Isaiah 34-35

Isaiah 34:1–7

- Isaiah is speaking to God.

- God’s judgment extends from Heaven to Earth.

- God will judge evil by completely destroying all that is evil.

Genesis 25:24–34; 27:41

Numbers 20:14–21

Obadiah 8–12

- The relationship between Edom and Israel and Judah begins with the brothers Esau and Jacob. They are twins, with Esau being born first. However, Jacob eventually cunningly forces Esau to give up his birthright. Ever since then Jacob has been aided in gaining the favor of the convenant with God made through Abraham to Isaac. Esau thus holds a grudge and has vowed to kill both his mother and Jacob. And God has announced His plan to destroy Edom due to such violence against Jacob.

Israel and Judah are descendents of Jacob, whereas Edom is the descendent of Esau.

- God shows extreme anger toward sinners and their sins, as it has been said, “He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood.” (Isaiah 34:3)

- God is perfect. Sin is an imperfection, and anyone who has sinned cannot be in the presence of our perfect Father.

- We are often told that we are punished for our sins. Well, what does that mean exactly? God speaks of many punishments, and it has been well documented throughout the Bible that any nation or any people or any person who disregards God’s guidance would be destroyed. This, I believe, is the major type of punishment people think of when they think about God’s punishment.

Well, I’d like to look at it from another perspective.

God is perfect. It’s not like He tries to be perfect or aims for perfection. God just is perfect. God is perfection. And so, anything that is in His presence must also be perfect. This is the main reason why after Adam and Eve have sinned, we humans have not been able to return to Heaven, to our Father’s side—because we carry the Sin they have committed, making us also imperfect and not good enough to enter God’s Kingdom. In a sense, not being able to return to God is a punishment in itself. I would argue that’s the biggest punishment of all—the punishment that stemmed from the Original Sin.

- The 4 gospels especially focus on how Jesus Christ saves us from our past, present, and future sins.

Isaiah 34:8–17

- God’s vengeance is to right any injustice but welcomes home His children as long as they choose to (hence, the concept of grace). Human vengeance often spurs from revenge.

- God’s vengeance against Edom will result in Edom burning in sulfur, her land burning to a pitch, with smoke rising forever. Edom will be desolate forever, with no one to occupy the space ever again.

- The day of the Lord’s vengeance is as certain as any of God’s promises, for it has been documented in the Scroll.

Isaiah 35:1–7

- God’s restored world will be a place of joy, blossom, and splendor.

- Isaiah 35:3-6 encourages those who are weary or gripped with fear that God will come, and He will come with vengeance to save those who are righteous and have been wronged.

Matthew 11:1–6

- Jesus uses Isaiah’s words in Isaiah 35:5-6 to show that He has fulfilled the prophesy spoken by Isaiah, that He makes the blind see, the lame walk, the diseased cured, the deaf hear, and the dead raised.

Isaiah 35:5–6

- The 4 gospels documents how Jesus often emphasizes the importance to faith. As long as the people believe in Jesus and that He is the Christ, our savior, their faith will save them, including physical handicaps.

Isaiah 35:8–10

- According to Merriam-Webster, “redeem” means “to buy back,” “to win back,” “to release from debt,” or “to atone for.”

1 Peter 1:18–19

- Jesus Christ is a Redeemer because His sacrificial death and His blood atoned for our sins. Because of Jesus, we are able to be made perfect again and return to God’s side. (Perfect, not in the sense of our inherent perfection, but in the sense of the amazing power of Jesus’ blood that can redeem us from our sins—not just past sins, but present and future sins as well.)

- The “Way of Holiness” is a path for the clean. It is a path that follows the Way as dictated by God, a path that wicked fools will not be able to follow. On this path, there will be no beasts, for it is a safe path for those who have been redeemed by the Lord. This path leads to Zion, a place of everlasting joy.

- God’s final day of wrath is saved for those who stubbornly refuse to follow His Way.

Before I became a Christian, I have always been a bit uncomfortable with this concept—in fact, a bit insulted. To me at that time, Christianity seemed like an insurance policy, with God as its ultimate salesman: Trust in me, and you will not die a horrible death. (Please forgive me for this very crude and disgusting analogy, but there is a point coming.)

However, as I continued to understand Christianity, that’s really not the way to view Christian redemption!

There is a battle for souls since the day Satan betrayed God. Satan seduced Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, causing Adam and Eve to sin, tainting the entire human race with sin forever and ever. We were casted out of Heaven because only perfect beings can be in Heaven. However, since then, God has fought hard to guide His children home—“Guide” and not “coerce,” as this is a significant difference. To protect our free will, God has chosen not to reveal Himself. (If we see Him, we no longer have an actual free will to choose to believe in Him.)

And obviously, Satan continues to “recruit,” thus fighting against God, seducing as many souls onto his side as possible.

Yet, God is omniscient. God knows all of this was going to happen, and He knows what is going to happen. And thus, God has made it be known through prophesy that a day of Wrath is coming. This day MUST come because He will get rid of Satan once and for all (see Revelation). This day is not yet here because God is giving humans the time to hear His Message, to guide His people back Home. He so love us, His children, that He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us, to wash away our sins with His perfect blood, so that humans can once again set foot in Heaven.

With such a loving Father, One who forgives us even though we are not perfect and will never be perfect, even though we have sinned and will continue to sin, how can we turn away from His shelter?

Hear the message: The Day of Wrath will come. It will come, not “just” to punish the unbelievers. No. It will come because God will put an end to Satan’s evil deeds. Those who stubbornly refuse God’s shelter will be left out on the battle field and will unfortunately be destroyed along with Satan’s legion.

Christianity is not life insurance. Christianity is a choice to eternal Life, a defiant choice against Satan and his eternal Death.