Ezekiel the ‘Misunderstood’ Prophet [supporting Isaiah]

[Part 4 of the Isaiah Essay]

Intro:

There does indeed seem to be quite a potential controversy raging over the building of Ezekiel’s third temple among the Israeli’s and their Arab neighbours.

This might not seem like such a big deal to Christians or indeed other historians, commentators or the media in the western world that are fairly isolated from the Middle East and its problems, because in terms of worldwide population there’s not that many Israeli’s in the world and Israel’s only a tiny nation --- right?

Wrong! Prophecy ‘centres’ around the middle east.

Nearly every single prophet that deals with the final day of the Lord and a great many prophecies show that the eyes of the world will be riveted on the Middle East in the not too distant future.

The entire English bible, both Old and New Testaments, centers around the peoples of the Middle East of both the ancients and their modern descendants and events that have occurred and, more importantly, are going to occur in OUR future in fact, and always has done so, from the point in time in antiquity that God selected Jerusalem as ‘His’ city --- and a destined to be ‘extraordinarily holy’ mountain nearby, to be His future home and residence of outstanding beauty and splendour on a scale never before seen on earth.

The final outstanding ‘prophetic book’ of the New Testament completely confirms all Old Testament prophecy and places all prophecy into its true context.

It is indeed unfortunate that the Israelis,[tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi i.e. Jews] as a whole do not officially recognize the New Testament book of Revelation as necessarily ‘divine’ revelation of the God of Israel of the Old Testament. Nor apparently do secular scholars.

Notwithstanding there may be some individuals or even small groups among the Jews who are beginning to understand the true value of the ‘wisdom of God’ contained within the pages of the New Testament.

That the book of Revelation is a book of the prophetic type is unmistakeably clear however and also a great many parts of the gospel writer’s work, Jesus’ parables being foremost and quite prophetic in content. Nor do the Jews necessarily recognize the New Testament gospels or gospel writers, as authoritative and/ or prophetic, which is also unfortunate in the extreme because this lack of recognition is going to result in severe heartache and a future trauma, almost on a par with and pretty close to each of the other occasions [Diaspora’s] where recognition and obedience to the true God of the old Testament was lacking in the persona of Judah’s religious leaders on a national scale.

It’s looking more and more like the “Temple question” or rather, the proposed ‘solution’ of actually attempting to build Ezekiel’s temple on mount Moriah may very well be what plunges the Middle East into serious and foretold, prophetic conflict with its Arab neighbours, thousands of years in advance of the events.

This future conflict will be on such a vast scale, according to prophecy, that would dwarf any previous conflicts over the holy land, and seemingly dwarfing WW1 &WW2 in terms of world casualties, by drawing a great many of the world’s nations into the region of the middle eastern world, which in turn may set up the conditions for Jesus’ intervention and return to rule the Jews as their rightful and prophesied King.

This Old Testament prophecy, speaking of the promise God made to King David to preserve David’s throne “to all generations” among others, attests to Jesus’ the Jews true Messiah’s, inalienable right to rule His people as He did in times past as the “Holy one” of Israel:

I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. KJV Ezekiel 21:27

The Jews simply don’t recognize Jesus as their rightful King just yet in our modern timeline or timeframe --- but all that is destined to change when they will be faced with censure from the entire world apparently and threatened with extinction once again as a nation and not just by their Arab neighbours according to Zechariah’s chapter 12&14 prophecies. The Jews will be forced to call upon their God and, again, according to prophecy, but this final time will be different in that He promises to answer them in a mighty way that they at present don’t seem to understand. Nor for that matter does the bulk of Christianity understand what is about to unfold on a largely unsuspecting world.

According to the book of Revelation a third of mankind will die as a result of this prophesied enormous conflict ‘centring’ on the Middle East. According to Zechariah, 2/3rds of the Israeli’s current population will also die in this prophesied conflict.

What happens after that initial conflict with their Arab neighbours?

WW3 begins? But who fights whom? Exactly where and when and does this spell final “Doom and Gloom” for the entire world as many predict? Could what many have long feared coming, an ‘apocalyptic’ World War 3, be avoided? What do the prophets say?

Who’s involved? How, when and where?

The answers to these questions are not what many i.e. the majority, think --- least of all, Christianity, i.e. those who claim to have the inside track on prophecy.

Does the building of Ezekiel’s ‘third’ temple as it is called, ‘ahead of time’ and in the ‘wrong location’ have something to do with the things or events that are prophesied to occur? You bet they do! In a big way!

What do the prophets actually say as to who is supposed to oversee the building of the third temple according to the pattern that Ezekiel describes and what restrictions/ modifications are required over previous temples of Solomon and Herod’s refurbished and remodelled version of Solomon’s temple of Jesus’ day?

What does Moses say about following the patterns that God has set for the building of God’s sacred buildings EXACTLY as He, God describes, or proscribes --- without deviation --- from those patterns that God in fact, ‘commands’ to be followed to the letter?

As we have shown in our work some Christian churches have simply gotten parts of prophecy completely wrong --- and, what about the Jews? Are they about to follow suit on a par with Christian misunderstandings of prophecy, most notably in this case, Ezekiel?

Ezekiel gave the butcher’s bill for the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in the past in the 4^th&5^th chapters of his prophetic book in advance of that ancient conflict and oddly, or near enough, the same basic proportions of casualties are revealed by Zechariah to be the lot of the Israeli Jews of our future, also in ‘advance’ of the actual event:

Ezekiel’s Babylonian butcher’s bill:

A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. KJV Ezekiel 5:12

Zechariah’s future butcher’s bill in the lead-up battle to the so called battle of Armageddon:

8. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. KJV Zechariah 13:8-9

Those last words of verse 9 of Zechariah’s prophetic revelations are not to be underestimated though and are a ‘keywords’ to the final outcome of world war 3.

The world’s WW3 future butcher’s bill, according to Revelation:

And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. KJV Revelation 9:15

The prophetic past reveals the prophetic future

How is it possible that so many people, i.e. the majority, have gotten prophecy so completely wrong? This is of course, clearly including, secular scholars, Christianity, Jews and Muslims alike in their general misunderstanding of prophecy.

The ever insightful Isaiah asks an all important question of all the ages, regarding all God’s prophets:

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? KJV Isaiah 53:1

For the remainder of that chapter Isaiah then describes the crucifixion of the greatest of all prophets and the ultimate prophet who was also the Son of God as being the one who reveals and will reveal all prophecy.

Isaiah foresaw in the vicinity of somewhere between 700-800 years in advance not only the first coming of Jesus but also in the vicinity of 2,600-2,700 years in advance the second coming and again, nearly 3,800 years in advance the coming kingdom of God with God the Father in residence on our planet at that far distant time [for Isaiah’s day].

