April 11, 2025

Isaiah 54 and T-Shirt Theology

Isaiah 54 and T-Shirt Theology

A discussion about Christianity and its love for slogans and merchandise

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A discussion about Christianity and its love for slogans and merchandise

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. All right, guys,

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it's time for you to be very honest in your

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Christian life. Have you ever purchased some Jesus junk? Have

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you ever purchased any Jesus junk? You may not have

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called it Jesus junk, it's kind of a title I've

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given it. But have you purchased any Jesus junk? Well,

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we're going to talk about some Jesus junk right after

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I say good afternoon everyone. It is Friday, April the eleventh,

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twenty twenty five. It is currently four forty seven pm

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Central time, and I'm coming to you live from the

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Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. And

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I purchased my first Jesus junk right here in Abilene, Texas.

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So this is how it happened, all right. I'm a teenager,

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I become a Christian, and I'm introduced. I don't even

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think anyone really introduced me to it. I think I

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just knew, okay, I'm a Christian. So it kind of

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felt like, I don't know how, I don't know exactly what.

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Led me there.

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But in my mind, I'm a Christian now, so I

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need some Christian books. I think that's really the kind

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of the way it went. I went to get Christian books.

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So I got in my car. I live in Buffalo Gap.

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I drive to Abilene, Texas Butternut Street the Bible Bookstore,

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and I walk in. Now I'm thinking books, and yes,

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the majority of the Bible Bookstore was books, but they

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also had all of this other stuff. Now, at the time,

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I didn't call it Jesus chunk. I'm like, oh, this

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is cool. Now they have all kinds of Christian stuff, right,

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Christian T shirts, Christian hats, a pencil but with like

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scripture written on the side of it, Christian coffee cups, Christian, this, Christian,

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that Christian, you name it that, all kinds of Christian posters,

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Christian figurines, Christian music, Christian videos, Christian It's like every

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It was like everything you could find in a secular

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store in a sense. Now you can get your the

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Christian version of it, right, And at the time I

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didn't know any better. I thought it was cool. Sol

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let me buy a Christian shirt, and oh, let me

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buy a Christian let me buy Christian music, and let

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me buy a Christian this, and let me buy some

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Christian poster to put on my wall, and Christian this

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and Christian that, and Christian this, and Christian this and

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Christian that, and so I was right there. I immersed

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myself into the Christian subculture. I immersed it. I embraced it,

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and I embraced it for a very long time, and

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a lot of times, even if I heard someone criticize it,

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I would get somewhat offended because I'm like, well, look,

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what do you want me to do.

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I'm trying to live out my Christian life. I'm trying.

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I'm trying to buy all of this Christian stuff. Why

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are you criticizing it?

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And I never really.

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Understood the criticisms. But the more I begin to learn,

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and the more I begin to develop in my understanding

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of theology, I hate to say this, I became much

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more jaded and cynical, going, this is Jesus junk. You're

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just throwing scripture on anything you can throw it on,

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and you sell it. This is about merchandising, This is

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about This isn't business. This is like the Christian industrial complex.

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Throw a scripture on it, throw Jesus on it, and

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you can sell millions of dollars to Christians who are

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trying to it and immerse themselves into this Jesus subculture.

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And so I became very very critical of it. Now,

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there are some things about it, I guess you could

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try to justify, but there are other parts of it

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that should bother you greatly. Because let's be very very

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honest with one another. Okay, let's be very very honest.

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I gave my confession of why Jesus junk purchasing. You

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can be honest with yourself, but let's all be honest

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to one another. A large portion of modern day Christianity

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has traded Biblical literacy for catchphrases, doctrine for merchandise, and

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hermeneutics for hoodie slogans. Am I being too harsh? Am

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I being too harsh? I think I can argue that

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a large portion of modern day Christianity has traded Biblical

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literacy for catchphrases, doctrine for merchandise, and hermonuticts for hoodie slogans.

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I think that there is some truth to that.

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We can call this instead of calling it Jesus junk,

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which we could do an entire episode about I mean, oh,

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I need When does Christian book distributor send out their

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little catalog? Right? I get it in the mailbox every

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what is it? It feels like every month or every quarter,

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and a lot of times I keep it and look

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through it. Look at how much Jesus junk is in

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the Christian book distributors catalog that gets sent out. There's

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all kinds of stuff in there, from shirts to remember.

