We saw in part 1 of this series, mankind has only two paths to walk on this road we call LIFE. We can choose the path of the WICKED or the path of the RIGHTEOUS. There really is no middle ground. Thanks to God, who gives us GRACE and FREE WILL, we CAN CHOOSE to switch paths at anytime. Praise the Lord, there are those who have walked many miles on the path of the wicked (wide road of destruction), and then crossed to the narrow path that leads to LIFE before they took their last breath. There are also, sadly, those who began on the narrow road, decided it is too narrow or difficult for them, and then crossed over to the wide road that leads to destruction. They failed to “count the costs”. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel details these decisions in Chapter 18. The important take-away here is that the END of our race is more important than the START. If we start out well, then we need to continue to run our race and FINISH well. There are REWARDS for FAITHFULNESS. But, if we start out poorly, we can still finish well as there is GRACE and FORGIVENESS with our GOD!
Ezekiel 18:24: “But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.
Ezekiel 18:21: “But if the wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. 22 All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.
This isn’t about works, it’s about accepting our Savior Jesus Christ and then walking in HIS ways. The Bible is true. God will absolutely accept the thief on the Cross, the Prodigal son who ran a very poor race, but SINCERELY repents at the very end receiving Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He/she WILL be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven…PROVIDED the repentance is sincere. You see, it would be very unwise to purposely live a wicked life with the intention of a repenting on one’s deathbed to gain an easy ticket into Heaven. God will not be mocked. We never know when we will draw our last breath, so that would be very unwise. God knows the sincerity of our hearts.
The BEST choice is to FORSAKE our own SINFUL ways and CHOOSE JESUS NOW! He is the only One who can CHANGE the heart.
Isaiah 34 (Part 1 of this series) shows us what awaits the ones who travel on the WIDE PATH. Although this WIDE PATH may be comfortable, enjoyable, popular, with easy terrain, its end is pain, suffering, and death….. Part 1, path of the wicked.
Path of the Wicked🐍 (Wide path that leads to destruction)
- PATH: REBEL AGAINST GOD, REJECT JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S MESSIAH – FOLLOW SATAN
- TREE: the TREE OF DEATH: knowledge of good and evil APART from God
- CITY/WOMAN: Mystery Babylon, mother of harlots and abominations
- PEOPLE: EDOM, MOCKERS AND HATERS OF ALL THAT IS GOOD
- SUPPER: The “Great supper” of GOD (slaughter at Armageddon)
- DESTINATION: hell/lake of fire – separated from God FOREVER – ETERNAL DEATH.
In stark contrast, Isaiah 35 details the WONDERFUL plan that the Lord has for those who CHOOSE JESUS. This is much more enjoyable to write about!
Isaiah 35 is titled “Zion’s happy future”. Babylon is prophesied to become a place overgrown with weeds, thorns, inhabited only by jackals and unclean birds. A very ugly and desolate place. But Zion…Oh, Zion will be a “place” BLOOMING with JOY!
Isaiah 35: The wilderness and the desert will rejoice,
And the desert will shout for joy and blossom;
Like the crocus
2 It will blossom profusely
And rejoice with joy and jubilation.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the Lord,
The majesty of our God.
God’s people Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before coming into the promised land of Canaan. The wilderness (desert) is a HOT, dry, dusty place with very little fresh water, food, or shelter. Dangerous and wild animals, reptiles, and other creatures inhabit the wilderness and are always prowling around seeking to devour. It’s hard to survive in the desert. Many people have died trying. But for as stark and austere as the desert is, it is the place where we meet God. It was in the desert, that God cooled His people in the heat of the day with His pillar of cloud. He warmed them during the cold nights with His pillar of fire. He fed them manna from Heaven when they were hungry and there was no food. He brought water out of dry rocks for them to drink when they were thirsty. He guided them and fought off their enemies for them. It was in the desert that Israel CAME TO KNOW GOD.(YHWH)
The desert is a metaphor for our lives on planet earth. Yes, there is beauty here. But there is also sickness, suffering, death, pain, lonliness, sorrow. Our sin has caused so much misery, even the earth itself mourns and the animals disappear (Hosea 4). We saw in Isaiah 34 that because of our sin, God has a controversy with the nations and the inhabitants of the earth. Judgment is inevitable. But God remembers mercy in Judgment. He has a plan to RESTORE those who TRUST IN HIM through HIS SON YESHUA (JESUS) the MESSIAH (CHRIST). This is the narrow path that leads to LIFE. The terrain on this path may seem difficult, rugged, harsh, even painful, but it’s end is GLORIOUS.
We are currently in the wilderness… in the desert. But for those who trust in Jesus, the desert is going to BLOOM and BLOSSOM – PROFUSELY! Forget “Climate Change”, this is going to be GLORIOUS! But how is this possible? Because GOD ALMIGHTY is going to bring RAIN to the dry, dusty desert. His Holy Spirit is going to RAIN DOWN, and what was dead will come to LIFE. There are many people now wandering in this desert place aimlessly, feeling like life is meaningless, full of fear, lonliness, worries and pain. But Jesus Christ came into this world to give ABUNDENT LIFE, a life filled with purpose and meaning. A life that has NO LACK… LIFE WITHOUT SUFFERING AND DEATH. Filled to overflowing with goodness, joy, peace, perfect health, beauty, strength – where RELATIONSHIPS will never hurt, but only get better and better, richer and richer. Can you imagine a world where each day was better than the last?
The desert will BLOOM, the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, and they (Zion) will SEE the GLORY of the LORD!
