prophecy

Isaiah Series 02: Who is “Israel”?

POST OVERVIEW. A post in “The Isaiah Series,” a series of devotional studies based on selected passages from Isaiah 41-66. Each devotional study will seek to reveal the beauty and the power of Isaiah’s prophecy and will interpret the meaning of the passage so that the disciple of Jesus is encouraged.

This study examines the two possible identities and interpretations of “Israel” in Isaiah 41-66.

NARRATIVE HISTORY AND BIBLICAL PROPHECY

NARRATIVE HISTORY. When reading the Pentateuch and the historical books of Joshua through Nehemiah, we are reading narrative history. These are factual accounts of what took place in the lives of the patriarchs, the kings, the prophets and select other people, and of how God led and interacted with His people, the twelve tribes of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan, the physical descendants of Jacob. Because these are factual, historical narratives, we use a literal interpretive lens. That is, we assume that the events literally happened as described by the biblical authors and we interpret the proper names literally, as representing the actual person or country or place. For example, if you read the word “Babylon” in an account from the book of 2 Kings, you assume that the story is about the people of the Chaldeans who lived in the north beyond the river Euphrates. You would think about a literal kingdom and people group and king and so on. Likewise, if you read the word “Israel” in the book of Numbers, you would understand that the author (Moses) is referring to the literal nation of Israel, the twelve tribes of the Hebrews who came out of Egypt and settled in Canaan. In virtually all occurrences in narrative literature, “Israel” means ethnic Israel, the nation of the Hebrews, the physical descendants of Jacob. There would need to be a strong reason for you to interpret “Israel” otherwise.

BIBLICAL PROPHECY. With the book of Isaiah, however, the Bible enters a new genre called biblical prophecy, and this new genre requires a new interpretive lens. When reading biblical prophecy, we must be alert for figurative and symbolic meanings rather than simply the literal. But the task of interpreting prophecy is more complex still because, even when the student correctly identifies the use of a figure or a symbol, the student must then determine the meaning of that figurative or symbolic word.

This process is the essence of interpreting biblical prophecy. When reading a given passage, the first question is, “Is this passage speaking figuratively or literally?” If figuratively, the second question is, “What do the symbols mean or what do the figures represent?” Once the meaning is determined, the third question is, “Based on the meaning of these symbols, what is the message that we are to take from this passage?” It is necessary to become skilled at this interpretive process if we are to mine the true riches of biblical prophecy.

THE IDENTITY OF “ISRAEL” AND “JACOB” IN ISAIAH 41-66

There are many examples of symbolic and figurative meanings in biblical prophecy, but perhaps the most significant example is the meaning of “Israel.” In our study passage of Isaiah 41-66, we will find that the word “Israel” (and its aliases or synonyms*) occurs many times, but the meaning of “Israel” is not the same in all cases. Correctly determining the intended meaning of “Israel” in Isaiah 41-66 is crucial to understanding the prophet’s message, both in individual sections and overall, because “Israel” has major theological and redemptive-historical significance. If we correctly interpret what the LORD is saying through Isaiah, we will find the beauty and the power of the LORD’s plan and we will see that plan unfolding in both Old and New Testament. If, however, we get the identity of “Israel” wrong, we will be confused about what the Lord is doing and about how and when Isaiah’s prophecies are ever fulfilled.

“ISRAEL” – MEANING 1. LITERAL – NATIONAL, ETHNIC ISRAEL

The first meaning of “Israel” is the literal one. There are times in Isaiah when “Israel” means the same thing that it means in an historical narrative. That is, sometimes “Israel” is to be understood literally, referring to ethnic Israel, the nation of the Hebrews, the twelve tribes that came out of Egypt and settled in the Promised Land, the physical descendants of Jacob.

There are several characteristics about ethnic Israel which will help the student identify this meaning as the correct interpretation of “Israel” for a given passage. The most prominent characteristic is ethnic Israel’s persistent rebellion and disobedience. When the text is addressing Israel in their sin and rebellion and idolatry, we can assume that the prophet is speaking to national Israel. Also, if the text is speaking about an historical event that is occurring or has occurred, ethnic Israel is in view. Finally, this meaning of Israel has a temporary existence, since the idea of ethnic Israel came into being in Genesis 32:28 when “the man” who had wrestled with Jacob renamed him “Israel.” If the prophet is referring to Israel in temporal (not eternal) terms, he is speaking of ethnic, national Israel.

Usually this “Israel” which refers to ethnic Hebrews, to the physical descendants of Jacob, does not have aliases. These are “the sons of Israel,” “the house of Israel” or simply “Israel.”

