Van Wyk Blobs to Isaiah Sabbath School Lesson 5
No one is under obligation to accept any of
these blobs added to dr. Gane’s 2003 treatment of the Lesson republished
unchanged in 2021 for us here. I just personally feel that drs. Goldstein and
drs. Gane had the responsibility to work more on this great prophet between
2003 and 2021 and that responsibility was not adequately taken care of by
either or both of them. It is not uncommon for SS lessons to be published
unaltered in later years. Many in the archive of SS quarterlies available
online will demonstrate that. But, in the light of the End Time right
surrounding us, it should beg for deeper delving. The correct site for this
quarterly is online at the SSnet for the adult section in the 5th
week completely by dr. Gane only. This edition is Van Wyk Blobs edition.
Isaiah
Sabbath School Lesson Begins
Bible Study Guide - 1st Quarter 2021
Lesson 5January 23-29
Noble Prince of Peace
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 9:1-5; Isa. 9:6, 7; Isa. 9:8-10:34; Isaiah 11; Isa. 12:1-6. Memory Text: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will
be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, NKJV). Gane found in a book of illustrations the following information circa 2003
when he designed this Sabbath School Lesson Series: “Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, who
supervised the creation of the first atomic bomb, appeared before a Congressional
Committee [in the United States]. They inquired of him if there were any defense
against the weapon. “‘Certainly,’ the great physicist replied. ‘And that is—’ Dr. Oppenheimer looked over the hushed, expectant audience and said softly:
‘Peace.’ ” — Compiled by Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations: Signs
of the Times (Rockville, Md.: Assurance Publishers, 1979), p. 989. Peace is an elusive dream for the human race. It has been estimated that since
the beginning of recorded history the world has been entirely at peace only about
8 percent of the time. During these years, at least eight thousand treaties have
been broken (Paul Lee Tan, p. 987, adapted). In 1895 Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, provided for a trust to establish
a prize for individuals who make an outstanding contribution to peace (Paul Lee
Tan, p. 988, adapted). In recent years, however, even some winners of the Nobel
Peace Prize have been involved in violent conflict. This week, we’ll read about the only [O]ne who can bring true and everlasting
peace.” Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath,
January 30. End of Gloom for Galilee (Isa. 9:1-5) Why does Isaiah 9:1 begin with a word (But/Nevertheless)
that indicates a contrast to what precedes it? [The truth is, the original Hebrew
has no “but” or “Nevertheless” here. It is inserted by translators in modern times
but is not there in the original. Ignore the question. In contrary, there is actually
a continuation between Isaiah 8:21-22 and Isaiah 9:1-5 describing the Second Coming.
Isaiah 8:21, 22 describes things in Isaiah’s day, according
to Gane. But that is not the case. The remnant
weed will have hard times in the Time of Trouble “they will pass through the land
“hard-pressed and famished” and when they are hungry they will curse their rulers
and also God “as they face upward” (v. 21) since God is going to send plaques during
this time to fall on the remnant weed and evil ones but not the remnant seed. They
will look to the earth at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Time of Trouble “and behold distress and
darkness the gloom of anguish and driven away into darkness” the fatal result (v.
22). (Isa. 9:1, NRSV). Rather
than Gane’s preteristic application to Galilee in Isaiah’s dyas, the explanation
is quite different. I would say Isaiah mix
in this chapter a number of panels, his own day (which should be interpreted preteristically
but which comprises only a small section), rather the Second Coming results, the
Messiah and His First coming, the problem with the Remnant weed, reason for God’s
punishment in Isaiah’s days, the character of Isaiah’s God, the Executive Judgment.
