Armed confederacies of rebellion will suffer humiliation and shame.

Isaiah 20

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

“In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz… ” Isaiah 20:1-2a.

That verse is describing the circumstances of the time when the Lord spoke to Isaiah to give him another prophecy to speak, which is described in the coming verses of this post. The prophecy is against Egypt, relating to the Assyrians.

Tartan was the name or title of an Assyrian military commander, sent to Ashdod by Sargon, the king of Assyria. Ashdod was a city in Philistia, and Philistia was in the area of the modern-day Gaza Strip, as seen on the map below. As is true today, Philistia/the Gaza Strip borders Egypt, and Egypt is to the south of Gaza. The Spirit of the Lord wanted Isaiah to make the king of Egypt aware that he would be defeated by Assyria.

Today, we see the global government of the beast subduing peoples and nations across the globe. The global culture of the beast riots and protests from cities around the world to demand conformity to the agenda of the United Nations [where the government of the beast operates from]. Some people and countries rebel against the “new world order”, with resistance and armed rebellion. They will be “put down” in the quest of the United Nations to be established as the undisputed one world government.

The Egyptians built a military confederacy with Cush, for the purpose of coming against the Assyrians. The Egyptians intended to include the kingdom of Israel in their military confederacy, since the king of the kingdom of Israel had already joined with the king of Syria in a military alliance against the Assyrians, that is described in Isaiah 18:1-2 At the same time, the king of the kingdom of Judah was paying tribute to the king of Assyria to make peace with him. At that time, the Israelites were divided between the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we do not join any form of armed rebellion, and are not part of a military confederacy against any government anywhere, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 As children of God, our Lord Jesus says, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21

The Egyptians intended to pull the kingdom of Israel deeper and deeper into armed combat against Assyria, causing them to rely on power and might instead of relying on the Spirit of God, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Zachariah 4:6 As far as the kingdom of Judah is concerned, they trusted in the protection of the Assyrians instead of trusting in the word of God. The king of the kingdom of Judah gave gifts of tribute to the Assyrian king instead of giving tribute to the living God. At the same time, the Egyptians intended to desolate the kingdom of Judah, with violence, for paying tribute to the Assyrians and not joining them in war against Assyria.

Those of this world will try to drag us into conflict with one group of people or another, or will try to coerce us to pay tribute to the beast that gives people what to speak, do, think, and feel, “For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” Matthew 23:15 Jesus says this, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12

^“… saying, “Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so will the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. Isaiah 20:2b-4

The prophecy that God gave to Isaiah to speak was actually a parable in the form of a “show-and-tell”, a “skit”, or other such visual aids instead of spoken words. Our Lord Jesus spoke in parables, and He explains why, “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”…I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:10, 13 That is equivalent to saying, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 In today’s atheistic world, where the Gospel of Christ is vehemently opposed, sometimes it is best to speak in parables. Just don’t roam around the city naked for three years.

Initially, Isaiah was wearing sackcloth to express his mourning for the Israelites being pulled into a military confederacy, paying tribute to foreign militaries, and turning away from the word of God. Nowadays, if a follower of Jesus Christ wore mourning clothing, that would give the culture of the beast one more reason to rejoice, “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” John 16:20 Also, Isaiah was wearing sandals, which represents everyday normal routines, but in today’s world, there is nothing normal, as the beast has power over physiology to govern by giving people what to speak, do , think, and feel. Not to mention the abnormal transmission of television [which are in every home around the world] and other technological devices. “Normal isn’t coming back, Jesus is.”

The Lord had Isaiah to remove his mourning sackcloth and his sandals. For three years, Isaiah walked around barefoot and naked. We know how difficult it is to walk on hot sand, pavement, and pebbles, so Isaiah was demonstrating how hard the Lord was going to make it for the Egyptians and the Cushites [known to be Ethiopia] to walk around from country to country stirring up military confederacies. Being naked was a show of humiliation and shame, which the Lord was showing to the Egyptians and Cushites how humiliating and shameful their defeat would be at the hands of the Assyrians.

Today, peoples and countries that are responsible for stirring up conflict and armed rebellion against the global government of the beast will suffer an humiliating and shameful defeat. Especially since they try to involve the people of God into a worldly rebellion. The United Nations is progressing in becoming the undisputed one world government, and has brought the government of the beast with it, as described in Daniel 8:1-14. The prophecies of the Bible involve the global reign of the beast [Satan’s offspring] on this earth through the United Nations. The Lord is who defeats the peoples and nations of the beast, as quoted, “Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; All the earth will be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.” Zephaniah 3:8

“Then they will be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how will we escape?’ ” Isaiah 20:5-6

“They” would refer to the Israelites of the kingdom of Israel and the king of Syria, who formed a military confederacy against the Assyrians. They were expecting to join Egypt and Cushite [Ethiopia] in a large confederacy against Assyria. Instead, they would be afraid and ashamed of those they put their expectation in and from whom they expected to have their glory. Their mistake was to abandon the word of the Lord, to toss aside the Ten Commandments, and to disregard the animal sacrifices needed to show their reverence for God and atonement for sin.

Today, as followers of Jesus Christ, our faith is not in the power and might of human beings, but is in our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that worldly peace relies on bombs and guns, but the peace that comes from Jesus Christ is not the peace of this world, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” John 14:27-28

Those who depend on armed rebellion against the government of the beast and its global culture will be very disappointed with any alliances formed in a confederacy of rebellion. They will say, “Our expectation is to be delivered from the government of the beast, but how can we escape them?” “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 The culture of the beast is in every city around the world, and they are unified by the beast that gives them what to speak, do, think, and feel. Only God will defeat the beast, which comes when the power center of the beast is plunged into darkness, with global warming being the match that ignites its destruction. Global warming is the Fourth Plague and the destruction of the power center of the beast is the Fifth Plague. The Fourth and Fifth Plagues are found in Revelations 16.

---

“….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