Briers and thorns instead of a fruitful field. A time of lawlessness and persecution.

Isaiah 7:23-25

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

In the verse below, “In that day” refers to the day of events described in the post on Isaiah 7:10-17, “The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”  Isaiah 7:17 Prophetically, this relates to the time around the Battle of Armageddon, as described in Ezekiel 39.

“It will happen in that day, that wherever there could be a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, it will be for briers and thorns.” Isaiah 7:23

“For ten acres of vineyard will yield one bath, and a homer of seed will yield one ephah.” Isaiah 5:10 Click here for the post on Isaiah 5:8-10.

In the time around the Battle of Armageddon, there will be a lot of unproductive land, worthless for farming. The land once fertile with agriculture is then filled with briers and thorns. That is a time when the land of the planet would have been ravished by the events of the first five trumpets. That includes a third of the trees and all the green grass being burned up. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed [affecting imports and imports]. A third of the fresh waters [also used for farming] made bitter so that people died from just drinking it. A third of the light of the sun, moon, and stars does not shine, which affects the ability to grow crops. And the world is overtaken by rebel forces, making the world a dangerous place, filled with global lawlessness and eventually the Battle of Armageddon. Also, global warming is the fourth plague of Revelations 16:8-9, which affects the ability to grow crops.

Click here for the events of the first four trumpets.
Click here for the event of the fifth trumpet.

The land being filled with briers and thorns instead of being a fruitful field also refers to the lack of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Where the spirit and soul should be a fruitful place for the fruit of the Spirit, instead the thoughts of the heart of the people are evil continually. The Holy Spirit restrains lawlessness, but in the day around the Battle of Armageddon, the Holy Spirit is taken away and lawlessness fills the world, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 Click here for a post on the “lawless one”.

What is the root cause for the land to be filled with thorns and briers instead of being fruitful? People serve the beast that has power over physiology instead of serving God, our Creator. The beast governs by giving people what to speak, do, think, and feel, and despises the presence of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the fruit of the Spirit is opposed while the presence of briers and thorns are applauded. The beast gives breath/life to the image of the beast to speak by speaking and living through people everywhere. By what they are given to say and do they are groomed to the mark, number, name of the beast. That is the root of the briers and thorns that gives rise to lawlessness. That beast is the one who sets within the temple of God, our body, by speaking and living through people, and is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 The “he” in that verse is the “man of sin”. Click here for a post on the “man of sin”.

“With arrows and bows men will come there, because all the land will become briers and thorns.” Isaiah 7:24

Around the time of the Battle of Armageddon, the land is so overgrown with briers and thorns that its only usefulness is to hunt the animals that hide there. That is what is meant by “With arrows and bows men will come there…”

Also, imagine the spirit being so void of the blossoms of the Holy Spirit that there is only briers and thorns living and speaking through people! Then envision the field of briers and thorns being the population of people in every city around the world! People will literally be against one another, with their bows drawn and arrows ready, with their finger on the trigger, preying on one another during the global lawlessness.  “It will come to pass in that day that a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, and raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand;” Zechariah 14:13 Click here for a post on the day of the Lord from Zachariah 14.

The picture below is a field of briers and thorns.

“And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; But it will become a range for oxen and a place for sheep to roam.” Isaiah 7:25

During the time around the Battle of Armageddon, people might think of a hill, or see a hill, that could be plowed to produce crops. However, because of the thickness of the briers and thorns, they would fear trying to hike through it to do so. Also, people might think about turning to God through Jesus Christ to give life to the fruit of the Spirit, but because of lawlessness, they fear to do so, as our Lord Jesus says, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12 Click here for the posts on Matthew 24.

For the fields to “…become a range for oxen and a place for sheep to roam…” means the land is not useful for people to inhabit. Also, around the time of the Battle of Armageddon, the followers of Jesus Christ will be chased from whatever tiny fraction remains of civilization. Christians will be forced into the “wilderness” due to the persecution experienced within the “civilized” places of the planet. That is described in the post on Revelations 12.

As quoted, “Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.” [persecution of the source giving birth to Jesus Christ]. “But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” [the source that gives birth to Christ is chased into the “wilderness”]. “So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.” [the flood of the global culture of the beast makes war against the source giving birth to Christ]. “But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.” [there is help, survival, and life in the “wilderness”] “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” [We who follow Jesus Christ are the “rest of her offspring” that are hunted in the “wilderness”] Revelations 12:13-17

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1