Study – Grow – Know

Prophecies of Isaiah, Pt 3

August 11, 2017 at 8:34 AM 3 comments

In our previous post in this series – Part 2 – we zeroed in on Isaiah 9, specifically the section that deals with the prophetic discourse regarding the coming birth of Messiah/Savior (from Isaiah’s point of view, which was still far future). We discussed the fact that in certain ways, not only did Isaiah prophesy about the upcoming birth of Jesus, but also foretold events regarding what has become known as the Millennial Kingdom where Jesus will rule with a rod of iron from Jerusalem over all the nations of the world. It will be at that time, when Israel will take its intended position of greatest of all nations, fulfilling the remaining promises found throughout the Bible.

It is important to remember that when this occurs, Israel will be inhabited only by those completely sold out to the Lord. They will be completely and fully dedicated to Him, His Word, and His reign over them. Unlike the generational Israel that has always been largely made up of rebellious individuals and who have always found ways to serve themselves by seeking other gods, the Israel of the Millennium will have no other god before it. They will fully serve and obey Jesus and Him only. It will be a final “remnant” of Israel that will be refined through the purging fires of the coming Tribulation period.

Throughout Isaiah (as well as Jeremiah and other prophets), though God speaks very harshly to Israel, a nation that continues its wayward path where God is concerned, He always holds out an olive branch to the nation. He always says “if” they will turn and obey, He will return to them. This they will do with a final remnant of Jews who will turn in faith to Jesus during the tremendous persecution of the upcoming era known as the Tribulation. Though many will continue to rebel and fall away from God, God will fulfill His promises to cull from the Jews living at that future time, a people who will be 100% faithful to Him and His purposes. God will be vindicated and He will be for the sake of His holy Name. Nothing can stop that anymore than choosing to be an atheist stops God from existing.

With that said, let’s move onto Isaiah 11. Depending upon your translation of the Bible, your chapter heading may have one of these titles:

• The Righteous Reign of the Branch (ESV, NASB)
• The Branch From Jesse (NIV)
• The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring (NKJV)
• The Peaceful Kingdom (RSV)

The idea here is that Isaiah is looking forward to a time when there will be actual peace. If we consider the fact that there has really been no point in history when the world was completely peaceful at any one time, the concept of a world at peace is difficult to consider. It is what people have wanted, worked for, and sought for generations.

The defunct League of Nations was supposed to accomplish world peace. It failed and was replaced by the United Nations, which has as its stated purpose to help create peace and peaceful solutions to the world’s problems. It has also failed and will continue to do so.

It is similar to the concept of Socialism. Many on the Left believe this system of government is what will fix all the things that are broken in society. Unfortunately, there has never been even one case of socialism working over the long haul. Venezuela today is a prime example of just how badly things can go. Of course, people on the Left offer the excuse that it isn’t Socialism that has ruined Venezuela, but a corrupt government. That’s begging the question and proves the unreliability of systems that depend upon humanity to dole out things in equal measure so that everyone gets the same thing. In the end, no one works for anything. It is simply provided and because of that, the benefits are lost while the desire to work is also set aside.

When we visited Europe not long ago, it was interesting to see some of the apartment buildings that were at one time, Communist. The desire of the Communists was to ensure that everyone had exactly the same thing. When they went into Hungary for example and took over, a person who had 20 acres of farmland had that land simply taken and doled out to others so that everyone had a share. The landowner who bought and paid for and labored over those 20 acres was not given anything by the Communist government. He was simply robbed of the land that he had originally bought and worked. Much of his land was simply given to others who did not pay for it or work it. Do you think those folks valued that land as the original landowner had done?

There are also many examples of those high in the Communist Party living high off the hog while the average person waited in long lines to buy one roll of toilet paper or a loaf of bread. While the concept of Socialism might have good intentions, it cannot nor ever work because of the constant potential of sinful humanity wanting more than others. No governmental system like Socialism or Communism can ever remove the sinful desires of people and without that happening, these systems will always be taken advantage of by people who are motivated by greed.

