Isaiah 22:14
14 And it was revealed [galah] in mine ears ['ozen] by the
LORD [Yahovah] of hosts [tsaba'], Surely this iniquity [`avon] shall not be purged [kaphar] from you
till ye die [muwth], saith ['amar] the Lord ['Adonay] GOD [Yahovih] of hosts [tsaba']. KJV-Interlinear
14 The LORD of hosts has revealed himself
in my ears: “Surely this iniquity will
not be atoned for you until you die,” says the Lord GOD of hosts. ESV
One of the more remarkable
verses is given here, in which it describes the extremes of stubbornness that
humanity can and will go to, and even intentionally, even when they face
certain death and total destruction of themselves.
As Paul and
Jesus described, that in the end of our current dispensation there will be a
great apostasy, here we can see just how extreme that it can be, and will be.
Note that these
events will occur seven years after the Rapture, and we know that when the Rapture
does occur, that all believers are gone, and all that remain in the world will
be unbelievers.
The world will not
remain that way throughout the entire Tribulation, for as life gets worse and
worse, and as Satan clamps down harder and harder to bring all of humanity
under his will, people will not comply. Satan will kill any and all who reject him,
and even in that face of death, huge numbers will reject Satan and turn to Christ,
knowing that they will indeed die. So,
Satan cannot control the world, and will never be able to control it.
Jesus Christ
controls history, and He isn’t even here.
He doesn’t have to be.
But there will likewise
be a hardened population, which will never turn to Christ.
And we saw that
their attitude is to party and revel in whatever stimulus that is nearby.
And Isaiah tells
us right now, that there will be a hardened population of people who will never
turn to Christ and their sins will never be forgiven, because of their stubborn
indifference, and they will go to their death, with all certainty, refusing to
repent right up until their last breath.
That is the epitome
of stubbornness and arrogance and stupidity.
And remember one
important principle of doctrine. Your sins were judged on the cross but they
were not forgiven. And that is an
extremely important principle. Judgment
and forgiveness are two very different concepts.
In judgment the
penalty is paid and the freedom is purchased.
But in
forgiveness the sinner has to acknowledge his sin and thus obtain
forgiveness. That is why when you
believe in Christ, you have acknowledged Him and who and what He is, and did,
on the cross which includes by default acknowledging your failure in sin. Thus you obtain immediate forgiveness for
your sins. That is a part of the salvation
process.
Unbelievers
never obtain forgiveness, because they never acknowledge their failure by never
believing in Christ.
Note, salvation
is not by acknowledging sins, it is only by faith in Christ. Just want to make that clear. Your acknowledgement of sin is understood
when you believed in Christ. Thus at the
moment of salvation, you begin your Christian life, in fellowship.
Then obviously
during your life as a believer, you sin from time to time, which expels you from
fellowship and a face to face relationship with God, and that requires
confession in order to reinstate your fellowship status. You never ever lose salvation.
God requires
perfection and a clean relationship, thus confession is mandatory. He has already paid the price, you just have
to keep acknowledging you flaws. That
helps you keep your focus.
But there are
those who are so rigid that they will never believe, and/or never confess.
And Isaiah is
speaking Gods words here, as he addresses those people who will be so hardened,
that they will go to their death never having believed in Christ, and in the
case of hardened believers, they will go to their death, as a spiritually
dysfunctional believer, resisting Gods mandates, never confessing or turning to
Him in any way, shape or form.