But then again, the ever insightful Isaiah revealed the reason why all God’s prophets were not believed, including Jesus:

7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.

To show this includes all peoples today, we’ll add the next two verses to show that the veil of prophetic confusion will only be lifted at Jesus’ return in our future and these are ‘timeless’ prophecies that can in part or in full be fulfilled at some time in the future beyond Jesus return:

8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. KJV Isaiah 25:7-10

The Jews are still waiting apparently for a physical Messiah, but apparently still don’t realise He already came in the apostles era in ancient times and is at this very moment still working on setting up the ‘physical stage’ of His future kingdom, where conditions have to be just right for His return again in our future.

Clearly the spiritual phase of the kingdom of God was initiated in Jesus’ times by the training of His disciples to preach and teach about the coming kingdom of God to this earth in an indeterminate and future time, mostly referred to as ‘the last days’.

As other prophets such as Micah show in support of Isaiah’s prophecy, during Jesus’ future reign it will be necessary for Him and His resurrected and chosen servants, i.e. the prophets, the saints, apostles, a future resurrected Daniel, and a mighty prince, and former king, David, et al, all under Jesus’ personal supervision, as ‘high priest’ and King of kings and Lord of Lords, to teach the world where it has gone wrong in not understanding His word and the veil of misunderstanding will begin to be ‘lifted’ at that time:

1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

KJV Micah 4:1-2

What both this prophecy from Micah and an identical prophecy from Isaiah’s second chapter show unmistakeably is that the entire world has gotten the understanding of prophecy mixed up and confused to such a great degree that the entire world will need re-educating as to the truth that has been there all along.

Micah and Hosea [contemporaries of Isaiah] support Isaiah’s prophecies

Micah prophesied during the same time as Isaiah seemingly, under the same kings as Isaiah and Hosea:

The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. KJV Micah 1:1 [refer to Isaiah 1:1 and Hosea 1:1 for confirmation as contemporary prophets]

Apparently Micah was a contemporary like Hosea of Isaiah’s and confirmed some of Isaiah’s prophecies fully because Isaiah said exactly the same thing almost word for word in Isaiah 2:1-3 as follows:

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

KJV Isaiah 2:2-3

Both prophets conclude that particular part of their prophecy with these words showing that even after WW3 the nations will not necessarily willingly come under the kingdom of God’s rule at first:

4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. KJV Isaiah 2:4 [and KJV Micah 4:3]

Two Ways to discern and understand the truth of Prophecy --- the right way and the wrong way --- there’s no middle ground where God is concerned

Micah shows up the absurdity of the secular scholars claims the bible is basically uninspired by claiming ‘multiple’ authorship --- which is just a ruse for ‘down grading’ the authenticity of the prophetic word of God when all is said and done, by men who simply don’t want to acknowledge the authority of God over their lives.

The ‘hands on’ and extremely dynamic God, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob also known as ‘the Holy one of Israel’, the Messiah or Jesus of Nazareth, had a great deal to say about scribes [by implication modern day scholars also] and religious leaders who didn’t listen to His prophetic pronouncements or take proper note of those pronouncements by the living God. Jesus said that it was God the Father through Jesus Himself that directed what Jesus had to say and teach the world and that both He and the Father were so alike in temperament that they were inseparable and as ‘one’ in all they did and will do in our world of both the past and the future --- even Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand this profound concept that Jesus revealed to them plainly:

I and my Father are one. KJV John 10:30

Understanding Jesus’ relationship to God the Father is crucial to our understanding of all prophecy

In our first collaborative writing ‘article/research paper’ at our little ‘test’ website “The Rebuttal of the Jesus Papers” Michael Baigent in his enthusiasm to attempt to prove the bible a fraud, made the claim that Jesus never actually said He was God.

However the scriptures themselves are quite capable of proving the validity of God’s word; especially where the fulfilment of prophecy is concerned and the apostle and final, key prophet, John, clearly states that Jesus did in fact make that very claim:

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

KJV John 10:32-39

God is very much alive and active in dynamically shaping our future world and what He does will shock and astound nearly every person on this earth, of that much our readers can be absolutely sure and it won’t matter what religion you follow or whether or not you belong to any organisation that claims they have the truth.

Atheists and evolutionists, secular scholars, scientologists or whatever --- all will be affected dramatically by these future events that God has had His prophet’s record for us today.

Jesus made some incredible statements that even His own disciples had a hard time ‘crediting’ about Himself and God the Father acting as ‘one God’ together, as an eternal ‘team.’

A concept that even Christians today, let alone Jews, have extreme but unnecessary difficulty coming to terms with: [and the ‘majority’ still haven’t apparently, in claiming a triune ‘trinity’ exists]

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. KJV Matthew 11:27

In a fairly lengthy discourse Jesus elaborated on His relationship to the Father that even the most highly educated theologians of Christianity still can’t get their heads around:

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

One of the most difficult concepts it seems for all of Christianity is the latter part of this lengthy discourse of Jesus’ that many still cannot grasp about the use of the masculine descriptive terminology that Jesus used when describing the receipt of the Holy spirit that was to dwell within Human beings:

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. KJV John 14:6-19

Similar to some modern languages such as French, for example that uses the masculine and feminine prefixes of Le and La, He and She, when referring to inanimate objects such as doors etc. La “Porte”, i.e. the door, has a ‘feminine’ connotation. When clearly a door is an ‘it’ and has no gender at all.

Just as the Old and New Testaments refer to ancient Israel and Jerusalem and even the church as “she” or as women at times ‘symbolically’ doesn’t mean they literally were women obviously --- so why do well educated theologians interpret the use of the masculine ‘he’ when referring to the Holy spirit to mean the Holy spirit is a ‘separate person’ from the Father and Jesus?

The odds are it will probably remain a mystery to most until Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords in our not too distant future.

Most modern ministers or pastors in Christianity have interpreted or understood those two verses 16&17 above to be referring to the Holy Spirit as the ‘He’ being referred to in verse 17 but the context here as verse 16 shows is that Jesus was referring to God the Father as the ‘being’ who was going to come and dwell with and in those who receive ‘the comforter’ i.e. the Holy Spirit.

because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

These words above are actually referring to ‘God the Father’ rather than the Holy Spirit, as many think, but it was through Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive that God the Father was going to ‘dwell with’ and ‘be in’ human beings.

The difference being “The Holy spirit” is not an inanimate object but a powerfully dynamic and still mysterious force or essence of God that emanates from God the Father and Jesus Christ and is able to be ‘transferred’ to human beings and live within them as it does in Jesus and the Father --- making them indeed “one” in their “perfect” natures.

