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Open Heavens: The Covering (2 of 3)

February 11, 2001

Text:  Is 25:6-9

Last week we looked at how God promised to bless His people with prosperity as long as they obeyed Him. He used an interesting word picture to explain what He would do. He said he would “open the heavens” and bless the work of their hands. A question arises as to why the heavens would need to be opened and to what a “closed heaven” might refer. In Isaiah 25:6-9 we find a scripture that speaks of a covering that is over all people and what will happen when the covering is removed. 

Is. 25: ⁶ And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. ⁷ And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. ⁸ He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. ⁹ And it will be said in that day:  “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.  This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

When the coving is removed, death will be ended forever, all tears will be wiped away, and the rebuke of God’s people will be taken away from all the earth. The people of God will respond with great rejoicing.

This brings about two questions we want to talk about today. First, what is the covering and where did it come from? Second, has the covering been removed?

The covering mentioned in Isaiah is tied to death and sorrow. These came about in the beginning as a result of Satan’s work and the rebellion of man. Though the covering is not mentioned specifically, it seems evident that this is where the covering came upon mankind. It is certainly where death and sorrow enter.

In Ezekiel 28, we are given a description of a person many Bible scholars believe is Satan. He is referred to in the passage as being in “Eden, the Garden of God.” He is called in verse sixteen a “covering cherub.”

In Daniel ten, there is an interesting account given by an angel of a spiritual battle he had been involved in that delayed him from getting to Daniel with the answer to a prayer. This story gives us an idea that there is a covering of wickedness and wicked powers that are working to stop the blessings of God from reaching the earth. These powers were able to delay the angel twenty-one days.

¹²Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ¹³But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

In 2 Corinthians 3-4 we read of the “god of this age” blinding the minds of men.  “³But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them”  We can easily see a covering concept from this passage that stops the blessing of God from reaching people on the earth.

The authority that Satan has includes authority over all the kingdoms of the earth. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he claimed to have authority over the kingdoms and the right to give these kingdoms to whomever he chose. Jesus did not dispute Satan’s claim. Notice the statements made in Luke’s account in chapter 4.

⁵Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

 In the beginning, God gave Adam and Eve dominion over at least part of the earth. Apparently this dominion was delivered to Satan in the fall. Jesus did not dispute Satan’s authority or his power to give it to another.

 In the “Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus instructed His disciples to pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Obviously there is no need for this prayer unless the earth is dominated by another kingdom.

 When Jesus ascended He made the statement, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matt. 28:18) This statement apparently will be fully implemented at a future date since death and sorrow were not eliminated at that time. In the book of Hebrews the writer indicates that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God waiting till His enemies are put under His feet. ¹²But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. (Heb. 10:11)

 At the last of the New Testament we find the Apostle John writing about the dominion of Satan over the world.  In 1 John 5:19 (NASB) we read, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the covering of the wicked one.”   In the New King James it reads,  “under the sway of the wicked one.”  In the New International version it reads “under the control of the evil one.”

It is plain to that Satan still has a great deal of control over the earth. He and his fallen angels are able to delay blessings from God. They are able to blind the minds of people to the gospel. Their powers become a covering that is connected with death, sorrow and suffering.

Many people blame the tragedies of life and the catastrophes of nature on God. They sometimes refer to them as “acts of God.” The truth is that God only gives “good gifts” to His children. St. James says, “¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17)  In Luke 11: 11-13, Jesus indicates the Father only gives good gifts to His Children. Jesus said, “¹⁰The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

The covering of evil is still in place and keeps the earth bound in death and sorrow. At this time, God is able to open a “window” in the covering to bring blessing to His people who are obedient to Him. There is coming a day when the covering will be removed and death and sorrow will be no more. Then there will be the joyous celebration Isaiah pictured; “a feast of wines on the lees.”

Note: Much of the material I have shared in this message came from sermons my father, Dorrance Manning, preached many years ago.

 Next week: we will look at how the Heaven’s were opened to Jesus and His ministry.”