Continuing on with our discussion of Isaiah, I mentioned in a previous video that I’m refreshing and updating articles on the Watchmen’s Post, that I’d written some 10 years ago. And I thought I’d add a little video commentary and color to them as part of the updating.
So, anyway, we’re considering the third and fourth chapters of Isaiah.
And I know I’ve mentioned this many times, but it bears repeating, especially because this third chapter opens saying that:
“Look Jehovah of armies is removing from Jerusalem and Judah every kind of support and supply. All support of bread and water.”
Well, we know that Jehovah withdrew his protection from Jerusalem, after he had defended it on many occasions, most notably from the Assyrians. But then he allowed Babylon to completely obliterate the city and take the Jews off into captivity.
But you know, the Watchtower recognized long long ago that Jerusalem represents something other than the literal city. It has a counterpart. And, of course, it used to be the Watchtower said that it was Christendom.
And you know, they made a pretty good case. You could see how Christendom had followed pretty much the same path of Israel, as Israel and Judah—becoming apostate—Becoming fabulously wealthy and corrupt in the process.
Interestingly, though, the Watchtower, in their Pure worship Restored at Last, has unceremoniously scrapped the whole idea of Jerusalem symbolizing Christendom.
And just a little side note they … now, well, we used to think that, … we don’t think that anymore. They leave you hanging there, because the question is left unanswered. Well, what does Jerusalem represent?
And I’ve made the case that it represents true Christianity and especially the Watchtower. As I mentioned Jerusalem was the place the birthplace of Christianity. And enough said about that.
So it is a fitting symbol. And we’ll see going through these two chapters that it does represent God’s earthly organization at the time of Christ’s return.
So anyway, the second verse goes on: “Mighty man and warrior, judge and prophet, diviner and elder, chief of 50, dignitary and advisor, the expert magician and skilled charmer. I will make boys their princes.”
So those who are leaders in God’s organization, maybe they consider themselves prophets, right, elders, diviners able to discern the deep things of God’s word. Dignitaries and advisers—legal committee so forth … right?
“I will make boys their princes. And the unstable will rule over them.”
Well, originally, that came in the form of the Babylonians, and who knows what happened to the Jews that were dragged off to Babylon.But it’s interesting in verse 5:
“The people will oppress one another, each one his fellow man. The boy will assault the old man and the lightly esteemed one will defy the respected one. Each one will take hold of his brother and his father’s house and say: you have a cloak, you be our commander. Take charge of this overthrown pile of ruins. …”
Well, it’s interesting, Jesus spoke of the coming desolation of Jerusalem, right? —during the conclusion. And he said that many would be stumbled. And hate one another. And betray one another. Brothers will turn upon their brothers. Children will rise up and have their parents put to death. And vice versa, parents will have their children put to death.
So, this is what Isaiah is speaking of. The future desolation of the Christian Jerusalem.
Each one against his fellow man. The boy will assault the old man. Children will rise up and have their parents put to death. And verse 8, it says:
“For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen. Because in word and deed they are against Jehovah. They behave defiantly in his glorious presence.”
Well, I’ve spoken about this. And I’m sure I’ll speak about it some more. The Watchtower has championed this preaching of the good news since its inception. You know, it sent out the colporteurs with boxes of books on bicycles. And now they publish information in over a thousand languages.
But they have completely suspended the work that Christ Jesus ordered christians to do. There’s no more knocking on doors. There’s no more cart work. It’s been suspended.
Well, the question is: who gave the Watchtower the authority to countermand Christ? No one. They’ve taken it upon themselves. And that is a very … serious matter. So what’s it say?:
“They behave defiantly in his glorious presence.” Well, it’s interesting going on down to verse 12:“For my people, as for my people, their taskmasters are abusive.”
Well, doesn’t that really sound fitting? The Watchtower Society is accused of being a cult.
It allows for the abuse of thousands of children. And it covers it up and disfellowships people who object to their ….And in many other ways it acts very heavy-handed. You know. So, Jehovah foresaw that, didn’t he?
“My people, he says, your leaders are causing you to wander. And they confuse the direction of your paths.”
Stay at home … It’s much too dangerous to go out and preach, right. All right. So, here comes, verse 13: “Jehovah is taking his position to accuse. He is standing up to pass sentence on peoples.”
Well, we always think of the Devil as the accuser, right. And we think his accusations are false.
Well, here Jehovah is standing up to accuse.
And we can be sure his accusations are true.
So who is he entering into judgment with? Christendom, the world? No. “Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of his people.”
