To See the Lord and His Heavenly Kingdom!

Isaiah 33:17-24

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.

18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
"Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?"

19 You will not see a fierce people,
A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.

21 But there the majestic LORD will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by

22 (For the LORD is our Judge,
The LORD is our Lawgiver,
The LORD is our King;
He will save us);

23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.

24 And the inhabitant will not say, "I am sick";
The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.

To see the Sovereign Lord God in His beauty and the heavenly country to come which seems so far off, that is clear and focused vision indeed!  This message of Isaiah has one meaning but  applications for both the deliverance of Jerusalem and of all God’s people in eternity.  The fear of looming judgment applies to both as well; here there was fear for losing all that Jerusalem and God’s people had in their knowledge of scribes, trade with scales, and protection of the city’s towers.  In the heavenly kingdom the gain is knowledge of God seen face to face and a growing knowing until that day, the provision of eternity to negate the need for commerce to survive, and His presence as our protection from the presence of sin forevermore.  Today’s enemies are fierce and come from places where we cannot understand their speech, but the peace of God in all circumstances will be fully known and experienced in the New Jerusalem come down from heaven to the renewed earth where unending worship will take place.  This kingdom is unshakable (Hebrews 12:27-28) and will have the Lord Himself present there with the river of life and trees of healing (Revelation 22:1-2) with no need of ships to navigate its waters, just as the prophetic message of Isaiah hinted at with the illustration of the Lord as our place of such peace.  Yes, the same Lord who is the Judge over Israel in that time long past is ours now and forever, He is our Sovereign and the one who saves us.  Those without Him, who reject Him, they will be as on ships without tackle tied down and no way to raise a sail to move from the danger of judgment or gain lasting treasure.  But in the end they who turn to the Lord will find spiritual healing of the soul and forgiveness for sin’s inner iniquity which fills the corrupted heart of the fall in the Garden of Eden in the beginning.  Oh how we who are delivered from the penalty of sin yearn to be in His presence and no longer in sin’s presence, to see the Lord and His heavenly kingdom face to face!  Come quickly, Lord.