Jesus was not only both a messenger [prophet] from God the Father but also the “mediator” and final arbitrator of the New Covenant and a ‘better one’ than the Old Covenant. A ‘new’ covenant that has yet to be applied to the Jews as the prophet Joel indicated in Joel 3:21:

For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion. KJV Joel 3:21

The future tense is implying that this hasn’t been but will be done sometime in the future and the previous verses give the exact timeframe when this will occur as being at the time of Jesus’ return:

9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.

12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. KJV Joel 3:9-18

The book of Revelation in complete confirmation of Joel’s prophecy uses almost identical words in showing that this time of Jesus’ roaring from Zion and uttering His words from Jerusalem will be a time of great upheaval where the earth and the heavens will be shaken up and God’s anger or wrath will be extended to His enemies for the overall wickedness in the earth at this future time, probably not all that far from our present day:

15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. KJV Revelation 14:15-16; 18-19

Nearly all Old Testament prophecy and most of the New Testament itself shows that God is not willing that any should perish and that He would prefer all people to come to a knowledge of the truth:

Old Testament:

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? KJV Ezekiel 33:11

New Testament:

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. KJV 1 Timothy 2:3-6

Here we have an apostle to the Gentiles, personally trained by Jesus Christ, for at least three years, in the desert, before he came to meet with Peter and be with and teach among the other apostles, stating outright that Jesus is God.

The apostle and prophet John already did so in His gospel account even before Jesus made John a fully fledged prophet in the Book of Revelation, the very first opening chapter of “the Gospel according to John” to be precise:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

KJV John 1:1, John 1:10, John 1:14, John 1:12

Note: * Verse 12, recombined with the others and in that order, by the author, to show the full import and power of John’s words.

Nobody, no human, other than a full member of the God family could ever give human beings the power to become full sons [and/or daughters inclusively] of God the Father. John clearly states Jesus has that power only and will give it ‘even to those that believe on His name’ but only to those who receive and acknowledge Him.

These are very powerful words and completely unmistakeable from a man who became and was declared a prophet of God by inference, implication and outright declaration by one of God the Father’s holy angels in the opening and closing pages of the clearly stated ‘prophetic book’ of Revelation:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: KJV Revelation 1:1

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. KJV Revelation 19:10

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. KJV Revelation 22:6-11

All of the Old Testament prophets were called ‘servants’ of God exactly as the New Testament apostles were.

Understanding the prophetic promises made to Abraham in the Old Testament is crucial to our understanding of all prophecy in both Old and New Testaments

Although it is very lengthy, this discourse by the apostle Paul to the Galatians in this next quote shows the Holy spirit being referred to as more an ‘it’ in a different sense and also explains very well what the ‘faith of Abraham’ entails and how it applies to a Christian’s relationship in becoming Heirs to the promise of the Kingdom of God and all it entails in the promise of Abraham’s children eventually becoming ‘heirs’ to the entire world:

1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

12 And the law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them.

13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. KJV Galatians 3:1-29

The apostle Paul, highly skilled in the Judaism of his day, understood perfectly that the Old Covenant was to end and be replaced by the New Covenant for all time.

1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. KJV Hebrews 8:1-13

With only very slight paraphrasing towards the end of his quote the apostle Paul is citing Jeremiah 31:31-34 perfectly and simply adds “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness” to Jeremiah’s words according to the KJV bible’s account.

Both old and New Testament prophecy revolves around Abraham’s descendants with both the physical promise of the Kingdom of God, [New Zion] Daniel’s 5^th ‘stone’ kingdom and ‘the spiritual promises’ contained within all prophecy also

Those many ancient prophetic messages contained in the ancient prophet’s books for modern times are clear and irrefutable for those who have eyes to see.

Understanding who our modern nation’s ancestors were is paramount in understanding which nations will be affected most by prophetic pronouncements concerning those nations.

Here’s some further insight from Micah who was also prophesying about ‘both’ houses of Israel in his day and on a par with Isaiah’s insights about a coming messiah and Saviour who is described by Micah as everlasting:

2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. KJV Micah 5:2-5

Whose remnant of whose brethren are going to return to the children of Israel?

Jesus was a Jew was he not? And this is a prophecy about Jesus and the Jews are often referred to in prophecy as a ‘remnant’ of Israel. This prophecy states the Jews will ‘abide’ and return to the children of Israel because of Jesus’ greatness “to the ends of the earth”.

Verses 3&4 of Micah is a fascinating little prophecy completely confirmed by the ‘Master prophet’ who inspired His servant John to write the book of Revelation:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. KJV Revelation 12:1-2

Repeated in verse 5 like it is a show of its importance to God, repetition is used as a form of added emphasis in prophecy which almost equates to the underlining that we use in our work and presentation for added emphasis of certain points that need to be made clearer.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. KJV Revelation 12:5

There’s not a student of prophecy worth his or her salt that doesn’t recognise this reference in Revelation to be referring to the twelve tribes of Israel of old i.e. the intro to the verses just quoted above showing where Jesus was to come from is unmistakeably clear when one understands some of the symbolic language used:

1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: KJV Revelation 12:1

The woman in this case with the crown of 12 stars was the ancient nation of Israel when it was a united twelve tribes, before it split into two nations, Jacob and Israel.

The Sun and the moon, although ‘symbolically’ a little obscure to us today, are most probably symbolic of power, because God said the sun and the moon were to be for signs and symbols i.e. as Genesis says, a greater light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night. [Genesis 1:14-16]

Micah goes on to reveal some extraordinary things in his short 7 chapter prophetic book, which strangely enough supports not only Isaiah’s prophecies but also adds detail to Zechariah’s 12^th chapter about the preliminary battle foretold by both Zechariah and John in Revelation 9 showing the involvement of other modern Israelite descendants of our future as well as the Gentile nations prophesied to come against Judah and Jerusalem of slightly beyond our present day, sometime in this seemingly ‘incredible’ [ by secular scholar’s reckoning] future.

Our modern secular scholars can’t seem to credit what they have seemingly called middle Isaiah’s ‘futuristic’ claims of raising mountains and levelling valleys and great upheavals of the earth’s surface in preparation for Jesus’ majestic return to our earth in the not too distant future --- but check this prophecy out, from Micah, showing complete confirmation of “middle” Isaiah and also Zechariah’s “split mountain of Olives” prophetic scenario:

2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

3 For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. KJV Micah 1:2-5

This is not only a timeless prophecy that could be fulfilled at any time but most likely will be fulfilled at precisely the time all the other prophets concur on Jesus’ coming to earth showing that a certain part of earth has been pre-eminent over other parts and most likely will be again --- but this time for all eternity.

The natural question one might ask is how could physical planet earth last for eternity when other prophetic scriptures picture the earth growing old, decaying and eventually passing away:

25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: KJV Psalms 102:25-26

It’s not impossible for God to renew the physical earth for all eternity if He so desires.

