Introduction
Isaiah is often called “the evangelical prophet” because he says more about the coming of the Messiah and the redemptive work of the Messiah our Lord Jesus than any other book in the Old Testament. As a result, there are many important passages of scripture in this book loved by all who believe in Messiah. Isaiah’s name means “The Lord is salvation.” He lived in Jerusalem and the prophecies God gave him were directed toward the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah as well towards other nations. All of His prophecies in the past have come true and are continuing to come true even today with what we see happening in Israel and in the whole Middle-Eastern region. Isaiah’s ministry lasted approximately half a century, continuing through the reigns of the kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. We are told through tradition that he suffered a martyr’s death during the reign of King Manasseh of whom they say had Isaiah put into a hollow log and sawed in half. His work brought him into direct contact with kings and priest and he encountered strong opposition from both groups. At times, this opposition was so strong that he was forced to give up speaking in public and confine his ministry to a group of disciples with whom he met privately.
Isaiah expressed convictions that were similar to those spoken to the people of Israel by Amos and Hosea. Despite the immediate dangers that the nation of the southern kingdom of Judah faced, Isaiah was confident of the ultimate triumph of the Hebrew people. Isaiah was sure that any temporary disaster would not be the final end of Judah. The prophecies of Isaiah point to the end of age when the Messiah our Lord Jesus will return and set up the Messianic Millennial Kingdom of God. The book is also filled with warnings – warnings of the Day of the Lord and warnings to Israel and Judah which are very relevant to us today. We should take these warnings seriously. If we pay attention to these warnings, we can be assured of the promises of mercy and salvation through Jesus the Messiah.
There are four “Servant Songs” of Isaiah that describe the service, suffering, and exaltation of the Servant of the Lord, the Messiah our Lord Jesus. All four songs show the Messiah to be God’s meek and gentle Servant. He is a royal figure, representing Israel in its ideal form; He is the high priest, atoning for the sins of the world. Isaiah predicts that this Servant of the LORD would deliver the world from the prison of sin. In the royal terminology of the ancient Near East, a servant was a “trusted envoy,” a “confidential representative,” or “one who is chosen.” The Servant Songs are found in Isaiah 42:1–9; Isaiah 49:1–13; Isaiah 50:4–11; and Isaiah 52:13—53:12. In this study we will be looking at the first study or servant song in Isaiah 42:1–9.
Isaiah initially identifies God’s servant as Israel (41:8; 44:1–2), who serves as God’s witness (43:10), and as a light to the Gentiles. Yet Israel could not fulfil this mission because Israel was spiritually deaf, blind (42:19), and in need of God’s forgiveness (44:21–22). Israel failed again and again. By contrast, God’s Servant, the Messiah our Lord Jesus, faithfully completed all the work He had been given to do on earth as the man who was fully God and fully human in the one physical body (cf. Luke 13:32; John 17:4). The Servant of the LORD, the Messiah is God’s faithful and true witness to all of humanity and indeed, the true light that enlightens every man, who at His incarnation came into the world to seek and to save those who are lost (John 1:4,9) (Luke 19:10).
In Acts 3:13 Peter calls the Lord Jesus the “servant” of God. That verse says, in part, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus.” Peter’s description of Jesus as a “servant” is accurate for at least four reasons: 1) The Lord Jesus always did the will of the Father (John 4:34; 6:38). 2) He never sought to please Himself but always to please the Father (John 5:30). 3) He finished the work that God His Father had sent Him to do (John 17:4). 4) He came to glorify the Father (John 13:31; 17:4). Added to this, Peter’s reference to Jesus as the “servant of God” would have brought to the minds of his Jewish hearers the passages in Isaiah which describe the Messiah as the “Servant of the LORD.” As we read in Mark’s gospel concerning the Messiah our Lord Jesus; “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). With these things in view let’s now look at our text…
Isaiah 42:1-9: Exposition:
(Vs.1) “Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.”
