Isaiah 52:13 - 54:8

So, good evening. Once again, we are in Isaiah 52 and verse 13. So, if you would turn to Isaiah 52 and verse 13, and we will begin there. That's what we left off last time. Now, Isaiah 52 and verse 13, he was pierced for our transgressions. Behold, my servant! And several times in the scripture Jesus Christ is called by the Father my servant. Now, there can be no higher name given by God to any human being.

Of course, Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, but he was also fully human, and also he was God in the flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Behold, my servant! So, several times in scripture Jesus Christ is referred to as my servant. Moses is referred to as my servant. David is referred to as my servant. There can be really no higher appellation than that.

Behold, my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. So, in view of the fact that he was wounded for our transgressions and died in ignominious death, yet he was wounded for our transgressions, and he's going to be extolled and made very high in the future. Of course, that is beginning by the church of God. We are to praise God to give him our thanks and our praise for what he is doing in our lives and bringing us to where we can be born in the spirit and be very sons and daughters of God in the kingdom of God and the family of God.

Now, verse 14, and many were astonished at you his visage was so marred, as many were astonished at you his visage was so marred more than any man. So, you think about his visage being marred more than any man. I think sometimes we forget the beating that Christ took before they put the cross on him, of course, and someone came along and took the cross from him and bore the cross up to the place where he was crucified and is far more than the sons of men.

So, his face and his total body was beaten to a pulp, as they say. Now, verse 15, so shall he sprinkle many nations. So, things are going to be turned around. Of course, in a sense, the nations crucified Jesus Christ. The Jews turned Jesus Christ over to the Romans to be crucified. But the sentence, in essence, was pronounced by Pilate because Pilate cried out, to whom shall I release to you Barabbas? And, of course, Barabbas was a robber, or this one, the king of the Jews, and they all cried out Barabbas. So, they turned him over to the Romans for execution because legally they were not permitted to execute a person at that time.

Now, Isaiah 53, which gives us perhaps the most graphic description of suffering and pain next to Psalm 22 that you find in the entire Bible, but the Isaiah 53 focuses more on the purpose than the pain in one sentence. Time after time, in these passages, these verses in Isaiah 53, you're going to see that Jesus Christ was put to death for our transgressions, for our sins. You know, there was a time in which the Church of God taught that the cries and sacrifice of Christ was divided, that his physical body was beaten and bruised for physical healing, and his blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins.

We have now come to understand that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was a total sacrifice of both his body and his blood, and that has brought out quite clearly if we would turn now to the Gospel of John in John chapter 6, which you'll see here in John chapter 6 where Jesus Christ is speaking to his detractors there. In John 66, and we'll start in verse 50, This is the bread which comes down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, and I will give for the life of the world. So he gave his flesh, he gave his body, he gave his total being, his body and his blood, for the sins of the world.

And of course, through his life, we can have eternal life. He was resurrected, and he now lives in each one of us. Verse 52, Whosever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Now the Father is the one that resurrects us from the dead, as it says in Romans 5.11.

Not 5.11, but 8.11. But Jesus Christ plays some role in that resurrection process. Can you imagine when it comes to the, as the song might go, the resurrection morning, in which all of a sudden there are thousands of people who are resurrected as glorious radiant spirit beings? As you remember, it says in 1 Thessalonians that those that are asleep, dead and asleep, that they're going to rise first. To be resurrected, and then those which are alive and remain should be caught up in the air, and the resurrected saints will be with God and Christ forevermore.

For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me, and I am him, as the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father.

So he that eats me, even he shall live by me. This is the bread, the true bread, and this is preceded in verse 49, where it says, your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead, but he who eats and drinks of this bread, the bread of life, will never die. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eats of this bread shall live forever. These saints stayed in the synagogue as he taught in Coperna.

So we pick it up here again. I read Isaiah 53.1 again.

Who believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground.