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At one point they sold sandals that had like a

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scripture that he leads me in the paths of righteousness,

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or or he will he will never forsake me, something

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along those lines. And when you stepped into sand, it

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left the end print of the scripture. Oh Jesus sandals.

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I mean, come on, guys, I mean there was everything right. So,

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but the problem with a lot of this is that

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it just demonstrates that Christianity at large has traded Biblical

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literacy for catchphrases, doctrine for merchandise, and hermonuticts for hoodie slogans.

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So we will call this instead of calling it Jesus

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junk for this episode, we'll call it T shirt theology.

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T shirt theology. You've seen it Oh, come on, some

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of you have worn it. I had all kinds of

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Christian t shirts with scriptures on it, all kinds, okay,

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constantly when I was young. All right, maybe you even

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believed in the whole idea of what you were trying

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to do. You've seen shirts that say something like God's

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got this too, blessed to be stressed.

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I can do all things. O.

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Come on, you know the rest or how about this one?

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My love will not be removed from you. My love

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will not be removed from you. Oh that sounds really good,

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doesn't it? Right? But what if the scripture reference is

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Isaiah chapter fifty four, verse ten. Oh, no, Isaiah fifty four.

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How long have I been yelling now about Isaiah forty

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through fifty five, and that Christians cannot seem to get

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this section of scripture right?

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No matter what.

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They found a way to make money off this section

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of scripture, but clearly they don't handle it anywhere close

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to hermoneutically accurately, right, I mean, I think we've demonstrated

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that over and over and over. I've been talking about

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this since October of twenty twenty four. Now, these slogans,

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the shirts, this merchandise, they're everywhere. They're from Etsy shops

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to megachurch bookstores. They're screen printed doctrine for people who

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want their theology to feel good, sell well, and fit comfortably.

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But we're not really worried if it's accurate, if it

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even knows what the which, you know, if it's covenantal

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In other words, is it a scripture referencing to Israel

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and their covenant.

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It's not even They don't even care if it's faithful

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to the text.

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It feels good, it's encouraging. Hey, this is selling a

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well hey, well, hey, our church bookstore and church. Don't

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even get me started. Churches that have bookstores that sell

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things inside the church, not churches that have a library

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that's giving away books or just doing book giveaways and

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giving people. No, no, no, no, they have a bookstore

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so that you can buy books. If you ever walk

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into a church and it's got a bookstore and it's

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selling books, commentaries, t shirt, you need to leave because

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that is wrong. If the church should not be selling things,

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it should be giving away books and commentaries and reference

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tools as much as possible.

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Not selling it.

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The church is not a place where you turn the

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things of God into merchandising, you don't do that, and

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they sell.

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And see some of these churches that.

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Have their church shirts right with a church logo and

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a scripture and you people have to buy the church shirt.

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What is that nonsense? But churches love this stuff. They

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go along with it. Now, you could argue that there's

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nothing inherently wrong. You could argue that there's nothing inherently

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wrong with printing a scripture on a shirt, and I

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will be like, Okay, you know what, there may not

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be anything completely wrong with printing scripture on a shirt,

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but there's still a problem. Like on one end, you

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can't say, well, you put a scripture on a shirt,

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you're not really doing anything wrong. But most of the

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verses that are printed on these shirts are so ripped

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so far out of context, they're stripped of any true

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textual meaning, and they're marketed as basically a personal affirmation

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for people who who were never the original recipients of

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the promise.

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That's the thing.

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They take a verse, they rip it out of context,

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they throw it on their shirt like it's some personal affirmation,

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But it's not a personal affirmation to you because you're

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wearing the shirt as if it's about you, or it's

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about the people who see it. But in many cases,

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the affirmation on the shirt has nothing to do with you,

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me or anyone who sees it, because it was originally

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written to people who are long gone and dead and

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it had that proper context. I don't know, like a

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verse from Isaiah fifty four, are Jeremiah or I can

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go on and on and on and on these shirts.

