In this message I would like to speak a further word concerning the sign of Christ's incarnation given to Ahaz, king of Judah (Isa. 7:14). We will consider this sign in relation to Satan's use of Babylon to oppose God and God's economy. The New Testament begins with the sign of a virgin conceiving and bearing a son, whose name is called Immanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:22-23). As we will see, this great sign covers the entire Bible from Genesis 11 to Revelation 22.
According to the divine revelation in the Bible, God made a plan, and this plan is His eternal economy. God's plan, God's economy, is to gain for Himself a people from among the human beings created by Him. God's calling of Abraham was part of the fulfillment of God's desire to have a people for Himself, a people who were chosen, called, and separated to be God's treasure. With the coming of Christ, God took a further step to gain another people—the church. To God, the church is a great treasure. Therefore, God has two elect peoples: Israel in the Old Testament and the believers in the New Testament. In totality, the believers are the church, God's elect in the New Testament. For the fulfillment of His eternal purpose, God desires to gain these two elect peoples.
God, however, has an enemy, Satan, and this enemy has come in to cause a great deal of damage in his attempt to frustrate God from accomplishing His eternal economy. Satan's way is to use the nations—the human beings created by God but not chosen by Him—to frustrate God's eternal purpose.