ISAIAH 14 THE END OF OPPRESSION IS COMING2019 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 14 The End Of Oppression Is Coming

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2019. Do you know what it feels like to be oppressed? It's something we should consider as we jump into Isaiah chapter 14. This

of oppression and the subject of oppression is what Isaiah is addressing here in this chapter as he writes this prophecy, as he announces what the word of the Lord is to an oppressed people, the people of Judah.

This idea of being oppressed, they are pressured. There is a hard taskmaster ruling over them. You could think of oppression as being beaten down, being afflicted. And there's a lot of context in which you could consider oppression. I think as you look around the world, you can see that there is

oppression that is continuing to go on in a lot of different places and amongst a lot of different people groups. There is persecutions that are going on for faith. There is persecutions and affliction and oppression that's happening by nationality, by race, by gender. There's oppression for all types of different reasons and purposes that are happening all over the world currently and have happened all throughout history. And of course, you know, there's

great and prominent examples that we could look at and consider. It's something that has been going on since really the very beginning of our life in this world after the fall. Oppression is painful. It's difficult. It's hard. It's a great mystery for us many times.

But the word of the Lord regarding oppression from Isaiah the prophet this morning is good news that oppression will not be for forever. I've titled the message this morning, The End of Oppression is Coming. As we go through times of difficulty and hardship and affliction of a variety of kinds, we can relate to this concept of oppression and

recognize that the Lord has not established those things for forever for us as his people, as his children, but that he has allowed those things in our lives and it's for a season that will come to an end. At the time that Isaiah is prophesying these things, he's prophesying to the nation of Judah who is going through a very difficult time.

And the reason for the difficulty that they're facing, really it's self-inflicted. They have rebelled against God and God has sent them warnings and called them to repentance and they have just refused

to listen to God and to turn back to God. And so God has allowed, the world empire of the day was Assyria. God has allowed Assyria to come against Israel and the nation of Judah in a very severe way. And they're being oppressed by the nation of Assyria while Isaiah is prophesying these things.

After the nation of Assyria oppresses Israel and Judah for a time, Assyria is conquered by the nation of Babylon, which becomes the next world power after Assyria. And Babylon, after it conquers Assyria, then also does the same thing and oppresses the nation of Judah to a great degree. Finally, Babylon conquers Judah and Jerusalem completely and takes all of the people out of the land captive.

serious oppression, great difficulty, huge amounts of pain and activities and things that are hard for us to imagine or speak about. And so this is a subject that these people were familiar with. They knew oppression, they knew hardship, they knew difficulty, and the Lord wanted them to know that

That it was not for forever, but that the end would come, that that season of oppression would be completed at some point. Now, as we consider this prophecy that Isaiah gives, it's important to understand that many times in Bible prophecy, there's multiple fulfillments of a prophecy.

Many times it's not just one occasion that fulfills that prophecy and then that's all that the Lord had intended for it and then that prophecy is done. But many times there's what's referred to as a near and far fulfillment. That is, there's something that would take place according to the prophecy in the near future for the time frame that it was being given. And then also at the same time, something that would take place

in a much later time. And so you have what we call dual fulfillments in prophecy.

But there's many times, even more than just dual, more than just two fulfillments, many times there's ways that the Lord uses the scriptures in multiple fulfillments throughout his plans and throughout his history. And so as we look at this subject of oppression, we're not just talking about that specific time. We're not just talking about Judah in, you know, the oppression of Assyria and later Babylon, but even much bigger. It does apply to those specific circumstances.

But later on, there's going to be some oppression between Babylon and Israel under the leadership of the Antichrist. And there are those end times events that are foretold and still the nation of Babylon or the city of Babylon will become instrumental in oppressing Israel to a great degree under the leadership of the Antichrist. And

And it's during those times where much of what we're reading about this morning will be finally fulfilled. And so it's been partially fulfilled in many ways, but some of those elements are still yet to be fulfilled and will be fulfilled in that tribulation period.

But we also see as we look at this passage that aside from the historical things that we see and the things that are going to happen in the future during the tribulation, we also see Isaiah making reference to Satan and using the king of Babylon as a picture of Satan and the oppression that Satan has been bringing since the very beginning is part of that message as well. That's an oppression that will come to an end.