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This merchandising, this Jesus junk, just becomes spiritual fortune cookies,

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universal promises offered with zero philological accountability. This is not

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harmless encouragement. This is not harmless inspiration. It's the repackaging

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of scripture that has historical, textual, philological context and you

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just turn it into something emotionally satisfying something.

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That's where you're marketing half truths.

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I mean, the scripture is true, you're just marketing it

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in an incorrect way. For example, Isaiah fifty four to ten,

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it's beautiful, it's powerful, My steadfast love shall not depart

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from you, and my covenant apiece shall not be removed.

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But who is the you?

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What covenant is being referenced, what event preceded this promise,

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and what fulfillment doesn't look forward to see when you

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go to T shirt. Theology doesn't even ask those questions.

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It assumes that if it feels encouraging, it must be

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true for me. It's a form of philological narcissism dressed

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up as devotion.

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That's what it is.

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It's theological narcissism. You think everything is about you. You

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think everything's there to encourage you, to make you feel good,

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to pick you up, to lift you up. It's not

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about you. And I don't care if you paid twenty

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four to ninety nine for it. I don't care.

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It's not about you.

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And the Church, broadly speaking, has enabled this trend. The

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Church supports it, the Church feeds it. Why because of

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its biblically shallow preaching sermons over actually studying the text,

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logically generic worship lyrics, consumer driven Christianity that wants God

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to speak like an Instagram post versus actually dealing with

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the text, and people like those little those sermons where

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the people give the little Instagram quotes basically, oh, I

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can post that on my social media.

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That sounds really good. That sounds really good.

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Ooh he gave me three nice little points in a sermon.

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That's all people stinking want is at all packaged in

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some nice little formula so that they can feel good

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about themselves because they had a little bit of spirituality.

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And it's nothing more than Jesus chunk, It's nothing more

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than theology T shirt. It's marketing, it's narcissism, it's trash.

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But oh, I.

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Can't criticize it because I'm being mean. I'm being too mean.

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So what happens You end up with a generation of

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Christians with basically a house full of Christian T shirts

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and almost no understanding of Biblical covenants, prophetic literature, or

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hermeneutical context. Now why am I mentioning all of this? Well,

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because I was minding my own business, not bothering anybody.

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Everything was going good in my life. And then I

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see an ad. I don't even know this is one

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of those pop up ads or right there on the

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side of some website I was looking at. I think

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it was at the Christianpost dot com. I think it

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was a Christianpost dot com. I think it was down

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at the bottom. I think that's where it was. Christianpost

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dot com. I could go look and see if I

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could find it, and all of a sudden. I saw

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this picture of a T shirt. I'm like, I wonder,

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I wonder what this is. So I expanded it. I'm like, okay,

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it's a picture of a woman wearing a T shirt.

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And I'm like, wait though the mountains and I'm like,

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I'm like, oh no, it's Isaiah chapter fifty four. You

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gotta be kidding me. So it's a shirt with Isaiah

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fifty four with a part of Isaiah fifty four to

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ten quoted on it. In fact, I'm going to open

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this up. I'm going to open up the link. I'm

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going to open up the link here, no, go go here,

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I'm gonna try to get they got different colors here, Oh,

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this is a nice green one.

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I'm gonna try to expand it.

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Here we go, though the mountains move and the hill shake,

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my love will not be removed from you. From from

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you is all in caps. So through though the mountains,

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all caps move, and the hill shake, my love will

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be will not be removed from you? All caps.

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What's the idea? Hey, God's love is not going to

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be removed from you? And then what's underneath it?

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Isaiah fifty four to ten. So they take Isaiah fifty

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four ten. Throw it on a shirt so we can

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sell some merchandise, so we can.

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Make a little bit of money.

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And then what are we telling everyone God's love is

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not going to be removed from you? Well, the idea,

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you can said, Well, the idea is still logically sound.

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Has nothing to do with Isaiah fifty four to ten. Though,

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that's the problem. The T shirt and I guess the

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name of the company or the website is.

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Meek Ever meek eve Er.

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Meekver dot com features the phrase my love will not

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be removed from you alongside the citation Isaiah fifty four ten.

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It presents a message of enduring divine love. While this

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sentiment aligns with Christian theology, a closer examination of Isaiah

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fifty four ten within its biblical and theological context reveals

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several concepts regarding its application in this format. Now, that

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paragraph came from Ai because I gave AI a picture

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of the shirt and said what do you think about this?

