Rise Up, You Complacent Ones! The Message of Isaiah 32 (Part 1 of 3)

MP3: Rise Up, You Complacent Ones – The Message of Isaiah 32

Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

[Note: In a recent episode of the ministry’s podcast, The Truth Will Set You Free, Nathan Jones and Vic Batista addressed the global response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk in light of Isaiah 32.]

Nathan Jones: It’s been one week now since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Our hearts remain heavy at his passing. And yet, we know that as a self-professed, born-again believer in Christ, Heaven is celebrating Charlie’s homegoing. We rejoice in that, and yet, at the same time, we lift his widow, Erika, and their two small children up in prayer for the Lord’s comfort and provision.

We are also praising God for how, in just these past few days, so many people around the world have been rallying to the cry for freedom of speech, conservative values, and the cross of Christ. It appears we are witnessing a great revival and, finally, the awakening of a new generation of champions for the truth.

Vic Batista: In life, there’s always the changing of the seasons. Our nation has lost a grand champion of the truth and a great man of God, for he never faltered publicly in affirming that his eyes were on the Lord. His work in this life is over. Charlie Kirk has been promoted, having graduated to dwell with the Lord. Nevertheless, for those of us left behind and for our nation, we remain in a time of mourning.

Nathan Jones: My children, who are Gen Zs, are referring to the killing of Charlie Kirk as their own Martin Luther King, Jr., assassination. My parents lived through his assassination, as well as President Kennedy’s and his brother’s assassinations. Some murders simply come and go in the news cycle, but these men’s deaths affected the entire world and continue to live on in society’s hearts and minds for generations. The response to Charlie Kirk’s death will likewise be remembered for decades to come.

Kirk’s student-political organization, Turning Point USA, has reported receiving over 36,000 new chapter requests to be placed in schools and colleges. This response is not just about a conservative political movement, but also reflects a broader spiritual awakening. Barna recently released results showing that Gen Zs, meaning those born between 1998 and 2015, more than any other age group, are attending church. Our children are searching for truth, and increasingly, they’re looking for the answers in the source of all truth—the Bible.

After the last decade or two of godless leftist ideology and endless sexual perversion being rammed down our throats, where immorality and pride have been lauded as virtues, our youth are awakening to the lie of it all. They are increasingly getting back to the Bible, and the truth of the Bible has increasingly been spreading all over the world.

For example, in England this September, millions of people took to the streets, speaking out for free speech and the freedom of religion. For too long, they’ve been told to worship God in private and to be quiet about their Christian beliefs. In our supposedly “free” Western nations, we’re told we cannot pray in public or stand up for human rights, especially for the right to life for the unborn.

How encouraging it is to see people showing courage again, all because Charlie Kirk showed such courage. As a martyr, people are emulating Charlie Kirk’s example.

As believers in Christ, we should continue to pray for a spiritual awakening, not merely a conservative political movement. Politics is secondary. Christians seek a spiritual awakening where people come to Jesus Christ as their Savior. No longer should the Church cower in lukewarm apathy. It is exciting to see societies all over the world being energized by the truth and by a new generation coming to Jesus Christ, while the time is short.

In the book of Revelation, we learn that the end of this Church age is defined by the church of Laodicea, a church characterized by its spiritual apathy and a lukewarm relationship with Jesus. How different Laodicea is from the church of Philadelphia, a church that demonstrated such great passion for Jesus and was energized to share the Gospel. In this dark age of spiritual apathy, how wondrous is this new movement championing the truth. We’ve been praying for a global spiritual revival for many years now, and a waking up from our lukewarm Christianity.

Persecution Rising

Vic Batista: And look at the persecuted church in the book of Revelation—Smyrna—that experienced daily martyrdom for their faith in Christ. I liken their steadfast example during their sufferings to what happened to Charlie Kirk, because as a born-again Christian, he stood up for truth and his faith in Christ. Charlie Kirk has become, in the eyes of many, a modern-day martyr, much like Stephen from the book of Acts. The religious and political leaders in Stephen’s time put him to death. They didn’t want to hear the truth, and so much like Charlie Kirk, they killed him for speaking it. Persecution remains everywhere today, but the more that Christians suffer, we find the opportunity to encourage the world by living out the life-saving message of the Gospel. As a result, the better Christ’s Church grows.