That's an oppression that will cease at some point in the future. And so we can look at oppression in Israel back in Isaiah's day. We can look at oppression ahead in the tribulation period and under the reign of the Antichrist. We can look at Satan's rule and the oppression he brings. We can look universally at the world around us, at the injustice, the cruelty and oppression that exists all around us. And then we can also consider these things for our own selves personally and

that we experience times of oppression, times of great pressure upon us. Today's Youth Servant Sunday, which means we have the youth sitting in service with us, and I think there has never been a youth ever throughout all history who has not felt oppressed by their parents, right? Every youth feels oppressed. There's this rule and authority and dominance, right? Now, prayerfully, you don't have real oppression, and you know, you feel that way, but that's not, it's not unjust or unrighteous, but also that exists, right?

And so for all of us, we understand this concept of oppression. We go through times of financial hardship and great difficulty in that way. We go through times of severe, you know, problems in our lives and we experience that, what we might refer to and understand as oppression. And what the Lord wants us to be reminded of this morning is that the end is coming.

This oppression that we feel right now is not the end. The end of oppression is coming. It's hard to know that many times when we're in the midst of a difficult season. You might remember the prophet David as he wrote Psalm chapter 13 verse 1. He said, how long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

David, in writing the psalm during a time of oppression, feels like it's forever. How long, oh Lord? He feels like God has forgotten him. He feels like God has removed himself from him and it feels like it will never end. And we know what that's like. Those difficult times, those difficult seasons for us feel like forever and we feel like it's not going to end and we feel like God has abandoned us forever. But here, the Lord would remind us through the prophet Isaiah this morning that

The end of oppression is coming. He does have plans to bring that to an end. That the children of God, the people of God have this promise from God. He will accomplish his purposes and bring a deliverance for his people. And so we're going to consider this idea of oppression and the end of oppression this morning here in Isaiah 14 with four points. The first one is found in verses one and two. Here's point number one. The Lord will have mercy.

The Lord will have mercy. Looking at verse 1 again, it says this, Here in the midst of their difficulty and their trial, Isaiah speaks to the nation of Judah and says, "...the Lord will have mercy."

It's a promise from God. It's a guarantee from God. It's a declaration of the plans of God. And in the midst of their difficulty, in the midst of their hardship, as God is telling them it will come to an end, I think it's interesting that he tells them that in this way the Lord will have mercy on Jacob. You know, it's one thing to go through a difficulty and affliction and to be looking for that hope that it will come to an end.

to be looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, right? To be looking for that and trusting that that will come. But there are times in our lives where we're going through difficulty and affliction and hardship, and we're not really looking for that light. We're not looking for the end of the oppression because what we're experiencing is self-inflicted. That is, hey, I know that

I'm experiencing these events. I'm experiencing this hardship and this pain because I deserve it. And I've really blown it. And I've really, you know, messed up. And so I recognize that I deserve what I'm going through. It's punishment. It's appropriate for, well, how I failed or my behavior, the decisions I've made. It's the consequences for those things. And there are many times where we might feel like oppression will not end.

Because I deserve the oppression. And that's why it's important to take note of what the Lord says here. The Lord will have mercy on Jacob. The end of oppression is not on the basis of how much we deserve for oppression to end. The Lord says, I will have mercy on Jacob. And the word mercy, it means a holding back of judgment that is deserved.

And Judah was in that place of judgment. They were in that place of oppression because they deserved it. Because they had rebelled against God and refused to listen to God and refused to come back to repentance. They had many opportunities and they continued to resist against God. What they really deserved was a full and complete total destruction for that oppression to be the end of them. But God says, no, I'm going to have mercy on

on Jacob, on my people. I'm going to have mercy and I'm not going to allow them to experience the full judgment that they deserve. And so there's going to be an end of that oppression. They're not going to experience all that they deserve. There's going to be an end. It's not going to reach the fullness of what they've earned or deserved. And similarly for us, we do fall short. We do have issues. We make bad decisions. We

We have things that happen in our lives as a consequence for the course that we've taken and the choices that we've made. And yet we can have this confidence. As the people of God, the Lord will have mercy. Even though we might experience times of oppression that is self-inflicted, that is due to our decisions. Now there are many other times of oppression that we experience that are not necessarily correction for some specific sin, but just general training that the Lord allows oppression in our lives to

to help shape us into the image of Christ and to develop in us the character and nature that we need. The author of Hebrews talks about this really in some good detail in Hebrews chapter 12. And I would encourage you to check that out later on. I just want to share a couple snippets from there to remind us of this truth. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 5 says,

The author of Hebrews says, you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as sons. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him. For whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. There the author of Hebrews reminds us, hey, don't forget. Here's the way that the Lord deals with us. He disciplines us. Now discipline is not only discipline.