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And it said the T shirt is from meekever dot

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com features the phrase my love will not be removed

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from you alongside the citation Isaiah fifty four ten. It

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presents a message of enduring divine love. While the sentiment

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aligns with Christian theology, a closer examination of Isaiah fifty

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four ten within its biblical and theological context reveals several

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concerns regarding its application in this format. No, wait, Isaiah,

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AI says, there's some concerns.

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Wait.

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AI can figure this out, but Christians can't. So I said, okay, Ai,

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do your work, go, just go, just just do your thing.

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Tell me, tell me the problems here number one, Ai says.

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Biblical and textual context, Isaiah fifty four to ten states

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and this is Ai quotes from the nib. Here, though

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the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, Yet

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my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor

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my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who

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has compassion on you. Ai says, this verse is a

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part of a prophetic message too. Who can it be,

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ladies and gentlemen, This is a prophetic message too to you.

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No to the church, No to your family, No to

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your neighbors, No to Issa ray L, to Israel. That's

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who it's to. Even Ai knows this, and we've been

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trying to establish this now since October. Isaiah forty through

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fifty five. The context of Isaiah forty through fifty five

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is that Israel Judah specifically has gone into Babylonian captivity.

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They have suffered and suffered and suffered, and Isaiah forty

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through fifty five are the words of comfort that is

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supposed to go to the people in Babylonian captivity, announcing

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that ultimately that their capt captivity has.

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Come to an end.

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Isaiah thirty nine sets the context forty through fifty five,

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over and over and over. It tells you who's it is,

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to who it's referencing. It's about Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel Juda,

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to be specific, that's who it's about. It's not a

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prophetic message to you. It's not about you. This prophetic

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message is a hearing them of God's steadfast love and

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covenant of peace following a period of judgment and exile.

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The imagery of mountains and hills being removed emphasizes the

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unchanging nature of God's commitment compared to the transient nature

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of the world. Now for Israel, this unchanging commitment, this

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unchanging commitment, is based on God has made a covenant

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with Israel, very specific promises, very specific things that are

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going to come to pass for Israel. God's unchanging nature,

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God's unchanging commitment to that very covenant that he made

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with them. If you go rip Isaiah fifty four to

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ten to make it about you, you're literally just slapping

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the people was originally too in the face and say,

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we don't care it's about you, because we only wanted

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to make it about us. And it's a cool little

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shirt and I'm gonna wear it to church and everybody's

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gonna love it.

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So the biblical and textual context is not about you.

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It's about Israel. Ai says theological considerations covenantal specificity. Oh wow,

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AI knows.

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About covenant, isn't that interesting?

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The promise in Isaiah fifty four to ten is directed

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specifically to Israel within the context of the old Covenant. Now,

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while Christians believe in the continuity and fulfillment of God's

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promises through Christ, directly applying this verse to individuals without

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acknowledging its original audience can lead to theological oversimplification. Nature

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of divine love. The phrase my love will not be

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removed from you captures the essence of God's enduring love. However,

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isolating that statement from its covenantal context may suggest a

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universal guarantee without the relational dynamics present and the biblical narrative.

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So in other words, you're oversimplifying it. You're not being

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accurate with the text. Ai says. There's also some logic

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and interpretive issues selective quotation. The shirt presents a paraphrase

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version of the verse, omitting the conditional and covenantal aspects

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that are integral to its meaning. The selective quotation can

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lead to a misrepresentation of the nature of God's promises.

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So let's look at it and it's full. Let's read

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all of it. Isaiah fifty four to ten. I'm gonna

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read from the King James. Now, for the mountains shall

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depart and the hills be removed, But my kindness shall

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not puff depart from thee. Neither shall the covenant of

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my peace be removed, Saith, the Lord that hath mercy

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on the The covenant is central to this. Now, if

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you know anything about the old covenant, it works this

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way for Israel. Okay, you can go to Deuteronomy twenty eight,

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twenty nine, and thirty.

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To see this.

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Hey, if you do this, boom, you're gonna get life,

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you're gonna get good, you're gonna get blessing.

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Everything's gonna be great.

