Today's Reading:

Isaiah 64
Isaiah 65
Isaiah 66

Additional Resources:

Peter Stoner, a MIT professor, helps us understand the probability of Jesus fulfilling just 8 of the 360 Old Testament prophecies about Him. 
View Video Here

Wonderful job finishing the book of Isaiah! As noted previously, this is sometimes referred to as the “Fifth Gospel.” After finishing reading it, you can now see how it all flows like the Bible.

• There are 66 Books in the Bible, and there are 66 chapters in Isaiah.
• There are 39 Books in the Old Testament on history, judgment, and warnings, and the first 39 Chapters of Isaiah echo the judgment and are a warning to Judah.
• There are 27 Books in the New Testament on Jesus, the Gospel, and hope, and the last 27 chapters of Isaiah (40-66) shift to the comfort, redemption, and the hope of the Messiah.

This is not a coincidence. Long before Jesus was born, God was already working on the story of grace and weaving it into the Book of Isaiah. Even with the warnings, God pointed His people and us toward the hope that was coming. Hundreds of years before Jesus was on the cross, God declared in the end, “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain.” (Isaiah 66:22).

God perfectly planned the message from Isaiah to reflect the entire Bible, from judgment to hope. This should strengthen your trust in Him. He is purely sovereign and full of grace. Does this parallel between the whole Bible and the Book of Isaiah encourage your walk with God? Which part of Isaiah, the warnings or the promises, speaks to you today as we finished the book?

The last ten chapters of Isaiah were describing the final judgment and restoration; one we are still awaiting. This was written well over 700 years before Jesus was born! Jesus fulfilled over 100 prophesies in the Book of Isaiah alone. His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection were all foretold prior to His birth. There are hundreds of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in the Old Testament.

I once heard a scientific demonstration from the mathematician Peter Stoner. He said the odds of fulfilling just 8 specific Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah are 1 in 1017, that is 1 in 100 quadrillion. To understand that vastness of that number, he gave an image: Think about if you were to fill the entire state of Texas with silver dollars, two feet deep, and mark one with a red X. Then mix them up. Now blindfold a person and have them pick out a random silver dollar from anywhere in the state. The chance of picking the marked silver dollar is the same as the chance of one person fulfilling just those 8 prophecies by accident. Jesus did not only fulfill 8, He alone fulfilled around 360 prophecies.

Here is a list of a few major prophecies from Isaiah that Jesus fulfilled:

• Isaiah 7:14 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
  • Fulfilled: Matthew 1:18-23 (Virgin birth of Jesus)
• Isaiah 9:6-7 “For to us a child is born… and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
  • Fulfilled: Luke 2:11, John 14:27, Philippians 2:9-11 (Jesus’ birth and divine titles).
• Isaiah 11:1-2 A shoot will come from the stump of Jesse, and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.
  • Fulfilled: Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-32 & 4:18-19 (Jesus from David’s line, anointed by the Holy Spirit)
• Isaiah 35:5-6 “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer…”
  • Fulfilled: Matthew 11:4-5, Mark 7:37, John 9 (Jesus healing the blind, deaf, and lame)
• Isaiah 40:3 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord…’”
  • Fulfilled: Matthew 3:1-3 (John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus)
• Isaiah 42:1-4 God’s chosen servant who brings justice to the nations.
  • Fulfilled: Matthew 12:15-21 (Jesus as the gentle Servant)
• Isaiah 49:6 “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
  • Fulfilled: Luke 2:32, Acts 13:47 (Jesus as light to the Gentiles)
• Isaiah 53:4-6, 53:7-9 The Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions, silent before his accusers, buried with the rich.
  • Fulfilled: 1 Peter 2:24, Mark 15:27-28, Matthew 27:57-60 (Jesus’ crucifixion and burial)
• Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…”
  • Fulfilled: Luke 4:16-21 (Jesus reading this in the synagogue and declaring it fulfilled)

The people had felt abandoned and cried out for God to “tear open the heavens,” pull down the heavy curtain, and come. Then they recalled Mount Sinai, when God came in fire and clouds, and they asked for their own visible sign. Begging, “How can we be saved?” (64:5). Then they confessed their sin, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (64:6). This is way more shocking than “filthy rags.” Isaiah was not being polite; the Hebrew words for “filthy rags” literally were “menstrual cloths” or “soiled rags of the unclean.” Isaiah was saying that even our best religious efforts, without genuine faith and repentance, are spiritually gross and useless to a holy God.