“ISRAEL” – MEANING 2. FIGURATIVE – TRUE, ELECT ISRAEL

The second possible meaning of “Israel” uses the name as a figurative reference to true Israel, to those who were chosen by God for salvation before the foundation of the world. In this case, “Israel” is referring to the elect, to those who will be called to salvation and who will be justified and glorified (Romans 8:30). For them, the LORD is a Redeemer and a Savior, and so they are redeemed and saved in time. True Israel is eternal, having existed in eternity past when God elected them to salvation (Eph. 1:4) and true Israel is going to exist forever in the new heaven and the new earth as those who will be worshiping before the throne and before the Lamb forever and ever (Rev. 7:9-17).

We will see in our study of Isaiah 41-66 that true, eternal “Israel” has a number of aliases (synonyms), including “Jacob,” “Judah,” “Jerusalem,” Jeshurun,” and so on. We will make note of them as we progress through our studies.

Also, since in Isaiah we have entered the realm of biblical prophecy and are using our new interpretive lens, we now expect to encounter figurative and symbolic meanings in our study. In fact, as we progress through our studies in Isaiah, we will find that the figurative has become our default interpretation and that “Israel” as the elect of the LORD is our expected understanding of the passage.

SUMMARY

This article has presented that the idea that, in the prophecy of Isaiah, it is necessary for the student to correctly determine the identity of “Israel” in a given passage. “Israel” can be interpreted literally as meaning the twelve tribes of the Hebrews, the physical descendants of Jacob or it can be interpreted figuratively as meaning true Israel, the elect of God. Some characteristics of each of these two identities were given to help in determining which one might be correct for a given text.

In the next article, we will begin our studies with Isaiah 41:8-16 and see an application of this “identity of Israel” question.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 12/27/2023                 #687

Biblical Prophecies and Eschatology

One of the most distinguishing marks of the Bible is its many prophecies about the future. In this, the Bible is unique among all books ever written. No other book, and certainly no other “religious book,” contains anything like biblical prophecy, but in the Bible, prophecy is common. The Bible makes predictions about things that are going to take place centuries or even millennia in the future, and then those prophecies come to pass.

Another distinctive of the Bible is the God-centered worldview it contains from Genesis to Revelation. Part of this God-centered worldview is the concept that history is linear. “History is linear” means that God has determined the beginning of history and God has also appointed the end of history. God is eternal, but His creation is not, and things will not endlessly go on as they are. Jesus Christ is coming back, and so the creation is hurtling toward the end at the rate of sixty seconds a minute.

Combining the idea of “prophecy about the future” with the concept that “there is an end to history,” we arrive at a working definition for eschatology: The study of the Bible’s prophecies about the end-times (also known as “last things”). This article will consider end-times’ prophecy and some thoughts about how to do that study.

What is the purpose of a prophecy? A prophecy is given in the Scriptures so that, when that prophecy is fulfilled, it will again be demonstrated that God is the one who has planned all things (Romans 4:21) and that He is able to fulfill the prophecies that He makes. “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3).” For this reason, when God makes a prophecy in His Word, He not only guarantees the fulfillment of that prophecy, but He guarantees that the fulfillment of the prophecy will be recognized. For example, in Isaiah 7:14, the LORD made a prophecy that “The virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Then, more than 700 years later, God fulfilled that prophecy in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem (Matthew 1:23). The virgin, Mary, was with child and she bore a Son, Jesus, who was Immanuel, “God with us.” Prophecy made. Prophecy fulfilled and prophecy recognized. And this pattern, of “Prophecy made – Prophecy fulfilled and prophecy recognized,” is repeated literally hundreds of times, especially regarding the first advent of Jesus Christ. Prophecies made. Prophecies fulfilled and recognized.

Now, the prophecies about the first advent of Jesus have all been fulfilled, because Jesus Christ appeared in the flesh almost 2,000 years ago. But there are many prophecies in the Bible that are still unfulfilled because those prophecies are concerning Jesus Christ’s Second Coming at the end of the age. Even though these prophecies of Jesus’ return are yet unfulfilled, their purpose is the same as the purpose stated above and their guarantee is the same as the guarantee above. God has written prophecies about the end of the age for the purpose of proving that He has planned all things and that He is able to fulfill the prophecies that He makes. God is glorified by making then fulfilling prophecies. This also means that, since God has made these end-times prophecies about the end of the age and the return of Christ, He has guaranteed their fulfillment and has guaranteed that their fulfillment will be recognized.

These two ideas about prophecy, that end-times prophecy will fulfill God’s purpose and that all end-times prophecies are guaranteed fulfillment and recognition, justify the effort involved in discerning the meaning and the timing of the end-times prophecies in the Scriptures. Since all the prophecies of the end of the age will certainly be fulfilled, then the disciple of Jesus is encouraged to “make careful searches and inquiries seeking to know when we can anticipate the revelation of Jesus Christ (adapted from 1 Peter 1:10-13).”

