Isaiah 29:5-8 - Your enemies will become like dust

29:5,6

We have just read that Jerusalem would be brought to her knees, but this is not the end. She would not be defeated, even though she would come very close to it. Suddenly her enemies would be utterly defeated. We will read about how this worked out in practice when we get to chapter 36. This relief from the attack and seeming imminent defeat would not be a result of anything Jerusalem did, but would be a result of the direct intervention of the Lord. We can see a parallel here with our salvation. There is nothing we can do to bring about our own salvation, it is only the direct intervention of the Lord that has saved us. Yet, like all humanity, we have an incorrigible habit or trying to save ourselves.

29:7,8

The immediate fulfilment of all this was the Assyrian attack, but it is also pointing forward to a greater fulfilment. For Revelation speaks of all nations being against Israel. This too would be in vain, for they will be defeated (Rev 20:7-10). This happens after the thousand years. The key human action in the Assyrian “defeat” was the faith of first Isaiah, then of Hezekiah. This pattern of a lesser fulfilment and a greater fulfilment is typical of much prophecy in the Bible. The lesser fulfilment is like a guarantee that the greater one will really happen. The nations will have many plans and designs on destroying Jerusalem, but they will not be successful, they will not be satisfied. Likewise, we should not be afraid when the world attacks the church, the Lord is the only one we should fear.

Mark 14:8-10 - She did what she could

14:8,9

The woman “did what she could”. She desired to honour Jesus in some way and did what she thought best. Jesus saw the heart of the woman. Sometimes things may do things in an “unseemly” manner, but their hearts may be purer than ours! She was also acting prophetically, preparing Jesus’ body for burial. She probably didn’t appreciate this herself, but was doing so nonetheless. So rather than being condemned, this woman would be held up as a good example, one for others to follow.

14:10

It was at this point that Judas Iscariot got up and went to the chief priests to betray Jesus. Why at this point? The thoughts had been going on in his mind for sometime, and we read in John’s gospel (John 12:6) that Judas was a thief. Indeed, it says in John 12:4,5 that it was Judas who raised the question of giving the money to the poor, though Mark does not say that. Perhaps at this point he had just decided that he had had enough, or maybe he feared being caught out for his pilfering of the money that had been collected for the poor. We need to beware of thoughts that fester in our minds, going round and round. For when this happens something can happen that suddenly triggers an evil action. We need instead to make sure we focus on the Bible, that is the best antidote.

Isaiah 29:1-4 - Woe to you Ariel, Ariel

29:1,2

Ariel refers to Jerusalem, as the second phrase makes clear, “the city where David settled”. The people were carrying on as if nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen, as if life would just continue as normal, “let your cycle of festivals go on”. We can see this section with the Assyrian attack of 701 BC, along with the miraculous rescue, in view. Jesus said that in the last days people would just be carrying on as normal (Matt 24:38,39). It takes an awful lot to wake people up! The people were wrong! For God would besiege the city. The Hebrew for “altar hearth” is like the word “Ariel”, which might be why that term was used in the introduction.

Note that it is God who besieges the city, and, of course, it was Assyria who besieged it. We like to say something was entirely down to God, or it was entirely down to man. The Bible does not do this, yet we try to impose this clear-cut division upon it, which leads to a lot of misunderstanding. God is behind all things, and we need to be aware of that. At the same time we have responsibility for our actions, and what we do with our lives matters.

29:3,4

This gives a description of the siege, making clear that it was something that was definitely going to happen. While Assyria would be carrying out the siege, it was God who was behind it all. Judah needed to get her relationship with God sorted out! Judah might be proud at the moment and full of bravado, but she would surely be brought low.

Mark 14:4-7 - She has done a beautiful thing

14:4,5

This woman’s actions offended some of the people there. Given the culture, they would not think much of her because she was a woman. Their pretext for their indignation was that the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor.So they rebuked the woman harshly. Superficially their objections seem reasonable, they could even be viewed as “caring”. There are many instances where proponents of unbiblical positions will claim to be caring or loving.

