The Visions of IsaiahChapter 1

The Holy One of Israel1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.   Isaiah ministered in the days of four different Kings of Judah and that was during Israel’s fourth course of judgment as mentioned in Leviticus 26:28. Uzziah began his reign way before Isaiah first began to receive his visions of Judah and Jerusalem and he outlived the next three kings as well. Uzziah began to reign in 810 BC and Hezekiah ended his fourteen-year reign 112 years later so it is obvious that Isaiah didn’t prophecy the whole 52 years that Uzziah reigned. Uzziah is also called Azariah in the Bible. The time of Isaiah is recorded in 2 Chronicles chapters 26-32. This should be read by all students of the word of God to better understand this book of Isaiah in its proper context.2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The LORD through Isaiah begins the same place as Moses ends his message to the children of Israel with a command for them to give ear. Notice in both this verse and the one spoken of by Moses there is first a command to those in the heavens to hear before a command is given to those of the earth to give ear. Deuteronomy 32:1-4 This should remind you of Genesis 1:1 where we are told by the LORD through Moses that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Two places that have since been defiled by the prince of the power of the air, the god of this world, the devil. God has two separate programs to reclaim what was lost when Lucifer rebelled in the heavens and led a third of the angelic host to follow him and he has a plan to reclaim everything that was lost when Adam sinned in the garden and lost dominion of the earth to the devil. The one program dealing with the reclaiming of the earth is referred to by many as the prophecy program and this deals with God’s plan through a nation (Israel) to set up a kingdom led by the Messiah of Israel. This program has been spoken and written about by the prophets since the world began: Luke 3:70 and Acts 3:19-21 The Mystery Program is that which has been kept secret since the world began and revealed after the cross to the Apostle Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles. This will be spoken about in greater detail in the chapters to come but it was not the subject of Israel’s Prophecy Program because it is called “the unsearchable riches of Christ” and it was not known by anyone because it was kept a secret by God, hid in himself until he chose the perfect time to reveal it after the resurrection of Christ which defeated Satan and established a new entity that is not a Jew nor a Gentile but the one new man. The LORD nourished and brought up the children of Israel (Jacob) and blessed her since the day he called Abram out of Ur of Chaldees. He nourished them in Egypt through allowing Joseph to become second unto Pharaoh when he gave them the land of Goshen to dwell in and he blessed them abundantly when they were in the land as long as they would hearken unto his word and walk in his ways. Genesis 45:11 and 50:213 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone

away backward. It is one thing for Israel to make the LORD angry by their sin, but there were always consequences for their provoking the LORD to anger. Five courses of chastisement are listed in Leviticus 26:14-46 and in each of the first four courses Israel could repent and be restored but when they had provoked the LORD for the fifth time there was only dispersion and captivity to experience until Israel had served the sentence set by the LORD. That is where Israel found herself as Babylon was approaching to take her away into captivity. It is also where they found themselves when the Messiah showed up in the flesh, they did not know their maker and provider. They had gone away backward. This is where the term “backsliding” comes from. It is a term associated with Israel, not the body of Christ.5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. Isaiah 53:11 For the transgressions of my people was he stricken.6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.   This sounds just like the fourth and fifth courses of judgment listed in Leviticus 26:31-34. Even though Israel and Judah had wounds and bruises from the lowest herdsman to the high priest and king yet he was wounded for their transgressions and bruised for their iniquities. Isaiah 53:58 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.   The title of the daughter of Zion is used by Isaiah and it is a title that belongs to the City of Jerusalem herself. Sometimes she is called the virgin daughter of Zion, but not in this case. She has played the harlot and is now suffering for it. In 2 Kings 19:35 God sent an angel to kill 185,000 soldiers from the Assyrian army that were coming to fight with her but God fought for her. Not this time. Paul quotes Isaiah’s vision in Romans 9:27-29 when he explains in that parenthetical portion of scripture dealing with Israel’s diminishing and fall, (Romans 9-11) that Israel had come to the point of becoming Loammi (not my people Hosea 1:9), because of their continual choosing to walk contrary unto God.10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. Jerusalem is called Sodom spiritually in scripture for not hearkening unto the commandments of the LORD. Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Here the LORD speaks to the leaders of Judah and calls them the rulers of Sodom,

what a rebuke!

12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.  14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.  15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.   It was the LORD that required all in Israel to appear before him to offer up sacrifices and the priests to offer oblations and incense and to call assemblies and they were to be ordinances forever for Israel but that was when Israel and Judah were at least trying to keep the LORD’s word but now they were just going through the motions and the LORD was sick of it and would not hear their prayers to him.

