Taking another look at Isaiah 17
D.P.
Weary
December
2024
In this
analysis of Isaiah 17 I am looking at the chapter as two events. The first is
an attack on Israel in the latter days. An attack that is also prophesied in
Ezekiel 38. In this view the chapter adds information about the Ezekiel war
called the War of Gog and Magog. In this view the prophecy is not completely
fulfilled and the complete fulfillment is yet to come. The complete fulfillment
of Isaiah 17 occurs with the battles of Armageddon just before the LORD returns
as King of kings and Lord of lords to establish His Kingdom on the Earth.
[Isa
17:1 NKJV] The burden against Damascus. "Behold, Damascus will cease from
being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.
[Isa 17:1 AMP] The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be
carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel's defense
against Assyria]. "Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a city And
will become a fallen ruin.
Historically Damascus has been conquered
many times but it has never ceased to be a city.
·
965 BCE – Ezron, King of Aram-Zobah conquers
Damascus
·
843 BCE – Hazael assassinated Ben-Hadad I and made himself king of
Damascus.[1]
·
732 BCE – Neo-Assyrian Empire conquers
Damascus
·
572 BCE – Neo-Babylonians conquered Damascus
·
538 BCE – Achaemenid Empire annexes Damascus
·
333 BCE – Alexander the Great conquers
Damascus
·
112 BCE – Damascus fell to Antiochus IX
Cyzicenus.[1]
·
150 CE – Damascus became a Roman provincial city under Trajan.[1]
The prophecy begins with the destruction
of Damascus, Syria. The destruction leaves the city just a heap of ruins and it
ceases from being a city. The remainder of Isaiah 17 deals with other cities
and with Israel, especially the northern part of Israel. While some of these
prophecies have been partially fulfilled in history, the primary prophecy about
the complete destruction of Damascus has never been fulfilled and these other
prophecies are associated with this destruction of Damascus. Therefore, we can
safely assume that the complete fulfillment of the Isaiah 17 prophecy is yet in
the future.
[Isa 17:2
NKJV] The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down,
and no one will make them afraid.
[Isa 17:2 AMP] "The cities of Aroer [east of the Jordan] are
deserted; They will be [only a refuge] for flocks to lie down in, And there
will be no one to make them afraid.
The cities of Aroer are cities that were
on the northern banks of the river Arnon in Jordan, in the original land of
Rueben. There was also an area in the land of Gad near the current city of
Rabbah (Amman, Jordan) that was known as Aroer. These cities are forsaken or
deserted and become grazing land and there will be nothing in the area that can
make the flocks afraid. Because the area becomes grazing land, it is unlikely
that they are destroyed with nuclear weapons (they are destroyed by fire,
conventional weaponry – Jer. 49:2).
[Jer
49:2 NKJV] Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD,
"That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites;
It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then
Israel shall take possession of his inheritance," says the LORD.
Isa 17:2 reveals to us that Jordan will
be involved at the time that Damascus is destroyed. Jer. 49 reveals to us that
Amman will be destroyed and the neighboring cities burned with fire
(conventional weaponry). There are also prophecies against Moab and Amman (Jordan)
given in Isaiah 15-16 and Jer. 48-49. These prophecies tell of great
destruction and cities destroyed in the areas east of Israel.
[Isa 17:3 NKJV] The fortress
also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of
Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel," Says the LORD
of hosts.
[Isa
17:3 AMP] "The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And the kingdom
from Damascus And the remnant of Aram (Syria); They will be like the [departed]
glory of [her ally] the children of Israel," Declares the LORD of hosts.
Hear we learn that the fortress (or
places or positions of power) of Ephraim (Ephraim is another title for the
northern nation of Israel)
shall cease (be overrun or destroyed) and the kingdom from Damascus or the
power of Damascus will end (the sovereignty, royal power and authority will be
removed). Those left in Syria, the remnant, will be like the remnant of Israel (few
in number and left in a devested land) after the Assyrians had devastated the
northern kingdom of Israel. What we are seeing here is a time when warfare in
Syria, northern Israel, and Jordan brings great devastation.
[Isa 17:4 NKJV] "In that
day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of
his flesh grow lean.
[Isa
17:4 AMP] "Now in that day the [former] glory of Jacob [Israel--his might,
his population, his prosperity] will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will
become lean.
Israel will suffer during these days and
events. During and because of the war in Syria, northern Israel, and Jordan
Israel will fall from a place of glory, might, and prosperity. Israel will
suffer much with deaths, essential shortages, a failing military, and fear.