He started the chapter where he left off in the previous one, the Second Coming
of Christ when “there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish” (v. 1). The remnant
seed “He treated with contempt in earlier times” but it is said “later on [at the
Second Coming of Christ] He shall make glorious” (v. 1c). The faithful ones who
“walk in darkness [of global persecution] will see a great light” (v. 2a). The remnant
seed “shall multiply” and “You shall increase their gladness, they will be glad
in Your [Christ’s] presence” (v. 3a-c). The yoke and staff on their shoulders, the
Lord shall break and during the Time of Trouble
at the End-time the Lord shall break “the rod of their oppressor” (v. 4b). Every
soldier “the booted warrior” and cloak rolled in blood [of violence] “will be for
the burning, fuel for the fire” (v. 5a-b). Whom does God use to deliver
His people? Isa. 9:6, 7. When and how was the prophecy
of Isaiah 9:1-5 fulfilled? Matt. 4:12-25. Not by accident, Jesus’ early ministry was in the Galilee region, where He
gave hope by announcing the good news of God’s kingdom and by healing people, including
delivering demoniacs from bondage to the occult (Matt. 4:24). The paragraph of Gane is Preterism at best and should be deleted altogether.
The Holy Spirit, or Jesus do not steal or plagiarize the Old Testament writers and
claim it for Himself by modifying it here and there. Christ packed it in the suitcase
of Isaiah pointing directly only to Him and they would have understood it only when
it came in fulfillment with Christ in future history. Gane however said: “Here is
where we see a perfect example how the Bible takes events that happened in Old Testament
times and uses them to prefigure things that will happen in New Testament times.
The Lord mixed images from one era with those of another, such as in Matthew 24,
when Jesus mingled the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 with the destruction
at the end of the world.” Nothing can be further from the truth. F. F. Bruce argued
this way and in Ford’s Daniel, he bought this principle hook and sinker and developed
the apotelesmatic principle, thus arguing for Antiochus and Rome to be the Antichrist
of Daniel 7 with the Little Horn. Jesus did not “mingle” data. He was saying two
synonymous parallel sentences of which one is from Daniel 9:26 and the second from
Daniel 9:27 and they are separated between 70 A.D. and 538 A.D respectively. However,
Luke only heard the first one and missed the second one. Matthew and Mark only heard
the second one and missed the first one. We are misapplying the text by insisting
they are identical. That is why Ford is wrong and here Gane, using the same Fordian
and his teacher Bruce principle, is also not correct. Christ does not speak with
a fork tongue. He is not confused when He speaks or analyze prophecy of the Old
Testament and neither does He steals phrases and applies it to Himself. I am sorry
to say, but this principle was brought into Adventism by dr. LaRondelle in many
of his Psalm’s analysis which is the Reformistic Theology of his teachers H. Ridderbos
and kie. It is either I am right here or Ford is right and if he is, we as a church
will have to apologize to him for that Glazier View Conference in 1980 that found
him at odds, because it is this view on Matthew 24, Mark 13 as opposed to Luke 21
that was the building stone of his whole theology. The dilemma with Ford’s view
is that it open’s up a Pandora box of everything can mean many things to the point
of meaning nothing. This is not true. I appeal for the opposite view. If someone were to ask you, What has Jesus delivered
you from, what would you answer? What personal testimony can you give regarding
the power of Christ in your life? A Child for Us (Isa. 9:6, 7) The Second Coming of Christ is made possible by His
First Coming between 4BCE to 31 CE. “For a child will be born to us, a son will
be given to us and the government will rest on His shoulders and His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (v. 6).