Should we impose human limitations on God’s creative or‘re-creative’ abilities? Because that’s exactly what God did when he re-created the earth’s surface after the ‘age of the dinosaurs’ in preparation for ‘the age of man.’

If you look at relatively modern flora and fauna since the age of the dinosaurs ended --- every single land surface plant and animal has been scaled down and retro bio-engineered to suit human beings --- with the single exception of some aquatic sea life such as the whales who may have in fact survived Noah’s flood without the aid of an ark for the preservation of some pre-historic ‘representative’ species such as the Elephants, crocodiles, etc.

Evolution has no answer for this seeming anomaly other than some obscure and vague notion that all life ‘evolved’ from the sea from basically, primordial slime.

That in no way accounts for a completely ‘new’ set of totally different flora and fauna to that which existed in pre-historic times. The theory of evolution has no satisfactory explanation for that complete change of all animal and plant life from what formally existed before the surface of the earth was renewed as Genesis states clearly enough from verses 1&2. There is a vast amount of time alluded to between the first and second verses of Genesis where the earth became waste and empty, and completely covered in water. For perhaps millions of years in fact the earth was a lightless water world where the sun and the moon were obscured by some cosmic event from illuminating the earth’s surface of just watery depths at that ancient point in time.

Simplistic though it might seem, and many have claimed so, the brief ‘thumbnail’ explanation given by Moses of the beginning of the age of modern man is completely consistent with a makeover of the earth after a cataclysmic and indeed cosmic confrontation of the earth with another heavenly body of some kind that destroyed all life on this planet millions of years ago. Apologies for the digression, but this author has a tendency to do that from time to time to make a point. The point that the bible is much more relevant than people might think is a valid one though.

Continuing with the current theme of additional prophetic proof and support of the ‘authenticity’ of the book of Isaiah, we resume the Isaiah essay proper:

Ezekiel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Micah for sure and possibly a number of other prophets all show that the area around Jerusalem will undergo some significant geological or geographical changes the moment Jesus sets foot on earth. Jesus Himself, in the gospels, predicted that earthquakes would increase significantly towards the time of His coming and in different places and the Old Testament prophets confirm that, at His return in our future, His arising to shake the earth terribly, as a partial result of the world’s cumulative and increasing sins, wasn’t just a dramatic figure of speech:

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. KJV Mark 13:8

Isaiah is the prophet who announces ‘the battle of that great day of God almighty’ in his own words, a future battle foretold in fact, in Revelation 16:14, the so called ‘Battle of Armageddon’:

Whereas most of the other prophets announce the coming of Jesus’ return at the end of the ‘preliminary’ battle that Zechariah Describes in Chapter 12 of his prophetic book and then goes on to describe the second battle of Armageddon, and its outcome ‘briefly’ in chapter 14 of Zechariah, Isaiah makes the following distinction of a battle between man and God that may in fact last a full year as other places in prophecy allude to [the book of Revelation especially]:

12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled),

17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

18 and the idols will totally disappear.

19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.

20 In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.

21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.

22 Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?

NIV Isaiah 2:12, 17-22

The phrase, “in that day” can also have connotations of an unspecified period of time longer than a single 24 hour day and so that should be kept in mind also when studying prophecy.

We repeat, repetition is a form of added emphasis and verses 19&21 are almost identical and therefore doubly important. Isaiah was not a stutterer, although Moses was reputed to be and Aaron did all the speaking for Moses on behalf of God, apparently, from biblical accounts in Genesis.

So repetition is significant therefore --- many prophecies are ‘repeated’ as we’ve just shown above, by different prophets at different times and some as in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah4:1-3 almost ‘word for word’ repetitions.

So if God repeats things we can rest assured that it is not because of forgetfulness, as in us humans, but for very good reasons and one of those reasons is that He wants us to take note for our own good, in some way, that much at least, should be obvious to us by now.

Isaiah 2:17-22 Confirmed in the book of Revelation, completely, down to the last detail shown by Isaiah, by the apostle and prophet John together [in prophetic sequence]:

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

KJV Revelation 6:12-17

And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. KJV Revelation 16:17-21

Speaking of a far future time thousands of years ahead of that prophet’s days Isaiah prophesied of a time that would follow a great upheaval where ‘towers’ falling would herald or presage the return of God to this earth:

25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

KJV Isaiah 30:25-26

We need to understand that that our earth is headed for some serious changes ahead that involve much more than simply a WW3 which will be ended very dramatically, quickly and very forcefully by a returning GOD who will not be thwarted or intimidated by a disbelieving mankind.

Notice again Joel’s prophetic words that align perfectly with Isaiah’s as to exactly when ‘the great slaughter’ and ‘the towers fall’

16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. KJV Joel 3:9-18

The common denominator is the ‘timeframe’ shown in both Isaiah and Joel when all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water and a fountain will flow out of a house of the Lord [Ezekiel’s third temple] confirmed not only by Isaiah and Joel as shown here but Ezekiel and in the prophetic book of Revelation also depicting water still flowing from Gods throne after the millennium:

Isaiah showing this occurring before the millennium or thousand years of Christs rule:

25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

Joel and Ezekiel showing these waters flowing from God’s throne during the millennium:

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. KJV Joel 3:18

1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.

2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.

3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep.

4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist.

5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in--a river that no one could cross.

6 He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river.

7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.

8 He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh.

9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.

10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds--like the fish of the Great Sea.

11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.

12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing." NIV Ezekiel 47:1-12

The book of Revelation showing these exact same waters still flowing from God’s throne after the millennium:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. NIV Revelation 22:1, 22:3

So even if modern day Jewry were to build a temple after the design shown to Ezekiel and in the right mountain it wouldn’t have the ‘throne of God’ that is depicted in all these prophecies with water flowing out beneath it through all the wadis and rivers of Judah towards the dead sea and eventually ‘freshening’ that salt sea as Ezekiel depicts above and Revelation confirms below:

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. KJV Revelation 22:1-5

Vast changes are ahead for a mostly unsuspecting mankind that will leave many survivors of these events, totally bewildered --- changes on a scale dwarfing anything that any Hollywood movie maker might make in the way of a ‘disaster’ movie, so popular among many box office movies that bring in big dollars.

The ‘reality’ that ‘art’ is said to imitate will be quite something else, something quite extraordinarily spectacular --- that nobody on this earth is really ‘prepared’ for.

How indeed does ‘modern man’ prepare for a system of government by a supernatural being who will be wielding powers far beyond anything mortal human beings have seen since the days God first delivered a slave people from the ancient Egyptians by parting a body of water down the middle, allowing that slave people to be free to become, by the one who delivered them, His nation and His peoples i.e. the people of God.

