I am convinced that Isaiah 1-5 forms the Introduction of the book. Isaiah 6 is the Calling of Isaiah and sets out the prophets task. Israel and Judah will not hear his message. The calling is spelled out in these terms: And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘ Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.
Here Isaiah asks “how long” will the people of Israel be in this condition. God answers, “”Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.” The “cities” in question here are the cities of Israel and Judah. In 1.7 we read, “Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. Chapter 5 spells all of this out as well in an allegory. Israel is a vineyard, but in the end, she will become completely desolate by foreign marauders.
Judah and Jerusalem is not spared from this, either. They are explicitly mentioned throughout 1-5 and will be made “desolate.” Isaiah has already seen this and lays out the beginning and end of Judah. But in the Calling, God answers that he is going to “remove” the people far away. Who are the “tenth” that remains in the land? These are those left over in Zion after Assyria has carried away Israel in the north, and Babylon has carried away Judah in the south. In II Kings 25.12 we find this to be true. Nebuzaradan, the commander of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, “left some of the poorest people of the land.” But, Isaiah continues, “and it (the tenth) shall be burned”. Many translations have the word “again” in it and that appears to be the sense of the verbs used here. In other words, Isaiah is seeing the coming desolation of both houses of Israel, and he sees their exile, AND he sees PAST the exile and return to a MUCH FUR THER period of time when they shall be consumed again. From that LATTER BURNING a holy seed shall remain.
Isaiah 6.9-13, which we just quoted, is a summation of 1-5, and, thus, they are both concerned with the same period of time. And the question that forms one of the main points of the book is that which Isaiah asks, “until when….how long….how far away is it that the people will hear and understand and turn and be healed?” Isaiah’s visions span the time of Israel’s hardening and this hardening will last until AFTER she has returned from exile and even then she will be burned again, and THEN a holy seed will arise. This holy “stump” imagery is the time of root of Jesse, the Branch, the “last days “, the time “afterward” when he will a “second time” reclaim a remnant. 11.1-11 is that period of time and coincides with 2.1-5. 11.1-11: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples- of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
And 2.1-5: The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
The question of how long spans an indefinite period of time from the point of Isaiah’s day to when God finally brings about the promised son of David and restores the kingdom under Him. It is this “in-between” time that we can clearly see. This solves one problem, but raises another.
The problem that it solves is one that has perplexed commentators for centuries. Allow me to give an example. In 13.17-22 we read, “Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. 18 Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. 21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance. 22 Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at h
and and its days will not be prolonged.” This prophecy, all agree, is written against Babylon, who, according to Daniel, the Medes (along with the Persians) overtook the city of Babylon (538 B.C.E.). However, the very next verses read, “For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD’s land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.” This is in line with the larger passages we have read and concerns the restoration of Israel as a whole. But, this did not happen when Babylon was destroyed. Judah came back, but Israel, as a whole, did not. They were not united under one king.
But, as we have seen, Isaiah is not concerned with just that return. A remnant (a tenth) returned to the land, but Isaiah sees another burning that will take place after that return. It is in the days of that second burning that the restoration of the remnant into a powerful, enlarged nation will emerge. However, Isaiah has placed the restoration vision, in many places throughout the book, in areas that have to do with his immediate context. In our last lecture we saw that in 10-11 it appears that after the Assyrians are destroyed, then God would bring about “the Branch”, the “root of Jesse.” This is how Isaiah places these passages. A nation has fallen, restoration might ensue….but it does not. Babylon falls and maybe now the restoration of God will ensue….but it does not pan out. A remnant is regathered back into the land under Cyrus the Persian, so maybe here is when God will restore us…..and it does not happen. Jerusalem is rebuilt and the offerings are once again offered….but here come the Syrians and Antiochus Epiphanes IV. And then Rome….howlong, O’ Lord? It is as if Isaiah has deliberately placed these visions of hope after the destruction of these nations, one by one, to keep it in front of them that one day this will happen. Isaiah states this: “I will wait on the Lord who is hiding his face from Jacob, I will put my trust in him” (8.17). This waiting and having faith is rooted in the Hope of Israel, her restoration. It is this kind of faith anchored in the hope that Isaiah has scattered throughout the texts. He sprinkles visions of hope and glory in the midst of historical conflict, civil war, idolatry, exile, desolation, misery and despair. Only a small, small portion of those under Moses’ covenant have this kind of faith. Most among Israel and Judah do not. They hear, but never understand. They have eyes, but cannot see.
