Book of Isaiah

Isaiah 9

 

Isaiah 9:1-6, 1st coming Messianic prophecy, “For unto us a child is born…”

 

Isaiah 9:1-6a, “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.  In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali [during the Assyrian invasion], but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.  You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.  For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burden’s them, the bar that crosses their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.  Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire…”Verses 6a, “…For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given…”

 

 The prophecy now shifts into the period just after the 2nd coming in vs. 6b…so thereafter, this is referring to a time in the future in verses 8-21 (not past captivities, already historically fulfilled).

 

Isaiah 9 vs. 6b-7, Millennial Kingdom of God, “…a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

 

Isaiah 9, vs 8-21 sounds more like plagues of famine and starvation during or just prior to military invasion, predicting such a time of siege that “each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring…Manasseh will feed on Ephraim [the two birthright tribes within the 10 tribed House of Israel, cf. Gen. 48:1-20; 1 Chron. 5:1-2]; together they will turn on Judah.  ‘Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.’  This could be pointing to the tribulation and a time of such starvation and punishment on whoever Ephraim and Manasseh are, as well as Judah [the Jews, modern-day Israelis] as well as the historic fulfillment during the lifetime of Isaiah.  In verse 14 it says “So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail…in a single day…”.  This prophecy seems to be talking as if it lies in the future, yet to be fulfilled.  Isaiah was thinking of the coming captivity by Assyria in his lifetime, which started occurring in 734BC and culminated in 721-718BC, longer than one day, so the prophecy does have a prior historic fulfillment as well.  But apparently the Lord intended this to also be referring to the future downfall of whoever Israel is, whether only one tribe, the nation of Israel, which in reality is only the Jews and Levites (the tribes of Judah and Levi combined make up the Jews), or it could be referring to whomever the two lead or birthright tribes were within the ten-tribed House of Israel which resided in Samaria.  The level of evil in the society of this “ Israel ” is described by the Lord through Isaiah in verses 16-17, “Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.  Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness.”  As Halley’s says about prophecies in Isaiah “Following his habit [who’s habit, it was the Lord who told Isaiah what to write] of sudden shiftings back and forth between his own times and the future, Isaiah abruptly turns his own eyes toward Samaria .”  2 Kings 17:22-24 record the historic conquering and total deportation of the ten northern tribes of Israel, and the replacement of them with peoples from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim.  This happened between 721 and 718BC, with a final mopping up finished by 705BC.  Isaiah’s ministry lasted from 745BC to 695BC roughly.  Vs. 17 of Isaiah 10 seems to be talking of the resurrected Christ, “The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will consume his thorns and briars.”  Cf. Zechariah 14:12 and Revelation 1:15-16 speak of Yeshua, Jesus having a brilliance like the sun, greater than the sun, and this apparently melts his foes who have conquered Jerusalem .  So this verse seems to also tie into the 2nd coming of Yeshua.  Many prophecies have had a prior fulfillment and yet await a greater fulfillment, called “type and anti-type”.

 

Verses 8-16, 17-21, “The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel .  All the people will know it—Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—who say with pride and arrogance of heart, ‘The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.’  But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on.  Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth.  Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.  But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty…So The Lord will cut off head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; the elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.  Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.  Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness [hasn’t this become a common condition in our post Judeo-Christian English speaking western democracies?].  Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.  Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.  By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; no one will spare his brother.  On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied.  Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring:  Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh; together they will turn against Judah .  Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.”

 

Isaiah 10

 

Isaiah 10:1-2, God’s warning and judgment against Israel, those who make unjust laws, oppressive decrees to deprive the poor—who hold justice from the oppressed, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.  Vs, 3-4, God’s judgment for vs. 1-2.  As I said before, context of Isaiah 9-10 goes into 2nd coming, based on verse 17-19.  God says in verse 19 that “the remaining trees in the forests will be so few that a child could write them down.”  Revelation talks of a time during the tribulation and Day of the Lord where all the trees on earth are burned up.  But verses 5-16 had a prior fulfillment when the Lord destroyed the Assyrian army in one night outside Jerusalem , and later the Assyrian capital city and palace was burned with intense fire by the invading Babylonians in the early 600s BC.  The palace was discovered in the 19th century by famous archeologists.  You can see this prior and future fulfillment principle throughout many prophecies of the Bible.

