115 - The Rejected Redeemer

Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53 very clearly shows us the place that Christ had in the redemption of humankind. Because Jehovah demands justice, the sins of humanity demanded restitution, and living a good life just does not cut it!  Without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Hebrews 9:22.

The sins that cause us grief are the sins that He carried to the cross in His own body; Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; In the sorrows that life flings at us, we may find the peace of God which passes all understanding ... through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

yet we esteemed (reckoned) Him stricken; We, the Jews who were standing on Mount Calvary that day, believed that Christ was smitten of God, and afflicted by God, because of the things He had said and done.  

We believed that God was merely handing out the punishment that Christ deserved for the sins He had committed.  But, we were so wrong; He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5.  It was for our sins that He was being punished!

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, each one to his own way; 53:6.  For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23.   There is none righteous, no not one. Romans 3:10. 

Where do some people get off believing that they are so good that they will stand on their own merits in the presence of Jehovah?  Do they not see the need for an arbitrator between themselves and Jehovah?  Jehovah has laid on Him, Christ, the iniquity of us all. 53:6.  We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:8.

For He was cut off out of the land of the living; He was murdered!  For the transgression of My people He was stricken. 53:8.  Every history book tells us that mankind is loaded down with transgressions.  Sins are found in tax reports; in business reports; in politicians promises; in preachers sermons; in the confessional; in the college of cardinals.  

Whether the Roman Catholics want to believe it, or not, even the pope is a sinner.  Where there are people - there are transgressions.  Where there are transgressions there is a need for a redeemer; someone who will pay the required price for freedom.  Jesus Christ is that someone!

Men appointed his grave with the wicked. Darby's Translation.  The Jews had two cemeteries; one for regular people and one for criminals.  Because Christ died as a criminal, between two other criminals, the leaders had designated a grave in the criminal's cemetery for Christ. 
  

with a rich one in His death; However, as it happened, When the evening had come, a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, came. Matthew 27:57.  This man went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in linen. And he laid it in a tomb that had been cut in the stone. Luke 23:52-53.  And so, contrary to expectations, Christ was buried with the rich rather than with thieves.  He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth; Christ was not a troublemaker, and He was honest. 53:9  

Yet it pleased Jehovah to crush Him; to grieve Him; that He should put forth His soul as a guilt-offering.  His pleasure was not in seeing His son in agony.   However, Jehovah, looking past Calvary, could see that redemption for humanity would be possible because Christ put forth His soul as a guilt-offering. 

1. He shall see His seed - that refers to the Church of Christ, those who do believe that Jesus is their Saviour, and live accordingly.

2. He shall prolong His days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper in His hand.  He is now seated at the right hand of Jehovah and He had earlier said: My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. John 4:34.

3. He shall see the fruit of the travail of His soul. He shall be fully satisfied.  The agony on the cross was horrendous but He can look back at it now and be fully satisfied.

4. By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify ... many; and He shall bear their iniquities. Christ did not only redeem people while he was on the cross: that work is not finished yet, He is still in the process of justifying people.

5. Therefore I will divide to Him with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong;

To sum up this topic the author repeats, in condensed form, the things he has just written.  

• He has poured out His soul to death;
•  and He was counted among the transgressors; 
• and He bore the sin of many, 
• and made intercession for transgressors. Isa 53:10-12. 

114 - The Despised Redeemer

Isaiah 52

The Lowly Servant

Isaiah 53 may easily be considered to be the brightest gem in the Old Testament.  To those of us, so trained, it is easy to see the wounded, bleeding and resurrected Messiah; and that is all we see.  

Polycarp the Lysian calls this chapter "the golden passional of the Old Testament evangelist." 

Delitzsch says of it, "It is the centre of this wonderful book of consolation (ch. 40-66), and is the most central, the deepest, and the loftiest thing that the Old Testament prophecy, outstripping itself, has ever achieved". 

Mr. Urwick remarks on it, "Here we seem to enter the holy of holies of Old Testament prophecy—that sacred chamber wherein are pictured and foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glory which should follow". The Pulpit Commentary.

