“BUT THE IDOLS WILL COMPLETELY VANISH”

The six words in the above title are the entire eighteenth verse in the second chapter of Isaiah.

Verse seventeen reads, “And the pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased, and the LORD alone will exalted in that day.”

To what day was Isaiah referring? To the day of the Lord.

We’re going to drastically change gears, but in a moment I believe you’ll see how it all fits together.

Revelation thirteen speaks of two beasts. The first beast is obviously Antichrist for in verse five we are told, “there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.” We also learn from verse three that the first beast had a fatal head wound that was healed and the whole earth is amazed concerning this and follows after the beast.

The second beast is mentioned just six verses later. He exercises all the authority of the first beast and he makes the earth worship the first beast. Verse fourteen is very interesting.

“And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given to him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”

Did you see that? The second beast is going to require the earth dwellers to make an image of the first beast. There are going to be millions of these little idols all over the world.

Then it gets really scary.

Verse fifteen: “And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

I’ll say it again, scary!

There are a couple of things I’d like to point out. There are some who teach that the day of the Lord encompasses the entire 70^th Week of Daniel. However, if people are worshipping these images of the beast the Lord alone is not being exalted. The day of the Lord must follow sometime after the second beast requires the earth dwellers to make an image of the beast and worship it.

Now watch what Paul tells the Thessalonians in his second letter to them. He tells them that the day of the Lord (when He alone will be exalted - Is. 2:17) “will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” (2 Th. 2:3,4)

See how it all fits now?

Joel 2:31 tells us that before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes “the sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood.”

Matthew 24:29 has this cosmic sign cutting short the great tribulation which follows the abomination of desolation. We all understand the abomination of desolation to refer to Antichrist’s exaltation of himself in the temple at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th Week.

Revelation 6:12-17 has the cosmic sign in the sun, moon, and stars occurring at the opening of the sixth seal. Men run to the caves and rocks of the mountains to hide and cry out to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb.

Do you really see now how it all fits?

Here’s Isaiah 2:17-22:

“And the pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. But the idols will vanish. And men will go into caves of the rocks, and into holes of the ground before the terror of the LORD, and before the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble. In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, in order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble. Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?”

And of course if you’ve read my blog before you know where I understand Scripture to place our gathering in relation to all of this…at the day of the LORD!

Luke 21:25-28: “And there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and upon the earth dismay among the nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4: “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” (because they are worshipping the image of the beast!) then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief…”

You may have noticed that I changed my post regarding the plurality of images. I started out saying that every earth dweller will make one, then went to one image being made. I am now back to every earth dweller making an image. Since first posting I learned "image" can either be a singular or a collective noun. Based on the Isaiah 2 passage and on Rev. 9:20, I'm holding to the position that each earth dweller will make an image - "And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk..."