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But but but, but bud, if you don't do this,

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boom curses, death, suffering, all it's gonna be bad. You

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can't just say this the way this is quoted on

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a shirt. Oh see, God's it's all gonna be great.

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Who whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa For Israel, it's only

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great if they do good. But if they don't do good,

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then it's curses. Their crops are not gonna grow. It's famine,

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it's pestilence, it's death. Oh but we're gonna We're not

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gonna deal with all of that reality because you know,

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we just let like our theology on a shirt, and

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we like our theology basically just like on a T

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shirt for our sermons. Ai also says there's logical and

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interpretive issues, and this says the commercialization of scripture using

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a profound theological statement on apparel risk trivializing its significance.

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The commercialization of such messages may dilute their depth and

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lead to superficial understanding of complex theological concepts. That's the

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modern day church we so minimize complex illological concepts because

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you can't deal with complex zillological concepts.

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Because you try to deal with it.

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Christians will argue and they'll fight, and they'll get their

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feelings hurt, and they'll get mad because they just want everything.

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So they want everything reduced to a T shirt. They

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say they don't, They say, I want in depth teaching. No,

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you don't, because as soon as you really dig in

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and really start questioning and start doing hermoneutics and doing theology,

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those variousame people will get offended in med and they

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run to the nearest T shirt factory, I mean church

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and get their little T shirt theology and three points

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and a nice little sermon, and then they can go

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to the potlack cold hand, sing Kumbai y'ah and everyone's happy,

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all wearing their Jesus chunk. Now, while the message on

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the shirt may align with Christian belief in God's on

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wavering love, its presentation lacks the depth and context of

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Isaiah fifty four to ten. For a more philologically sound representation,

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it would be beneficial to include the full verse or

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provide the context that acknowledges its original audience and covenantal framework.

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AI says, if you can, if you can design a

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shirt that will reflect the historical and covenantal context of

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the verse, perhaps through accompanying imagery or an explanatory text.

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I don't think.

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AI understands that would be kind of a weird looking shirt.

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Your shirt's got all is all. It's covered in the front,

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on the sleeve, in the back with a full explanation.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, maybe it's just better you just leave scripture off shirts.

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What A that's crazy. Maybe we just don't reduce, Maybe

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we just don't reduce theology to T shirt theology. Now,

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if we if we want to actually look at Isaiah

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fifty four to ten, and I'll go through this relatively quick.

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I'm going to quote from a different translation. Now, For

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the mountain may depart and the hills be removed, but

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my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my

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covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord

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who has compassion on you. Right, let's look at the

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contextual placement, literary context. Isaiah fifty four follows Isaiah fifty

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three the Great Servants Song, describing a suffering figure who

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bears the sins of many. Isaiah fifty four begins a

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shift from atonement Isaiah fifty three to restoration and assurance

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for Zion Jerusalem Israel. Right. It uses the imagery of

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a barren woman, a deserted wife, and a city afflicted

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and now reassures God's people that a future restoration is guaranteed.

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Isaiah fifty four to ten is part of a longer

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poetic section verses seven through ten that highlights God's compassion

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after a time of judgment. If you want to look

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at Isaiah fifty four, you can go to verse seven

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Isaiah fifty four. Seven. For a small moment, have I

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forsaken thee?

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That's how does that?

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How come that doesn't show up on the shirt? Hey,

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for a small moment, I have forsaken THEE. Put that

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on a T shirt and sell it. People will be like, well,

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you want me to wear a shirt that says God

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has forsaken me.

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God hasn't forsaken me.

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He said he would never forsake me. There's no way

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that can't be about me. You gotta read it in context. Well, sure,

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it's sure, it's weird. You didn't have a problem with

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the context for verse ten. Now, for a moment, have

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I forsaken THEE. I wonder, oh that could be. I

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don't know Judah placed in. I don't know Babylonian captivity.

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But with great mercies will I gather THEE. And a

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little wrath, I hid my face from THEE for a moment,

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But with everlasting kindness I will I have mercy on THEE.

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Say the Lord that redeemer, all these these you got

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to identify. That's all Israel Judah. Now we could get

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into a discussion. Is now theological discussion would be does

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this own only reference them being forsaken in Babylonian captivity?