Notice the time setting earlier above in Isaiah 30:26 for when the Sun will be hotter than it’s ever been in all the history of man on earth so far, as far as we know, is at a time when God heals the breach of His peoples, a timeframe close to God’s/Jesus’ return, a little after actually, in time sequence and, completely confirmed in the prophetic book of Revelation, where the prophet John also speaks of the sun scorching human beings:

8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.KJV Revelation 16:8-9

The prophet Isaiah was clearly on the same prophetic page as the prophet John and a parallel comparison of Isaiah’s 30^th chapter with the outstanding prophecies of the book of Revelation makes this stand out very clearly.

Of note is that this 30^th chapter of Isaiah is part of the lead-up chapters to awesome promises given to these peoples in the middle chapters of Isaiah from 40-45 that are on a par with what we’ll show a little later that the prophet Hosea reveals also concerning Ephraim’s descendants [English speaking peoples] in particular.

The one most startling and astounding fact of Isaiah’s prophecies of the 30^th chapter is that Isaiah knew of and saw the same point in time that the apostle and prophet John also saw in prophecies given to him by high ranking angels of God in the book of Revelation in round figures approximately 800 years later. Both, men of God seeing forward, therefore, to a future nearly 1950 years plus from their days and ages. Could that be credited to sheer coincidence that they should see and prophecy of exactly the same things? Hardly very likely under the extraordinarily well detailed prophetic projections and circumstances.

Human beings are going to be both privileged and/or horrified by some quite astonishing cosmic disturbances on a scale never witnessed by man in all of the past, although as we’ve covered very thoroughly in the preceding parts of this essay, 1, 2&3 --- heavenly signs always accompany all of God’s dramatic interventions in man’s history --- but none like this that will be seen and experienced by many after the return of Jesus to the Mount of Olives in our future.

In all previous ‘days of the Lord’, the sun has been darkened and the moon not given its light --- Yet in not one of those prophecies covering previous, “Days of the Lord” interventions of God on earth --- not once has the moon ever shone as brightly as the sun.

26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, KJV Isaiah 30:26 [first part]

From our observations, research and study of prophecy we’ve noticed that a pattern of ‘prophecies within prophecies’ emerges in a great many prophecies whereby while pronouncing dire punishments on the ancient Israelites of both the leading houses of the birthright and sceptre peoples, Ephraim and Judah, [Israel and Jacob] respectively, prophecies are given that flash forward to a distant point in time revealing astonishing pronouncements for their descendant’s futures and then just nonchalantly drops back to the immediate punishments or local prophecies of those times in which the prophet lived.

Chapter 30 is one of these dealing with at least two eras or ages of past, immediate future prophecy and also far distant future prophecy detailing the ultimate fates of the peoples that are mentioned in these prophecies.

The obvious conclusion reached then is that this seems to be a ‘style of writing’ or prophesying that seems to be unique or characteristic of nearly all prophets in their work, where past and future prophecy is rolled into what seems like one continuous prophecy dealing with a particular era.

Discerning where future prophecy ‘kicks in’ and /or where it reverts back to the prophet’s immediate future is tricky but not impossible.

Author’s Note: It requires a working knowledge and understanding of all prophecy and how it all fits together to be able to ‘see’ these divergences of prophecy within prophecy. The division by a monk or scholar or translator of the King James version of the scriptures into chapter and verse that didn’t have that type of discernment of where one prophecy ended and a new began is [as we’ve pointed out] at the heart of much misunderstanding and misinterpretation of prophecy.

The rest of the 30^th chapter of Isaiah, except for those reversions to local prophecy in places reveals some remarkable prophetic facts about what our future holds in store for us as these quotes, separated and then taken together from that chapter show very clearly:

For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. KJV Isaiah 30:15

18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. KJV Isaiah 30:18-21

In this next portion of the prophecy Isaiah lays out the timeframe for this prophecy and pinpoints that it occurs sometime after the return of God’s rule to this earth after the wrath of God descends on modern man:

25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.

30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.

The remainder of Isaiah 30 returns to the local prophetic content of events to occur ahead of the prophet’s days but not so far forward as into our modern times’ of the immediate future ahead of us in this day and age.

The real question then is who are all these incredibly detailed prophecies of a majestic and distant future [our future] that is portrayed in these prophetic passages of scripture going to fall on?

In other words, which nations of our modern world, cops the full brunt of God’s anger and wrath that the book of Revelation outlines in similarly incredible detail for all our future ahead?

Although there is no ‘duality’ of prophecy --- Does history repeat itself?

There is no more pressing a question that needs answering at this point in modern history.

As for those Christians who claim the holy land and/or the Jews are irrelevant today --- notice exactly why the Lord is prophesied to come out of His place in heaven according to Micah, in the past, and according to prophecy again in our future in the next verses of this prophecy of Micah’s:

For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem? KJV Micah 1:5

Apparently Jacob/Judah were beginning in Isaiah, Hosea and Micah’s days to follow after the same sins or practices of the other ten tribes of Israel which apart from idol and pagan god worship, i.e. ‘false’ gods --- was what else exactly?

The major sin of Samaria, [representing in this case the rest of other ten tribes, the chief being the tribe of Joseph i.e. Ephraim and Manasseh, i.e. the two tribes who were renamed ‘Israel’ by the patriarch Jacob whose name was changed to Israel by God and conferred by birthright and blessing on Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob/Israel] was that they desired a human king to rule over them instead of God and His government.

Humanity hasn’t changed all that much then in not really wanting God to interfere in its affairs or desiring God’s rule has it? Mankind/humankind has always apparently wanted pretty much to do its own thing and generally ignoring God and/or His ways and as Solomon once said there is nothing new under the sun.

Mankind today desires a ‘one’ united world government --- in the hands of men.

This will simply never happen for any great length of time as all prophecy shows. Mankind may not desire God’s rule but that is exactly what it will get without a shadow of doubt.

Almost exactly like Isaiah, Micah lists a long string of faults and evil practises in chapters 2&3 then follows up at the end of chapter 3 with the same prophecies cited by Isaiah regarding Judah and Jerusalem’ destruction and for exactly the same reasons that Isaiah cited, i.e. the evil leadership of secular rulers, prophets and priests, leading God’s people astray:

9 Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right;

10 who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.

11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us."

12 Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. NIV Micah 3:8-12

That’s exactly what happened to the Temple mount twice over and for exactly the same REASONS. We repeat therefore --- Mankind has never changed its collective mind about wanting God’s rule.

Prophecy may not repeat itself, but humankind, and therefore human history seemingly certainly does --- simply because the same mistakes are made again and again by each generation. When will we ever learn by our mistakes? Apparently not until Jesus returns it seems.

What the future really holds is simply not being told by those who should know their prophecy and their God, i.e. Christianity, Judaism or Muslim religions to name just the three major ones.