Nathan Jones: It’s not just Charlie Kirk who was told to be quiet and not speak the truth at college forums and on social media. Such censorship, though unjust, pales in comparison to areas of the world such as Nigeria. Their whole Christian villages live in fear of being hacked to death by Islamic militants. And, in Eritrea, Christians are forced to sleep in cargo containers and are treated as outcasts in their society. And look at the most dangerous country in the world for Christians—North Korea. To be a Christian living in North Korea and not worshipping the Kim family lands them in the equivalent of a concentration camp, where many are worked to death. Despite the persecutions we face on this side of the planet, Christians have it very good here in the West compared to many darker places in the world.

Light’s Victory Over Darkness

The dark hates the light. My pastor reminded our congregation of this after Charlie Kirk was killed. I thought it was an excellent statement. The dark hates the light. Wherever the light of Jesus shines, the darkness is always going to hate the light and try to snuff it out. But we know from Bible prophecy that, in the end, Jesus will win. The light will be victorious, and evil will be defeated. It’s just a matter of time.

Revelation depicts the martyrs standing before the throne of God, asking Him when this persecution will finally be over. God replies that they must wait just a little longer until the number of the martyrs is complete. This means that there are going to be many more believers joining the martyrs’ cry. Maybe some of us will be martyred for our faith. But we can live knowing that our victory in Jesus Christ is assured, and the martyrdom will joyously end.

Vic Batista: We look to the second coming of Jesus Christ to bring us that victory. Upon Christ’s return, He will set up His Millennial Kingdom—a hope and encouragement for believers today. Christ’s kingdom awaits us! In the meantime, we face numerous challenges, and the earth’s inhabitants suffer. But we must remember that righteousness is coming, and it’s right around the corner. The Lord will indeed come, and He will reign in righteousness, and He will grant the world perfect peace.

Look to Isaiah 32:1-8, which foretells the day when the Lord will bring God’s righteousness to the earth:

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen. Also, the heart of the rash will understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly. The foolish person will no longer be called generous, nor the miser said to be bountiful.

For the foolish person will speak foolishness, and his heart will work iniquity: to practice ungodliness, to utter error against the Lord, to keep the hungry unsatisfied, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; he devises wicked plans to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks justice. But a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand.

Nathan Jones: Isaiah is trying to get the point across that in this fallen world, evil seems to go unfettered. Evil people call good evil and evil good. And evil never seems to end, which causes one to believe that evil is never going to be defeated. But Isaiah points out that the King is coming. We know this king to be the Father’s own son, Jesus Christ.

Isaiah compares the King’s coming reign in righteousness to a man in the wilderness, such as a desert, which is hot and dry. The man finds a great rock that protects him from the elements with its shade. When one is lost in a dry place and finds water, refreshing and coolness follow. Likewise, the knowledge that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to reign on this earth, and that He will finally defeat evil and set up His everlasting kingdom, provides that same kind of peace—that coolness, that shade, that protection, that hope—that this evil age will finally end. And all those people who have been calling good evil and evil good, they will pass away one day soon, and only those the Lord calls good will remain.

Vic Batista: Isaiah 32:1 declares, “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness.” For so long, God’s children have waited for Christ’s reign of righteousness to arrive. Many kings throughout history have promised righteousness, and some have tried to attain it, but for the most part, we find the opposite of that. Unrighteousness defines the human condition. But, Christians have that blessed hope that one day soon the King will come and He will bring that righteousness and justice we’ve so longed for.

In Part 2 of this look into the global response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk in light of Isaiah 32, we’ll see how Isaiah contrasts the fate of God’s children to those who remain in rebellion against Him.

Resource

Navigating the Revelation Letters – New book by Vic Batista! Step into a timeless voyage through the seven letters Jesus entrusted to John—messages brimming with warning, hope, and promise. Each letter brings to life the struggles and triumphs of the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, offering fresh insights for living with courage, passion, and integrity.

Vic has offered to donate all proceeds from the sale of the book between September 11–October 11, 2025, to the fund supporting Charlie Kirk’s family.