Vs. 20-21 prophecies “In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob [house of Jacob often referred to House of Israel, the northern 10 tribes, and their chief birthright tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh], will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.  A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.”  This never happened historically after the House of Israel was deported and became lost historically along the shores of the Caspian Sea .

 

Isaiah 10:1-4, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.  What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar?  To whom will you run for help?  Where will you leave your riches?  [Revelation says the rich will be casting their gold and silver in the streets]  Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain.  Yet for this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.”

 

God’s Judgment on Assyria, had prior fulfillment, but verses 17-19 point to a 2nd coming of Jesus fulfillment as well “The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame”.  Cf. Rev. 1:13-18; Zech 14

 

Verses 5-19, “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!  I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.  But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.  ‘Are not my commanders all kings.’  He says.  ‘Has not Calno fared like Carchemish ?  Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus ?  As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria —shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’

        When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem , he will say, ‘I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.  For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.  I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.  As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of nations; as men gather eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.’ [What does the Lord have to say about the arrogance of the commanding general of this warrior race?  Read on.]

        Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it?  As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood!  Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.  The Light of Israel will become fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers [cf. Zechariah 14].  The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick man wastes away.  And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down [cf. Revelation 8:6-7].” 

 

The Remnant of Israel—in context with verses 17-19, one of the seven trumpet plagues, 2nd coming context…written at the time of the fall of Samaria, Isaiah must have thought the context dealt entirely with that historic fall and deportation. But the context of all the verses leading up to 20-27 is tribulation/2nd coming.  Remember who was giving these “visions” to Isaiah.

Verses 28-34 most definitely refer to a warning to Samaria of that time.

 

 

Verses 20-27, “In that day the remnant of Israel , the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel .  A remnant will return, as remnant of Jacob will return to the Almighty God [cf. Ezekiel 36].  Though your people, O Israel , be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return.  Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.  The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.

        Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

‘O my people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.  Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.’  The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters as he did in Egypt .  In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so broken.’” 

 

According to Halley, “the cities named in [verses] 28-32 were just north of Jerusalem .  God had used the Assyrians to punish Israel, but here cautions them against over-estimating their power.”  Also the armies of the Beast power of Revelation 13 and 17 do muster just north of Jerusalem and march south through these same towns to the “battle of decision” in the Kidron Valley, so this prophecy has a prior fulfillment and is yet again to be fulfilled.  I will color it historical in content for its first fulfillment.

 

Verses 28-34, “They enter Aith; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Micmash.  They go over the pass, and say, ‘We will camp overnight at Geba.’  Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.   Cry out, O Daughter of Gallim!  Listen, O Laishah!  Poor Anathoth!  Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover.   This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fist at the mount of the Daughter of Zion , at the hill of Jerusalem.  See, Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power.  The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low.  He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.”

 


Isaiah 11

 

