in Israel’s history, perhaps the antelope or some other single-horned
beast.
h. \\#7\\ The land of Edom will be so covered with blood, that the wild
animals (unicorns, bullocks, bulls) shall also fall and presumably die.
i. \\#8\\ This is "the day of the Lord’s vengeance"; that is, is the Day of
Lord, that day spoken of through out the Bible as the great day of
Judgment.
1. This is a definite time signature. We now know that this is not
merely a historic reference.
2. This verse also links the destruction of Edom to the last days.
3. And it links God’s judgment upon the rest of the world as "the year
of recompenses for the controversy of Zion"; that is, it is God
recompensing the world for what they have done to Israel.
NOTE: At this time when our new president (Obama) is pushing for a two-state
solution to Palestinian terrorism, I see this prophecy as potentially being
fulfilled very soon.
j. \\#9\\ God continues to describe the land of Edom after the day of
judgment:
1. "the streams… shall be turned to pitch" - The water will thicken.
2. "the dust… into brimstone" - The dust will be ash, tainted with
suffer.
3. the land… shall become burning pitch" - The land scorched and
fiery.
k. \\#10\\ And the land will be a burning, smoking wasteland as long as the
earth continues.
l. \\#11\\ The cormorant and the bittern, unclean birds, along with the
owl and the raven, shall dwell there. These animals denote a barren,
unclean wasteland.
m. \\#12\\ The kings and princes shall not be there. I take it, that will
not be alive.
n. \\#13-15\\ More descriptions of a land left useless and desolate.
o. \\#16\\ God now challenges us to search through the Bible finding
prophecies relating to Edom’s desolation. All of them will be fulfilled
at this time.
1. "none shall want her mate" means that you won’t find a single
prophecy left unfulfilled. They will all be together in the
fulfilled category.
2. "God emphasizes that His mouth has spoken these promises and His
Spirit has gathered all of the promises together to fulfill them.
p. \\#17\\ This verse seems to reflect the Jews and their land.
1. God has cast lots and assigned the tribes their place in Israel.
(The Jews themselves will not cast lots as Ezekiel notes God has
already assigned the land to each tribe \\#Eze 48:1-30\\.)
2. God promises the Jews shall then possess their land forever.
3. Since the issue of the Jews’ land is notes as being eternally
resolved, it would appear that Edom’s destruction had something to
do with them wanting the Jews’ land.
Verse 17 seems to actually go with the next chapter which continues describing
Israel’s blessedness.
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