The other issue is that if Isaiah is seeing the end, then he is seeing the time when God would judge all the nations in the great “day of the Lord.” This is found throughout the book, but is found in the introduction as well (1-5). In 2.11-21 we read, “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 12 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up- and it shall be brought low; 13 against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; 14 against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; 15 against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; 16 against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. 17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 18 And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. 20 In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, 21 to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
This is connected with the judgment on Jerusalem (3.1-26), which, in turn is connected with “In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.” (4.2-6). Now, when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, when her “gates lamented” (3.26), did the Branch rise up? Were they called holy at the time when her city was sacked in 589? Or is Isaiah not looking at that sacking, but the sacking of the city a second time? And, therefore, the judgment of the nations is not just envisioning their defeat in history by another nation, but envisioning a time when God will gather them together before his throne and judge them according to his books…when his books are opened. See, I must repeat that Isaiah’s vision encompass an exile, a return, and another destruction of the city. It is this latter destruction of the city that becomes the time when God will rise to judge the nations, unite Israel together and bring his king. Isaiah has clearly marked this out for us. In other words, Isaiah is mainly focused on a time when God will come in such a way that will bring Israel’s redemption, but also Israel’s destruction. That is, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” Isaiah is not talking about the time when Babylon fell, or when Jerusalem fell a first time. This is when Jerusalem falls a second time.
Daniel predicted the same thing, did he not? Jerusalem was in exile when Daniel saw his visions. The angel tells him that the city will be rebuilt “but in times of trouble.” He mentions that the “city and sanctuary will be destroyed.” This is the second burning, the second judgment that this city has underwent, and it in the days of the second burning that Isaiah has an eye on. But, Isaiah is not so clear as to “when” this will happen.
Since I see 1-5 as forming the Introduction to the book, I infer that all of the main elements of the rest of the book are found in these chapters. Having first seen the time-frame viewed by Isaiah, I want to know focus on one particular doctrinal concern that Isaiah teaches. This has to do with sheol or “the grave.” This is the underworld and it is very much a real celestial place for Isaiah. The souls in it are alive, not dead. In 5.13-17 we read, “Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their
honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her. 15 Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low. 16 But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness. 17 Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.” Here we have all the elements we have commented on so far. Israel and Judah will “go into exile.” Man, not just Israel, is brought low into sheol. But, God is going to show himself righteous one day and “then” shall restoration occur. Here is explicit mention of Israel descending into exile/sheol. Exile is not just a historical removal from the land, but is pictured as a removal from the land to the grave. The soul is literally exiled of of the earth. This is Israel’s destiny.
However, the next mention of sheol is Isaiah 14, and we have already read a portion of that passage. “For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 3 And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, 4 that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! 5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; 6 that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us. 9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee. 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! 13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.”