Exactly like Isaiah did in his second chapter, Micah then launches into a far distant [to him] prophecy for our future in his fourth chapter, identical to Isaiah’s. [Micah 4:1-3 & Isaiah 2:1-4]

Although Isaiah, Micah and Hosea were indeed contemporaries and their prophecy’s align perfectly with one another, which is perfectly understandable of contemporaries, we do need to ask some serious questions as to how prophets of following generations, hundreds of years apart, also support and align their prophecies perfectly with these earlier prophet’s work in their books also.

This is a question that lies at the heart of what the modern secular scholars are either deliberately or inadvertently choosing to ignore completely in their assumptions that prophets like Isaiah are inconsistent with a single author because of the sheer magnitude and variety of the content of their quite amazing and expansive prophecies.

Why are secular scholars simply unable to recognize “the hand of God in prophecy” that is abundantly apparent in all prophecy? Why are modern secular scholars unable to acknowledge what Micah, a so called minor prophet reveals plainly?

8 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.

Was Isaiah, a major and master prophet, any less filled with the Holy Spirit than Micah therefore? We think not!

Micah also reveals some other astounding things that align perfectly with Zechariah’s prophecies as well as what we’ve just shown as supporting both Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s prophecies but we’ll save some of those for the next heading and combine others with Hosea’s supporting prophecies a little later as well to show what almost equates to ‘synoptic’ prophecy in its completely complimentary interractivity.

Does history indeed repeat itself? That’s exactly what we are about to show our readers next --- according to the prophets.

Where are modern nations like America and Britain and the Commonwealth countries really headed according to true prophecy?

Are they doomed by a vengeful God to be destroyed for their many national sins?

This is in effect what many religious leaders are claiming in ‘fear’ based religion that is simply not only inconsistent and incongruous with what the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob really sets forth in His prophetic word, but simply untrue to the nth degree.

Prophecy is very clear, very poignant, very accurate and very much applicable to the descendants of the nations depicted in the pages of all the prophetic books of both old and New Testaments.

Modern secular scholars have clearly misunderstood prophecy --- are modern day Jews about to do the same in their eagerness to build Ezekiel’s Temple?

The Jews have twice chosen to ignore God’s prophets and the Son of God’s teachings and clear instructions, with disastrous consequences --- are they about to make a monumental mistake in trying for a third?

There is only one other site apart from the mount of Olives that the prophet Zechariah indicates is a possible future site and is seemingly God’s choice for Ezekiel’s temple sanctuary.

Could there be another possible site as a candidate, i.e. Mt. Zion, for God’s/Ezekiel’s temple? Making that site only one of those two sites that are mentioned in prophecy the only one of those two possible locations for Ezekiel’s third temple and neither of them is mount Moriah --- the current proposed site by modern Jewish religious advocates.

Although it does indeed seem Mt. Moriah was the location of Solomon’s original temple, what really needs to be taken into account, as we’ve also pointed out, is that Jerusalem is currently not regarded by God as holy according to the apostle and prophet John in 8^th verse of the 11^th chapter of the book of Revelation and won’t be again until Jesus returns to take up His rightful rule as shown by Ezekiel. [Ezekiel 43:12, 18-27]

Nowhere within the current confines of Jerusalem could really be considered a ‘holy’ site before Jesus’ return therefore --- which of course is contrary to what the worlds three major religions believe about Jerusalem, but completely complimentary to what the prophecy of the Book of Revelation says of Jerusalem in the New Testaments about Jerusalem’s current ‘holy’ status before God.

God says through His servant and major prophet Isaiah that He is yet to “create” a new and therefore, subsequently ‘holy’ Jerusalem for His people:

17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. KJV Isaiah 65:17-19

Moreover, Isaiah also indicates there will be a ‘holy’ mountain in Judea somewhere and the only question is where:

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. KJV Isaiah 65:9&25

Wherever Jesus sets foot is likely to become holy ground and Zechariah’s ‘Mount of Olives prophecy’ places at least one of the two halves that will exist in the future as one most likely location. [Zechariah 14:4 in conjunction with Ezekiel 43:2, 7&12]

Joel’s confirmation can be added to this ‘evidence’ also, but this is not necessarily evidence that the mount of Olives is the location of Ezekiel’s third temple as we shall see because an important factor in the book of Revelation coupled to some of what King David relates in the Psalms may come into play but this new discovery and perspective has only recently come to the fore in our study of prophecy.

17 Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. NIV Joel 3: 1-2, 12-17

The implication even in Joel is that Jerusalem is not currently holy but will --- in the future --- become holy again, when, paraphrased, “I the Lord your God dwells there in Zion my holy hill.”

What Ezekiel shows in great detail is that the temple must be ‘dedicated’ or purified after the altar has been built in that new temple[verses 18-27] --- The intricate details of the temple itself which are fully described by the angel’s measurements and descriptions given to Ezekiel in the 40^th to 43^rd chapters show Ezekiel’s Cherubim are a prominent ‘decorative’ feature throughout [chapter 41] especially on the ‘doors’ leading to the inner sanctuary, showing they hold a special place of honour or significance to God. [Of which we mere mortals have no understanding whatsoever at this time] There is some prophetic evidence however that those same 4 Cherubim that inhabit God’s current heavenly throne may well be used to gather the saints at Jesus’ return. But that’s another story and would be too big a digression.

We did cover briefly Ezekiel’s encounter with what Elisha, Elijah’s protégé and successor called Israel’s ‘chariots of fire’ [2 Kings 2:11-12 & 6:17] in an earlier article at this website, and that Ezekiel actually took a ride in one of these majestic angelic conveyances and living creations of God.]

Continuing the theme of Ezekiel’s third temple location according to all prophetic indications of the actual site selected by God --- not man:

The apostle Paul put it perfectly clearly that this ‘New sanctuary’ for the throne of God must be built along the lines of following “the patterns given to Moses” implying in that guideline by inference that the new temple also must be built strictly according to the instructions given to Ezekiel.

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

This statement by the apostle Paul, a devout Jew, and also an expert on Judaism of his day and age, gives this timely warning from antiquity showing that the King of kings and Lord of lords will not be a priest in the usual physical sense of the word but is the only High priest that will be acceptable to God the Father when Ezekiel’s third temple becomes a reality.

What does the example Paul used by way of alluding to whatever pattern was given to Moses had to be followed to the letter?

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. KJV Hebrews 8:5

1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. KJV Hebrews 8:1-2

Chapter 43 is the key chapter in Ezekiel showing that after all contained in the plans given to Ezekiel has been built according to these intricate instructions, including the altar, and purified accordingly with further intricate instructions that follow chapter 43 regarding hallowing the grounds and various other ordinances concerning the running of the temple and who shall serve God in the temple etc --- The Lord /God of Israel/The Son of God will take up residence there, permanently. [Ezekiel 43:1-7]

1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:

2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.