 Isaiah 11 is most definitely Messianic, 1st & 2nd coming, Millennial Kingdom of God.  Isaiah 11:1-3, 1st coming of the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus Christ), the prophecy shifts to Millennial Kingdom of God, verses 4-5.  Vs. 6-9 continues to describe the Millennial Kingdom of God, nature of animals changed, made peaceful.  Vs. 10-16, Yeshua re-gathers all of Israel , not just Judah , the Jews, but Ephraim [and where Ephraim is, so is Manasseh, whoever they historically are now].  By extension all 12 tribes are re-gathered.  To see a listing of those tribes and a prophecy given by Jacob , Israel , of what they would become in the last times (as nations) read Genesis 49:1-28.  So a prophetic reading of Genesis 49 would indicate that most of the 12 tribes, each became a nation of its own, historically lost from view after the Assyrian captivity of 721BC, but out there somewhere.  This regathering seems to be out of Assyria (vs 16)--whoever the Assyrians became.  After Nebuchadnezzar’s father conquered the Assyrian Empire, a large contingent of Assyrians, led by one of their generals, fled west along the Black Sea and up the Danube .  What are the Assyrians like militarily as a people?  Isaiah 10:12-14 gives us a clue, “When the Lord finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem , he will say, ‘I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look of his eyes.  For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand have I done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.  I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued the mighty.  As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as men gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing or opened its mouth to chirp.’”  This king reflects the attitude found in his countrymen.  Sound familiar?  Seen any good WWII war movies lately accurately displaying the German Army riding around in their tanks and half-tracks?  Guess where the Danube leads.  The Romans tried to cross the Rhine once, and lost two legions of calvary and foot soldiers, over 60,000 men.  Two years later Caesar sent a detachment north to find his lost legions, curious as to what could have happened to them (they were all killed, so no one got word back to him).  His detachment found the skeletons of all 60,000 within the armour and chariots they had died in, lying on the ground in the Black Forest , killed by the Huns.  Not that I am against Germans, I love them.  There is a prophecy we’ll read in Isaiah where God calls out Assyria and Egypt as being his # 1 and # 2 Gentile nations in the Millennial Kingdom of God, so God loves them too.  Have you ever seen films of the German army in WWII, the prideful haughty, arrogant way they carried themselves, even in defeat.  Like I said, even the Roman Legions couldn’t advance beyond the Rhine .  Now let’s read Isaiah 11:1-16.

 

Isaiah 11:1-3a, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord…”  That is a 1st coming of the Messiah prophecy.  It shifts to 2nd coming in vs 3b and continues describing the Millennial Kingdom of God, our reward as Christians and Messianic believers, for we shall rule with Yeshua in this Kingdom when Yeshua returns (read Rev. 2-3).

Vs 3b-16, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked [cf. Zechariah 14:1-15, Revelation 19:11-21].  Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist…”

The nature of animals changed. “…The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion will feed with the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

Next is described a regathering of the tribes of Israel from the various nations they’ve been taken captive to.  Vs. 16 indicates the major captor this time will be Assyria, not Egypt as in the days of Moses.  Verses 10-16, “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.  In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt [Sudan], from Cush [upper Nile region, modern Egypt] from Elam [Persia], from Babylonia [Hebrew Shinar, modern Iraq], from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.  He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel [who does he mean by “ Israel ”?  Read on]; he will assemble the people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.  Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.  [So whoever Ephraim is as a nation today, there is some kind of bad blood or jealousy thing going on between them and the Jews or Israeli’s.  So by this very prophecy, Israel is by God’s own Word, more than just the Jews.  We have to wait and see who they really are when Yeshua returns, not gonna speculate in this paper.]  They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west [ Gaza ]; together they will plunder the people to the east [ Israel ’s Millennial Kingdom of God borders will be from the Euphrates to the Nile , as we shall read later].  They will lay hands on Edom and Moab [ Jordan ] and the Ammonites will be subject to them.  The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River .  He will break it up into seven streams so that men can cross over in sandals.  There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt .” So Yeshua upon his return repopulates the land of Israel with the tribes of Israel , all of them by appearance.  Ephraim and Manasseh were the birthright tribes that represented all the other 8.

 

Isaiah 12

 

Isaiah 12:1-6, cross reference this song of praise for what has occurred in Isaiah 11 and Isaiah 2:1-3 and it would indicate that salvation has been opened up to the whole world.  Revelation 20:1-3 prophecies that just after the 2nd coming described in Revelation 19:11-21, that Satan (and by extension all his demons) are locked up in the abyss, no longer able to deceive and influence mankind.  Isaiah 12 has to be taken in context with Isaiah 11.

 

Isaiah 12:1-6, “In that day you will say: ‘I will praise you, O Lord.  Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.  Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.’  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  In that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted…”  [Is Jesus’ name, Yeshua’s name exalted today in our Judeo-Christian countries of the west now?  Far from it.  The Ten Commandments are being stripped from our court houses and government buildings, and they’re trying to ban public reading of the Bible.  God and his Word and prayer are basically banned from our schools.  The name of Yeshua, Jesus is not exalted today.  But it will be soon enough.] “… Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.  Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion , for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

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