B101: Lesson 21

Isaiah

The book of Isaiah is one of the most important books of the Old Testament. Isaiah was a prophet whose public ministry lasted more than sixty years and spanned the reigns of four kings of Judah. During this time, the northern kingdom of Israel was overthrown and taken captive by Assyria. Isaiah lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, and was a statesman who was very involved in the political councils of his day. His writing is full of intense language and symbolism as He seeks to speak the mind of God.

It’s fascinating to note that the book of Isaiah is a miniature of the entire Bible. It has 66 chapters, just as the Bible has 66 books. Chapters 1-39 are very stern and carry a message of law and judgment, just as the Old Testament has 39 books and carries that tone. Chapters 40-66 are very consoling, just as the New Testament has 27 books and gives the message of God’s grace. The book of Isaiah also contains the greatest number of Messianic prophecies of any in the Old Testament. Chapter 53 in particular is breathtaking in the clarity with which it looks ahead to the atoning death of Jesus.

Messianic Prophecies in Isaiah

Repentance for the nations
OT References: Is 2:2-4
NT Fulfillment: Luke 24:47

Hearts are hardened
OT References: Is 6:9-10
NT Fulfillment: Matt 13:14-15; John 12:39-40; Acts 2825-27

Born of a virgin
OT References: Is 7:14
NT Fulfillment: Matt 1:22-23; Luke 1:27-35

A rock of offense
OT References: Is 8:14-15
NT Fulfillment: Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:8

Light out of darkness
OT References: Is 9:1-2
NT Fulfillment: Matt 4:14-16; Luke 2:32

Immanuel, God with us
OT References: Is 7:14; 8:8,10
NT Fulfillment: Matt. 1:21,23; John 14:8-10; 14:19; Col 2:9

Son to be given
OT References: Is 9:6
NT Fulfillment: John 3:16

Government on His shoulders
OT References: Is 9:6
NT Fulfillment: Matt 28:18; 1 Cor 15:24-25

Spirit of the Lord on Him
OT References: Is 11:2, 42:1
NT Fulfillment: Matt 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32, 3:34

Full of wisdom and power
OT References: Is 11:1-10
NT Fulfillment: Rom. 15:12; 1 Cor 1:30; Eph 1:17; Col 2:3

Reigning in mercy
OT References: Is 16:4-5
NT Fulfillment: Luke 1:31-33

Key of David
OT References: Is 22:21-25
NT Fulfillment: Rev 3:7

Death swallowed up in victory
OT References: Is 25:6-12
NT Fulfillment: 1 Cor 15:54

A stone in Zion
OT References: Is 28:16
NT Fulfillment: Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6

The deaf hear, the blind see
OT References: Is 29:18-19
NT Fulfillment: Heb. 10:5-9

Healing for the needy
OT References: Is 35:4-10
NT Fulfillment: Matt 9:30; 11:5; 12:22; 20:34; 21:14; Mark 7:31-35; John 9:1-7

Make ready the way of the Lord
OT References: Is 40:3-5
NT Fulfillment: Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-5; John 1:23

The Shepherd tends His sheep
OT References: Is 40:10-11
NT Fulfillment: John 10:11; Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 2:25

The meek servant
OT References: Is 42:1-4
NT Fulfillment: Matt 12:17-21; Phil 2:7

A light to the Gentiles
OT References: Is 49:6
NT Fulfillment: Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47; 26:23

Scourged and spat upon
OT References: Is 50:6
NT Fulfillment: Matt 26:27; 27:26, 30; Mark 14:65; 15:15, 19; Luke 22:63-65; John 19:1

Rejected and insulted
OT References: Is 53:3
NT Fulfillment: Matt 27:1-2, 12-14, 39; Luke 18:31-33; John 1:10-11

Suffered vicariously
OT References: Is 53:4-5
NT Fulfillment: Matt 8:17; Mark 15:3-4, 27-28; Luke 23:1-25, 32-34

Pierced for our transgressions
OT References: Is 53:5
NT Fulfillment: Rom 4:25; 5:6,8; 1 Cor 15:3; 2 Cor 5:21

Lamb slaughtered for us
OT References: Is 53:7
NT Fulfillment: John 1:29,36; Acts 8:28-35; 1 Pet 1:19; Rev 5:6; 13:8

Silent when accused
OT References: Is 53:7
NT Fulfillment: Matt 26:63; 27:12,14; Mark 14:61; 15:5; Luke 23:9; John 19:9

Buried with the rich
OT References: Is 53:9
NT Fulfillment: Matt 27:57-60

Bear iniquities and give forgiveness
OT References: Is 53:11
NT Fulfillment: Acts 10:43; 13:38-39; 1 Cor 15:3; Eph 1:7; 1 Pet 2:21-25; 1 Jn 1:7,9