It is another of Judaism’s greatest headaches, namely, what to do with this verse,
for verse 7 says “there is no end to the increase of government or of peace” which
is eternal benefits of the coming of this Individual which must be Divine not human. What is special about the
Child found in these verses? Isaiah 9:6, 7. The rest of this description on this day by Gane is very Adventist and not
Reformed Theology. Gane says: “Notice that this Deliverer has several names/epithets
that describe Him in various ways. In the ancient Near East, kings and deities had
multiple names to show their greatness. He is “wonderful,” just as the divine Angel of the LORD described His own name
to Samson’s father as “wonderful” (Judg. 13:18, RSV; the same Hebrew root) and
then ascended toward heaven in the sacrificial flame on Manoah’s altar (Judg. 13:20), thereby prefiguring His offering
of Himself more than one thousand years later. He is referred to as divine (“Mighty God”) and the eternal Creator (“Everlasting
Father”; see Luke 3:38: “ … Adam, son of God,” NRSV). He is a King of the dynasty of David; His kingdom of peace will be eternal. Given these attributes, who alone could this Child be? See Luke 2:8-14. Some have attempted to identify Him with King Hezekiah, but the description
far surpasses any ordinary human being. Only one person fits: Jesus Christ, the
divine Son of God and Creator (John 1:1-3, 14; Col. 1:15-17; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:2), who was born to us in order to save
us and give us peace. He has received all authority in heaven and on earth, and
He is with us always (Matt. 28:18-20). While
retaining His divinity, He has also become human for all time, ever able to sympathize
with our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15). “Unto us
a child is born” … forever! “When Christ came to our world, Satan was on the ground, and disputed every
inch of advance in His path from the manger to Calvary. Satan had accused God of
requiring self-denial of the angels, when He knew nothing of what it meant Himself,
and when He would not Himself make any self-sacrifice for others. This was the accusation
that Satan made against God in heaven; and after the evil one was expelled from
heaven, he continually charged the Lord with exacting service which He would not
render Himself. Christ came to the world to meet these false accusations, and to
reveal the Father.” — Ellen G. White, Selected Messages,
bk. 1, pp. 406, 407.” What does this quote tell us about the character
of God? The Rod of God’s Anger (Isa. 9:8-10:34) This section explains Isaiah 9:1-5, which predicts
deliverance for the gloomy, anguished people who had trusted in the occult and fallen
prey to military conquest and oppression: “the rod of their oppressor, you have
broken as on the day of Midian” (Isa. 9:4, NRSV). Read through the sufferings
of God’s people as shown in the above texts. Compare the curses in Leviticus 26:14-39. Why did God punish His people
in stages rather than all at once? What does this indicate about His character and
goals? (v. 6). It is another of Judaism’s greatest
headaches, namely, what to do with this verse, for verse 7 says “there is no
end to the increase of government or of peace” which is eternal benefits of the
coming of this Individual which must be Divine not human. They are carried away
with the idea of verse 8 “On the throne of David and over His kingdom [not
David’s but the Divine Person involved, because if His government increase with
no end then His kingdom is not human] to establish it and to uphold it with
justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore” (v. 7a-d). From the 1956 Sabbath School Series on Isaiah,
page 14 (available online from the Sabbath School Archive Department) the
following emphasize that Adventists do not believe in One person with three
functions, namely, that Jesus is the Father and then Jesus and then the Holy
Spirit. Also not in bi-theism or a binity but in a trinity: "Christ, the Word, the Only Begotten of
God, was one with the eternal Father,—one in nature, in character, in
purpose,—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of
God And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: 'The Lord possessed Me in
the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from
everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth, then I was
by Him, as one brought up with Him ; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing
always before Him."—Patriarchs and Prophets, page 34. In the counsels of
eternity Christ was present, and even at that time He was a Wonderful Counselor.