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Or does this refer to Israel being set aside so

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that the Gentiles could be broughtn brought in? Does this

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have broader interpretive ramifications other than just the Babylonian captivity.

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We could ask that question.

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But none of this has anything to do with you

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or me.

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For this is verse nine. For this is as the

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waters of Noah unto me. For I have sworn that

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the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth.

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So I have sworn that I would not be wroth

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with THEE, nor rebuke THEE. Who is I referring to

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It's referring to Israel, not you, not me, not the church.

451
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So it's gonna so in this section again Isaiah fifty

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four ten. It's part of a longer poetic section that

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highlights God's compassionate after a time passion compassion. If I

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can read correctly after a time of judgment, now that's kind,

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that's kind of the literary context, the historical context. The

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passage is addressed to exile Judah, likely during or anticipating

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the Babylonian captivity. God had judged his people Isaiah thirty nine.

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But now he speaks of future mercy, restoration, and unshakable

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covenant faithfulness. The language reflects the post exile hope grounded

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and God's covenant character. The structure of the verse. The

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verse contains three core contrasts. Mountains made apart, my steadfast

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love shall not depart. Hills may be removed. My covenant

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of peace shall not be removed. Post judgment is implied

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present compassion and mercy. The verses follow a concessive pattern.

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Even if this happens, yet I will not. The key

466
00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:01.279
terms mountains, hills this symbolize the most stable and movable

467
00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:03.960
parts of creation. The imagery suggests that even the most

468
00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:08.400
fixed aspects of nature might collapse, but God's love will remain. Hey, Israel,

469
00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:11.279
everything may collapse, everything may fall apart, but my love

470
00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:13.759
for you will remain because I'm in a covenant with you,

471
00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:15.599
and I'm made a covenant with you, and all the

472
00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:16.960
covenant promises.

473
00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:19.119
Will be fulfilled, even if.

474
00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:21.759
Everything is falling apart around you, which they would think

475
00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:24.640
everything's falling apart around them, because Jerusalem has been destroyed,

476
00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:26.799
the temple has been destroyed, and they've been in captivity

477
00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:27.839
for almost seventy years.

478
00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:30.680
And if we apply this to later on seventy a d.

479
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:33.039
The Temple's going to be destroyed, Jerusalem is going to

480
00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:35.680
be destroyed, and Israel for all practical purposes, is wipped

481
00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:41.799
off the face of the earth. They set aside until

482
00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:44.400
the time of the gentiles be fulfilled. We can get

483
00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:48.480
into all of that. Steadfast love. According to Ai, this

484
00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:50.519
is one of the most theologically rich words in the

485
00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:55.039
Hebrew Bible. It denotes covenant to loyalty, loving kindness, faithful love,

486
00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:58.400
not just emotion, but commitment to relationship. Often used in

487
00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:01.359
connection with God's covenant with his we are you seeing.

488
00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:04.880
Steadfast love is often used according to Israel and it's

489
00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:07.480
God's covenant with them. That's a shock. How could that

490
00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:09.559
even be possible because it's on a T shirt and

491
00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:11.960
it's about me. No, it's not about you. It's about

492
00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.799
God's covenantal love with Israel. The Covenant, the Covenant, the Covenant,

493
00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:21.960
the Covenant, the Covenant, Covenant of Peace. This is most

494
00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:25.279
likely a poetic reference to the covenantal relationship God has

495
00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:29.799
with his people, where Shalom implies not just a lack

496
00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:33.279
of war, but wholeness, security, and well being. This echoes

497
00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:36.599
Ezequel thirty four Ezequel thirty seven, where Covenant of Peace

498
00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:40.319
refers to God's future work of restoration and blessings for Israel.

499
00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:44.039
So is that Covenant of peace? And verse ten neither

500
00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:45.799
shall the Covenant of My.

501
00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:47.200
Peace be removed?

502
00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:51.160
Is that a reference to new covenant that is made

503
00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:55.680
with whom Israel? The new Covenant's made with Israel. I know,

504
00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:57.759
people seem to forget that it's made with the House

505
00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:00.400
of Israel, in the House of Judah. It's made with Israe.

506
00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:05.680
So just me, then we could get into a theological argument.