Psalm 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

How terrible it was that the very sacrifices that were pictures or types of the Messiah who would become the lamb of God to take away the sin of the world had now become corrupted sacrifices by wicked priests all done for show now. What kind of picture were they portraying? God would no longer stand for this.

16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;  17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. The LORD, through Isaiah, is telling Judah to remember the Covenant they made with him at Mount Sinai and to repent and to return to him!

Exodus 22:22  Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:  20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.  

We may give in when someone does wrong by us over and over again and the person never learns a lesson because of our weakness to do the right thing but the LORD always does what is best in Israel’s interest even when Israel like a rebellious child doesn’t like the LORD’s chastening. Israel needed only to be willing and obedient to eat of the good of the land but they refused an rebelled and they were eventually taken captive for it.21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. 22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.Exodus 23:8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

The Purging in the time of Jacob’s Trouble

24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:  25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:   Israel will be purged of her dross and have all her tin taken away from her in the fires of the Tribulation Period, the time of Jacob’s Trouble. The dross and tin are all the impurities that are in the silver. When they are removed nothing remains but what God had originally intended, pure silver.26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. 27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.   This speaks of Israel in her rest in the long-awaited kingdom with the Messiah, Israel’s King sitting on his throne in Jerusalem ruling with a rod of iron. Daniel 9:27 speaks about a day when everlasting righteousness will be brought in. Zion will be redeemed in the fires of the Tribulation Period.28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. 31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them. Do you remember anywhere in the Bible where the fire is not quenched? It is where the rich man went and was in torment while Lazarus was across the gulf in Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise. The LORD was speaking of the abode of the unjust dead in a place of torment called Hell. That part of Hell will one day be cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity where the Devil, the Beast and the False Prophet will be forever. Revelation 20:10 

Chapter 2Shaking terribly the Earth

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. Notice that Isaiah speaks of not just a judgment in the immediate future but he also speaks of the last days when Jerusalem shall be exalted above all cities of the world. The prophet Micah also says the exact same thing in his book: Micah 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

It is also said in numerous scriptures that all the mountains of the Earth shall be made low and Zion shall be exalted above all others.3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways,

and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Obviously, this is speaking of the thousand-year millennial reign of Christ where he rules with a rod of iron over the nations. The mountain of the LORD will have the house of prayer upon it for all nations, not just Israel. The United Nations has this very verse on the UN building as if mere man or men can do this by themselves. God however will do this without our help.5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. 6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. 7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: 8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. 10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.   It seems like this could never happen in this modern age we live in but people are doing it all the time by their worshipping their careers over their Creator. They amass great wealth and possessions and one day he will take that all away. Revelation 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: 13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. 17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish. 19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.   Earthquakes like the world has never seen will bring down all the “great”works of men’s hands. Skyscrapers, Bridges you name it, all will be turned to rubble in the great and notable day of the LORD.20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Isaiah 3:13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. This time he rises to judge because he is finished pleading with Israel and Judah.  

Chapter 3The LORD standeth up to plead,

1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, 2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, 3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. 4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. The LORD will take away their food and water and humble haughty Israel in every way possible to bring them to their knees so hopefully some will cry out unto him. Sadly, many will not and spend an eternity in the Lake of Fire.6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: 7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. 9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them, they are proud of their sin as the Sodomites are and they will want to shove it in your face and force you to accept their perverse lifestyle. Stephen in Acts chapter seven saw the LORD standing as he was being stoned by the crooked leaders of Israel in his day and the LORD was not standing to plead with Israel at that time, he was standing ready to judge Israel which is why all of them began to knash on him with their teeth and stop their ears because Stephen was claiming Jesus was the LORD who was standing up against them on that day and that is exactly what was going on at that moment. Please read our study on the book of Acts for more on this.14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. They have eaten up the vineyard indeed. To understand just what is meant by this statement you need to read chapter six where a song is sung by Isaiah about the LORD’s vineyard which he planted in a very fruitful hill. The rich in Israel have oppressed the poor. They have literally squeezed the life out of the vineyard (the poor in Israel) like a vinedresser presses the juice out of the grapes.

