God's law is broken; the earth is empty; none shall be comforted
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| 1 ¶ Behold, the LORD
maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down,
and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. 3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. |
1 - Empty A very serious time of death and destruction. |
| .4
The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away,
the haughty people of the earth do languish.
.5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. |
5
- Transgressed the laws The setting is divine judgment. These
are the laws of God. Wickedness results in devastation ps10734.
5 - Changed the ordinance Breaking God's laws is evil, but trying to change them is rebellion da0725. 5 - Everlasting covenant See re1406c. 6 - Devoured ... burned We may see these as events connected with the punishment of the wicked at the coming of the Lord jl02. 6 - Few men left Those faithful to God will be few. They will be the final remnant re1217. |
| .7
The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. 10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. .11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. 12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction. |
7 - Merryhearted do sigh The time of the end of Lady Babylon re1821. |
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¶ When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people,
there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes
when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. 15 Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. .16 ¶ From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. |
13 - Shaking See on re0612c-li. |
| 17 Fear, and the pit,
and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. |
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| .19
The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth
is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. |
Dissolved At the coming of Christ 2pe0310.
Not rise We know that the earth will be made over again re2101. Here we see that not just one nation but all of them fall and that there will be no recovery. |
| 21 And it shall come
to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones
that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
.22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. 23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. |
21
- High ones We may see these as the evil angels, including
Satan, who were cast out of heaven re1207a,
mt2541.
22 - Gathered in the pit Wicked Kings and their followers are buried in graves visited or judged during the thousand years, re2004. Angels are cast into the abyss (bottomless pitt) of the devastated earth during the thousand years re2003c and will be brought before the same judgment, 1co0603. 22 - Visited resurrected as explained above. 23 - Moon ... sun Compare re0612c. 23 - Ancients We think first of the 24 elders who participate in the preadvent judgment re0404, but the judgment here brought to view is the millennial judgment introduced by the terrible signs. Observer-participants are also present for it. See link for 20:4 above. |
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