507
00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:08.240
Does that have broader implications? But see, we're not gonna

508
00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:10.799
get anywhere, because you know, Christians don't like this kind

509
00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:19.359
of stuff. They just like a nice little T shirt compassion.

510
00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:26.519
All right, Look it says, uh yeah, depending on your translation,

511
00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:29.680
Depending on your translation. It's rooted in the Hebrew word

512
00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:34.400
for womb, indicating deep nurturing mercy. This word connects to

513
00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:36.880
the emotional aspect of God's care. He's not only faithful,

514
00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:40.839
but personally moved towards his people. The if we look

515
00:30:40.839 --> 00:30:43.160
at it in the King James, it says something like

516
00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:47.079
this said the Lord that have mercy on thee. This

517
00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:49.039
is a This is a deep.

518
00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:55.359
Nurturing mercy, a deep nurturing mercy.

519
00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:58.000
So what is the theological themes in Isaiah fifty four

520
00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:01.440
to ten Divine faithfulness versus you and instability. Creation may

521
00:31:01.480 --> 00:31:04.480
fall mountains hills, but God's covenant love is more stable

522
00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:07.920
than nature itself. God's covenant is not rooted in Israel's performance,

523
00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:11.160
but in his character and promises. WHOA, that's deep.

524
00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:12.759
God's covenant is.

525
00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:16.039
Not rooted in Israel's performance, It's ultimately connected to his

526
00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:20.839
character and his promises. The covenant appeace in this verse

527
00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:23.519
refers to God's commitment to restore his people despite their

528
00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:27.720
post past rebellion. This is now now we could get

529
00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:31.079
into a whole discussion here. Just note that you have

530
00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:34.119
a new covenant made with Israel. Is this a reference

531
00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:36.680
to that new covenant? Is that what it's referring to. Well,

532
00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:39.039
God will ultimately if you look at the new Covenant

533
00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:41.880
language and Ezekiel and even in Jeremiah, Israel's going to

534
00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:43.039
be completely restored.

535
00:31:43.079 --> 00:31:44.480
They're going to be put in the land.

536
00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:46.920
Israel's going to get a new heart, and they're no

537
00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:49.319
longer going to turn to idolatry, and they're basically no

538
00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:52.480
longer going to sin. Okay, that is something that is future,

539
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:54.279
because that did not happen for them when they came

540
00:31:54.279 --> 00:32:01.519
out of Babylonian captivity. Post judgment mercy Isaiah fifty four

541
00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:04.480
to seven through eight mentions a momentary forsaking, but that

542
00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:07.559
is now replaced with everlasting compassion. This connects to the

543
00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:10.279
broader message of Isaiah forty through fifty five, where God

544
00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:14.200
is betrayed as returning to comfort his people after judgment.

545
00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:19.039
So then I asked Ai, hey, what about some exegetical warnings,

546
00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:21.680
And it says this verse does not promise unconditional peace

547
00:32:21.720 --> 00:32:24.599
to every person or guarantee of love, regardless of faith

548
00:32:24.680 --> 00:32:29.720
or covenant or covenant context. It is covenantal language addressed

549
00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:35.759
to God's people first to post exile Israel, all right,

550
00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:38.599
And if you want to expand it, well, then you

551
00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:40.240
were going to have to look at some other verses

552
00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:42.920
that would carry the same idea. To isolate it on

553
00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.160
a T shirt, my love will not be removed from

554
00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:49.000
You may wrongly universalize the promise without the covenental framework

555
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:52.200
that makes it meaningful. For the original here is this

556
00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:56.240
was a prophetic reassurance through though God judged them, he

557
00:32:56.400 --> 00:32:59.000
was not finished with them. The exile was not the end.

558
00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:02.519
God's covenant facethfulness remained intact. If you want to apply

559
00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:08.640
it today, in Christ, you and I, in Christ, we

560
00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:12.240
are brought into God's eternal covenant of peace these Ephesians

561
00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:15.599
two fourteen through eighteen. His steadfast love is made manifest

562
00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:19.000
and secured by the work of Christ Romans eight thirty

563
00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:21.640
eight through thirty nine. But this love is not general

564
00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:25.559
or vague. It is secured with the covenant relationship, not

565
00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:27.079
independent of it.