14:6,7

Jesus saw things rather differently. He saw the heart of the woman differently, and He saw the hearts of her critic differently. He told them to leave the woman alone, and that what she had done was in fact a beautiful thing. He then also draws attention to Himself. He gladly accepts the worship of the woman, and says that worship of Himself is perfectly in order and is to be encouraged. This is another implicit divinity claim. Indeed, the gospels are one big divinity claim!  Jesus also points out that the poor are always with us. If they were so concerned about the poor they could have done so much more to help them than they actually did. The actions of the woman’s critics could be described as an example of virtue signalling!

Isaiah 28:23-29 - Their God instructs them

28:23

The people had been rejecting Isaiah’s words, telling him to shut up. Today the West does not want to hear any wisdom from Bible believing Christians. But this is a very foolish path for the world, for it is rejecting the way of life. It would do far better to listen to the word of God, to pay attention to it.

28:24-26

Isaiah then instructs them using a parable or a poem. He uses natural processes, the way the world works, to get us to think about how God works. A farmer does not plough continually. Rather, he ploughs for a time, and then plants the seed. Then the farmer plants the right seeds in the right places. Everyone knew that this was the way things worked, and was very sensible. The whole order of creation is a reflection of God’s ways. 

28:27-29

Right instruments are used for the right tasks. And every process happens only for so long, only until it has achieved its purpose. So it is with the Lord’s plan. It is carefully thought out and worked out. And it will work out wonderfully. In the immediate future this meant judgement upon Jerusalem and later captivity in Babylon. But everything was done with a purpose. Much later it would mean salvation for the world.

Mark 14:1-3 - But not during the festival

14:1,2

The climax was fast approaching, with only two days to go before the Passover and the Festival of unleavened bread. The religious leaders were plotting furiously to have Jesus arrested and killed. But they wanted to avoid doing this during the festival. They were fearful of a riot, which would have brought down the heavy hand of Rome upon them. As we know, the climactic events did take place during the festival. Men make their plans, and men have responsibility for their actions, but it is God who is in control.

14:3

We have another dinner event, Luke records several of these. This time Jesus is at the house of Simon the Leper. Presumably this means that Simon had had leprosy, but was now cured. The use of the term “leprosy” in the Bible does not always just mean the disease we know as leprosy, but was applied to other skin diseases as well. While at the table a woman came in with a jar of very expensive perfume, and she poured the perfume over Jesus’ head.

Isaiah 28:20-22 - Now stop your mocking

28:20,21

The short bed and the narrow blanket represent Judah’s efforts being insufficient to deal with the coming onslaught. When faced with a crisis men will usually do what they can to deal with the matter, but when the problem is rebellion against God no matter what men do, it will not be enough. There is only one solution in such cases, and that is to repent. Mount Perazim refers to David’s defeat of the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-21) and to the defeat of a coalition of forces opposing Israel and the Gibeonites (Josh 10:1-15). God describes what is about to happen as His “strange work”. In the two battles mentioned God acted on behalf of Israel, here He will be acting and intervening against Israel. That should not happen, but when a nation persistently rebels against God, as Judah had done, it is what will happen. People say how can a God of love send people to hell. God does not want to send people to hell, it is His “strange work”, but the depth and nature of sin is such that there is nothing else to be done.

28:22

Isaiah now addresses those who had been mocking him. If they did not, then the judgement upon them would become even greater. We need to grasp this fact as we seem to be living in an era when men do not want to hear the word of God. We must hold true to the Lord and His word, and we must also realise that it is the critics, the tormentors, who are actually in the most precarious position.

