Monday, August 15, 2005

The Travail of Zion


Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
(Isa 66:7-9)


'Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was deleivered of a man child'...

It seems to me that this indicates that Zion would bring forth the Messiah before their time of 'great tribulation', and so it was...

'for as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children'...

Just as the Jewish nation began to experience her time of great tribulation at the hands of the Romans, Christianity exploded throughtout the Romans world.

Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
(Isa 66:10-11)


These verses, and the description of glory and blessings upon Zion which follow can only be understood when Isaiah 66:7-9 is compared with Revelation 12-13.

Some would attempt to say that the blessings and glory of Zion described in Isaiah 66 are simply the blessings that were transferred to the church after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Some would attempt to say that the words of verse 19:

And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
(Isa 66:19)


...is a description of the gospel going to Gentile lands as Christianity spread in its earliest centuries.

This however simply will not follow. The apostolic writings are full of warnings that Christiany itself was already headed into apostasy, an apostasy which would eventually reach a climax.

The gospel in its pure and unadulterated form barely made it out of the first century before it became corrupted by worldly philosophy and politics. Examining the history of 'christianity' it is difficult, or rather impossible to imagine how anyone can realistically apply the glorious promises made to Zion in Isaiah 66 to the Christianity of the past 19 centuries.

But there is no reason nor any excuse for interpreting the promises of Isaiah in this way. A comparison with Revelation 12 yields the proper interpretation:

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
(Rev 12:1-6)


After being delivered of a man child, the woman was forced to flee into the wilderness. Additionally, her children were to endure intense satanic persecution. Since the woman and her Children represent the Zion of the Old Testament (regardless of whether we try to apply them to Israel, or the Church - although I believe the point is that these were never meant to be understood as mutually exclusive to one another) it is readlily seen here that the blessedness described in the latter part of Isaiah 66 would not immediately follow the delivery of the man child, nor of the children she was to bring forth.

Quite to the contrary, the true Zion would first be forced underground for a period prophetically defined as 1260 days.

For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
(Isa 66:15-16)


It is only after the days of Zion's tribulation that the Lord will come. As we see so many times elsewhere in scripture, the glory of Israel is promised only after a great time of trouble:

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
(Mat 23:38-39)


And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
(Luk 21:24)


Only after Zion's time of trouble will the Lord return. Only then will the promises made to Zion be fulfilled and the light of the truth shine forth.

And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
(Isa 66:19-23)

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