3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.

5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.

6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.

7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. KJV Ezekiel 43:1-7

These verses alone show that the temple altar at least is completed at a time close to the second coming but more likely after and, at a time when Jerusalem is at peace, rather than before that coming because of what as Isaiah says in the 66^th chapter:

10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:

11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.

12 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.

13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. KJV Isaiah 66:10-15

It is unlikely the temple could be built in a time of potential invasion, war, or earthquake activity, that all prophecy especially Zechariah 12& 14 and the book of Revelation shows is ahead for those regions at the time immediately prior to Jesus’ coming. It is also clear to this author that ‘the hand of God’ is not currently known to all His servants nor is it known today what His “indignation towards His enemies” involves exactly. [That explanation will be reserved for the next and last instalment i.e. ‘part 5’ of the Isaiah essay, because it’s just too big to cover here.]

Since those of modern Judaism are not necessarily cognisant of what the book of Revelation also reveals concerning the Father coming to earth at a later time after Ezekiel’s temple has been built and after the millennium when new Jerusalem descends from heaven [Revelation 21:1-7] --- because of their possible lack of recognition of the New Testament as the authoritative word of God also --- they might well make some serious mistakes by attempting to build the Temple before Jesus returns if it is indeed the wrong location or the wrong time and place altogether and most especially if they elect to re-install a new high priest along with their recently re-created Sanhedrin. Two ‘traditional’ institutions Jesus did away with once and for all.

More will be said on Ezekiel’s/Gods restrictions as to who is to serve in that temple later in the conclusion to the 5^th part of the essay.

For all those readers who may not be aware the orthodox Jews are currently re-instituting a ‘Sanhedrin’ that Jesus effectively ended in 67-70 AD. It follows logically that they may also elect to have a ‘high priest’ as part and parcel of an attempt to re-introduce all the elements of ‘traditional’ former worship of the past which Jesus also effectively ended for all time by becoming a high priest ‘forever after the order of Melchizadek’ --- i.e. an ‘eternal’ High priest. Hebrews 7:17&21

There is no apparent reason for the gospel writer and apostle Paul to cite Melchizadek from the Old Testament times --- other than to show that Jesus’ status as permanent High priest was already an established precedent in Abrahamic times. [More on that later]

Earlier on in Isaiah’s work Isaiah shows there are right ways and wrong ways to go about studying God’s sure word of prophecy and therefore, it follows logically, in also understanding it:

9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: KJV Isaiah 28:9-10

There’s absolutely no excuse for the Jews to get it wrong for a third time, unless they completely ignore the plain words of prophecy, BUT notice now, carefully, what Isaiah says about his own peoples who were in those ancient times and possibly still are practically ‘weaned’ on the Law and the prophets below.

Because the forefathers of Judah [Jacob] and Ephraim/Samaria [Israel] both ignored what God was offering them under His benevolent rule which in all likelihood would have been overflowing peace free from warfare, disease, suffering or even death as a result of war, as these verses below seem to hint, they were to undergo a very different future because of their unwillingness to listen carefully to Gods prophetic words through His prophets:

To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. KJV Isaiah 28:12

So instead of overflowing peace and understanding of God’s word the punishment that befell them on two previous occasions was to be their lot until Jesus sets up His future spiritual and ‘physical’ kingdom through His resurrected saints, prophets, apostles and patriarchs and, warfare, would be just a part of that future during the growth of the stone kingdom [Daniel’s 5^th kingdom, Daniel 2:44-45] from those times of our ancient ancestor’s resistance to God and His ways:

13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. KJV Isaiah 28:13-14

King David had pretty much earlier on than even Isaiah, said exactly the same thing, about the Jews lack of understanding prophecy, correctly, would continue to occur in their future and for the same reasons that Isaiah sets out in His extremely insightful, expansive and ‘spot on’ prophecies regarding the rest of the Israelite’s nation’s lack of understanding prophecy as well, which the apostle Paul put very succinctly and clearly --- also citing OT prophetic scripture from both Ezekiel [Ezekiel 12:2] and David. [Ps 69:22-23]:

7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,

8 as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day."

9 And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.

10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever."

11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.

12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! NIV Romans 11:7-13

The apostle Paul asks this important question of the ages even though he was thoroughly familiar with the prophets and Jesus’ statement that salvation is of the Jews --- but why exactly?

Matthew in the New Testament quotes Jesus quoting Isaiah’s similar words to Ezekiel’s showing the Jews in Jesus’ day were still the same regarding their lack of true understanding of what the prophets really taught concerning Him and basically that this blindness to true prophetic understanding would not be “healed” most probably, until Jesus’ return sometime in our future times ahead of us in our day and age:

13 This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "`You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

NIV Matthew 13:13-16

This quote from Isaiah by Jesus is but one of many that the New Testament writers used and at the end of this segment of part 4 of the Isaiah essay we’ll endeavour to list as many as we can for our readers to show that quite a lot of Isaiah was indeed referenced by Jesus’ and his disciples and therefore approved as the ‘official’ word of God by them, which adds additional weight to our assertions that Isaiah was definitely written by a ‘single’ author who was inspired by the Saviour that he followed and, also to whom he referred often in his work.

It’s basically the prophet Joel [along with hints and clues from the other prophets] who gives the time and puts things into a definite ‘timeframe’ perspective

for the time ahead of us when the Jews will begin to discern true prophecy in respect of those prophecies covering Jesus and His future reign as the King of Israel /Zion and of all the earth:

1. `In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2. I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.

12 `Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.

13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow-- so great is their wickedness! `

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

17 Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. NIV Joel 3: 1-2, 12-17

20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion. KJV Joel 3:20-21

Christianity, like the Jews has also failed to understand Ezekiel, and also misunderstood the content of Ezekiel’s last 8 chapters and nearly all of Ezekiel besides.

It is not just the Jews who have misunderstood Ezekiel only and a great deal of other prophecy, especially concerning Jesus’ first or second advents --- but it is clearly evident that it is the majority of Christians also --- to an alarming degree as we are about to show our readers. [As we have done already in other articles, but not in depth]

Modern Christianity [Sabbath or Sunday keeping varieties] believes that its collective eschatology is soundly based on prophecy.

However the modern study of the End times [eschatology] is remarkably faulty also.

All base their teachings on a future End of the Age, Our age of modern times.

Many have asked and attempted to answer the question, Are we living in the End times? Well, are we?

If by the end times, the “end of the age” that was prophesied in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 is being referred to then All prophecy says emphatically NO!