Mark 13:32-36 - No one knows the day or the hour

13:32

Back in 13:4 the disciples had asked Jesus “when will these things happen?”. Here Jesus says that only the Father knows the day and the hour. We are not to waste time trying to work out the day and the hour, but so many fools have ignored this clear instruction. At the same time, the previous verses do tell us to be aware of the signs, to understand the times. To me, this seems a strong argument that one of the most important aspects of Jesus’ teaching here, and the book of Revelation, is a general understanding of how the “battle of good and evil” works out, or things work. In fact, a better way of putting it, rather than “battle of good and evil”, is how does God’s kingdom triumph in the midst of great opposition, and in an evil world.

13:33,34

We are to be alert and on our guard. Why? Because we do not know when the time will come. And what are we to do in the meantime? We are to get on with the work that has been given to us to do. We are here for a purpose (Eph 2:10). Our lives matter. The devil will try all sorts of ways to stop us or distract us from getting on with that purpose, we must not give in to him. Worrying about the day or the hour is not what we are meant to do. Instead we should be concerned about whether or not the Lord finds us doing the work assigned to us when He does return.

13:35,36

Jesus repeats the instruction that we do not know when the Lord will return, so we are to keep watch. This does not mean watching out for signs so that we can work out the day and the hour, but keeping watch so that we understand the times and get on with the task. “When the rooster cries”. This reminds us of what happened to Peter and his denial of Christ. Peter was an example of failing to be on our guard, and his first letter Peter instructs us to prepare our minds for action (1 Pet 1:13), he understood what Jesus was talking about. Jesus then emphasises that these words apply to everyone. We are to watch!

Isaiah 28:17-19 - I will make justice the measuring line

28:17

When men turn away from God all sorts of things become the “measuring line”. Currently being able to do whatever you want sexually and gender wise is governing much of what goes on in society. The rich being able to do what they like, or the elite governing in their own interest become drivers in society. When God’s rule comes it is justice and righteousness that are the drivers. During the times when justice and righteousness seem to be far away, the rulers make refuges for themselves. They may do this with money, or by passing laws, or corrupting officials. But when God’s justice comes all these hiding places will be driven away, they will not be able to protect the guilty.

28:18,19

The covenant with death would be annulled. This is the way in which they thought they were secure from attack, from the ravages of war. The onslaught would be so great that there would be no protection from it.

If anyone understood Isaiah’s message it would bring terror, for they would then appreciate the depths to which the nation had fallen, and the nature and extent of the judgement that was about to come upon them.

Mark 13:28-31 - Learn the lesson from the fig tree

13:28,29

Jesus then tells the disciples to keep a watch on the signs. Jesus refers to the fig tree, there are clear signs when summer is near, observable by changes in the tree. Likewise there will be changes in society, and these will signify coming events. The immediate application of this was AD 66-70, and they needed to heed that warning, but what about us? One thing we should not do is spend all our time trying to predict the end of time! Many a man or woman has looked a fool for doing this. But when we see our society descending down a road of madness, as we do today, it does not necessarily mean that the very end is near, though it might be. But it does mean that we can expect God to intervene with judgement at some point.

13:30,31

This is a difficult verse! We could take it as applying specifically to AD 70, which certainly did happen. Then the events of AD 70 show that the greater end times will definitely happen, they will be a reality. The word of the Lord lasts forever. We should also note that Jesus is equating His words with God’s words. This is just another example of the way in which the gospels make no sense unless Jesus is God.

Isaiah 28:14-16 - We have entered into a covenant with death

28:14,15

Isaiah is aiming his words directly at the leaders. Leaders have a special responsibility, for what leaders do affects many more people. They can set the whole direction of a society, and In Israel and Judah they were leading the people towards destruction. They scoffed at the word of God. They claimed to have made a “covenant with death”, this probably means they thought they were secure, safe from death. They thought that their planning and diplomatic efforts would ensure the safety of the nation. But they had made a lie their refuge. Men can utterly deceive themselves, and in our day society as a whole has deceived itself with its whole approach to sexual morality (more accurately, immorality). 