Well … that happened back in 1918. …that’s what, all right, well we’ll see about that. Now, the next verse here is quite interesting:
“You have burned down the vineyard. And what you have stolen from the poor is in your houses. And Jehovah says: “How dare you crush my people, and grind the faces of the poor and the dirt, declares the sovereign lord Jehovah of armies.”
You know, when I first started reading the prophecies differently, and piecing things together … And there’s a number of prophecies that …Well like in Jeremiah where …. and Jesus quoted that you’ve turned the house of my father into a cave of robbers. And the passages in Amos and other prophecies refer to the leaders of God’s people as, well, being partners with thieves, as it said in the first chapter of Isaiah.
And here Jehovah says, what you have taken from the poor, stolen from them, has been found in your houses.
Like I say, when I first started reading as I thought … oh no!? … That, that’s hard to see. I’d, I don’t see how that could really apply to the Watchtower. …
Well, maybe not 20 years ago or even 10 years ago.
But gradually over the last five, six years the Watchtower began selling Kingdom Halls. Now it’s like the floodgates have opened. A thousand Kingdom halls have been sold or are up for sale.
I posted some tweets of all these beautiful buildings, Kingdom Halls in Puerto Rico. One of them is beachfront property. It is a magnificent building. And there’s videos of these … but published by the the realtor, that’s trying to sell off. You know, Jehovah’s property.
It’s sad. I noticed the brothers vacated those buildings. And took you know, the fixtures in some cases this the chairs and all of that. And in a couple of Kingdom Halls, they left their library of bound volumes. And maybe it’s just as well, I suppose.
But … So, the Watchtower, I mean … it, it’s mind-blowing. But in England they have a legal organization set up. It’s called the International Bible Students Association, and its branch headquarters is on the outskirts of London, a beautiful facility. In fact, I toured that facility in London. I think 92 or 3, something like that. Anyway, that’s all been sold or in the process of being sold. And the International Bible Students Association is now the name of a realty company. And they have a a website with advertising all these properties for sale. Yeah. Why did they sell it?
Well because it’s valuable real estate. And because the price of real estate in big cities like New York, Brooklyn, London, it has become tempting for them to really cash out and get some big money.
They bought up a downtrodden property in Chelmsford, East London. It was a former wrecking yard—a junkyard, as we call it in the United States.
Because the Watchtower had free labor at its disposal, it bought this property on the cheap, cashed out of Mars Hill, and built a new headquarters there.
Of course, they did the same thing in Brooklyn: They sold out all those properties that had been there since the early days with Russell and Rutherford. Some say they fetched about a billion dollars. Then, they used their free labor again to build the little palace for themselves in Warwick, out in the secluded forest with a private lake and all that.
So yeah, but keep in mind that these properties and buildings were built by volunteer Jehovah’s Witnesses who used their money to purchase the property and pay off the loans to the Watchtower.
They spent, you know, the brothers on the building committee spent hours and hours on planning and getting all the materials and then a lot of these things were built in two days by hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. And then the Watchtower turns around and sells them because they own them.
And they tell the brothers, you know, ‘get out of here … you’re going here, …. you’re going there.
And you better be in subjection because we speak for Jehovah’ … hmm?
How dare you grind the faces of the poor and the dirt. Yeah, what you have stolen from the poor is in your houses.
So they’ve taken Kingdom halls from the lowly brothers and there the Governing Body is in their granite palace in Warwick. And now they’re the princes in England are building a palace for themselves …Jehovah is entering into judgment with the elders and the princes of his people.
Okay well, then Jehovah turns his attention to the women. And he says: “Jehovah will also strike the head of the daughters of Zion with scabs. And Jehovah will make their foreheads bare.”
And it goes on, you know, Jehovah denounces them for the making themselves you know beautiful with ornaments and earrings and bracelets and veils and ankle chains of breast bands and perfumes receptacles and charms and finger rings and nose rings ceremonial robes and over tunics and cloak, hand mirrors … “And instead of balsam oil there will be a rotten smell. Instead of a belt of rope. By the sword your men will fall, your mighty men in battle.”
Well, Jehovah is not really denouncing females.
The daughters of Zion are those who are prospective Kingdom heirs—the bride of Christ.
And in Jehovah’s eyes they have acted haughtily.
And they’ve not been humble as is, as was Jesus.
And that’s apparent if we go over to the next chapter, chapter four. It’s a very condensed chapter.
It should be part of the third chapter.
You know, years ago, centuries ago when they divided up the Bible into chapters.