People are sinful. We have sin natures. Even Christians who have placed their faith in Jesus and have exchanged our filthiness for His righteousness (positionally) as Paul notes in 2 Corinthians 5:20-21.

Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

In spite of the fact that for the authentic Christian, when God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Jesus, which has been imputed to our accounts, not our filth. This borrows on the fact that at some point in the future, our sin nature will be completely excised from us and there will no longer be even a hint of sin within us. It will at that point be impossible for us to sin. This is not the case now though.

If Christians can continue to sin, then how much more do the unsaved and unregenerate continue to sin? Greed is one of the biggest problems people have to deal with in life and it is cause for all sorts of problems in this world on a continual basis. The belief that imposing some system of government on society that will give everyone the same things is ridiculous if corrupt and sinful people are in charge of it. It simply cannot work and the fact that it never has worked is proof to people who can think critically.

There is coming a time though when the “root of Jesse” will reign over this world. Isaiah 11 clearly discusses a time in the future when true peace will prevail and it will prevail because of the fact that this “root of Jesse” will reign on the throne physically in Jerusalem over all nations. As we’ve discussed before, even during this time, sin will exist because people who have survived the Tribulation without dying will go into this time where Jesus reigns supreme. These human beings will continue to have the sin nature though saved and completely regenerated with the new life in Christ. This is why Jesus will need to rule with a “rod of iron” (Psalm 2:9, 27; Revelation 2:27; 12:5, etc.).

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
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 the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isaiah 11:1-5; ESV)

The passage above is very clear, though some commentators prefer an allegorical interpretation. Doing so muddies the waters and of course, changes the actual meaning into something it is not. Isaiah 11:1-5 highlight several facts.

1. A “shoot” from the stump of Jesse is coming
2. This “shoot” or “branch” will bear fruit
3. God’s Spirit will rest on Him in full measure making Him the perfect Judge
4. This “shoot” shall utterly delight in the fear of God (something Christians are supposed to do as well)
5. This “shoot” will judge perfectly because His judgments won’t be based on:
   1. sight
   2. hearing
6. His judgments will be based solely on righteousness, something that is desperately missing from society
7. He will deliver judgments in equity all the time and will never take a bribe or judge wrongly
8. His judgments will be quick and final when dealing with the “wicked” (v. 4b)
9. Everything about Him will be righteous

The above descriptions are not allegory but perfectly described Jesus in His ascended, glorified state. It is this Jesus who will return to this earth one day and set up His Kingdom. He is connected to and comes from “Jesse’s stump,” King David, who was the first of Israel’s kings to pursue righteousness. The Bible describes King David as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).

Isaiah 11 is a prophetic chapter that involves Messiah. Jesus will be the physical embodiment of this prophecy at some point in the future. He will return to this earth (and won’t the world be surprised?!), to bring to close the time of judgment known as the Tribulation. He will then set up His Kingdom where He will physically reign on earth, from His earthly father King David’s throne from Jerusalem, and He will do so for one thousand years.

Isaiah 11 has legitimate and literal ramifications for this world. It is not some pie in the sky allegory that can mean whatever the reader would like it to mean or is comfortable with, but it has dramatic repercussions for this world. In spite of the evil that persists now, there is a time coming when…

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9 ESV)

In short, there will be a day when righteousness, not evil, will rule. Evil will be the exception and it will be handled by King Jesus immediately. Clearly, we are not there yet and in front of us we can expect God’s judgment to pour out on the world. On the other side of that, however, there will be peace; long-lasting peace.

Until we meet again I pray that God will open your eyes to show you how blessed you are in Him.

Entry filed under: Agenda 21, Atheism and religion, christianity, Communism, Cultural Marxism, Demonic, devil worship, Emotional virtue, eternity, Global Elite, israel, Judaism, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Politics, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, Satanism, second coming, temple mount. Tags: branch of jesse, communism, corruption, isaiah 11, king jesus, millennial kingdom, millennium, shoot of jesse, socialism.