While making careful searches and inquiries, it must also be acknowledged that the study of eschatology is hard work, and there are special challenges when studying end-times’ prophecy.

  1. The first thing to try to figure out is if this vision or passage is about the end of the age or about Jesus’ return at all, or is it about something else entirely?
  2. What is the nature of the prophecy? Since many of the prophecies about the end of the age and the return of Christ are given in figurative, apocalyptic language, it can be difficult to discern what is being prophesied. Discerning this is critical, for if the nature and meaning of the prophecy are not correctly discerned, then it is impossible to recognize the prophecy’s fulfillment.
  3. Understanding prophecy demands a thorough knowledge of all of Scripture. The more Scripture you have in your head, the more material the Holy Spirit has to use in showing related words and phrases and visions. Also, a deep familiarity with the whole Bible helps you to understand the language and the idiom of Scripture.

All these steps in exegesis require skill, prayer, and patience. Skill means gathering good exegetical tools and learning to use them well. Prayer is needed for the Holy Spirit’s insight. Patience keeps you moving forward in the study and prevents giving up. And all of this is meaningful because prophecy glorifies God. So, we willingly sacrifice ourselves (Romans 12:1) to see what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor 2:9).

WHAT PROPHECIES ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

We have established that God will certainly fulfil the prophecies He makes in His Word. Guaranteed. Our task is to identify God’s prophecies in the Scriptures and then interpret them such that they form a cohesive picture. So, what are some of the prophecies we need to examine in our study of the end-times? A partial list follows.

Resurrection * (1 Thess. 4)                             The Seventy Weeks (Daniel 9)

The apostasy (2 Thess. 2)                               The man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2)

The beast (Rev. 13)                                         The false prophet (Rev. 13, 16)

The 144,000 (Rev. 7; 14)                                 Time, times, and half a time **

Forty-two months **                                      1,260 days **

The trumpets (Rev. 8-9)                                  The seals (Rev. 6)

The “four horsemen” (Rev. 6)                        The battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16)

The bowls of wrath (Rev. 16)                          The two witnesses (Rev. 11)

The “thousand years” (Rev. 20)                      The great white throne judgment (Rev. 20)

The little horn (Daniel 7)                                 The small horn (Daniel 8)

The rider on the white horse (Rev. 19)           The lake of fire (Rev. 19; 20)

NOTE “Millennium” = “thousand years”      * Resurrection includes “the rapture”

** These three expressions are what I refer to collectively as the 42 months*.

And there are others, but the main point is this: God has placed these prophecies in His Word for His glory. They will certainly come to pass, and they will be recognized. This is what makes the study of eschatology so exciting and rewarding.

SDG                 rmb                 2/11/2021

Why should we study end-times?

            Since the disciple of Jesus is to be living in anticipation of our rapture (or death), why should we study the end-times? Besides the obvious reasons for studying anything in the Bible, there are two prominent reasons for spending time in the eschatological passages of Scripture.

The first reason is that studying the end-times and then seeing these events coming to pass in our lifetime increases our sense of urgency and causes us to work harder. How does that work? Imagine that you are a forty-five-year-old American believer in good physical health. As you look out at the future, you could reasonably expect forty more years before your death. Nothing is guaranteed, but, based on statistics, an expectation that you would live forty more years would not be imprudent or unreasonable. In this case, if you had something that you wanted to accomplish for the Lord or had a special mission that you wanted to complete before you died, you would have a slight sense of urgency, because you felt that you had forty years or so to get it done.

But now suppose that you were that same forty-five-year-old American believer in good health and were studying last things in the Bible and began to see happening on your morning Internet news feeds events that were predicted by the Bible as events of the end-times. At first cautiously and then with increasing excitement, the news articles began to sound more and more like fulfillment of the biblical prophecies and, as your conviction began to grow, you began to seriously contemplate the possibility that you might not quietly live out your days in serenity, but you might be raptured before your physical death or you might even be martyred. In other words, an any-minute return of Jesus would supply a sense of urgency that a “normal” Christian life would (potentially) lack. You would get after your kingdom projects with vigor.

The second reason for spending time in the eschatological passages of Scripture is to persuade us beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus is certainly coming back. That one day the resurrected Jesus Christ is returning from heaven to earth to destroy all the unrighteous and to judge the world is a lot for a new believer to take in. The events of the end of the age seem so fantastic that they almost cannot be real. Then the adversary, Satan, whispers his doubts in your ear and the world adds its ridicule and scoffing, and the believer who is not scripturally rooted and grounded can become effectively agnostic in their beliefs. Before long, they have abandoned the return of Christ as Christian myth, not realizing that they have unwittingly actually gone apostate. A Christianity without a returning Christ is an anemic fairy tale.