28:16

So the leaders thought they were wise and safe, but now we hear what the Lord has to say.  God introduces Himself as the Sovereign Lord, He is the one with all power and authority, the One who knows the end from the beginning. What is the first thing He says? It is that He lays a true source of security in Zion,” a tested and precious cornerstone for a sure foundation”. “The one who trusts in Him will never be stricken with panic”. God's response is to provide salvation. Christ is the cornerstone, and we can truly rely on Him. Whatever we may be going through just now, as an individual or as a people, we are secure in Christ and there is no need to panic or fear.

Mark 13:24-27 - He will send His angels

13:24,25

The quotes come from Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4. The first comes from a prophecy against Babylon and the second from a more general judgement against the nations. So the situation is that tribulation will come upon Jerusalem, and this will be followed by judgement upon Rome. If we apply this to the very end we could read it as saying there will be great persecution of the church, followed by judgement upon the nations. We should note that the use of cosmic imagery to depict God’s judgement upon men is common in the Bible, so these verses do not necessarily mean there will be actual cosmic events. If there are actual cosmic events, the focus is on them presaging God’s judgement upon the world.

13:26,27

Then the Son of Man will come in glory. The term “son of man” harks back to Daniel 7:13,14. There are some who see this as completely fulfilled in AD 70. I have to say this seems unlikely. The general picture in the Bible is that at the end the whole world will see Jesus as Lord and have to acknowledge who He really is. He will come with great power and glory. It is helpful to go and read Dan 7:13,14, which ties in so well with Matt 28:19,20. It is perhaps worth comparing this with Mark 9:1. This verse, especially when taken together with the next, seems to be unequivocally referring to the very end, whereas Mark 9:1 just refers to the kingdom of God coming with power.

The angels are sent to gather in the elect from all over the world. It would seem difficult to see how this was fulfilled in AD 70.

Isaiah 28:11-13 - A rule for this, a rule for that

28:11

The oh-so sophisticated priests and prophets (the elite of their day) objected to the clear and simple teaching of Isaiah, so God would speak to His people with “foreign lips and strange tongues”. Notice that it is “God will speak to His people”. In rejecting Isaiah they were not rejecting the teaching of a man, but the teaching of God Himself. “Strange tongues” may have some relation to the gift of tongues in the New Testament, though I do not think we should press this too far. The “foreign lips” could be a reference to their going into exile, where they would be taught by foreign voices. We might also see a looking forward to God using Gentiles to preach the gospel to Israel.

28:12,13

God was judging Israel, but it was not as if they had not had the chance of peace. God had told them where to find rest (in Himself), but they would not listen. Jesus calls all who are weary back to Himself, promising to give us rest. But as they repeatedly rejected God’s call, the word of the Lord would become nonsense to them. It is difficult to get an exact interpretation of this verse, but the upshot of it all is that the people would be injured, snared and captured. Repeated rejection of the word of God is a dangerous thing to do.

Mark 13:22,23 - Be on your guard

13:22

There are two points to note from this verse. The obvious one is that there will be false messiahs and false prophets, some will also do some convincing things, performing signs and wonders. Deut 13:1,2 makes it clear that doings signs and wonders does not in itself guarantee the validity of a supposed prophet. The essential test is whether or not someone brings honour to Jesus and is consistent with the word of God. If they are not, then it does not matter what else they might do, nor how impressive they may appear. The second point, are the words “to deceive, if possible, even the elect”. Looked at how from a temporal perspective one could ask how could the elect be deceived. But God is not temporal but eternal. So when He says something will happen that most definitely does not mean that what we do, believe and pray does not matter. We need to be on our guard against false prophets and messiahs.

13:23

Jesus told them, and us, these things so that we can be prepared. We are expected to act responsibly, to pay heed to God’s words, and to use proper discernment.

Isaiah 28:7-10 - The tables are covered with vomit

28:7,8

It wasn’t just the plebs who were prone to drunkenness, but it was something that also affected the priests and prophets, the religious leaders. Surely they should know better and set a better example? Church history sadly tells us that it is far from impossible. When an organisation or a nation is in serious decline it will often be characterised by those at the top being of contemptible character.