“Here is My servant” or we can say “Behold My servant”, in other words “stop and gaze at this servant”, “reflect on Him”, “stay focused on Him and don’t be distracted.” Now in God’s Word we have many servants of God mentioned in both Testaments, however, in this passage the servant is none other than the Messiah our Lord Jesus. God calls Him “My servant” in such a way that sets this servant apart from all other of God’s servants, making Him one who is unique and also indicating that there is no one else like Him. Here the meaning of the word “servant” in Hebrew is the word for “slave.” It is not speaking about one forced into slavery against their will, but of one who is a willing slave, who loves his master and wants to be committed to him for life.
This willingness to be a voluntary and loving slave of a master is seen in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 15:12-17, where we are told that a Hebrew slave should be set free after seven years and was not to be sent away empty handed. However, if that slave loved his master who had treated him and his family with dignity, with honour and with love and favour, and he wanted to stay with him and serve him because he loved his master in return, then the master would take an awl and push it through the servants ear lobe into the door, and he would become the man’s servant for life and the same thing was done for the maidservant who had the same desire to stay with their master for life (Deuteronomy 15:12-17).
It was in fact an act that demonstrated redemption from slavery to sin and its master Satan, to a slavery of love for a new master that had in effect redeemed them by the shedding of blood. When the awl pierced the man’s earlobe and blood flowed and this act of shedding blood was to confirm a lifelong commitment to his master, foreshadowed the redemption we have in the Messiah as New Covenant believers through His blood and the forgiveness of sins we have according to the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7).
In the New Testament where the apostles saw themselves and every believer as servants of the Messiah, the word used was for servants was the Greek word used for a slave of the Messiah, being those who loved Him so much that they were willing to give their entire lives into service for Him. The apostles saw themselves as serving their fellow believers in the Body of Messiah over whom they had apostolic authority designated to them by the Chief Slave the Messiah our Lord Jesus, who had set them the prime and perfect example. He who said to them; “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (voluntary slave), and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-44).
“…whom I uphold” The word “uphold” means “to grasp tightly”, “to lay hold of”, “to support” or “to be seized and held.” God the Father was pleased with God His son and protected Him in every way (Matthew 3:17), and even from His conception in the womb of Mary, God overshadowed the Messiah and watched over Him in every aspect of His life while He grew into manhood. As Isaiah tells us; “He grew up before Him (God His Father) like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). The Lord Jesus, God the Son constantly thought, acted and spoke in compete unity with God the Father and with God the Holy Spirit at all times as they had always done in eternity as the one Triune God. He only ever did what He saw His Father doing in heaven.
As He Himself said; “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all he does. Yes, and He will show Him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed” (John 5:19-20. The whole plan of the salvation of the world depended on the Son of God, and God in His foreknowledge of all things knew that man would fall and so ordained His Son to proceed and to come forth from Him into this world to tabernacle among us and to become the source of salvation to all who would receive Him as their personal Saviour and Lord (1 Peter 1:19-20) (Acts 2:22-24) (John 1:14-15) (Hebrews 5:9) (John 5:26). And then Isaiah tells us by the revelation of the blessed Holy Spirit…
(Vs.2) “He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets.” The Messiah our Lord Jesus did not go around boasting or bragging about who He was. Often after healing a person He would tell them not to tell anyone about it because He knew the temptation to fall for the praises of man, and He knew all men and women because He also knew the sinful disposition of people’s spiritually unregenerate hearts (John 2:25). He walked a fine line in this matter of temptation as we see when He was in the wilderness and tempted by the devil with the lust of the eyes, with the lust of the flesh and with the pride of life. On this occasion Satan in his deviousness used scripture but twisted it but the Lord Jesus responded with scripture in its context and drove Satan off. In the Garden of Gethsemane the Messiah our Lord Jesus suffered the extreme temptation to avoid going to the cross, but remained faithful to the end and so brought about eternal salvation and life for all who would through repentance and by faith receive Him as their personal sin bearer, Saviour and Lord (John 1:12-13).
He never ever sought to gain a reputation. As Rabbi the apostle Paul writes; “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-slave, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).