He hath no form, no commonliness, when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and when hid as it were, our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. And as I said, this chapter is perhaps the most graphic chapter with regard to what Jesus Christ suffered, giving his total body and blood for our sins and our transgressions. We know that, which says here, he is rejected of men and a man of sorrows. He came to his own, and his own received him not. But to those who believed on him, he gave them power to to have eternal life, as it says in John chapter 1. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And when hid as it were, our faces from him. He was despised, we esteemed him not. Surely, he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten, and afflicted of God. Now that verse there is a controversial verse in the sense that the detractors might say, well, the reason that he was such a terrible person, that God was the one that took his life. But in contrast to that, he is the one who paid for our sins, and through him we can have eternal life. So the world may look at him and say, we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But on the other hand, what was really happening was he was wounded for our transgressions. And the word transgressions there, and you'll notice these words here that are used, the word here for transgression is mene in the Hebrew. And mene has to do with sin, and it has to do with a reason for doing things.

So he was bruised, he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities. Iniquities is associated with lawlessness.

It's associated with lawlessness, and of course, the law is summarized and defined by the Great Ten Commandments. He was bruised for our iniquities, our sins, our lawlessness. The chastisement of peace was upon him. With his strikes, we are healed.

Now, some people read this. The word healed here is ratha, which is, it means to heal, to repair, to thoroughly make whole. So through the sacrifice of Christ, we can be thoroughly made whole. We can be made whole physically, and we can be made whole spiritually. So we no longer look upon the sacrifice of Christ in an isolated way as to say it was a sacrifice that was divided, where one part of it was for physical healing, and the other part was for forgiveness of sin, because in one case, in some cases, healing is associated with sin. There are several reasons for a person being sick. It can be it can be time and chance he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It can be because of his ancestry. Sins of the fathers are passed down to the third and fourth generation. If there is a weakness in a certain gene or part of the body, it may also appear in the offspring. In addition to time and chance and ancestry, it may be that we might bear more fruit. God prunes every tree that he loves, and he oftentimes permits Satan to try and test us.

The apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 6 and 7, that the trying of our faith is more precious than gold tried in the fire. So God is going to allow us to be tried and tested in many different ways. Another reason why we might be sick is because he chastens, he chastises every son that he loves, because he would rather see us dead than miss out on his kingdom. So oftentimes, sickness is a result of God chasing us, trying to get our attention to come back to him, and to repent of whatever our sins are. When Job started off, God said of him of high praise that he was perfect in all his ways, man who feared God and eschewed evil.

But at the same time, Job had one misunderstanding, and that was that in all things, God must be justified and man-judged. Instead of Job judging himself, he wound up judging God and accusing God of being unfair. Then finally, he came to himself and realized, he said, I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye sees you. And he says, therefore I repent of dust and ashes. And Job, of course, had everything restored to him and more than he had before.

The great disasters came upon him. He lost his family, he lost his worldly goods, and then he lost his health, and this great affliction came upon him. And finally, he came to senses and realizes what the problem was. And the problem simply is this, that in all things, God must be justified. Whatever God does is just. He is a just God. And then, on the other hand, man must be judged. And God hopes that we will judge ourselves. That's one of the things we do leading up to Passover. Passover is not all that far away. Now, if you go to 1 Corinthians 11, where Paul prefaces this, was saying that the Lord himself taught him or said to him the things that he should say at Passover.

And one of the things that he tells us in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 31, for if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chasing of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Now, if we don't repent, and when God chases us, then we will suffer the judgment that the world is going to endure as time goes on, and especially at the end of the age. So we continue here. So this phrase here, with his stripes, we are healed. It is a Hebrew word is rafa, which is used in general for healing in every sense of the word, to make whole, to make complete.

All we like sheep have gone astray. Now, the apostle Peter quotes this himself, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all. Now, I think sometimes we don't really quite grasp the enormity of what this implies, and what it not only implies, it is explicit that Jesus Christ took upon himself the sins of the whole world, the sins of the past, the present, the future, that upon repentance any person can come to reconciliation with God and Christ.

