Northernmost region of Egypt
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2 episodes with Lower Egypt
2 episodes with Lower Egypt
3 episodes with Lower Egypt
4 episodes with Lower Egypt
2 episodes with Lower Egypt
2 episodes with Lower Egypt
2 episodes with Lower Egypt
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from […]
We are introduced to the land of Egypt in the Joseph story, but aren't given much context. What was their history, culture and economy like? What did they eat and how did they live? In this Extra episode of Bible Backdrop, we look at this and other things to see what Egypt looked like during the time of Joseph. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please leave a 5 star rating and review. If you want to get in touch with the show, you can send an e-mail to the address listed in this episode.
A tale of greed, a cursed ancient amulet, and the worst looking mummy of all time. In this episode, we examine Mummy Reborn from 2019. Email: mummymoviepodcast@gmail.com Words and Terms Uraeus - the symbol of a cobra, standing on its tale, and ready to spit fire at any who threaten the pharaoh. This symbol represented Wadjet, the cobra goddess of Lower Egypt. Winged Scarab Beetle Amulet - a type of amulet that became popular in the Late Period of Egypt. These were typically made of Egyptian faience, and were made to link the deceased with the newly born sun. Egypt Faience Items Winged Scarab = https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/552844 Lotiform Chalice - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548339 Shabti - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/561108 Bibliography Cooney, K. M. (2008). Scarab. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1(1). Hart, G. (2005). The Routledge dictionary of Egyptian gods and goddesses. Routledge Ikram, S. (2003). Death and burial in Ancient Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press IMDB. (2023). The Mummy Reborn. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/?ref_=nv_home IMDB. (2023). The Mummy Rebirth. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/?ref_=nv_home Nicholson, P, T, and Rose, P, J. Egyptian Faience. (2000). In Nicholson. P. T and Shaw. I (Eds), Ancient Egyptian materials and technology. PP. 177-195.Middleton, R. (1962). Brother-sister and father-daughter marriage in ancient Egypt. American Sociological Review, 603-611. Pinch, G. (2003). Ancient Egyptian Magic. University of Texas Press; Univ of Texas PR ed. edition Toivari-Viitala, J. (2013). Marriage and divorce. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1(1). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hear about travel to Egypt including Cairo and climbing Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula as the Amateur Traveler talks to Greg from ThePresentPerspective.com about their recent trip to see a different part of Egypt. https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-egypt-and-mount-sinai/ Why should you go to Egypt? Greg says, "I think there are a million reasons why someone should go to Egypt. Warm and hospitable people. Great culture. Egyptian history obviously is vast, and it's one of the oldest civilizations in the world. There's so much to see in Lower Egypt, in Cairo there's just an endless wealth of treasures to explore but when we visited Egypt, we decided to go a little bit off of the traditional route that a lot of tourists go it's not that we weren't interested in going to Luxor and Aswan and doing a Nile cruise. We enjoy history, but we're not history buffs, and I think, to us, there was enough ancient history in Cairo." "So while Luxor would have been great to visit, we had enough of a time with Egyptian history in Cairo, with the pyramids and Saqqara and all of that. So we decided to go a different route and instead of heading south, head east. So we headed into the Sinai Peninsula." Day 1: Arrival in Cairo Arrive in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Check into your accommodation in Giza. Day 2: Exploring the Pyramids Spend the day exploring the Giza Plateau. Visit the iconic Pyramids of Giza, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Explore the Sphinx and the ancient temples in the area. Day 3: Saqqara and Memphis Head to Saqqara, known for the Step Pyramid, which is one of the oldest pyramid structures. Explore the ancient city of Memphis, the former capital of Egypt. Return to your accommodation in Cairo or Giza for the night. Day 4: Coptic Cairo and St. Simon the Tanner Monastery Explore the historic district of Coptic Cairo. Visit St. Simon the Tanner Monastery, located in caves on Mount Makatum. Enjoy the unique atmosphere of this historic site. Spend the night in Cairo. Day 5: Travel to St. Catharine Depart for St. Catharine, a town located at the base of Mount Sinai. Choose either a road trip from Cairo or fly to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport and arrange transportation to St. Catharine. Check into your accommodation in St. Catharine. Day 6: Hiking Mount Sinai Wake up early to begin your sunrise hike up Mount Sinai. Enjoy the breathtaking views from the summit as the sun rises. Visit St. Catherine's Monastery, one of the oldest in the world, located at the foot of the mountain. Spend the night in St. Catharine. Day 7: Dahab and the Red Sea Head to the coastal town of Dahab. Explore the vibrant underwater world by snorkeling or diving in the Blue Hole. Visit the Colored Canyon, which offers stunning natural beauty. Enjoy the Magic Lake for a unique swimming experience. Stay in Dahab for the night. Day 8: Relaxing in Dahab Spend a leisurely day on the beach, enjoying the clear waters of the Red Sea. Visit the Blue Lagoon for a peaceful experience. Take in the local culture and cuisine in Dahab. Relax and unwind in this beautiful coastal town. Day 9: Return to Cairo Travel to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport. Fly back to Cairo and home Egypt has so much to see. The Pyramids are amazing, but also consider heading into the Sinai to climb the sacred mountain of Sinai.
Our demigods are known for their swordplay, so it's only natural that we devote an episode of the podcast to the arts of war and battle! Epic fights have played a role in so many amazing stories from mythology through the ages, from the poems of Homer to modern movies. In this episode, we talk about the key PVP fight of the Trojan War, between Hector and Achilles, as well as several other major fights from Egyptian, Aztec, and Chinese mythology. This week's interview features Laine Flores, who works for Hermes as a logistics coordinator for Plato Learning, making sure that all our demigods get their swords and shirts every summer! But elsewhere in life, Laine is an expert in stage combat! Learn all about what that means in this episode. If you'd like to submit a story or artwork to be featured on Myths & Muses, use this form (with a Mortal Guardian's permission!). [Transcript for Episode 5] Stuff to Read: The Battle of Hector and Achilles: Read the original story from the Iliad! Hector of Troy: Legendary Hero of the Trojan War Hector vs Achilles: Comparing the Two Great Warriors More about Horus and Set More about Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl Aztec creation story More about Nuwa Stuff to Watch: Our YouTube Playlist for Episode 5, featuring more on the Trojan War and the Aztec myth of the Five Suns, as well as some of the epic mythological battles we didn't get the chance to talk about in this episode. Please note: Because of the subject matter of this episode, there are some depictions of bloodshed in the context of ancient warfare. Mortal Guardians may want to watch first to make sure it's suitable for their demigods! Cool Images: Achilles Slays Hector, painting by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1630) Eric Bana as Hector and Brad Pitt as Achilles in Troy (2004) From the throne of a statue of King Sesostri I, showing Horus and Seth binding together the symbolic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt. ca. 1961 -1917 BCE. Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, art reproduced from the Codex Borbonicus (c. 1500)
, Jeremiah 40 Prophet Jeremiah was set free by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard. He had asked Jeremiah to come with him to Babylon if he chooses to . [5] However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please.” Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go. Gedaliah the appointed leader of the remnants in Judah started attracting Jews from far and wide. Jeremiah 40:8 [8] they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men. Meanwhile ; Jeremiah 40:14 [13] Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah [14] and said to him, “Don't you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them. Johanan even asked Gedaliah the permission to go and kill Ishmael but Gedaliah didn't approve . Jeremiah 41 Ishmael succeeded in assassinating Gedaliah. He came with ten men to visit Gedaliah. He murdered him and all the men with him. Ishmael also killed seventy out of eighty men who came bringing grain offering and incense to the house of God in Shiloh. Jeremiah 41:10 [10] Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah—the king's daughters along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites. Johanan later got wind of the assassination of Gedaliah ,He came with his army officers and attacked Ismael who later escaped . Jeremiah 42 Johanan with the army officers and the people recovered from Ishmael came to Jeremiah to ask instructions from the Lord on where to go and what to do . Ten days later , the Lord spoke to Jeremiah warning the Jews not to move away from the land . Jeremiah 42:10 - 12 [10] ‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you. [11] Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. [12] I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.' However if they go away , Jeremiah 42:16 [16] then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. Jeremiah 43 The people refused to heed the word of God spoken by Jeremiah. They called him a liar and decided to head for Egypt. They took everyone including Jeremiah with them. . Jeremiah 43:7 [7] So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes. At Tahpanhes God instructed Jeremiah to bury large stones on clay brick pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh's Temple. God promised to bring Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Egypt . Jeremiah 44 The Lord continued the pronouncement of destruction on Egypt. Jeremiah 44:1 [1] This word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis—and in Upper Egypt: God said the same destruction they witnessed in jerusalem will also become of them in Egypt. This was ... Jeremiah 44:3 [3] because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/irtwbey365/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/irtwbey365/support
In this episode, CeeBee is discussing the great Nubian King Piankhi. The Nubian king Piankhi (reigned ca. 741-ca. 712 B.C.) began the conquest of Lower Egypt which resulted in the establishment of the Twenty-fifth, or "Ethiopian, " Dynasty of pharaohs. This was one of the few times in African history when a state from the interior of the continent played a role in the politics of the Mediterranean. Piankhi was the hereditary ruler of the kingdom of Cush on the Upper Nile in what is now the northern Sudan. About 741 B.C. he succeeded his father, Kashta, who seems to have founded this Nubian Kingdom. By this time Lower Egypt had been in full decline for almost half a millennium. The Egyptian state was torn by internal power struggles among petty rulers, so the situation was ripe for a strong invader to take over. Piankhi moved steadily down the Nile, conquering towns one by one. By 721 B.C. he was in possession of Heracleopolis, and finally he captured Heliopolis in the Delta. At this point Piankhi regarded the conquest of Egypt as complete, and he returned home to his Cushite capital in Napata after placing the Egyptian rulers in tributary status. He was received in Napata with much acclaim for having humiliated the former Egyptian overlords of Nubia, but the tributary states which he left soon fell under the sway of a local ruler named Tefnakht, who reasserted Egyptian independence. A great deal is known about the details of Piankhi's campaign because he built a huge stele in Amon with a lengthy inscription. This account is regarded as unusually rational and lively by modern Egyptologists. Just like the Nubian rulers who followed him, Piankhi was culturally very conservative, and he sought to strengthen some of the institutions which were undergoing decline in Egypt. In the brief time he was in Lower Egypt, he oversaw the restoration of some crumbling temples. Upon his return to Cush he introduced the Egyptian custom of building pyramids for royal mausoleums, and he had a great pyramid built for himself in Kuru, south of Napata on the Nile. He rebuilt the temple at Jebel Barkal and also built a number of other temples in the Egyptian style. Curiously, all the Egyptian sources dwell on Piankhi's love of fast horses. He instituted the practice of decorating teams of horses to pull royal chariots, and the remains of a team of horses were found in his tomb at Kuru. Thank you for listening to my podcast. Peace Family. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ceebee710/message
GOSHEN: A pastoral region in Lower Egypt, occupied by the Israelites before the Exodus (Genesis 45:1); A ;and or place of plenty and comfort (more than enough). The angel of the LORD appeared, proclaimed unto me as He pointed directly to this tree, "THIS IS YOUR GOSHEN, walk there in." The angel of the LORD continued to proclaim that as far as you can see this tree (which was growing up to the sky), this is where your favor with the LORD resides. The angel of the LORD was about 10 feet or more with a statue of power and greatness that dripped off Him. I didn't know if I should fall flat on my face or run because of the anointing that was residing in the atmosphere. The spirit of the LORD sustained me to hear this powerful word that was spoken to me by the angel of the LORD. Whatever or Wherever your GOSHEN is, walk there in it and FLOURISH! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pihsrow/message
Les samedis matins sont jazz dans sur la Tsugi Radio. Jean-Yves est plus connu sous le nom de Kid Loco, tout simplement parce qu'au début des années 2000 il a posé les bases d'un style qui rayonnera encore des décennies après: la touche délicate et chaude d'un trip-hop très français. Cela dit, c'est loin d'être ce qui qualifie vraiment son univers musical. Il faut que ça groove certes, mais avec une belle guitare electrique, du punk, de l'underground, du rock et carrement du jazz. Ca tombe bien, on est dans le thème. Tracklist : 01 - Donald Byrd - Cristo Redentor 02 - Cannonball Adderley - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy 03 - Tanger - Nuits de Rêve 04 - Art Ensemble of Chicago - Theme de Yoyo 05 - Alice Coltrane - Oh Allah 06 - Pharoah Sanders - Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (edit) 07 - Don Cherry - Brown Rice 08 - Charles Mingus - Solo Dance 09 - Irreversible Entanglements - Who Sent You - Ritual
Les samedis matins sont jazz dans sur la Tsugi Radio. Jean-Yves est plus connu sous le nom de Kid Loco, tout simplement parce qu'au début des années 2000 il a posé les bases d'un style qui rayonnera encore des décennies après: la touche délicate et chaude d'un trip-hop très français. Cela dit, c'est loin d'être ce qui qualifie vraiment son univers musical. Il faut que ça groove certes, mais avec une belle guitare electrique, du punk, de l'underground, du rock et carrement du jazz. Ca tombe bien, on est dans le thème.Tracklist : 01 - Donald Byrd - Cristo Redentor02 - Cannonball Adderley - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy03 - Tanger - Nuits de Rêve04 - Art Ensemble of Chicago - Theme de Yoyo05 - Alice Coltrane - Oh Allah06 - Pharoah Sanders - Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (edit)07 - Don Cherry - Brown Rice08 - Charles Mingus - Solo Dance09 - Irreversible Entanglements - Who Sent You - Ritual Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.
One of the most interesting Egyptian Myth of Ancient Egypt; the story of the Human Pharaoh who unified Ancient Egypt as there was a point in Egyptian history where it was said that lower and upper Egypt had different rulers who couldn't stop fighting, until 1 became over ambitious. Listen to find out who it was
每日英語跟讀 Ep.K079: About Middle East -Egypt unearths 'world's oldest' mass-production brewery A high-production brewery believed to be more than 5,000 years old has been uncovered by a team of archaeologists at a funerary site in southern Egypt, the tourism ministry said Saturday. 埃及旅遊部週六表示，一支考古團隊在埃及南部一處墓地發現一座據信有5000多年歷史、生產規模龐大的啤酒廠。 The site containing several "units" consisting of about 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows was uncovered at North Abydos, Sohag, by a joint Egyptian-American team, the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page. 該部在「臉書」專頁發表聲明說，埃及與美國的聯合考古團隊在索哈省北阿拜多斯遺址發現好幾個釀酒「單位」，各由約40個排成2排的陶甕組成。 The brewery likely dates back to the era of King Narmer, it quoted the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziry, as saying, adding it believed the find to "be the oldest high-production brewery in the world." 聲明引述埃及古蹟最高委員會秘書長瓦奇瑞表示，這座啤酒廠的年代很可能追溯至納爾邁國王時期，因此據信為「世上最古老的高產量啤酒廠」。 Narmer, who ruled more than 5,000 years ago, founded the First Dynasty and unified Upper and Lower Egypt. 納爾邁統治時期距今5000多年，他創立第一王朝，統一上下埃及。 British archaeologists first discovered the existence of the brewery at the beginning of the 20th century but its location was never precisely determined, the statement said. 聲明指出，英國考古學家在20世紀初期率先發現這座啤酒廠的存在，卻從未精準確認其位置。 The joint Egyptian-American team "was able to re-locate and uncover its contents", it said. 聲明說，如今埃及與美國的聯合考古團隊「成功重新找到它的位置，並發現內部組成」。 Next Article: Israeli girl makes a splash with her pet snake 以色列女孩和她的寵物蛇一炮而紅 Eight-year-old Inbar likes to cool off in her small backyard pool in Israel with her favourite swimming buddy - her pet python. 8歲的英芭喜歡在她位於以色列的後院小池裡，和她最愛的泳伴─她的寵物蟒─清涼一下。 The 11-foot yellow serpent, named Belle, is one of her family's many pets, living happily together on an animal sanctuary in an agricultural community in southern Israel. 這隻11英尺長的黃色蟒蛇名叫貝兒，是她家中眾多寵物之一，一起快樂生活在以色列南部一處農業社區的一間動物庇護所。 She was named after Belle, the female character in Walt Disney's popular animated film Beauty and the Beast, who dons a yellow ball gown in a famous dance scene in the movie. 牠的名字來自華特‧迪士尼受歡迎的動畫電影《美女與野獸》女主角貝兒，她在電影中一個知名舞蹈場景穿了一件黃色的舞會禮服。 Inbar said Belle is good company during a coronavirus lockdown that has kept schools closed over the past few weeks. 英芭說，貝兒在學校過去幾週關閉的冠狀病毒限制行動期間是個好夥伴。 "It helps me pass the time because I really like to hang out with snakes and sometimes I help snakes shed (their skin) and I help them to be happy during coronavirus," Inbar said. 英芭說，「牠幫我打發時間，因為我真的喜歡跟蛇玩，有時我幫蛇脫皮，我幫牠們在冠狀病毒期間開開心心。」 Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1434177 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1408126 每日英語跟讀Podcast，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing 每週Vocab精選詞彙Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/vocab 每週In-TENSE文法練習Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/in-tense
Saint James the Confessor, Bishop of Catania .......................................................................................... 172 Saint Cyril, Bishop of Catania .................................................................................................................. 172 Saint Thomas, Patriarch of Constantinople .............................................................................................. 173 Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa ................................................................................................................. 174 Saint Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis in Lower Egypt ................................................................................... 176 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/an-orthodox/message
The Greek historian Herodotus had claimed Egypt to be the Gift of the Nile. The Nile Valley did give birth to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. In time, the peoples and culture of Egypt became a window to our past. The civilization gave rise to some of mankind's greatest achievements, and it witnessed both the rise and fall of the world’s greatest empires. Hi there! Welcome to Stories that made us. In this episode, we talk about one of the most prominent civilizations of the world. It is, of course, the ancient Egyptians. Starting around 5500 BCE two major kingdoms developed along the Nile - the Upper and Lower Egypt. Around 3200 BCE, Egypt was brought together under one ruler—King Narmer, or Menes. This unification became the beginning of Egyptian civilization. Religion, devotion, and worship were at the center of Egyptian life. The Egyptian king was the absolute ruler and owner of his kingdom. He was known as the “pharaoh” and was thought to be a living God who would be with them and look after them forever in eternity. It is therefore unsurprising that their creation story begins with the formation of the universe, and ends with the establishment of the line of Pharaohs. This episode is their tale of our origin. I hope you enjoy the story. If you do, please leave a rating and feedback. Share and subscribe! Your patronage would help us immensely! Get in touch with us: Twitter: @storiesthtmdeus Instagram: @storiesthtmdeus Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/storiesthatmdeus e-mail: info.storiesthatmadeus@gmail.com The music used for the episodes are either free to use, or under creative commons license. Below are their links and attributions - Desert Caravan Artist: Aaron Kenny Source: YouTube Audio Library On Foot Artist: Underbelly & Ty Mayer Source: YouTube Audio Library Emerald Therapy by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/ Dama-May - Primal Drive by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200086 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Dark Walk by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100468 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Halls of the Undead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100355 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Final Count by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100657 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Belief Artist: Silent Partner Source: YouTube Audio Library Medieval Astrology Artist: Underbelly & Ty Mayer Source: YouTube Audio Library Opus One by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/ Windswept Artist: ann annie Source: YouTube Audio Library The Shining in Dubai Artist: Unicorn Heads Source: YouTube Audio Library Mist Artist: Odonis Odonis Source: YouTube Audio Library Song For Michael Artist: Magic In The Other Source: YouTube Audio Library Dark Star by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100534 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ The Big Decision by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/
The splitting of the trident, the union of opposites, the Alchemical Great Work, and achievement of unus mundus or “one world” are all wrapped up in the ‘mother’ of “symbolic events on a world scale.” Like history itself, our podcast has developed episode by episode from ancient Near East mystery religions and the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt to this, the political, spiritual, and psychological unification of the entire globe on the first day of the Egyptian calendar of the new millennium. We’ll present 9/11 like you’ve never heard before, focusing on perspectives from Jean Baudrillard, Carl Jung, alchemy, and the whole history of esotericism.