For us as New Covenant believers the way up is to go down first. Before there is resurrection power, there must be a death and burial of seeking to exult ourselves in the eyes of man. We are to take up our cross as we die daily to self and to live moment by moment in step with the Holy Spirit (Luke 9:23) (Galatians 6:16-18, 24-25). Taking up our cross moment by moment is that place where God’s will and our will cross. With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible. The Messiah our Lord Jesus has put His Spirit in us to empower us to live by the Spirit and not by the power of our sinful nature which is always demanding our attention. Rabbi the apostle Paul deals with this whole matter in Romans Chapters 7-8. And then we read further about the heart of the Messiah our Lord Jesus towards all of us who struggle spiritually in this life as we seek to walk in the whole will of God for our lives by faith…
(Vs.3) “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;”
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out” King David knew the spiritual fragility of the human heart and the inwards propensity in all of us towards sin especially after he had committed adultery and murder. He writes; “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:8-14).
Now “a bruised reed” is one that has been “broken, crushed, discouraged, grievously oppressed, who struggles, or one who is cracked into pieces,” such as those who are painfully aware of their inward propensity towards sin. Those are these who are poor in spirit or who are aware of their spiritual poverty, these are those who will inherit the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:3), because they know that if the LORD does not exercise mercy and loving kindness towards them then they will be eternally lost and die in their sins. No matter how far we progress in our daily walk with God or what we achieve for Him by the Spirit’s enabling power, we will always be conscious of our tendency to sin especially the sin of pride which opens the door for other sins to enter. This is why we must avail ourselves daily of the cleansing power of the blood of Messiah, and totally rely by faith on the keeping power of the blessed Holy Spirit. And then we read…
“…and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out” This has the idea of something “dim, dull. Colourless, dark, or faint, or like a smouldering candle wick that has almost extinguished itself.” Such are those times when spiritual realities seem distant and we are in a sense of spiritual darkness or we cannot see clearly or when our daily life seems “colourless” metaphorically speaking, when our spiritual strength is at a very low tide, and the enemy of our souls and his cohorts from hell are like banshees in the night screeching at us and that are surrounding us on every side with no seemingly way of escape. In that time of spiritual exhaustion the Messiah our Lord Jesus will sustain us, and in His time and in His way by the breath of His Spirit, fan that smouldering wick into a burning flame of light that will dispel the darkness we have been facing and propel us on to keep walking in all the will of God.
As we remain in His Word, telling Him constantly that we trust Him and bringing His promises before Him, He in His perfect timing, will answer us and drive Satan out of our affairs. We always need to remember that even though dark clouds blot out the sun it still shines. God is never late but He is always on time. As I have often written; “If my back was against the wall, I would rather fall into the hands of a sovereign God, than into the free will of man.” And then we read…
“In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; now the word for “faithfulness” speaks of “a right judgement, or a seat of judgement such as we see in a court of law presided over by a just and righteous judge or litigation being applied in a court of law or a sentence or a judicial decision made that is right.” With this kind of discernment the Messiah we are told will be a judge who judges wisely and correctly and who by this will bring forth justice. After the Lord Jesus comes back He will bring this about for the surviving nations of the world when He reigns from Jerusalem. In exercising this justice or faithfulness He will show Himself to be faithful to those that have been faithful and shrewd to those who have been unfaithful, something we see revealed in His life when He walked this earth.
As we read concerning Him; “To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless; to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd” (Psalm 18:25-26). We also know that righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne in heaven (Psalm 89:14), and is being exercised on earth even when the wicked seem to be getting away with their wickedness. Their end is assured if they do not repent. As it is written; “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgement” (2 Peter 2:9). Now let’s continue…
(Vs.4) “He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
“He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.” Isaiah also wrote concerning the Messiah; “I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle. Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:6-7). We are also told in the New Testament that the Messiah our Lord Jesus “set his face” and in the original language means “to resolve or fixate one’s face.” This figure of speech refers to positioning or orienting one’s face firmly in a specified direction. With unyielding determination to complete the final, excruciating leg of His mission, Jesus set His face on the open, unobstructed path being “the joy that was set before Him” in heaven at God’s right hand, enabled Him to “endure the cross” (Hebrews 12:2, ESV). In this matter He did not falter but continued on His way to Jerusalem knowing full well that in the end justice and salvation would prevail on earth as a result of His sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
“In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” Not only would Israel be saved at the end of this present age but also an unnumbered multitude of Gentiles spiritually grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel by faith in Messiah for their salvation would also be saved (Acts 15:16-18) (Amos 9:11-12). And then we read…
(Vs.5-7) “This is what God the LORD says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will Make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
“…the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it” Here we have a description of our Triune God who is absolutely sovereign over everything He has created in the whole universe. He gives life and takes life and even though men and women die in various ways and by various means the day of their demise is known to God. In His foreknowledge of all things as He dwells in eternity where time as we know it down here on earth does not exist up there, in the end He decides what will happen and dictates the ultimate course of mankind in all of their activities.