15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.  16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:  17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.  18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,  19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,  20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, 21 The rings, and nose jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. 24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. 25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.  26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground. Not much has changed even today because this scripture still makes sense to us even now. The women will be wearing the same outward adornments that they are wearing now. The only difference is that we live in the dispensation of grace and Israel will once again be at the forefront of God’s dealings with mankind and the time for fancy clothes will be long sense passed. It will be a time for repentance and obedience to the two witnesses and the 144,000 witnesses as they preach the gospel of the kingdom. It will be a time of enduring unto the end not one of getting all dolled up. The only ones that will be able to afford such clothing and accessories will those who have taken the mark of beast.

Chapter 4The Branch

Isaiah 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.     In days of old if a person did not have children because she was pursuing her own life apart from God and people would reproach them for their selfishness. God has command us to be fruitful and multiply but many today are seeking their own and not the things that be of God. Isaiah is talking about what conditions will be like for Israeli women “in the last days” when many of the Israeli men will have been killed by invading armies and they will have seven women to every man. That is how desperate of times it will be until the Messiah reveals himself and Israel is restored far beyond anything it could have ever imagined during even the days of King David or Solomon’s reign. There is no promise here of seven virgins to every faithful Jewish man as Islam offers to its males. Image how the women in Islam must feel when they have to hear that their husband is going to get a bunch of virgins one day. Yeah, Islam doesn’t oppress women. Not in the least.2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Jesus is the Branch of the LORD mentioned numerous times in the scriptures and he comes beautiful and glorious and he will supply all that are escaped of Israel. Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 33:15, 23:5, Zech 3:8, 6:12.3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: Those left in Zion after those days will enter into their long-awaited Kingdom and the New Covenant shall be written on their hearts instead of on cold hard stone tablets as the first Covenant was and they shall know to choose good and refuse evil. Those written among the living are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the earth. This book is mentioned specifically seven times in the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ and it is part of Israel’s Prophecy Program. Rev 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 15, 21:27, and 22:19. Paul mentions it only once and it is when he refers to some Kingdom Saints who are helping him in his ministry among the Gentiles. Paul had many Kingdom Saints assisting him in his ministry, Barnabas, Silas, John Mark, and Luke just to name a few.Philippians 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.   The time of Jacob’s Trouble will be a furnace of refining and Israel shall pass through the fire and the fearful and the unbelieving shall be purged from its midst in that terrible day of Judgment. The spirit of Judgment is also mentioned in Isaiah 28:6 as well and it is clear that it is also in reference to the end of the time of Jacob’s Trouble and the onset of their glorious kingdom.5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.   What a glorious reminder to those in Israel of God’s former protection of the children of Israel while they wandered in the wilderness awaiting to enter the Promised Land. This reminder however will be just that, a reminder, for this verse speaks of a time when they will be in the land and it will never again be taken from them. The Tabernacle of David (the Temple) also known as Solomon’s Temple, will be rebuilt and it will be a house of prayer for all nations, it will be a shade by day and comfort all who come to it to learn God’s word.

Chapter 5A Vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. First of all, we must ascertain who the song writer is, who he is singing to, and who, or what, the song is about. The song is obviously about a vineyard that belongs to the LORD (my well beloved). The vineyard is the house of Israel as we see in verse seven. Here we have one member of the Trinity singing a song to another member of the

Trinity. I will give you a clue to whom the writer is, as well as the recipient. The song is not sung by the Holy Spirit, nor to him, so that leaves you with just the Father and his Son.

The Song of his Beloved

My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.  7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. The LORD took his angelic hedge of protection from Israel for her producing the wrong kind of fruit. Wild grape cannot be drunken because they are bitter to the taste. Israel's sin was bitterness to the LORD and now he would let the vineyard suffer the consequences of its not abiding in its vinedresser’s care and protection. This portion of scripture will help you to understand a very important parable that Jesus tells about a fig tree that did not produce any fruit found in the Gospel of Luke. This song was known by Israel because it is found here in the book of Isaiah the prophet, so when Jesus utter the verses we are about to study we, as Israel should have, should recognize the similarity between the two and recognized they were the same, but they (Israel) did not and have been suffering ever since.Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. Because Israel was wicked they would perish unless they repented and began to produce the fruits of righteousness that the LORD was looking for. They however did not and the additional year granted unto Israel after the Messiah had come for three years had ended at the preaching of Stephen which was when Israel was cut off as God’s people and became Loammi, (Not my people). Hosea 1:9 and then God saved Saul