punishment or correction for some wrongdoing. It is, that is a part of discipline. It is a type of discipline. And that is one thing that the Lord does in our lives. But discipline also can be translated training. And sometimes we just need to be trained. We're not developed where we need to be. We're not mature the way that we need to be. We don't have the certain characteristics or qualities of the Lord that we need. And because the Lord loves us,

He trains us. He chastens us. He disciplines us for our benefit. And he allows oppression in our lives. Sometimes that takes the form of people. Sometimes that takes the form of circumstances or finances or health or any other thing that brings us oppression. And it might take various forms, but the Lord allows that because he loves us so that

He can produce in us the character and the qualities that are needed. But it's part of the Lord's work in our lives. And so it's not an...

unleashing of the judgment that we deserve. It's not overwhelming, although it feels overwhelming. It's not more than is needed. I kind of think of it in my mind like a torque wrench, right? You're using the torque wrench to see just exactly the right amount of pressure that is being applied. And there's specifications, okay? You know, apply this much pressure and that helps you to not over-

tighten. That helps you to not under tighten and there's consequences. Bad things happen either way, right? But to find that sweet spot, that perfect balance of it's just the right amount of pressure that is applied. In a similar way, this is the way that God works. Any discipline, any training that God brings in our lives, he's got a careful eye on it. It's not overabundant. If we're being dealt with because of our sin,

It's not well above and beyond what we deserve. No, no, no. The Lord is merciful. He holds back. He only applies exactly the amount of pressure, the amount of oppression, the amount of difficulty and affliction that is necessary. The chastening is necessary and it's just enough. I can think of many examples, you know, when I've used too much pressure. You ever driven a screw and

You know, you kind of go, you know, it's like, oh man, I'm never going to get that one out because it's the, I've done that many times, right? The Lord never does that in our lives. He never overdoes it. No, no, his chastening, his discipline, it's the right perfect amount because the Lord has mercy. He holds back so that we do not receive the fullness of what we deserve. Now, the author of Hebrews goes on to say, no chastening is joyful for the present because

So we have this confidence about the chastening, about the Lord's purpose in it and about, you know, his use of it. But that doesn't mean that it's, you know, exciting or enjoyable or like I'm so happy to be chastened. But afterwards, he says, it yields the fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. It's not pleasant, but it is necessary and it's good for us. And in the end, we're thankful for

That God allowed, that God worked in our lives the way that he did. Well, the author of Hebrews continues that thought in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 12 and 13 to say, Therefore, since you know this is how God works and you know that God chastens you because he loves you,

He allows oppression. He allows difficulty. He allows affliction in your life because he loves you. Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down. This is speaking about someone who is discouraged and your hands are dragging on the ground and your knees are feeble because you're just so discouraged over what's happening in your life. And the author of Hebrews says, no, no. You know that God is allowing this and working this way in your life because he loves you.

You know that the Lord will have mercy. So strengthen those hands, strengthen those knees, make straight paths and walk with the Lord, walk towards the Lord, draw near to the Lord so that he can complete the work that he is seeking to do in your life. In the midst of those times of oppression, boy, it feels like the end will never come, but it will. God will have mercy. He will accomplish what

what he desires to accomplish in our lives and and that season will come to an end that that was true for the nation of judah and it's true for you and i today jumping back to isaiah chapter 14 still in verse 1 for the lord will have mercy on jacob and will still choose israel and settle them in their own land notice the wording there he will still choose israel

Even though they had been rebellious, even though they had blown it, even though they didn't deserve for God to work with them at all anymore. But God says, no, no, I'm merciful. I'm still going to choose Israel. And even though I'm dispersing them, I'm, you know, taking the captives away from the land, I'm going to bring them back and settle them in the land. And that was fulfilled after Babylon was defeated. The Jewish people were released to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and be repopulated.

And yet at the same time, there's still elements of this that are still to be fulfilled. And you can read about that from the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 9 through 11. There's many promises that God still has for the nation of Israel that are not yet fulfilled. And their kingdom will be established and they will be regathered. And we will see that take place in the end. Verse 1, he says, the strangers will be joined with them.

And they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then verse 2. Then people will take them and bring them to their place. And the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord. They will take them captive whom captives they were and rule over their oppressors. God says, not only is the oppression going to end in my mercy, we're going to swap the tables. The tables have turned. And those who oppressed you will be your servants.

