Open your Bible to the 34th chapter
of the Gospel of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 34. That will be my text. The subject
of this chapter is judgment. It describes the day of the Lord's
vengeance. Let's read it together. Come near, ye nations, to hear. And hearken, ye people. Let the
earth hear, and all that is therein, the world and all things that
come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord
is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies. He hath utterly destroyed them.
He hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall
be cast out. And the stink shall come up out
of their carcasses. And the mountains be melted with
their blood. And all the host of heaven shall
be dissolved. And the heavens shall re-roll
together as a scroll. and all their host shall fall
down as the leaf falleth off from the vine and as the falling
of a fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed
in heaven. Behold, it shall come down upon
Idumea and upon the people of my curse. Oh, what a word with
which to describe a people, the people of my curse. the people
of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled
with blood. It is made fat with the fatness and with the blood
of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of the rams.
For the Lord hath a sacrifice in Basra and a great slaughter
in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down
with them and the bullocks with the bulls. and their land shall
be soaked with blood and their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of the Lord's
vengeance and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.
That is God's controversy with men because of their controversy
with him and his people. And the streams thereof shall
be turned into pitch and the dust thereof into brimstone. And the land thereof shall become
a burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night
nor day. The smoke thereof shall go up
forever, from generation to generation. It shall lie waste. None shall
pass through it forever and ever. But the cormorant and the bitter
shall possess it. The owl also and the raven shall
dwell in it. And he shall stretch out upon
it the line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. They
shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall
be there. And all the princes shall be
nothing. And thorns shall come up upon
her palaces and needles and brambles in the fortresses thereof. And
it shall be an habitation of dragons and a court for owls. The wild beast of the desert
shall also meet with the wild beast of the island. And the
satyr shall cry to his fellows. And the screech owl also shall
rest there and find for herself a place of rest. There shall
the great owl make her nest and lay and hatch and gather under
her shadow. There shall the vultures also
be gathered, everyone with her mate. Whatever this describes, it describes
darkness and torment, fowls and beasts of prey. never
satiated, never satisfied. There shall the great owl make
her nest and lay and hatch and gather under her shadow. There
shall the vultures also be gathered, every one to her mate. Verse
60, seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read. Oh, you would
be wise to seek out the book of God and read. Seek out the book of God and
read. No one of these shall fail. None
shall want her mate, for my mouth hath commanded, and his spirit,
it hath gathered them. This is according to my decree,
my order, my commandment. Verse 17, and he hath cast the
lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line,
the judgment in my work. They shall possess it forever.
From generation to generation shall they dwell therein. This
chapter opens with a call for all nations and all people, all
men and women of every age in all the earth, all who dwell
on the earth and all who come forth from it. to hear God's
prophet and his message. The message of God concerning
his indignation with man. Chapter really has three sections.
In verses one through seven, the Lord God announces the ultimate
final judgment of the whole world by his hand. the ultimate final
judgment of the whole world by his hand. Edom set forth here
as Edomia. Edom is held before us as the leading
primary target of God's indignation. Why is that? Because Edom, the
Edomites, the children of Esau, were a people who wore God's
name. but despise God and his birthright. Throughout the scripture, Edom
represents profane, sensual, religious people. Many women
who call themselves the people of God, but they despise God,
his gospel, his people, and his way. Turn over to the book of
Hebrews, if you will. Just gonna look at a couple of
passages. Hebrews chapter 12. Verse 14. Follow peace with all
men. Follow peace with all men. Live
peaceably as much as you can with everybody. And follow something
else. Pursue this. And holiness, holiness,
holiness. Holiness without which no man
shall see the Lord. That holiness without which no
man shall see the Lord is Jesus Christ himself. It is Christ
in you, the hope of glory. Seek life from God. Without it, you'll perish in
your sins. Looking diligently, lest any
man fail at the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing
up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any
fornicator or profane person as Esau. who for one morsel of
meat sold his birthright, fornicator, profane. So despised God that
for just a bowl of beans, he sold the birthright of the covenant
God gave to Abraham. Well, he said, I don't need Christ,
I don't want Christ, I want to have my way and I'm gonna do
what I want to do. He is a profane man, a fornicator,
to hell with God, I'll do what I want to. That's Esau. That's
Esau. For ye know how that afterward,
when he would have inherited the blessing, he wanted the blessing. He wanted the blessing, not God,
the blessing. He wanted the blessing, not Christ,
but the blessing. He wanted life, but not Christ.