Join me as we explore the nswtw – Papyrus sedge rulers of Lower Egypt, and bityaw – or bee rulers of Upper Egypt, approximately 8000 years ago, and learn of the Egypt of the Predynastic Pharaohs.
Join us as we head up the Nile, from Cairo, past the Pyramid field in Lower Egypt, to Luxor in Upper Egypt. We travel over 450 miles by train and by river. What did travelers think about the journey? What did they anticipate and where did they stop?
IF THE Bible had truly been edited to make the apostles, prophets, and patriarchs look better, chapter 38 of Genesis would have disappeared centuries ago. This week, we discuss the unseemly episode of Judah's relationship with his daughter-in-law, Tamar, by whom he fathered Perez, an ancestor of Jesus. We also discuss the history of the period to explain the timeline between Abraham and the Exodus, which is variously described as “four hundred years” (Gen. 15:13, Acts 7:6), “the fourth generation” (Gen. 15:16), and “four hundred and thirty years” (Ex. 12:40-41, Gal. 3:16-17). How do we reconcile the 400/430 year discrepancy, and how do we square that with four generations (Jacob > Levi > Kohath > Amram > Moses), since Levi was an adult before Jacob and his family followed Joseph to Egypt? Here's one answer, courtesy of Answers in Genesis (https://bit.ly/3cYPWRu): In Abraham's day, Egypt included the Levant, modern Israel, Lebanon, and western Jordan and Syria. So, the 430 years began with Abraham was called from Harran because he was in “Egypt” almost as soon as he crossed the Euphrates. The 400 years began when Ishmael, his son by Hagar the Egyptian, mocked and persecuted Isaac. The “fourth generation,” of course, refers to Moses, counting his great-grandfather Levi as the first generation after Jacob. Here is our timeline, based on this logic: Amorite kingdom of Babylon founded — 1894 BC Abraham born — 1951 BC Abraham arrives in Canaan — 1876 BC Isaac born — 1851 BC Isaac marries Rebekah — 1811 BC Hammurabi becomes king of Babylon — 1792 BC Jacob and Esau born — 1791 BC Abraham dies — 1776 BC Hyksos take over Lower Egypt — c. 1750 BC Isaac dies — 1671 BC Jacob arrives in Egypt — 1661 BC Jacob dies — 1644 BC Joseph dies — 1590 BC Ahmose drives Hyksos out of Egypt — c. 1550 BC Moses leads the Exodus — 1446 BC Joshua leads the Conquest — 1406 BC
IF THE Bible had truly been edited to make the apostles, prophets, and patriarchs look better, chapter 38 of Genesis would have disappeared long ago. This week, we discuss the unseemly episode of Judah’s relationship with his daughter-in-law, Tamar, by whom he fathered Perez, an ancestor of Jesus. We also discuss the history of the period to explain the timeline between Abraham and the Exodus, which is variously described as “four hundred years” (Gen. 15:13, Acts 7:6), “the fourth generation” (Gen. 15:16), and “four hundred and thirty years” (Ex. 12:40-41, Gal. 3:16-17). How do we reconcile the 400/430 year discrepancy, and how do we square that with four generations (Jacob > Levi > Kohath > Amram > Moses), since Levi was an adult before Jacob and his family followed Joseph to Egypt? Here’s the best answer, courtesy of Answers in Genesis: In Abraham’s day, Egypt included the Levant, modern Israel, Lebanon, and western Jordan and Syria. So, the 430 years began with Abraham was called from Harran because he was in “Egypt” almost as soon as he crossed the Euphrates. The 400 years began when Ishmael, his son by Hagar the Egyptian, mocked and persecuted Isaac. The “fourth generation,” of course, refers to Moses, counting his great-grandfather Levi as the first generation after Jacob. Here is our timeline, based on this logic: Amorite kingdom of Babylon founded — 1894 BC Abraham born — 1951 BC Abraham arrives in Canaan — 1876 BC Isaac born — 1851 BC Isaac marries Rebekah — 1811 BC Hammurabi becomes king of Babylon — 1792 BC Jacob and Esau born — 1791 BC Abraham dies — 1776 BC Hyksos take over Lower Egypt — c. 1750 BC Isaac dies — 1671 BC Jacob arrives in Egypt — 1661 BC Jacob dies — 1644 BC Joseph dies — 1590 BC Ahmose drives Hyksos out of Egypt — c. 1550 BC Moses leads the Exodus — 1446 BC Joshua leads the Conquest — 1406 BC Our latest book Veneration is now available for Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader! Click here and find out why readers rate Veneration 4.7 out of 5, describing it as "a must read" that "opens up…the Bible’s hidden mysteries." Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the iTunes App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org. The Gilberts’ book Veneration: Unveiling the Ancient Realms of Demonic Kings and Satan’s Battle Plan for Armageddon is available for a special price (better than Amazon!) at the SkyWatchTV Store (www.skywatchtvstore.com). Sharon's last novel Realms of Fire is available for Amazon's Kindle e-book reader! The print edition should be available this week. For more information, see Sharon's website, www.sharonkgilbert.com, or www.TheRedwingSaga.com. Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
HE SURVIVED the destruction of Sodom, but Lot didn't seem very happy about it. This week, we discuss the aftermath of the fiery destruction of the cities of the plain, which also leveled Jericho, according to archaeologists. Lot and his daughters retreated into the hills and lived a hermit-like existence in a cave overlooking the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. Their isolation led to the incestuous creation of the nations of Moab and Ammon, longtime enemies of Israel in the centuries that followed. Then we discuss Abraham's deception of Abimelech, the king of Gerar, and one of the stranger events in the Bible, the binding of Isaac. Why would Abraham agree to God's test, to the point that his knife was out, ready to “slaughter”—a Hebrew term (shachat) used elsewhere in the Old Testament for human sacrifice—his only son by Sarah? Here is the timeline Derek mentioned during the study. Bear in mind that these dates are not universally accepted and mainly show the sequence of events. Amorite kingdom of Babylon founded — 1894 BC Abraham arrives in Canaan — 1876 BC Destruction of Sodom — 1852 BC Isaac born to Sarah — 1851 BC Isaac marries Rebekah — 1811 BC Hammurabi crowned king of Babylon — 1792 BC Jacob and Esau born — 1791 BC Abraham dies — 1776 BC Hyksos (Amorites) rule Lower Egypt — c. 1750 BC Jacob arrives in Egypt — 1661 BC Ahmose drives Hyksos out of Egypt — c. 1550 BC Moses leads the Exodus — 1446 BC Joshua leads the Conquest — 1406 BC
HE SURVIVED the destruction of Sodom, but Lot didn’t seem very happy about it. This week, we discuss the aftermath of the fiery destruction of the cities of the plain, which also leveled Jericho, according to archaeologists. Lot and his daughters retreated into the hills and lived a hermit-like existence in a cave overlooking the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. Their isolation led to the incestuous creation of the nations of Moab and Ammon, longtime enemies of Israel in the centuries that followed. Then we discuss Abraham’s deception of Abimelech, the king of Gerar, and one of the stranger events in the Bible, the binding of Isaac. Why would Abraham agree to God’s test, to the point that his knife was out, ready to “slaughter”—a Hebrew term (shachat) used elsewhere in the Old Testament for human sacrifice—his only son by Sarah? Here is the timeline Derek mentioned during the study. Bear in mind that these dates are not universally accepted and mainly show the sequence of events. * Amorite kingdom of Babylon founded — 1894 BC * Abraham arrives in Canaan — 1876 BC * Destruction of Sodom — 1852 BC * Isaac born to Sarah — 1851 BC * Isaac marries Rebekah — 1811 BC * Hammurabi crowned king of Babylon — 1792 BC * Jacob and Esau born — 1791 BC * Abraham dies — 1776 BC * Hyksos (Amorites) rule Lower Egypt — c. 1750 BC * Jacob arrives in Egypt — 1661 BC * Ahmose drives Hyksos out of Egypt — c. 1550 BC * Moses leads the Exodus — 1446 BC * Joshua leads the Conquest — 1406 BC Our latest book Veneration is now available for Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader! Click here and find out why readers rate Veneration 4.7 out of 5, describing it as "a must read" that "opens up…the Bible’s hidden mysteries." Download these studies directly to your phone, tablet, or iPod! Get our free mobile app for iOS and Android. Links to the iTunes App Store and Google Play are on the main page at www.GilbertHouse.org. The Gilberts’ book Veneration: Unveiling the Ancient Realms of Demonic Kings and Satan’s Battle Plan for Armageddon is available for a special price (better than Amazon!) at the SkyWatchTV Store (www.skywatchtvstore.com). Sharon's last novel Realms of Fire is available for Amazon's Kindle e-book reader! The print edition should be available this week. For more information, see Sharon's website, www.sharonkgilbert.com, or www.TheRedwingSaga.com. Click here for the complete archive of our New Testament Bible studies to date, and click here for the Old Testament studies to date. Or go to www.spreaker.com/show/gilbert-house-fellowship for all of the audio.
Isaiah 10 (NIV)1 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,2 to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.3 What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar?To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain.Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.God's Judgment on Assyria5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!6 I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me,to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.7 But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind;his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?' he says.9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus?10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?'”12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says:“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings.14 As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries;not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.'”15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it?As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood!16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame;in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers.18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away.19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.The Remnant of Israel20 In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob,will no longer rely on him who struck them downbut will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.21 A remnant will return,[b] a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return.Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:“My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians,who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.25 Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”26 The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt.27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck;the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat.[c]28 They enter Aiath; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Mikmash.29 They go over the pass, and say, “We will camp overnight at Geba.”Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Poor Anathoth!31 Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover.32 This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fistat the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power.The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low.34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,[b] Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22[c] Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shouldersIsaiah 11 (NIV)The Branch From Jesse1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat,the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them.7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.8 The infant will play near the cobra's den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper's nest.9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[b] from Elam, from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel;he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.13 Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies[d] will be destroyed;Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east.They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.15 The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea;with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River.He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals.16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria,as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed[b] Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region[c] Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar[d] Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility
Isaiah 10 (NIV) 1 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, 2 to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. 3 What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? 4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. God's Judgment on Assyria 5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! 6 I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. 7 But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations. 8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?' he says. 9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria— 11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?'” 12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says: “‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings. 14 As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.'” 15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood! 16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. 17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. 18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away. 19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down. The Remnant of Israel 20 In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 A remnant will return,[b] a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. 22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. 23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land. 24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did. 25 Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.” 26 The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt. 27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat.[c] 28 They enter Aiath; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Mikmash. 29 They go over the pass, and say, “We will camp overnight at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees. 30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover. 32 This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem. 33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. 34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One. Footnotes: [a] Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty, [b] Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22 [c] Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shoulders Isaiah 11 (NIV) The Branch From Jesse 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra's den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper's nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[b] from Elam, from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. 12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. 13 Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies[d] will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. 14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. 15 The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt. Footnotes: [a] Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed [b] Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region [c] Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar [d] Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility
Isaiah 10 (NIV)1 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,2 to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.3 What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar?To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain.Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.God's Judgment on Assyria5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!6 I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me,to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.7 But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind;his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?' he says.9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus?10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?'”12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says:“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings.14 As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries;not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.'”15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it?As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood!16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame;in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers.18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away.19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.The Remnant of Israel20 In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob,will no longer rely on him who struck them downbut will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.21 A remnant will return,[b] a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return.Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:“My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians,who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.25 Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”26 The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt.27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck;the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat.[c]28 They enter Aiath; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Mikmash.29 They go over the pass, and say, “We will camp overnight at Geba.”Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Poor Anathoth!31 Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover.32 This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fistat the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power.The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low.34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,[b] Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22[c] Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shouldersIsaiah 11 (NIV)The Branch From Jesse1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat,the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them.7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.8 The infant will play near the cobra's den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper's nest.9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[b] from Elam, from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel;he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.13 Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies[d] will be destroyed;Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east.They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.15 The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea;with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River.He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals.16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria,as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed[b] Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region[c] Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar[d] Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility
This week we talk at length about aspects linked to the "Pharaoh: King of Egypt" exhibition at CaixaForum Madrid, as well as discussing a podcast about a writing project involving refugees in Ireland, a videogame set in the Iranian Revolution, a book on joy and more. Disclaimer: We made a mistake when we described the pharaoh's crowns; the white crown, of course, represents Upper Egypt, and the red crown Lower Egypt, rather than the other way around! Find us at [**elarpamedia.com**](elarpamedia.com) and our blog at irishsliceofmadrid.wordpress.com
PODCAST SATELLITETHE VOICE OF ISRAEL Tishri 15, 5779 Succot Day 1 Prince HandleyPresident / Regent University of Excellence ISRAEL'S FUTURE WEALTHMORE RESOURCES FOR ZION~ A MIRACLE PODCAST PRODUCTION ~ You can listen to this message NOW. Click on the pod circle at top left. (Allow images to display.)Or, Listen NOW >>> LISTEN HERE Email this message to a friend. Subscribe to this Ezine teaching by Email: princehandley@gmail.com24/7 release of Prince Handley teachings, BLOGS and podcasts > STREAMText: “follow princehandley” to 40404 (in USA) Or, Twitter: princehandley ___________________________________________ ISRAEL'S FUTURE WEALTHMORE RESOURCES FOR ZION Israel—whether realizing it or not—is going to win a major conquest over Muslim nations in the Middle East. And not just win … but plunder them, reaping great resources! No, I am NOT talking about the Ezekiel 38 ‒ 39 victory. I am talking about a conquest possibly before that: one that could happen at any time. Actually, there will be at least three (3) major Middle East conflicts that involve Israel in the future: Conquest over Muslim forces in Middle East; Ezekiel 38 ‒ 39 victory; and, Battle of Armageddon. NOTE: It is possible that the above two [#2 and #3] may be incorporated in one war; but two different conflicts (battles) when the Mashiach appears. That is, Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 could be the same event combination as Armageddon. They both include eartquakes and hail. However, I believe they will be separate conflicts for the reasons I present below. CONQUEST OVER MUSLIM ENTITIES Most people familiar with Bible prophecy realize there will be a conflict in the Middle East—fought in Israel—where G-d Himself will be “set apart” in the eyes of the goyim: the nations. When it is over, the whole world will realize that the conflict has been won by the LORD G-d. And, probably many of the people familiar with this prophecy in Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 realize that it is NOT the same conflict as the Battle of Armageddon. This fact is very clear in that: THE WEAPONS USED ARE DIFFERENT In Ezekiel 38, G-d sends earthquake(s), overflowing rain, hailstones and fire … plus disease and blood … upon Israel's enemies. Also, Israel's enemy goes into confusion and fights with each other. In Ezekiel 39, 83% [five-sixths] of Israel's enemies are either destroyed or overcome. And [one-sixth] 17% of the enemy forces are sent back to their home lands. In the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation Chapter 16) we read of a great earthquake affecting the whole earth and hailstones the size of 100 pounds. However, there is NO mention of disease (pestilence) and blood; nor of fire and burning sulphur like in Ezekiel 38. THE ENEMIES INVOLVED ARE DIFFERENT In Ezekiel 38 and 39, we see that the focus of the conflict is while Israel is at peace in their land … “Brought back out of the nations dwelling safely.” [Ezekiel 38:8] Also, the commanding enemy forces who attack Israel are from the North: parts of Russia, Turkey, Iran (all North of Jerusalem) with some allies in the North-East African region. In the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16) Israel is NOT at peace … and we read that the whole world is involved as Israel's enemies. It appears that this fits the time frame of “Jacob's Trouble” during the last 42 months of the Great Tribulation: the last half of Daniel the Prophet's heptad of seven years. [Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15] “Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. Then they gathered the kings [of the whole world] together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” [Brit Chadashah / Revelation 16:13-14,16] OTHER CONSIDERATIONS In addition, when the conflict of Ezekiel 38 and 39 happens, Israel is at peace in the land with great resources. Even a casual reading of Ezekiel Chapter 38 shows that Israel’s great wealth will be what draws the powers from the North to come down against her. This brings to light another question: Where—and when—did Israel come by this great wealth?! The Middle East conflict … the Israeli-Arab dispute … is at its essence thousands of years old. It is a spiritual conflict: the political aspects of which are merely the symptoms. The scriptures do show us that there will be a final Israeli-Arab war. ISAIAH CHAPTER 11 "Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again acquire with His hand a second time the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, from Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, from Ethiopia, from Iran, from Babylonia, from Syria, and from the coastlands bordering the [Mediterranean] Sea. And He will lift up a signal for the nations. And He will assemble the scattered ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." [Isaiah 11:11-12] NOTICE: After the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the Versailles Treaty of 1919 … but especially after 1948 when Israel was declared as a nation … many Jews emigrated to Israel -- to their homeland -- as a Nation of People: this was their FIRST regathering from their dispersion among the Gentile nations (the Goyim). However, in Isaiah Chapter 11 we see that G-d will regather His People a second time. Could this "second regathering" be when Messiah appears? Or, before? In Isaiah Chapter 11, verses 13 through 16, we see that: Israel will spoil the Islamic nations from the West to the East: from the Philistines in the West to Ammon and Moab in Jordan in the East. Again, direction is from Jerusalem. [Isaiah 11:14] The mouth of the Egyptian sea will be dried up. This has never happened. [Isaiah 11:15] See also Isaiah Chapter 19:5-8. There will be a highway of travel from Iraq through Syria and extending to Egypt. [Isaiah 11:16] See also Isaiah Chapter 19:23. In Isaiah Chapter 11, verses 12-16, we read a description of a war that will happen BEFORE Messiah comes to earth again (the second time). The first 11 verses tell us about Messiah's return and his rule of peace on earth. Verses 12-16 (the description of war) cannot happen during this time because Messiah's reign is characterized by peace. Another distinctive feature of the prophecy in verses 12-16 is that the war therein described has NOT happened historically. It has not happened yet! A war between Israel and much of the Middle East will happen, not just bordering Arab states like Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. They (that is, the children of Israel ... both Ephraim and Judah) will "fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines (Palestinians) to the west." In context Israel will strike against Egypt and Iraq (Assyria) and "plunder the sons of the East." Israel will control these nations, and evidently, their wealth as a result of the plundering. Etymologically, the "people of the East" MAY include other Arab nations. It is very evident here in this passage ... see verse 14 ... that Israel will control the East Bank of Jordan (Ammon, Moab, and Edom). This happened in Joshua's time and it has NOT happened SINCE the days of Isaiah. This is a future prophecy that WILL happen! It is quite probable that the devastation of terrorist groups like Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Hamas, Fatah, Al-Qaeda and ISIS will be accomplished during this conflict. It may be one of the factors—if not the primary factor—that actually precipitates the conflict. Actually, many of the citizens in these Muslim nations may be glad Israel wins this conflict to deliver them from the hands of terrorist groups and leadership. So now we know what the “hook” is that God uses to draw the powers from the North: it is Israel's great wealth! The LORD says to the Northern powers: “I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth …” ‒ Ezekiel 38:4 The Northern powers' leader will say: “I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey ... upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations.” – Ezekiel 38:11-12 The Northern powers described in Ezekiel 38-39 are parts of Russia, Turkey, Iran (the North of Jerusalem) with allies in the North-East African region. Where—and when—does Israel achieve the great wealth that God will use to draw the powers from the North against her? Remember, Isaiah Chapter Eleven verse 14 tells us, “Israel will strike against Egypt and Assyria (Iraq and Syria) and "plunder the sons of the East." Israel will control these nations, and evidently, their wealth as a result of the plundering. Notice, also, that these entities that are conquered by Israel are ALL presently Muslim nations. PSALM 83 In Psalm 83 we see what MAY BE a parallel description of Isaiah Chapter Eleven—possibly—in more detail as it pertains to the parties involved. Remember, the Book of Isaiah was written more recently, around 750 B.C.E … while Psalm 83 was written about 1,000 B.C.E. However, the Spirit of G-d can use writers, including prophets, at different times of writing to make declarations concerning the same events: even future. “Keep not silence, O G-d: hold not your peace, and be not still, O G-d. For, behold, your enemies make a tumult: and they that hate you have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against your people (Israel) and consulted against your hidden ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.’ For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against you: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot. Selah.” [Psalm 83:1-8] For a description of the cognate terms listed in the above passage and their current identity, the following will help: The tabernacles, or tents, of Edom are Israel’s traditional enemies: the Palestinians and other political Arab allies: Gaza, the West Bank and Golan Heights. Also, part(s) of Jordan. Esau represents Mount Seir (in Jordan) from the Dead Sea south to the Red Sea (Eilat and Gulf of Aqaba). The Ishmaelites were not confined to the descendants of the son of Abraham and Hagar, but refer to the desert tribes east of the Jordan River, in general, like "the children of the east" (Judges 7:12) … but also in the Arabian Desert. The Gebalites were predominantly in or near the area of Lebanon. (Joshua 13:15) The Hagarenes: Hagar was Abraham’s Egyptian maid who gave birth to his first child, Ishmael (the son of the ‘flesh,’ not the ‘promise.’). Hagar gave her son, Ishmael, to an Egyptian wife so that the Ishmaelites,or Hagarenes, of Gilead and Moab were three-quarters (75%) Egyptian. Asshur represents the ancient confines of Assyria (present day Syria and Iraq). NOTICE #1: The people groups and nations listed in Psalm 83 who want Israel’s destruction are ALL Muslim entities. NOTICE #2: Some of the inhabitants of these geopolitical areas are Jewish and some are real Christians. G-d knows WHO are His People and HOW to deliver them. This is obvious when He knew HOW to separate Lot from the destruction of Sodom. (Torah: Genesis Chapter 19) In Isaiah 11:14 we read that Israel is going to experience a major conquest over Muslim nations in the Middle East and plunder them... and not just win, but plunder their resources. “But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them.” [Isaiah 11:14] Will this happen before the battle described in Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39? Is this where Israel gathers great wealth that is the “hook” which G-d uses to draw down the military forces from the North to attack Israel … which battle Israel wins hands down because the LORD G-d fights for her? Ezekiel Chapter 38 tells us that when the power forces from the North invade Israel … “Israel is at peace in their land ...” Brought back out of the nations dwelling safely." Notice again … Israel will be at peace in their land. Brought back out of the nations [after 1948] ...AND ... dwelling safely! With great wealth and resources. [Ezekiel 38:13] ADDENDUM: If there is NOT a conflict BEFORE the battle described in Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 where Israel defeats and plunders Muslim entities in the Middle East—if Isaiah 11:14 happens at a different time—we still know that Israel will have great wealth that G-d uses as a “hook” to draw the forces from the North against her. This wealth could derive from oil, technological innovation, or mineral discoveries. Read (or listen to) my teaching on G-d, Geopolitics and Gold. I am connected with the most innovative leaders in Artificial Intelligence, technology and startup companies in Israel. They are the most brilliant, creative, and productive leaders in the world and are already helping Israel to become one of the leading economic power nations in the world. So now you know about Israel's future wealth … more resources for Zion! Baruch haba b'Shem Adonai. Your friend, Prince Handley President / Regent University of Excellence Podcast time: 16 minutes, 15 seconds NOTE: Scroll down for ALL previous podcasts last 10 years. _________________________________ Rabbinical & Biblical Studies[Scroll down past English, Spanish and French] The Believers’ Intelligentsia _________________________________
PODCAST SATELLITETHE VOICE OF ISRAEL Tishri 15, 5779 Succot Day 1 Prince HandleyPresident / Regent University of Excellence ISRAEL'S FUTURE WEALTHMORE RESOURCES FOR ZION~ A MIRACLE PODCAST PRODUCTION ~ You can listen to this message NOW. Click on the pod circle at top left. (Allow images to display.)Or, Listen NOW >>> LISTEN HERE Email this message to a friend. Subscribe to this Ezine teaching by Email: princehandley@gmail.com24/7 release of Prince Handley teachings, BLOGS and podcasts > STREAMText: “follow princehandley” to 40404 (in USA) Or, Twitter: princehandley ___________________________________________ ISRAEL'S FUTURE WEALTHMORE RESOURCES FOR ZION Israel—whether realizing it or not—is going to win a major conquest over Muslim nations in the Middle East. And not just win … but plunder them, reaping great resources! No, I am NOT talking about the Ezekiel 38 ‒ 39 victory. I am talking about a conquest possibly before that: one that could happen at any time. Actually, there will be at least three (3) major Middle East conflicts that involve Israel in the future: Conquest over Muslim forces in Middle East; Ezekiel 38 ‒ 39 victory; and, Battle of Armageddon. NOTE: It is possible that the above two [#2 and #3] may be incorporated in one war; but two different conflicts (battles) when the Mashiach appears. That is, Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 could be the same event combination as Armageddon. They both include eartquakes and hail. However, I believe they will be separate conflicts for the reasons I present below. CONQUEST OVER MUSLIM ENTITIES Most people familiar with Bible prophecy realize there will be a conflict in the Middle East—fought in Israel—where G-d Himself will be “set apart” in the eyes of the goyim: the nations. When it is over, the whole world will realize that the conflict has been won by the LORD G-d. And, probably many of the people familiar with this prophecy in Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 realize that it is NOT the same conflict as the Battle of Armageddon. This fact is very clear in that: THE WEAPONS USED ARE DIFFERENT In Ezekiel 38, G-d sends earthquake(s), overflowing rain, hailstones and fire … plus disease and blood … upon Israel's enemies. Also, Israel's enemy goes into confusion and fights with each other. In Ezekiel 39, 83% [five-sixths] of Israel's enemies are either destroyed or overcome. And [one-sixth] 17% of the enemy forces are sent back to their home lands. In the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation Chapter 16) we read of a great earthquake affecting the whole earth and hailstones the size of 100 pounds. However, there is NO mention of disease (pestilence) and blood; nor of fire and burning sulphur like in Ezekiel 38. THE ENEMIES INVOLVED ARE DIFFERENT In Ezekiel 38 and 39, we see that the focus of the conflict is while Israel is at peace in their land … “Brought back out of the nations dwelling safely.” [Ezekiel 38:8] Also, the commanding enemy forces who attack Israel are from the North: parts of Russia, Turkey, Iran (all North of Jerusalem) with some allies in the North-East African region. In the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16) Israel is NOT at peace … and we read that the whole world is involved as Israel's enemies. It appears that this fits the time frame of “Jacob's Trouble” during the last 42 months of the Great Tribulation: the last half of Daniel the Prophet's heptad of seven years. [Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15] “Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. Then they gathered the kings [of the whole world] together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” [Brit Chadashah / Revelation 16:13-14,16] OTHER CONSIDERATIONS In addition, when the conflict of Ezekiel 38 and 39 happens, Israel is at peace in the land with great resources. Even a casual reading of Ezekiel Chapter 38 shows that Israel’s great wealth will be what draws the powers from the North to come down against her. This brings to light another question: Where—and when—did Israel come by this great wealth?! The Middle East conflict … the Israeli-Arab dispute … is at its essence thousands of years old. It is a spiritual conflict: the political aspects of which are merely the symptoms. The scriptures do show us that there will be a final Israeli-Arab war. ISAIAH CHAPTER 11 "Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again acquire with His hand a second time the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, from Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, from Ethiopia, from Iran, from Babylonia, from Syria, and from the coastlands bordering the [Mediterranean] Sea. And He will lift up a signal for the nations. And He will assemble the scattered ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." [Isaiah 11:11-12] NOTICE: After the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the Versailles Treaty of 1919 … but especially after 1948 when Israel was declared as a nation … many Jews emigrated to Israel -- to their homeland -- as a Nation of People: this was their FIRST regathering from their dispersion among the Gentile nations (the Goyim). However, in Isaiah Chapter 11 we see that G-d will regather His People a second time. Could this "second regathering" be when Messiah appears? Or, before? In Isaiah Chapter 11, verses 13 through 16, we see that: Israel will spoil the Islamic nations from the West to the East: from the Philistines in the West to Ammon and Moab in Jordan in the East. Again, direction is from Jerusalem. [Isaiah 11:14] The mouth of the Egyptian sea will be dried up. This has never happened. [Isaiah 11:15] See also Isaiah Chapter 19:5-8. There will be a highway of travel from Iraq through Syria and extending to Egypt. [Isaiah 11:16] See also Isaiah Chapter 19:23. In Isaiah Chapter 11, verses 12-16, we read a description of a war that will happen BEFORE Messiah comes to earth again (the second time). The first 11 verses tell us about Messiah's return and his rule of peace on earth. Verses 12-16 (the description of war) cannot happen during this time because Messiah's reign is characterized by peace. Another distinctive feature of the prophecy in verses 12-16 is that the war therein described has NOT happened historically. It has not happened yet! A war between Israel and much of the Middle East will happen, not just bordering Arab states like Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. They (that is, the children of Israel ... both Ephraim and Judah) will "fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines (Palestinians) to the west." In context Israel will strike against Egypt and Iraq (Assyria) and "plunder the sons of the East." Israel will control these nations, and evidently, their wealth as a result of the plundering. Etymologically, the "people of the East" MAY include other Arab nations. It is very evident here in this passage ... see verse 14 ... that Israel will control the East Bank of Jordan (Ammon, Moab, and Edom). This happened in Joshua's time and it has NOT happened SINCE the days of Isaiah. This is a future prophecy that WILL happen! It is quite probable that the devastation of terrorist groups like Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Hamas, Fatah, Al-Qaeda and ISIS will be accomplished during this conflict. It may be one of the factors—if not the primary factor—that actually precipitates the conflict. Actually, many of the citizens in these Muslim nations may be glad Israel wins this conflict to deliver them from the hands of terrorist groups and leadership. So now we know what the “hook” is that God uses to draw the powers from the North: it is Israel's great wealth! The LORD says to the Northern powers: “I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth …” ‒ Ezekiel 38:4 The Northern powers' leader will say: “I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey ... upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations.” – Ezekiel 38:11-12 The Northern powers described in Ezekiel 38-39 are parts of Russia, Turkey, Iran (the North of Jerusalem) with allies in the North-East African region. Where—and when—does Israel achieve the great wealth that God will use to draw the powers from the North against her? Remember, Isaiah Chapter Eleven verse 14 tells us, “Israel will strike against Egypt and Assyria (Iraq and Syria) and "plunder the sons of the East." Israel will control these nations, and evidently, their wealth as a result of the plundering. Notice, also, that these entities that are conquered by Israel are ALL presently Muslim nations. PSALM 83 In Psalm 83 we see what MAY BE a parallel description of Isaiah Chapter Eleven—possibly—in more detail as it pertains to the parties involved. Remember, the Book of Isaiah was written more recently, around 750 B.C.E … while Psalm 83 was written about 1,000 B.C.E. However, the Spirit of G-d can use writers, including prophets, at different times of writing to make declarations concerning the same events: even future. “Keep not silence, O G-d: hold not your peace, and be not still, O G-d. For, behold, your enemies make a tumult: and they that hate you have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against your people (Israel) and consulted against your hidden ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.’ For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against you: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot. Selah.” [Psalm 83:1-8] For a description of the cognate terms listed in the above passage and their current identity, the following will help: The tabernacles, or tents, of Edom are Israel’s traditional enemies: the Palestinians and other political Arab allies: Gaza, the West Bank and Golan Heights. Also, part(s) of Jordan. Esau represents Mount Seir (in Jordan) from the Dead Sea south to the Red Sea (Eilat and Gulf of Aqaba). The Ishmaelites were not confined to the descendants of the son of Abraham and Hagar, but refer to the desert tribes east of the Jordan River, in general, like "the children of the east" (Judges 7:12) … but also in the Arabian Desert. The Gebalites were predominantly in or near the area of Lebanon. (Joshua 13:15) The Hagarenes: Hagar was Abraham’s Egyptian maid who gave birth to his first child, Ishmael (the son of the ‘flesh,’ not the ‘promise.’). Hagar gave her son, Ishmael, to an Egyptian wife so that the Ishmaelites,or Hagarenes, of Gilead and Moab were three-quarters (75%) Egyptian. Asshur represents the ancient confines of Assyria (present day Syria and Iraq). NOTICE #1: The people groups and nations listed in Psalm 83 who want Israel’s destruction are ALL Muslim entities. NOTICE #2: Some of the inhabitants of these geopolitical areas are Jewish and some are real Christians. G-d knows WHO are His People and HOW to deliver them. This is obvious when He knew HOW to separate Lot from the destruction of Sodom. (Torah: Genesis Chapter 19) In Isaiah 11:14 we read that Israel is going to experience a major conquest over Muslim nations in the Middle East and plunder them... and not just win, but plunder their resources. “But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them.” [Isaiah 11:14] Will this happen before the battle described in Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39? Is this where Israel gathers great wealth that is the “hook” which G-d uses to draw down the military forces from the North to attack Israel … which battle Israel wins hands down because the LORD G-d fights for her? Ezekiel Chapter 38 tells us that when the power forces from the North invade Israel … “Israel is at peace in their land ...” Brought back out of the nations dwelling safely." Notice again … Israel will be at peace in their land. Brought back out of the nations [after 1948] ...AND ... dwelling safely! With great wealth and resources. [Ezekiel 38:13] ADDENDUM: If there is NOT a conflict BEFORE the battle described in Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 where Israel defeats and plunders Muslim entities in the Middle East—if Isaiah 11:14 happens at a different time—we still know that Israel will have great wealth that G-d uses as a “hook” to draw the forces from the North against her. This wealth could derive from oil, technological innovation, or mineral discoveries. Read (or listen to) my teaching on G-d, Geopolitics and Gold. I am connected with the most innovative leaders in Artificial Intelligence, technology and startup companies in Israel. They are the most brilliant, creative, and productive leaders in the world and are already helping Israel to become one of the leading economic power nations in the world. So now you know about Israel's future wealth … more resources for Zion! Baruch haba b'Shem Adonai. Your friend, Prince Handley President / Regent University of Excellence Podcast time: 16 minutes, 15 seconds NOTE: Scroll down for ALL previous podcasts last 10 years. _________________________________ Rabbinical & Biblical Studies[Scroll down past English, Spanish and French] The Believers’ Intelligentsia _________________________________
In this episode, I cover the 22nd Dynasty's reign during the 3rd Intermediate Period. This is the period from about 945 to 720 BC. There were sporadic interactions with the Hebrews in Canaan during this period, some of which merited brief mentions in the Old Testament. But, towards the end of the dynasty, the rulers of Lower Egypt would fall to the former vassal state of Kush, aka Nubia. Listen to learn how all of this unfolded. After listening, let me know what you think.
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River - geographically Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, in the place that is now occupied by the countries of Egypt and Sudan. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology)[1] with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes (often identified with Narmer).[2] The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River - geographically Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, in the place that is now occupied by the countries of Egypt and Sudan. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology)[1] with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes (often identified with Narmer).[2] The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River - geographically Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, in the place that is now occupied by the countries of Egypt and Sudan. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology)[1] with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes (often identified with Narmer).[2] The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River - geographically Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, in the place that is now occupied by the countries of Egypt and Sudan. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology)[1] with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes (often identified with Narmer).[2] The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.
Amunhotep III (Part 3): Introducing Queen Tiy.In 1399 BCE, the pharaoh Amunhotep III married his first and most important wife: Tiy, Royal Wife, Great of Praises, Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt. Just twelve years old, the young queen would go on to be the most powerful woman in the world...Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.comBibliography and Images at https://egyptianhistorypodcast.com/2018/02/19/episode-92-the-great-lady/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Hatshepsut was an Egyptian queen and pharaoh who reigned from 1504 - 1483 BCE and considered one of the most prolific builders in ancient Egypt, commissioning hundreds of construction projects throughout both Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, that were grander and more numerous than those of any of her Middle Kingdom predecessors. So who was she? How did she come to power in patriarchal Egypt? What were her built legacies and what happened after her death?
