Isaiah 28:18, commentary and pictures

The covenant with death and agreement with hell is a false refuge of lies and fatal security claimed by those who reject truth and trust in falsehood, and it shall be canceled and shall not stand so that it cannot shield anyone from God's judgment. Its annulment comes when God lays judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet, when hail sweeps away the refuge of lies and waters overflow the hiding place. The overflowing scourge is the passing through of God's wrath and judgment to purge the earth, coming very soon upon all dwellers on the earth in the last remnant of time, and those relying on the false refuge will be overwhelmed and trodden down by it. That covenant is the fatal security built on Satan's lie that people will not die, developed through Spiritualism, and in the final delusion its false refuge will be swept away so that those lulled into confidence by it are awakened only when God's wrath is poured out. Only those kept by God through faith in His Word will escape that wrath, while professed believers who cling to property and withhold their means from God's work, who disregard His instructions and Sabbath, and whose religion lacks genuine spiritual life will be trodden down and perish with the wicked.

False Covenant and Judgment

The covenant with death and agreement with hell, the grave, is a false refuge of lies and a fatal security claimed by those who reject truth and trust in falsehood, portraying conditions in the world today. That supposed protection from death and hell cannot shield anyone from judgment, for it shall be disannulled, canceled, and shall not stand. Its annulment comes when judgment is laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet, when hail sweeps away the refuge of lies and waters overflow the hiding place.

Saul's consultation of the witch of Endor was such an agreement with hell, sealing the separation from God he had chosen through rebellion. The overflowing scourge is the passing through of wrath and judgment to purge the earth, the destroying angel again passing through the land. It is yet to come upon all dwellers upon the earth, very soon to pass over as destruction coming like a mighty whirlwind in the last remnant of time.

When the scourge passes through, those relying on the false refuge are overwhelmed, brought down, and trodden down by it, awakened from fatal security only to be destroyed. The faith of the pure and holy remains undaunted because God helps His people. He strikes a blow to deliver His oppressed and raises up humble men to do His will.

Spiritualism in Final Crisis

The covenant with death and agreement with hell is the fatal security built on Satan's lie that people will not die, the lie that the dead live. That lie has been developed through Spiritualism and its deception about death, making rejection of truth and trust in falsehood into a supposed refuge. When God lays judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet, that covenant will be disannulled and that agreement will not stand. Then hail sweeps away the refuge of lies and waters overflow the hiding place, so the false security is exposed and destroyed. When the overflowing scourge passes through in the outpouring of God's wrath in the last remnant of time, those lulled in that fatal security will be awakened only to be trodden down by it.

The verse applies to the final delusion associated with Spiritualism, whose false refuge will be swept away and will not shield anyone from judgment. People lulled into confidence by it will be swept into the delusion, overwhelmed and brought down when God's judgment passes through like an overflowing scourge. They will be awakened only when God's wrath is poured out upon them.

Only those kept by God through faith in His Word will escape that wrath. They will not face destruction with those drawn into the delusion, because their protection rests on truth rather than on the abolished covenant with death and hell.

Warnings for Professed Believers

The overflowing scourge will pass through and sweep away earthly possessions from those who profess present truth yet cling to property and wealth. It will tread down those who withhold their means from God's work, who refuse to support the sharing of spiritual truth, and who withhold what is needed to speed messengers to feed hungry sheep dying for want of saving present truth. Their loss will come when destruction passes like a mighty whirlwind, very soon to come, and afterward it will be too late to sacrifice earthly goods to advance God's work and lay up treasure in heaven.

Like the young man with great possessions who asked what to do to inherit eternal life, they are sorrowful when God's cause calls for their property. When the scourge passes they will be left with nothing, having missed their chance to use what they kept for good. In that coming judgment those who disregard God's instructions will perish with the wicked, while faithful parents and children who keep God's holy Sabbath and obey His commandments will be hidden and preserved in the secret of the Lord's pavilion. Parents who allow their children to be educated with the world and make the Sabbath a common day cannot have the seal of God placed upon them and will be destroyed with the wicked.

Before the scourge comes upon all dwellers upon the earth, God calls His servants, as Israelites indeed, to do earnest work for children. They are to gather them into their own houses and gather them out from classes that voice Satan's words and disobey God's commandments and from influences that teach disobedience. They are to get out of the cities as soon as possible and to establish church schools with the Word of God as the foundation of all education. That gathering for protection is like Israel in Egypt, where the blood-marked homes were spared when judgment fell, and the blood symbolized Christ's blood as the sole means of salvation.

The scourge will bring judgment and will not pass by professed believers whose religion is worthless and lacks genuine spiritual life and Christ's love. It will fall on those whose words injure others, who hear the truth but indulge appetite, think evil, speak idle and critical words against God's servants, sow doubt and evil in other minds, and remain unconverted in tongue and appetite and home life. It will tread them down even though God loves their souls, because they have ceased to have love for themselves. Those at the heart of the work are commanded to be still and know that He is God, for men will soon find they cannot trample on God's holy precepts without incurring punishment, and the Lord will not be slow to punish those who have had great light and yet have betrayed Him, whose unrighteous transactions in councils and board meetings His eye has read.