Isaiah 40: American Politics?

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon everyone. It is Saturday, October the twenty sixth, twenty twenty four. It is currently twelve fifty seven pm Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Saturday afternoon. Now, I know there's always a lot of things going on on any Saturday afternoon, but obviously for most of my adult life, Saturday afternoon, of course, is sermon prep. It's all about preparing for Sunday, right hour after hour after hour, looking at things, reading things, trying to figure out, okay do I do? What do I do for the first hour? What do I do for the second hour? It used to be what do I do for the third hour? You know, how am I going to work this? So Saturday is always about sermon prep, and this Saturday, I'm really conflicted on exactly what I should do because there's a lot of things we need to do. All right, for Sunday School. We've been doing a series on eschatology. We got to the Dividic Covenant and we took a lot of detours. We took a lot of detours, so we really need to get back to that. We're working on the there fours in the Book of Romans, so tomorrow has to be Romans chapter four.

1:30 I believe it's verse sixteen that's the next Therefore, in the Book of Romans, we really need to get there. There's been I don't even know now how many sundays I've you know, on my way to church going Okay, this is what we're going to do, because in many cases, because of circumstances beyond my control, people are gone, this happens, this happens. I've made kind of a decision on the spot to go, well, we'll just we'll continue with this and we'll go with this idea. We'll go with this idea. So we need to work on eschatology. We need to work work on Romans four sixteen. But at the same time, while I'm trying to figure out what to do there, there's also a lot of things right here for the podcast that we need to work on. Right I mean, we've been working on the Secrets of the Christian Life.

2:13 Six Secrets of the Christian Life. We looked at three of them. I've gotten number four ready to go. But every time I sit down, I'm like, well, do I really want to do this? You know what value? I don't know. So we really need to do that. And actually what we need to do is not just get through the six secrets. We really need to put together. I mean, this is a very important question, a solution to how as Christians, how we should understand the reality of sin, the reality that we cannot keep the law, and how that should impact us. I've written out kind of a possible solution. I mean, it's nothing great, but at least maybe give us something to do. We definitely need to get to that. And then obviously we have this on going discussion about hermoneutics. Right, it started with a floating axe head and then it kind of went to hey, and and it kind of started someone as a joke, right. It was kind of being like, just have a little bit of fun. Right, Oh, here's a pastor who preached a sermon on Isaiah forty three. All right, guys, let's time it and see how fast this pastor is preaching a sermon on Isaiah forty three. How fast it takes for him to insert us into the text. So we did that in less than forty seconds. Less than forty seconds, a pastor is like, I'm preaching on Isaiah forty three and immediately started talking about you, me, we and forgot about them. Are they?

3:45 They? They? And them was pushed out of the text. Israel was pushed out of the text. We were inserted into the text and this and Isaiah forty three became about us. So then we reviewed another sermon, still having a little bit of fun, and this one we didn't even need to stop watch because because it was in the title, right, it was immediately they the title made Isaiah forty three about us. Then we went to what sixteen I believe seventy eight. It's a number. I forget numbers. Then we went to sixteen seventy eight to find out, hey, this is where all the problems began. We looked at a section in the Pilgrim's Progress where once again Isaiah forty three becomes about us. So we've been looking at all of that, and obviously it's been everything from the floating axe head everything to Isaiah forty three. I mean it's I mean, you can say I've become very jaded. I've been very jaded. I've been very cynical when it comes to Christians handling the Word of God. I mean, I basically have given up all hope. I mean, I just think if you want to know what a Christian is, they are a narcissistic textual hijacker. Christians are narcissistic. We think everything's about us, and then we go to the text and we hijacket and we make text about us.

4:56 We take promises that are not meant for us and we make them about us. And it's a problem. And if you think about this, I mean, I think this is very important because I'm going to bring all of this together. Now. On one hand, how should Christians ever be able, I mean, why should we ever even think that Christians could come to some kind of biblical logical understanding about how we should view sin, deal with sin, deal with the reality of sin. If we can even figure out how to handle text in scripture that seem to be so clear that it shouldn't even be an issue. I mean, when you go to Isaiah forty three and you read that, but now thus saith the Lord that created the oh Jacob, and he that formed the O Israel. When you go to Isaiah forty three, and Israel specifically named, and you're like, well, no, that's about us. When pastors go to Ezekiel, that's Isaiah forty three, when they go to Ezekiel thirty six and it's like Israel Israel, Israel, Israel Israel, and then it says, I'm going to give you a new heart, new spirit. Oh, that's about us. When Christians can't even go to text where the text itself is identifying who it's about and we can come in kick those people out and push ourselves into the text. If we can't even figure out how to handle the text correctly, then how are we going to deal with major important theological issues. The reality is everyone just does what is right in their own

6:28 eyes when it comes to Bible interpretation. And it is maddening when you can go to a text about a floating axe head and next thing you know, the ax head can just represent whatever you want. You can go to Isaiah forty three when it says, when they'll pass it through the waters, you can make the waters, you can make the river be whatever you want it to be. I mean, there's just really the only thing limiting how we handle the text is our own imagination. Because Christians don't agree on hermoneutical principles. They're not bound by hermoneutical principles. Everyone can just do whatever they want with the text, and to think otherwise, it's just you're just being naive, You're just you're just ignoring reality. So real, in reality, people can just do whatever they want with the text, and that's that's what we have seen. So But because I became so very irritated and frustrated with the Isaiah forty three situation, I mean, I got frustrated with the floating axe head, but the Isaiah forty three section, for some weird reason, I'm not going to say it bothered me more than the floating axe head, but it led me to go, wait a minute, Isaiah forty three, Isaiah forty three. Everyone's just doing these weird things with Isaiah forty three. But can we really understand Isaiah forty three apart from this very important section in the Book of Isaiah, which starts in Isaiah chapter forty and goes to Isaiah fifty five. I'm like, hmm, well, maybe maybe, just maybe

8:01 I know what I know what I'll do. We're going to begin a series and we're going to work through Isaiah forty to Isaiah fifty five and a pretty systematic, detailed way, and we're going to really deal with all of the hermeneutical issues. And what we're going to do is deal with Isaiah forty through fifty five by actually, I don't know, making the text about who the text is actually about. I know, what a crazy idea, what a radical concept. Let's study Isaiah forty through fifty five and literally understand it in light of who it was written to and who it is about. I know that's crazy, but obviously someone needs to do that. So that's what we're what we're going to do. So I have spent this morning and sermon prep trying to figure out, Okay, I still got to get Romans four sixteen in tomorrow, so I gotta do that. Maybe the second hour, the first hour. We do need to work on the Dividic Covenant.