These souls are called “shades” or “ghosts” in Hebrew (rephaim – the word found in verse 9 here, translated as “the dead”). Israel would take up this song when Babylon is brought low into sheol, and “that day” would be in the day of her restoration. So, we know that Isaiah is not viewing only the time of Babylon’s actual fall, but a far off time when she is judged. As we read in 5.13-17 above, sheol is in view when God restores Israel. This occurs throughout the rest of this section (13-23) which is a long list of judgments against the nations, Philistia, Moab, Assyria, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Babylon, Arabia and Edom. Tyre is seen in 23 and 24 ends with a complete destruction of the “Land.” When this happens, “For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. 19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. 21 On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. 23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.” This is when Israel will take up the taunt against Babylon, when they are redeemed and chosen by God, and the enemies of Israel are punished. This is envisioning the resurrection of the dead from sheol. It is during the time of Israel’s resurrection that the nations of her past will be punished forever, entering into a second death, for the powers of the first death is destroyed. The first death is sheol/death, and this is seen as a power, or principality. All the nations of Israel’s past are contained in sheol, as Isaiah has told us. However, one day, the dead will rise out of sheol and enter into “my holy mountain” of restored Zion, or “everlasting fire” (the second death).
Isaiah concludes his book with these words, “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD. 24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” This again reveals that from a “seed” (offspring/remnant) they shall look in triumph over their enemies who are reserved for a far greater punishment than sheol. Sheol is certainly not seen as a great place to be, but the punishment reserved for those in sheol after sheol is destroyed is far greater. This is when God will “swallow up the death forever” (25.8). It is when he punishes the powers of the heavens. It is when he raises the dead souls from sheol, and when he judges the nations, shakes the earth and comes in glory to take, a second time, a remnant from Israel, and from them enlarge their tent under one son, one king, one faith and one nation, for they are called “holy” and are “washed” from their sins, having been made clean by God himself, no longer able to defile the covenant God will make anew with them.
Conclusion.
Peter wrote, “for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.” The salvati
on of souls was the goal of faith, and accordingly, it was “this salvation” that the Prophet Isaiah “searched intently” for. What surrounded this salvation was “the time” and “circumstances” that would be when this salvation was revealed. Isaiah was not serving himself, but was serving those of Peter’s generation. Isaiah spoke of the “glories” to follow, and we have noted those glories. Wrapped up in this is the notion of “time”; “when?” and “how long?” It is not known in Isaiah when this time was, but we noted that he definitely has a time-frame. Israel would be utterly laid waste, and would return, only to be laid waste again, but this time, “the glories” announced in Isaiah would occur, along with judgment upon the nations in sheol. The powers of heaven would be rocked for “these be the days of vengeance.” Several nations would come and go, each having their “day of the Lord,” but there was coming an ultimate “day of the Lord” in which the powers of heaven, the death and sheol would be destroyed. A new heavens and a new earth would be founded in a new Mount Zion with a new nation of God’s people made up from “all nations.” It is within this motifs that we find the entire background of NT thought and theology, and, mainly what we call “eschatology.” Isaiah’s eschatology concerned the salvation of God’s people, and this should be our view as well. The eschatology we find in Isaiah must be, then, the exact same eschatology we find in Paul, without any changes.
Completed a M.A. in Christian Studies and a M.A. in Religion from Whitefield Theological Seminary, Lakeland, Florida (with combined credits in Hebrew exegesis from Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida - and in Greek exegesis from Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, Tennessee). Author of Misplaced Hope, and Exegetical Essays on the Resurrection of the Dead. Also edited A Student's Hebrew Primer for Whitefield Theological Seminary. Samuel M. Frost co-founded Reign of Christ Ministries, and has lectured extensively for over 8 years at Preterist conferences, including the Evangelical Theological Society conference, of which he is currently a student-member. Samuel is ordained, and has functioned as Teaching Pastor at Christ Covenant Church in St. Petersburg, Florida (2002-2005). He helped host the popular debates between Don Preston and Thomas Ice (with Mark Hitchcock) and Don Preston and James B. Jordan. Samuel is widely regarded by many of his peers as being one of the foremost experts on prophecy, apocalypticism, and Preterist theology. He is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry in Theology from Vision International, Ramona, CA.
Samuel Frost owns and operates his own business and resides in Florida with his wife Ann Marie, and his children, Janet, Jacob, Hunter, and Olivia.
