43. 15. Upon the land of my people shall come up the thorn and the brier, yea, upon all the houses of gladness in the joyous city; for the palace shall be a wilderness, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken, the hillside and the watch tower shall be above caves for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks; until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, then the wilderness shall be a fruitful field; judgment shall dwell in the wilderness and justice shall abide in the fruitful field. The work of justice shall be peace, and the labor of justice quietness and security for ever, so that My people shall dwell in a habitation of peace, and in tents of security, and in quiet resting places (Isaiah 32:13-18). Concerning the vastation of the church and of its celestial state after redemption.

I will arise, saith Jehovah; now will I lift up Myself. He that walketh in justice and speaketh uprightly; that stoppeth the ear lest He hear blood, and shutteth the eyes lest He see evil; he shall dwell on high, his bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure. Look upon Zion the city of our appointed feast: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, which shall not be dissipated, the stakes thereof shall never he removed; there Jehovah will be magnificent to us (Isaiah 33:8-10, 15-16, 20-22). Here concerning the vastation of the church, and afterwards the coming of the Lord to restore it.

All the host of the heavens shall waste away, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all their host shall fall. The spoonbill and the bittern shall possess it, and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein, and thorns shall grow over her palaces, the thistle and the brier in the fortresses thereof, so that it may be a habitation of dragons, a court for the daughters of the owl. And the zijim shall meet with the ijim, and the satyr shall meet his fellow; yea, the screech owl shall rest there, and shall find for herself a resting place. For it is the day of the vengeance of Jehovah, the year of the recompense for the controversy of Zion. Its fire shall not be quenched night nor day, from generation to generation it shall lie waste (Isaiah 34:4, 8, 10-11, 13-15). Concerning the complete vastation of the church as to charity or as to good; there follow the coming of the Lord and the restoration of the church in the following chapter; where are these words: Rejoice, O wilderness and dry place, in blossoming let it blossom and exult: behold, your God will come with vengeance, He will come with the retribution of God. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened. Then shall the lame leap as a hind, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: yea, in the wilderness shall waters break out, and rivers in the plain of the wilderness. And the dry place shall become a pool and the thirsty place springs of water. An highway shall be there and a way, which shall be called the way of holiness. Thus the redeemed of Jehovah shall return and come unto Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; gladness and joy shall follow, sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Isaiah 35:1-2, 4-8, 10). These words treat of the coming of the Lord and the state of heaven and the church after redemption.

Imagine having your mother touch your cheek. Then imagine having your spouse or someone you love romantically touch your cheek. Then imagine having a baby touch your cheek. Then imagine having someone you hate and fear touch your cheek. They're very different feelings, aren't they? They all involve the same nerve endings, stimulated in basically the same ways, but with emotional content that varies to every point of the compass. This is because the sense of touch communicates and actually conveys emotion, communicates and conveys love (both good and bad) between people. That's why the Lord so often touched people as a way of healing them; through touch he could convey His love, which is life itself, to the people he touched. It's also why the people of Israel were not to touch the Ark of the Covenant -- their base loves would be conveyed to the holiness represented by the Ark.