of Tarsus and made him the Apostle of the Gentiles and ushered in the dispensation of grace.8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! 9 In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. 10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.  Remember when the LORD promised to bless the children of Israel if they kept his Covenant which he made with them at Mt. Sinai? He told them that if they were obedient that he would bless the land so much so that the reaper would overtake the sower. The opposite was also true if they were disobedient, He said he would take away the rain. Israel had forgotten their Creator.11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. 13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. 14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:  16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.  When does, or did Hell (the abode of the dead) enlarge itself? Since the Song of the Beloved is a reference to the time when Jesus came the first time then it would have to be either right after his resurrection as many believe, or at the end of the Tribulation Period when many will be dying as lost individuals all in a very short period of time thus necessitating Hell enlarging itself. One thing is for sure, it was not enlarged in Isaiah’s day. 17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. 18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: 19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!  22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:  23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!  24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.  25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.  26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and,

behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:  27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:  28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:  29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.  30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.   The ensign to the nations from far is most likely a reference to Nebuchadnezzar coming from Babylon, as the Anti-christ doesn’t come from all that far away.

Chapter 6Here I am, Send me.

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.   Uzziah was the son of King Ahaziah and he began to reign at the age of sixteen according to 2 Chronicles 29:1. He did that which was right in the sight of the LORD as did his father and there was great progress in Israel during his reign especially financially and militarily but at the end of his life he disobeyed God and God gave Uzziah leprosy for attempting to burn incense at the Temple of the LORD. The LORD dates this vision that he showed Isaiah as being in the year that Uzziah died which was around 740 BC. Uzziah’s son Jotham ruled from the time Uzziah was stricken with leprosy for his sin and became king at his father’s death. Because of the reign of these three good Kings of Judah the people became at ease in Zion as we saw earlier in this study and became religious instead of worshipping God with a humble heart and the had a form of Godliness but began to draw away from him. Isaiah was privileged to see this vision and we as well as Israel have been privileged to have this vision recorded for us so that we may learn of God from it. Have you ever heard some “Old Timer” say “We serve a thrice holy God”? They get that saying from this verse where the Cherubim angels cry Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah who sees the glory of the Lord is humbled in the presence of this vision because he sees his uncleanness and that of his people when he is in the midst of seeing the Lord in his Temple high and lifted up. Notice Isaiah calls the one he sees on the throne the King, and the LORD of hosts. This is none other than the LORD Jesus Christ.6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

None of us have ever experienced something like this and when Isaiah did it had a profound effect upon him, he realized his utter sinfulness when he was in the presence of absolute holiness and the seraphim brought a live coal in his hand to place upon Isaiah’s lips to take away the uncleanness of his own lips in the presence of the King, the LORD of hosts.8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. The Apostle Paul quotes this passage as he is in Rome preaching to the Jews whom he had assembled there after some believed the things spoken by Paul unto them about Jesus being their Christ and some believed not. It was to the unbelievers that Paul was specifically speaking to and they would have all known the words of Isaiah here. Paul could really relate to the rejection that Isaiah experienced.11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.  Isaiah asked how long would he have to preach to Judah and the LORD told him until Babylon had removed the men far away from Jerusalem unto Babylon. Preach until you don’t have any more men to preach to Isaiah. The destruction of Jerusalem and captivity in Babylon would be devastating to Israel numerically but it was only a dress rehearsal for the last days just before the Messiah, the King and LORD of hosts (the Captain of an Angelic Army). Joshua 5:14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.   Even though after a terrible fire burns up all the land God can start something new from out of the remaining roots. Just as when great forest fires plague large areas they too are restored in what may seem like a long time to us but are just a second in God’s timing.

Chapter 7O House of David

1  And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.  2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was confederate with Syria against Judah, the Southern Kingdom. How far Israel had fallen to join with its enemy to fight against their

own brothers. Remember Judah had three kings one after the other that did right in the sight of the LORD and this of course would not be tolerated by Satan and his crowd. The house of David reference, is a reference to the Kingly lineage that comes from David’s loins of which Ahaz was now reigning as King.3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; 4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:   Take heed Judah, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two countries that are confederate against you. Remember Ephraim is Israel which is made up of the ten northern tribes and Syria was a nation itself and Judah, well, Judah was a little nation made up of only two tribes. But with God on Judah’s side she had nothing to fear.7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established In sixty-five years Israel would be broken. Israel is often called Ephraim in the scripture because of the size of Ephraim, but that seemed like a long time for Judah to receive any comfort in so the LORD would offer a sign to King Ahaz that had more than just a short-term fulfillment involved with it. It would have far reaching consequences for all who would believe in the sign. And if Ahaz would not believe the sign then the LORD would not establish Ahaz’s reign as King much longer.10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?  Ahaz wearied the LORD by not doing as he was told. If the LORD tells a King to ask a sign then that King should trust and obey or they may end up suffering the consequences for their hesitation. Since Ahaz didn’t ask for the LORD to perform a sign in the depth or in the height above then the LORD says, I will choose the sign myself.