8:56 We do need to kind of work on, you know, my solution to Christians and sin. I do need to work on the six Secrets of the Christian I've got all of these things, but I think what I may do, at least at this very moment, because I spent I mean, what it's now one it's a little after one pm Central time. I've spent basically all morning and Isaiah forty to fifty five. That's basically all I have done. I have looked at Isaiah forty through fifty five through every hermoneutical perspective I can have. I have done, I've been. It's all I've worked on, over and over and over. So I think that's the goal tomorrow is we'll begin Isaiah forty through fifty five and so in my kind of prep. So here's what I would challenge you to do.

9:38 Just over the next I don't know, I don't even know how long we'll be in the section, but just start making Isaiah forty through fifty five your new friend. All right, spend some quality time with Isaiah forty to fifty five. I need you reading it and reading it I could give you. Maybe maybe we'll utilize some Bible study methods on parts of Isaiah forty three fifty five. Maybe we'll do that. We're just gonna go all in Isaiah forty through fifty five. This is gonna be like one of our Bible study exercises. Right, We're gonna we're just gonna go all in and one of the things we're gonna be doing is we're going all in through Isaiah forty through fifty five. Is we're gonna maintain what we've been doing through all of twenty twenty four our sermons two point oh our sermons two point oh app sermon challenge, right, So where I'm gonna just say, hey, grab the sermon's two point oh app and look up random sermons on Isaiah forty through fifty five and just see it. Because why do I tell you to do that?

10:35 One. I'm getting you to listen to sermons. I'm getting you to utilize all of the resources you have. But here's the main reason is I want you to hear how other people approach the text. I want you to hear their perspectives, their hypotheses. And at the same time, I do want you to feel the frustration that should arise from it, because at some point you're gonna be like, this is just crazy. I guess you can basically make Isaiah forty to fifty five say whatever in the world you want to say, and that's the reality, and then you can compare it to mine. You may agree with them, you may agree with mine, whatever the case may be. It's up to you. But the point is, by the time we're done, you're gonna know, hopefully more about Isaiah forty through fifty five than you've ever known in your entire life. So that is the goal. That is the goal.

11:18 So why am I here right now? Well, because I grab the Sermons two point oh and I typed in Isaiah forty enter and the first thing that popped up was a sermon entitled Election Day Sermon twenty sixteen. Election Day Sermon twenty sixteen. I'm like, wait, wait, wait, wait, the text is Isaiah forty and this is going to be about election Day, like American election action Day, like American politics. We're going to go to Isaiah forty to talk about American politics and the election of twenty sixteen. Now, I'm just gonna be honest with you. At first, I was like, well, this could be great, right, this may be another example what I've been talking about of the just the hermeneutical anarchy that exists out there. But then I was like, you know what, I'm actually kind of curious.

12:24 If Isaiah forty is the text. How in the world does this fit with Election Day twenty sixteen, And if it fits with Election Day twenty sixteen? Does it fit with election day, well, twenty twenty four coming up very soon. Maybe there's some great insight into this. I don't know, so I'm curious. So since I've been spending all morning on Isaiah forty through fifty five, and this is a sermon on Isaiah forty and there's a high probability that tomorrow morning, you know, tomorrow morning, I will be standing behind the pulpit and I'm going to be introducing everyone to Isaiah forty five through fifty five. Well, this can't hurt, right, I mean, this is I'll just call this a part of my sermon prep and well, it'll get us started. It'll get us started on our journey through this section. So I have no idea this.

13:15 I have not listened to anything yet. I just found it downloaded it. I don't even know if the audio is loud enough. I'm hoping that it is, and we're just gonna see what happens. But I think this is going to demonstrate may now I don't know. My feeling is this is about to demonstrate exactly why we need to go through Isaiah forty through fifty five because of what people are doing to the text. But we've already demonstrated that with the craziness of the sermons from Isaiah forty three. I mean we've already demonstrated it. I mean, we've already demonstrated it with the craziness with the axe head, right, I mean, I mean we literally I don't really need to prove my point anymore, but sometimes I feel like it's I'm constantly having to prove my point. So are you ready? I don't know how far we're going to go. Typically, a typically a sermon review typically goes well over an hour by an hour and a half. But the goal here, I mean the sermon is sixty one minutes. So if I was to review sixty one minutes a sixty one minute sermon you're talking, it would be six seven hours.

14:17 So I think here's what we're going to do. We're going to first basically try to find out what is the text and supposedly his Isaiah forty so let's hopefully we'll verify that. Second, what's his basic hypop what's his basic thesis for his sermon? And then three, how does Isaiah forty I mean, obviously his thesis has something to do with the election of twenty sixteen, Right, so how does Isaiah forty fit it? We're basically want to just get the basic idea of how he's handling Isaiah forty. That's basically what we want. Okay, then you can go listen to the rest. Now this is very important. He may make some absolutely amazing, brilliant, fill a lot correct comments about Christians politics election day. My concern is, even if all of those comments are accurate, how is Isaiah forty have anything to do with that? How is Isaiah forty being utilized?

15:21 All right? That I have no idea. I don't know. I have not I haven't listened to it, so I don't know. I saw some of the comments underneath the message and everybody and the comments were like, this is like the greatest sermon ever. I mean me a little bit of hyperbole, but this is amazing. This is awesome. So obviously the people who heard the sermon thought it was amazing. So I don't know. I really don't know what's about to happen, But here we go. All right, sit back, buckle up. This is just the beginning of what's going to be a very long journey between Isaiah forty through fifty five. We will be reviewing a lot of sermons during it. We will be breaking things down and we'll just I don't know. I'm hoping it's to somehow be beneficial. It's going to be more about It's going to be about a lot of things. But you know, we'll get there when we get there. But for now, here we go Isaiah forty and a sermon about election day in the United States of America back in twenty sixteen. Your guess is as good as mine. Here we go. If you want to write down your predictions right now what's going to happen in the sermon, go ahead and just start writing your predictions. Now. You can go ahead and make your predictions. Get your bets in now right, put in your bet, Walk in that bet. I mean you're not going to win anything, but go ahead, all right, and you can take a screenshot. Make sure you got the time right there, so you can prove to me that you major predictions prior to hearing it.

16:47 Are you ready? Here we go. Our scripture is that isaay a forty for prayer and remain standing out of reverence for the reading of the Word of God. Now I'm not saying anything's going to go bad in this sermon. I'm not saying that. I am going to point this out here. A lot of churches do the standing for the reading of God's word to show reverence to God's word. Then everyone sits down, and then the word of God is twisted, manipulated, and made to say things that it never was intended to say. Now, what I would say is, if you want to show reverence to God's word, anybody can put on a little show and say, everyone please stand for the reverence of God's word.