Yet, hope came. You are our Father! Isaiah pleaded to God on behalf of Judah. We are clay, the work of Your hands. Please, God, look at the devastation to the Temple and remember them. There is always hope in God’s love, so do not keep silent; say those prayers.

In chapter 65, God answered: He called over the years and even said, “Here I am,” but Israel ignored Him. They chased idols, offered sacrifices in gardens, burned incense on forbidden altars, consulted the dead, ate unclean food, and acted holier than thou. He said they provoked Him to His face. Israel was being annoying and the smell horrid all day! (Isaiah 65:5) He will repay their sins. In mercy though, He will also leave a remnant, like a cluster of good grapes from a bad vine. He would bless those who loved and served Him. Sharon was a coastal area near Mt. Carmel (the west border) and the Valley of Achor (near Jericho, the east border), and both used together denoted the entire land. He will claim those who know and love Him. They will receive blessings and a new name, replacing shame with honor and redemption.

At the end of Isaiah, God gives us a promise that there will be a creation of new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). A Millennial Kingdom, a future time when Jesus reigns on earth for the second coming. This is the time we live for. We serve and love the Lord, so in the end we are blessed to go to heaven. There will be no more weeping; people will live really long lives full of joy, build houses, and plant vineyards. The old times of oppression and exile will be over. You will have jobs to build the world to live in, a New Jerusalem, and get to fully enjoy the fruits of your labor. This time reverses the curse from Genesis, where work is toil and fruitless. This echoes Revelation 21-22 where Jesus’ resurrection and the coming of the new creation guarantee our labor in Him is never in vain. Even the wolf and lamb will eat together in peace. Then the metaphor of a lion that turns into a vegetarian, to show there will be no violence in God’s new creation. God does not just fix; He makes it better with peace that only the Messiah can bring.

Chapter 66 is the conclusion of the book. God asked where He would dwell. He does not need a fancy Temple, because He has already made everything. What He wants is the humble heart that is in awe and trembles at His word. God compared the empty rituals of sacrificing a bull to the murder of a man. Offering a lamb with no heart in the sacrifice was like breaking a dog’s neck. These graphic images gave a strong warning against doing rituals with no heart.

God will make a sudden rebirth of Israel as a nation through restoration. He will come with fire, chariots, and swords to judge the enemy. There will be a sign for the second coming. His remnant will go to all the pagan nations as missionaries, to declare His glory. God’s plan has always included the other nations. They will get to Israel by any means, horses, chariots, and wagons. Once there, some He will choose to be priests. What?! From this point forward, you now do not need to be a Levite (from Aaron’s descendants) in order to be a priest. All believers are part of the “Royal Priesthood” through Jesus (1 Peter 2:9). God promises the new heavens and the new earth with eternal life.

The worship of God will be constant; “all flesh,” meaning everyone, will regularly bow before the Lord. This will be global worship. When the people get together to worship, they will see the result of rebellion: the corpses of those who have rejected God. In hell, the worm will not die, and the fire will not be quenched (Isaiah 66:24). This was not a picture of a cute caterpillar or worm; it was revolting on purpose to show how bad it will be. The righteous will see from a distance what happens to the unbelievers. Worms will eat the rotting corpses. This picture in ancient times would have been easy to imagine, as they were used to having worms dumped in garbage pits to eat the remains. The worm never stops eating; it is eternal judgment, but there is mercy with the sign of the Redeemer, the One who makes all nature come together to worship. God wants you to choose life, not death. You do not have to end up in the pit; you are invited to worship Jesus and be a part of the new creation.

Today's Discussion question:

God perfectly planned the message from Isaiah to reflect the entire Bible, from judgment to hope. This should strengthen your trust in Him. He is purely sovereign and full of grace. Does this parallel between the whole Bible and the Book of Isaiah encourage your walk with God? Which part of Isaiah, the warnings or the promises, speaks to you today as we finished the book?

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