He is the same today. …Mighty God…. There are some who would belittle Christ
and make Him a created being. Such have no conception of the dishonor they thus
heap upon Him. Christ is God, He is "mighty God." ….The Everlasting
Father…. To make even more sure that Christ is accorded the honor of Godhood,
He is here called the Everlasting Father. This gives Christ the honor of
equality with the Father Himself. The two are one, in honor, in character, in
purpose, but not in person. Christ Himself says, "All men should honor the
Son even as they honor the Father." John 5:23. If Christ were not God, and
God in the highest sense, this would be the highest blasphemy." The zeal
of the Lord of Hosts [angels] will accomplish this (v. 7e). There is no eternal
kingdom of David after 70 CE. It can only continue in the Life and Work of
Jesus Christ Who is from the bloodline of David but Who is Divine and eternal,
but Judaism refuses to work with this scenario and rather change the text to
fit their view instead of changing their view to fit the text. With the
Messianic panel done, Isaiah then opened a panel on the Remnant weed and their
sins and why God punished them and will eradicate them ultimately. The Lord “sends
a message against Jacob” Read through Isaiah 9:8-10:2. What sins are the people guilty
of? Against whom have they committed them? Who is guilty among them? The Lord “sends a message against Jacob” (v. 8)
and it describes the problem of Samaria, namely the Lucifer syndrome “asserting
in pride and in arrogance of heart” (v. 9) the very same disease that resulted in
the origin of Satan and his Fall from heaven, being casted down by God. Even though
the Lord punished Israel and the bricks have fallen down, they claim they will
build it up again and the trees fell but they will plant again, bricks with
stones and sycamores with cedars (v. 10). It is because of the Lucifer syndrome
in the remnant weed of Isaiah’s day Israel, that the Lord “raises against them
adversaries from Rezin” (shortly before 727 BCE 2 Kings 15:37) (v. 11). He also
sent against them the Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west and “they
devour Israel with gaping jaws” but “in all this His anger does not turn away
and His hand is still stretched out” (v. 12c-d). God remains compassionate and
longing for a relationship although he is constantly rejected by the
individual. This is the kind of God Isaiah knew. Despite this quality of God
the people did not repent (v. 13) and they did not seek the Lord (v. 13b). So
the Lord “cuts off head and tail from Israel” (v. 14). The head is the elder
and honorable man and the tail is the false prophet (v. 15). The laymen elders
rejected the ministry and because politics were brought into religion, the
politicians run religion and the ministers were just playing politics to
appease the laymen. “For those who guide this people are leading astray” (v.
16a). That is why the Lord is not pleased with them (v. 17a) and their orphans
and widows are also not taken care of by the Lord because of this (v. 17b).
Everyone of them, orphans, widows, elders, honorable men, prophets are all
godless and evil (v. 17c). Their mouths are speaking foolishness (v. 17d). But,
in spite of this nonsense situation of the remnant weed, God remained
compassionate “His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out”
(v. 17e-f). Now Isaiah opens the panel of the ultimate destiny of the remnant
weed and all evil “for wickedness burns like a fire, consumes briars and
thorns, it even sets the thickets of the forest aflame” describing the Hell
event at the end of the millennium when God will eradicate all evil (v. 18). It
is the Day of the Lord and “by the fury of the Lord of hosts [angels] the land
is burned up and the people are like fuel for the fire” (v. 19a-b). In verse
19c Isaiah started a new panel by saying “no man [in Isaiah’s day in 727 BCE]
spares his brother”. The scene is one of hunger that cannot satisfy in which
they eat their own arms (v. 20c). They are against one another so that the
remnant weed of Manasseh is against Ephraim and Ephraim against Manasseh and
together they are against the remnant
weed of Judah (v. 21a-b), but despite this God remained compassionate. “His
anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out” (v. 21c-d). Isaiah 10 Isaiah connects the information of this chapter to the previous one in
which the Executive Judgment of God
is detailed and he pronounced “woe to those who [constantly] enact evil
statutes and to those who constantly record unjust decisions” (v. 1a-b). He
speaks of the power of empires in his own day, before his own day, after his
own day, in fact history from eternity to eternity. They “deprive the needy of