17:47 Anyone can do that. That's just an external expression. That's just like you know, we're doing these wonderful things outwardly. But if you really want to show respect to God's word, it's not everyone standing to show respect and the reading of it. It's when you sit down to actually read it and study it and actually preach it. That's where reverence has shown and how we handle it. I just I'm not condemning. Make it very clear, I'm not condemning the external expression of reverence. That's great if you want to do that. I don't think anyone should be condemned if a church doesn't do that. But if you do it. Whether you do it or don't do it, it's wonderful, it's great, but at some point it can just be an external ritual that really loses any meaning because it doesn't matter if you stand to show reverence, if you're going to immediately then treat the Word of God like a you know, like Plato, and you just hijack it, insert things in it they're not.

18:44 Now. I'm not saying that's what's getting ready to happen here. I'm just speaking in a general sense. I'm not saying this is what this pastor does, not saying what this sermon does, because I haven't listened to it yet. But I've listened to too many sermons where they do this standing to show reverence, and in the next forty five minutes those scriptures are ripped into shreds and turn into who knows what, and like, well, you know what, I don't think you really the lack of reverence is not the fact that you stood, it's how you preached it and taught it. So I think that that's just a book. But it's easy. Look, it's easy for all of us to put on the external show. That's always been the problem within Christianity. We were always good at being able to say the right words, dress up, have our little traditions and rituals, and well, but that's always the problem.

19:33 Right. But let's see they're going to stand and let's hope that their external expression of reverence is demonstrated in the handling of the text. We rejoice, Oh Lord, that you have spoken so clearly, so powerfully in your word. Help us to understand this. And particularly this week, apply it to our lives. For Christ's sake. Amen. All right, two things about his prayer? Has God spoken clearly?

20:17 Has God spoken clearly in his word? Is the word of God clear? Is it? Is it really clear? I will argue it's not. And the reason I would argue that it's not clear is we have two thousand years of church history and nobody literally can agree on anything. So if it's clear, then that means no one possesses the ability to understand the clear. So I'm going to argue it's not clear. If it was clear, there wouldn't be There would be just a never ending arguments about everything. So I'm gonna argue it's not clear. I know that goes against almost all philological beliefs and almost every church which believes that the scriptures are clear and plain. I disagree.

20:58 They're not clear. They're not playing because nobody can understand, and the lack of understanding and the lack of agreement demonstrates the lack of clarity. That would be my argument. Number two. Does God actually help us understand the Bible? He says, Lord, help us understand. Does God actually help us understand the Bible? Does he? Now? Many Christians believe he does. Now, Again, here's the problem. If God helps us understand the Bible, why is there no agreed upon understanding? Number two. If God helps you understand the Bible, then and you believe that your understanding comes from God, then your understanding is infallible because it came from God. So then you would be well, God give me the understanding of the text.

21:42 My understanding is infallible because it came from God, and everyone now is bound to follow my understanding of the text. But guess what Pastor A would say, God gave me the understanding of the text. Pastor B would say, God give me the understanding of the text, and their understanding is contradictory to one another. So clearly someone is lying and now on that you now create basically a magistraal authority where you're like, well, God gave me the understanding, therefore my understanding is infallible. The whole thing is ridiculous again when it comes to Christians and handling of the text. Here's the things we hear right before the sermon even begins. That God speaks clearly in his text, and God is the one who gives us understanding. I reject both of the concepts outright, and again reality disproves these ideas. He gave the original RECIPI. He gave the original writers understanding, at least enough understanding to write it. He gave them understanding.

22:38 He gave the apostles understanding. He gave the prophets some understanding. I don't believe. I believe our understanding comes from the reading of the text and the study of the text by applying principles of interpretation. And even that does not guarantee understanding, because nobody can agree. Isaiah forty comfort, Oh comfort, my people, says your God, speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her said, A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain in the hill be made low, and the rugged terrain abroad valley. And let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley.

23:48 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. A voice says, call out. Then he answered, what shall I call out? All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God stands forever. Get yourself up on a high mountain, Ozion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, Oh Jerusalem, bearer of good news, lift it up. Do not fear, say to the cities of Judah, here is your God.

24:43 Behold the Lord God will come with might, with his arm ruling for him. Behold his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. Like a shepherd. He will tend his flock in his arm. He will gather the lambs and her them in his bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ews. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains into balance, and the hills in a pair of scales. Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has informed him with whom did he consult, and who gave him understanding, and who taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge and informed him of the way of understanding. Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. Behold, he lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burn. All the nations are as nothing before him. They're regarded by him as less than nothing and meaningless. To whom then, will you liken God?

26:11 Or what likeness will you compare with him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, a goldsmith plates it with gold, and a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He is two impoveries. For such an offering, selects a tree that does not rot. He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter? Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth. It is he who sits above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth. But He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like stubble.

27:22 To whom then, will you liken me that I should be his equal? Says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the one who leads. Forth their host by number. He calls them all by name, because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power. Not one of them is missing. Why do you say, old Jacob, and assert, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord and the justice. Do me escapes the notice of my God? Do you not know? Have you not heard the every land asking God? The Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, has not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, he increases his power. Though yous grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly. Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary.

28:34 You may be seated. Okay, so he read the entire chapter, you can. Everyone has their opinion on that, good or bad. Some people love that, some people may hate that. It's all about your preference and preaching style. I mean, that's a lot to read and one sitting. I mean, that's a total of thirty one verses. You know, hopefully everyone was sitting there looking at it. I don't know what you can retain or not retain there. It's always like, you know, what are you hoping to accomplish? But the Word of God had been read? That's great. Now what is he going to do with this? All right? What is he going to do with this? Here we go, let's find out.

29:21 I'm I'm going to be cautiously optimistic. Here we go. Election day sermons have a long history in our country. The earliest election day a sermon on record, it was in Massachusetts in sixteen thirty three. Okay, that is a hard a hard turn. Okay, I think the card just flipped. He just read Isaiah forty Isaiah forty thirty one verses, and he immediately is like, election days Germans has a long history in this country.

30:02 The first one is in Massachusetts. And what wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait, how are we getting to an election day sermon when the text is Isaiah forty, Like, how how do we get to America? How do we get to America? American politics? How do we even get there? See? At this point, if I'm sitting there, I would have this look on my face. If I was sitting in the congregation, I'd be looking around at everybody like what just happened? What Like? After reading all of that, I'd be like, okay, wait a minute, Okay, so Isaiah forty all right, Well I know that I know that that serting of verse three, the voice of Him that Christ in the wilderness prepare you the way of the Lord makes straight the desert a highway for our God. Hmmm, that sounds like John the Baptist. I think that's quoted in the New Testament. I wonder where that cross reference is.

