Read Isaiah 2
Transition:
Isaiah means “The Lord is Salvation”
In Hebrew it is very similar to the names of Joshua, Elisha, and Jesus
Isaiah is quoted 65 times in the NT. More than any other prophet
He is the son of Amoz who was a scribe and is thought to be the brother of King Amaziah
This would explain Isaiah’s easy access to royal family
There is no comparison to Isaiah in the OT when it comes to his intellect and talents
The Apostle Paul would be the best NT comparison when it comes to education and writing
The two prophets who were around when Isaiah ministered were Hosea & Micah
The richness of his words and the depth of a Pre-incarnate Jesus are unparalleled
If you want to know about what God intended for Jesus read Isaiah
To help you understand how to do this it best to understand what God is trying to do in this book
It is said that the first 39 chapters are Judgement and the the last 27 are the Salvation
Or to say it better the first half is the conviction and comfort
That said throughout the book we see some of the richest scripture in the Bible
Is 6:1-3 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And of course we see some of the most well known Scripture
Is 53:4-6 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
One of the stated Goal of this book is simple: “To Set the Captives Free and To Bring Healing for the Holy Spirit to Break Forth.”
This prophecy (continuing on through Isaiah 4) is directed towards the southern kingdom Judah and its capital Jerusalem.
Typically Isaiah brings the conviction first and then the comfort, but today he reverses it
Power of Hope vs. 2-5
The Hope vs. 2-4
Isaiah 2:1-3 is repeated in Micah 4:1-3.
Since Isaiah and Micah were contemporary prophets, it isn’t surprising that the same Spirit of the LORD could give these two prophets the same word, to establish and emphasize His word
In the latter days: In context, the term latter days refers to the “time of the Messiah,” when the Anointed of the LORD reigns over the earth.
This speaks of the time many refer to as the millennium, the thousand-year reign of Jesus on this earth
Isaiah 2:1-5 is a prophecy about the Millennial reign
It is part of end times prophecy in what we call eschatology
Much is made about the rapture, tribulation, and new heaven but we don’t here a lot about the millennial reign
It is a 1000 year period between the Tribulation and Heaven
Jesus will come down to earth and rule from Jerusalem
Isaiah 11:4-9 gives us a picture of the millennium
The angel Gabriel told Mary about this
Luke 1:32-33 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Rev 2:1-3 Tells us Satan is thrown into the bottomless pit and Jesus rules with a peaceful reign
Isaiah also refers to a mountain
Jerusalem actually sits between seven mountains, They are 1300 ft above sea level
The mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it:
During the millennium, Israel will be the “superpower” of the world.
It will be the leading nation in all the earth, and the center of Israel will be the mountain of the LORD’s house
The Temple Mount will be the “capital” of the government of the Messiah.
All nations shall flow to the “capital” of the government of Jesus.
During the millennium, the citizens of earth will acknowledge and submit to the Lordship of Jesus.
It will be a time of perfectly administrated enforced righteousness on this earth.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks:
During the reign of the Messiah, there will be no more war.
There will still be conflicts between nations and individuals, but they will be justly and decisively resolved by the Messiah and those who reign with Him
(He shall judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people).
It isn’t the reign of the Messiah itself that will change the heart of man.
Citizens of earth will still need to trust in Jesus and His work on their behalf for their personal salvation during the millennium.
But war and armed conflict will not be tolerated.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore:
It is important to see that this is not the peace of capitulation.
This is the peace of enforced righteousness.
There is no more war, and no more need for swords and spears, so why not make them into plowshares and pruning hooks?
But there is no more war because there is a new ruler on earth, Jesus Christ.
Psalm 2:9 tells us what the Messiah will do to the disobedient in that day: You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.
After the thousand years will come the judgment seat of Christ and then the new Jerusalem
So we can take hope that Christ is going to return to rule over the world in peace
But do you know that you have that same peace in your heart right now?
The Transforming Power vs. 5
Vs. 3 Come, let us go to the mountain of the LORD, He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths:
After painting the picture of the glory of the Messiah’s reign, Isaiah then challenges Judah (house of Jacob) to live in the Messiah’s reign right now.