justice” (v. 2a); they rob the poor of the Remnant seed of rights (v. 2b);
widows are their spoil (v. 2c); they plunder orphans (v. 2d). Isaiah wants to
know what they are going to do in the Day of punishment or the Executive Judgment of God (v. 3a). That
is the day in which the “devastation” will “come from afar” (v. 3b). It will
come from God Almighty. Where will they flee for help? (v. 3c). Where will they
leave their wealth and capital safely? (v. 3d). How has God used suffering in your own life to
turn you away from a wrong course? (Or are you, maybe, still not getting the message?) Root and Branch in One (Isaiah 11) Who is the "shoot”
that comes out “from the stump of Jesse" (NRSV) in Isaiah 11:1? See also Zech. 3:8; Zech. 6:12. Isaiah 11:1 picks up on the imagery of a felled
tree in 10:33, 34. In the Eschaton the
Lord will break the boughs with a terrible crash in the Executive Judgment (v. 33). “Those who are tall in stature will be
cut down” (v. 33b). “Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One” for “those who are
lofty will be abased” (v. 33c). They share the Lucifer syndrome of arrogance and
in the Executive Judgment they will
be cut off. Isaiah 11:1-3a and the First Advent of the Messiah Isaiah 11:1-3a is a description of the first coming of the Messiah in the
person of Jesus. The Spirit of God rested upon Jesus at His baptism in the form
of dove that appeared in 27 CE, also predicted by Daniel 9:24-27 (see Isaiah
11:2). Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord. One can see it in His prayers to
His Father in Heaven. Jesus is part of the Triune God but He took on the work
of salvation, willing to be made willing as a son to His Father in Heaven. His
navigation was in heaven and thus, as fully divine and fully human He was able
and is still able to save us. This qualification for the Messiah is very
important. That is why Psalm 110 speaks of "the Lord saying to my
Lord". It is members of the Trinity talking to each other. Jewish exegesis
on the passage does not do justice to the true reading of it, the same way they
do not do justice to the true reading of Genesis 1 speaking of "Let us
make . . . .". Angels do not create with God. It is a prerogative that is
only given to God. No one creates ex nihilo but God, not even higher
creatures than us human beings. Isaiah 11:3b-4b Investigative Judgment The role of the Messiah change in this part of the chapter, since it is a
fast forward to the time He will judge. But, notice, He will judge the good, or
the remnant of God or the believers. He will judge the poor and the afflicted
"with fairness" (Isaiah 11:4b). Daniel 7 tells us of this
investigative judgment and that and books were opened for this purpose. Christ
will not judge on hearsay or even on what His eyes saw while He was on earth between
4 BCE until 31 CE. He will judge with books or records in heaven. He does not
need the books, since He is well acquainted with the number of hairs on each
one's head. He just need to look at each one's DNA and will know everything
about the person. We are told in the New Testament that judgment will start
with the house of God. We are also told in Daniel 8:14 that the cleansing of
the sanctuary in Heaven has something to do with the antitypical Yom Kippur of
Leviticus 16, Hebrews 9 and Exodus 30 and that in 1844 Christ did not come as
William Miller and many Christians thought in those days, but entered a new
phase in His ministry. Time period fast forward between this Investigative Judgment and the final
eradication of evil. Why is the new Davidic
ruler also called the “root of Jesse” (Isa. 11:10)? What sense does this make? Rev. 22:16. The description fits only Jesus Christ, who is both “the root and the descendant
of David” (Rev. 22:16, NRSV). Christ
came from the line of David (Luke 3:23-31), who was descended from Adam,
who was the “son of God” (Luke 3:38) in the sense
that Christ created him (see John 1:1-3, 14). So, Christ was David’s ancestor, as well
as his descendant! In what ways does the
new Davidic ruler reverse the evil effects of sin and apostasy? Isaiah 11. Isaiah 11:6a-9c Heaven explained This is a description of the tranquility that will result when evil is
eradicated forever from the earth. It is the transition from Hades or Hell to
Heaven. It explains what will happen to the evil and what will follow when they
are non-existent and the results we will experience in man and nature. There is
no way that environmentalists can teach lions to lie down next to children and
to lose their inherent drive for killing. Only the creative ability of the
Almighty can accomplish that and He will do so only after He eradicated the
evil. Compare Isa. 10:20-22). Just in case people want to assign the whole