Isaiah Lecture 5
Here Isaiah asks “how long” will the people of Israel be in this condition. God answers, “”Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.” The “cities” in question here are the cities of Israel and Judah. In 1.7 we read, “Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. Chapter 5 spells all of this out as well in an allegory. Israel is a vineyard, but in the end, she will become completely desolate by foreign marauders.
Judah and Jerusalem is not spared from this, either. They are explicitly mentioned throughout 1-5 and will be made “desolate.” Isaiah has already seen this and lays out the beginning and end of Judah. But in the Calling, God answers that he is going to “remove” the people far away. Who are the “tenth” that remains in the land? These are those left over in Zion after Assyria has carried away Israel in the north, and Babylon has carried away Judah in the south. In II Kings 25.12 we find this to be true. Nebuzaradan, the commander of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, “left some of the poorest people of the land.” But, Isaiah continues, “and it (the tenth) shall be burned”. Many translations have the word “again” in it and that appears to be the sense of the verbs used here. In other words, Isaiah is seeing the coming desolation of both houses of Israel, and he sees their exile, AND he sees PAST the exile and return to a MUCH FUR THER period of time when they shall be consumed again. From that LATTER BURNING a holy seed shall remain.
Isaiah 6.9-13, which we just quoted, is a summation of 1-5, and, thus, they are both concerned with the same period of time. And the question that forms one of the main points of the book is that which Isaiah asks, “until when….how long….how far away is it that the people will hear and understand and turn and be healed?” Isaiah’s visions span the time of Israel’s hardening and this hardening will last until AFTER she has returned from exile and even then she will be burned again, and THEN a holy seed will arise. This holy “stump” imagery is the time of root of Jesse, the Branch, the “last days “, the time “afterward” when he will a “second time” reclaim a remnant. 11.1-11 is that period of time and coincides with 2.1-5. 11.1-11: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples- of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
And 2.1-5: The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
The question of how long spans an indefinite period of time from the point of Isaiah’s day to when God finally brings about the promised son of David and restores the kingdom under Him. It is this “in-between” time that we can clearly see. This solves one problem, but raises another.
The problem that it solves is one that has perplexed commentators for centuries. Allow me to give an example. In 13.17-22 we read, “Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. 18 Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. 21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance. 22 Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at h
and and its days will not be prolonged.” This prophecy, all agree, is written against Babylon, who, according to Daniel, the Medes (along with the Persians) overtook the city of Babylon (538 B.C.E.). However, the very next verses read, “For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD’s land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.” This is in line with the larger passages we have read and concerns the restoration of Israel as a whole. But, this did not happen when Babylon was destroyed. Judah came back, but Israel, as a whole, did not. They were not united under one king.
But, as we have seen, Isaiah is not concerned with just that return. A remnant (a tenth) returned to the land, but Isaiah sees another burning that will take place after that return. It is in the days of that second burning that the restoration of the remnant into a powerful, enlarged nation will emerge. However, Isaiah has placed the restoration vision, in many places throughout the book, in areas that have to do with his immediate context. In our last lecture we saw that in 10-11 it appears that after the Assyrians are destroyed, then God would bring about “the Branch”, the “root of Jesse.” This is how Isaiah places these passages. A nation has fallen, restoration might ensue….but it does not. Babylon falls and maybe now the restoration of God will ensue….but it does not pan out. A remnant is regathered back into the land under Cyrus the Persian, so maybe here is when God will restore us…..and it does not happen. Jerusalem is rebuilt and the offerings are once again offered….but here come the Syrians and Antiochus Epiphanes IV. And then Rome….how long, O’ Lord? It is as if Isaiah has deliberately placed these visions of hope after the destruction of these nations, one by one, to keep it in front of them that one day this will happen. Isaiah states this: “I will wait on the Lord who is hiding his face from Jacob, I will put my trust in him” (8.17). This waiting and having faith is rooted in the Hope of Israel, her restoration. It is this kind of faith anchored in the hope that Isaiah has scattered throughout the texts. He sprinkles visions of hope and glory in the midst of historical conflict, civil war, idolatry, exile, desolation, misery and despair. Only a small, small portion of those under Moses’ covenant have this kind of faith. Most among Israel and Judah do not. They hear, but never understand. They have eyes, but cannot see.
