Book of Isaiah Isaiah 52
Even Halley places
this in the future, calling it the song of
Isaiah 52:1-6, “Awake, awake, O
For this is what the Lord says: ‘At first my people went
down to
Verses 7 , God calls those who bring the gospel, good news, beautiful—that’s
us, folks! This is
a message inserted into the middle of this prophecy, a message
for us believers who are actively proclaiming (or supporting the
proclaiming) the gospel worldwide.
Verse 7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet
of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good
tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to
The prophecy continues
on through verses 8-10
Verses 8-10, “Listen! Your
watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to
Verses 11-12. It has been thought by some that these
verses back up in time to just before Jerusalem is surrounded by
armies as described in Matthew 24, the beginning of the tribulation,
and that this is a veiled instruction to any believers gathered
in Jerusalem. Where do they go from there? Some think
Verses 11-12, “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who
carry the vessels of the Lord. But
you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will
go before you, the God of
Isaiah 52:13-15,
a vivid description of “The Suffering Servant”, picturing
the sacrifice of Yeshua, Jesus of
Verses 13-15, “See, my servant will act wisely; he
will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just
as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance
was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond
human likeness—so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings
will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will
see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.”
Isaiah 53
This whole chapter
is a prophecy about the sacrifice of the Messiah, which occurred
at his first coming. It
cross references to the entire accounts of his crucifixion in all
four gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). For
a full treatment of this subject see http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/1stcoming.htm
Isaiah 53:1-12, “Who has believed our message and
to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He
grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of
dry ground. He had
no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance
that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a
man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like
one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed
him not.
Surely
he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed
him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But
he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds
we are healed.
We
all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his
own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He
was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he
was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By
oppression and judgment he was taken away [KJV: “He was taken
from prison and from judgment…”]. And
who can speak of his descendants? For
he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression
of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done
no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet
it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see
his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will
prosper in his hand. After
the suffering of his soul, he
will see the travail
of his soul [KJV], and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous
servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore
I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the
spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors. For
he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Isaiah 54
Zion’s future
glory, and by extension that of regathered
Isaiah 54:1-3, “Sing, O barren woman, you who never
bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never
in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than
of her who has a husband,’
says the Lord.
‘Enlarge
the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not
hold back, lengthen the cords, strengthen your
stakes. For you will spread
out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess
nations and settle in their desolate cities. [the
borders of Israel God promised to Abraham seem to fit this prophecy
for the future Millennial Kingdom of God nation of Israel, cf.
Genesis 15:18, “On that day the Lord made a covenant with
Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from
the river of Egypt [i.e. the Nile, you could say from one end of
it to the other] to the great river, the Euphrates [also from one
end to the other, which is everything to the west of it from the
Turkish border to the Arabian Sea…Hmmm, wow].”]
‘Do
not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do
not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You
will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach
of your widowhood. For
your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the
Holy One of
‘O
afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build
you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I
will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones. All
your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s
peace. In righteousness
you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will
have nothing to fear. Terror
will be far removed; it will not come near you. If
anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks
you will surrender to you.
‘See,
it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work. And
it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc [God taking ultimate
responsibility, i.e. “the buck stops on his desk.”];
no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute
every tongue that accuses you. [vs.
17] This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this
is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55
Verses 1-2, hearing
the Word of the Lord is likened to drinking pure water and eating
good food without having to pay for it.
Isaiah 55:1-2, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come
to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine
and milk without money and without cost. Why
spend money on what is not bread and
your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen,
listen to me, and eat what is good, and
your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” In the New Testament this was quoted,
referring to the spiritual food of the Word and the Holy Spirit,
nourishing us in salvation. When
taken in context with the verses that follow, it will also be a
rich and freely offered “commodity” in the Millennial
Kingdom of God.
Verses 3-5, king
David made a commander of the people [king David
is shown in another prophecy, to be resurrected, made immortal
and given rulership over the 12 tribes of
Verses 3-5, “Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I
will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised
to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader
and commander of the peoples. Surely
you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know
you will hasten to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy
One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.’”
Verses 6-10, in
the
Verses 6-10, “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near. Let
the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let
him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our
God, for he will freely pardon. For
my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways,’ declares
the Lord. As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
As
the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return
to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to
me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose
for which I sent it.”
Verses 12-13 places all
this in context with the
Verses 12-13, “You will go out in joy and be led forth
in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead
of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers
the myrtle will grow. This
will be the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which
will not be destroyed.”
Isaiah 56
Verse 8 puts this
in context with the soon-coming
Verses 1-8, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Maintain
justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand
and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed
is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps
the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing
any evil.’
Let
no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, ‘The
Lord will surely exclude me from his people [this almost puts the
context as being just after the 2nd coming].’ And
let not any eunuch complain,
‘I am only a dry tree.’ For
this is what the Lord says: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them
I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better
than the sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that
will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind themselves to
the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to
my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them
joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will
be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations. [It is not
possible to keep sacrifices as
of yet, only after Jesus’ return will they be kept again in a safe
temple setting. The tribulation
temple will not be a safe temple setting. This by careful reading of the whole context
appears to be a time immediately following the 2nd coming,
talking of faithful Gentiles who have started to worship the Lord in
a world which is still mainly hostile to the Lord. He
says in verse 1 “My righteousness will soon be revealed. Obviously, Jesus starts ruling first over
The Sovereign Lord declares—he who gathers
the exiles of
Verses 9-12, there is a
pre-trib spiritual condition of
post-Judeo-Christian western democracies
as well). If you’re
a Christian or Messianic Jewish pastor, be warned. If
the shoe fits, you’re in trouble. Shepherds
are pastors in God’s prophetic vocabulary. By the wording
it’s hard to tell whether the context is just before the
2nd coming or just after it.
Verses 9-12, “Come, all you beasts of the field, come
and devour, all you beasts of the forest! Israel’s
watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute
dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to
sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they
never have enough…”—Who could these “dogs” be, how are
they identified?—read on—“…They
are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their
own way, each seeks his own gain. ‘Come,’ each one cries,’ let
me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even
better.’ That’s what the Lord thinks of a lot of the pastors who
consider themselves “Christian pastors, ministers, “men
of the cloth”. Pretty scary stuff
here, especially if that’s you. Better
do something about it while there’s time if that “shoe” fits
you.
|