Christ came to reconcile us to the Father, as it says in 1 Corinthians 5, that we are reconciled to God by the death of his son. When we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. And that reconciliation, after that takes place, we are viewed as sinless, and we can receive the laying on our hands. And, of course, the Christian life, the Christian walk, is a daily life of coming before God and confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness and walking in what Paul labels in Romans chapter 8 as walking in the Spirit. If we walk after the flesh, we shall die, but if we walk after the Spirit, we shall live.

So all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Once again, the iniquity, the lawlessness, the Hebrew word here is avon, and it's spelled like avon, A-B-O-N, but in Hebrew it's pronounced avon. And it means punishment for sin, for iniquity, for fault, but basically speaking, it is lawlessness. You remember what it says in 1 John chapter 5 with regard to the 1 John 3, 8, I believe it is, that the what is sin, you ask the question, well what is sin? One time, two Mormon missionaries, young men in their 19s or 20s, in their white shirts, short sleeve white shirts and black ties came to the door and wanted to give me the book of Mormon. And I said, well, if you can show me in the Bible the verse that defines sin, that I will take your book of Mormon. And they had many things to say in search all over the scriptures, and I said, well, sin is the transgression of the law. It says it very clearly here in the Word of God. And of course, on the other hand, it says, and for this is the love of God, that we should keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. So sin is the opposite, of course, of keeping the commandments. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. How would you keep silence? Maybe some of the politicians of the day could learn a few lessons from this, that when he was oppressed, he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb. And as a lamb, of course, the lamb goes to the slaughter, not really knowing what's going to happen to them. And they are as innocent as they can be. And suddenly their throat is slit and the blood drains out, and that's it for them. As a lamb to the slaughter and a sheep before her shears is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? We've already talked about the mock trial that was held after Judas Iscariot betrayed him. Of course, he was held over to the daylight hours, and in the daylight hours he was tried and the multitude cried out, release unto us, Parebus. And so he was turned over to the Roman soldiers, as we have said, to be executed. For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression. So see, once again, why was Jesus Christ crucified for the transgression of my people? Was he stricken? The famous John 3 16 comes to mind. And John 3 16 says that whosoever believes in God will have everlasting life.

He was made his grave with a wicked, so he was buried in a garden tomb in which there were wicked people there too. And with the rich, there was some rich, there were some poor in his death because he had done no violence. Neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased thee eternal. So here is the father speaking. It pleased Yahweh to bruise him. Why did it please him to bruise him? Because they had already determined the great plan of salvation in eternity past that Jesus Christ, the one who became Jesus Christ, would go through this ordeal. And the plan and purpose and providence of God was at work as he went through this ordeal. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. And to bruise him, of course, he was beaten and broken.

He was beaten to pieces. This word means to bruise, to crush, to destroy, to humble, to oppress, to smite. He had put him to grief when usual make his life essence and offering for sin. So Jesus Christ's life ceased when he died on the state. Remember Jesus Christ, I don't know if this was his last words, but as he was about to die, he cried out, La ba la ba, and Subachana, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And he also said, in your hands, commend I you my spirit, my life essence, which oftentimes soul is used for life essence. Fear not him who is able to destroy the body only, but fear him who is able to destroy body and soul. And soul is not something that you have, something and soul is something you are. It is your life essence. He breathed into his nostrils and creation Adam, the breath of life and Adam became a living soul. The same thing as we said about the animals earlier in Genesis chapter one, that they became living creatures. So he was made, his life essence was made an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the eternal shall prosper in his hand. It's going to be a glorious, joyous time, a victorious time, and the time in which the plan of purpose of God begins to come to fruition in that final sense. I don't know if there's a finality to the providence of God because it says that of the increase of his government, shall be no end, shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, his life essence. Remember in Peter's inspired sermon in the book of Acts, it says that David prophesied that his soul, that is his life essence, was not left in the grave, but did not see corruption. So after three days, the body begins to corrupt, begins to rot away, did not see, but he resurrected him from the dead so that he had a new life abiding with him. He was now a spirit being. He could appear as a human being, which he did to the disciples in the upper room, but he was resurrected as a spirit being, and through the resurrection, he became the Son of God. As he lived here in the flesh, he was the begotten Son of God. There might be some controversy about that. If you look at Romans chapter 1, we read verses 3 and 4. In Romans chapter 1, concerning his son Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. So he was a descendant of David and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness, how? By the resurrection from the dead, by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name. Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ. We go through basically the same process as Jesus Christ went through. We first of all are begotten of the spirit. We then endure the trials testing and proving that God allows to come upon us in our lifetime. All those who would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. So we don't know what's going on, what tomorrow holds, and what trouble with trials or tribulation will come upon us. But we have the sure promise that God has in his word promised that we will be relieved of that. May not be in this life, but in the life to come.

