Book of Isaiah Isaiah 41
Isaiah 41. verses 1-6 appear
to be end-tribulation, 2nd woe of Revelation 9, although
Halley thinks this refers to Cyrus. Like
many prophecies, it could have had a prior fulfillment and be waiting
for a later, greater fulfillment. Apparently
God calls a great eastern superpower to come from the east and
conquer. If taken in context with verses 17-20,
verses 1-6 have to be yet in the future, waiting for fulfillment. These verses would fit right in with Revelation
9:13-21, the 2nd and then 3rd woe, where the eastern
superpower and the nations are “invited” to the “place
of judgment.”
Isaiah 41:1-6, “Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us
meet together at the place of judgment. Who
has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness
to his service [Or, “whom victory meets at every step”]? He
hands over nations to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow. He
pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not
traveled before. Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.” The
islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They
approach and come forward; each helps the other and says to his
brother, ‘Be strong!’”
Redemption of
Verses 8-14, “But you, O
All
who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those
who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though
you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those
who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes
hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not
fear; I will help you. Do
not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little
The next set of verses describe the beginning of the
Verses 15-20, “See, I will
make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush
them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You
will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow
them away. But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory
in the Holy One of
The
poor and needy will search for water, but there is none; their
tongues are parched with thirst. But
I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of
Who God is, again. Verses
21-29 ‘Tell us what things were, or declare to us what the
future holds’—i.e. a major proof of God is fulfilled
prophecies in his Word. Also connect this to Isaiah 42:9 “See,
the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before
they spring into being I announce them to you.’ If
ever there was a conclusive proof of God and his Word, fulfilled
prophecy is one of the big ones. Date
a known prophet, say Isaiah or Daniel, and then find one of their
prophecies fulfilled, sometimes hundreds, sometimes thousands of
years later, to the very letter. That
is the hand of God and the proof of the Bible.
Verses
21-29, “‘Present
your case,’
says the Lord. ‘Set
forth your arguments,’
says Jacob’s King. ‘Bring
in your idols, tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so
that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell
us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so
that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But
you are less than nothing and your works utterly worthless; he who chooses
you is detestable.
I have
stirred up one from the north, and he comes—one from the rising
sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading clay. Who
told of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand,
so we could say, ‘He was right’? No
one told of this, no one foretold it, no
one heard any words from you. I
was the first to tell
Isaiah 42
Isaiah 42, The Servant of the Lord, 1st Coming of Messiah
prophecy mixed with beginning of
Isaiah 42:1-7, “‘Here is my servant, whom I
uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on
him and he will bring justice to the nations. He
will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A
bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not
snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not
falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on the earth. In his law the islands will put their
hope.’
This
is what God the Lord says—he who created the heavens and
stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes
out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who
walk on it: ‘I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand. I
will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free
captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who
sit in darkness…’”
God’s proof of his existence, He’s
a God of prophecy
Verses
8-9, “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory
to another or my praise to idols. See,
the former things, and new things I declare; before they spring
into being I announce them to you.”
Song of Praise to
the Lord, which also has a description of his 2nd coming,
he marches out like a warrior, lays waste to the mountains, dries
up their vegetation…
verses 10-16
Verses 10-16, “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise
from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all
that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. Let
the desert and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements
where Kedar lives rejoice. Let
people of Sela [
‘For
a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself
back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I
cry out, I gasp and pant. I
will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools. I
will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar
paths I will guide them; I will turn darkness into light before
them and make rough places smooth. These
things I will do; I will not forsake them.”
But those who trust
in idols…reference to the Lord’s servants being blind,
in context with vs 21, which identifies what Jesus, Yeshua did
for the law during the time of his 1st coming. Could
this be talking about the priesthood and religious community of
Jesus’ day, in context with verse 21?
Verses 17-22, “But those who trust in idols, who say
to images,
‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame. ‘Hear, you deaf; look you blind,
and see! Who is blind but
my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who
is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the
Lord? You have seen many things, but have paid
no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.’ [vs 21] It
pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great
and glorious. [KJV, “The
Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake; he will magnify the
law, and make it honourable.”] But
this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or
hidden away in prisons. They
have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made
loot, with no one to say, ‘Send them back.’
Verses 23-25 could
refer to
Verses 23-25, “Which of you will listen to this or
pay close attention in time to come? Who
handed Jacob over to become loot, and
Isaiah 43
Isaiah 43:1-8, 2nd Coming,
regathering of
Isaiah 43:1-8, “But now, this is what the Lord says—he
who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O
Who is God? Which
of them foretold this and proclaimed the former things?…Verses 9-13
Verses
9-13, “All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which
of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witness to prove
they were right, so that others may hear and say, ‘It is
true.’ ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares
the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you
may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before
me no god was formed, nor will there be
one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from
me there is no savior. I
have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign
god among you. You are my witnesses,’ declares
the Lord, ‘that I am God. Yes,
and from ancient days I am he. No
one can deliver out of my hand. When
I act, who can reverse it?’”
See, I am doing
a new thing! I am making
a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland…to give
drink to my people, my chosen…Verses 14-21
Verses 14-21, “This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of
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