[Isa 17:5 NKJV] It shall be
as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It
shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim.
[Isa
17:5 AMP] "And it will be like the reaper gathering the standing grain, As
his arm harvests the ears of grain; Yes, it will be like one gleaning ears of
grain In the [fertile] Valley of Rephaim.
It will seem that Israel has been
abandoned like fields after the harvest. The gleaning of the fields occurs
after the harvest when the poor are allowed to go out into the corners of the
reaped fields and gather whatever remnants of grain they can. The valley of
Rephaim is the area west and southwest of Jerusalem (it would include the Tel
Aviv-Joppa area).
This tells us that the area west of
Jerusalem including Tel Aviv will suffer during this time of military activity,
stripped bare and abandoned like fields after the harvest.
[Isa 17:6 NKJV] Yet gleaning
grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three
olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful
branches," Says the LORD God of Israel.
[Isa
17:6 AMP] "Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the
shaking of the olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost branch, Four or
five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree," Declares the LORD,
the God of Israel.
There will be great destruction in
Israel and only a remnant or gleaning of “grapes” (fruit of the fruitful tree,
people) will remain. Only those in "the highest branches" will
survive. Israel will be stripped bare of people.
Here we learn that there will be a
surviving remnant in Israel. The surviving remnant will be in a "high
place". The only safe and high place that I can imagine in such a time as
this will be in the Lord. I believe that the believers in the land will
survive. At least part of the surviving remnant will be in the High Place of
the Lord's protection, the Rock, their hiding place.
It is here that the prophecy seems to
begin taking on meaning that goes beyond that of the Ezekiel 38 war. After the
seven years of tribulation preceding the LORDS return, there will be some saved
but only a remnant. According to the prophet Zechariah only 1/3 of Israel will
survive.
[Zec
13:8 NKJV] And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD,
"That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be
left in it:
[Zec
13:9 NKJV] I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as
silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name,
And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say,
'The LORD is my God.' "
[Isa 17:7 NKJV] In that day a
man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of
Israel.
[Isa
17:7 AMP] In that day man will have regard for his Maker, And his eyes will
regard the Holy One of Israel [with awe-inspired reverence].
The events of Ezekiel 38 will cause surely
cause some to look to the Lord their maker. But it will also be a catalyst for
many to turn to a man as their savior from a devastating war and call him their
messiah. The great turning back to God awaits the Lord’s second coming.
All the events of the last days are
intended to bring God's people Israel back to him. The remnant will look to
their God, their creator and have respect for the Holy one of Israel. These
events drive the Jews back to God and in fact drive them to come to believe
that Jesus is their Messiah. The believers in the land today are a “voice
crying in the wilderness, behold Jeshua Māšîaḥ.”
[Rev 12:11 NKJV] 11 "And they overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love
their lives to the death.
[Isa 17:8 NKJV] He
will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what
his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
[Isa 17:8 AMP] And he will not have regard for the [idolatrous]
altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have
made, Neither the Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) nor the incense
altars.
Here again we see scripture that refers
more to the second coming of the Lord rather than to the Ezekiel 38 war that
occurs at the beginning of the last 7 years of tribulation. The survivors will
forsake their idol worship in whatever form they have made it. Humanism, false
religion, spiritism in all its forms, and materialism will fall. The remnant in
Israel will give up their idol worship of human greatness, money, power,
pleasure, humanism, and materialism.
[Isa 17:9 NKJV] In that day
his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which
they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be desolation.
[Isa
17:9 AMP] In that day the strong cities of Aram and Israel will be like
deserted places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the
children of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.
The strong, largest cities of Israel and
Syria (Aram) will be forsaken. They will become just like the cities of the
Hivites and Amorites abandoned when the Israelites (Joshua and company) came
long ago. And there will be desolation. This could be partially true because of
the Ezekiel war but certainly true because of the battles of Armageddon just
before the Lord returns.
[Isa 17:10 NKJV] Because you
have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock
of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out
foreign seedlings;
[Isa
17:10 AMP] Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvation And
have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold-- Therefore you plant lovely
plants And set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,
All of this will happen because Israel
turned from the only God who could save them. They turned from the Rock that
could hide them. They planted the finest imported crops but not to honor God
and they did not give Him any credit or glory for the fruit of their plantings.