And you will rule over, you will have authority over those who previously oppressed you. God says, look, I'm going to put an end to the oppression. Now, the interesting thing to consider about this is the timing. Because at the moment, Judah is being oppressed by the nation of Assyria. But God's talking about the nation of Babylon. Babylon comes after Assyria. So God's saying, look, there is an end, but it's not going to be right now.

There is an end to the oppression. It's not for this moment. It's not for this oppressor. But for the next oppressor who rises up, that oppressor, well, when they're brought to an end, that will be the end of this season of oppression for you. So there is the matter of timing that is important. We don't just escape all difficulties and hardship, you know, immediately or whenever we want to. But the promise is we will. Every child of God will.

We'll see the end of oppression because the Lord will have mercy. He will always deal with us in a way that is merciful. You may feel like the oppression will not end. Maybe because you deserve the oppression. You brought this trouble and difficulty into your life. But even in that case, like the nation of Judah, God says, no, that's not the end. I have control of things and I'm going to bring about the end that I desire.

Well, moving on to verses three through eight, we get point number two this morning, and that is the Lord will give rest. Not only will the Lord have mercy, but he will give rest. Verse three and four says this. It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon and say how the oppressor has ceased the golden city of

Here in verse 3, the Lord says, It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest. It shall come to pass. For sure, guaranteed, there will be a day where the Lord gives you rest. Again, that end is promised. It's guaranteed. You're suffering oppression. You're suffering difficulty and affliction. As a child of God, it's not for forever. It's for a season. That season will come to an end.

and there will be a day that the Lord gives you rest. Notice what he says we get rest from. Sorrow, fear, and hard bondage. These are the results of oppression in our lives. Sorrow, sadness, difficulty, fear, oppression, you know, brings that fear of our oppressors and

all kinds of things, and then hard bondage. Now, you could think about being a slave to sin and that idea of oppression, that we enslave ourselves to sin, and then there's this hard bondage where we're stuck in and tied to sin. That is one form of oppression. But again, there's many different forms of oppression that we could consider and that we do experience in our lives. And here's what the Lord says. Everything that causes you sorrow, everything that brings you fear...

Everything that ties you down or straps you into hard bondage, there's a day that I have planned for you, says the Lord, where I will give you rest. You're going to have rest. You're going to be delivered from that sorrow and that fear that has gripped you and bound you. You're going to be released from it. That hard bondage that has weighed so heavily and crushed you greatly, that will be removed from you. There will be a day where you have rest.

And in that day, here's the proverb that you will say, how the oppressor has ceased. It's an exclamation of praise that he's saying here. You're going to be like, how the oppressor has ceased. Like, well, I can't even believe that season is over. Oh my goodness, it's been so hard.

It's been so difficult. It's been so painful. But there's a day coming where all that fear, all that sorrow, all that hard bondage and the weight that you've carried, that will be removed and you will celebrate and say how the oppressor has ceased. Oh my goodness, it feels so great. There's so much relief to have the rest from the Lord.

Going on into verse 5, he says, the Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he who ruled the nations in anger is persecuted and no one hinders.

God has broken the staff of the wicked. You were oppressed at the hands of the wicked and they had the staff, which it's not something, you know, to walk with because you can barely walk. The staff here is authority, a symbol of authority. It's a scepter of a king. And so here he has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. He's broken that authority in your life so that it no longer can dominate. It can no longer oppress you.

And instead, the oppressors become the ones who are persecuted and oppressed. Oppression exists in the world because of sin. It's always been that way since the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, they brought sin into the world. They brought this wickedness into the world. And ever since then, there has been this issue of oppression as a result.

You can see a little snippet of this in the curse that God pronounced as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3, verse 19, God says, In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. For out of it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. In the sweat of your face, or the sweat of your brow, you will eat bread. Hard labor, difficulty, hardship, hardship.

It's part of life because of the issue of sin. And for the rest of humanity's existence, this side of eternity, there's going to be the sweat of the brow. You're going to have to work hard to be able to eat. That's the result of sin. It's wickedness. And there's oppression around the world that we can look at. It's wickedness.