30:49 So I may be putting a little mart next to verse three. Then I would be thinking, hmm, I wonder how verse three fits into the original historical context, because if why would isa why would I say I be telling the people in the context that they're in about some guide that's gonna come way after all of them are dead, to prepare the way. I wonder if this has an immediate context. I wonder what that could be. So I'd be thinking about that. I'd be like, comfort, yee, comfort ye, my people, who are my people? These are just some of the hermeneutical and interpretive questions that would be coming to my mind when we were standing there reading all of it, and then we sit down and then instantaneously we're off to election day sermons. Now, but hey, it may make sense. I'm just telling you. I'm being honest with my reaction. I would probably be looking at everyone around in the congregation, looking going has anybody else got the same look of confusion on their face as I do? Because I'm not very good at hiding my my thinking, right, So I mean, it would be clear on my face. I'd be like looking at the guy.

31:53 I would be looking at him like, what is happened? What is happening right? What is going on? How did we get to America? How did we get to elections? How did we get to Massachusetts? I don't even understand what's happening. But but that's that's that's my initial reaction. There may be it may take about three or four minutes, and I'll. Be like, oh, well, now it makes perfect sense, right, so let's let's give it some time. And since then, they've been preached in churches and meeting houses and uh, political buildings, h year after year after year, and in fact, in the early days of our country, many of these election day sermons were printed at the expense of the government and distributed to the various towns in various colonies. The purpose of these election day sermons was to preserve and perfect a genuinely Christian and thoroughly biblical civilization in North America for the glory of God, as a model, a city set on the hill for the rest of the world to see and to imitate.

33:08 Nowhere is the purpose of these election day sermons more clearly and intensely stated that in a book by a man named David Gregg, written in eighteen ninety six, is what he says, As patriotic Christians, there's only one cry in our souls, and that is America for Christ, Christ for America. I mean to push this matto. I put it on three grounds, for America's sake, for the world's sake, for Christ's sake. First, we demand America for Christ. For America's sake. Divorce your nation from Christ, and you ring its death knell. Marry your nation to Christ and you open for it, adore into a new future, and secure for it a place among the nations of the world. Tell me how the American Republic will treat Christ, and I will tell you the future of the American Republic.

34:20 America needs Christ, the rule of Christ, the truth of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the Gospel of Christ, and the men of Christ. We demand America for Christ for the world's sake. America taken for Christ means the nations of the world far and near taken for Christ. Christian nation means a mighty witness for God among all lands of the earth. In the Christianizing of our nation, the Republic has its life at stake, society its order, labor, its reward, home, it's happiness, and the world is future.

35:09 So this is an election daser. One. He seems to be like crazy emotional, crazy emotional, it appears to me. I mean I don't. I mean I don't even know how to process that. You can process that. The second I don't still don't know how in the world has any of this to do with Isaiah forty and only that stop. I completely obviously disagree with the entire philosophy. We do not christianize America. Christianize the Church, all right, Christianize the Church. The church evangelizes and people become Christians. Our job is not to try to christianize America. No, it's not. There's nothing like that. That's that's not even a biblical concept in any way.

35:51 Jesus didn't say, go make you know, Rome Christian, go go go call people to christ. As people become. Christians, well then the people will then live out the Christian life in the midst of society. But okay, we can get even get into this whole concept here, which I and yeah, and don't even get me started on patriotism, and okay, all right, there's just a lot of issues I have here, but that's not the points I don't want to get. I don't want to get distracted from what we're doing here. This is a sermon on Isaiah forty. I want to know how in the world Isaiah forty has literally anything to do with politics America and the election of twenty sixteen, twenty twenty four of any year.

36:36 That's what I want to know. You may one hundred percent agree with his patriotism pro America America. God. You may be like, yeah, I mean, let's go make America Christian. You may be full blown Christian nationalists. Good, go go do your thing. Okay, So I'm not going with you. Okay, but that's fine. Go. My issue here is not that. My issue is how when the world is Isaiah forty coming to play here? How in the world is this the text? That's the issue now. So we're waiting now as he's gone through this introduction, at some point he's going to return to Isaiah forty, right, and he's going to have to I know he's going to at least mention the historical context.

37:18 But is he just going to mention it and then immediately Israel's going to be kicked out and we're going to be inserted? Is that? What is that? Is that? Is that what is going to happen? Or am I? Or maybe I should just wait here we go. Well, in Isaiah forty, when Isaiah wrote those words, Israel was facing its worst economic crisis. It was facing terroristic armies about to overrun the country. The political establishment was unjust and moving toward tyranny.

37:59 No way, and wait wait wait, wait, wait wait wait Isaiah forty to fifty five, this section is addressed to the Babylonian exiles. They're already in exile. And you notice he's using words there that are trying to describe the political climate of America at that time, economic terroristic injustice. I mean, it's using very American political language and trying to insert this upon the text. They're already in exile. This section the Book of Comfort was written about one hundred and fifty years before the time of Cyrus promised the exiles from Judah that they would return to Jerusalem. So, okay, all right, look, let's say what he does here. I'm already getting a little nervous. I'm already getting a little nervous, right because he's using the very political charged language of twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen, and kind of at placing it a upon the text. He's taking a contemporary situation and placing it upon the historical text. And I'm okay. So all right, let's see if he offers more insight. I mean, okay, let's see what happens.

39:15 Idolatry and lawlessness were rampant. Content for God's truth was widespread, Respect for the sanctity of human life was almost absent, and with that, the breakdown of the family was obvious. Wise and godly leadership in church and state and society was disappearing. Fear would soon consume the nation as it faced its last days. Before conquered by Babylon. Sound'm familiar into this moral, social, and religious chaos. Stepped Isaiah with a powerful mess sage of hope, preach to a people on the verge of apostasy and devastation under the judgment of God. Isaiah forty is a record of that message.

40:13 That. Okay, so I guess it depends on what where you read. I have a my study Bible right here says this section is addressed to the Babylonian exiles, and a prophetic masl Okay, never mind there it goes all right. At first it just says the section is addressed to the Babylonian exiles. But the next phrase and a prophetic manner. So this is anticipating what's coming. So he's describing it, right, this is what's going to happen. So I had to look something else up because I wanted to make sure that I was absolutely correct here. All right, hang on, where are. You know? Where is this? Yeah? And Isaiah forty the people of Israel were not yet in Babylonian captivity at the time of Isaiah's ministry. Isaiah forty begins a section of the book that anticipate and addresses the future Babylonian exile, even though it had not yet occurred when Isaiah prophesied. Isaiah's ministry took place during the latter half of the eighth century BC, roughly seven forty to seven hundred BC, during the time when the Assyrian Empire was the dominant power and threatening both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. Babylon would not become the dominant power or conqueror Judah, a conqueror of Judah until more than a century later in five eighty six PC, when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took the people into exile.