28:9,10

These two verses can perhaps be read as the priests and prophets mocking Isaiah. They thought themselves above the need for teaching as they were so highly educated. For Isaiah’s teaching was building the argument up step by step. We can see the same phenomenon with some liberal theologians considering conservative teachings as beneath their more supposedly sophisticated approach.

True gospel preaching and pseudo gospel preaching

2 Corinthians 4:5 sums up the different between true gospel preaching and pseudo-gospel preaching. This verse says:

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. (2 Cor 4:5 NIV)

First, genuine gospel preaching preaches Christ, not man. Pseudo-gospel preaching builds up the preacher, true preaching always points to Jesus. Jesus is our saviour, He is the only way of salvation. Does this mean we are not to mention ourselves at all? No. Paul does mention himself, elsewhere he calls on people to imitate him! Indeed, 2 Corinthians has an awful lot about Paul. So we do mention ourselves, but we mention ourselves as “your servants” and for the “sake of Jesus”. False teaching will seek to lord it over the hearers, seeking to make the hearers the servants of the preacher, often involving the giving of money for the betterment of the preacher! But it isn’t just serving the hearers, it is serving the hearers for the sake of Jesus. We do not aim to give people what they want, instead we aim to give them what they need in order to know Jesus better, to follow Him more closely.

Mark 13:20,21 - If the Lord had not cut short

13:20

Jesus has just told the disciples to pray to the Lord to mitigate the intensity of the tribulation. Now He says that the Lord has cut short those days. Then Jesus says it is for the sake of the elect that He has shortened them. There are those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, so that the elect do not go through the tribulation. This is actually a relatively new idea (under two hundred years), and is, in my opinion, deeply unbiblical. This verse would certainly seem to imply that the elect will still be around during the tribulation. We should also note that in God’s economy the sovereignty of God and the significance of our prayers and actions are not in conflict.

13:21

When times are desperate the natural tendency is to look for any possible way out. In such circumstances people are prone to be taken in by false prophets or evil leaders. Jesus here warns against false prophets claiming to either be the Messiah, or to know who the Messiah is. In difficult time we should be especially on our guard against false teachings.

Isaiah 28:1-6 - The Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown for the remnant

28:1-4

We now get back to out and out judgement. Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, and was a beautiful city, but its beauty, like that of a flower, would quickly fade. One of the downfalls of the city was drunkenness. The city took pride in itself, but the Lord had one ready to invade the land and destroy the city. That one was Assyria. We should never be taken in by the pride of a city or nation. It is only righteousness that truly exalts a nation. We then get more vivid description of the fading nature of Ephraim’s pride.

28:5,6

When godless men are triumphant continuing to be a faithful believer in the Lord can be a lonely business, a seemingly precarious one. For everything in society is geared against faith in the Lord. This is in many ways the direction our society is going in. But there will come a day when it is the Lord Almighty who will be seen to be “a glorious crown”, and He will be “beautiful wreath” for those who remained faithful. It is always worth trusting in the Lord. The presence of the Lord is characterised by justice, and He also gives strength to His people. Note that it is we sho sit in judgement, and we who turn back the enemies at the gate. While it is the Lord who fights the battles, who brings righteousness and victory, we are not passive, but are actively involved.

Mark 13:15-19 - Let no one go back

13:15-17

Jesus stresses the imperative of getting out quickly without any messing about. This may remind us of Lot’s wife being told not to look back to Sodom and Gomorrah when Lot and his family were urged to get out. Jesus does nothing to minimise the terror that will come, His aim is to stress the urgency of the matter.

13:18

The events are decreed by God, but this does not mean we should not take action, nor does it mean that we should not pray to God in a way that seems to influence events. The sovereignty of God does not mean that what we do, think or pray is irrelevant, that is clear from all of Scripture. So Jesus urges them to pray that the events will not happen in winter or the Sabbath (Matt 24:20). In winter the region was prone to flooding and escape would be difficult. On the Sabbath escape would be difficult because of all the Sabbath laws.