A Flyover of Isaiah Amen. So this morning, just right before worship, I was talking to a young man and he looked at where I usually put the sermon outline, and he said, "Are you preaching about nothing today?" So, I'm not preaching about nothing, there's going to be a lot. I just couldn't give an outline for the Book of Isaiah. About six years ago, I was invited by Danny Aikin and David Platt to do a commentary on the Book of Isaiah. And they said two things, they said you can have five years to do it and that it's not supposed to be a verse-by-verse commentary. Well, I knew right away I was going to take the whole five years, that was a given. But the thing that was an agony to me was that I wouldn't be able to go into every verse like I love and to celebrate the truth and wring the truth out of each verse. But sometimes I think it's valuable to do that. For us, the saying of an individual, you can't see the forest for the trees. They're so focused on details, they can't see the big picture. But the beauty of the word of God is that both the trees, the individual details and the whole glorious forest are radiant with truth and that the tiniest details can bear the closest scrutiny and investigation but so also the big overarching story is worth studying as well. So this morning we're going to go through the whole Book of Isaiah, as Chris said, a kind of a flyover. Some years ago I was at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, and I saw an IMAX movie which was a kind of a flyover of the continental US, and it was really cool. They timed it so that the length of the movie, I think an hour. They began in New York Harbor looking at the Statue of Liberty and then went across, and you're just moving it at just the right pace to get across the entire span of the continental US, and you're seeing the hills of Pennsylvania, the farms of Pennsylvania and then the coal mining district of Western Pennsylvania, then on and you know, the cities like Cincinnati and then as you kept going across the corn fields of Indiana and then across the... You know, swung down to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the gateway to the west and then you're moving across all the wheat fields of Kansas, it was just beautiful, the deserts of Nevada and Utah. And then, Yosemite, the Half Dome and finally the sparkling sea, the Pacific and the Pacific Northwest, and how beautiful that was along that coast, and I'll never forget it. And I thought it might... It's just an amazing thing to be able to figure out how to do that, what height to fly at, how high, how low, and what you could see, when to go faster, when to slow down. And it was really cool. So I want to try to do some of that with the Book of Isaiah today, the most visionary of all prophets. That's how Isaiah begins. The word of the Lord that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw. So he's just a visionary prophet. Toward the beginning of my Christian life, I heard one of the best sermons I ever heard from John McArthur and he's been a role model and a mentor for me in terms of verse-by-verse exposition and sequential exposition which I believe in. But this sermon was entitled, A Jet Tour Through the Book of Revelation. And it was really cool because he went through the whole book of Revelation in one hour. It's ironic because that's where we're going, God willing, next. And I'm not doing any jet tour next week. We're going to begin to go through those chapters. But I love the way he gave a fascinating overview of the entire book in one hour. Now if anything, the Book of Isaiah would repay even more that kind of handling and special handling as we study through the themes that are so rich and so full. And I have less than one hour with you today. Now there are lots of ways that I could do this, this overview of the whole Book of Isaiah but it seems best for me to focus on how the prophecy of Isaiah unfolds salvation, or foretells really, salvation in Christ. That's going to be the center piece of what I'm looking for. Now, I could go topically and logically through the book in a theologically and a logically organized manner, letting the topics dictate what verses I would bring out. But that would result in a confusing jump around through the book from this chapter up ahead to this one, and then back again to this and then zeroing on this and then... It's like, it'd be jumping all around. And I thought it might be better to go in consecutive order, honoring the way that the Holy Spirit has given us the book, beginning at chapter 1 through chapter 66. My goal is to present or see how the book presents the amazing grace of God in Christ as the savior of the world. Now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to project on the screen these cross references so that you don't have to jump around. We're going to be going fast and I want you to be able to see it so that you're free from having to jump ahead in the book and just look and read or just listen as you do it. But I know that Mark is happy to try to stick with me. You're ready, brother? But the first verse that I wanted to share is actually from Revelation 19:10, and it says there, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In other words, the essence, the spirit of prophecy is to give witness to Jesus. So the central purpose of the majestic sprawling complex vision of the Book of Isaiah is to give testimony of Jesus. Now, John says this incredible thing about Isaiah in the Gospel of John, in John 12:41, that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. Now essential to that is the ability that God alone possesses to predict the future and this sets Christianity apart from every other world religion. God challenged the idols of Isaiah’s day You heard Chris focus on this just a few minutes ago, but these are some amazing verses. God challenged the idols of Isaiah's day with this challenge. Isaiah 41:22-23, it says, "Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were so that we may consider them and know their final outcome or declare to us the things to come. Tell us what the future holds so that we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear." The idols can't do it. There's no way the idols can predict the future, only God can. And again, Isaiah 41:26-27, "Who told of this from the beginning, so that we could know or beforehand, so we could say, he was right. No one told of this. No one foretold it, no one heard any words from you. I was the first to tell Zion." And then skipping ahead to Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things those of long ago, 'I am God and there is no other, I am God and there is none like me, I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say my purpose will stand and I will do all that I please.'" So God in the Book of Isaiah makes plain that he is the only one that can predict the future. He's the only one that has that power. God alone can predict the future because he alone is sovereign over the unfolding events of human history. He decrees what comes to pass and then he makes it happen. What makes Isaiah so amazing and so challenging is how God weaves together events from planet Earth, things that were current in that day and things that were unfolding in at that time, including the rise and fall of nations at that time, together with his spiritual plans for the redeemed of all nations, of all time, he weaves that together. So the coming of Christ was predicted and unfolded in great detail in the Book of Isaiah. Now, when I first went through Isaiah in its entirety with the idea of doing this sermon, I zeroed in on 36 passages to highlight, and I just started to do the math, and I said, "Okay, that's less than a minute for each one." I'd barely have enough time to read them so I reduced it somewhat, but as I was going over this sermon this morning, I realized I barely have enough time to talk about each of them. So this is definitely a jet tour flyover. However, this is my 80th sermon in the Book of Isaiah, and I think all of them are online. So if you want to go back and dive into some of the more details I think they're available online. The Sinfulness of the Human Race and God’s Call to Repent We're going to begin in Isaiah 1:2-4 with the sinfulness of the human race and God's call to repent. The prophecy begins with these words, "Hear O heavens, listen O Earth, for the Lord has spoken. I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger. But Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord. They have spurned the Holy One of Israel, and turned their backs on him." God called a nation, the Jews, Israel to represent the entire human race. God gave them many blessings, but they refused to trust him, they refused to obey him, so God had to bring judgments on them. Now, the depravity of the entire human race is taught with great clarity throughout the book. But the focus is first and foremost on the Jews on Israel, and their sinfulness. So God calls on the people to repent of their sins and to reason with him. Right there in that first chapter, Isaiah 1:16-20, there he calls on the people, "Wash and make yourselves clean, take your evil deeds out of my sight. Stop doing wrong, learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless. Plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us reason together says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you'll eat the best from the land, but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Now, this sets the stage of the whole book really. The people actually cannot obey those commands, they cannot. They cannot wash and make themselves clean. They cannot take their evil deeds out of God's sight, they cannot stop doing wrong, they cannot learn to do right. But Christ can do all of those things for us. Indeed, he has done all of those things for us. Christ can change our rebellious ways. Christ has the power to remove the heart of stone and give the heart of flesh. He has the power through his shed blood to atone for our sins, and to give us a new nature, and enable us to walk in God's ways. The Vision of the Entire World Streaming to Salvation in Christ Now, the next is the vision of the entire world streaming to God in Christ. In Isaiah 2:2-4, it says, "In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains, will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, 'Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in His paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, He will judge between the nations and settle disputes for many peoples, they will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.'" Now, this is one of many verses in Isaiah that speak of the gospel spreading to the ends of the Earth, beginning in Jerusalem. It's going to spread to all nations and in this text, it says they're going to stream up Mount Zion effectively. You have this incredible image of a supernatural streaming of the nations uphill, counter to all laws of physics and gravity. And they're going to stream to Mount Zion by faith in Christ. And they will both come and they will say, "Come." In other words the spiritual pilgrimage that we are on as we follow Christ who is the way and the truth and the life, and we come to the Father through Him, as we're streaming to the heavenly Jerusalem, we are also evangelists and missionaries, we're not only coming but we are saying, "Come," to the nations, and we have both of those roles to play. The Vision of the Preincarnate Christ on His Throne Next, we have already the vision that's been read for us this morning by Jason. The vision of Isaiah's call and the pre-incarnate Christ on his throne. When the Apostle John said that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him, we can think first and foremost of Isaiah 6. In verse 1-4 it says, "In the year of the King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted. And the train of his robe filled the temple, and above him were seraphs, each with six wings. And with two wings, they covered their faces, and with two, they covered their feet, and with two, they were flying and they were calling to one another, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole Earth is full of his glory.' And at the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke." This is a vision of the pre-incarnate Christ, seated on his throne, worshiped by angels and by spiritual beings, holy angels and they're crying out. And this brings a tremendous sense of guilt in Isaiah himself, verses 5-7, he says, "'Woe is me, I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips. And I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty.' And then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and with it, he touched my mouth and said, 'See this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away. Your sin is atoned for.'" Now, this is Isaiah's calling to be a prophet to the nations. But he's told right away that the people wouldn't listen to him. Verses 8-10, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And he said, 'Here am I, send me.' And he said, 'Go and tell this people, be ever-hearing but never understanding, be ever-seeing but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people callous, make their ears dull, close their eyes, otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.'" Isaiah would take in and absorb the vision of the holiness of Christ, Almighty God and of the people's sinfulness, he that lived in a land of people of unclean lips, and he would take that message also of Christ's atonement how sin can be atoned for and removed. And he'd take it out to his own people, but they wouldn't accept it, they wouldn't believe it, they would reject it. The Promise of the Birth of a Son Called Immanuel Next, in the very next chapter, we have the promise of the birth of the savior, of a son called Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14, "The Lord himself will give you a sign, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." This is the mystery of the virgin birth of Christ, how he had a human mother, but no human father that God, Almighty God was his father. Fully God, fully human. That foreshadowed here in this prophecy, not just the assertion, the virgin will be with child, but the very word Immanuel, which means God with us. That he came to Earth to live with us in a physical human body. This is even more heightened by the next famous passage in Isaiah 9:1-7, there it says, "In the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- 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. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." This is the prediction of a great light that's shining in a land, not just a land but a world of darkness. People walking in darkness who have no hope. Of a great victory won and of plunder of spoils from that victory, given to us. Why? Because to us a child is born. And so the birth of a child speaks to the humanist. But the titles, Wonderful Counselor, literally miracle counselor, Mighty God. A child that's born who is called Mighty God in a fiercely monotheistic setting, this is the incarnation of Christ, the God Man, the deity of Christ, established centuries before Jesus was even born. And it satisfies our yearning for a righteous government, a government that's perfect and upright that will last forever. And the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, it will go on for eternity. The Picture of the Greatness of Christ’s Kingdom Next, in Isaiah 11:1-9 we have a picture of Christ's kingdom and of that government, it says there, " A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wickd. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." This predicts the future, perfect righteousness of Christ's reign. The removal forever of the curse from nature. Animals will no longer be red in tooth and claw, ripping and shredding each other, living for death. And there will be a perfect peace, a peaceful Earth on which he will reign. Now, in that same chapter, we have the prediction of missions, which is a theme again and again in the Book of Isaiah. This message has to be taken to the ends of the Earth. And Isaiah predicts it again and again. Isaiah 11:10-12, "In that day, the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. In that day, the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and he will gather the exiles of Israel, and he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the Earth." Now, next comes a regular theme in Isaiah, and that is the wrath and judgment of God on all the nations. There is continually woven together God's saving purpose for his people, and his wrath and judgment on his enemies. And we see this again and again. Isaiah 13:9-13 focuses on this wrath, his judgment. In those chapters, Isaiah focuses on Babylon first and Assyria next, but the implication is all the godless nations of the Earth will come under God's judgement. Isaiah 13:9-13 says, "Behold, the day of the LORD is coming--a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger." It is because of this terrifying wrath to come that we must flee to Christ. There is no other refuge, there's no other place. God Controls the Unfolding Plan of Human History So, we see how God unfolds and controls his unfolding plan of human history. Again, Chris quoted this in his prayer, Isaiah 14:26-27. "This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out and who can turn it back?" This is the plan, this is the hand. The plan is God's sovereign plan crafted before the creation of the world for all nations, all people established before the foundation of the world. And then his hand is his sovereign power, the right hand of omnipotence, moving out over the nations, moving out over human history. He is the Alpha, he is the Omega, he will make it happen. This is the plan, this is the hand. Isaiah 14:26 and 27. Now, in Isaiah 13-26 there are many oracles of nations, and these nations were these small nations that lived around Israel and Judah at that time, but it becomes representative of God's sovereign control over all the nations, over all the surface of the Earth throughout all of human history. And it culminates in this vision in Isaiah 24:1-6, it says, "Behold, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants-- it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. So, God is going to destroy all his enemies and the enemies of his chosen people. But the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Death itself. And that is clearly predicted in Isaiah 25:6-9, one of my favorite oracles, it's also not well-known. Isaiah 25:6-9, it says there, "On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain, he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the Earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day, they will say, 'Surely this is our God, we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.'" Isn't that marvelous? There'll come a day in which death will be swallowed up forever, and that began to be revealed at Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, the destruction of death in the death of Christ. Hope of the Resurrection of the Dead! And by simple faith in Jesus, we have access to that banquet, that feast that's spread for all nations. By just simple faith in Christ, we trusted in him, it says, and he delivered us. And so, Jesus' resurrection is our great hope that someday death itself will die. So Isaiah 26:19, it says, this is speaking of the general resurrection, "Your dead will live, their bodies will rise, you who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the Earth will give birth to her dead." Now, one theme we see again and again in Isaiah is how often the Jewish people resorted to religious machinery to try to save themselves. We see it right in the first chapter when they're bringing this trampling of God's courts and this bringing of animals and bulls and sheep and all that, and God was sick of it. But then in Isaiah 29:13, he talks about what God, what his problem was with it. And Jesus quotes this concerning the Jews of his own time, Isaiah 29:13, the Lord says, "These people come near me with their mouth, and they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is only made up of rules taught by men." This is a great danger for religious people around the world, even for us who have heard the gospel of Jesus, for us churchgoing Christians as well, to trust in the religious machinery rather than trusting in Christ, to trust in our own religious works and to have no genuine heart after Christ. Instead, God tells us what true salvation is, Isaiah 30:15, This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.'" That's justification by faith alone apart from works, that's what that is. In repentance and rest and trust and quietness, that's salvation in Jesus. But the people didn't want it, they weren't interested in it, they rejected it. Terrifying Predictions of the Coming Wrath Now, of all the predictions of wrath that's going to come on the Earth, perhaps none is more graphic and terrifying than Isaiah 34:1-10. It's hard to read these words and not tremble inwardly if we believe they're really going to happen. Isaiah 34 says, "Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood. All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed. The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat-- the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in Edom. And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause. Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever." Now, God is fully able to carry out this wrath, but he gives us dress rehearsals throughout history to see what it might look like. I think about what Europe look like in May of 1945, what Germany looked like, Berlin. I think about what Tokyo looked like in August of 1945. Just completely leveled, totally destroyed. We get images of this again and again throughout history. One of the clearest indications of God's power to do this is when the Assyrian surrounded Jerusalem and threatened to wipe out the Jews from the face of the Earth and extinguish the lineage of David that would trace down to Jesus. And God will that it would not take place, it would not happen, and he dispatched the angel of the Lord, who many commentators, including me, believe it was pre-incarnate Christ, and Jesus went out and killed 185,000 troops. Look at Isaiah 37:36, " Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning-- there were all the dead bodies!" When the people got up the next morning there were all the dead bodies, this was not difficult for Jesus to do, it was easy to do, it did not cause him any physical difficulty. He can put to death people without any effort at all, by speaking with the sword that comes from his mouth, we'll talk about it, God willing, next week. The Turning Point: Isaiah 40 Now, Isaiah 40 marks kind of a turning in the Book of Isaiah, I believe Isaiah 40 is along with Isaiah 53, the two greatest chapters in the Book of Isaiah, maybe two of the greatest chapters in the entire Bible. And Isaiah 40 begins with a message of comfort to sinners, look at Isaiah 40:1-2, "'Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins." A word of comfort to broken-hearted sinners like us, that atonement, full atonement is possible in Jesus. And it speaks of the coming messenger of the Lord, fulfilled by John the Baptist. In verses 3 through 5, "A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low, the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places, a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." And speaks of the transient nature of all humanity. Kind of like the central message of Scripture to us as human beings. Verse 6-8, "A voice says, 'Cry out.' And I said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.'" The Proclamation of the Glory of the Lord It speaks of the proclamation of the glory of the Lord. And what's so beautiful about Isaiah 40 is you get infinite majesty in that chapter, and infinite condescension and humility and meekness. Look at verses 9-11, "You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up. Do not be afraid, say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God.' See the sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See his reward is with him and his recompense accompanies him." I love verse 11, "He tends his flock like a shepherd, he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young." Do you not feel as a Christian the tenderness and the gentleness of Jesus in caring for you? He is your good shepherd. He holds you close to his heart. But this is the same one that it said in that same chapter, in verse 12-15, is infinite in majesty. "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust." This infinitely majestic God who marks the heavens with the span of his hand. Verses 22-24, " He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff." This is the immense, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful, omniscient God, God the creator, God the ruler, God the judge who has come to Earth in the person of his Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Unveiling of Christ, the Savior of the World! In the chapters that follow Isaiah 40, we have multiple visions of the coming Christ, they're called the suffering servant passages, and they begin in Isaiah 42:1-4, "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. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope." Don't you love that picture of Jesus? A bruised reed, fragile, he doesn't break it, he binds it back up and it gets healthy again. A smoldering wick, he doesn't snuff it out, he ignites it until it's a blazing bonfire of righteousness, that's Jesus. He's gentle with broken sinners like you and me, and he builds an empire not by crying out in the streets, but by gentleness, the proclamation of peace and forgiveness through faith in his name. And then Isaiah 49:5-6, this servant of the Lord will not merely be the Savior of Israel, but of all the Earth. Look at verse 5 and 6, "And now the Lord says, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring back Jacob to him and to gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength. He says, 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the Earth.'" It's too small a thing for Jesus just to save the Jews, too small a thing. Now he is the Savior of the ends of the Earth. He's the Savior of Gentiles like you and me. He is the light of the Gentiles, he is the light of our lives and it was predicted long before he was born. But the price tag for that salvation would be high for Jesus, infinitely high. And so in Isaiah 50:4-10, this is Jesus speaking, I think, through the prophet; predicting what it would be like for him to suffer and die for us. Think of this as Jesus speaking, "The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. 10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." Again and again justification by faith, trust in this Jesus who offered his back to those who beat him; trust in this Jesus who didn't hide his face from mocking and spitting and from his beard being plucked out, who willingly laid down his life. Now the greatest single chapter in Isaiah generally called Isaiah 53 actually begins in Isaiah 52 and it portrays, I think it really is the theological center of the whole Bible, actually. Not just of Isaiah, the whole Bible. Begins Isaiah 52:13-15, "Behold my servant will act wisely. He'll be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him. His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness, so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him, for what they were not told they will see and what they have not heard they will understand." Jesus's form was disfigured beyond any human likeness on the cross. As he suffered and died on the cross it would be hard to imagine that there was depicted the wisdom and the love and the mercy of God, but there it was. And by his death, he, it says, "will sprinkle many nations." That Levitical sprinkling of the blood brought cleansing, and even more infinitely more the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus brings cleansing to the nations. The Greatest Chapter on Substitutionary Atonement Then Isaiah 53:1-6. Now, I think this is the greatest single chapter on the topic of substitutionary atonement. It's the idea of a substitute who is sinless, who is innocent, who died in the place of sinners to remove judgment from them. It's taught again and again in these verses, and I would say it's taught no more clearly anywhere else in the whole Bible than here in Isaiah 53:1-6. Listen to this. "Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." This is the clear prediction of substitutionary atonement, of a Savior who was sinless in and of himself, but took on our iniquities and died under the wrath of God. We have no other hope than this. What other hope is there that sinners like us that can stand before an infinitely wise, holy God and survive Judgment Day. This is our only hope. And it's a sure and certain hope because God sent him for this very purpose. This is the clear prediction seven centuries before Jesus was born of his death on the cross and of the transfer of guilt from sinners to a substitute, and there's no hope apart from that. This is how we are forgiven and healed by his bloody death. Isaiah 53:7-12, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." This is the gospel, this is the centerpiece of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We sinners have no other hope, but this is a sure and certain hope, isn't it? This is a message and it begins in 53:1, "Lord, who has believed our message?" And so, just by believing this message is our forgiveness. The Open Gospel Call and Missionary Success So you have an invitation, an invitation, but it's right from Isaiah 55:1-3, "Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend your money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me and eat what is good and your soul will delight in the richest of fair. Give ear and come to me, hear me that your soul may live." That is a gospel invitation right in Isaiah 55, pleading with us to stop living our lives for things that don't satisfy, that will leave us empty and will condemn us on judgment day. Come to Christ, feed on Christ, drink and eat of Christ. But God also tells us this opportunity will not last forever. We have an opportunity now, today. Isaiah 55:6-7 says, "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our God and he will freely pardon him." This is the gospel that's been going out, beginning at Jerusalem through Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the Earth and God promises that his word will most certainly succeed. It's going to bring in a great multitude from every tribe, language, people, and nation. Isaiah 55:10-11 says, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return without watering the Earth, making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth, it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." So the missionaries that bring the message of Christ to the ends of the Earth will most certainly succeed, verses 12-13 of Isaiah 55, "You will go out in joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands, instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, instead of briers the myrtle will grow, this will be for the Lord's renown for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed." This week I'm going to Richmond, I'm a trustee at the International Mission Board and I wanna just go and talk to the missionary candidates that we're going to appoint and give them verses 12-13 for hope. You're going to go out with joy, and be led forth with peace, and you will go in the name of the Lord whose word never comes back empty and you will lead people to Christ, Amen, hallelujah. Now, this gospel comes as an invitation from the high and holy God, Isaiah 57:15. This is what the high and lofty one says, "He who lives forever, whose name is Holy. I live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite, isn't that a great verse? It's like if you can memorize this one verse, I don't think this would be it, but it would be a great verse to memorize. It's a marvelous verse. The high and holy God of Isaiah 6, the one that the seraphim are covering their face, he's inviting you to his high and holy place to live with him forever if you'll just be humble and broken and ask for his salvation in Christ. The Glory of Zion, the New Jerusalem, Will Be Made Up of People All Over the World And this is going to happen, people from around the Earth are going to stream like we saw in Isaiah 2, they're going to stream into Zion, and Zion's going to become more and more and more and more glorious; bigger and bigger, more and more glorious. Isaiah 60:1-7, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple." Some of those missionaries go out to the Arab-speaking world. Isaiah 60 tells them that they're going to be successful, there's going to be some elected that are going to come from those tribes and languages and peoples and nations and they will bring offerings forever in the heavenly Zion. Jesus was anointed to bring this message. He is our Messiah, he is the Savior and he said so in Isaiah 61:1-3, this is how he began his preaching ministry, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion." And he rolled up the scroll of Isaiah and he sat down and he opened his mouth in his hometown and said, "Today, in your hearing, this Scripture is fulfilled." This Jesus will never stop speaking until his bride, the heavenly Zion, is finished, beautiful, radiant. Isaiah 62:1-3, "For Zion's sake... " think of Jesus saying this, "For Zion's sake, I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake, I will not remain quiet till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You'll be a crown of spender in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." That's the bride of Christ, that's the new Jerusalem. That's the heavenly glory that Jesus is going to keep on speaking until it's done. So the Book of Isaiah ends with a clear depiction of the new heavens and the new Earth and of hell, that's how the book ends. First, the new heavens and the new Earth, Isaiah 65:17-19, "Behold I will create new heavens and a new Earth. The former things will not be remembered nor will they come to mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people. The sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more." No more death, mourning, crying or pain, gone forever. The new heavens and the new Earth, that's where you in Christ are going, rejoice and be glad forever. Isaiah 65:25, you've heard this before, "The wolf and the lamb will feed together, the lion will eat straw like the ox, the dust will be the serpent's food, they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain." Now, this beautiful new Jerusalem is not going to get built by human skill, human architects, human construction companies, human efforts will not build this. Isaiah 66:1-2, this is what the Lord said, "Heaven is my throne, the Earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things and so they came into being?" We can't build the new Jerusalem, we can't build the new universe that's coming, only God can do that. Then he says in verse 2, "This is the one I esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word." Again, justification by faith alone in Christ. Only humble believers in Christ will enter it and so the gospel will spread to the ends of the Earth to claim them, to bring them in. Isaiah 66:19-20, "I will set a sign among them, I will send some of those who survive to the nations, to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians, famous as archers, to Tubal and Greece and to the distant islands, who have not heard of my fame or seen my glory and they will bring your brothers from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord." The elect from every nation will spend eternity in God's presence, worshipping Him. 66:22-23 says, "As the new heavens, and the new Earth that I make will endure before me declares the Lord, so will your name and descendants endure from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the Lord. But the rebels will be destroyed forever. Verse 24: "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me, their worm will not die nor will their fire be quenched and they will be loathsome to all mankind." Close with me in prayer.