chapter to the time of Isaiah in a preteristic way, we need to stop the bus due
to the next section. On “that day” the remnant of Israel and those who escaped “will
not again anymore” [lo yosiph od]
rely on the one who struck them [the persecutor] “but will truly rely on the
Lord the Holy One of Israel” (v. 20). This is eternity starting and no longer
history. “A remnant will return … to the mighty God” (v. 21) because the mighty
Christ, King of Kings will come at the Second Coming to fetch them. Although
Israel through the ages or the remnant through the ages were “like the sand of
the sea” it is only “a remnant [seed] within them [the total remnant also
including the remnant weed] will return” (v. 22b). A destruction after the
Second Coming “is determined, overflowing with righteousness” (v. 22c) for Christ our Righteousness is the Warrior Messiah of the Day of the Lord event or Hell or Executive Judgment. For a complete [kala] destruction and that decreed, the
Lord of Hosts [angels] will execute in the midst of all the earth (v. 23). It is
not only John in Revelation that knows about the Hell. Isaiah then opened a
panel with a special message to the Remnant
seed “O My people who dwell in [spiritual = the already but not yet] Zion,
do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod” (v. 24). Gane said “Predators will no longer be carnivorous, and they will coexist in
tranquility with their former prey” (Isa. 11:6-9). Is Isaiah 11 talking about
just the first coming of Christ, just the Second, or both? Look through the prophecy
and mark down which texts talk about which coming. Gane also said: “In Isaiah 11, both comings of Jesus are presented as one picture.
They are tied together, because they are two parts of a whole, like the two sides
of a flat plane. The plan of salvation, to be completed, requires both comings:
the First, which already happened; and the Second, which we await as the consummation
of all our hopes as Christians.” What did Christ accomplish at the First Coming
that gives us such assurance about the Second Coming? What is the purpose of the
First Coming if it doesn’t result in the Second? “You Comforted Me” (Isa. 12:1-6) Isaiah 12 Isaiah loves to place the First Advent of the
Messiah (11:1-3a) next to the Investigative Judgment in 1844 (11:3b-b) adjacent
to the Hell or Hades or Sheol with the final eradication of all
evil (11:4c-5b) and this in turn next Heaven explained (11: 6a-9c) and next to the
Latter Rain predicted (11:10a-12d)
and then Isaiah provides a panel of events and places similar to the panel of
events and places in the somewhat, for some at least, mysterious end-time
closure of Daniel 11:36-45. It was custom in Ancient Near Eastern Art to make
wall reliefs in panels as were done in Niniveh to depict kingly events but Jews
could not make art except by words. Isaiah is that artist. Daniel 12:1 is the Second Coming and Resurrection and so in
Isaiah 12:1 it is also the Second Coming
and saints lifted on high in Zion, safe and sound. “I will give thanks to You O
Lord” (v. 1a) because “You were angry with me but Your anger was turned away”
(v. 1b). Similarly elder M. L. Andreasen wrote on the 4th
of August 1928 in his Isaiah Sabbath School quarterly: “’That day’ evidently
has reference to the time just preceding the coming of the Lord, as brought to
view in the latter part of the eleventh chapter of Isaiah.” The Time
of Jacob’s Trouble is an inner struggle for the saints more than an outward
perishing. The Holy Spirit is removed and they are in anguish, yet saved from
God’s angle. As Ellen White mentioned in Patriarchs and Prophets 201: “Then the restraining Spirit of God is
withdrawn from the earth”. Of course, the Trinity is closely watching and
totally involved yet distanced. Now that
the Second Coming took place “God is
my salvation” (v. 2a). The Lord (Christ) is my strength (v. 2b) similar to
Psalm 46, “A Mighty Fortress” and Isaiah sings the Song of the Lamb “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and
to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10) with the multitude. From the wells of salvation
in Heaven, Isaiah saw the saints drawing water (v. 3a) “and he will be like a
tree planted by streams of water” (Psalm 1:3) “and [the Lord] shall guide them
to springs of the water of life” (Revelation 7:17). “In that day [day of the Second Coming of the Lord] you will say,
give thanks to the Lord” (v. 4a) reflected in Revelation 7:12 “thanksgiving and
honor and power and might to our God forever”. Isaiah heard them say that the
name of the Lord should be made known and exalted among peoples. The prophecies
indicated that every tongue shall confess that Christ is Lord. Isaiah is not
just thinking of a local situation in his own day. The Lord is to be praised in