Consider this though, these words are also in the Jewish Bible, but most Jews do not accept that their Messiah is spoken of here.  What do they do with these words?  The later Jews ... applied the prophecy (1) to Jeremiah; (2) to king Josiah; (3) to the people of Israel. The Pulpit Commentary.  

They have a strong argument if one makes the word he mean Jacob or in a wider sense "Israel".  Much of what is written in this portion fits Israel, but 53:9, He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth, very plainly says that this portion cannot refer only to the nation of Israel.

A simple reading of Isaiah 52:13-54:10 shows that the sentiments here go much deeper than can be applied to any ordinary person or even to any nation.  In fact, the description so perfectly fits the Messiah that some have postulated that this portion was written after the death of Christ and then inserted into the book of Isaiah.

The Servant Will Be Exalted

Behold, My Servant shall rule well; He shall be exalted (He has sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Hebrews 1:3, and extolled, (in Christendom across the world). 

Christ may not have been handsome, as Sallman painted Him.   The church before the time of Constantine pictured to itself the Lord, as He walked on earth, as repulsive in His appearance; whereas the church after Constantine pictured Him as having quite an ideal beauty. Keil & Delitzsch.

He has no form nor majesty that we should see Him, or even take notice of Him, nor an appearance that we should desire Him. 52:14-15; 53:2.  Some men have a commanding aura and people flock to them; Christ by nature or appearance was not such a person.

Did the neighbour's kids tease Him?  Did fellow businessmen taunt Him?  Did the ladies of the village demean Him?  Had He been shortchanged in the appearance department?  He was hated and rejected; his life was filled with sorrow and terrible suffering.  No one wanted to look at him. We despised him and said, "He is a nobody!" 53:3 CEV.  When we saw Him coming along the sidewalk, did we walk across the street so that we would not need to meet Him?  This was His unfortunate lot in life, but in His death on the cross, it was infinitely worse.

Just as many were astonished at You, before the day of your trial you were not much to look at, but because of your torture (so much was the disfigurement from man, those who beat him, His appearance and His form from the sons of mankind); 52:13.  This severity of torture is what the Romans and Jews inflicted on him!  Picture the prophet, Isaiah, sitting at the foot of the cross on Calvary, and there he sees the Redeemer as he hung upon the accursed tree, after he had been buffeted, and crowned with thorns, and smitten, and scourged, and crucified, when his face was covered with bruises and with gore, and his frame and features distorted with agony. The Pulpit Commentary.

so He sprinkles from many nations. 52:15.   Bible translators do not agree as to how this should be translated and Bible commentators disagree on what it means. 

My servant will make nations worthy to worship me; CEV
so he sprinkles from many nations; Modern King James
So shall he startle many nations. JPS 

1. Aben Ezra says it means, "God will pour out their blood and take vengeance on them."  
2. The Jewish Targum writes, "he will scatter many people."
3. Gill, in evangelical fashion, writes, "the blood of Christ, called the blood of sprinkling, by which the conscience is purged from dead works, (see Heb. 9:14) and the heart from an evil conscience, and by which multitudes of many nations are justified and sanctified." 

the kings shall shut their mouths at Him; in astonishment of His accomplishments; He has procured salvation for the human race!   He was as a root out of a dry ground; His prospects were bleak.  His was not a healthy home environment in which to flourish; even His brothers did not believe Him.  

This man, whom the human race treated with such disgrace was the man, about whom Jehovah said, Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. 52:13

113 Jesus is not Jehovah

Babylon Will Fall

As was stated earlier, much that is written in the Books of Prophecy in the Bible has a double meaning.  The first sense pertains to the prophet's current surroundings when he speaks to his peers; the second has to to with futuristic forecasts, or perhaps, historic events.  The Book of Isaiah is a perfect example of this kind of biblical interpretation.

Earlier it was said that Isaiah's ministry began in about the middle of the 8th century BCE. By this time Assyria was in the decline and Babylon was on the rise.  An observant person, like Isaiah, probably, could easily have seen the possibility of Babylon attacking Judah as they had already attacked other nations.  