Isaiah 11: 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamathand from the islands of the Mediterranean. 12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
It has been said by a great scientist that physical motion, time, and space, are not absolute...and that is true. But that does not mean there are not some absolute events that happen in physical motion, time and space. In the once upon a when there was a Pharoah who was part Nubian and Part Semite (who spoke a Semitic type language such as Arabs and Jews). It was this Pharoah who made Joseph, who was a son of Jacob, to be second in command over Lower Egypt. Many renditions have been Guessed about this particular Pharaoh's origin yet none have stood out to tell the whole story. Now in this telling of Exodus Escape 9, as though the moment had come to open a passage into time, the Manifester Yada, manifests this story. In a countervail wisp of time and dimension happening, the Yada in a when of time, was caught up in the glory of a Shekinda mind and met a Dignitary who not only told him this awesome story but also commissioned him to manifest this story to the world. (compare Psalms 68:13, 18:15-16, and St. John 21:25 KJV). The goings of the Lord God could be heard in the rushing of the Holy Winds. (Compare, Psalms 68:24 and Acts 2:2 KJV). Then this word was lit up: PRINCES SHALL COME OUT OF EGYPT; ETHIOPIA (The Nubians), shall soon (in the quickening) stretch out their hands unto God. (Ministry past and future to be made known. Psalms 68:13 KJV). The timing of this reveal is connected to the manifesting about the 20,000 Chariots of fire (Zziths) and angels at mount Sinai during the time of the Exodus Escape, Psalms 68:17 KJV). Who was the Pharoah who PRECEDED the following cruel Pharoah of whom it was written in Exodus 1:8...There arose up (from upper Egypt) a new Pharoah who did not know Joseph. So the year 2015 is near to the end and a new year comes. If an evil ruler arises, in 2016, then be sure that at the same time a Holy One (like unto Moses) will also arise. Please don't misquote this question...
DR. JERRY O. LEE, THE MANIFESTER YADA WILL PRESENT: THE OCCUPATION GOD-PLAN FOR EGYPT AND ISRAEL, AND THE PASSOVER COMMUTATE (KOM YU TAT: CHANGE OF DIRECTION FOR THE SPIRITUAL ENERGY CURRENTS OF GOD'S PEOPLE ISRAEL, MIV). The "state of occupation" for Egypt and Israel was not coincidental but a destiny was invoked despite the sometimes different intent and will of the WAR LORDS OF DARKNESS. The escape of Moses from death was of course one of those destinies. Moses was trained in ALL the wisdom of the Pharaohs. This most emphatically included military training and active duty. (Compare, Acts 7:22). The eventual habitat of the Sea People and the Hykos People in Lower Egypt was another of the occupation God-Plans not in compliance with the WAR LORDS OF DARKNESS. The assignment of Israel in "Goshen" Lower Egypt to build the "Treasure cities" for the Pharaoh was another God-Plan not favored by the evil War Lords. It is sad how much actual history is missing from the world because most historians failed to find the truth of the real stories of actuality. Now the accede to the conjunctions of historical truth at last is accentuated for reveal...
Mixed by Balkaymak for the Skala radio show aired on Acik Radio 15th of December, 2014. Part of the Eurasian Mixtapes Tracklist: 1. That's Why- Dyp Av Nade 2. Jef Gilson- The Creator Has A Master Plan 3. Aquila- Um Allah 4. Jazz Semai- Koy Yolu 5. Jazz Work Shop- Mezare Israel 6. Louiz Banks- Song for my Lady 7. The Sun Ra Arkestra Meets Salah Ragab in Egypt- Oriental Mood 8. Michael Garrick- Temple Dancer 9. Gary Bartz Ntu Troop- Celestial Blues 10. Pharoah Sanders- Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (edit) 11. Jef Gilson- Chant Inca
Recorded on October 21st, 2014. www.facebook.com/lions.milk1 follow Aheng-i Hengame: http://ahengihengame.blogspot.com/ Tracklist: Jef Gilson- Up To The Light Edip Akbayram & Dostlar- Yaralarim ---------- AHENGI HENGAME // GLOBAL FUNK SPECIAL Mixtape (Acik Radio 94.9 Istanbul) 1. Moğollar- Haliç’te Günbatışı (Anadolu Pop 1971) 2. Bernard “Pretty” Purdie- Touch Me Again (Lialeh) Bryan Records, 1974 3. Bettye Wright- Clean Up Woman (I Love the Way You Love) Alston, 1972 4. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings- What if We All Stopped Paying Taxes (Soul Time) Daptone Racords, 2011 5. Şenay Sev Kardeşim/Hayat Bayram Olsa (Şenay) EMI, 1980 6. Fikret Kızılok- Haberin Var Mı? (Şah, 1974) 7. Cem Karaca- Şans Çocuğu (Türkofon, 1968) 8. Cem Karaca- Emmoğlu (1970) 9. Average White Band- Pick Up The Pieces (AWB) Atlantic, 1974 10. Os Diagonais- Nao Vou Chorar (Black Rio 2: Original Samba Soul 1968-1981) Strut, 2009 11.Verckys et l’Orchetre Vévé- Bassala Hot (Congolese Funk, Afrobeat & Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978) Analog Africa, 2014 12. Ebo Taylor Jnr.- Children Don’t Cry (Afrobeat Airways 2: Return Flight to Ghana 1974-1983) Analog Africa, 2013 13. Bright Engelberts and the B.E. Movement- Tolambo Funk (Booinay: A Compilation of West African Funk) Birdman, 2006 14. Sweet Talks- Kyekye Pe Aware (The Kusum Beat) Soundway, 2010 ---------- Jef Gilson- Chant Inca Francis Bebey- Sanza tristesse Orlando Julius & The Heliocentrics- Sangodele Pharoah Sanders- Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt (edit)
Amenemhat I (Part 1): The King Who Was Promised.In 1990 BCE, a new king came to power. Victorious in war, King Amenemhat I was now ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt. Almost immediately, he set out to justify his unorthodox accession...https://egyptianhistorypodcast.com/2014/07/10/episode-32-the-repeating-of-births/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
with Zoe Griffithhosted by Chris Gratien and Kalliopi AmygdalouInheritance and the transfer of property across generations connects the history of families to a broader analysis of political economy, particularly in societies where wealth and capital are deeply rooted in the earth. In this episode, Zoe Griffith provides a framework for the study of family history through the lens of the mulberry tree and its produce in a study of Ottoman court records from Tripoli (modern-day Lebanon).Stream via Soundcloud (preferred / US) Zoe Griffith is a doctoral candidate at Brown University studying the early modern Mediterranean (see academia.edu)Chris Gratien is a doctoral candidate at Georgetown University researching the social and environmental history of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East. (see academia.edu)Kalliopi Amygdalou is a doctoral candidate in the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College in London working on the relationship between national historiographies and the built environment in Greece and Turkey (see academia.edu)Episode No. 130Release date: 18 November 2013Location: Kurtuluş, IstanbulEditing and Production by Chris GratienBibliography courtesy of Zoe GriffithCitation: "Mulberry Fields Forever: Family, Property, and Inheritance in Ottoman Lebanon," Zoe Griffith, Chris Gratien, and Kalliopi Amygdalou, Ottoman History Podcast, No. 130 (November 18, 2013) http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2011/11/ottoman-lebanon-property.html. BIBLIOGRAPHYAbu Husayn, Abdul Rahim. Provincial Leaderships in Syria, 1575-1650. Beirut: American University in Beirut, 1985.Cuno, Kenneth. The Pasha’s Peasants: land, society and economy in Lower Egypt, 1740-1858. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.Doumani, Beshara. “Introduction.” In Beshara Doumani, ed. Family History in the Middle East: Household, Property, and Gender. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003: 1-19.--- “Adjudicating Family: The Islamic Court and Disputes between Kin in Greater Syria, 1700-1860.” In Beshara Doumani, Family History in the Middle East: Household, Property, and Gender. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003: 173-200.Ergene, Boğaç. Local Court, Provincial Society, and Justice in the Ottoman Empire: legal practice and dispute resolution in Çankırı and Kastamonu (1652-1744). Leiden: Brill, 2003.Fay, Mary Ann. “Women and Waqf: toward a reconsideration of women’s place in the Mamluk household.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 29 (1997): 33-51.Ferguson, Heather. “Property, Language, and Law: Conventions of Social Discourse in Seventeenth-Century Tarablus al-Sham.” In Beshara Doumani, ed. Family History in the Middle East: Household, Property, and Gender. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003: 229-244.‘Imad, ‘Abd al-Ghani. Mujtama’ Trablus fi zaman al-tahawwulat al-‘uthmaniya. Tripoli, Lebanon: Dar al-Insha’ lil’Sihafah wa’l-Tiba’ah wa’l-Nashr, 2002. Imber, Colin. “The Status of Orchards and Fruit Trees in Ottoman Law.” Tarih Enstitüsü Dergisi, 12 (1981-82): 763-774.Mundy, Martha and Richard Saumarez-Smith. Governing Property, Making the Modern State: law, administration, and production in Ottoman Syria. London: I.B. Taurus, 2007.Tezcan, Baki. The Second Ottoman Empire: political and social transformations in the early modern world. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.Music: Wadi al-Safi - Ya al-Tut al-Shami
with Zoe Griffithhosted by Chris Gratien and Kalliopi AmygdalouInheritance and the transfer of property across generations connects the history of families to a broader analysis of political economy, particularly in societies where wealth and capital are deeply rooted in the earth. In this episode, Zoe Griffith provides a framework for the study of family history through the lens of the mulberry tree and its produce in a study of Ottoman court records from Tripoli (modern-day Lebanon).Stream via Soundcloud (preferred / US) Zoe Griffith is a doctoral candidate at Brown University studying the early modern Mediterranean (see academia.edu)Chris Gratien is a doctoral candidate at Georgetown University researching the social and environmental history of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East. (see academia.edu)Kalliopi Amygdalou is a doctoral candidate in the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College in London working on the relationship between national historiographies and the built environment in Greece and Turkey (see academia.edu)Episode No. 130Release date: 18 November 2013Location: Kurtuluş, IstanbulEditing and Production by Chris GratienBibliography courtesy of Zoe GriffithCitation: "Mulberry Fields Forever: Family, Property, and Inheritance in Ottoman Lebanon," Zoe Griffith, Chris Gratien, and Kalliopi Amygdalou, Ottoman History Podcast, No. 130 (November 18, 2013) http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2011/11/ottoman-lebanon-property.html. BIBLIOGRAPHYAbu Husayn, Abdul Rahim. Provincial Leaderships in Syria, 1575-1650. Beirut: American University in Beirut, 1985.Cuno, Kenneth. The Pasha’s Peasants: land, society and economy in Lower Egypt, 1740-1858. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.Doumani, Beshara. “Introduction.” In Beshara Doumani, ed. Family History in the Middle East: Household, Property, and Gender. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003: 1-19.--- “Adjudicating Family: The Islamic Court and Disputes between Kin in Greater Syria, 1700-1860.” In Beshara Doumani, Family History in the Middle East: Household, Property, and Gender. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003: 173-200.Ergene, Boğaç. Local Court, Provincial Society, and Justice in the Ottoman Empire: legal practice and dispute resolution in Çankırı and Kastamonu (1652-1744). Leiden: Brill, 2003.Fay, Mary Ann. “Women and Waqf: toward a reconsideration of women’s place in the Mamluk household.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 29 (1997): 33-51.Ferguson, Heather. “Property, Language, and Law: Conventions of Social Discourse in Seventeenth-Century Tarablus al-Sham.” In Beshara Doumani, ed. Family History in the Middle East: Household, Property, and Gender. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003: 229-244.‘Imad, ‘Abd al-Ghani. Mujtama’ Trablus fi zaman al-tahawwulat al-‘uthmaniya. Tripoli, Lebanon: Dar al-Insha’ lil’Sihafah wa’l-Tiba’ah wa’l-Nashr, 2002. Imber, Colin. “The Status of Orchards and Fruit Trees in Ottoman Law.” Tarih Enstitüsü Dergisi, 12 (1981-82): 763-774.Mundy, Martha and Richard Saumarez-Smith. Governing Property, Making the Modern State: law, administration, and production in Ottoman Syria. London: I.B. Taurus, 2007.Tezcan, Baki. The Second Ottoman Empire: political and social transformations in the early modern world. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.Music: Wadi al-Safi - Ya al-Tut al-Shami
This morning, we are looking at Isaiah chapter 11. And it's a good time for it too, because this is the season of grandiose promises, and of visions of a glorious future, because it is a season of a presidential campaign. And it is amazing to listen to all of the promises that are made by the candidates, whether of major parties or minor parties. You really ought to make a list of all the things that are in our immediate future. It's looking quite bright, isn't it? And the fact of a long history of broken campaign promises, not necessarily by these candidates, but just by presidential candidates in, for example, the 20th century, doesn't dim those hopes at all. For example, in 1916 Woodrow Wilson promised to keep the United States out of World War I. And by 1917, we were fighting in World War I. Or in 1928, Herbert Hoover, or at least his campaign around him (I think he later said he never promised any such thing) promised a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. He did promise to eradicate poverty. That was in 1928. You know that what happened in 1929 and the depression that followed put an end to that promise - hence the denial by Herbert Hoover. Or then Franklin Roosevelt's pledge in 1932 to maintain balanced budgets and to decrease government spending by 25%. You can find out whether that happened or not. Or then his pledge in 1940 to keep the United States out of World War II. Or how about Lyndon Johnson's famous promise to win the war on poverty through his Great Society? Someone once said of his presidency that, “He fought a war on poverty and poverty won.” But at any rate, there was a grand and glorious vision of a future society free from poverty. Or Richard Nixon's pledge to get the United States out of the Vietnam War. When pressed on details, he implied that there was some kind of a secret plan. No one was ever sure what the secret plan was. I don't think it included Watergate, his near impeachment, and then the fact that in 1975, finally, we ended, and got out of Vietnam. Or George H W Bush's pledge, "No new taxes, read my lips." Very famous. Of course, at the same time, he was promising to maintain government programs, social programs, and to keep a balanced budget. You can find out how well all of that happened. And so we are in the middle of a presidential campaign, and you are going to hear things like, oh, an end to global warming, or a victory in the war on terror, or the ability to get Republicans and Democrats to work completely together with no discrepancies, or contradictions, or problems whatsoever. Who knows what they are going to promise? It sounds good to me. But as I look at history, I am a bit skeptical. And as I read Isaiah 11, I am yearning for that kingdom to come, and for Christ to reign. But I still think it's fascinating how much we yearn for this kind of thing, and how much we want a glorious future promised to us, and actually fulfilled. I think no myth or legend has been so strong as the legend of Camelot. You remember King Arthur, the English king of lore and legend, who was a wise and righteous man, powerful and mighty in battle with his sword Excalibur, who gathered around him a bunch of gallant Knights of the Round Table, who carried themselves with great dignity, and wisdom, and defended truth, justice, and I guess the British way, at that particular moment. This was a vision of Camelot, of a perfect society, and it extended even in nature, at least in the 1960 musical called "Camelot." There was a song whose lyrics are very well known, and this is what was decreed for Camelot, according to the musical anyway: It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clearThe climate must be perfect all the year A law was made a distant moon ago here July and August cannot be too hot And there's a legal limit to the snow here In Camelot The winter is forbidden till December And exits March the second on the dot By order, summer lingers through September In Camelot Camelot! Camelot! I know it sounds a bit bizarre But in Camelot, Camelot That's how conditions are The rain may never fall till after sundown By eight, the morning fog must disappear In short, there's simply not A more congenial spot For happily-ever-aftering than here In Camelot It is a vision of peace, even extending to nature, of a righteous king who reigns righteously on a throne, of all the people around him doing what is good and right and just - a vision of perfection. And you know what is so amazing? According to scripture, it is too good not to be true. It's too good not to be true, because this is exactly what God has promised us through Jesus Christ. Now, what I think he is doing here in history is letting it be seen plainly that, apart from Christ, and apart from the direct intervention of almighty God, it cannot happen. And so we get to see one form of government, one presidential campaign and rule after another fail, ultimately, so that the ground may be cleared for Jesus Christ, and for the reign of the Messiah on the Davidic throne. And that is the vision that we have in front of us. I. The Humble Beginning of Christ’s Rule Humble Beginning: A Branch from A Stump… Israel like a Felled Tree And it begins humbly. Look at verse one. It says, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." This testifies very plainly to the humble beginnings of Christ's rule, or the rule of the Messiah. Now the image of a stump is one really of hopelessness. There is just nothing left, it seems, of the Davidic line - nothing left of Judah. It is very humble. It says in Isaiah 6:13, "As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land." There is an indication of a termination, but then there is still a vitality to the roots. Branch: Living Image… Israel's promise, then, is of a future restoration and glory to come. The branches are of a living image. The shoot that comes up from the stump of Jesse and a branch bearing fruit, are of a living image. Yes, these are small beginnings, but there is hope for a glorious, a bright future. It reminds me of Isaiah 53, that incredible picture of Christ crucified and resurrected, the fruit of which goes and extends to the salvation of the nations. And this is what that prophecy says at the beginning. Isaiah 53:2, "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground." Again, we see the idea of sterility, of nothing left of Israel, everything laid low, seems to be nothing going on, and out of it comes life. A branch comes forth and this is the Messiah. And the Messiah is truly Jewish. "Salvation is from the Jews," as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman (John 4:22). The lineage is focused on David, although David isn't mentioned here. Rather, there is a step before that to David's father, Jesse, showing the humble origin even of David. And as you look at the kings in this Davidic line, the kings of Judah have fallen, and it seems, on very hard times. We already have Ahaz, a terribly wicked king who sacrificed his own son to Molech. And after the exile, once the exile comes, there are 14 generations of obscure men who are listed in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, but we don't know anything about these men. There is nothing significant about them at all, except that God knows that they are in the lineage, from which ultimately will come the Savior of the world, this fruitful branch that is going to come. So it seems for 14 generations as though nothing is coming. Nothing can come from Israel. Nothing can come from the stump of Jesse. But don't you believe it, because the promise has been given concerning David, that one of his descendants will reign on the throne forever. And so we have already seen this fruitful branch. Isaiah 4:2 says, “In that day the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.” I can't hear that prophecy or this one here in Isaiah 11 without thinking about Jesus' analogy in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. And so here is this fruitful branch, Jesus Christ, coming up from the stump of Jesse. The branch is the Messiah. Jeremiah 23:5-6 says, “‘The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’” Oh, any of you who sit there righteous in God's sight today, you can say, "Amen!" to that. The Lord is our righteousness. Jesus is my righteousness. I have no other hope. I am a sinner. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What righteousness do we have, apart from this gift from the righteous branch? He is our righteousness. He is the perfect King. And this is the perfect title for the coming King, because we want to be in his Kingdom. We want to be included, and it is going to be a new heaven and a new earth. 