The Sign14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.  17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.   A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Which means “God with us, or God is with us”. We will learn about a woman in the next chapter that conceives and bares a son but this prophecy has a two-fold fulfillment. One

in the near future as a sign to Judah, and one some 700 years later with Mary giving birth to the Christ child. We all know that prophecy as it is described in the book of Matthew: Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  Joseph was from the house of David, which has been mentioned coincidentally twice in this chapter already because something was happening that was a lot bigger than what was going on with Ahaz and his sign that Israel would be defeated in 65 years, something a whole lot bigger. Joseph was in line to be king of Israel but there was a curse upon his lineage placed there by the LORD for the wickedness of King Coniah which is mentioned in Jeremiah:Jeremiah 22:28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. 30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.  Coniah, used to be called Jeconiah but God’s name begins with the same two letters in the name JEHOVAH so God’s word now refers to Jeconiah as Coniah (One who is without God). That is why we have the lineage found in the Gospel of Luke that traces Jesus’ lineage through his mother back to David’s other son Nathan instead of Solomon’s line found in Matthew. See Luke 3:3118 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.  19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.  20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.  21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;  22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.  23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.  24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.  25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.   These verses describe the desolation of Israel after Babylon takes all the men of

Israel captive and there is no one to work the land.Chapter 8

God is with us!Isaiah 8:1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. 2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. 4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. 5 The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, 6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. 9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us .   O Immanuel, God is with them (Judah), so they have nothing to fear. A confederacy is nothing to God and he shall break their confederacy to pieces because God has sworn to protect them, even from themselves. Even though God was not pleased with Judah most of the time and Israel pretty much all the time. God said he would protect them. So when Israel had backslid so far from God to the point they were confederate against their own brothers God would use his the enemy of his people to chasten his own people. 11 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,  12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.  13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.  14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.   Of course, we know that Jesus Christ was a stumbling stone and a rock of offence to both of the houses of Israel when he came and he was refused by the builders of Israel (its leaders).1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word , being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 

It is believing Israel that keeps the Covenant they made with God at Mt. Sinai that are the peculiar people, the holy nation, (The Body of Christ is not a Nation) and the royal priesthood in their Kingdom that is still in the future, not us in the Body of Christ.15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.  16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.  17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.  18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. Isaiah gets a little personal here because God has named his children with names that are prophetical in nature. His children’s names serve as prophecies concerning Israel in the later days.19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?  20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.  22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.  John 11:10  But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

Chapter 9The Great Light

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. This preceding verse speaks about what the LORD was going to do to both the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali because they were the two tribes closest to the border with Syria. They would be lightly afflicted at the first part of the invasion from the north but then they would later be grievously afflicted by her neighbor when they would be carried away captive.2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.   Verse two is of course a prophecy of the Messiah and when Jesus walked and lived among the people in that very region of Northern Israel. Even though they were the first to be ravaged by Syria (when they walked in darkness and dwelled in the shadow of death) God allowed them to be among the first to experience a great light when that

light shined upon them. John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.   For unto Israel and unto the whole world a child is born, and unto Israel and the world a son is given. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he “GAVE” his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The government is not upon his shoulders yet but what happens in the tenth chapter of Isaiah describe how that will all come to past as he makes all his enemies his footstool upon his return. Most people know the sixth and seventh verses of Isaiah nine but very few know about the horrible time that will precede it. We love the stories of a babe in a Manger but not so much about his coming back in great wrath and vengeance. If you are someone who only wants to hear good things you should probably not read the next chapter.8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.  16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.   The leaders of Israel are as the blind leaders of the blind that Jesus spoke about. Matthew 15:1417 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.  18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. 19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. 20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:  21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah.

For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.   There is nothing that is going to stop the seventieth week of Daniel (the time of Jacob’s Trouble) from coming upon Israel. When they made a conditional covenant with God they should have realized that just because Israel broke the covenant and didn’t keep their promise to God, God still keeps his part of the agreement of punishing them for their disobedience.

Chapter 10The Day of Visitation

1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? God is specifically speaking to the judges and lawyers in Israel who are supposed to defend the poor from the rich taking advantage of them. There will be no relief for them in the day of visitation (the Tribulation Period) as they will get what they dished out to others, and then some.  