In chapter 13+14 he predicts the rise of the Babylonian kingdom, he warns his own people of what Babylon will do to Judah, and he writes of Babylon's demise at the hands of the Persians.  The futuristic interpretation of this prophecy sounds as if it refers to the cataclysm of the upcoming end of human society as we know it.

For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its light. And I will visit evil on the world, and their iniquity on the wicked. And I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease; and I will humble the pride of tyrants. 13:10-11.

Compare this with the words of Christ.  And immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the land will wail. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory. Mat. 24:29-30.

Then, compare that with the words of Peter: But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. And the earth and the works in it will be burned up. Then, all these things being about to be dissolved, what sort ought you to be in holy behavior and godliness, looking for and rushing the coming of the Day of God, on account of which the heavens, being on fire, will melt away, and the elements will melt, burning with heat? 2 Peter 3:10-12.

By reading Isaiah 14 carefully it is obvious that Isaiah is speaking of a human; namely the king of Babylon, at the time when the Persians destroyed Babylon.  Twice he refers to him as the man.  On the other hand, chapter 14 finds its second meaning not by looking forward, but rather by looking back into history.  In that view, the application does not fit a man, but Satan at the time when he, the evil one, attempted to usurp the throne of Jehovah.  John Milton in Paradise Lost had much, that is very interesting, to say about that battle.

How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will go up to the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will go up above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the Pit. 14:12-15.

There is a similar arrangement of themes in chapters 39 and 40.  Again the writer speaks of the devastation that Babylon will bring to Judah.  

Behold, the days come when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says Jehovah. 39:6.  He also speaks of the overwhelming peace that Jehovah will pour out on the returning exiles.

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak lovingly to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is done, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him who cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah, make straight a highway in the desert for our God. 40:1-3.

Again, this prophecy is also relevant in the future realm (future to Isaiah and his peers, but fulfilled prophecy for our times) referring to the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.  In fact, the words of Isaiah, The voice of him who cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah, 40:3,  are applied directly to John the Baptist, the man who baptized Jesus.   As it is written in the book of the Words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight." Luke 3:4.

False Concepts

How easily we accept the teachings of our masters in college, or anywhere else, without ever bothering to think.  All my life I had learned that John the Baptist was to prepare the way for the Lord for Jesus Christ.  This Bible text clearly says, Prepare the way of Jehovah. 40:3.  The second time Isaiah uses that phrase he uses the word "Lord", with a capital "L", that choice of spelling tells us that Isaiah was not speaking of Christ, but of Jehovah.

In spite of the fact that the Bible distinctly uses the name "Jehovah" which, in no case, ever refers to Christ, one Bible commentator writes, prepare ye the way of the Lord by whom is meant the Messiah ... being called "Jehovah" and "our God". John Gill's Exposition of the Bible.   No, definitely not, Jesus is never called Jehovah and Jehovah is never brought down to the level of the Messiah.

Bible teachers who believe in the Trinity will grasp at anything they can find in the Bible to prove their point.  If the Bible does not agree with their beliefs they will change the words in the Bible, or rearrange the words until the words they have accepted, as being genuine, agree with their false teaching.  

One example proves the point: and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek translation,  and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. KJV;  notice the change, in the more modern versions, and denying the only Master, God, even our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jude verse 4 LITV.   They are trying to prove that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God, by changing the words in the Bible but, even so, the Bible does not support that theory.

When the reformers left the Roman Catholic Church they dropped a lot of that church's false teachings; teachings such as transubstantiation, infant baptism, salvation by good works, and penance.  

One of that church's false teachings, which was invented in the fourth century, which they did not drop, but by all means should have, is the doctrine of the Trinity.  Protestant churches would be so much closer to the truth if they would quit teaching this ungodly doctrine and rather teach what the Bible actually says?

112. Christ's Coming Kingdom?

The Final Outcome For North America

The following, spoken to the leaders of Israel, sounds as if it also applies to the leaders of the North American people.  Read the words of Isaiah 10:1-4 (in red).

