Hatred towards Christianity, but the Lord will carry the haters away like chaff in the wind.

Isaiah 41:11-16

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

“Behold, all those who were incensed against you will be ashamed and disgraced; They will be as nothing, and those who strive with you will perish. You will seek them and not find them—Those who contended with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.” Isaiah 41:11-12

That was initially a prophecy to the Israelites while they were in captivity to the those of the Babylonian Empire. The Lord would raise up Cyrus to conquer the Babylonians and to free the Israelites. Cyrus, of Persia, would make the Babylonians nothing and make it perish and be a non-existent thing. Cyrus is described in the posts on Isaiah 41:1-7, Isaiah 41:25-29, Isaiah 43:14-15, Isaiah 44:24-28, and Isaiah 45:1-7.

The culture of today, which is global, is incensed against we who live for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We live in the light of our born-again experience, which is the Gospel written on our heart. They live by the power of darkness that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. By the beast, they allow the dragon to speak and live through them, as described, “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.” Revelations 12:17 “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” revelations 13:8

Today, within their attitudes and behaviors, the culture of the beast boasts, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelations 13:4 But when Christ Jesus returns, they will be disgraced, ashamed, and mourn, as quoted, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” Revelations 1:7

While today’s culture of darkness, death, and destruction comes against us, they will be as nothing, and those who strive against us will perish as a nonexistent thing. “They are like straw before the wind, like chaff the storm carries away.” Job 21:18 “The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.” Isaiah 17:13 Click for a post on Isaiah 17:12-14. “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12

Click here for the parable about the tares and the wheat from Matthew 13:24-30.

“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ “Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you,” says the Lord and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:13-14

The Lord holds our hand and says to us, “Fear not, I will help you.” He holds our hand through the Holy Bible and by the presence of the Holy Spirit, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 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…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” Psalms 119:105, John 14:26-27, John 16:13

The Lord is the Redeemer of everyone who comes to Him through Jesus Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are Jacob, “This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.” Psalms 24:6 We are Israel, “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed will be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed…and if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Romans 9:6-8, Galatians 3:29

Why does the Lord our God call us worms? He is saying that no matter how lowly, defenseless, and vulnerable we are, He promises to hold our right hand and to help us and encourages us not to fear. “Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar...For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’…The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit…Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Psalm 138:6, Isaiah 57:15, Psalm 34:18, Matthew 5:3

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 1 Corinthians 1:18-19

Click here for all eight verses of Psalms 121.

“Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You will thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them; You will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:15-16

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are the new threshing sledge with sharp teeth. Think of the old threshing sledge as being the Jewish people who had exclusive rights to the word of God through the Old Testament. A threshing sledge was used to beat grain stalks to separate the grain from the rest of the plant. In that light, the Old Testament, through the Ten Commandments and laws of animal sacrifices to atone for sin, separated the Israelites from the other nations around them. The new threshing sledge with sharp teeth comes by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. The Spirit separates us from today’s culture that serves the power of darkness through the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. The “…sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” and Christ Jesus is the word made flesh, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” Revelations 18:4-6

As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are threshing the mountains and beating them small and making the hills like chaff. The mountains and hills are those of the global culture that despise how we live for the Gospel of Christ, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelations 13:8 They do everything they can to turn our faith in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit into weeds and chaff. Even then, by the Holy Spirit in us, we are able to thresh, winnow, and beat down the mountain and hills of spiritual pollution, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:4-6

“They are like straw before the wind, like chaff the storm carries away.” Job 21:18 “The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.” Isaiah 17:13 Click for a post on Isaiah 17:12-14.

We rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel, who is our Lord Jesus Christ, “You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” Revelations 16:5-6

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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