13:19

NKJV has the “great tribulation”, here, Jesus is not minimising the horror of what would happen. On a literalistic interpretation the words that such suffering would never be experienced equalled again could be taken as implying that the prophecy was indeed completely fulfilled in AD70. Josephus, the Jewish historian, described some of the suffering and it was truly awful. An alternative is that it does actually refer to the very end times. It is clear that there is at least some fulfillment in AD70, so it can not only be referring to the very end times. However, the view that it was fulfilled in AD 70 and that is that is extremely problematic. Most importantly, it does not fit with other parts of Scripture. Secondly, while the suffering was great, it would be difficult to say that equal or greater suffering has not happened anywhere else in history. It would seem to me that either Jesus is using hyperbole, or is saying Jerusalem would never suffer such suffering again. What is undoubtedly true is that the Jews have indeed suffered much greater suffering than AD70 during the holocaust.

Isaiah 27:10-13 - A great trumpet will sound

27:10,11

This paints a very desolate picture of Jerusalem. This did not happen in Isaiah’s lifetime, for the Assyrian invasion was thwarted at the last, as we will read in chapters 36-39. Isaiah was looking forward to the Babylonian conquest, when Jerusalem was utterly devastated, including the temple, and many people were taken into exile. Why did all this happen? Because “this is a people without understanding”. They had no appreciation of God, no understanding of who He was or His ways. So He would not have compassion on them. We need to appreciate the horrific depths of sin. 

27:12,13

But the devastation was not the end, not the final chapter. The Lord would gather the people up from the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt. He would gather them up “one by one”. Remember that Jesus spoke of going after the one lost sheep, and of God counting even the hairs on our head, and not one bird falling from the sky without Him knowing about it. Isaiah, like the Bible, covers vast themes, themes about the whole of humanity, but it is also about the individual. It is not one or the other, but both. God cares for us as individuals, but we are also part of something much bigger. There will be a trumpet call and many will come to worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. Again, note this verse for appreciating verses in the New Testament that speak about the last trumpet.

Mark 13:12-14 - The abomination that causes desolation

13:12,13

Jesus does not sugarcoat the matter. These two verse show that being led by the Spirit is no walk in the park. One member of a family would betray another member, even unto death. The disciples will be hated by everyone. There are two things we need to note. One is that the notion that if we are only nice enough Christians everyone will love us is unbiblical baloney. The second is that this is not the whole story. There are times when society does respect Christians and pay at least some honour to the gospel. If we think society is always going to respect the gospel we are fools, but we are equally mistaken if we assume society will always be completely against us.

13:14

This verse is based on Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:11. It had an immediate relevance in the Roman crushing of Jerusalem in AD70, which did indeed bring an end to the daily sacrifice (Dan 12:11). Jesus warns them that when they see this happen they should flee immediately to the mountains. This was very practical advice, for enormous suffering occurred during the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. However, that does not necessarily mean that there isn’t later relevance as well. The Daniel prophecies could be taken as referring to the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century BC. AD70 can also be taken as being a fulfilment, whereas Dan 12:11 seems to refer to the very end times. There are those who will fixate on one incident and then try and insist that this incident is the one and only fulfillment of the prophecy. This is a very silly approach to take, and a most unbiblical one. Biblical prophecy is much more concerned about the nature of the event than chronological exactitude. So we are far better to take these prophecies as indicators of the sorts of things that will happen. There may be several mini fulfilments (though if you are living in the midst of one of these mini fulfilments it will seem pretty major to you), and there is a complete fulfilment in Christ.

Isaiah 27:7-9 - As on a day the east wind blows

27:7

The Lord has just being saying how He watches over and cares for Israel, but this is no sugar-daddy type looking after her, the Lord is no grandfather. He is about to strike her, but not as He strikes over nations. The other nations were struck as punishment, with Israel it is more of discipline. And the same applies to us Christians today (Heb 12:4-13). 