41:31 Isaiah forty addressing a future situation, the Babylonian exile that would come after Isaiah's lifetime. The message is intended to comfort and encourage the people of Judah, anticipating in time when they would be in exile. So this is basically saying, here's the comfort you're going to need when you are there, all right. So he's right to describe it as hey, they were facing all of these things. They were facing all of these things. They were facing all of these things with an absolutely certainty that they were going to encounter all of those things, and yet here's the comfort being offered. So it's being spoken as if the people are there. The people are just not yet there, so it's it's comfort. It's prophetic comfort, right, it's prophesying the comfort you will need at a specific time when you are there, all right, So I think that's a correct way to look at it. So if you read the section is addressed to those in Babylonian exile, well, in some ways it is. It is addressed to the people in Babylonian exile. When they are there, then this section will be for them, but it's actually given before they're there, so it's given before they're there, but it's really written as if they are there. Now, here's what you need when you are there. So it's prophetic comfort. Here's the comfort you will need when you're there. I'm prophesying the comfort you will need at a specific time when you were there. So it's in a sense it's addressed to those in exile, but actually it's being given to those before they get into exile, if that makes sense. So

43:02 that can be depending on what you read. You may read something, well, this is addressed to those in Babylonian exile. Well that's true, but it was given before they were into Babylonian exile. If that makes sense. Church then needed to hear, and the Church today needs to hear as we approach one of the most frightening elections in our history. The message may be surprising to some. Please note so in twenty sixteen, we're facing the most frightening election ever. The whole future of the world hangs in the bellas. We're all going to die. And well, twenty sixteen happened, twenty seventeen happened, twenty eighteen happened, twenty nineteen happened, twenty twenty happened, twenty twenty happened, twenty twenty two, happened, twenty twenty three, and now we're facing the most dangerous election in the history of mankind.

43:57 We're all going to die. It's going to be of the world. We've been hearing this like I don't know, I feel like I've been hearing it my entire every time. Oh oh, this is it. Because how do politicians get elected by inciting fear into the mass? You tell everyone, if you don't elect me, your future is over. The country is done. You're all going to die. So now give me my vote so I get power. And what changes, Nothing really changes. The world just continues on and on and on until the next time. We got to go, oh, we need to incite some fear. We got to give some fear. We gotta make it. We need enemy, we need fear, we need division. Okay, And it's just all people. You're just being manipulated. Your puppets. They just play you so that you give them money, give them your vote, and they get power, they get positioned, they get fame, they get money, and you get basically what a lot of empty promises.

44:48 And I don't know why people keep buying into the whole game. But okay, yes, I'm very cynical about the whole thing. But I just always find it funny. Whatever whichever election you go back to, it's always like, this is the and this is the most important election in history. If this goes wrong, our country is not going to exist. We're gonna be We're gonna be locked up in FEMA camps. We're all gonna become Muslims. They're gonna take our bibles, they're gonna take our guns. It's the end. We're all gonna get marked with the mark of the peace. It's over. It's and then the election happens. Remember all the all the fear and panic that was gonna happen if Obama got elected. We're all, oh, well that okay, no, no, oh, this is oh now, how many times are you gonna fall for it? Right? When are you gonna wake up?

45:32 And He's like, you're getting played, You're getting played, stop it? Right, So, but we still want to know with Isaiah forty, so he's at least correct to say Isaiah forty was written to people who were going to be facing some very dire situations. But they were gonna face those dire situations because I mean, God obviously tells, I mean, he's giving them the prophecy of the comfort knowing they're going in there, so they're I mean that that's what's going to happen. It's going to happen, and it doesn't matter, it's going to happen. All right. So all right, that raises a whole lot of other issues about God's eternal decrees, God sovereignty. But okay, right, we still want to know how this has anything to do with Isaiah forty. Here we go.

46:14 Offensive to others encouraging to steal others. The message of Isaiah forty to us is simple and profound. Did you just hear that Isaiah Forty's message to us? Isaiah's message was to just so that you know, all right, just so that you know, all right, I'm just going to help you here, all right. I'm going to just help you here because I've got I put a bunch of notes down, just so that you know, I've got to, like, I don't even know how many points here, just so that you know here all right. Isaiah forty provides several textual clues that indicate who the chapter is about and who it was addressed to. The chapter is primarily focused on Israel, particularly those in Babylonian exile, and serves as a message of comfort see please it. Note how sometimes it states depending on what you're reading, it states that the people are in Babylonian exile, but it is particularly written to those in Babylonian exile. They're just not there yet, so it can be a little confusing, and depending on what you read, it serves as a message of comfort and reassurance from God regarding their future there. So it's them Babylonian exile their future bill a. Below are here are the key textual clues from Isaiah forty that highlight the intended audience. Number one Comfort comfort my people Isaiah forty one. The phrase my people refers to Israel, God's covenant nation. This shows that the message is directed to

47:47 Israelites and emphasizes God's enduring a relationship with them despite their current exile. Again, it's that their current exile, or it's written when they will be in exile, so they will see how that can get confusing? All right again, how this has how it describes Israel's in a state of exile, suffering and babbelone. But God is commanding comfort for them. But again it's written prophetically for when they go there. They're not actually there at the time. That can really look if you're looking at commentaries, that can be very confusing to you, right, I mean, even like I look down, I got a study Bible, like this section is addressed to the people in exile. Wait, but then you can read wait, it's addressed to people in exile prophetically. Wait, they're not actually there. But then everything else will reread as if it's being addressed to the people there, but it is being addressed to the people there, just they're not there yet. Right But again, so immediately right out of the start, we know that this is about Israel. Number two, speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended. The mention of Jerusalem representing the whole nation of Judah makes it clear that this message is for the people of Israel, specifically those in exile. The reference to Jerusalem emphasizes the national identity of the people being addressed. Number three, that their iniquity is pardon that she has received from the Lord's hand, double for all her sins. The focus is on Israel's iniquity and its pardon signals that this chapter is addressing the spiritual restoration of Israel. Number four. A voice in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord makes straight,

49:20 and the desert a highway for our God. The imagery of a wilderness and highway suggest a preparation for Israel's return from exile. Right, so again, this is about Israel. Number five. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh you'll see together. Well, it speaks to God's universal glory. It's first and foremost Israel that will witness God's glory. And I could go through here number seven, here's just number seven. I'm skipping go on up to a high mountain o Zion, Herald of good News, the Mountain of Zion, another name for Jerusalem. The land of Israel directly indicates that the message is addressed to Israel. I mean, I could go through the entire chapter and show you over and over and over all these textual clues to say, Israel Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel Israel. And we just heard the message of Isaiah forty for us, where did we get when did we get into the text?