There's oppression throughout history that we can look at. Many examples of people that have been oppressed and rulers and leaders and peoples that have bullied and persecuted and attacked. And it's wickedness. It's the result of wickedness. But one day, the Lord will break the staff of the wicked. And that oppression will be broken as a result. Pastor David Guzik encourages us with this. He says, sometimes we get so weary and discouraged from Satan's attack.

if we remember that one reason he worked so hard is because he knows his time is short, well, it's an encouragement to us. We can hang in there. We can outlast him. When it comes to the oppression that Satan brings into people's lives, we can easily find ourselves weary and discouraged. We're facing difficulty. We're facing hardship. We're facing pain. It is easy to become weary and discouraged. But he says, remember, that day will come where the Lord will give you rest and

And his scepter, his authority in your life will be broken. It will be shattered. It will be removed. And in that day, you will have rest from the Lord. Because Satan's power has been broken. And the power of wickedness has been destroyed. And so it's an encouragement to us, he says. We can hang in there. All we have to do is outlast him. His day is coming to an end. He knows that. That's why he's working hard. But

But all we have to do is endure. All we have to do is outlast him. Now, we don't have to outthink our oppressors. We don't have to generate some plan or some strategy or to figure out how we can bring deliverance in our lives. All we have to do is stay close to God, to be his child, to walk with him and just last longer than Satan does because his day is numbered. And every oppressor

along with Satan, their day is numbered. Their scepter will be broken. They have limited opportunity and their season will come to an end. I was thinking about this just in my own life. For me and Kim, just thinking back one year ago, boy, we were in this very difficult season financially.

You know, I was working outside of the church as I am now, but I was working freelance. And when I first started that, it was going great and had lots of jobs. And, you know, it was easy to make ends meet. But then after a season of easiness, it became really difficult. And just one year ago,

One year ago, we were at like the lowest point financially, not necessarily the lowest we've ever been ever, but boy, it was looking really bad. And I was under great strain, great pressure because when you're working for yourself, you have to work to do the work, but you also have to work to get work coming in, right? To get the jobs. And there was no work coming in. And the guy I was working with, he didn't have any work coming in. And so we were just scrambling and

reaching the end of our savings, we were at, you know, just a financial low. But along with that, I was emotionally at a very low point. And I shared many times during that season, but Kim would refer to me as dark Jerry. It was an alternate version of Jerry that you don't normally see. That was dark Jerry. And that doesn't mean I had a tan. I was speaking of

emotionally I was dark I was cynical I was depressed I was bitter I was you know just I would have you know dark moments okay and so so it was a season now the Lord has done a different work in this last season and and

We're in a new season today, and so we're blessed, and God has provided. He provided a steady, established job, and it's not that freelance lifestyle any longer, and the Lord is blessed in that way. But in that moment, it was fear, sorrow, hard bondage, all the things that God was promising deliverance from. There will be a day of rest. Now for us, there was that season. We're in a different season now, and there will be more difficult seasons ahead because

but they will be temporary too. There's going to be more oppression that we will face. There's going to be more difficulties, but they will be temporary. And then there will be the day where the Lord gives rest. That was true for Judah. And it's true for every child of God that is oppressed in any form or fashion. There will be a day of rest. In verse 7, he says, the whole earth is at rest and quiet.

They break forth into singing. Indeed, the cypress trees rejoice over you and the cedars of Lebanon saying, since you were cut down, no woodsman has come up against us. The whole world is going to be at rest. Now, again, you see the dual fulfillment stuff here, right? So talking about Judah and how they will be delivered, but also there's a day yet to come where the whole world will experience the benefit of this deliverance, right?

Looking ahead to those final days during the tribulation period, the end of the Antichrist and the return of Jesus Christ and the end of oppression, the end of wickedness, that scepter of wickedness will be broken and it will be a day of rest that the whole world enjoys. And there will be this quiet, but not silence, because it says they will break forth into singing. The quiet is a reference to internally, there's going to be that tranquility, that peace. We're going to be at rest.

God, he sees all the oppression that's going on. He knows what is taking place. He's using it for his purposes, but it will come to an end and there will be that day of rest and the whole world, even the cypress trees will rejoice. They'll say, look, no woodsman has come up against us since you've been cut down. The idea is, look, the enemy, Satan, he's the source of all the trouble. And when the Lord deals with him,

the world as we know it is going to be completely different. During the millennial kingdom, when Jesus is ruling and reigning and Satan is bound for a thousand years, it's going to be a completely different world. It'd be like, hey, we haven't experienced the attacks. We haven't experienced the affliction and the oppression like we once did. It's going to be a dramatic change. The Lord will give rest. It was true of Israel and their immediate destruction.

threat of Babylon. It will be true of Israel and the future Babylon that will exist. It's true of Satan himself and his oppression upon this world. It's true universally to all who experience injustice and cruelty. It's true for us personally and all the forms of oppression that we experience. The Lord has promised there's a day of rest for you, a day of deliverance. He will have mercy and you will be delivered.