27:8,9

The discipline is severe. God used warfare, nations violently attacked her, but the purpose is atoning for her sins, and the removal of her sin. Now how does this playout? Isaiah 40 speaks of her receiving double for her sins, ie her sin being completely dealt with (Is 40:2), but we know that it is only in Christ that our sins are truly atoned for. All the idols will be completely removed. The forgiveness the Bible speaks of is no mere God overlooking sins, and is definitely not about Him letting us get away with it. It is about a true cleansing and a transformation of our very being.

Mark 13:9-11 - You will stand before governors and kings

13:9

The disciples had been focusing on what would happen to the temple and the nation, and Jesus had told them, in general terms, what would happen to the nations. Now Jesus turns the attention to the disciples themselves, and the outlook was not easy. They would be called before all manner of authorities: religious authorities and civic rulers. They would be beaten, but there would also be a purpose. They would be witnesses for Jesus, witnesses that Jesus is Lord. Both religious and civic rulers need to know that Jesus is Lord. This instruction was delivered to the apostles, but it can be applied to all believers. We are witnesses to the world, but that is a world that is in rebellion against God.

13:10

“And the gospel must first be preached ...” Before the end comes the gospel must be preached to all nations. God’s promise to Abraham was that all nations would be blessed through him. God’s plan is a global plan. We need to grasp the fullness of God’s purposes, for we so easily focus on just a small aspect of it, and then become blind to the bigger picture.

13:11

The prophets of the Old Testament frequently spoke to the leaders of the nation, telling them God’s ways, and His judgement upon the way they were living and leading the nation. The disciples would have the same role. There was a purpose in them being hauled before councils and rulers, so that they could testify to them. This is why they had not to worry beforehand about what they would say. For the Holy Spirit, not men, was in control. It is He who would lead them to be arrested, and then He would give them the words to say. For God was speaking to those in power. We need to realise the extent to which God is in control.

Isaiah 27:4-6 - I am not angry

27:4,5

Back in 5:5,6 God was angry with the vineyard and was destined to take severe action. Now He declares that He is not angry, and that even if there were only briers and thorns confronting Him (ie relatively minor enemies) He would still take direct action. But an even better alternative is then offered. Let the thorns and briers (ie the enemies of God) come and make peace with the Lord, let them come to Him for refuge instead of regarding God as an enemy. In all this talk of God being angry and then not angry we should be aware that He is using anthropomorphic language, describing eternal attributes in terms of human traits. So again we see that the salvation of Israel actually opens up the door to the salvation of many nations.

27:6

This is the summary of God’s purpose for Israel and Judah. They were to take root in God, they would then be fruitful, and would fill all the world. This is not a filling of the world in a domineering sense, but in a blessing sense. Now Israel was so often a beleaguered nation. The church goes astray when we act as if we are beleaguered. This is not to deny the reality of opposition, but we must remain faithful to Christ, and expect to bring blessing to the whole world.

Mark 13:3-8 - Do not be alarmed

13:3,4

Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple. Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Jesus about what He meant. This was one of the rare occasions when Andrew is mentioned. “When will these things be, and what will the sign be that they are about to happen?”. They did not doubt that these things would happen, and they expected there to be a sign that they were about to happen. So in the ensuing teaching we should not be surprised if at least some of it pertains to this question. We should also expect Jesus to take us beyond this immediate question.

13:5,6

“Watch out that no one deceives you” Given the number of books on the second coming, and the numbers sold, it seems that many have paid no heed to this warning. Many will come seeking to deceive. In our day it is usually books on the topic, and the hayday for this seems to have passed, though interest still remains. In the first century there had been several messianic cults, all of which died out. We need to keep a clam head with relation to these matters.