50:16 Terrible days are on the horizon. But God's faithful people do not need to panic or to live and face the future in fear. So what He's going to do? Terrible days on the or on the horizon. Okay, that's what they say in every election. And now you don't need to fear. So's he got to go take promises they're given directly to Israel. Knock them, just slap them in the face and say give me those promises, and then they come go and give them and then come give them to all of us. Is that is that is is that what is about to happen. Let we'll go at least far enough to hear.

50:58 If that's what's about to happen. Why, says Isaiah forty, Because Christ sits on the circle of the earth, and Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are grasshoppers. That's the message of Isaiah forty. Now, Isaiah is divided into two sections. The first section is chapters one through thirty nine Judgment, Judgment, Judgment, judgment upon Israel that had turned her back on the Lord. Chapters forty through sixty six Restoration, Restoration, Restoration, Hope for the future. And that second great section begins with the chapter that we've just read.

51:46 So let's look at it, verse at a time. Praying that God would cause us to believe it and live consistently with it this week. In verse one, God addresses the prophet Isaiah, and God calls him to bring comfort to his people burdened down with apostasy and judgment, and to do that by preaching his word comfort or comfort my people is not addressed to you and me. It's not addressed to the citizens of Israel. It's addressed to the prophet Isaiah. I have comfort a message of comfort, says your God. That I want you, Isaiah, to bring to my people. I want you to preach to their hearts.

52:43 Verse two, speak kindly to Jerusalem. Literally in Hebrew is I want you to preach to their hearts. I want you to lay it on their hearts. I want it to be something more than intellectual. I want you to sink it deeply within them, so that it makes a difference within them. By my. Notice the phrases comfort, Oh, comfort my people, says. Your God, my people. Your God, speak kindly to Jerusalem, where my people live, says your God. Those two pronouns, you see, set the stage for the rest of this chapter. This is God talking to his church that's in bad shape by this time.

53:29 This is God talking to his nation. Okay, but if you don't want to draw a distinction, at least he's making at least some distinction. This is God speaking to Isaiah, and Isaiah is discomfort his people that is Israel. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, that is Israel. Now, if you want to refer to them as a church, you can do that, but it's you don't. You can't use the term church to destroy their national identity. That God made a covenant with a nation, and they that nation has not nation nationalistic promises addressed to it that has well have not all been fulfilled. And you can't go take those promises from them.

54:15 This is God talking to his covenant people that are turning their back on him, and yet he comes to them with a message of grace that they don't deserve to hear, a message of hope, a message of repentance. And he says, Isaiah, I want you to. Comfort them and encourage them in this time, even though they're on the verge of being conquered by foreign power. I want you to preach comfort to them. And here's the message I want you to preach. Verse two. Speak kindly to Jerusalem and. Call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all of her sin. Call out to her, make sure she doesn't miss this. Of course, tell the truth about her apostasy and about her turning her back on me.

55:07 Of course, Warner. As he has done in the previous thirty nine chapters, about the judgment that's imminent if Israel does not repent. But I want you to comfort them with these three words. Your warfare is over, your iniquity has been removed, and you've received from the Lord's hand double from all your sin. Now, remember what the prophets used to do, and we brought out this before they would prophesy things to take place in the future using past tense verbs. Sounds a little unusual, but that was a literary device that had a great theological implication with it. You preach about future happenings that God has prepared and predestined for the future in past tense verbs, because every one of those future prophecies are bound to be fulfilled.

56:04 That right, there is gold, Right, there is gold. That is very important when reading any of the prophetic sections. As many times it speaks of future events and past tense terms because it's speaking as if it is done and so and so. That can be confusing, right, because you can be like, well, wait a minute, like that's why already we were seeing some of the some depending on your commentary, on your source, it's like, well, the people are in exile, Well, the people aren't actually in exile, because this is comfort being prophesied. This is the comfort they're going to need when they go into exile, sile. This is what needs to happen. This is the comfort they will need when they're there.

56:46 But in many cases it's spoken as. If they're already there. It's spoken like when it says, cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished. The warfare here most likely refers to their exile and suffering that the Israelites have endured, and the message of hope is that their period of judgment is coming to an end. It's being spoken of, Hey, you your exile, your your time and bondage is over. It's already over. Your sins are wait wait, wait, this is being prophesied before it's even happened yet. But it's already being told that it's already over before it's even begun. So that can be confusing depending on how you're reading. So that's a very very important. Now, so all any frustration here, now that's just right there. Made that made this entire sermon worth it right there. That's that's man. You want to write that down and you really want to consider that. There are many times in your Bible where it is speaking of a future event, but it's using past tense terms.

57:39 But it's not really past tense. It hasn't even happened yet, but it's being spoken of in past tense because it's a literary device. It's a philological device to show you it's a certainty. Because if God says it's going to happen, it is well, it's as good as done. That is very important, and you've got to be able to notice that though, because sometimes you'll be like, well, wait a minute, how do I see this? Do I see this as already being done well? In one sense, yes, but in a practical sense no, So then you have to kind of take it apart. It's as if they were already fulfilled and the plan of God, God planned them. God's plan cannot fail, and so Isaiah would prophesy things about the future in past tense, certain that God would cause these things to take place.

58:24 As we go on, we're going to see this passage is focusing on Christ. It's not simply about Babylon overrunning Israel, destroying the Temple in five eighty six, taking the people of God captive for seventy years, and then the Persians allowing them to come back and rebuild Jerusalem. All of those things are in the background. They haven't taken place yet. But the real focus that God is pointing his people too, the comfort that's going to come to them after judgment after judgment, after devastation, is going to be in Christ alone. So these various these three words of hope and comfort for the future presupposed Christ. Your warfare is over. That hadn't It's not over yet. Remember he's foretelling the future with past tens. It's absolutely certain your warfare is going to be over. That's a Hebrew idiomatic phrase that more literally means your hard surface surface service, your hard service, your misery because of your apostasy and because of your judgment.

59:34 It's going to be over. When the Lord Jesus Christ appears, the misery will be gone. Okay, now here I would struggle. Now he's jumping to this as being a somehow pointing to what Christ. I think this is just a reference that your your exile. This is about the Babylonian exile. He's moving the Babylonian exile more to the background. I'm now trying to make it about Christ. So now is he going to now go to all these passages and say, well, this is about Christ. Well, now you're going to start spiritualizing the text. See that's where that's where the problem. This is where things already start breaking down. Right, So all right, but let's let's see. Let's just let it play out.