Israel planted their nation in 1948 and it grew quite quickly. But it was
without their creator and despite his many blessings and help, they refused to
acknowledge or honor him who created them and gave them the land in the first
place.
[Isa
17:11 NKJV] In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning,
you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In
the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
[Isa 17:11 AMP] In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it
in, And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; Yet [promising as it is]
the harvest will be a heap [of ruins that passes away] In the day of sickness
and incurable pain.
These plants or crops grew very
quickly (Israel grew very quickly from 1948 through lots of trials and
tribulations) but in the end the harvest will be a load of grief and desperate,
incurable pain and sorrow during the last 7 years of tribulation before the
Lord returns. All their political efforts to establish themselves as a
respected nation in the international community fail. They refused to trust
God, and relied on their own capabilities and contrivances. It all turns to
grief, pain, and sorrow. But God's promises to them, His covenants, are
irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). So, all these last day's events are God's plan to
bring his people back to him so that he can bless them and fulfill his
covenants with them.
Rom. 11:25-32 - Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own
conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a
hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last]
until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in, 26And so
all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. 27And this will be My
covenant (My agreement) with them when I shall take away their sins. 28From
the point of view of the Gospel (good news), they [the Jews, at present] are
enemies [of God], which is for your advantage and benefit. But from the point
of view of God's choice (of election, of divine selection), they are still the
beloved (dear to Him) for the sake of their forefathers. 29For God's
gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are
given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace
or to whom He sends His call.] 30Just
as you were once disobedient and rebellious toward God but now have obtained
[His] mercy, through their disobedience, 31So they also now are being
disobedient [when you are receiving mercy], that they in turn may one day,
through the mercy you are enjoying, also receive mercy [that they may share the
mercy which has been shown to you--through you as messengers of the Gospel to
them]. 32For God has consigned (penned up) all men to disobedience,
only that He may have mercy on them all [alike].
Back to Isaiah:
Again we will see that these
verses can relate to Ezekiel 38 but we can also see a greater fulfillment in
the second coming of our Lord.
[Isa
17:12 NKJV] Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar
of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing
of mighty waters!
[Isa 17:12 AMP] Oh, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the
roaring of the seas, And the noise of nations Who roar like the rumbling of
mighty waters!
[Isa 17:13 NKJV] The nations will rush like the rushing of many
waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased
like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before
the whirlwind.
[Isa 17:13 AMP] The nations roar on like the roaring of many
waters, But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased
like chaff on the mountains before the wind, Or like whirling dust before the
storm.
[Isa 17:14 NKJV]
Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This
is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us.
[Isa 17:14 AMP] At evening time, now look, sudden terror! Before
morning the Assyrians are no more. This is the portion (fate) of those who
plunder us, And the lot of those who pillage us.
Ezekiel saw armies from the north coming
against Israel but on the mountains of Israel, God defeats them. In the
Ezekiel scenario while the attack causes a stir in the nations, many simply
make a verbal protest (Ezekiel 38:13). In Isa 17:12 and 13 it is nations who
roar.
[Eze 38:1-10, 12-16 NKJV] 1 Now the word of the LORD came to me,
saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog,
the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 "and
say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince
of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 "I will turn you around, put hooks into
your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all
splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them
handling swords. 5 "Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them
with shield and helmet; 6 "Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah
from the far north and all its troops--many people are with you. 7
"Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are
gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 "After many days you will
be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of
those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the
mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the
nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9 "You will ascend, coming like a storm,
covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with
you." 10 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day it shall come to pass
that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: ... 12
"to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the
waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the
nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the
land. 13 "Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and
all their young lions will say to you, 'Have you come to take plunder? Have you
gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away
livestock and goods, to take great plunder?' " ' 14 "Therefore, son of
man, prophesy and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day when
My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? 15 "Then you will
come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all
of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 "You will
come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in
the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may
know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes."
Ezek 38:18-23 (NKJV) 18 "And it will
come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,"
says the Lord God, "that My fury will show in My
face. 19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken:
'Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so
that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field,
all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth
shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep
places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.' 21 I
will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the
Lord God. "Every man's sword
will be against his brother. 22 And I will bring him to
judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops,
and on the many peoples who are
with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus
I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of
many nations. Then they shall know that I am
the Lord." '
Much of this is related to the first 6
seals of Rev. 6. This activity sets up a great falling away from the faith in
the nations due to great persecution of Jews and Christians who support Israel.