Moving on to verses 9 through 11, we get point number 3 this morning, and that is oppressors will become weak. Not only will you be delivered, not only will you have that release and that rescue, but those who oppressed, well, they're going to be dealt with. They don't get away with it, and they will become weak. Let's read verses 9 through 11. It says, "...hell from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth."

It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you, have you also become weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to shield and the sound of your stringed instruments. The maggot is spread under you and the worms cover you. Here as Isaiah goes on again, speaking about the king of Babylon, but also picturing Satan himself and all the other forms and fashions of oppression.

He says, hell from beneath is excited about you to meet you at your coming. Again, every oppressor will meet their end. They will come to the conclusion of their reign, their opportunity. Every oppressor will meet their end. Now, this highlights for us something important to understand, and that is the ultimate fulfillment of these things is in eternity. The ultimate fulfillment of deliverance is

receiving the mercy of the Lord, the Lord giving rest in the broken scepter of the wicked. The ultimate fulfillment of those things is not in this life. We will experience seasons and periods of deliverance and levels of deliverance depending on what the Lord has planned for us. But we can't look for the final fulfillment of those things to happen in this life. There is much more to life than this life.

eternity is forever and ever and ever and ever. And this life in perspective, you know, in that same scale is just a flash. It's just a moment. It's hardly anything compared to eternity. And so much we have it backwards. We're focused so much on this life, we get it distorted. But God does have deliverance for you. He does have rest for you. He does have mercy for you in this life. But the ultimate plans that he has for you will be fulfilled in eternity. But we can see that God's

focusing on eternity here because he says in verse 9, hell from beneath is excited about you. So he's talking about now beyond this life into the next life, here now is hell created for a purpose. And the purpose was to bring judgment upon oppressors like Satan, like his demons and those who follow him. Here's what Jesus said in Matthew 25, 41.

It says, then he will say to those on the left hand, depart from me, you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell is a reality. It exists. It was created by God for the purpose of bringing judgment upon the devil and his angels. You ever have that experience, that feeling of like, hey, this is what I was created for.

Like, you know, you're doing something and it's just like everything's falling into place. It's your favorite thing to do and it's going well. And it's like, this is like, yeah, this is exactly, yeah, this is what I was created for. Well, personifying hell, Isaiah says, hell's going to feel that way. He's going to be excited. Hell's going to be excited and say, all right, here you go, Satan and his angels. Today's the day I've been waiting for. Now,

I get to fulfill my purpose and bring judgment and punishment upon you. Hell from beneath is excited about you to meet you at your coming. Verse 9 continues on to say, it stirs up the dead for you. Hell gets so excited. He's like, oh my goodness, Satan's coming today. All right, you know, today's the day. That mission is fulfilled. We're going to judge. Hey, wake up everybody. Everybody who's here, all the kings, all the authorities, come here, come here. Wake up. We got to greet Satan and

We're going to bring this judgment, you know. It's personifying it to kind of give us the visual, okay? It's not literally exactly what's going to happen, but to just give us that picture that there will be, no matter how high an oppressor may be, if the oppressor is the king of Babylon. Now, in Israel's day, when Babylon rose to power, boy, the nation of Babylon and the king of Babylon was higher than any other nation that had ever come before it. They had great power, great wealth, great...

Great, well, they were just the greatest kingdom in the world. And the statue, remember, that God showed to Daniel, the head of the statue was gold because it was the supreme kingdom. It represented Babylon and how glorious it was. But no matter how high up in this world, in this life, an oppressor may be, they will be brought down. No matter how strong an oppressor is, they will become weak. That's every...

every person, every nation, every peoples, and even Satan himself. Oppressors will become weak. They shall speak to you in verse 10. Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? There's going to be this shock. There's going to be this surprise. You used to have so much strength. You used to have, you know, so much, but now you have nothing. Verse 11, your pomp is brought down to shield. The sound of your stringed instruments.

It's all wiped out. It's been destroyed. You used to have so much to celebrate and so much to flaunt. But now the maggot is spread under you and the worms cover you. The maggot is spread under you. It's speaking about death and decay, utter destruction, reminding us every wicked oppressor will be dealt with by the Lord. There is no injustice that will not be corrected. No one escapes. And every oppressor will receive the penalty for their oppression, big or small.

Pastor Charles Spurgeon puts it this way. If God's enemies have a bright day or two, it shall soon be showery weather with them. They may for the moment exalt over God's people, but he knows that their day of reckoning is coming. There will be a day of reckoning. The Antichrist in the future, he will have great power. He will oppress greatly, but then there will be that day of reckoning.