O Assyrian4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. The Anti-Christ is called the Assyrian, he is called the rod of God’s anger. God will send the Anti-Christ against a hypocritical nation (Israel and Judah) to fulfill the final week of their punishment as mentioned in Daniel. He (the Anti-Christ) will take the spoil, and the prey, and tread them down like the mire of the streets. Much destruction will befall the nation of Israel in the Tribulation Period and God will use that time to purge out the unbeliever in Israel. The Remnant however he will preserve in the wilderness.7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? These verses the prophecy goes away from the Anti-Christ and returns back to the leader of Syria that is confederate with Israel and thinks he can just come against Judah and they will fall like all the other countries he has fought against. None of their gods with their idols were able to stop him and his mistake is thinking he is dealing with any old nation, Judah is not just any other nation.12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the

stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. 13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:   14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.   The King of Assyria was just a tool in the hands of God to punish God’s enemies and he began to boast as if he did everything by himself. God enabled him to do what he did and when he took credit for it God had to humble him.15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. 16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. 17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; 18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. 19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.  

The Remnant of Israel20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.  21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.  22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.  23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.  24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.  26 And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.  27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.   This is the yoke that is upon Israel that shall be taken away by the Anointed One, the LORD Jesus Christ. The yoke is the contract that Israel made with the Anti-Christ. It was a seven-year covenant that the Anti-Christ will break in the middle of the seven years and God will disannul Israel’s contract with death and hell. (Isaiah 28:18)28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:  29 They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, the

LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. This is a prophecy of the LORD of hosts (Jesus) and his making his enemies his footstool just before he sets up his Kingdom that will last a thousand years.

Chapter 11A rod out of the stem of Jesse

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;  Notice a rod comes out of the stem of Jesse, not from the tree and its fruitful branches but just the stem. This tells us the humble (small) beginning that that the Messiah comes from and the fact that at the time the rod comes out of the stem that Jesse and the house of David are not in power ruling as Kings at the time of his coming to Israel. In fact, he doesn’t live in the town of his nativity because the Edomite King would try to kill any potential future king coming from Jesse and David’s line. From the stem came a rod that will one day rule the nations. Notice that the word branch is capitalized. This denotes personage. The Branch is a person and it is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the seven-fold spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him and this verse helps us to understand Revelations 1:4 better:Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;Isaiah 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. When the Branch returns and destroys his enemies he will do it not with his fists or with swords but with his words which are sharper than any two-edged sword. The Anti-Christ will not be going toe-toe with Christ at the battle of Armageddon. When Christ speaks the word, the battle will be over. Period!5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. The animal kingdom will be at peace with humanity and never again will one fear the other. The animals will no longer be carnivorous (meat eaters) but will eat the straw and the grass. What a glorious day that will be because the curse is lifted from the earth.

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. They shall learn war no more. The weapons shall be turned into pruning hooks in that great day. The nation of Israel will have God’s word written on their hearts this time and they will teach the Gentiles the word of the LORD. It is the long awaited “rest” spoken about that Israel had been seeking when Immanuel will dwell with his creation.11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Matthew tells us about a time after the tribulation period in which God will send his angels into the four corners of the wind to gather his elect (believing Israel) and to put them back into the land of their inheritance where from there they shall go out to be a nation of priests to teach the Gentiles. Matthew 24:3113 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. 16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. These verses speak of the time that Christ returns and fights with his enemies and brings back the captives from all the places they are being held and there shall be war no more in the earth for the LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT REIGNETH! Revelations 19:6

Chapter 12The Kindom

1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. That day, is a reference to the long-awaited Kingdom that Israel’s prophets have prophecied since the world began. It will be upon them, and they shall become that Kingdom of priests and they shall go and teach the Gentiles his word. The reference to the LORD’s anger is a reference to the time of Jacob’s Trouble also called the seventieth week of Daniel when Israel endures the final week of her seventy weeks of her judicial sentence against her for her rebellion against God, his Son and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Once the Kingdom is set up believing Israel will be resurrected and they shall be comforted by JEHOVAH forever.2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. God is my salvation. Salvation is the Hebrew word Joshua which we get the name in English Jesus. Jesus is Salvation and all the world will hear that and he will finally be Israel’s salvation. He is the living water.4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. When Jesus came, he came unto his own (Israel) and his own received him not, but in that glorious Kingdom age he will dwell in the midst of them as he rules from Mount Zion with a rod of iron.

The End