Having said this He also allows for the free will of man and allows certain things to happen that He has not desired to happen, but allows them to happen, knowing that in the end whatever man had turned upside down, God will turn everything right side up! God’s sovereignty and man’s free will is a huge subject in itself and not the main theme of this study. Having said this God in His foreknowledge and absolute will ordained the Messiah to enter into this world and to accomplish what He had been sent to do in relation to bring salvation to both Jew and Gentile alike (Romans 1:16-117). And then we are told…
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will Make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles” The Messiah our Lord Jesus was born into this world without a sinful nature and God’s perfect righteousness was found in Him. He was fully God and fully man in the same physical body (Philippians 2:6-11) (Colossians 2:9) (Hebrews 1:1-4). We are also told that “God was in the Messiah reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). The Messiah our Lord Jesus was the fullest and perfect expression of God’s righteous character. He lived a perfect life without ever sinning though He was sorely tempted to sin. No one could accuse Him of sin because there was no sin in Him. As He said Himself to the Pharisees; “Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (John 8:46-47).
God kept the Lord Jesus for thirty three years on earth and He was never physically harmed in any way until the time He was appointed from all of eternity to face the cross and all that came with it. The author of Hebrews writes; “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining (upholding) all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (Hebrews 1:3). Through His sacrifice and by His shed blood He established the New and Everlasting Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah, not with a Gentile Church (Jeremiah 31:31), a covenant that would include the Gentiles who also believed in Messiah and who would be spiritually grafted into Israel to join those within Israel who also had believed in Messiah for salvation. The ministry of the Messiah is also revealed in this chapter. Let’s look at this…
“…to open eyes that are blind” This of course refers to the Messiah giving spiritual sight to those who are spiritually blind. When He healed a man from physical blindness He was pointing to Himself as the prophesied Messiah and as the one who could impart spiritual sight and revelation to those who were walking around in spiritual darkness. As Isaiah also prophesied; “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). Unless the LORD by the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our heart to the things of God and to the Word of God, we will remain in spiritual darkness, ignorance and sin. This is why we must be born again if we are to see the things of the kingdom of God and to enter into that kingdom (John 3:3).
When the Messiah asked a blind man what He wanted Him to do for him, he said “I want to see!” and the Lord Jesus healed him on the spot. Sometime later the Lord Jesus found the same man and after revealing to the man who He was the man was saved! The religious leaders could not see or did not want to see who the Lord Jesus really was, but all the man who was blind knew was that once he was blind but now he could see and this teaches us about those who receive spiritual sight from the Lord Jesus through being born again by His Spirit. The thief on the cross knew nothing about spiritual matters but by the revelation of the Spirit showing Him who Jesus was and what He was offering by way of salvation, he turned to the Messiah and said to Him; “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The Lord Jesus turned to him and said; “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” And then we read…
“…to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Charles Wesley wrote a famous hymn “And Can it Be” and in his lyrics he wrote; “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”
Once again spiritual darkness is likened to a dark dungeon in which a prisoner was chained to the wall with no hope of escape, such is the one enslaved to Satan and to the depravity of sin, and hell bound for all of eternity. There is no ray of light in the darkness but a fearful expectation of a dark future, such is the soul of an unsaved man or woman, who under the conviction of the Holy Spirit become conscious of their sin and their fallen spiritual condition before God, and of their desperate need to have their sins forgiven and cleansed and their life put right with Him.