Crucified with transgressors
OT References: Is 53:12
NT Fulfillment: Mark 15:27-28; Luke 22:37

Calling of gentiles
OT References: Is 55:4-5
NT Fulfillment: Rom 9:25-26; Rev 1:5

Deliverer out of Zion
OT References: Is 59:16-20
NT Fulfillment: Rom 11:26-27

Nations walk in the light
OT References: Is 60:1-3
NT Fulfillment: Luke 2:32

Anointed to preach liberty
OT References: Is 61:1-3
NT Fulfillment: Luke 4:17-19; Acts 10:38

Called by a new name
OT References: Is 62:1-2
NT Fulfillment: Rev 2:17; 3:12

The King cometh
OT References: Is 62:11
NT Fulfillment: Matt 21:5; Rev 22:12

A vesture dipped in blood
OT References: Is 63:1-3
NT Fulfillment: Rev 19:13

Afflicted with the afflicted
OT References: Is 63:8-9
NT Fulfillment: Matt 25:34-40

New heavens and a new earth
OT References: Is 65:17-25
NT Fulfillment: 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1

Another Exodus by David Parsons

This article appears as a special to The Jerusalem Post Christian Edition, April 2006 issue. David Parsons is Media Director for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and contributing editor of The Jerusalem Post Christian Edition.

With the arrival of spring, the Jewish people will be once again observing the Feast of Passover as they have been faithfully doing for 3,500 years, whether in good times or bad. Israel's mighty deliverance from bondage in Egypt has so shaped their identity and faith, the Exodus remains an unforgettable experience to this day.

Yet consider these words from the prophet Jeremiah:"Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "that it shall no more be said, 'The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,' but, 'The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.' For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers." (Jeremiah 16:14-18) In other words, God promised that one day there would be such an amazing Israelite return to their ancient homeland from all corners of the world that it would eclipse in magnitude the memory of the Exodus.

We have been privileged in modern times to see that promise coming to pass before our very eyes. No other people on earth have ever been exiled from their homeland, only to return and be re-established as a nation. Yet this has happened to Israel not just once but twice in history, and what makes it even more amazing is that the Bible actually tells us all this is going to happen ahead of time. Indeed, we can look upon it and say "the Lord lives..."

Nonetheless, many Christians do not want to hear anything about God still being faithful to the Jews. They cling to Replacement theology, an erroneous doctrine that holds Israel was exiled and accursed forever for rejecting and crucifying Jesus, and 'replaced' by the Church as God's redemptive agent in the world. This teaching has caused untold harm to the Jews over the centuries and persists to this day. One of the favorite Scriptures cited by the Replacement camp to prove their point reads: "The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits." (Matthew 21:43)

To truly understand what Jesus meant by this saying will lead us to the next major feast on the Hebrew calendar - Pentecost. In context, Jesus was speaking to those who controlled Temple worship and - drawing from the Hebrew prophets - he warned that the "abominations" being committed at the Temple would soon lead to its destruction (see Ezekiel 5:11). "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!" he cautioned in Matthew 23:38. Again in Luke 19:46, he upset the Temple priests by saying, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a House of Prayer,' but you have turned it into a 'den of thieves.'" The latter phrase comes from Jeremiah 7:11, which harkens back to God's destruction of the Tabernacle at Shiloh due to the thievery of Eli's sons (I Samuel 4). The priests instantly knew that Jesus had just invoked a divine judgment on their Temple livelihood.

Thus we see that Jesus gave clear warning that the Temple would be destroyed due to the sins of the priesthood, and that the 'kingdom of God ' - the unmistakable presence of God that had rested there - would be lifted. But what happened to that kingdom, that divine presence?

The second chapter of Acts records that it was then entrusted to a small band of 120 Jewish followers of Jesus when the Holy Spirit fell on them on the Day of Pentecost. The Church was born that day, but it was not made up of another "people" - they were still Jews, still Israelites and sons of the covenants. The fact that within 200 years the Church was largely Gentile is not a testament that the Kingdom was ripped from the Jews forever. Rather, it is a testimony to the effectiveness and zeal of the original Jewish Apostles in preaching the Gospel to all nations.

God intended the Church to be an ever widening 'movement' that would not replace Israel, but enlarge her. Gentiles were being added or "grafted into" the existing olive tree of Israel, according to Paul in Romans 11:17-21; while in Ephesians 2:11-22 we who were once "excluded from the commonwealth of Israel" are being "brought near" or included through Christ, now "fellow citizens... in God's household."

No doubt, within natural Israel many "branches" (individuals) have been "cut off" down through the ages because of unbelief, but the olive tree itself remains, as does the "everlasting" covenant that God made with Abraham and his seed by solemn oath (Hebrews 6:13-18). Unlike the Mosaic sacrifices referenced in Hebrews 10:9, the Abrahamic covenant - being God's decision to bring salvation to the world through Israel - was never abolished. In this regard, Romans 3:2 tells us the "unbelief" of some "will not nullify the faithfulness of God" to His covenant promises to Israel, while in II Timothy 2:13 Paul further says of his fellow Israelites, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself."