1:00:20 Your iniquity has been removed. Let me tell you what it means in it says in Hebrew, which is a highly unusual way of speaking. We don't have any idioms like this in English. Your iniquity has been shown favor. Your iniquity has been shown favor. Your iniquity has been. Shown favor, or another way of saying it, your iniquity has shown satisfaction. You see where he's hitting satisfaction. There's a sacrifice that has been offered. It has satisfied God's anger, It's been accepted by God, and.

1:01:01 The iniquity has been removed. They deserve to have been destroyed because of their iniquity, never to have risen again. But God in grace would in Jesus provide a sacrifice that would satisfy the claims of God's justice against them. I said, I don't know if we can take this and jump to Christ. Here. God made a covenant relationship with them that he would remain faithful, that he made a covenant with himself for them, so okay, well, all right, let's see where it goes. And in mercy he would forgive them of their sins.

1:01:47 And the last is another hebreak phrase, you have received from the Lord's hand double for all your sin. Now that's not a literal statement. God's not going to punish anybody twice as much as he deserves. That would be unjust. God punishes his enemies according to what they deserve or less. And that's the point here. The word double simply denotes abundance, and he says, now, Jerusalem, Israel has received abundant judgment from the Lord's hand for all of her sins. She has suffered enough for her sin, though she's not suffered as much as she deserved. And so even though this severe judgment would come through the Babylonians and others for hundreds of years before Christ, they were becoming a time in which God says, that's enough.

1:02:42 Okay. Now, He's very emphatic on how for she had received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. This just This phrase has been a subject of various interpretations throughout Church history. Understanding this phrase in its context seems to be key to trying to grasp its meaning. All right, So the interpretive options for double for all her sins, full payment, or sufficient penalty. One common interpretation is that double signifies that Israel has paid a full and sufficient penalty for her sins. It does not necessarily mean twice as much punishment, but indicates that the punishment for her iniquities has been fully met. And again, if this is not, remember he just said in the previous phrase that well, Christ paid for all your sins. Christ died for all your sins, that he took the punishment.

1:03:34 But well, no, no, no, this is the idea. No, you paid for it, you were punished for it. So do we bring Christ into a section where it's clearly stated. You you basically. That you have paid a full and sufficient penalty for your sins. So are you going to say that that's that Christ did when the text seems to be saying. That they did? All right? The double portion can mean complete abundance and the sense that punishment Israel endured in exile was severe but now complete. The idea here is that Israel has endured enough to satisfy the judgment required for her sins. So do we go to this verse and go, wait a minute, wait a minute, No, No, this is about Jesus. No, the text seems to be saying, no, they pay. So I don't know how we insert Jesus into this. I don't know how we insert us into this. I think we got to be very careful here. This seems to be like, no, Israel, you have paid for your sins, and we can say the double is just a complete and abundance. But in either way, they suffered, and that time of punishment has come to an end. Doubling something often meant in the ancient world, completing or bringing something to its fullness. Therefore, the phrase likely indicates that the penalty was sufficient in God's eyes. Another interpretation sees doubles indication of a severity of Israel's punishment. Israel may have experienced more than what seemed proportionate for her sins in terms of destruction, exile, and suff She underwent that she underwent, but the point is that God has now declared the punishment complete. This

1:05:06 view could be supported by the overwhelming nature of the Babylonian exile, the loss of the land, the destruction of the temple, and the suffering and captivity, which may have felt like a severe and comprehensive punishment. So some people may say no, she Israel suffered even more than her sins actually deserved, So some people say no. But in either way, whether it's more, whether it's just an abundance, it doesn't matter. She paid for her. Sins with her suffering. I don't see where this thin we're gonna make this about Christ. I don't all right. Some suggest that the phrase is a literary device, a form of parallelism that emphasizes abundant forgiveness or complete justice, rather than emphasizing the amount of punishment. It highlights that justice has been fully carried out and that Israel's sins have been completely dealt with. In other words, double can be an idiomatic way of saying that God's justice is been fully satisfied, and now is the time for mercy and comfort. Some interpretation sees a contrast in the use of double as a precursor to God's abundant grace and restoration.

1:06:10 Those israel sin brought about severe consequences. God's restoration and redemption will be even more generous and abundant. Right, But the point is it's about Israel suffering. Right, because he went to the first part, your warfare has accomplished her iniquity as pardon, and he immediately inserted Christ and that Christ suffered. But then it says you have received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Well, is that do we see that as you have received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins? Does that seem I mean, it seems to indicate that they suffered. So then that kind of removes Christ from it. See, you see what the problem is when you start spiritualizing the text. Once you start spiritualizing the text, things start falling apart, Like it's hard to remain consistent. Look, we've seen this in the Song of Solomon, Right, everyone's like, oh, this is a beautiful picture of Christ and his love for the church. You start going through that, that gets really weird. That starts getting really uncomfortable and bizarre. Right, you have to just start doing weird things. That's always the problem. The more you spiritualize to try to maintain the spiritual picture, that it becomes inconsistent.

1:07:29 Now people deserve to be punished far more, but there will be. A satisfaction in their place. Now how is this going to happen? See, he says there's going to be a satisfaction in their place. He is saying that the people who that someone else is going to satisfy God for their sins. But the text seems to be implying that that they have suffered enough, they have now satisfied the punishment. So now do you just remove that from the historical city. I mean, they're the ones who actually suffered for seventy years. They're the ones who actually the temple was actually destroyed, they were actually went into exile. There was actually pay suffering and death. I mean like they literally suffered. Okay, you can't just spiritualize that.

1:08:13 How is this comfort, this cessation of warfare and misery, this forgiveness of iniquity, this ending of judgment, how. Is it going to come? Verses three through five tell us a voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, Make smooth in the desert. A highway of our God, for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain, and he'll be made low. Let the rough. Ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain abroad valley. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken, how's all this coming are going to happen. God's going to come to Earth. That's how it's going to happen. Prepare away for God, the creator of the universe, is going to come to Jerusalem.

1:09:08 So wait, So the Babylonian exile and all of this is going to come to a conclusion because God is going to come to an earth, to the earth. So now, oh man, okay, so wait now before Jesus shows up, the Babylonian exile has been way over. They've returned like what I did. So the way the Babylonian exile is going to come to an end is God is going to come to the earth. And now he's going to go to Isaiah forty verse three and following, and he's going to immediately take this to the New Testament context.