This war initiates political activities that enable a powerful world leader
(really the Antichrist) to arrange a 7-year peace treaty between Israel and
those attacking her. This will initiate Daniel's last week of years, the time
of the tribulation, the days of the wrath of God.
[Dan 9:26-27 AMP] 26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks [of
years] the Anointed One will be cut off [and denied His Messianic kingdom] and
have nothing [and no one to defend Him], and the people of the [other] prince
who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will come with
a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27
"And he will enter into a binding and irrevocable covenant with the many
for one week (seven years), but in the middle of the week he will stop the
sacrifice and grain offering [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and
on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until the
complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who causes
the horror."
With the breaking of the 6th
seal of Revelation 6, a great earthquake signals the coming of the wrath of
God.
Rev 6:12-17 (NKJV)
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal,
and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth
of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the
stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is
shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a
scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its
place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the
rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid
themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and
said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the
face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For
the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
The 7 years of tribulation are
about to begin and the times of the Gentiles are coming to an end.
[Rom 11:25-29 NKJV] 25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you
should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own
opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of
the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness
from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their
sins." 28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but
concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For
the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Daniel’s last
week of years, the 7 years of tribulation, deal with Israel and the Jews and
the judgment of the kingdoms of the world. As God judges and cleanses the
nations of the world, He completes His irrevocable covenant promises to Israel.
These promises are a National Land forever
(Gen 12:1; 13:14-15, 17; 15:18-21), spiritual blessings and redemption (Isa.
61:8; Jer. 31:31-40; 32:40; 50:5; Heb 8:6-13; 13:20), a dynasty (Kingdom
of no end), a nation (the house of Jacob), and a throne (the throne of David, 2
Sam 7:11, 13, 16; Jeremiah 33:3-26; 31:35-40; 1 Chron. 7:12; 22:10; Isa. 55:3;
Ezek. 37:25; Hosea 3:4-5; Ezek. 37:21-28; Amos 9:11-12; Jer. 30:7,11,18). They guarantee Israel a permanent national
existence, perpetual title to the land of promise, material and spiritual
blessing through the Messiah, and a King forever.
These last
verses of Isa 17 also relate to the Lord’s second coming. Israel waits in
terror in the evening, but by dawn he (or the Assyrians – AMP) are no more.
This is the reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.
These verses are in line with and
associated with the second coming of the Lord.
[Zec 14:2-9 NKJV] 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle
against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women
ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the
people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth And
fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in that
day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the
east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making
a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half
of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For
the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from
the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will
come, And all the saints with You. 6 It shall come to pass in that day That
there will be no light; The lights will diminish. 7 It shall be one day Which
is known to the LORD--Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall
happen That it will be light. 8 And in that day it shall be That living waters
shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them
toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. 9 And the
LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be--"The LORD
is one," And His name one.
The climax is
the Lord’s triumphal return to establish His Kingdom on earth and take His
rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords over all the earth. And He
will rule and reign for 1000 years from His throne in Jerusalem with His Bride,
the true Church at His side.
P.S. Ezekiel 38 and 39 are about war or battles in
the Middle East. Most experts agree that these wars have not yet occurred. The
question is when do they happen relative to the prophetic Biblical narrative?
Options for the
timing of Ezekiel 38 and 39
1. The
battles of these chapters occur at the end of the seven years of tribulation.
2. They
occur at the beginning of the seven years of tribulation.
3. Ezekiel
38 occurs at the beginning of the seven years of tribulation and Ezekiel 39 at
the end of these years.
4. Ezekiel
38 and 39 are just two views of the same war spread over about ten years with 3
½ years of a cease-fire during the ten years. Ezekiel. 39 adds additional
information to that presented in Ezekiel 38 as do other scriptures dealing with
the battles of the last days.
Option
4 is the option this author believes to be the most credible. Ps. 83, Isa. 17, 29,
and Jer. 49, 50, 51, Zech. 12, 13, 14, Zephaniah 1, 2, Joel 2, 3, Rev. 16, 19, and
other scriptures dealing with the days just before Christ’s return are a part
of the battles of Ezekiel 38/39. These scriptures add additional information to
that presented in the Ezekiel chapters. It is interesting to note that Ezekiel
40 to 48 deal with the millennial Kingdom of God on Earth after the Lord’s
return. By integrating all this information, a very vivid picture of the war
just before Christ’s return emerges; a picture of “The Last War” on the planet Earth
before Christ returns. This study can be found on my blog at:
dpweary.blogspot.com.
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