2 Peter 3:13 calls it “the home of righteousness.” How can I be there, except that the Lord give me a gift of righteousness? “The Lord Our Righteousness” - that is the branch. II. The Divine Power of Christ’s rule (vs. 2-3) “Messiah” = Anointed One, Oil Symbolized Holy Spirit Then in verses 2-3, we see the divine power of Christ's coming rule, the power of the Lord on him to bring it about, to make something out of nothing, to make this branch come forth, and then that Jesus would reign in this kind of righteousness and power. Look at verses 2-3. It says, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” Despite these humble origins from Jesse, despite this humble origin, yet there is supernatural power in this branch. He is the Messiah. Now, the word “Messiah” means “anointed one.” And you know that the Davidic kings, in order to be identified as the king, would be anointed by a prophet, or perhaps by a priest. A horn of oil would be poured down on their hair, and it would come down, and trickle down on their beard, or on their hair, and drip down like this. And it was a symbol, a picture, I believe, of the endowing of that Davidic king with the Holy Spirit of God, that the Spirit would come on this individual, and cover him, and enable him to reign wisely and justly. You remember that Saul received that anointing from the prophet Samuel. And the Spirit of God came on him in power, and so it was said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 10:11). It was a surprise. Nobody really expected it. But you know also that things turned in Saul's ministry and the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. We know also that the Spirit of God came on David in power, Saul's successor. But then when David sinned with Bathsheba, he was terrified in Psalm 51:11 where he said, “Do not… take not your Holy Spirit from me,” concerned that the Spirit would leave. And it was a good concern. But this Messiah, this Davidic king, he would be saturated with the Spirit of God. He would be completely covered with the Holy Spirit of God. It says in Isaiah 42:1, “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.” “Seven - fold Spirit” – Revelation 1:4-5; 3:1; 4:5 Now, as we look at Isaiah 11:2, there is this picture of a sevenfold aspect of the Spirit of God, sevenfold. There are three couplets, three times two, and then the statement, “Spirit of the Lord.” So that adds up to seven. There is a sevenfold aspect or ministry of the Spirit of God here. It reminds me of the dedication of the book of Revelation. And in that dedication, dedicated to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and given from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, there is mentioned there the sevenfold or “the seven spirits before his throne” (Revelation 1:4). So we have a mention of him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and the sevenfold Spirit before his throne, and Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness. This is the trinitarian picture there in Revelation 1. I think this is an insight, perhaps, into what that means - the sevenfold Spirit or the complete Spirit of God. And so the complete Spirit of God is going to rest on the Messiah, the Spirit of the Lord, “the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (verse 2). All of this is endowment for reigning, for ruling well. You remember the story, of course, about young king Solomon, when the time came for him to take up the mantle of leadership of the people of God, from the greatest king they ever had, David, his father, how daunting that was. And how the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and said, “Ask whatever you wish and I'll give it to you.” And how Solomon, humbly, I think, asked for wisdom to be a wise king, that he would reign over God's people with wisdom. And God was clearly pleased with that request and gave him not only greater wisdom than any man had ever seen up to that point (so great, by the way, that people traveled long distances to just listen to his proverbs, and to talk about science and agriculture. Anything they wanted to talk to the king about, he seemed to have all the answers.), but not only that, God also blessed him with glory and honor and power and prestige, unlike any king there had ever been up to that point. But do you remember what Jesus said about him? He said the Queen of the South “came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). Jesus's wisdom is infinitely greater than that of King Solomon. He was the perfect God, and therefore perfectly endowed with wisdom, through the Spirit of God, to be a righteous king. Now, look what it says, speaking first and foremost about the Spirit of the Lord, that he is endowed with the Spirit of God. This is the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, and Christ was saturated with the Spirit of God. Especially Luke, I think, brings this out. Luke 4:1 says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where… he was tempted by the devil.” And then at the end of that time of tempting, in Luke 4:14, it says that “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” By the way, I've often thought about that. The Alpha and the Omega of Jesus's time of testing is a full endowment with the Spirit of God. Oh, that I might always both enter and leave a time of testing filled with the Spirit of God! Both enter and leave that time of testing filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus did that always. He was completely covered with the Spirit of God. And after that it says he went to Nazareth, and as his custom was, he went to the synagogue. And the opportunity came for him to read the scripture. And he opened up to the place in Isaiah where it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me” (Luke 4:18). “I am anointed with the Spirit of God.” He is claiming to be Messiah, because after that reading he says, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). He is claiming to be Messiah, the Anointed One, anointed by the Spirit of God. And so he was. But it goes on beyond that, not just the Spirit of the Lord, but also the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Wisdom means that he knows God's character. He knows God's purposes. He knows the right end and the right means to the end. He also shows good understanding. The implication there is more at a human level. He understands man's character and purposes. Jesus had a special perception, an ability to see into people's hearts, and know who they were, and what they wanted. It says in John 2:24,25 that “Jesus knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.” And in the chapter before that, in John 1:47, he sees Nathaniel coming toward him and says, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” In whom there is “no guile” (NASB). There is no trickery in his heart. And Nathaniel is amazed. he said, "How do you know me?" he said, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you” (John 1:48). I just looked at you and I knew you. Now, that's Jesus. He is endowed with the Spirit of God, to just know people, to know their hearts. It also says he is filled with “the Spirit of counsel and of power” (Isaiah 11:2). His decisions show practical wisdom. He knows all the proverbs of Solomon and could add 1,000 besides. He knows how to live in this world. And there is also power in Christ. All of that wisdom would mean nothing, if he didn't have the power and the authority to make it happen, to make it stand, to deal with the wicked of the earth. So Jesus has this perfect combination as a king, wise counsel and total power. And so Matthew 28:18 says, “All authority in heaven and in earth has been given to me.” Or it says in Ephesians 1:22 that “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.” And the final couplet is he is filled with “the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2). “The fear of the Lord,” it says in Proverbs 1:7, “is the beginning of knowledge.” Delighting in the Fear of the Lord It's an amazing thing to meditate on Jesus, delighting in the fear of the Lord. And so he does. What an odd combination – “To delight in… fear” (Isaiah 11:3). He himself feared the Lord, and he always did what was right. It was the origin of his perfect wisdom as well, but he also delighted in it. He loved the fear of the Lord. It brought him great joy to walk in the counsel of the fear of the Lord. And he loved bringing that about in other people. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). He delighted in that. He loved that path. And the path was to take sinners like you and me, rebels whose hearts are hard, who are not in any way characterized by these couplets, and to take out our foolish and wayward hearts that do not fear the Lord in any way, and give us instead,a fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom, and the heart of flesh to submit to God's wise rule, to love it, and embrace it for ourselves. He delights in that. It brings him joy to do that to you and me. He delights in bringing fear of the Lord into my heart. He delights in it completely. That was his life's pleasure. III. The Absolute Justice of Christ’s Rule (vs. 3-5) So there, Jesus is described for us. He's characterized. He is fit to rule. Amen? He is going to be a good king for us. Look forward to him. Put your hopes on him, not on some candidate. I'm not saying, “Don't be involved in the political process.” I'm just saying, “Put your hope in Jesus,” because he is the only one endowed like this, to reign and to rule so wisely. And look at the justice of his rule. Isaiah 11:3-5: “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” Human Judgment: Fleshly and Sense-driven Here, we see a very clear contrast between the rule and the judgment and justice of Jesus, and that of human judges and kings. Human judgment is fleshly and sense driven. There are fleshly motives, such as earthly gain, and power, and prestige, and personal prejudices. There are fleshly methods also. In contrast to Jesus, they do judge by what they see with their eyes, and they do decide by what they hear with their ears. What else can they do? What else can they do? For man looks at the outward appearance, but it's God alone who can look at the heart. And then there is the fleshly manner in the way they carry themselves in authority. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 20:25, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.” It's just the way they carry themselves. Just like in Matthew 23 with the scribes and Pharisee. They love the flowing robes, and they love to be greeted in the marketplace, in the seat of honors, and all of that kind of thing. That's not Jesus' nature, the pomp and circumstance of it all. And perhaps, worst of all, throughout history are those fleshly miscarriages of justice. The innocent condemned, the guilty set free. It's happened again and again. I was reading some time ago of a case concerning this man, Tyrone Gamble, October 25th, 1997. He was arrested for a crime he didn't commit. He willingly gave a blood sample for a DNA test. The sample wasn't sent until 46 days later, waiting for a sample from the victim. Three months later, mid-March, the lab conclusively showed that Mr. Gamble was innocent of this crime. But the county police couldn't reach the state attorney general until a month after that. Finally, in mid-April, six months after the start, Gamble's case was thrown out. Gamble, who had been a poor man, sat in prison that whole time, unable to pay the bond to get out. Well, that's a small case. What about executions? What about other things that have happened again and again? The innocents condemned and the guilty set free. It's happened again and again. That will not happen with Jesus as the judge. It cannot happen. Christ’s Judgment Of course, the real danger for us is we are all guilty. We'll get to that in a moment, but the cross of Jesus Christ is the only answer to that one. But Jesus doesn't decide in a fleshly manner. There is justice to his reign, straight through. “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness, he will judge the needy, with justice, he will give decisions for the poor of the earth” (Isaiah 11:3,4). He is able to search the heart, just like he did with Nathaniel, to know whether there's guile and trickery or not. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). And so he knows exactly what he is doing. Even Jesus' own enemies acknowledged this. You remember, when his enemies came up trying to trick him, and they said to him, the question about taxation, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Mathew 22:17). They wanted to kill him with that one, if they could. But they come with this fawning kind of introduction. “‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.’” (Matthew 22:16). That's it. Even his enemies could see that. He wasn't swayed by men, not intimidated. He is not fooled. He is not tricked. He judges by what he sees inside his heart. He judges by righteousness and perfect judgment, not by what he sees with his eyes. And so righteousness is the foundation of Christ's throne. Righteousness: The foundation of Christ’s Throne Verse 5, “Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness, the sash around his waist.” The righteous motive of the glory of God. Jesus said in John 5:30, “My judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” So Jesus' motive, as we talked last week about the Assyrians' motive, Jesus' motive is the glory of God in judgment. The second righteous motive here is the benefit of the poor and needy. “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice, he will give decisions for the poor of the earth” (Isaiah 11:4). Now, Judah’s judges, at this point, wickedly oppressed the poor, and they used their positions of power to do it. In Isaiah 3, we've already seen this. Verses 13-15: “The Lord takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: ‘It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?’ declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.” Very concerned about this. But Jesus uses his position to benefit the true poor. Now here, I believe we must look to the New Testament to interpret who the poor are. I don't believe this is speaking ultimately of a socioeconomic situation. Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with these words: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Those are the ones that benefit from his reign and from his rule, the poor in spirit. The Greek word “poor” is “ptochos,” a beggar, a spiritual beggar. Now, that could be a rich man or it could be a poor man. Now, we know from 1 Corinthians chapter one that not many are wise or influential, or of noble birth. Not many are the rich and wealthy of the world. James 2:5 says God has “chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith.” But the same thing obtains: rich in faith, spiritual beggars. These are the ones that Jesus defends, the ones who know that they have no hope before such a judge, no possibility of surviving judgment day, unless God Almighty moves on their behalf. Those that beg him for salvation, that plead with him by faith, that he would give it to them as a free gift, those are the ones whose judgment he will benefit. And look at the righteous power behind this judgment, the rod of his wrath, with which he will strike the earth. Jesus is the Word of God. He is the great I Am. And when he strikes the earth, it shakes. He has great power. Revelation 19:11-16 gives us a picture of the second coming of Christ in glory and power. “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.” That is the coming savior. That is the coming king, the one predicted here in Isaiah 11. With justice, he judges and makes war. And every single human being, every single person, man, woman, and child who is sitting in this sanctuary today, listening to me, every single one of us will appear before Jesus concerning our lives. Every last one of us. Christ, Our Final Judge Let that sink in for a moment. Someday you will give an account to Jesus for your life. In John 5:22,23 Jesus said this: “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-33, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” And to the sheep, he will give them something none of them have deserved, and they know it: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). And to the goats, he will give them what they truly deserve: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). It is Jesus who will do that. It is his judgment that decides. And so we see in Revelation 20:11-12, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small.” That's all of us, friends. “I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” What will you do on that day? How will you survive that perfect judgment? His eyes are like blazing fire. How will you survive when the books are open, and you have to give an account for every careless word that you have spoken? Your only hope is that your name is written in the book of life, that through simple faith in Christ, all of that guilt, which we readily acknowledge through the convicting work of the Spirit of God, all of that guilt could be lifted from us, and put on our substitute, on Jesus Christ, and he'd be crushed under the righteous weight of God's wrath and his judgment for our sins. This holy and righteous one, who never committed the least sin, that he would stand in our place, and take all of that wrath on himself. Someday you will stand before him and give an account for your life. Will he say to you, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, blessed freely with a gift of forgiveness, because while you had time, when there was still an opportunity, when it was the day of salvation, you looked by faith to me, and you asked that I would save you, that I would give you my righteousness as a free gift, and I did. And you were confirmed in that with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in that righteousness, you sought to walk the rest of your life. And therefore, I will cover all of your sins, all of them with my blood, and I will accept you into my kingdom.” Will that be you? Or will you hear those dreadful words, “Depart from me, you who are cursed” (Matthew 25:41). Will you receive what you truly deserve, justice meted out by God, based on his law in eternal punishment? I beg you, I plead with you, come to Christ. This is the day of salvation. We are still in it now. The sun came up this morning. We don't know that it will come up tomorrow. We don't know. God will teach us eschatology, friends. We don't know what he plans. We have ideas. We have indications from scripture, but he will come when he comes. Are you ready? Are you ready today, to face the judgment? IV. The Perfect Peace of Christ’s Rule (vs 6-9) Human Government – Constant Strife Now, in verses 6-9, we come to the perfect peace of Christ's rule. Now, in human governments, we see constant strife, one government striving after another for world domination. Within each government, jealous officials striving, petty turf battles one after another, human sin and corruption rife, straight through. But there is also strife between the human race and nature itself. I went back to the cursing of the ground back in Genesis 3:17. God spoke to Adam and said, “Cursed is the ground because of you.” Can you imagine hearing that? “Cursed is the ground because of you.” What you did. “Through painful toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17,18). It says in Romans 8:22, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth, right up to the present time.” It's groaning, waiting to “be liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21). Death, cycle of death, and food chain. I saw a DVD set my mother gave me as a gift, the Discovery Channel on the planet earth. There are lots of jarring scenes in it. Lots of violence, and there was no warning talking about the violence. It was natural violence though. It was a pride of lions getting after a baby elephant. Thankfully, they cut it off before it got really gory. But it's really dangerous out there in the world. It's dangerous because of us, because we have sinned, because nature is not at peace with itself. There is corruption and there is a cycle of violence. Things are being destroyed. Now, Messiah's rule is going to bring perfect peace, vertical peace with God Almighty, and then horizontal peace with other created beings, and with nature itself. And that, I believe, is predicted here in this passage, a very famous passage. It says, “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9). Interpretation Difficulties… Is This the Millennial Kingdom of the Eternal State? Now, this is a difficult passage to interpret, if what you're asking me is, “Is this the millennial reign?” Now, what do we mean by the millennial reign? The millennial reign is a 1,000-year period spoken of in Revelation chapter 20, after the second coming of Christ, when the devil is bound up and cast into a pit for 1,000 years. And some are, it seems, resurrected, and will reign with Christ for 1,000 years. It speaks of the 1,000 years six times in those verses. And in the flow of that book of Revelation, it's after the second coming of Christ, in that passage I just read, Revelation 19, before the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21, before the great white throne judgment that we've already talked about this morning. There it is, this 1,000-year period. All different theories on it, my friends, all different theories. I'm not going to get into them this morning. But let me say this, in this passage itself, there is one indicator, I think, that this is referring to something short of the new heaven and the new earth, the final eternal state. But whether you accept that difference or not, it doesn't make a difference, because I believe that these things will literally be fulfilled at some point in the future, either in the millennial reign, or in the new heaven, and the new earth. Therefore, I do not spiritualize the details here. I don't think we ought to do that. I think we ought to look at them and say this is precisely what Jesus is going to come do. And what a glorious picture of his power, isn't it? Now, what is that one verse? Well, the mention of infants, the mention of children. I don't really know how that fits with Jesus' statement, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). I have a hard time finding procreation in the eternal state. And so, therefore, there is an indication, in terms of the infant playing near the hole of the cobra, and the young child putting his hand into the viper's nest, this speaking of something short of the final eternal state. Even more difficult, friends, is Isaiah 65:17, which says, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.” And a few verses later, it's talking about people who don't live out their years, and if they die at 100, they'll be thought of as young men. I'm saying, “Wait a minute. I thought there would be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain in the new heavens and the new earth.” There it gets very complicated and difficult. My View: This is Speaking of the Full Effects of Christ’s Reign… Including the Millennial Reign on Earth So, what do I make out of it? I think that there will be a millennial reign, a 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth. I respect those that don't see that. I respect them deeply, as long as they're faithful to the text and have biblical reasons for doing it. But I think there's a physical aspect to Christ's future reign. And I think that he is actually going to have the power to change the nature of animals so that they don't rip and tear anymore, and so the wolf can lie down or live with the lamb. Their essential nature can change. Does not Jesus have that kind of power? Aren't you counting on that? Do you want to go to heaven and spend eternity in your present state? I sure don't. I want my essential nature finished. I don't just want work-in-progress - “Please be patient with me. God isn't finished.” I want him to finish me. I want to be perfect as he is perfect. I want that transforming power. I want to yearn for righteousness and have it actually fulfilled. I want to eat a feast of righteousness for all eternity. Don't you? And so, yes, he has this kind of power. He can change wolves. He can change lambs. He can get lions to eat straw like an ox if he wants to. He has that kind of power. And yes, a little child can lead them, and an infant can play near the hole of the cobra. Even the physical snake, hijacked, I think, by that ancient serpent Satan (Revelation 12), can be taken back by God. The snake hijacked for Satan’s wicked purposes, cursed as a result. Even he, the snake, the viper, can be reclaimed and no longer harmful on God's holy mountain. Jesus has that kind of power. And I'm counting on that, aren't you? I'm counting on him to change me and to change this world. And I'm looking forward to that. That's the kind of reign that he has. V. The Universal Reach of Christ’s Rule (vs. 10-12) Now, look at the universal reach of Christ's rule in Isaiah:10-16. I'm going to read verses 10-12: “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.” Look at Verse 12: “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.” This