He is calling us up to the mountain spiritually right now
Coming Up to the Mountain
My family had a mountain top experience this week
After the baptism last Sunday we took off towards Forest Home family camp
As many of you saw at 4pm they received 3 inches of rain in one hour
It caused mudslides, broke a water main, and stranded some 500 kids at the camp
We holed up in a hotel room in Ontario overnight and tried to figure out what to do
We checked into every possibility, vacation rentals, Cruises to Mexico, going back home
Nothing panned out or felt right… so we prayed
With the help of the Ekstrums we were able to find openings for two families at a Calvary Chapel family camp in Lake Arrowhead
We were unsure and we debated back and forth
Interestingly Pastor Mark Galvan from CC Lompoc was up at that camp
He got me in touch with the leader of the camp who told us we were welcome
So we headed up the mountain to the camp and as soon as we were there God made it plainly clear that this is what he had intended for us all along
It was a week full of God's Word, great fellowship, and a time of the Holy Spirit really speaking to us over and over again
We had plans in our mind but all along God had intended for us to go there
He just needed to get us down there and remove all the options to get us up the mountain
Cool story was that two families had to cancel at the last second which opened up space
Going up to the mountain is a symbol of coming up to Jesus
We don’t need to physically go up to a mountain to experience it
Vs. 5 Let us walk in the light of the Lord
Isaiah is metaphorically calling us up to Jesus by telling us to walk with him daily
To walk in the light of the LORD means to order your life after God’s truth and God’s ways.
The ultimate reign of the Messiah may be many years away, but Jesus can reign in our lives, in our minds, and in our hearts right now.
We don’t have to wait for the enforced righteousness of the millennium to have the blessing of Jesus’ righteousness in our lives right now.
To walk in the light of the LORD means you enjoy the blessings of the Messiah’s reign now.
You don’t have to live a dark, depressing, discouraged Christian life.
You can walk in the light of the LORD!
What is it that gets you down, that brings darkness into your life?
What can it compare to the light of the LORD?
Is it the darkness of spiritual attack, of unfaithful friends, of bad circumstances, of shame, of guilt, of anything greater than the light of the LORD? We think not!
What prevents us from walking in the light?
Vs. 6-9 gives us three answers
Power of Humility vs. 6-22
The Humility vs. 6-21
I told you that Isaiah switches up his method here by starting with comfort
Now he gets to the conviction and why we aren't feeling the warmth of the light
He hits on three areas that prevent peace in our life
vs. 6-9 Foreign Gods, Money, and Idols
They are filled with eastern ways … they are soothsayers like the Philistines … they are pleased with the children of foreigners:
Judah had allowed the false gods of foreigners to captivate their attention.
Their land is also full of silver and gold:
Judah had allowed the false gods of wealth and materialism to captivate their attention.
Because Judah was in a time of economic prosperity (full of silver and gold … no end to their treasures … full of horses … no end to their chariots), they were far more prone to economic idolatry.
This was not an anti-wealth statement.
God is not against wealth and riches, and may choose to bless some with significant resources.
This is a rebuke of the love of riches, and any trust in wealth.
Their land is also full of idols:
Judah had allowed idols to captivate their attention.
People bow down, and each man humbles himself:
There was plenty of worship (bow down) in Judah, and plenty of people humbling themselves.
They were simply worshipping the wrong things, and humbling themselves before the wrong things!
We know how to bow down, we know how to humble ourselves; we just don’t find it easy to direct it properly towards the LORD.
We are more than happy to bow down and humble ourselves for something of our choosing, but often find it difficult to do it for the LORD.
Diagnostic tools:
1. Find our identity and peace in being in control when faced with uncertainty
2. Find Trust in approval if greatest nightmare is rejection
3. Derive peace from comfort if nightmare is stress or demands
4. Find identity in Pride and position if greatest nightmare is humiliation
The application is sobering:
Therefore do not forgive them.
Their worship of foreign gods, of riches, and of idols was sincere.
It may have been ennobling or helpful to society. But it rejected the LORD God, and was therefore unforgivable.
Transforming Power vs. 22
How do we break this?
Vs. 22 Stop Regarding Man
NIV says stop trusting in mere humans