He wanted the blessing. He was rejected. For he found
no place of repentance. though he sought it carefully
with tears. There came a day when he wanted
to bless him, but he found no place of repentance, though he
sought repentance carefully with tears. You can make of that whatever
you want to, that's what it says. Isaiah 33, or 34 rather, is all
about God's just wrath. His sure judgment upon all the
wicked. In verse six, the prophet tells
us of God's utter contempt of those countless sacrifices. Sacrifices
by which men and women, religious reprobates like Cain, hope they
can find acceptance with the triune Jehovah. And yet the Lord,
God tells us, the Lord had to sacrifice in Basra. Look at that
in Isaiah 63. We see this place Basra again.
The Lord had to sacrifice in Basra. Oh, rejoice and give thanks. God won't receive the sacrifices
of the ungodly. God won't receive the sacrifices
of religious hypocrites. God won't receive all the religious
services and all the righteous deeds of all the religious people
in the world. But there's one sacrifice. He
will receive and has received. And that sacrifice is Christ
by whose blood His justice is satisfied. Isaiah 63, 1. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, cometh from amongst the people who hate God, cometh from
amongst the people who despise God? This one who comes from
amongst the people who deserve God's wrath. with thy garments
from Basra, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in
the greatness of his strength. I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save, that's who he is. Wherefore art thou red in
thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the
wine vat, because I tread in the winepress alone, and of the
people there was none with me, and I tread them in my anger
and trample them in my fury and their blood shall be sprinkled
upon my garments and I will stain all by raiment for the day of
vengeance is in mine heart and the year of my redeemed is come. I've set my mind, I've set my
heart to the everlasting destruction of these who will not bow to
me and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked and there
was none to help. I wondered that there was none
to uphold, therefore my own arm brought salvation to me, and
my fury it upheld me. And I will tread them, I will
tread down the people in my anger, and make them drink in my fury,
and I will bring down their strength to the earth." Back here in Isaiah
34. It's the Holy Lord God. judged
sin in his son when he found his son made sin. You can be
sure he will judge sin in you. Did you hear me? If the holy
Lord God drew forth his dreadful sword and slaughtered his son
in the fury of his justice when his son was made sin, you can
be sure he will judge sin in you. We live in a generation
of religious fools who try to convince themselves and others
that there's no such thing as judgment, no such thing as everlasting
damnation, no such thing as hell. When men die, they die like dogs,
that's the end of it. Or else try to convince you that
after all, God's gonna save everybody. You know better. I know you know better because
God speaks better in your conscience by nature. You were born, you
were born with consciousness that you can't silence concerning
God and eternity and judgment. But the Lord God reserves the
greatest severity of his wrath for those people like Esau, who
willfully despise his grace, choosing instead their own ways. The most dangerous thing you
can do. The most dangerous thing you
can do. is hear the gospel and refuse
to believe. The most dangerous thing you
can do is hear the gospel of God's grace and refuse to believe. Let me show you. Proverbs chapter
one. Proverbs chapter one. I fully concur with what Brother
Lindsey just suggested. Do you find your place to worship
God, to hear God's word? There's no other hope that you
will ever come to know God. And I speak also plainly as the
wise man here in Proverbs 1. The most dangerous thing you
can do is what you're doing here today. If you hear this message
and you refuse to trust God's son, You can't do anything more
dangerous to yourself than that. Proverbs 1, 23. Hear what God
says. Turn you at my reproof. Behold,
I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words
to you. Turn to me! Look to me! Believe me! And I'll pour out
my spirit on you. I'll make my words known to you.
That's God's word to sinners scattered through the earth.