Now in verse 11, he shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant. So here Jesus Christ has called my righteous servant by the Father. Shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities. And once again, time after time, you see iniquities or iniquity. So we have turned to Romans 1. Now let's turn to Romans chapter 3. And Romans chapter 3 is so wonderful because it explains how we are justified. It says, my servant, my righteous servants will justify many for he shall bear their iniquities. In Romans chapter 3, we see in verse 23 that all are sinned and come sure of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death. That's Romans 6.23. So it is therefore necessary that one pay the price that one is Jesus Christ. In verse 24, being justified freely by his grace, free. Now this is free, unmerited pardon. This grace is unmerited. We didn't do anything to merit the pardon, the sacrifice of Christ. The redemption, that is, the buying back. The death penalty was on our head. We brought back. We're bought, bought, bought back by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And God has set forth to be a propituation. He went in our stead. We didn't have to go. He went. And then we must exercise faith in his blood to declare his righteousness. Now, his righteousness has to do with several facets. But one of the main facets was a Redeemer was promised, a Messiah was promised in the Old Testament. There's some 60 or more prophecies prophesied about a Messiah to come. And if those who were taught they were so scholarly and so able to rightly divide the word of truth would have just understood the Scripture, especially Psalm 22. And even like Psalm 2 in verse 7, what a wonderful verse that is. That even talks about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul quoted that when he talked about resurrection and the inspired sermon he gave in Romans 13.

God has sent forth to be a propituation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness that we might be just and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus. So it is through faith, belief in Jesus Christ, that we are justified. Now Paul knew that some people would get the idea from this and from his writing that the law was done away with. So he concludes this chapter. Of course, the chapters are human device. So after he says this, notice what he says in verse 31. Do we make then void the law of God through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law. How do we establish the law? We establish the law through the fact that if the law did not exist, we would not have the death penalty on our head and we would not be in need of a redeemer. But since the law is active and the wages of sin is death, we are in need of a redeemer. And Jesus Christ is that redeemer. So as it says here, my righteous servant will justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, now we go back to Isaiah 53 in verse 12.

Isaiah 53 in verse 12. Therefore, we'll uninvite him with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he has poured out his life essence, his very being unto death.

And as we've already quoted from Acts 2 that his soul, his life essence was not left in the grave, but was resurrected and he became the Son of God and spirit being. And he was numbered with the transgressors. And of course, he was crucified between two thieves. He was numbered with the transgressors, and he bear the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. So time after time here, we see iniquity or iniquities or transgressors. So Jesus Christ came and he paid the penalties we clearly see here in the book of Romans. Now we go to chapter 54. In chapter 54, single-bearing you that did not bear. So what scripture do you immediately think of when you see that scripture? Well, I immediately think of Galatians 4.16. I believe it is. In Galatians 4.16, Paul does a comparison and contrast between Hagar and Sarah.

So in Isaiah 54, and not Isaiah 54, I'm sorry. In Galatians 4.16, in verse 16, what do we see here?

I didn't call the right verse. It is 26 instead of 16.

