Isaiah’s name, “the Lord has saved”, reiterates the only hope of the world today – salvation through Christ.
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Snapshot
- Background
- Fall of man
- Judgement
- Redemption
- The Future
- Prophecies Fulfilled
- Discussion
Isaiah – Introduction
- Isaiah is the first of the four “Major prophets”.
- His ministry went through the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, ended in Manasseh’s reign
- Major prophets are named due to extensive content.
- Isaiah is not structured and chronological
Isaiah - Introduction
- Key word: Salvation
- Messianic prophecies: more than any other O.T. writer – 700 years before Christ!
- Quoted in N.T. far more than any other prophet – 21 times
- Covers a very vast plethora of topics such as fall of Lucifer, judgment, redemption, Christ’s ministry, eternal death, millenial kingdom, eternal kingdom, prophetic fulfilment, etc.
Timeline of the Prophets
Chapter Summaries – not chronological
- 1-5. Degeneration and redemption
- 2 Touches on millenium
- 6 – Holy God, purification of Isaiah, judgment on Ephraim
- 7 – Jesus’ birth, desolation of Israel
- 9 – Jesus’ birth and millenial rule one after another vs. 6,7
- 11 – Millienial rule
- 13-26 judgment on Israel’s enemies.
- 14 Fall of Lucifer
- 32,42 – Israel reign, light to nations – millenial rule.
- 52 – Jesus suffering, rules
- 65 – New heaven and earth.
- 66 – New heaven and earth.
Isaiah’s Call
Discover Isaiah 6 by reading and asking questions.
- What could the significance of the burning coal in fire touching Isaiah’s lips be?
- Why does God harden people’s hearts?
- How long was Israel’s hearts hardened? Why is Jesus (in Isa 8:14) a stumbling block to Israel? Isa 6, Romans 11:25-32, Isa 28:13
A little here, a little there
Ponder on the words below. Is the lack of chronology in this profound book intended to reveal truths only to those who seek them?
Isaiah 28:11 “He will speak to this people
Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is rest..,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“..A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.”
Fall of Lucifer
Isaiah 14:12-15 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! .. For you have said in your heart: ‘I will exalt my throne;.. I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. KJV
Created by God
Here we see a clear acknowledgement by God Himself that He created us and formed us.
Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name,
whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” (KJV)
Separated by Sin
Isaiah 59:1,2 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (NIV)
Lip Service
Isaiah 29:13 “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”(NIV), quoted by Jesus in Mk. 7:6,7
Evangelism
Isaiah 6:8,9 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
Universal Sin
Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (NIV)
Salvation is universal
(Isaiah 56:3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”… 8 The Sovereign Lord declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”,
Judgement
Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Pagan Kings Controlled by God
Isaiah 45:1-5 This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut…, I call you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.” (NIV) Written around 712 B.C., regarding King Cyrus, in power around 536 B.C.)
Christ’s Birth
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel..” (NIV)
This was prophesied around 742 B.C.)
Salvation and Divine Cleansing
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (NIV)
Millenial Rule of Christ
Isaiah 42:4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth.”
Redemption through Christ
Isaiah 53:3-5 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered 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. (NIV)
Power of the Word
Humility
Isaiah 66:2 “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” (NIV)
Eternal Death
Isaiah 66:24 And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched,…“
Prophecies Fulfilled
| Prophecy in Isaiah | Fulfillment |
| Christ’s birth to a virgin – 7:14 | Matt 1:22,23 |
| The rejection of Christ– 8:14 | 1 Peter 2:8; 3:14 |
| The Messiah’s reign – 11:1-11 | Romans 15:12 |
| Christ, the corner-stone– 28:16 | Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6 |
| John the Baptist – 40:3-5 | Matthew 3:3 |
| The Lord’s mission – 42:1-2 | Matthew 12:18-21 |
| A servant of suffering – 53 | John 12:38; Acts 8:32-35; Mt 27:12-14; 8:17; John 1:12 |
| Christ’s ministry– 61:1,2 | Luke 4:18 |
| Christ, born of the family of David – 11:1 | Matthew 1; Luke 3 |
| The Spirit of the Lord on Him – 11:2 | Matthew 3:16 |
| Light will be given to those living in Galilee – 9:1-2 | Matthew 12:14-16 |
| Israel shall regather and prosper | Happening today |
Prophecies Fulfilled: Trees in the Wasteland
Isaiah 41:18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things; .. I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Prophecies Fulfilled The Lord Fights for Israel
Isaiah 63
1… “I, the Lord, speak what is right. I have power to save you.”….
3 “I have walked in the winepress alone, and no one among the nations helped me. I was angry and walked on the nations and crushed them because of my anger.
Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord against whom we have sinned? Isaiah 42:24
Prophecies Fulfilled Israel Born in a Day
Israel, after nearly 2,500 years, was declared a new sovereign state on May 14, 1948.
Isaiah 66:8 “Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labour than she gives birth to her children.“ (NIV)
Prophecies Fulfilled The Lord Fights for Israel
- The Six-Day War took place in June 1967 between June 5th and June 10th. The Israelis defended the war as a preventative military effort to counter ..an impending attack by Arab nations that surrounded Israel.
- The war was against Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt..
- A disaster for the Arab world – four of the strongest Arab nations defeated by just one nation.
- The success must have surprised the Israelis.[2]
Prophecy fulfilled Wealth of the nations [4]
For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. Ch 66:12
Prophecies Fulfilled wealth of the nations
Deuteronomy 33:24 “Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil.
Oil rig at Atlit, erected based on Deut. 33:24 by an American company, Zion Oil & Gas lost millions of dollars. 15 years later, Israel discovered vast natural gas fields 50 miles west of Atlit..[3]
The American company continues to search for oil in Israel
The Millenial Rule
Isaiah 2,11, 42, 60
Kedar and Nebaioth are Ishmael’s first two sons. They will “all” worship Christ!! Hallelujah!!!
Isaiah 60:7 All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,
and I will adorn my glorious temple.
Descendants of Ishmael, father of Muslims, Abraham’s first son
1 Chronicles 1:29 29 These were their descendants:
Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam..
The Millenial Rule
Isaiah 42:11
Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;
let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
let them shout from the mountaintops.
“People of Sela” refer to the Edomites, descendants of Esau, Isaac’s first son. While the nation faced destruction, Esau’s descendants will also worship Christ eventually!!
New Heavens and New Earth
Isaiah 65:22 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days…23 They will not labor in vain..24 Before they call I will answer.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
Discussion
- What are some lessons we learn from the book?
- What are lessons we learn from Israel?
- From Isaiah 55-66, what are some pointers to the future, new heavens and new earth, etc.
- What changes can we expect in the world to come? In earth? In heaven?
- How do we respond?
References
1.David Yun
2.http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/six_day_war_1967.htm
3.Israel Today
4.http://benjaminstudebaker.com/2013/12/10/why-the-palestinians-need-a-mandela/
5.bible.org