13:7,8

So, individuals are one source of deception. The other source is our wrong interpretation of events. It seems to be human nature to assume that every major event or disaster has a deep meaning, possibly heralding the end of the world. This trait is not limited to religious types, just look at the love that we have for fortelling environmental disaster, or some cataclysmic disease outbreak. There will be tragedies of various sorts, and these are important in their own right, but they do not herald the end of the world. There will be wars, earthquakes and famines. They are a symptom of the fallen state of the world, but do not mark the end itself.

Isaiah 27:1-3 - Sing about a fruitful vineyard

27:1

There is debate over who “Leviathan” is referring to, it being variously associated with Assyria, Tyre or Babylon. Whatever the case, it is clear that Israel’s enemies are in for a hard time. When the enemies attack Israel they consider the strength and status of Israel, but it is the Lord that they really need to consider, for it is His “fierce, great and powerful sword” that will cause them harm. Likewise, when we feel intimidated by the enemy, we should turn out thoughts to the Lord, and tell the enemy to do likewise. Our security is not based in ourselves, but in the Lord. Leviathan was a mythological sea monster, common in near-east mythology.

27:2,3

Chapter 5 had a lament for the vineyard, for the sorry state it had become. Now Isaiah talks about singing about a fruitful vineyard. God's salvation is not just a matter of rescuing His people, but of transforming His people. The vineyard will be fruitful because the Lord watches over it, protects it, and waters it. In our Christian lives it is not just us doing stuff (though we do need to take care of our own lives), but the Lord is actively taking care of us as well, and the word “active” is important. It is not a passive care.

Mark 13:1,2 - What magnificent buildings!

13:1

We now get Jesus’ most expansive teaching on the second coming, and as with everything associated with the return of Christ interpretation varies enormously. There are some who seek to interpret it entirely in terms of first century events with AD 70 being the culmination (the destruction of Jerusalem). Others see it as totally future. The first view is referred to as the preterist interpretation, the second as futurist. I think it is much wiser, and more Biblical, to take the eclectic approach. The teaching quite clearly has relevance to the situation pertaining at the time, and what was going to happen in the near future, and we need to look at it in those terms if we are to have any hope of making sense of it. However, if we say that is all it is saying we end up having to force square pegs into round holes. Moreover, such an approach is not consistent with prophecies in the Old Testament. The messianic prophecies in the Old Testament usually had an immediate relevance, and were pointing forward to Jesus (both His first and second coming). Isaiah is perhaps the best example of this. So my approach is that we need to be aware of the historical context, along with the Old Testament background, and there will be partial fulfilment to be found there. However, it also teaches us general lessons about how the clash of kingdoms works (and its relevance to our lives), and to the return of Christ as well. One thing we should note is that this passage on the kingdom is located together with cross. The cross was central to the bringing in of the kingdom.

In this first verse we are told that at least one of the disciples was impressed with the current temple.

13:2

The disciple(s) thought that temple would last forever and was mightily impressive. Jesus was about to disabuse them of these ideas. We need to be careful what we are impressed by. Jesus acknowledges that the buildings are great, but then goes on to tell them that building would be completely destroyed. This was clearly looking forward to AD 70.

Isaiah 26:20,21 - Hide yourselves for a little while

26:20

We have a mixture of prophecies of judgement and promises of great blessing. So how are God’s people to react in the meantime, while evil still seems to be prospering? Isaiah tells them to “hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed”. This does seem like pietism. There was a recent book called The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher which may have been advocating a somewhat similar approach (at the time of writing I haven’t read the book yet, my comment is just based on some impressions gained from reviews of the book). I would guess that most of us would think that as Christians we ought to stand up for Christian values and a Christian approach, seeking to help the suffering and saving the lost. We should note that this verse is not recommending a practice that is applicable at all times in all places, but there may be times when we do just have to “hide”.

26:21

This is not a hiding because they are to give up. It is a hiding waiting for the Lord to come, and in the certain knowledge that He will come.  The Lord is stirring Himself and will come to judge the earth. He will punish the sins of the people, and this is not just an Old Testament concept! The New Testament makes no sense without judgement. There will come a time when the violent and corrupt will no longer get away with it.