Let's read into it from verse 22. The word is written that Abraham had two sons, so that's an ishmael by Hagar, the one by a bottom made, the other by a free woman. But he who was at the bottom made was born after the flesh. Sarah said to Abraham, well, maybe God wants you to bear me a son through Hagar by handmaiden, but he of the free woman was by promise. God had promised them a son that would come from their seed. Of course, that was also a part of the promise made in Genesis 12, verse 3 through here, seed all nations will be blessed. Which things are in allegory, for these are the two covenants, the old covenant, the new covenant, the one from Mount Sinai, which genders to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answers to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children. So Jerusalem that now is, is in bondage with their children, striving to be justified apart from the Messiah through keeping the law. But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, rejoice, and of course what Paul is doing here is quoting this verse here, Isaiah 54.1, for it is written, rejoice, you barren that bear not, and that's the church. Bring forth and cry, you that travail not, for the desolate, that is the barren at the present time, as many more children than she which has a husband. Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. We have not yet received the inheritance. We're in the begettle stage. But that which is to come is glorious. And Jerusalem above, the mother of us all, is currently barren in the sense that no one has been other than Jesus Christ resurrected to spirit life, having lived in the flesh. Sing, O barren, you that did not bear, and you that did not bear, break forth into singing and cry aloud, you that did not travail with child. For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the Lord. So eventually, of course, the born spirit beings of God and Christ are going to be far more than Jerusalem, which is embodied within her children, which is on earth.

Of course, the new Jerusalem is coming down also from heaven at a point in time.

Now verse two, enlarge the place of your tent. In other words, there are going to be so many people. In the Old Testament, the point of gathering was the tent, the place of rest. You know, the tabernacle was a big tent. So what it's saying here is, the idea is that there are going to be so many people coming into the Church of God. If you read in Revelation chapter 7, it talks about an innumerable multitude. Sometimes we, at first, the Church of God is very small, even in the first resurrection. There are not maybe as many. Well, I shouldn't say not many, maybe as many. There's not as many as there's going to be, obviously.

Enlarge the place of your tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitation. Spare not. Lengthen the cords and strengthen the stakes. Of course, the tent is held down by stakes. So you're going to need a very large tent to cover the multitudes that are going to come into the Church of God, where you shall break forth on the right hand and on the left. And your seed, your seed, that is speaking of the seed of Israel, your seed shall inherit the nations, the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. So that is what's coming that all of the peoples of the earth, if we had continued reading there in Romans 3, we skip down to 31 after we had read those verses there in early 20s, that is he the God of the Jews? Only know he is the God of all peoples. Now the Gentiles also. Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed, neither be you confounded, for you shall not be put to shame, for you shall forget the shame of your youth, and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. So it's going to be a wonderful time in the kingdom of God, because we're going to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb. In fact, at the present time, we are a spouse to Christ, we are not yet married to Christ, and we see that very clearly in 1 Corinthians 11, I know 2 Corinthians 11 verses 1 and 2, that we are currently a spouse of Christ, but that which is coming is the marriage supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19.6, and so on, that the church will be married to Christ. For your Maker, your husband, the Lord of Host, is his name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Now, we've said this so many times, but I feel like we need to say it every time, for your Maker. As you read clearly from John 1 and the first 14 verses especially, not every verse of those 14, that God created all things through Jesus Christ.

And Jesus Christ is the one who entered into the covenant with Israel and Mount Sinai, and you will find in Scripture that he is the Lord of Hosts and that he is the captain of the Hosts. He manages all of the angels and the heavenly Hosts. The angels are, as it says in Revelation 6, 10,000, 10,000, something like that. The angels are almost innumerable, and you're a Redeemer. Now, God the Father is also a Redeemer because he sent us his Son, and you'll find passages in the New Testament in which it says that God is our Redeemer, but more often it says that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. And the Holy One, of course, God is holy, and Jesus Christ is holy. The Holy One of Israel, the God of the Holy One, shall he be called. He's going to be Lord of Lords and King of Kings, but yet there's going to be one over him, and that is, as it says in 1 Corinthians 15, God the Father.

