DAY 278

THE WORLD WE LIVE IN

Isaiah 20, 21 & 22 and Ephesians 6

In the chapters of Isaiah today we see more of Isaiah calling out the nations, letting them know that they will be destroyed…including Jerusalem. That must have been hard for Isaiah, to prophesy against his own capital city.

By the way…had you noticed that Isaiah was walking around naked! (v.20:2) His attire, or lack of it, is symbolic of what is happening to Egypt. Beyond this physical metaphor, Isaiah is living a spiritual reality. The prophecies of Isaiah, in fact of all the prophets, are built upon a very simple belief, or some might say reality, that being we live in a world that is seen and unseen. Isaiah’s prophecy draws upon the belief that he is proclaiming a word from an unseen God – the God who is all powerful. 

Which is what we are reading about in Ephesians, consider: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 

We are building to a point in Isaiah of cosmic proportions…in some ways we have already been there. The lion and the lamb, the virgin shall conceive, the government shall be upon his shoulders…all of this is prophecy about things that are beyond this, our, world—entering our world. The words of Ephesians 6 proclaim that this is really what our lives are enmeshed in: a spiritual battle.

I believe this is true. I also believe that in general people often make one of two mistakes. C.S. Lewis wrote it this way There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. [the they are the spirits (from the Screwtape Letters)

Tomorrow I will spend some more time on Isaiah; there is a tremendous amount going on, more than walking around naked, but there is also an overarching view of how this world—seen and unseen—works. The question might be do you share it? Do you believe that you live in a spiritual world?