566
00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:31.160
Now I could go on.

567
00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:34.039
And do a full study of Isaiah fifty four ten,

568
00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:37.079
placing it in the context of all of Isaiah fifty four.

569
00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:39.839
But when we get to Isaiah fifty four, and our

570
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:42.960
study of Isaiah forty through fifty five will go verse

571
00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:45.079
by verse through all of it, but just righte there

572
00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:48.200
that there's a whole level of meaning. Now most of

573
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:51.279
you said, well, the concept is still accurate. I don't

574
00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:54.319
care if the concept is accurate. That concept has to

575
00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:56.160
be built if you're going to apply it to yourself,

576
00:33:56.279 --> 00:33:59.000
build it off another verse, because Isaiah fifty four ten

577
00:33:59.599 --> 00:34:05.079
does have a stinking thing to do with you. It's

578
00:34:05.160 --> 00:34:11.199
about Israel. Isaiah forty through fifty five is about Israel,

579
00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:17.000
who are Judah, to be specific, and Babylonian captivity. That's

580
00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:23.760
what it's about. Can't the Church ever figure it out?

581
00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:28.400
I don't think there's any hope because the Church likes

582
00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:34.679
Jesus junk and t shirt theology, and that's not going

583
00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:39.760
to ever change. Christians talk a big game that they

584
00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:43.599
want something different. No, they don't. They like nice little

585
00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:48.920
three point sertmons. They like everything simple. They don't like complication, difficulty.

586
00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:51.239
They don't want to do theology, they don't want to

587
00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:54.239
do hermoneutics. They just pick a theological team and they

588
00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:57.519
just want what that team says regurgitated to them Sunday

589
00:34:57.519 --> 00:35:02.599
after Sunday, and a nice little travel package, and then

590
00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:05.519
they want the shirt, the hat, and they just that's

591
00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:12.320
what they want, all right, Thanks for listening. If you

592
00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:15.840
see someone wearing an Isaiah fifty four ten shirt, just

593
00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:19.519
shake your head and I don't know what you say.

594
00:35:20.199 --> 00:35:22.559
You can ask them, hey, tell me about Isaiah fifty

595
00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:26.360
four ten, Tell me about it. Tell me about it.

596
00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:30.400
Anytime you see someone in anywhere, anywhere wearing Christian merchandising

597
00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:32.280
and they have a verse on the shirt, to ask them,

598
00:35:32.360 --> 00:35:34.920
tell me about the verse. What's the context there, what's

599
00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:37.960
it about? Tell me anything and see if they know.

600
00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:42.400
If they don't, they'll be They won't may not appear

601
00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:44.559
to be, but inside they'll be a little bit embarrassed,

602
00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:46.400
and hopefully they'll go home and spend some time actually

603
00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:49.719
studying the passage so that they'll never be left.

604
00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:51.360
Like, well what do you mean?

605
00:35:51.639 --> 00:35:53.880
Because I guarantee someone say, well, this verse is about

606
00:35:53.880 --> 00:35:55.880
how God's love will and you'll be like the you

607
00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:57.880
and Isaiah fifty four ten is us?

608
00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:03.079
Where did you go to school to learn hermeneutics?

609
00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:10.400
Because that you is not you all right, Thanks for listening. Everyone.

610
00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:13.840
Have a great day, great weekend, great night, great life.

611
00:36:14.159 --> 00:36:16.960
I'm going to quit again. I'm going to retire again.

612
00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:19.719
Every time after I anytime we do anything in Isaiah

613
00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:23.000
forty through fifty five, I come to the exact same conclusion.

614
00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:28.480
I am literally wasting my time doing any broadcasting about

615
00:36:28.480 --> 00:36:31.719
the Bible or theology because it's use. It's a waste

616
00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:34.360
of time. It's a way. I could talk about music,

617
00:36:34.480 --> 00:36:37.239
I could talk about wrestling, I could talk about comic books,

618
00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:39.880
I could talk about a million other things, and I

619
00:36:39.960 --> 00:36:46.000
probably would make a bigger difference. But the Christian merchandise

620
00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:50.400
will keep on selling and people will keep on buying. Everyone.

621
00:36:50.400 --> 00:36:51.440
Have a great night. God bless