All things will be surrendered to Jesus Christ, except he will always be under the Father. Verse 6, where the Lord has called you as a woman, as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, and you were refused, says your God. For a small moment have I forsaken you, but with great mercies will I gather you. Well, you can look at this in two different ways. Of course, Israel in the flesh, they were scattered abroad through the nations, and will be gathered again, as it says in Amos the last chapter. If you want to go to Amos, you'll see the scattering of Amos, Hosea Joel Amos. You will see the scattering of God's people in Amos chapter 9. Amos chapter 9, verse 9, For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel. I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like a corn and sifted and a sieve, yet shall not the least grave fall upon the earth. God knows where Israel is. He knows where the Israelites are.

All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say the evil shall not overtake nor prevent us or precede us. That day will I raise up the tabernacle of David. What is the tabernacle of David? I've given a sermon on this, and it ties in with the conference in Acts 15. The tabernacle of David, of course, is the Church of God. 10. I will raise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen.

There was a tabernacle under the Church of the Wilderness, the Old Testament Church. The New Testament Church is called the tabernacle of David. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up the ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of there's controversy here over the translation of this verse. In Acts, it clearly says that it is the nations or all. The controversy some commentators say it should be translated Adam, and Adam represents the whole human race. But either way, it means for everybody that they may possess the remnant of Evitum, and all the nations, see all the nations, which are called by my name, says the Lord, that does this. Now quickly we go to Acts 15, and we will see here the connection and the claim that I just made that the tabernacle of David is referring to the Church of God. So we will go to Acts 15. Acts 15 and verse 13. And after they had held their peace, James, who was a resident pastor, stood up and answered, saying, Man, brother, and heart, and end of me, Simon or Peter has declared how God at first did visit the nations. And that's Acts chapter 10, how that he went down to the house of Cornelius, and it was made known that not only to the Jews was the Holy Spirit sent, but to the Gentiles as well, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets as it is written. And guess what is written? The words of Amos.

After this, I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up that the residue of men, see where it says Edom back in Amos, it says that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, it says all the nations in Amos, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, says the Lord, who does these things, known unto God, or all his works from the beginning of the world. So you see here that the raising up of the tabernacle of David is the raising up of the Church of God. Then we go back to Isaiah 54.

In Isaiah 54, we're going to pick it up again in verse 6.

For the Lord has called you, as a woman, forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when ye were refused, says your God. For a small moment have I forsaken you, but with the great mercies will I gather you. So we went to Amos and we saw how that can be spoken of physical Israel and spiritual Israel, because spiritual Israel will also be the ones who oversee that remnant that comes back to Jerusalem that described in Zechariah chapter 8.

Zachariah and his writings there. I forget exactly which mercy it is that says that children will yet play in the streets of Jerusalem. Okay, we continue here. For a small moment have I forsaken you, but with great mercies will I gather you. In a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindnesses will I have mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer.

So Israel has been blinded at this time. From that, basically through the ages, Israel has been blinded, but yet there has been when the church started it was basically composed of Israelites and then Paul came on the scene and he went to the Gentiles and Peter went to the house of Israel. And yet the time is coming in which there will be one stick and one king recognized over all and that will be Jesus Christ.

I will have mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemers. So we're going to stop there. We have done gone our hour. We'll start in Isaiah 54 and verse 9 because it shifts somewhat here for this is as waters of Noah and Amine.

So we have come to the end of the Bible study this evening, one hour, maybe 59 minutes. And so we have time here for questions, comments from many of you, prayer requests, any comments, questions you want to ask or make. Please feel free to do so at this time.

Okay, we have no questions or comments. We'll sign off.

There's in the room, Dr. Ward. Just one moment. She's coming.

Hi, Dr. Ward. It's me again. How are you?

You're really breaking up. You're really garbled at this time. Oh, sorry. Oh, it is clear. Now it's clear. I just said it's me again.