All throughout history, we can see examples of people who have had great power, who have brought great pain and affliction upon people. They will have their day, their day of reckoning. This is God's promise. Oppressors will become weak, whether it's the king of Babylon or the Antichrist or Satan or any others who bring oppression upon people in this life. God will deal with each and every one.

Well, finishing it up now in verses 12 through 17, we get point number four this morning, and that is self-exaltation will come to an end. The end of oppression is coming. For us, for God's people, the Lord will have mercy. He will hold back so that we are not ended by the oppression, but that we will see the end of the oppression. There'll be that day where he gives us rest. That day where oppressors become weak and that day where self-exaltation comes to

Look at verses 12 through 14. It says,

Here as we look at verses 12 through 17, there seems to be a transition where Isaiah is focused a little bit more on Satan than he is on the king of Babylon. As the rest of the passage, both, you know, he's speaking to really both at the same time, but he kind of emphasizes here Satan in this portion. Now, he refers to him as Lucifer, which means shining one or morning star. And he says, "'Oh, how you have fallen from heaven.'"

You shining one, you morning star, fallen down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. Speaking about the fall of Satan, again, that has happened in his rebellion against God, but also speaking ultimately about the final destruction of Satan, which has yet to take place. And so again, we see these partial and multiple fulfillments of these things. But in speaking about Satan, he calls him this shining one.

Sometimes we might picture Satan as, you know, the classic picture of the, you know, the red jumpsuit and little tail and horns and pitchfork and all that stuff. But that's not how the Bible describes him. The Bible describes him as beautiful, absolutely beautiful. He was a being that was created by God, an angelic being like many of the other angels. But it does seem that he had a higher place, a greater beauty than the other angels.

And so he is the shining one, that morning star, the light bearer. And he became, well, consumed with self-exaltation. And so you see the I wills in verse 13 and 14. I will be lifted up on high to be like the most high. His beauty, his place in God's plan, he decided it's not sufficient. I want more than what God has given to me. And so he sought out

He exalted himself. He continues to exalt himself. But here the Lord is saying, it will come to an end. It will come to an end. It will be completed. He will not be allowed to reign and to rule and to persecute and afflict the way that he is perpetually or continually forever. Verse 13 again says, for you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven.

I will ascend into heaven. I will establish my throne. Now, the king of Babylon also was incredibly proud. And you can read through that. Well, actually, we'll get through that in the book of Daniel. We'll see the end of Babylon and the king of Babylon and the pride that was there. So it makes, again, it's this parallel. It's speaking about the king of Babylon, but also...

referring to the heart and the mind of Satan, I will ascend into heaven and exalt my throne above the stars of God. All these other angels, they're gonna bow down to me. I'm gonna exalt myself above them. He wasn't content with his place in the plan of God. He must have more. And so he says, I'm gonna sit on the mount of the congregation. I will ascend to the heights and I will be like the most high. Being like the most high is a reference to being equal to God, like God, worshiped as God.

That was his ambition, self-exaltation. Notice over and over and over, he says, I will, I will, I will, I will. I don't care what God wants. I don't care God's will, my will, what I want, insisting on my way. That was Satan's attitude. It's not limited to just Satan, but it is something that we need to stay away from because we can have this same heart again.

And this same self-exaltation. Jesus warns us about this in Matthew 23, 12. He says, whoever exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So for us, it instructs us to not exalt ourselves, right? To not insist on my will, my way. But at the same time, this comforts us and encourages us that whoever exalts himself, whether that be some little, you know, bully on the playground or Satan himself exalting himself,

anything in between, whoever exalts himself will be humbled. This is God's promise. He will accomplish his purposes and his plans and self-exaltation will come to an end. Think about the contrast between Lucifer here and Jesus. We learn from Philippians chapter 2. Paul says that Jesus is

Being the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. He, instead of exalting himself, he humbled himself. And so he's given the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Satan exalted himself. Jesus humbled himself.