1:09:53 But are you not now forgetting how this would have to be understood in its historical context first and foremost, And that's how He's. Going to comfort her and forgive of of her ends and into warfare and in his anger. God's coming to Jerusalem and nothing can stop him everybody inside and outside Jerusalem will throw up hindrances. There'll be all kinds of obstacles. But God will clear the way. He'll make smooth in the desert a highway for himself. Every valley will be lifted up, every mountain will be made low, the rough ground. Made a plain, the rugged terrain of broad valley. Nothing is going to keep God from revealing his glory in Jerusalem, and all flesh will see it. Now you remember reading any of these words of the New Testaments.

1:10:47 You remember how the Gospel according to Mark begins, for instance, and various other the Gospels. I understand there's a New Testament use of it, But you can't say the way their warfare is going to end, the way they're going to be parton. The way all of this is gonna come to an end, is Jesus is gonna come to the earth. Because by the time Jesus comes to the earth, they've not only been in Babylonian captivity. Know only they come out of Babylonian captivity. Not only have they rebuilt the Temple, they're now under the control of Rome. Okay, so like like what are you talking about? All right, We're gonna have to stop there. We're gonna have to stop there, right, We've definitely will We'll go back and do some work on this. There's good here. I'm just perplexed. I'm perplexed at the entire structure of it all right, But once again, what does it demonstrate? You go to a section like Isaiah forty to fifty five and just chaos reigns.

1:11:45 Right, It's just like what what? There's no there's just no way of knowing what someone is going to do with these texts. It's it's just so frustrating to follow. However, we did learn a very important hermonutic principle here, very good. We kind of stumbled into it, right, and the hermeneutical principle that he established and that he stated accurately, and it's and it mixed. The entire sermon Worth you listening to is this that there are times in prophetic passages where the prophetic event is being spoken of in past tense even though it hasn't happened yet. That's very important because you can get become very confused and even reading about Isaiah forty depending on which commentary I pick up, because I was reading from multiple sources, it's speaking to people in Babylonian captivity.

1:12:40 But then if you continue to read, however, they're not yet in Babylonian captivity. Well wait a minute, then why do all the commentaries say this is being spoken to people in Babylonian captivity. Actually the prophecy was given before the people went into Babylonian captivity, right, and then if it's if we say comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. If that is spoken to Isaiah, here's a question. Here's a question. Now here's here's here's a good question. Is Isaiah alive at the time of the Babylonian captivity? Hang on, because I don't hang on. I gotta I gotta just make sure I don't want to say anything incorrectly. So I'm gonna I'm gonna verify. I'm gonna verify, you verify. You know, No, Isaiah was not alive during the Babylonian captivity. So we have to deal with this fact and the text if because he made it, he made it clear the Isaiah forty one is spoken to Isaiah, not to you, not to me, not to them, to Isaiah. Well wait a minute. And then and then he said Isaiah was going to go provide comfort to the people. Well, he's providing comfort to the people who are not yet in captivity. So he's basically he say, when you get into captivity, remember this. But again, this is very important. Isaiah was not alive during the Babylonian captivity.

1:14:08 Isaiah prophesied during the eighth century BC, specifically around seven forty to seven hundred BC, which was during the reigns of Isaiah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. His ministry took place during primarily during the period when the Assyrian Empire was the dominant threat to both the North Kingdom and Israel the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The babylon Captivity occurred more than a century later, in five eighty six BC, when Babylon conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and took the people into exile. This was long after Isaiah's time Isaiah's prophecies about the future exile. Although Isaiah was not alive during the Babylonian captivity, he prophesied about it in the latter chapters of Isaiah, particularly Isaiah thirty nine forty through forty eight. He foretells the future Babylonian exile and Judah's deliverance from it. Isaiah's prophetic words in these chapters and tis to paint the exile and the subsequent restoration of God's people, though these events would happen long after his death. Well, he said and discernment that these words were for Isaiah to take and bring comfort to the people.

1:15:13 But the comfort is for when they go into exile. All right, so. I think again we have This is what happens when you get into this is you've got to really get very very technical, or you just start creating all kinds of wrong impressions and wrong ideas. So even commentaries can confuse the average person sitting here reading a commentary. You may go, oh, look, these were the words spoken to the people in Babylonian exile. Yes, and no, it was prophetically spoken to the people in exile, because when the words were actually given to Isaiah, it was way before the actual exile took place. They're like, that's key to the message. Now what he is doing, He's going and next thing you know, he's now just removed. He I don't know, he's just it's all kind of starting to fall apart. But we will. We'll go back and public listen to more because this gets us. This is a good start. This is why we're gonna spend so much time in Isaiah forty to fifty five. This is why because just listening to one sermon, look at it, and we've only made it, I don't even know, probably about twenty minutes into the sermon maybe maybe if that, and look what's happened. We're already like, wait a minute, so what about this?

1:16:31 Well? Wait what about this? When when? Because there's all of these hermoneutical issues and trying to interpret it. That's why we have to do Isaiah forty through fifty five. It's almost like it's a necessity. So that's what we're going to do. So there you have it. I wish, I wish I could give you something profound, but this gives us a good start. Right now. What we'll do is we'll introduce it. We'll go and we're gonna mention some of these renewable issues, and then we're going to try to establish him very good, like okay, this is being prophesied, and now we'll interpret it from that. We're gonna try to interpret it in light of its context. Because look, if you go to Isaiah forty and say the way they're going to be basically removed from Babylonian captivity is what happens in versus three through five. To me, that just is absolutely makes no sense because three through five happens way after the Babylonian exile, So that can't be the solution to the Babylonian exile. Three through five has to be understood. First, it's a historical context, but it has obviously it is used for a future prophetic thing related to Christ, but in its original context, Christ is not the subject here. All right, I'm just gonna say the bell rung, class, Like, okay, class, the bell has rung, and so I have to stop. I'm going

1:18:04 to blame it on an imaginary bell and saying class is over. Class is over for now. But that gets us a good start. So over. I don't know for how long. Isaiah forty through fifty five needs to become your very close companion. Read it, and read it, and read it, continue to listen to sermons about it. We'll review sermons as we work through it, and we'll just as long as it takes is what it takes. So that's what we're going to be doing. And this is a good example of why, because even in that one sermon, I'm still a little bit perplexed. He made it sound like he did not articulate exactly how Isaiah like, but at the same time he kind of did. I mean, he did acknowledge that they hadn't gotten into Babylonian captivity yet.

1:18:48 So was Isaiah's words really meant for the people at the time or were the words really meant to be preserved so that they could hear them at the appropriate time we could have that discussion. And then he inserted Christ with the very next phrase, seeming to contradict that. So I there's a there's a lot going on there alright. Thanks for listening, everyone, Have a great rest of your Saturday. God bless