The other issue is that if Isaiah is seeing the end, then he is seeing the time when God would judge all the nations in the great “day of the Lord.” This is found throughout the book, but is found in the introduction as well (1-5). In 2.11-21 we read, “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 12 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up- and it shall be brought low; 13 against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; 14 against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; 15 against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; 16 against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. 17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 18 And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. 20 In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, 21 to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
This is connected with the judgment on Jerusalem (3.1-26), which, in turn is connected with “In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.” (4.2-6). Now, when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, when her “gates lamented” (3.26), did the Branch rise up? Were they called holy at the time when her city was sacked in 589? Or is Isaiah not looking at that sacking, but the sacking of the city a second time? And, therefore, the judgment of the nations is not just envisioning their defeat in history by another nation, but envisioning a time when God will gather them together before his throne and judge them according to his books…when his books are opened. See, I must repeat that Isaiah’s vision encompass an exile, a return, and another destruction of the city. It is this latter destruction of the city that becomes the time when God will rise to judge the nations, unite Israel together and bring his king. Isaiah has clearly marked this out for us. In other words, Isaiah is mainly focused on a time when God will come in such a way that will bring Israel’s redemption, but also Israel’s destruction. That is, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” Isaiah is not talking about the time when Babylon fell, or when Jerusalem fell a first time. This is when Jerusalem falls a second time.
Daniel predicted the same thing, did he not? Jerusalem was in exile when Daniel saw his visions. The angel tells him that the city will be rebuilt “but in times of trouble.” He mentions that the “city and sanctuary will be destroyed.” This is the second burning, the second judgment that this city has underwent, and it in the days of the second burning that Isaiah has an eye on. But, Isaiah is not so clear as to “when” this will happen.
Since I see 1-5 as forming the Introduction to the book, I infer that all of the main elements of the rest of the book are found in these chapters. Having first seen the time-frame viewed by Isaiah, I want to know focus on one particular doctrinal concern that Isaiah teaches. This has to do with sheol or “the grave.” This is the underworld and it is very much a real celestial place for Isaiah. The souls in it are alive, not dead. In 5.13-17 we read, “Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their
honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her. 15 Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low. 16 But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness. 17 Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.” Here we have all the elements we have commented on so far. Israel and Judah will “go into exile.” Man, not just Israel, is brought low into sheol. But, God is going to show himself righteous one day and “then” shall restoration occur. Here is explicit mention of Israel descending into exile/sheol. Exile is not just a historical removal from the land, but is pictured as a removal from the land to the grave. The soul is literally exiled of of the earth. This is Israel’s destiny.
However, the next mention of sheol is Isaiah 14, and we have already read a portion of that passage. “For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 3 And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, 4 that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! 5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; 6 that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us. 9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee. 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! 13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.”
These souls are called “shades” or “ghosts” in Hebrew (rephaim – the word found in verse 9 here, translated as “the dead”). Israel would take up this song when Babylon is brought low into sheol, and “that day” would be in the day of her restoration. So, we know that Isaiah is not viewing only the time of Babylon’s actual fall, but a far off time when she is judged. As we read in 5.13-17 above, sheol is in view when God restores Israel. This occurs throughout the rest of this section (13-23) which is a long list of judgments against the nations, Philistia, Moab, Assyria, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Babylon, Arabia and Edom. Tyre is seen in 23 and 24 ends with a complete destruction of the “Land.” When this happens, “For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. 19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. 21 On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. 23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.” This is when Israel will take up the taunt against Babylon, when they are redeemed and chosen by God, and the enemies of Israel are punished. This is envisioning the resurrection of the dead from sheol. It is during the time of Israel’s resurrection that the nations of her past will be punished forever, entering into a second death, for the powers of the first death is destroyed. The first death is sheol/death, and this is seen as a power, or principality. All the nations of Israel’s past are contained in sheol, as Isaiah has told us. However, one day, the dead will rise out of sheol and enter into “my holy mountain” of restored Zion, or “everlasting fire” (the second death).
