Isaiah 9:5
5 For every battle [ca'own] of the warrior [ca'an] is
with confused noise, [ra`ash] and garments [simlah] rolled [galal] in blood; [dam] but this shall be with burning [sarephah] and fuel [ma'akoleth] of
fire. ['esh] KJV-Interlinear
5 For every
boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood,
will be for burning, fuel for the fire. NASB
Isaiah saw the invasion
coming in his day, but he also saw a more terrible invasion coming in the final
days of history.
Although history has
several examples of battles and invasions where the enemy came with great
confidence and then were defeated, there is only one instance where this
prophecy will be fulfilled in every detail and to the letter without exception.
Every battle, ‘ca own,’
is a reference to the boot or footwear of the soldier. Therefore, every boot, or every soldier will advance
with confidence and the certainty of his victory.
Confused noise or tumult,
‘ra ash,’ is a reference to the sound of advancing armies.
Garments rolled in blood,
is a phrase that describes the nature of battle. It is deadly, up close and personal,
and extremely messy.
And so it will be. In those final days of history, at the end of
the Tribulation, the enemies of God, of truth, of Israel, and of all believers
in general, will be marching to the sound of their equipment, with confidence
and purpose, and the certainty of their victory.
But this shall be, is a
phrase that simply states that this must be, this will be. And what will be, just as certain as the
enemy’s confidence, will be the defeat of all of Gods enemies.
So there are two
certainties here. First there will be an
invasion. It is going to happen. And second, that invasion will fail. But this failure will not be a temporary
failure, such that another enemy can come along on another day. This failure will be the last and final
failure.
Burning and fuel for
fire, carries the connotation of the booty obtained after the battle is over.
The enemy boots,
clothing, implements of battle, will all be forfeit and become the possessions
of the victors.
This burning is the final
burning, the final collection of all enemy possessions, including the enemy
soldiers themselves.
In great heaps, the fires
after the battle will burn for a long period of time.
Recall that the Battle of
Armageddon will be horrific. That battlefield will extend for hundreds of miles
and will be completely covered with the dead of the enemy. Blood will flow as high as the horses
bridle. That means millions, upon
millions, upon millions of the dead.
It will take more than a
few days to clean it all up, and use up the supplies and equipment. It will take years, and people will even need
the help of animal scavengers in the cleanup process.