Most of it’s okay. But some of it’s kind of arbitrary.
Anyway, and that fourth chapter it opens up:
“Seven women will grab hold of one man in that day saying: we will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing. Only let us be called by your name to take away our disgrace.”
Well, what’s that talking about?
Well, it’s hard to say until you read the rest of it. And then it becomes apparent that Jehovah is talking about the bride of Christ, subjecting themselves to Jesus. Let us be called by your name.
Remember in Revelation they have the name of the lamb and the name of Jehovah written on their forehead. And like I say, it becomes apparent.
“That day Jehovah makes sprout what will be splendid and glorious and the fruitage of the land will be the pride and the beauty of the survivors of Israel, whoever remains in Zion. And is left over in Jerusalem will be called holy. All of those in Jerusalem written down for life.”
In Jerusalem! Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. … And there were a few left behind. But they weren’t holy. Nebuchadnezzar left some of the lowly people of the land to tend the vineyards.
So this is speaking about something much, much grander. It’s talking about the completion of the 144 000—making the Kingdom complete. Seven women represent heavenly perfection, right.
“Seven women will grab hold of one man in that day.”
And notice, that what I just read “whoever remains in Zion and is left over in Jerusalem.”
Jehovah’s witnesses used to use that expression the anointed remnant, because in the 12th chapter of Revelation it referred to the remnant of the woman, the seed of the woman. Now it uses the term remaining ones. So those left over after the purge, after the judgment, after Jehovah purges the wicked out of his organization.
You know, … I skipped over something back in that third chapter … oh yeah, verse 10. So, Jehovah is standing up to bring judgment. But verse 10 it says:“Tell the righteous that it will go well for them. They will be rewarded for what they do. Woe to the wicked one. Disaster will befall him. For what his hands have done will be done to him.”
So again, Jesus spoke about this, didn’t he.
There’s a separation of the sheep and the goats, but also of the faithful and the evil slave.
Jesus gave a series of illustrations of the master entrusted his servants with certain talents and then when he returns he calls them to account. And two of them had been faithful. One of them wasn’t. And they’re punished with the greatest of severity.
So, even the Watchtower now. …. They used to say yeah, that happened in 1918. Even now they say that’s in the future. Along with the judgment of the faithful and evil slave. So, they will be separated.
So, that that’s what we’re talking about here. Let me flip back to that fourth chapter. That chapter ends … it’s quite interesting.
‘“Jehovah will also create over the whole site of mount Zion and over the place of her conventions a cloud and smoke by day and a bright flaming fire by night for over all their the glory there will be a shelter. And there will be a booth for shade by day from the heat and for refuge and protection from storms and the rain.’
…. oh boy ….So you remember when Israel
came out of Egypt and they crossed the Red Sea.
And of course the Egyptians were drowned. During the day there was this miraculous cloud that was leading the Israelite camp. And at night, … just imagine you know, there’s no street lights, no lamps, just campfires and torches. But there was this big pillar of fire over the tabernacle. And when the camp was on the move that pillar of fire lit up the camp. Jehovah was leading them.
So here with this Jerusalem, Jehovah is evoking that same imagery—the pillar of fire and the cloud during the day. So, in other words, he will take a direct … he will become directly involved with leading his people at that time. This is after the tribulation, before Armageddon.
Let’s see here, I’m …Well, that last verse I read that God will provide a shelter from the rain. Well, Isaiah repeats itself, then enlarges upon what we read earlier. Chapter 32: “Look at king will reign for righteousness and princes will rule for justice. And each one will be like a hiding place from the wind, a place of concealment from the rainstorm.”
So yeah, and verse 3 says: “Then the eyes of those seeing will no longer be pasted shut. And the ears of those hearing will pay attention.”
And … it goes on to talk about the apostate, will come to his end … And so, anyway, the king of course, is Jesus. And he hasn’t begun ruling yet.
First, Jerusalem is subjected to this holocaust, you might say. The wicked are separated and Christ then takes the remnant, the survivors and those who recognize them. The princes begin ruling. In other words, the brothers of Christ, the sons of God, are allowed entry into the Kingdom. And while they’re on the earth the sheep and the goats are judged whether they recognize them as Jesus representatives, his brothers. And whatever is done to them or not done to them is done directly to Jesus.
Because at that time those princes will have been accepted into the Kingdom. They will be as though Jesus were on the earth.
Okay, well, I guess that’ll do it for this installment. Thanks for watching. And I hope to speak to you again on this topic of Isaiah.