is the assembly of the people of God, to spend eternity in the presence of this Messianic king, and they include both Jews and Gentiles from the ends of the earth. Banner for the Nations, a Regathering of the Exiles of Israel It's a powerful thing. First the Gentiles, that Root of Jesse. He is going to stand as a banner for the peoples and the nations will rally to him. These are Gentiles and they're coming to Jesus. That era is going on right now, the gathering of the Gentiles. And why? Because God said to him, God the Father said to God the Son in Isaiah 49:6, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” And so the Gentiles are coming to faith in Christ. They're going to stand under the Messianic banner of Jesus, and you are going to say, “He's my king. He's my savior,” this Jewish king, this descendant of Jesse. “He is my king” Christ, the rallying point, lifted high and exalted, he will draw all nations to himself. This is all about missions, friends. It's about the advance of the gospel to the ends of the earth, from Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. When the Spirit of God comes, he will gather the elect, the chosen people from all nations of the earth, and they will be people from every tribe and language and people and nation. They will stand around that throne. Glorious Rest! And it says, “His place of rest will be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10). Oh, it's a place of rest. You are going to enter into God's rest, and there you will rest from all of your labors, just as God rested from his (Hebrews chapter 4). And yes, it's going to be glorious. Revelation 21:10,11: “He carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” Oh, his place of rest is going to be glorious. It's going to be beautiful. Jewish Restoration But there is also a word here of Jewish restoration. It says, “The Lord will reach out his hand a second time” (Isaiah 11:11). Don't miss that detail. The first time was the physical regathering, I think, under the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the rebuilding of the temple at that point. That was the first time that the scattered people of the Jews were regathered. But there is going to be a second regathering. You could spiritualize it and say that this second regathering is just the success of the gospel among the Jews. But frankly, Romans 9-11 says that most of the Jews aren't believing in Christ. There is just a small remnant that have come to faith in Christ, and that's somewhat of a regathering around Jesus. But I believe that there is a far more glorious regathering yet to come. He is going to reach out his hand a second time, at the end of time, while it's still time, and he is going to gather the Jews through faith in Christ. “They will look on… the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,” Zechariah 12:10 tells us. And he is going to reclaim them, and bring them, it says, “From the four quarters of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12). “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins’” (Romans 11:26,27). That is what Jesus is going to do to his own people. And he will take away that veil that covers their face. And they will see, at last, Christ in their own scriptures, and they will recognize who the Messiah is, and they will look to Jesus, and they will mourn, but it will be tears mingled with joy because, finally, at last, they have assurance that their sins are forgiven through the shed blood of Christ. And Jesus will gather all of the Jews to himself, he who said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together” (Matthew 23:37). That's his yearning. He wants to gather them, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, “But you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Matthew 23: 37-39). But at the end, they will finally say to Jesus, this descendant of Jesse, “Blessed are you, the one who came in the name of the Lord, who died for me and for the Gentiles, and we all now stand under one banner, the banner of Christ.” Verses 13-16 talk about the final effect of that transformation: “Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will lay hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that men can cross over in sandals. There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.” The great power of God, even greater than happened during the time of the Exodus, that's the language here. Even greater than that, he is going to deliver his people from bondage to sin, and they are going to come to Christ, and they are going to believe in Christ. And the enemies of the people of God will be crushed and destroyed - I believe that's referring to the second coming - as he swoops down on the enemies of Israel and crushes them, finally, and they are gone forever. Summary: All God’s Chosen People from both Gentiles and Jews to be Gathered into Messiah’s Kingdom And so all of God's chosen people, from both the Gentiles and the Jews, will be gathered together into one kingdom, and there they will live forever and ever. That's our future. Why settle for politics? Why settle for a candidate? Look to Jesus for your true hope. That's where we are heading. We are heading toward a glorious kingdom with a king worth worshipping, who will not disappoint us in any way. Verse 12: “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.” VI. Review and Application What we have seen Well, what have we seen? We've seen the humble beginnings of Messiah's rule like a shoot from a stump. We've seen the divine power of Messiah's rule, the sevenfold Spirit of God saturating Jesus. We've seen the absolute justice of Messiah's rule, not a fleshly justice, but righteous. We've seen the perfect peace of Messiah's rule, heart transformation resulting in eternal peace, even extending to nature itself, a transformation of nature that only God could do. And we've seen the universal reach of Messiah's rule, both Gentiles and Jews rallying, being regathered around this one banner. How should we then live? How then should we live? Well, first of all, don't judge God's work by external appearance. The shoot comes up from a sterile stump. It seems like nothing is going on. Learn not to judge a ministry, or a person, or a family by external appearance. Trust in the Lord. Do what is good and right, and let him produce the fruit. Plant good seeds, water them with your tears, and with prayer, and let him do the work. Don't judge it by external appearance. God is at work and he is bringing this kingdom about. Look forward to the perfect reign of Christ. And if God in his wisdom chooses first a millennial reign, short of the eternal state, and then second, eternity, in which these conditions will obtain, praise God. And if he decides to just skip the millennial reign, and go right into the eternal state, none of you who are there enjoying it will complain, I assure you. You'll be delighted and happy to be there. But look forward to it. Feed your minds with it. Put your hope on it. The future is gloriously bright. And allow the sevenfold Spirit of God to saturate your lives, as he saturated Christ's life. John the Baptist said, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). Allow Jesus to saturate your day with the sevenfold Spirit of God. And if you lack wisdom, go to Jesus and say, “Send forth now your Spirit of wisdom. I don't know what to do in this situation. I don't know what to do. My husband. My wife. I don't know what to do with my boss, with my employee. I don't know what to do with my financial situation. I don't know what to do with my child. I don't know what to do here, Lord.” Like Jehoshaphat said, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you, [O Lord]” (2 Chronicles 20:12). Look to him, and ask him to give you this kind of wisdom that we talked about today, and delight in the fear of the Lord. Fear him and obey his commands. Walk in his ways. Don't play loose with grace and think that because you're covered in grace you can live however you want. He still upholds his commands. Live in the fear of the Lord. Delight in the fear of the Lord and be blessed in that. And finally, take part in that regathering. It's going on, praise God. Pray for the missionaries that your church supports, for both their internal journey of sanctification and the external journey of the advance of the gospel. And pray for others that you know, that aren't connected with your church, but you know they're doing good ministry of regathering both Jews and Gentiles brought into the Kingdom. Get involved in that.
I. The Quest for Righteous Government Well, I am really excited and joyful to be able to preach this passage to you this morning. This is a glorious section of scripture. It speaks of a great joy and people celebrating, of a sense of victory, coming through the victory of Jesus Christ. This passage speaks very plainly of Christ. And it speaks also of the government that he intends to bring. I think, in some way, the study of human history for thousands and thousands of years is the study of a fruitless quest of the human race for a righteous form of government and a righteous ruler to lead it. It wasn't found in the ancient Egyptians for all of their achievements. You can still see the pyramids and the effects of the rule of the pharaohs over Upper and Lower Egypt. It wasn't found there. It wasn't found in the cruel Assyrians who swept in, who invented crucifixion, which took our Lord from this world. Just through their cruelty a pile of skulls was the measure of their success, the success of their kingdom. Certainly, it wasn't found in their cruelty. Nor was it found in the Babylonians, who through the genius of one man, Nebuchadnezzar, were able to build a glorious empire that lasted for just a short time and then sank back down into the dust. It wasn't found there. Nor was it found in the conquerors of the Babylonians, the Medo-Persians, who came along with their wide-reaching empire, or Alexander the Great who sought to take Greek culture and philosophy and literature and language and spread it all over the world. He had a vision for that trained by the philosophers. He never lost a battle, but he did not bring in a righteous form of government, as the history after Alexander certainly proved. It certainly wasn't found in the Romans for all of their great achievements, for all of the tens of thousands of roads that they made, and all of their great structures for the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, and that Roman system of justice, and their philosophers. They certainly did not bring in a righteous and lasting form of government in which we can rejoice. And after that darkness, the barbarian tribes swept in, hordes from the steppes of Asia who had no interest whatsoever in culture and just sought to destroy and to establish their own power for a short period of time. Nor was it found in Christendom, the kings, the feudal system, all of that. Things were only as good as the character of your king during that era. And that usually wasn't very good. And so they didn't find it in the kings and the nobles and the system of serfs and pages of the Middle Ages. It wasn't found there, in the divine right of kings. Nor has it been found in representative democracy, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people which came in after the enlightenment. It wasn't found there. Every four years, we listen to the hopes of another political candidate and the utopian language of what it's going to be like if this or that individual or this or that party is elected into power. We Christians ought to know better. Winston Churchill put it this way in 1947 very famously, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." Typical of Churchill to put it so succinctly. It's basically the best we've been able to do. Certainly it is better than Communism, which had its run in the 20th century - enforced liberality to the poor, but really just a concentration of power in the hands of just a few. The same old thing, tyranny and corruption. It's the same always. But the righteous king has been found. Amen? He's already walked our earth. Two thousand years ago, he came. He showed us what he was like. He displayed his character. And for two thousand years we've been getting a greater and greater sense of what kind of kingdom he is going to bring. And that kingdom is displayed so beautifully in the words of an ancient prophet who lived seven centuries before the king was born. And that's Isaiah. Look at verses six and seven, just to get a foretaste of the kind of government that Jesus will bring to us, in which we will live and rejoice for ever and ever. Put your hope here, friends, not in any political process. Put your hope right here. Listen to these words. "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Amen and Amen. That is the government we're looking forward to. That's what I'm looking forward to. I'm yearning for the government of the king of kings, of Jesus, to come and show us what righteousness really looks like here on earth, to establish and uphold it forever. II. A Light in Darkness The Cause of the Darkness and Gloom Now, the context of this glorious gift - and it is a gift, “for … to us a son is given,” the Father is giving us this kind of a government, he is giving us this kind of a king - is great darkness, a people who walk in darkness. Any passage that begins with the word "nevertheless" causes you to look back a little bit. We are starting right in the middle of the story here, right in the flow of Isaiah's prophecy, and we are caused to look back to the end of chapter eight to find out the nature of this darkness and gloom into which this light shines. And it is the darkness of ignorance and of rebellion against the law of God. That is the darkness in which this light shines. Look at it again. Verses 19 through 23 speak of consulting mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter instead of consulting their God. Darkness and rebellion - they don't know God, they don't know his laws, they don't know his ways. They are ignorant, and they are rebellious. Even if they knew the laws of God, they would not follow them. And so this is a land of darkness. To make it even worse, these are the chosen people. These are the Jews, the people of God, the descendants of Abraham. These are the people who are walking in darkness, faulty spiritual guides who whisper and mutter - mediums and spiritists. Friends, we have this problem too in our culture. Have you noticed the increased fascination with the occult in America? Have you noticed programs on TV like Ghost Whisperer and Medium that talk about connection with the dead? Always for a good cause, helping law enforcement officials to find the bad guy, this kind of thing. We are being duped. We're being sucked in. We struggle with the same thing, the same ignorance of the law of God, the same rebellion against those laws we do know. And Isaiah 8 says it very plainly. Isaiah asks a simple question and gives a clear command. “Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word [the word of God] they have no light of dawn" (Isaiah 8:19,20). They are ignorant of the word of God, and the result is utter rebellion against God and eternal judgement as we talked about last time. Verses 22 and 23 of chapter 8, "Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness." Yet in the midst of this bleak picture, this gloom and this darkness, shines a ray of light so glorious and so brilliant. And his name is Jesus. He is the light of the world and he shines into this darkness. "Nevertheless," it says, verse one, “there will be no more gloom for those who are in distress.” A Land in Darkness and Gloom Now Sees a Light That land in darkness and gloom now sees a light. Now the context here, politically, is the humbling, it says, of the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. This is referring, I believe, to the military oppression under the Assyrians. God was sending the Assyrians from the north, coming down from the north to invade the northern kingdom of Israel as a punishment for their sins. And during this time, during Isaiah's time, Assyria came. In 2 Kings 15:29, it says, “In the time of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took …Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.” So that is where it came first, that's the beginning of the exile, the beginning of the end of the people of God in the promised land. It is the beginning, I think, to what Jesus calls the times of the Gentiles, when the Gentiles will rule over portions of the promised land. And so they deported... It begins with the land of Naphtali, the land of Zebulun, Galilee of the Gentiles. That's why it is called Galilee of the Gentiles, because the Assyrians come down, and not only do they deport the Jews out, but they bring pagans in to settle. This is what they did. They just rearranged peoples. And so the pagans came in there and they mingled with the residual people of God that were left there, the Jews that were left there, they mingled with them, they intermarried with them, and it became Galilee of the Gentiles. Idolatry and darkness from the ignorance of God and of his word. They were a people walking in darkness. Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." That's the light that God has given us, that we walk not in darkness but have everlasting light. But I tell you this, physical slavery and oppression, even under the Assyrians, is nothing compared to the cruel bondage that we feel under sin. That is the true task master. And I believe behind the political language and the military language of Isaiah 9, is the spiritual language of the release that Jesus has brought us, the release from sin and death, my friends. In John 8:34, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Romans 5:21 says, "…just as sin reigned in death." Now, there is a tyranny for you, sin reigning in death. It is vicious and cruel. So Galilee of the Gentiles was humbled by their military domination, by their ignorance of God and by their slavery of sin. That's the past though. In the past. Oh but, “In the future,” he says, "he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan.” (Isaiah 9:1). How is he going to honor? The word literally means to glorify. He will raise them up out of the darkness and he will honor them and he will glorify them. Now what great honor can come to a land so downtrodden? What can these words mean? “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Or shall I put it in the language of the New Testament? “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Can anything good come from the northern regions where the Gentiles were?” That was Nathaniel's statement when he heard about a messiah, the son of God who was coming from Nazareth and Galilee. “Can anything good come from that place? That's the place of judgment, the place of darkness.” Oh, yes, something gloriously good can come from there. Jesus can come, and there is a clear prophecy here in Isaiah 9, that the Messiah would come from Galilee of the Gentiles. “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). And his name is Jesus. This prophecy had been forgotten. Even those that studied the scriptures diligently did not remember. I'm speaking of the Sanhedrin. They spent their whole time studying the scriptures, at least some of them did. And you remember Nicodemus, how in John chapter 7 he stuck up for Jesus and said, “Can we at least give him a trial before we condemn him?” And so he gets a faceful of lead just for saying that. John 7:52, “Are you from Galilee too?” That's an insult by the way. To us it's not much of an insult, but that was an insult there. “Are you from Galilee too? Is that where you come from Nicodemus? Look into it and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” Well, they should have looked into it. You can imagine Jesus saying, “Have you not read in Isaiah nine, 'The people walking in darkness have seen a great light’?” They've come walking in darkness and Jesus shines in Galilee of the Gentiles. Here he comes. Deeper symbol: life without Christ It's a deeper symbol though. It is the life that all of us faced apart from Christ before we were converted. And let me tell you something, you are surrounded every day by people who are walking in darkness, who live in the land of the shadow of death, an eternal death, the second death, the death in the lake of fire, that hangs over people you live with every day. They are walking in darkness. They are dead while they live, because they are following “the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). They are under the power of death. They walk in darkness every day. They need the light that we can bear, the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what they need. It says in 1 John 2:11, "Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him." And only Jesus himself can bring light into that darkness. Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." I think many of you who are listening to me today can testify to that truth, Amen? Amen. You have found Jesus to be light in a dark place once for all in the salvation of your souls. And day after day after day he shines his light to you and teaches you the way to go. He is the light of the world. Result of Light: Great Joy (vs. 3) Now what is the result of that light, the shining of that light? Look at verse three: great joy. Verse three, "You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder." Sin's darkness, and the depression that comes from it squelches all joy. It just crushes it. And so people put on a happy face. They celebrate things that don't really matter. They don't have any sense of lasting happiness and joy because they haven't found Jesus. They don't know what it is like to be a branch on that living vine and to have the renewing power of joy day after day. Not a joy that comes from you or that comes from your circumstances but that comes from the truth of this word, that Jesus has crushed death forever and will never be under its dominion again. They don't know it. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” And you know the answer. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. You were destined for eternal joy in Christ, you who are believers. That's what you were made for. You were crafted for joy and you haven't touched one millionth part of it yet. The greatest joy is yet to come. That is what he made you for. The joy of knowing God, of knowing his son Jesus Christ. III. The Source of Joy: “The Day of Midian’s Defeat” (vs. 3-5) A Military Victory [Need to know OT history for this one!!] Now the source of this joy is a victory likened to a great military victory: “the day of Midian's defeat” (verse 4). What is that referring to? Well, you have to know Old Testament history for this one. Look at verses four and five. "For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire." Oh, what a great celebration! What great joy it's referring to. Some of you may be old enough to remember the celebration at the end of World War II - VE Day and VJ Day. The rest of us who are younger have read about it. We have seen it in documentaries. There was wild, crazy dancing in the streets. The Nazis were not going to rule the world after all. VE day, May of 1945, the world is released from that bondage. Hitler is dead. The Nazi regime is crushed. It's over. But even then, tempered by the fact that there was still a war going on in the Pacific, still ultimate victory hadn't been won. But then in August came VJ Day and it was all over. World War II was over, and there would be none of that oppression and none of that bondage. The story of Gideon and the Midianites Well, like that joy and celebration, so it is with this victory that is the foundation of our eternal joy. "As in the day of Midian's defeat." Now what is this referring to? Well, this is coming right out of the book of Judges. You know that book, a strange book in the Old Testament, testifying to the wickedness of the hearts of God's chosen people, to the sinfulness of the Jews, how they continually violated God's law or didn't know it. The Levites weren't teaching it. And so there was a constant cycle in that book of rebellion and sin. And God would judge them by giving them over to some Gentile enemy. The Gentile enemy would rule for a while, and God would raise up a deliverer, and he would effect some military victory, and then the people for one generation would kind of walk with the Lord. And then in the second and third generations, it would devolve again, slide back down into rebellion and it would start all over again. In the summary verse at the very end in Judges it says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 21:25). I'm telling you, all of history can be summed up in this: the search for a righteous government and a king to lead it. And they didn't know the king, so they rebelled again and again. And so in Judges 6, we learn about Midian. It was Midian's turn to dominate the people of God. It says, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds” (Judges 6:1,2). They are living in caves, not in their fertile fields, in the houses they did not build and the vineyards they did not plant. They were done with that. They were banished into caves and clefts, strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites invaded their country like locusts and destroyed all that they had planted. Ultimately, they cried out to the Lord for help, and he heard their cry. And so he raised up a deliverer, Gideon. And the angel of the Lord finds Gideon threshing in a wine press. Not a good place. You want to be up on a kind of bare spot where the wind sweeps across. He is down in a sunken area trying to hide his grain from the Midianites. It’s not a good threshing area, but what can you do when you are under the boot of the oppressor? And so there is Gideon, and he is just toiling away. And the angel of the Lord comes and calls him to this role of being deliverer. And he chose from the smallest clan, the weakest family in that small tribe, this deliverer Gideon. He is doing it on purpose. And why? Because God's method in this deliverance is self-exaltation. He is going to deliver the people in such a way that he gets all the glory. He is going to do it through weakness. He is going to do it through frailty and he is going to do it by the enemy imploding on itself and using their own weapons to destroy themselves. That sounds like what Jesus did, as in the day of Midian's defeat. Well, you know the story of how Gideon got the army together. He had to have some help for his weak spirit. So he puts out the fleece once and then he puts the fleece out again and God stoops to his weakness and lifts him up. And then he has a dream. He overhears in the Midian camp about some barley loaf that rolls down. What a strange dream. But he gets inspired by the rolling barley loaf. It's quite a story. It really is. A picture of weakness and frailty. This is no great military leader. And then he gets the army together and he says, "You've got too many men. Send them home." No general has ever done that. They are always looking for more recruits. He sends them home, he sends them home, he sends them home, until at last, he's got 300 men. Ah, the choicest of the brave, right? I don't think so. You've missed the point if that's what you think. They are not going to make a movie about that 300. Not at all. These are weak people who don't even bring a weapon to battle. They just stand around the Midian camp with torches and trumpets. And at the signal, they break their lanterns and the torches come ablaze, and the trumpet sounds, and the enemy turns in on itself and just destroys itself until they are dead. To God alone be the glory for that one. To God alone be the glory. And that's the whole point, isn't it? Isaiah is making an analogy here. As in the day of Midian's defeat, so also will be this victory through Jesus Christ. And so he raises up a little baby (more about that in just a moment), a picture of weakness, a picture of frailty. But Jesus in the manger is nowhere near as weak as Jesus up on the cross, seemingly helpless, bleeding and dying, by his frailty, by his weakness, by his death on the cross, destroying the boot of the oppressor, Satan, destroying the lash of the tyrant, sin, just by dying. As in the day of Midian's defeat. We know what we're talking about here. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. That is the lash of the oppressor. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That is the boot of the tyrant. We can't throw it off. It is too strong for us. We can't defeat death. We need a deliverer. We need deliverance, and deliverance will come. Hebrews 2:14,15 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil.” By dying, he destroys the devil. By dying, he destroys the devil and frees those who, all their lives, were held in slavery by their fear of death. So what does he do? Well, he turns the devil's weapon back on himself. The devil's got in his hand the power of death. Not anymore. Jesus has it now. “I hold the keys of death and Hades,” he says (Revelation 1:18). He won them. How? By dying. And so Satan kills Jesus, and in so doing, in that way, he destroys himself. You've heard of one of David's mighty men who killed this powerful man by snatching the spear from him and killing him with his own spear. That's what Jesus does with Satan. Habakkuk 3:13,14 says, “You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. With his own spear you pierced his head.” Satan made a bad mistake in killing Jesus, didn't he? He didn't know what to do. He did not know what to do and so he killed Jesus, because that is what he did. He is a murderer. He is a liar. He followed his own nature and in so doing he killed himself, as in the day of Midian's defeat. IV. The Surprising Conqueror (vs. 6) Who will be this conqueror? A child!! But look at the conqueror in verse six. Who is this surprising mighty conqueror? Well, it's a child. "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders." Here is a surprising connection - a military victory in verses two through five, and a child introduced in verse six. Similar to Isaiah 7:14, "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel [which means ‘God with us’].” The message is this, that domination and oppression is conquered by vulnerability and weakness and submission to the will of God. It is conquered by a little baby. But this child is no ordinary child. Not at all. There is a mingling here of the natural and the supernatural, even in the titles of Jesus. It doesn't come across so well in the English, but it is very strong in the Hebrew. There is a clear mingling. There is an incarnation here. A child is born that is human, but he is called Mighty God. Now that is divine. So we have a mingling. We have the incarnation right here in these verses, that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14). That word, who is God, made his dwelling among us. Natural Yet Supernatural… Isaiah’s Four Titles: Look at these titles. We have a divine aspect and human aspect: Look at the first one: “wonderful counselor.” Let me shift it a bit, “miracle counselor.” How about that one? Because that is a valid translation. A counselor who does miracles, who has supernatural power then. The second one: “Mighty God.” The word is “el gibbor.” “Gibbor” just means a warrior, but the word “el”, now that means God. We’ll talk more about all of these in a moment, but I am just going across and showing you the mingling of the titles. “Everlasting Father.” Now all of us have a father. But there is only one eternal Father, one everlasting Father. You see the mingling of the human and the divine. And then the “Prince of Peace.” The word 'prince' is just an ordinary government official, a word that is used many, many times. But this word 'peace' - the more you study it, the more you realize only God can give that. Shalom. True peace. There is a mingling here of the divine and the human. So we first have a miracle counselor, a counselor who is going to work miracles. He gives good advice, you ought to follow it. By the way, is there any difference between Jesus' advice and his commands? I think not. Any difference between his commands and his promises for us as Christians? I think not. It's all the same. He intends to do us good. Whatever he commands is a promise he's going to work in us, and also his advice. He is the wonderful counselor. He gives wonderful advice. “My sheep listen to my voice… and they follow me” (John 10:27). But he does miracles, signs and wonders. Secondly, Mighty God, El Gibbor. Now, a warrior is what we need to win a victory. Jesus is a warrior. There has never been one any more powerful. If you want to read about a military victory unlike any there has ever been in history (it just hasn't happened yet) read Revelation 19, when Jesus comes back before the armies of heaven and everyone dies by the sword coming out of Jesus' mouth. That's the kind of warrior he is. Oh, he is a dreadful enemy but a marvelous savior! But the first one, El Gibbor, Mighty God. Now that is a word reserved in Isaiah's prophecy only for Almighty God. Isaiah 44:6 - “This is what the Lord says - Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last. [Listen to this!] Apart from me there is no God.” Same word, El. There is no God apart from me. Isaiah 44:8 - “You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” He is saying there is no other God. Why is he saying this to Israel? Because they were syncretistic. They were mixing religions together. Yahweh, yes, but so also Baal and Ashtoreth and all the others. He is saying, "No! There are no other Gods." In effect, he is saying, "I have studied my universe. I made it. I know. I've looked top to bottom, front to back, left to right, north, south, east and west. There is no other God. I know not one." Isaiah 45:5 - “I am the Lord and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.” Isaiah 45:21,22 - “And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. [Do you get it? It is very, very plain.] Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.” Oh, this is a title reserved in the book of Isaiah only for Almighty God, the creator of the ends of the earth. And yet it is ascribed to the child that's born. He will be called Mighty God, the deity of Christ established plainly. And then Eternal Father. Father, of course, implies an intimate caring relationship to his people. Isaiah 40:11 - "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” He is the good shepherd. He is a tender father, as a father should be. Caring for us, yes, but that word everlasting, now that's eternal. Eternal Father. Micah 5:2 says, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel," listen to this, "Whose origins are from of old, from the days of eternity" (NASB). The one born in Bethlehem is coming from eternity past to enter into time. He steps into time at Bethlehem, but he is of eternal origins. And he says so during his trial before Pontius Pilate. Pilate says, "So you're a king?" Jesus always told the truth, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). That is eternity speaking there, friends. That is eternity speaking. Not one of us who draws breath today chose to enter this world. None of us. There was a stab of blinding light to your up-to-that-moment blind eyes, and there was some pain, and there was air in your lungs, and you were alive. And it's been interesting ever since. But you didn't make any choice there, not at all. But Jesus did. He chose to take on a human body. He is the Everlasting Father. And he is the Prince of Peace. Prince is a natural word in Isaiah, like this for example, “Your rulers (same Hebrew word) are rebels, companions of thieves” (Isaiah 1:23). How does that sound? Or this one, speaking of Egypt's rulers: “The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools” (Isaiah 19:11). So that's what we get. Those are our princes - companions of thieves and fools. That is not good when government is run by companions of thieves and fools. But Jesus is not that way. He is a prince yes, but he is the Prince of Peace. He is a prince who brings eternal peace, divine peace. You've already heard this in Isaiah 2:4 - “He will judge between the nations and settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” The peace that Jesus brings is an eternal peace. It is a peace that goes up vertically with God and a peace that extends horizontally with all people. And it was testified to by the angel who announced his birth. Luke 2:14, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." That peace. Or this one, John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do be afraid.” That's the peace that he comes to bring. Do you know that peace today? Do you understand the peace that only Jesus can give, a peace that Philippians says “transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), a peace that settles into your heart and navigates you through whatever God chooses providentially to bring in your life? Do you know that peace? Jesus is the prince, the king of that peace. And ultimately that peace is with God. That is the basis of all the other experiences of peaceful feelings that we have. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith…” (what do we have?) "…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That's the nature of our king. He is the Wonderful Counselor. He is the Mighty God. He is the Everlasting Father. And he is the Prince of Peace. That is what he is like. V. The Kingdom of Christ (vs. 7-9) The Identity of the King: Jesus Christ What is his kingdom like? Well, that's what we are talking about. In verse six, it says, "The government will be on his shoulders." Can we write him in in the presidential election this year? Can we do that? I don't know that it will get us far. He has his own timetable. In John 6, they tried to take him by force and make him king. I think if he got elected, he would not serve at this present time, unless that was his purpose. But he is the king. And the government is going to rest on his shoulders, because he is fit for it. God chose him for this role. The Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God is a perfect blend of wisdom and power, and that's what we need, don't we? We need a king who is wise and a king who is powerful. Now a king who is powerful and not wise, that's called a tyrant. We've seen plenty of those. A king who is very wise but doesn't have power, I think that's a philosopher. That's really not a king. We need somebody who is going to be wise and powerful, and that is Jesus. He is the one on whom the government is going to rest. The Wealth of His Kingdom: Increase and Peace Now, look at the nature of his kingdom. It says, “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). His kingdom is characterized by increase. It's going to get bigger and bigger, and grander, and more and more glorious. For how long? Well, forever. Now hang on to that thought because that will blow the circuits in your brain. I am going to try to blow them in a minute. But I just want to talk about the increase of his kingdom from the time he entered until now. There has been an increase in this world as more and more people from every tribe and language and people and nation have been hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, have repented of their sins, have trusted in him and have found forgiveness. And I prayed this morning and I will pray again, that somebody who is listening to me today, who is in darkness because they have never received Jesus as their Lord and savior, will today receive forgiveness through faith in his name. If you are a believer in Christ, pray for that person right now, that they would repent and that they would look to Jesus, that they would turn to Christ and be saved. And guess what? His kingdom will increase a little bit more. As another person gets saved, another person repents and believes in Jesus. Oh, trust in him! And so the kingdom just keeps on increasing until there is a multitude greater than anyone could count, from every tribe and language and people and nation, standing around the throne, dressed in white robes and saying, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne” (Revelation 7:10). Until that happens the kingdom is just going to keep on increasing. But it is going to be a secret increase. It is going to be a hidden increase. For the kingdom of heaven is “like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough” (Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:21). It just keeps permeating, and nobody really notices except Christians who care about unreached people groups, and who are evangelizing their neighbors, and praying for this very thing as we look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. We want his kingdom to increase. We are yearning for it. It is going to keep on growing. That is increase now in history. It also increases every time you learn something new as a Christian. Every time you learn something new about God and about Christ, his kingdom gets a little bit greater. “[Oh] glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3). Let's make Christ greater. Let's speak scripture to each other. Let's think great thoughts of Jesus and expand each other's love for Christ, and his kingdom will keep on increasing. Yes, but that just takes us to the end of time. That's not enough for Jesus. That just takes us to the end of history. Is his kingdom going to increase after he has established the eternal kingdom? Will it keep on increasing there? Well, it says, “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be…” What? "No end." Well, this is where I started meditating. I said, "Well now, listen. Is it going to keep on getting greater and greater up there in heaven, in the new heaven and new earth?" For the longest time, I had a very static view of heaven. I've talked about this before, but it really characterized me for most of my first twenty years of being a Christian. You died. You saw Christ. You were transformed. 1 John 3:2 - "We shall see him as he is." And we're just transformed. We're made holy. Resurrection happens, we're conformed to him, and we get, in the modern 21st century language, an instant download. It's not that zero to one hundred percent kind of thing, the slow thing like with the old landlines. No, it is going to be “boom!” One hundred percent. You get instant knowledge. You will know him as fully as he has known you. And then forever you will rejoice in that instant knowledge you received. And we will all be kind of around the throne, learning nothing, mind you, but just celebrating forever these things we have come perfectly to know. Kind of like a picture that never moves - a perfect picture, but it just never moves. That is not where we are are headed. That is not where we are going. “Of the increase of his government … there will be no end." Well, how does that work? At the resurrection, they will neither marry nor be given to marriage. No babies as far as I can tell. No new people. No need for evangelism. They're all there. The elect have all been saved. There is nothing left of that. How then will this kingdom keep on increasing? Well, you are going to start to get to know some incredible people up there in heaven. Let's start there. Let's say, for example, you sit down up there in heaven, and you talk to a Nestorian Christian, who took the gospel to China in 635 AD. Talk to him about his life. Let him share with you his testimony, how he shared the gospel there in the Tang Dynasty in China, and how he won Chinese to faith in Christ in that era of history. But imagine a three-way conversation. Jesus is sitting with the two of you, and he is filling in the spiritual details of what he did through angels, and by his power, and through the Holy Spirit to make all that happen. And Nestorian Christian’s mind is getting blown, and yours is too, and Jesus is downloading more and more, and you find out just from that one individual what God did through that person. Or maybe a Japanese martyr who died in 1597 during the shogunate of Hideyoshi, and they would not yield and they died hideously for their faith, 1597. And again, imagine a three-way conversation, and you and that Japanese martyr are learning from Jesus all that he did to sustain that person right through the martyrdom. And then Jesus is filling in what he did (because the blood of the martyrs is seed for the church), and how he took it from there and just caused the gospel to advance. And that's just two people you have talked to. And meanwhile, you're gazing at the throne. You are focused on God. You are learning more about his glory and his power. There is a new earth to be explored. It is radiant and perfect. And “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). You are going to be learning forever. But the great thing is, you are never going to forget anything you've learned. You're just going to keep on learning and learning and “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” Forever and ever, we will be there. I can't wait. I'd like to go there today. But in the meantime, there is still some work to be done, isn't there? There are still some things to be done. The Nature of His Kingdom: Prophetic, Secure, Holy, Eternal David's throne - Jesus will reign there. It is a prophetic kingdom. It is predicted that he will reign on, but it's not finished yet. All the elect haven't been saved. Not every tribe and language and people and nation have heard the gospel yet. He is going to establish and uphold it forever. It is a secure kingdom. There is no sliding back with Jesus' kingdom. It always keeps growing. But there is work to be done. It is a holy kingdom of justice and righteousness. But there are still things we need to do. We have a role to play. And what is our power source? It says it right there, "The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this" (Isaiah 9:7). Amen and Amen. A picture of it is the sun. Fusion. Burning and burning and burning and never decreasing. Just burning with the zeal of God Almighty for his only begotten Son. "Sit at my right hand," he has said, "until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Psalm 110:1). Oh, we need fear nothing except failing the Lord in this hour of need. This is the time for us to step forward. This is the time for us to advance the kingdom to some people who don't know him at all, who are still walking in darkness. We have a labor to do.
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