Turn to me and I'll pour out my spirit on you. I'll cause
you to understand what I've written in this book. I'll cause you
to know my words. Verse 24, because I called and
you refused, I stretched out my hand. I stretched out my hand. I stretched out my hand. Come
to me. Come to me. Do you hear the Savior? I stretched out my hand. Come
to me. I stretched out my hand, and he spit in my face. No man regarded. But you said
it not, all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. All right. I also will laugh at your calamity.
I'll treat you like I did Esau. I'll mock when your fear cometh.
When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then
shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall
seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated
knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would
none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.
Therefore, therefore, underscore that word therefore as boldly
as you can. Therefore, this is the reason,
they shall eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their
own devices. When you go to hell, you're going
to be going the way you chose. When you go to hell, you'll eat
the fruit of your own way. You'll be filled with your own
devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them,
and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth
unto me, whosoever believes on the Son of God, whosoever trusts
the Lord Jesus Christ, whosoever hears God's word, God's gospel,
and believes Him, whosoever comes to me, shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from the fear
of evil. Quiet from the fear of evil. Back here in Isaiah 34. God has assured us the certainty
of universal judgment in verses 8 through 15 The details of judgment
are described by numerous metaphors. Owls, ravens, dragons, beasts
of the field, and beasts of the island. I'll leave it to the
theologians who want to investigate such things, whether those words
would be taken literally or symbolically. But I know this. The message
of those verses is clear. God's judgment will be universal. This present earth and that which
we call the heavens that we presently see shall pass away like Sodom
and Gomorrah under the fire of God's wrath. When God gets done
with this world, that is when the last of God's elect have
been saved by his grace, the purpose for which this world
was made. When God gets done with this world, there'll be
nothing left but darkness, smoke, emptiness, and confusion. And hell shall be to you a place
for owls and bats and beasts to roam freely, a place of desolation
where the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies. The
fire of God's wrath burning in your soul. The worm of guilt gnawing upon
you. Then in verses 16 and 17, Isaiah
appeals to all to read the book of God and to know the reality
of his message. As God fulfilled his word to
Edom and made Edom a place of desolation forever, So too he
will fulfill his threats of judgment upon the whole world. None shall
escape his indignation. The day of the vengeance of the
Lord. That's the subject here. When
I started preparing this message last week, I started to write
some things down. The words of the Apostle Paul
in 2 Corinthians 5 just kept ringing in my ears. Knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. Throughout this chapter, God
is speaking to you and me. And this is what it says. Prepare
to meet thy God. Prepare to meet thy God. Oh, God make you here. Prepare
to meet thy God. I'm gonna make six statements. I pray God the Holy Ghost will
shoot them as barbed arrows into your heart. Here's the first. We're told
in Acts 17, 31, that there is a day appointed when God Almighty
shall judge the world by that man whom he hath ordained. You know So I won't attempt to
argue and prove it. You know, you've read it in the
book. You know because it's stamped in you and you can't escape it. You know that there is a day
coming when God Almighty will meet you in judgment. And the
judge in that day will be God the Son, the incarnate God, our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is no laughing matter. You're
going to die. Let me change that. You're dying. Life in this world
is but a slow death. You're dying. You're dying. You're going to die precisely
at God's appointed time. Your days are determined The
number of your months are with God. God has appointed your bounds,
and you can't pass them. Did you hear that? You can read
it for yourself in Job chapter 14. Your days on this earth were
determined by God before ever you drew your first breath. The number of your months are
fixed with God, his eternal decree, and God's appointed your bounds.
