Isaiah 13:8
8 And they shall be afraid [bahal]: pangs [tsiyr] and sorrows [chebel] shall take hold ['achaz] of
them; they shall be in pain [chuwl] as a woman
that travaileth [yalad]: they shall be amazed [tamahh] one ['iysh] at another [rea`]; their faces [paniym] shall
be as flames [lahab]. KJV-Interlinear
8 And they will be terrified, Pains
and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They
will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. NASB
Under normal circumstances,
a typical pregnancy will run its course in about nine months. Then, at the end of that time frame, labor
begins and birth soon follows usually within a matter of hours.
In comparison, the
labor and birth process are very short and quick as opposed to the entire
duration of the pregnancy. They come on
quickly and almost unexpectedly, even when you know with common sense that they
are very near.
Someone caught out and
unaware could expect a tremendous ordeal and would be helpless to do anything about
it.
And that is the
intended description within this verse.
The people who will be
set against God in those final days of history, will know at least in general
terms, the story of the return of Christ, but they will be caught unaware and
by surprise by His actual return.
Throughout history
there have been wars and world wars and at no time has Christ returned to end
it all.
This last battle will
be no different in the minds of the evil people fighting it.
And then suddenly as
though out of nowhere, Christ will return, but not alone.
There is a mighty and
countless host right behind Him. The
numbers and the appearance and noise will be staggering.
Looking at each other
in astonishment, means simply that they will be dumb founded, totally caught
off guard, totally by surprise, staring at the heavens and at each other with a
stupefying empty gaze where their thought processes will seem to have stopped
completely.
And while the pains of
child birth are very real, those folks will be in similar pain, but of an
overwhelming mental nature as when a sudden calamity overcomes a person. Their distress and anxiety and fear and
terror will be beyond their ability to deal with or even control.
Their faces will be as
flames, further describes their mental attitude and reaction to such an
invasion.
Typically when people
are overcome with anguish they are pale, but here those people will be red
faced with rage.
Instead of falling face
forward in surrender, instead of falling face forward in seek of mercy and forgiveness,
instead of falling on their knees in recognition of Christ as Lord, they will turn
to rage and anger and indignation at the appearance of the unwelcome invaders. How dare anyone come and ruin or interfere
with their destruction of humanity!
Review the study of
Revelation, and you will recall that the world will have fallen head first for
years, into total ruin at the behest of the anti-christ leadership, and yet no
one will look around and recognize the miserable failure that has been running
the world for those past seven years.
There are those who
will never turn away from their hate, who will never see their hate nor the
repercussions of their hate. And yet
they know their own actions and they know the disasters that exist all around,
but they stubbornly refuse to make any changes in themselves.
With a lack of
doctrine, you will be like that.
With doctrine learned
through your study, which is the only way that you can learn, you will not be
like that.
Bible doctrine or the
lack of it, ultimately decides where you will end up in life.