But now picture the believer who has a sure grasp of Scripture and who is not intimidated by the apocalyptic language of end-times prophecy. This disciple reads and studies the whole word of God with prayerful diligence. All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), and so all Scripture is to be understood and enjoyed in a godly walk with the Lord. Yes, some of the eschatological passages are difficult to understand fully, but they are not inconsistent. Jesus has certainly been resurrected and He has ascended to the Father’s right hand and there will be a day when the Father sends Him back to gather all His people to Himself and to judge all the unrighteous to eternal punishment. All the Scripture affirms this, and the Scripture cannot be broken. God cannot lie, and His Word is therefore always true. Therefore, the disciple of Jesus is to work hard to understand the difficult end-times passages and thereby to become more and more convinced of the soon-coming return of Jesus. The more the disciple studies the Scripture, the deeper the roots go and the more convinced they are of all that the Scripture declares, including the bodily return of the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Satan’s whispers are ignored and the ridicule and scoffing of the world becomes the noise of fools who are perishing. Christ is coming back, and it could be today, and I am looking up.

SDG                 rmb                 1/6/2021

To fulfill the Scriptures: Thoughts on Christ’s advents

“How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled? But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets (Matthew 26:54, 56).”

            When Jesus was being “betrayed into the hands of sinners (Matthew 26:45),” His disciples attempted to defend Him so that His arrest would not happen. But Jesus told them to put their sword back into its place and consciously allowed Himself to be taken away. Why did He do that? This was done because the Scriptures, written centuries before, must be fulfilled. Not the smallest letter or stroke could pass from the prophecies about His passion and His crucifixion until all was accomplished (Matthew 5:18). In a sense, Jesus was not free to conduct His arrest and crucifixion any way He wanted, because these events had already been scripted in the Law and the Prophets, and the Scriptures must be fulfilled. To know the events that lay before Jesus as He gave His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28) we would need only to carefully study the pages of the Old Testament to see what the prophets had written.

            The point that I am making is that the Scriptures, as the Word of God, will certainly be fulfilled. Every prophecy about the Lord Jesus will be accomplished because these prophecies have been etched forever in God’s Word and are, therefore, manifestations of God’s truth. This has direct bearing on our understanding of Christ’s first advent and especially on His second advent.

AS THE FIRST ADVENT, SO THE SECOND COMING

            As all the Scriptures’ prophecies about Christ’s first advent were fulfilled by the Lord Jesus in the events and circumstances of His earthly life, from His conception to His birth to His earthly ministry to His suffering and crucifixion to His death and resurrection and to His ascension into heaven, so all the prophecies about His Second Coming must necessarily be fulfilled before He will return.

            God’s prophets and His faithful people carefully examined the Scriptures to anticipate Christ’s first advent (1 Peter 1:10-12; Simeon in Luke 2:25-35; Anna in Luke 2:36-38). In the same way, Christ’s people rightly examine the Scriptures to anticipate His Second Coming and to wait eagerly for His return (Hebrews 9:28), when He comes to judge the earth (Psalm 96:13; 98:9) and to bring all His people to heaven.

            In this way, we can get a right perspective on the study of “eschatology,” also known as “last things” or “end times.” It is for the purpose of anticipating our Lord’s glorious coming and for the goal of increasing our eagerness that we carefully study the prophecies of the end-times that God has placed in His Scriptures. As we eagerly anticipate Christ’s coming, our strength to persevere is increased. The prophecies of the time before our Lord’s return include severe testing of the church through persecution and trial. A hope that is fixed on heaven and an eager anticipation of our soon-coming King will hold our feet firmly on the Rock.

            In Matthew 24, it is clear that the Lord Jesus expected His disciples to look forward to His return. He tells them of the events of the distant future (“Behold, I have told you in advance.” v. 25) so that they will know that He is the one who will bring these things to pass, and He tells them, “When you see all these things, recognize that He (the Son of Man) is near, right at the door (v. 33).” It seems to me that Jesus wanted us to be excited about His return, and He put all sorts of prophecies into His Word so that we would have a reason to get excited.

            The Lord has given us His Word, the Bible, so that we would know all He has chosen to reveal to us about the future and about the return of our glorious King. All the prophecies concerning Jesus’ return are “the things which must soon take place (Revelation 1:1).” All the Scriptures about our Lord’s coming will certainly be fulfilled, and when we see all these things, we know that He is right at the door. We therefore study the prophecies of the end-times to glorify God and to strengthen our resolve to persevere.

SDG                 rmb                 12/22/2020