song for He has done excellent things [Creation, Salvation, Recreation] (v. 5a)
and “let it be known in all the earth” (v. 5b). This scene of Isaiah is far
remote from physical Israel in any time of their history past, present and the
historical future. This is in eternity when history will stop since Isaiah says
“shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One
of Israel”. Zion is the heavenly Zion
which is the New Jerusalem in Heaven in which the saints will have a mighty
fortress in God’s presence. The Warrior
Messiah will go out of this Zion to fight the Evil one in the final
eradicating battle or Day of the Lord
and also Psalm 46 tells how the exited saints in Zion shouts (Psalm 46:10a)
during the battle of the Warrior Messiah
and He will be exalted (v. 10b). It is when the Warrior Messiah enters the portals after the Battle with Satan in
Hell that Psalm 24:7-10 plays out. It is then that “the Lord of Hosts is with
us” (Psalm 46:11a) in equal par with Isaiah 12:6b “For great in your midst is
the Holy One of Israel”. Dear God Grant that we may experience the overwhelming joy of Your exaltation and
see the Warrior Messiah enter the Gates of Zion and sing “Lift up your heads,
portals, that the everlasting King may enter”. Amen Compare this song in Isaiah 12 to Revelation 15:2-4, the song of Moses and of the
Lamb. What are they both praising God for? Isaiah 12:2 comes close to identifying the coming
Deliverer as Jesus. It says that “God is my salvation” and “he has become my salvation”
(NRSV). The name Jesus means “The Lord is Salvation” (compare Matt. 1:21). What is the significance
of the idea, contained in the name of Jesus, that the Lord is salvation? Not only does the Lord bestow salvation (Isa. 12:2); He Himself is salvation.
The Presence of the Holy One of Israel in our midst (Isa. 12:6) is everything to us. God is with
us! Not only did Jesus do miracles; He “became flesh and lived among
us” (John 1:14, NRSV, emphasis supplied). Not only
did He bear our sins on the cross; He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Not only does He make peace;
He is our peace (Eph. 2:14). No wonder “the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples” (Isa. 11:10, NRSV). When He is lifted up on
the cross, He draws all people to Himself (John 12:32, 33)! A remnant shall return to the “mighty
God” (Isa. 10:21, NRSV), who is the Child born for
us, the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6)! Isaiah 11:10a-12d Latter Rain predicted From a description of Heaven attained in the previous section, Isaiah
retreated back to the time of the outpouring of the Latter Rain that will take
place at the end of time shortly before the close of probation and the time of
trouble, a time during which the Messiah ultimately comes a second time (Daniel
12:1-2). Christ will stand in that day as a signal to the nations (Isaiah
11:10c). The event described in this section twice mentioned in that day (11:10a
and 11:11a). Because the gathering of the remnant is to take place, it assumes
that the remnant is gathered away from the evil ones. They are scattered and
not together in Heaven as the previous section explained. This section has to
go chronologically to an earlier event. A first time gathering happened and
here Isaiah saw a second time gathering of the believers of God. This is one of
the most confusing passages for scholars, in Isaiah. They did not know what to
do with it. Some suggested a first gathering in Isaiah's day and a second one
in the later Babylonian captivity. This view opens up too many loopholes. The
historical nations that followed in the list after this section gives the
impression that this view could be correct but that is not what is intended by
the content that follows. The recovering of the remnant a second time (Isaiah
11:11b) is connected to and He will assemble the banished ones of Israel and
will gather the dispersed of Judah (Isaiah 11:12b-c). It is not correct to
think that in the final battle or eradication of evil, the wicked and good will
be mixed and that in the persecution that follows Christ will come to rescue
the remnant from the evil whom He hates because they are against the apple of
His eye. Christ battles evil because they are evil and not because His favorite
is attacked. There is no favoritism with God. Jews are not the people of God by
blood but by covenantal relationship that requires certain spiritual obligations
to be fulfilled. God easily adopt new children of Abraham when anyone, Jew or
non-Jew, approach God with the faith of Abraham. This is the soteriology or
salvation history of the Bible. This universalism of faith unto salvation was
not a later invention by prophets as some modern scholars wish to understand.
