ONE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH
by Don Robson
The study of prophecy is truly fascinating and we must
understand its purpose to benefit from it as God intended. First,
I may say what it is not; it is not to enable us to predict
future events. Jesus clarifies the issue in John 13:19, "Now I
tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may
believe that I am He." Yes, through the prophets God revealed His
plans so that later, when the events forecasted happen, our faith
is strengthened and we can believe the promises of God....
(Wellll....true for one side of prophecy, but prophecy IS given
so we can know the large coming events of the future, see
Jeremiah 30 and why God had prophecy written down - Keith Hunt)
Isaiah 40, which .... foretells the work of John the Baptist. But
it does not stop there; God revealed to Isaiah the events to
follow at the end of the age, some twenty-six hundred years
beyond Isaiah's lifetime! I would like to look at the prophecy in
more detail, contained in Isaiah chapter 40.
Verse 1) opens with, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. 2) Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry
unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is
pardoned: for she hath received at the Lord's hand double for all
her sins." This part of the prophecy refers to a distant future,
since the city was destroyed by the emperor Titus after the
crucifixion; this occurred about six hundred years after the life
of Isaiah.
Then, comes the prophecy regarding John the Baptist.
Verse 3) "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for
our God." So, we have the prophecy. What of the event foretold?
Look to Mark 1:2-4, "As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I
send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare Thy way
before Thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. John did baptize
in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins"
And then, Isaiah leaps two centuries to the end of the age
with the following: verses 4 and 5, "Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE
IT TOGETHER: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Jesus
amplifies this declaration in Matthew 24:27 and 30, "For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west:
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. And then shall
appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall ALL
the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." So
again, here is the confirmation of the prophecy in that Jesus
states that He is coming in glory and that ALL men shall see it.
Verse 10) Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand and His
Arm shall rule for him: Be hold, His reward is with Him and His
work before Him." The arm of God is mentioned many times in
scripture and in today's language, we would refer to Jesus as His
right hand man. Yes, it says that Jesus, his right arm and strong
hand Shall RULE FOR HIM! The apostle Paul speaks of this coming
event in 1st Corinthians 15: 24 and 28, "Then cometh the end when
He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;
when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son
also Himself be subject to Him that put all things under Him,
that God may be all in all." Isaiah's declaration that, "His
reward is with Him and His work before Him" is confirmed by Jesus
in His book of Revelation 22:12, "And, behold, I come quickly;
and my reward is with Me, to give to every man according as his
work shall be." So, we can look forward to working with Jesus in
His kingdom to accomplish His purpose, armed with the tools and
knowledge to perform the tasks assigned. Hallelujah!
In verse 11) we find these words, "He shall feed His flock
like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and
carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are
with young." In Genesis 49:10, Jacob, blessing his son Judah,
proclaims, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him
shall the gathering. of the people be." A further reference is
found in a discourse of Jesus recorded in Matthew 24:31, "And He
shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they
shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end
of heaven to the other." Yes, Jesus will gather His people into
His kingdom where they will reign with Him as kings and priests.
And at that time all iniquity will be removed from the kingdom
and it shall not be defiled by any sin.
I find it fascinating that the prophecy of Isaiah has
verification in the New Testament and that the story told by the
Bible is consistent whether told twenty-six hundred years ago or
in this time we are in. I would like to give the last word on
this subject to St.Peter, who in his second letter, chapter 1:19-
21, declares, "we have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye
do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark
place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts:
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any
private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by
the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost."
......
Note:
Prophecy was written down. For there is often a DUALITY to
prophecy, a once fulfilled, but yet another fulfilment at the end
of this age. Again see Jeremiah 30, the first number of verses.
And yes some prophecy did not even have a first fulfilment but is
for the last days of this age; i.e. Isaiah 11.
There is many lessons in prophecy, but make no mistake about it,
prophecy is given so we can know the large events yet to come on
this earth. The very first words of the book of Revelation prove
that point in no uncertain way.
The expounding of all the prophetic books of the Bible I have put
together in one large book called "The Prophets For Today" - it
should be off the press by January 2011 and obtainable from many
places, such as Amazon.com
Keith Hunt
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