God says, Don Fortner, you can go from here to here, no further. You can go from here to here,
no further. You can go from this day to this
day, no further. God's appointed your bales, and
I don't care who your doctor is or what kind of medicine you
take, when your day's done, your day's done! And you're gonna
meet God in judgment. As soon as you die, You'll enter
into eternity to meet the Holy Lord God in His purity, in His
justice, in His righteousness, in His truth. And your days of
fooling folks will be over. Your days of kind folks will
be over. Your days of excusing things will be over. You're going
to meet God. You'll meet God. As soon as you die, you'll meet
God in judgment, and you know it. Go ahead and try to silence
that if you want to. You go ahead and pretend that
doesn't bother you if you want to. You go ahead and stick your
fingers in your ears and scream, no, no, no, no, no, that's not
so, oh, you want to. You know what I speak to you,
so. Christ is coming again, and when he comes, the dead will
be raised, And after this, judgment. Here's the second thing. I want
you to turn to Revelation chapter 21. In that great and terrible day,
now listen to me, please hear me. In that great and terrible
day, God Almighty is going to deal with everyone in strict
justice. What do you mean, preacher? You're
going to get exactly what you deserve according to God's justice. You're gonna receive exactly
what you deserve according to God's justice. There'll be no
mercy, there'll be no excuses, there'll be no grace, there'll
be no leniency, there'll be no bending, exactly what you deserve
according to God's justice. Revelation 21, verse 27. And there shall in no wise enter
in anything that defileth. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination,
or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life. Chapter 22, verse 11. He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still. He which is filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that is righteous, let him
be righteous still. He that is holy, let him be holy
still. No change after you die. Nothing
gonna change. Nothing gonna change. And behold, I come quickly, and
my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his
work shall be. In other words, whatever you
deserve, that's what you get. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do
his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and enter in through the gates into the city. For without, without,
outside, Back on the outside of the gates are dogs, and sorcerers,
and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie. Now the long and short of that
is this. None shall be damned who have
no sin. None shall be damned who do not
deserve to be damned. None shall go to hell who do
not deserve to go to hell. Not one. I mean when the books
are done and all the damned are cast into hell, no one will have
any pity at all because that's what the damned deserved. No,
no pity. And none shall be saved except
those who are perfectly righteous. perfectly righteous. Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart, and hath not lifted
up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceit for them, nobody else.
Follow peace with all men and holiness, for that which no man
shall see of the Lord. In that great day, God will judge
the secrets of men. Not only their secret works,
but their secret thoughts by Jesus Christ. The Lord, the judge,
will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and who will
make manifest the counsels of the heart. All the works and
deeds of men shall be judged. All the words of men shall be
judged. By thy words thou shalt be condemned. Every thought of the heart, every
motive shall be brought into judgment before God. God will
judge the secrets of men. And the basis of judgment, turn
to Daniel chapter 9, Daniel 9, or Daniel 7 rather. The basis
of judgment, Here's the third thing. Will be the books which God himself
will open and search in their august day. Daniel 7 verse 9. I beheld till thrones were cast
down and the ancient of days did set, whose garment was white
as snow and the hair of his head like the pure wool. His throne
was like the fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire. Fiery
steam issued and came forth from before him. Thousand thousands
ministered unto him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The judgment was set and the
books were opened. John said, I saw the dead small
and great stand before God and the books were opened. And another
book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books according
to their works. God has written many books. Now, when we read about God keeping
records, I don't have any thought that God takes out a ballpoint
pen or a computer and keeps physical books. Doesn't have any need.
He's revealing himself to us. letting us know He knows everything. Everything's recorded in His
memory. He wrote a book of creation.
The heavens declared the glory of God. The firmament showed
His handiwork. He said, God tells us in Psalm
19, the sound of God's voice runs through all the earth. Creation declares God is, and
you're gonna meet him. He wrote a book of providence.