It was already there in earlier times. Sola Fidei was always the standard for
salvation. It is not a new concept invented by Martin Luther in 1520. What we do have in this section of Isaiah, is the Early Rain at Pentecost
and the Latter Rain at the end of time a second time. It is possible to read Isaiah 11:10a and 11:11a as referring to the same
time frame, namely the second time. The qualifications for the first time are
equal to that of the second time. It is also possible to see it as two separate
events, so that 11:10a refers to the early rain events as described in Acts 2
and that 11:11a refers to the second time, or Latter Rain (see the prediction
of it in the book of Joel) that will gather faithful ones who will be made
faithful by conviction from all the nations at the end of time. It will
inaugurate the Time of Persecution because the ones who choose to remain evil
or turn to evil will be turning on those among them who made a change in their
religious focus. The change in religion is not going to be a change towards
Judaism since the root of Jesse is Christ. It has to be towards Christianity,
but what form it will take can be predicted as something close to modern day
Seventh Day Adventism since biblical truths has to be upheld as well as
biblical lifestyles [ontology]. It is not good enough to say, "I must be a
friend of Jesus since I also fight Satan and evil". Dwell more on this idea that Jesus is our
salvation. Read Romans 3:24. It says that
redemption is in Jesus; redemption is something that happened in Him, and it is
through God’s grace and mercy that we can have an eternal share in that redemption,
as well. In other words, that redemption that was in Him can become ours
by faith, and not by works, because no works we do are good enough to redeem us.
Only the works that Christ did, which He credits to us by faith, can bring redemption.
How does this truth give you hope and assurance of salvation, especially when you
feel overwhelmed by your own sense of unworthiness? Further Thought: “The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face
of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life’s peril. He longs to shield
his dear one from Satan’s power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict.
To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten
Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. ‘Herein is love.’
Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages,
p. 49. “Christ was the one who consented to meet the conditions necessary for man’s
salvation. No angel, no man, was sufficient for the great work to be wrought. The
Son of man alone must be lifted up; for only an infinite nature could undertake
the redemptive process. Christ consented to connect himself with the disloyal and
sinful, to partake of the nature of man, to give his own blood, and to make his
soul an offering for sin. In the counsels of heaven, the guilt of man was measured,
the wrath for sin was estimated, and yet Christ announced his decision that he would
take upon himself the responsibility of meeting the conditions whereby hope should
be extended to a fallen race.” — Ellen G. White, The Signs of the Times, March 5, 1896. Discussion Question: 1. As we saw in Isaiah 11, the Lord presented both comings of Christ in one picture.
This can help explain, at least somewhat, why some of the Jews didn’t accept Christ
at His first coming, because they expected Him to do the things that will happen
only at the Second Coming. What does this tell us about how important it is that
we have a proper understanding of the nature of Christ’s advent? How can false views,
for instance, of His second coming set people up for Satan’s great end-time deception?
(See Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy,
chapter 39.) Summary: In the days of Isaiah,
whose name means “Salvation of the Lord,” God promised His remnant people salvation
from the oppression that was coming upon them as a result of national apostasy.
This prophecy of hope finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, whose name means
“The Lord is Salvation.”