Zion will SEE the Glory of the Lord. WOW! Can you imagine SEEING God’s glory? We know that the Glory of the Lord rested upon the Tabernacle in the wilderness. God’s Glory also resided in Solomon’s Temple. Jesus Christ was FILLED with the Glory of the Lord. But can you imagine SEEING God’s glory? One time, in a dream, I believe I saw God’s Glory (or a representation/vision of it).
In the dream, I was walking along what appeared to be an old street, perhaps something like ancient Jerusalem. It was dark outside. I looked to my right and saw Jesus sleeping, as an adult, on a bale of hay. This is hard to describe, but picture something like a barn (manger), but without a front wall so you could see right into the barn. He was just lying there on this bale of hay, sound asleep. Over Him and surrounding Him was a golden, sparkly light that hovered over Him like a bed tent. His Glory cloud not only covered Him, but also shined into the street in front of where He was sleeping.
As I passed by, I decided to curl up inside of His Golden, sparkly glory cloud, kneel down and worship Him. His Glory was warm, sparkly, golden and filled with Love. There is no pain here. I felt very safe comfortable, and happy there.
Suddenly two men came up behind me and tried to pull me up off my knees by force. Jesus woke up, and His Glory was no longer visible. He walked over to where I was and the two men RAN away. Then, I woke up. There may have been more to this dream, but what I really remembered was God’s Glory and Jesus. One other time I experienced what seemed like the Glory of God. This time, I was lying in my bed with severe abdominal pain. I was praying and crying out to Jesus for help. I closed my eyes and saw that same warm, sparkly cloud. I snuggled up into it, and my pain went completely away and never returned.
These were just dreams from the Lord about His Glory. I believe His actual glory will be even better, something we could hardly imagine in this fallen, painful world.
Isaiah 35: 3: Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong. 4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The retribution of God will come,
But He will save you.”
Love is coming down (from Heaven). God is a God of justice. Right now, we see no justice in the world. There is pain, there is sorrow, there ugliness too horrible to even speak about, and God’s people are growing weary. Evil continues to advance their wicked agenda through lies, theft, and murder. But God says that their victory is short lived. God says, “ENDURE and RECEIVE the CROWN OF LIFE”. God will AVENGE His servants who have suffered and been so mistreated by the world. God will RESCUE them! When God shows His Glory on the earth in a way that has never been seen before (something you wouldn’t believe even if you had been told), THEN the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. All of the “doubting Thomas’s” out there, who say I have to SEE to believe…Well….Seeing IS believing. They will see and they will believe!
In these Last Days, God has planned a GLORIOUS HARVEST, a last days revival that will be even more spectactular than the early days of the Church, when the Apostles traveled from town to town preaching the Gospel (Good news) and performing miracles, signs, and wonders. As Autumn is always the most vibrant and amazing season just before the cold and bleak winter, God has planned an AMAZING REVIVAL just before the curtain closes, and His Righteous judgment falls. God saves the best for last. God is doing a NEW THING.
Isaiah 35:5: Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then those who limp will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy.For waters will burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The scorched land will become a pool
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
God’s Glory will be revealed on this earth in a NEW way, with such power and majesty that the desert will BLOOM, and BLOSSOMS will spring forth. He will pour out HIS HEALING RAIN, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, the mute will sing. What was sick will be made well. What was old and dying will be made young and strong. Waters bursting forth in the desert. Scorched land becoming a pool of water. This is what happens when the Kingdom of God comes to earth IN POWER. Praise the Lord!
Isaiah 60: “Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 35:8: A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for the one who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.9 No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious animal go up on it;
They will not be found there.But the redeemed will walk there,
10 And the redeemed of the Lord will return
And come to Zion with joyful shouting,
And everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Mystery Babylon (aka New World Order), the world’s religious, economic, and political system will be judged by God. Once that happens, Mystery Babylon (Edom) will be destroyed. No humans will EVER dwell there again, only beasts and jackals and unclean birds. This is the fate of everyone who REJECTS God’s FREE GIFT of GRACE.
The world will MOURN when Babylon is destroyed, but Heaven will REJOICE! Babylon is full of deception and ugliness and is convincing many lost souls to reject GOD’S MESSIAH, YESHUA HAMASHIACH (JESUS CHRIST) and embrace an antichrist agenda.
Path of the Righteous ✝
- PATH: SUBMIT TO GOD, RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND LORD, REJECT SATAN
- TREE: the TREE OF LIFE
- CITY/WOMAN: ZION/JERUSALEM – BRIDE OF CHRIST
- PEOPLE: ISRAEL, JEW AND GENTILE ONE IN MESSIAH YESHUA (JESUS)
- SUPPER: Wedding supper of the Lamb (Rejoicing, joy, peace, happiness)
- DESTINATION: Heaven/Paradise – joined to God and the Lamb FOREVER – ETERNAL LIFE
Revelation 19: After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute (mystery babylon) who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.
At the end of the narrow path, God prepares a table for us before our enemies. It is the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. The two (bride and GROOM) shall be JOINED TOGETHER as ONE. This is the FEAST that you DO want to be at! I can’t even imagine what we will see at this Feast, but it will be AMAZING! It is the WEDDING of the AGES!!
Rev. 19:7: Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he *said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him.
JESUS is sending out invitations TODAY! He wants US to be at the most AMAZING celebration that has EVER taken place – the WEDDING SUPPER OF THE LAMB! Please accept HIS invitation and say YES and AMEN to Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords! He loves you more than you will ever be loved!!! 💖