Oh, how God speaks by providence. The Holy Spirit says, the goodness
of God leadeth thee to repentance. How good God's been to you. How
good God's been to you. How good. Not just good in a,
carnal material way, had the privilege of living in the wealthiest,
most prosperous, free land in the world? Had the privilege
of living in a world where you have everything you want at your
fingertips? Had the privilege of hearing
the gospel, being raised under the sound of the gospel? Now,
this is what God says. That goodness, the goodness of
God, leads to repentance. It ought to. It ought to. God wrote a book called your
conscience. Conscience. The book of Holy
Scripture, by which he reveals his son. He speaks of the book
of God's remembrance in Malachi chapter three. And the book of
life. Before the world was, God wrote
a book. It's called the Lamb's Book of
Life. And it inscribed the names of all his elect beneath the
name of Christ Jesus the Lord, our Savior, the Lamb. And we
live by virtue of that Lamb under whose name our names are written
in the book of life. This judgment out of the books,
John Gill tells us, was designed to show with what accuracy. and exactness, with what justice
and equity it will be executed. Let's see here. Right there's the record. Right there's the record. Here's
the fourth statement. for my wretched sinful soul in
that great day. The only hope is that someone
will stand in my stead before the bar of God as my advocate. Someone who is a substitute,
a suitable substitute and representative. Someone who has met all the requirements
of God's holiness, righteousness, and justice. Satisfied all the
demands of God's offended justice. One who is able to answer to
the very character of God for me. And blessed be God, Christ
is such a substitute. Christ is such an advocate. Christ
is such a redeemer. Able to save to the uttermost
all who come to God by him. He fulfilled all righteousness
in his life of obedience. He satisfied God's offended justice
by his death at Calvary. He himself is God in my nature,
God in human flesh. He's an advocate. The Holy Lord
God must hear. An advocate, the Holy Lord God
must hear. Jesus Christ did all this not
for himself, but as a representative, a substitute, a mediator for
his people. And when he lived in righteousness. Jesse, I wish I could say this
so clearly, the smallest child in this room get hold of it.
When the son of God walked on this earth in righteousness,
I walked in him. When he obeyed God, I obeyed
God in him. When he fulfilled every commandment
of God, I fulfilled every commandment in him. I'm one with him. And
when he died at Calvary's cursed tree, I suffered all the wrath
of God in him. Until God's wrath had purged
away my sin and my guilt, and God says there's no more wrath
in me, and there's no more sin in God. That's called substitution. That's
called redemption. That's called satisfaction. Forgive
him, O forgive, they cry, nor let that wretched sinner die. God must hear his plea. See the love of God, amazing,
in the death of our dear Christ. See his justice, truth, and mercy
in our Savior's sacrifice. Look, oh sinner, see God's glory. Adjust, God, and save you too. Justly, now, in holy mercy, God
can save and pardon you. Justice called, and mercy answered. Jesus' blood has satisfied. Yes,
the blood, our debt has canceled. By the blood, we're justified. Here's the fifth statement. If I'm found in Christ in that
great day, when God searches the books, oh, when God searches
the books, he will find nothing against me, no sin, no fault,
no trace of sin, but only righteousness, only holiness, only perfection,
only Christ. The book of creation, will declare
that I'm completely one with my creator. The book of God's
remembrance will show no record of my sin. The book of God's
law will reveal perfect obedience. The book of the gospel will echo
my righteous, perfect, holy life and my right to life eternal
from God almighty. He that believeth is not condemned.
The book of God's providence will recount all God's wondrous
works for my soul. The book of life will reveal
my name written there before the world began. And the book
of my own conscience, the book of my own conscience
will answer to God as God answers for me. In that great day, my
savior, the lamb, my advocate, the judge of all the earth who
must do right, will take me by the hand, and he will say, well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the
joy of thy Lord. Come, ye blessed of my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Listen to me. Are you listening? and my conscience will say, amen. That's just the way it ought
to be. That's just the way it ought to be. That's justice. That's righteousness. That's
truth. How can you say that? Because he who bids me enter
in is Christ who put away my sin. Turn to Jeremiah chapter
50, I'll show you. Jeremiah 50, verse 20. In those days, and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Don Fortner shall be sought, and there shall be none. And
the sin of Don Fortner, and they shall not be found, for I will
pardon them whom I reserve. One last thing. If in that great day you hope
to be accepted of God, you must be found in Christ. If in that great day you hope
to be accepted of God, you must be found in Christ. Come to Christ. without being lost forever. Come
to Christ and live forever. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. You see, Christ is everything
you can ever need to all eternity. Christ is life. Christ is atonement. Christ is forgiveness. Christ
is righteousness. Christ is reconciliation. Christ
is holiness. Christ is acceptance with God. Christ is acceptance with God. I beseech you. Oh, I beseech
you. In the name of God, receive not
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in vain. But believe His message,
hear His word, and come to Him now. Come to Him now, believe
on the Son of God, and go home righteous, justified, sanctified,
holy, accepted of God, free from sin in your own conscience, free
of guilt forever, amen.