Measuring-up the people to Jesus Christ and the overflowing scourge to come.

Isaiah 28:16-19

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

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.” Isaiah 28:16

Zion is Mount Zion of Jerusalem, and is described in this way, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant…” Hebrews 12:22-24 Our Lord Jesus Christ is the stone of foundation for the city of the Living God, the eternal New Jerusalem.

A tried stone was is a stone that was tested for reliability, to make sure it was durable, that it would stand up to adverse circumstances. After passing the quality test, the tested stone would be used for the construction of a building…or for a precious corner stone. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that tried Stone upon which the foundation of the New Jerusalem is built, and is the precious cornerstone that all other stones are aligned to. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are the other stones that builds the family of Jesus Christ, we align ourselves to Him. The Church is built upon we who say that Jesus is the Christ and Son of the Living God, as Peter was the first to make that proclamation, Jesus said to His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:15-18

We who believe do not act hastily when it comes to our Lord Jesus Christ. We know how important belief in God the Creator is. We know how important acknowledging Jesus as our Lord and Savior who gives grace, mercy, and forgiveness of sin. We know how important it is for the Holy Spirit to be part of who we are. Coming to our our Lord Jesus Christ is not a hasty decision, “For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:11

In the image below, you can see the chief cornerstone. That one stone aligns all of the rest of the building to make it all fit together in alignment. The stones on top, to the right and left, and the foundation itself is fitted to align with the cornerstone. That causes the doors, windows, and roof to be in alignment, to be square, so that all parts fit together as they should.

The Bible repeats over and over that Christ Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone that those of the builders of this world rejects in the process of building an earthly Garden of Eden. “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” – Psalm 118:22 “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’” – Acts 4:11 “For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’” – 1 Peter 2:6 “Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” – Ephesians 2:20 “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” – Ephesians 4:16 “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 12:12

“Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.” Luke 20:17-19

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27

“Also I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.” Isaiah 28:17

A measuring line is the same as a tape measure today. In the days of Isaiah, there was no guessing about the size of the stones, foundations, etc. A measuring line was used to make all stones, all doors, all windows, all parts of the roof the desired size. Justice is that measuring line, the justice that comes through Jesus Christ, who says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19

A plummet line was used to determine how straight each stone was after setting it in place, or the wall as a whole. The plummet line was attached to the top part of a stone, or wall, to see if it needed to be adjusted to straightened it, to keep it from leaning. Below is a picture of a plummet line. The plummet line is the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the righteousness within the Spirit and soul, not based on external appearances. If we are leaning towards the values and standards of this world, Jesus Christ will straighten us as we keep our focus on Him. Jesus says this about those who lean away from Him to use their own plummet line of righteousness, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven…Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness…having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”  Matthew 5:20, Matthew 23:7, 2 Timothy 3:5

“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.” Revelations 11:1 Click for the post on Revelations 11 about measuring the churches, the faithful witnesses, and the Seventh Trumpet.

Also, the post on Revelations 4 speaks about the judgment to come due to five of the seven churches, of Revelations 2:1 through 3:21, rejecting the Chief Cornerstone and leaning into worldly standards. Only two churches remained His faithful witnesses, living with Christ Jesus as their Chief Cornerstone and Plummet Line. As a result, the Lord gave the command for opening the Seven Seals, as described in Revelations 5. The opening of the Seven Seals is described in Revelations 6.

The post on Isaiah 28:20-22 also speaks of not measuring up to the bed of rest found in Jesus Christ and the blanket of the Holy Spirit being too narrow.

“Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it.” Isaiah 28:18

The covenant made with death, and the agreement with Hell, are described in the post on Isaiah 28:14-15. That is the covenant made that leads to not believing in God the Creator, rejecting Jesus Christ who atones for sin, and rejecting the presence of the Holy Spirit. Today’s culture, which is global, has made that covenant with death and agreement with Hell by serving the beast that gives them what to speak, do, think, and feel. They serve the beast that gives breath/life to the image of the beast to speak by speaking and living through people. By what they are given to say and do, they are conformed to the mark, name, number of the beast.

The global government of the beast and its global culture will be trampled down when the overflowing scourge passes through. The overflowing scourge begins happening after the global falling away of the churches from the testimony of Jesus Christ, as described in 2 Thessalonians 2, and with the opening of the Seven Seals, as described in Revelations 6. The overflowing scourge includes the events of the Seven Trumpets of Revelations 8, 9, and 11, the events of the Seven Thunders of Revelations 11, and the events of the Seven Plagues of Revelations 16. 

“As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, and by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.” Isaiah 28:19

The overflowing scourge will be there day and night, twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week…it will be terror just to understand that the end is upon them.

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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, 3:11