You, North American, people are in for trouble! You, corrupt judges, have made cruel and unfair laws; you, law-makers, have your spineless stooges at your beck and call.  For a bribe, these lawyers, without moral compunctions, will twist the truth in court cases so that you can cheat the poor and needy and rob widows and orphans, and destroy the lives of rape victims.  Judges, your pawns will do whatever needs to be done to wring the last penny from the hands of the poor and needy; and you call this justice!

But what will you do when you are fiercely attacked and punished by foreigners?  Terrorist gangs are at your doorstep; a few have already entered your borders.  You boast that you are the most powerful nation in the world, so where will you run for help?

Where will you hide your valuables?  Your whole mindset is on material wealth; your stocks and bonds; your mansions and fancy cars; your yachts and private planes; how will you feel when they are all confiscated or destroyed by terrorist gangs and their cohorts? 

How will you escape being captured or killed?  Mass shootings by terrorists or off balanced minds are prevalent because you insist that everyone, regardless of their mental state, political or religious leanings, is perfectly free to walk the streets carrying firearms.  You demanded that unholy, liberty now How will you escape being captured or killed?

The Lord is still angry, and he isn't through with you yet!  When a country, which was built on Christian principles, turns its back on Jehovah, He has every right to say ... I am furious! Isaiah 10:1-4 CEV

Jehovah is a long-suffering and a forgiving God.  Even though His nations have scorned Him and scoffed at Him, He still says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die.  Ezekiel 33:11.

Israel did not repent and they were destroyed.  The words in the Book of Daniel fit America too: the handwriting on the wall of America is easy to see.  God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has brought it to an end. He has weighed you on his balance scales, and you fall short of what it takes to be a nation. Dan. 5: 26-28 CEV.

A New Kingdom Is Coming

When the populations of the nations have been decimated, due to the Battle of Armageddon, a new kingdom will be established.  It will be the antithesis of present-day kingdoms.  Someone from David's family will someday be king; we recall, from Matthew chapter one, that Jesus Christ is the direct descendant of King David; and He is coming to set up His kingdom.

The Spirit of the LORD will be with him to give him understanding, wisdom, and insight.  Jehovah's spirit will be with the new king to guide Him in the affairs of that kingdom.  

This Bible verse should certainly be problematic to people who believe in the Trinity.  If Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, God of very God, why does He need to be guided by God's spirit?  Are there certain things that "this God", by the name of Jesus, does not know so that He needs divine guidance?  Something is askew in the theory of the Trinity.

He will be powerful, and he will know and honor the LORD.  This statement clearly states that Christ is not the LORD - it says that he will know and honor the Lord.  His greatest joy will be to obey the LORD.  This king won't judge by appearances or listen to rumors.

The poor and the needy will be treated with fairness and with justice. This is exactly the opposite to what lawmakers in the nations of the world are doing today: note again, you cheat the poor and needy and rob widows and orphans.

His word will be law everywhere in the land.  The words of Christ will be the law.  Those who do not obey will be put to death.  One can't help but wonder, though, if capital punishment is enforced in the land of perfect peace, in Christ's kingdom, should capital punishment not also be part of the civil laws in Christian countries.  After all, that is the Biblical stance on this issue.  

Honesty and fairness will be his royal robes. 11:1-5 CEV.  This statement is an indication as to how literally we should, or should not, accept the words of Isaiah 11.  Since the words honesty and fairness are used symbolically as clothing, is it not also possible to believe that the promised coming kingdom will not be as totally, wonderfully peaceful as we have been led to believe?   It may not even be worldwide!  Is this whole chapter symbolic?

Notice that in that kingdom Israel will stop being jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be the enemy of Israel.   Instead, they will get together and attack the Philistines in the west. Then they will defeat the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites in the east. They will rule those people and take from them whatever they want. 11:13-14,   Isn't it interesting that when preachers talk about Christ's coming kingdom of peace, they never mention these verses which tell us that during that kingdom where Christ rules there will also be wars in the Near East.

So we must ask: how much of this chapter, or perhaps, how much of the Books of Prophecy, should we take literally?