In the previous article we looked at the Biblical phrase “the ends of
the earth.” We saw this encompasses all the island nations from Japan through
to New Zealand, in fact all the countries on the immediate western side of the
international dateline. We also saw that New Zealand is the “End of the Earth”
or the “Uttermost part of the Earth”. However the Bible doesn’t just mention
where these nations are, it commands them to do certain things:
Isaiah 45:22.
“Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there
is no other.”
Jeremiah 16:19.
O Yehovah, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
Jeremiah’s prophecy is a confirmation of what God commanded in Isaiah 45:22. The Good News of God’s kingdom reached the “End of the Earth” (Aotearoa New Zealand) on 25th December 1814 and by the 1850’s over 60% of the Māori people had turned to God!
Psalms 97:1.
Yehovah reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad!
The immediate result of turning to God is gladness and rejoicing. But this is just the beginning…
Isaiah 24:14-16a.
They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; for the majesty of Yehovah they shall cry aloud from the sea. Therefore glorify Yehovah in the dawning light, the name of Yehovah God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!”
Isaiah is telling us to sing, to cry aloud, to glorify God and His name “Yehovah”. And Israel (the furthest place from New Zealand) will hear us! This is an open invitation from God for us to sing songs and cry out glorifying Him and proclaiming His Name Yehovah. This is a natural progression/expression of the gladness we feel from connecting with our Heavenly Father.
Isaiah 42:10-13.
Sing to Yehovah a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them! Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to Yehovah, and declare His praise in the coastlands. Yehovah shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.
Here Isaiah shows us the effects of our singing and declaring His Name. Firstly the inhabitants of Kedar join in the celebration. Kedar is a son of Ishmael and represents the Arab Muslim world. The prophetic praise that comes out of the ends of the earth is part of the warfare that brings Muslims into relationship with their true Messiah.
Secondly our shouts of praise stir Yehovah into action! He stirs up His zeal. He goes forth like a man of war, He shouts aloud and prevails against His enemies. There is something prophetic in the praise and declaration of Yehovah’s name from the ends of the earth that not only impacts the Muslim world but also stirs God to war.
We are also commanded to make prophetic proclamations on Yehovah’s behalf.
Isaiah 62:11.
Indeed Yehovah has proclaimed to the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.’ ”
Isaiah 48:20.
Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldees! With a voice of singing, declare, proclaim this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say, “Yehovah has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
Jeremiah 31:10.
“Hear the word of Yehovah, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’ ”
Just as we are commanded to sing Yehovah’s praises, we are also commanded to proclaim that Yehovah’s salvation is coming to Israel and to declare that Yehovah will keep Israel as a shepherd does His flock.
This is the return trip of Yehovah’s Good News that started in Jerusalem and went to the end of the earth (it got there in 1814). It’s time for it to go back across the nations to Jerusalem.
Get out the instruments people, we’ve got songs to sing and proclamations to make!
I pray Yehovah richly blesses you as you meditate and act on what He’s saying to you from these passages of His word.
Shalom.