Yes. I actually became a little bit fixated on the last verse that you left off with last time and thought about it. The last verse you read was Isaiah 52 verse 12. Yes. Well, I just thought it was so interesting how it said, the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. I was just wondering in this verse if the Lord is being referred to as God who became the Father and the God of Israel is referring to the Word who became Jesus Christ.

Well, let me get there.

Well, in 52 verse 12, Yes. For he shall not go out with haste, nor was by flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

That is speaking of, we talk about the angel of God's presence. He was the one who went before him, before them, Israel out of Egypt.

For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your reward, and rear guard. I take it in this case of speaking in both cases of the one who became Jesus Christ.

The All-Caps L-O-R-D can refer to the Father or the Son. We know that from 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 4 that Jesus Christ is the rock that they followed and really the translation here and the wording is a bit awkward because actually he went before them and they did not move unless the fire or whatever it was that they were looking for as a sign to move. They didn't move until that moved, so he guarded them from the front and from the back.

Okay. I don't know if you're trying to make a separation here to say, well, for the Yahweh will go before you and the God of Israel will be your God. It takes them to be in both cases of what we became Jesus Christ.

Okay. I was thinking it was separating it, like referring to both of them, like one of them is going before and one of them is going after. It was looking like two, referring to two beings to me, but you're thinking that would all be the Word who became Jesus.

In this case, you could take, for the Lord will go before you. We know that from, know for sure, when 1 Corinthians said for that, and we know from Isaiah 63-9 that the angel of God's presence went before them. We know from Exodus 20 and verse 23 that my name is in him. Mm-hmm. And the God of Israel, that's an we can refer to both. Oh, right.

Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. You're clearing that up.

I kind of looked at wondering if it could be a type of the Hebrew parallelism, where they essentially do a repeat within a verse of a similar saying, but a little bit of a different re-wording number of Hebrew people. I can't remember taking the parallel.

But it could be, but I don't think because I think it's simply the saying that when it became Jesus Christ will go before you and both the Father and the Son will take care of you. They will guard you in this. Well, thank you. It is a uni-plural word. Right, right.

Just like kind of like the word nation. Yes. Yeah, many parts to it. Right, right. Okay, thank you.

Anybody else have a question for coming in?

The same thing is when we go back to when they were let out of Egypt, it was always Jesus Christ, whether it was before them leading or behind them, watching over them and giving them light. But it's always been the Father's plan. But my understanding is Christ is the one that carries things out until he eventually presents the kingdom to the Father at the very, very end. Well, after the Christ, we misread what's there in Psalm 110 and verses 1 and 2, and also in verse Corinthians 15 verses 22 through 25. Who subdues everything and brings it under Christ?

It is the Father. Right, okay, got it.

I know he's always in charge.

Look at Psalm 110. Okay. The Lord, that is Yahweh the Father, said unto my Lord, that and I, the Lesser, said you in my right hand, we know from Revelation 3 that Jesus Christ is sitting at the right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.

Who makes the enemies of Christ footstool? The Father. He does it through Christ. Now, I know this is somewhat confusing. He said to 1 Corinthians 15 We'll start in 22. Or Paul? Or as an animal shall die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own order. Christ the first fruit, afterward they that are Christ, and his coming. Then comes the Talos, the end of the result. When he shall deliver death and kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. Who has put down all rule and all authority and power? The Father that's in charge? Yes. The Father that's in charge? I'm scared.

Okay, we have any other questions or comments? Thank you. That's exactly the scripture I was thinking of that needed clarifying. Okay.

You know, the Psalm 110 is more clearly wordy, 110 and 102, than that in 1 Corinthians 15.

Thank you. If you on my right end until I make your end, it'll be your footsue. Right. But the one that does this, that carries out these orders, is the captain of the host, which is, or who is, not which, who is Jesus Christ. Okay, anybody else? Question, comment. Okay, we'll see you in two weeks.