Jesus said, I came to do my father's business. He is God. He's equal to the father, but he came in humility. And in the garden of Gethsemane, when he was headed towards the cross, he said, not my will, but your will to the father, your will be done. That's the example for us. That's the model for us. But it's also great comfort that those who do otherwise, those who come against us in self-exaltation,

It's not just oppression against us, but it's an affront to the Lord and it will come to an end. In verse 15, he says, yet you shall be brought down to Sheol to the lowest depths of the pit. Lucifer, you said, I will, I will, I will, I will. You exalted yourself and lifted yourself up on high and yet you shall be brought down.

to the grave, to shield, to the judgment that God has prepared for you, to the lowest depths of the pit. You thought you could lift yourself up high. You thought you could resist. You tried to accomplish your will instead of God's will, but it can't work. It will never work. You shall be brought down. Self-exaltation will come to an end. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. That is the promise of God. Verse 16 says,

Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you saying, is this the man who made the earth tremble? Who shook the kingdoms? Who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities? Who did not open the house of his prisoners? When Lucifer is brought down, the people are going to be surprised. There was this great self-exaltation, this great self-promotion. We thought, wow, this is really some guy to be reckoned with. But

when he's brought down to reality, brought down to judgment, then everybody's going to be like, this guy? It's kind of like, you know, in the Wizard of Oz, when you look behind the curtain, you're like, oh, this is big, you know, impressive thing. And then, oh, no, no, it's just like some little guy behind a curtain. Like, it's not that big of a deal. In a similar way, when we exalt ourselves, that's what we're doing. We're putting on a big show, but we're just this little person behind a curtain. We're not what we pretend to be.

Satan, he is powerful. I'm not trying to say that, you know, we shouldn't have a respect for, not respect, that's not the right word. We shouldn't, you know, consider Satan as nothing, but compared to God, he is. Remember, Satan is not God's opposite. Satan is a created being. He pretends to be, he wants you to think he's God's opposite, but that's his self-exaltation. That's him promoting himself. But he's a little angel behind the curtain.

And when the reality hits, when the curtain comes down, then the world will be surprised. He is not what we made him out to be. Pastor David Guzik says, God wants us to know now that Satan is destined for hell. He isn't a winner. He is a loser. And he certainly isn't the boss or lord of hell. Satan will go to hell as a victim, as the ultimate prisoner in the dungeon of darkness, and hell will be happy to receive him this way.

He doesn't go to hell as the victor. He doesn't go to hell to now, okay, you know, I didn't really want this position, you know, but it's better than nothing, right? Kind of, it's like being stationed in Alaska in the military or something, right? It's like, you know, would have rather a different position. No, no, it's not like that. When Satan goes to hell, he's the victim. He's afflicted, punished, dealt with for his pride, his self-exaltation, and his oppression upon all humanity.

The end of oppression is coming. Satan is the forefront. He's the leader. He's the influence and the power and the inspiration behind all oppression. He will be dealt with. And all those who were used by him, all those who oppressed like him, all who oppressed, all who brought affliction, all who exalted themselves, they will follow the same fate. They will become weak and be brought to an end. And so for us this morning, it's a great prophecy for us to consider. We're the children of God.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have some great promises of God. Now, we do need to guard our hearts. We do need to protect ourselves and stay away from self-exaltation to walk with the Lord in righteousness and not in wickedness. But even when we blow it and when we fail, although God will discipline us, it will be with mercy, with just the right amount of discipline and correction that's necessary. The Lord will have mercy. And so whatever oppression you're facing, whether it's self-inflicted or

or whether it's just the Lord allowing something into your life because he's training you and teaching you and shaping you to be more like him. The Lord will have mercy and that oppression will come to an end. And that season may feel like forever and it may feel like it will never end and may feel like you can't take it, but the Lord will give you rest. There's a day of rest that's prepared for you. He will see you through and he will give you rest. And those who have hurt you greatly, those who have oppressed you, they will become weak and they will be brought to an end.

as they have sought to accomplish their will instead of God's will. For us, let's seek the will of the Lord and trust Him and draw near to Him. Through the midst of difficulty, through the midst of oppression, we can hold fast to these promises of God and look forward to that day of mercy and rest. Let's pray.

God, I pray for each one of us in India who might be going through some times of oppression and great affliction and difficulty. Lord, may you allow these truths to be that light, Lord, that shines forth, that gives hope. Lord, help us to strengthen our feeble hands and our weak knees, Lord, that we would strengthen ourselves to walk with you, to draw near to you, to hope in you, to trust in you. And Lord, we look forward.

to your word being fulfilled, to those days of rest, those times of mercy, the deliverance. Lord, ultimately that comes in eternity, but Lord, also in this life, Lord, would you work deliverance and rescue for those who are in bondage, suffering and fear and sorrow. Would you, Lord, bring deliverance to those who call out to you, to your children. It's your promise to us. And so help us to trust you in that, to walk with you.

We pray this in Jesus' name.