Isaiah tells us that it is only the Lord Jesus that can send the light of His saving grace and power into the dark dungeon of sin to expose it and to lead that unsaved person to the light that is only found in the Messiah our Lord Jesus, the light that enlightens both unsaved Jews and Gentiles. When the dark dungeon of a heart filled with sin is bombarded with the life and power of God the chains of sin are broken and the soul set free to soar heavenward and no longer like one who is sitting in the darkness.
As an illustration you have a camera with film in it. The film within is dark with no image on the film. When the shutter opens to take the picture the light comes in and the image is imprinted onto the film. That film can be likened to our inner spirit man before it was regenerated by the light of God’s Spirit. When the light of God comes in and His Spirit fuses with our inner spirit man so that we are joined to the LORD and become one in spirit with Him, we become light in the LORD (Ephesians 5:8). The image of the Lord Jesus is imprinted onto the film of our spirit deep down on the inside of us and as a result we become partakers of the kingdom of light and children of the light, who is the Triune God Himself and in whom no darkness of any kind dwells (John 1:4-5, 9) (1 John 1:5).
As the Messiah Himself said; ““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Without this supernatural light of eternal life fused with our spirit man we will never perceive the things pertaining to the kingdom of God not be enabled to enter into it. God’s end purpose for us as His children is to be completely conformed to the image of His Son and He works all things in our lives towards this end (Romans 8:28-30).
Isaiah also prophesied about the first and second coming of the Messiah in Chapter 61:1-2. In this prophecy God the Messiah before His incarnation is speaking to God the Father; “The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favourable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God”
When the Lord Jesus went into the synagogue He opened the scroll and read this passage from the prophet Isaiah; ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favourable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). He then closed the scroll. It is interesting to note that He did not read the last sentence of the prophecy “And the day of vengeance of our God.” Why did He not read it? Because He was applying the text to His first Coming and the latter part of the text was referring to His Second Coming which was still in the future. In His first coming He came as the suffering servant in the likeness of Joseph. In His Second Coming He will come in the likeness of David the all-conquering king. Now let’s continue to read…
(Vs.8-9) “I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or my praise to idols. “See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
“I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or my praise to idols.” The Messiah our Lord Jesus always glorified His Father and sought to manifest it to others. When He was praying to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane for His disciples and for all of us who would believe their testimony, which we have in the Bible, He prayed; “Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Messiah, whom You have sent. I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed” (John 17:3-5).
When Phillip asked the Lord Jesus “to show him and the other disciples the Father” Jesus replied; “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves” (John 14:9-11).
God our Heavenly Father is a jealous God in that He wants no rivals for His affections as our heavenly Father who loves us dearly and wants us to love Him back. Likewise, God the Son wants His bride to have their affections on Him before any other rivals. Now idols come in every shape and form today. They can be money, possessions, material possessions, human relationships, a career, a favourite sport or some form of entertainment, or anyone or anything we give more importance to than Him. Having a nice car, a nice house, money in the bank, pursuing a career, or enjoying a personal relationship that honours God, or enjoying a favourite sport or even enjoying certain wholesome movies are not wrong in themselves, however, when we give any one of them priority over our priority for Him and for the things of God it becomes an idol. In the New Testament we are told; “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Pride is a very subtle enemy of spiritual fidelity to the LORD and giving Him the glory. We may well enjoy being complimented when we see our ministry being effective but we must very quickly and without delay give glory to God. One of the signs of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is that He will always glorify and point others to the Messiah and not to Himself, His gifts or to those exercising His gifts. And finally we read…
“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” A time is coming when the Messiah will return, destroy all opposition arrayed against God and His kingdom and establish His Millennial Messianic reign on earth. It will be an age that reflects the same environment as that of the Garden of Eden before the fall of man. Satan will be imprisoned in the belly of the earth and removed from all human contact and in that day and the whole earth will be regenerated for a thousand years. Isaiah also prophesied about the age to come after the close of this present age. Isaiah prophesies…
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us his ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, (The Torah) and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:1-5). All of this will happen because of the faithfulness of the Messiah our Lord Jesus, The LORD’S SERVANT.