Whether Replacement adherents realize it or not, we are in the midst of an incredible deliverance for Israel as unforgettable as the Exodus. God has promised to free His ancient people from exile and unbelief, and to restore them to their land and to Himself. This promised national redemption in the fullness of time involves a most dynamic return of the Kingdom of God back to the Temple courts (see Joel 2; Zechariah 4; Revelation 11). One day, we will all be able to look back at this and say, "the Lord lives."

Bible 101: Lesson 20

The Song of Solomon

Also known as the Song of Songs, this book of the Bible shows that God is not a prude. It is a work of erotic poetry that describes the delight of a young couple for each other. It may seem strange that such an explicit book is found in the Bible, but it shows that sexuality is truly a gift from God to be openly enjoyed when in the proper context of marriage.

It is also a picture of everything that God intended marriage to be, and the reason why it is historically called “holy”. In the Song there is no separation between love and sex – the two are intermingled. The union of husband and wife was blessed and called “very good” back in Genesis, and here we get an insider’s glimpse into the erotic intimacy between them. There is no hint of shame in the sexuality of either the man or the woman. They are free to enjoy their union in the security of knowing that their love is exclusive.

There are other levels at which this book has also been understood through the ages. The Jews saw it as an allegory of God’s love for His chosen people. Christians have read it as a picture of Christ’s love for the Church. On the spiritual plane, it is a picture of a passionate Divine lover and the object of His love – those of us who freely return it. “God is love” we are told by the Apostle John, and the Song of Solomon gives us a glimpse into the intensity of that Divine passion.

Contains no Messianic prophecies.

RX For Healing the Church

A friend just forwarded me this excellent reflection from Charisma Magazine Online's J. Lee Grady. He mentions several key changes he believes Pentecostal churches need to make 100 years after the famous Azusa Street outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Here are several that I especially agree with.

1. A shift from buildings to the organic church.
2. A shift from racism to reconciliation.
3. A shift from male-dominated to egalitarian.
4. A shift from hidden sin to healthy holiness.

In my opinion, the sooner the church understands these things, the better. When the church has a wrong view of these important issues, I contend that they also have a wrong view of who God is. So they minister to people through a distorted image of God and they end up wounding the very sheep they are sent to save. They also inflict untold harm on themselves, then wonder why they battle depression and despair.

Read J. Lee Grady's article.

Living as the Beloved

Here is food for thought from Henry Nouwen's book, The Life of the Beloved. This quote is taken from the Chapter, "Living as the Beloved".

Think of yourself as having been sent into the world...a way of seeing yourself that is possible if you truly believe that you were loved before the world began...a perception of yourself that calls for a true leap of faith! As long as you live in the world, yielding to its enormous pressures to prove to yourself and to others that you are somebody...your life can be scarcely more than a long struggle for survival. If, however, you really want to live in the world, you cannot look to the world itself as the source of that life...because the world is not the source even of its own life, let alone yours.

Everything changes radically from the moment you know yourself as being sent into this world. Times and spaces, people and events, art and literature, history and science, they all cease to be opaque and become transparent, pointing far beyond themselves to the place from where you come and to where you will return. It is very hard for me to explain to you this radical change...from living life as a painful test to prove that you deserve to be loved, to living it as an unceasing "Yes" to the truth of that Belovedness.

The unfathomable mystery of God is that God is a Lover who wants to be loved. The one who created us is waiting for our response to the love that gave us our being. God not only says: "You are my beloved." God also asks: "Do you love me?" and offers us countless chances to say "Yes". That is the spiritual life: the chance to say "Yes" to our inner truth. The spiritual life, thus understood, radically changes everything.

Once you are able to catch a glimpse of this spiritual vision, you can see how the many distinctions that are so central in our daily living lose their meaning. When joy and pain are both opportunities to say "Yes" to our divine childhood, then they are more alike than they are different. When the experience of being awarded a prize and the experience of being found lacking in excellence both offer us a chance to claim our true identity as the "Beloved" of God, these experiences are more similar than they are different. When feeling lonely and feeling at home both hold a call to discover more fully who the God is whose children we are, these feelings are more united than they are distinct. When, finally, both living and dying bring us closer to the full realization of our spiritual selfhood, they are not the great opposites the world would have us believe; they are, instead, two sides of the same mystery of God's love. Living the spiritual life means living life as one unified reality. The forces of darkness are the forces that split, divide and set in opposition. The forces of light unite. Literally, the word "diabolic" means dividing. The demon divides; the Spirit unites.

Copyright 1992 by Henri J.M. Nouwen