Isaiah concludes his book with these words, “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD. 24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” This again reveals that from a “seed” (offspring/remnant) they shall look in triumph over their enemies who are reserved for a far greater punishment than sheol. Sheol is certainly not seen as a great place to be, but the punishment reserved for those in sheol after sheol is destroyed is far greater. This is when God will “swallow up the death forever” (25.8). It is when he punishes the powers of the heavens. It is when he raises the dead souls from sheol, and when he judges the nations, shakes the earth and comes in glory to take, a second time, a remnant from Israel, and from them enlarge their tent under one son, one king, one faith and one nation, for they are called “holy” and are “washed” from their sins, having been made clean by God himself, no longer able to defile the covenant God will make anew with them.
Conclusion.
Peter wrote, “for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.” The salvati
on of souls was the goal of faith, and accordingly, it was “this salvation” that the Prophet Isaiah “searched intently” for. What surrounded this salvation was “the time” and “circumstances” that would be when this salvation was revealed. Isaiah was not serving himself, but was serving those of Peter’s generation. Isaiah spoke of the “glories” to follow, and we have noted those glories. Wrapped up in this is the notion of “time”; “when?” and “how long?” It is not known in Isaiah when this time was, but we noted that he definitely has a time-frame. Israel would be utterly laid waste, and would return, only to be laid waste again, but this time, “the glories” announced in Isaiah would occur, along with judgment upon the nations in sheol. The powers of heaven would be rocked for “these be the days of vengeance.” Several nations would come and go, each having their “day of the Lord,” but there was coming an ultimate “day of the Lord” in which the powers of heaven, the death and sheol would be destroyed. A new heavens and a new earth would be founded in a new Mount Zion with a new nation of God’s people made up from “all nations.” It is within this motifs that we find the entire background of NT thought and theology, and, mainly what we call “eschatology.” Isaiah’s eschatology concerned the salvation of God’s people, and this should be our view as well. The eschatology we find in Isaiah must be, then, the exact same eschatology we find in Paul, without any changes.
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Isaiah Lecture 6 .::. Isaiah – Lecture 2 .::. Isaiah Lecture 7 .::. Isaiah – Lecture 4 .::. Isaiah Lecture 8About Sam
Completed a M.A. in Christian Studies and a M.A. in Religion from Whitefield Theological Seminary, Lakeland, Florida (with combined credits in Hebrew exegesis from Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida - and in Greek exegesis from Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, Tennessee). Author of Misplaced Hope, and Exegetical Essays on the Resurrection of the Dead. Also edited A Student's Hebrew Primer for Whitefield Theological Seminary. Samuel M. Frost co-founded Reign of Christ Ministries, and has lectured extensively for over 8 years at Preterist conferences, including the Evangelical Theological Society conference, of which he is currently a student-member. Samuel is ordained, and has functioned as Teaching Pastor at Christ Covenant Church in St. Petersburg, Florida (2002-2005). He helped host the popular debates between Don Preston and Thomas Ice (with Mark Hitchcock) and Don Preston and James B. Jordan. Samuel is widely regarded by many of his peers as being one of the foremost experts on prophecy, apocalypticism, and Preterist theology. He is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry in Theology from Vision International, Ramona, CA. Samuel Frost owns and operates his own business and resides in Florida with his wife Ann Marie, and his children, Janet, Jacob, Hunter, and Olivia.