If by the ‘end times’ we mean instead, the end of man’s rule on earth, then all prophecy attests a definite ‘yes’ to that but does it mean the end of our New Testament age? In one sense spiritually speaking yes but in another physical sense no.

What we are about to show our readers is a completely “new understanding” that has arisen from our long standing and almost continuous study of study of Isaiah that began in what started as what we “saw” in the middle chapters of Isaiah as “the Isaiah promises.” We added to the Isaiah promises, as our understanding increased --- “The Jeremiah promises” [Jeremiah chapter 31]which confirm ‘middle’ Isaiah to the nth degree entirely apart from Micah and the other prophet’s additional confirmations that we’ve now shown here as well.

What we said about the New Covenant age having no end at all is absolutely true because of what Daniel reveals in the seventy weeks prophecy showing that ‘righteousness’ would be ushered in ‘permanently’ by the coming of the New Covenant age:

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. KJV Daniel 9:24

We, like every other Christian have also been under the impression that the ‘New Covenant’ is in force and operating right this minute in modern times.

The truth is it may well be for those Christians who obey God in all things --- on a personal level including keeping the Sabbath holy which was to be and still is ‘a sign’ between God and His people --- whether or not ‘physical Jews’ or as the New Testament asserts true believers that are obedient Christians become and, are therefore, in reality, regarded by God as “spiritual Jews.”

Christians who become Heirs and therefore inheritors at Jesus’ return of not only the Abrahamic birthright promises but also the spiritual sceptre promises of salvation through the Messiah who is also our Lord and King already, in reality, in the spiritual sense, are what the apostle Paul was getting at in his discourses, already counted as Heirs to the Kingdom of God even though the physical kingdom of God is not yet a full reality but is still a Kingdom in the making, which will soon appear on earth in the fullness of time.

Could our present age be a transitional age?

What we are now going to present as part and parcel of this Isaiah essay and rightly so because it is Isaiah essentially that brings up the “temple question” in the 66^th chapter about where God will ‘live’ for all eternity and which for some strange reason we keep returning to often in our studies of other prophets --- is that our present age might in fact be a ‘transitional age’ --- one squarely in the middle of the Old Covenant age and the New Covenant age.

What this would mean to all of us then requires a hopefully a not too lengthy explanation --- but what if the new covenant hasn’t even been made yet?

This would put an entirely new face on all our perceptions about modern Christianity, especially if the New Covenant like the Old Covenant is “a marriage covenant”. How so?

Because of the fact that the New Covenant according to Joel 3 and Isaiah among others is going to be made with the Jews and the rest of the Israelites when they are restored to one nation again, the all important question then becomes has Jesus/God married anybody yet?

All prophetic evidence points to a negative.

Ezekiel, not the only prophet that has been misunderstood by Jews and Christians, secular scholars or historians, alike

WE are living in what the bible’s prophecy calls, the ‘last days’ however, but now we must ask the biggest question of all regarding the New Testament’s ‘new covenant’ that nobody seems to have considered before now.

It is an all important question that has a profound bearing on what prophecy reveals regarding our modern era.

The answer will ‘shock’ Christianity, perhaps down to its roots, especially with the belief that nearly every church has that ‘the church’ will supposedly ‘marry’ Jesus at his return.

Jesus’ return to earth in our future may well mark the beginning of what the prophets call “the latter days” as some prophets put it, but we are already living in the ‘last days’ according to the apostle Peter [Acts 2:17] and as indicated by at least two other Old Testament prophets [Isaiah 2:1-4 and Micah 4:1-3] --- but the last days of what exactly?

Certainly not in the last days of the New Covenant because of all the prophecy we’ve cited here in this essay the conclusion is set in concrete that the New Covenant was to be permanent and Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy confirmed that as we’ve shown.

The angel in the last verse of Daniel’s prophetic book expressed the time of Daniel’s resurrection at Jesus coming in different terminology as ‘the end of the days’:

KJV Daniel 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

These considerations are just a part of the bigger and astonishing question and hopefully an answer yet to come in this essay. As expressed in our work before, we are constantly surprised at learning new concepts and spiritual things on a more or less constant basis since beginning our joint studies into prophecy and so we don’t necessarily know beforehand where our articles or writings are going to lead us --- we just press on to whatever conclusion is reached as we write in an ‘ongoing’ fashion. We are most definitely not subject to traditional views but are something akin to ‘explorers’ in that sense.

Not only have a number of prophets, Ezekiel the foremost, but also including Isaiah, Jeremiah and even Daniel to a degree been seriously misunderstood but also a number of prophetic ‘terms’ or ‘terminology’ has also been misunderstood.

So much so, that much prophecy has been sadly distorted as a result, that need not have been, if the correct terminology was understood according to context.

For example, in part of the quote from Joel 3 given above in verse 17 God calls ‘Zion’ His ‘holy hill’ which would under ordinary circumstances lead one to think that ‘Mt Zion’ might be the other possible site for Ezekiel’s third temple:

17 Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.

There is in fact, a ‘Mount Zion’ just barely outside the confines of OLD Jerusalem as most are aware and it might well conceivably be the only other possible alternate building site for Ezekiel’s ‘third temple’ other than the Mount of Olives cited by Zechariah and seemingly confirmed by Ezekiel, and even Micah and Isaiah, not to mention the apostle/prophet John, in Revelation, because Mt Moriah, the present site of the Dome of the Rock, and proposed future site by orthodox Jewry [Judaism] doesn’t even get a mention, prophetically speaking, in that connection at all as a site for God’s /Jesus’ future throne.

So in effect there are at least 4 Old Testament prophets and one New Testament prophet --- all indicating the ‘Mount of Olives’ as the possible future site and only one Old Testament prophet [Joel] with a ‘possible’ alternate site for the ‘new’ millennial future Temple of Ezekiel --- but only if that reference to Zion ‘my holy hill’ is a reference to that physical mountain within almost shouting distance to the confines of ‘Old’ Jerusalem.

Or alternately, another explanation for the term Zion is being used, if it is ‘symbolic’ of something else entirely, which would then, in effect, disqualify the physical mountain or hill of Zion as a possible future site.

The ‘evidence’ for the proposed site of Ezekiel’s temple indicated by God, through His prophets, as follows:

The 4 prophets; Two major, two minor, [with the caveat that the author of this essay regards Zechariah as a major prophet, contrary to scholar’s beliefs or classifications]:

All 4 prophets state it will be an ‘elevated’ site --- clearly obviously higher than any existing hills or mountains currently within the confines of Jerusalem, including Mt Moriah or Mt Zion, according to each prophet’s detailed descriptions:

Isaiah:

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. KJV Isaiah 2:1-2

Ezekiel:

In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. KJV Ezekiel 40:2

7. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile...

12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. KJV Ezekiel 43:7 &12

Micah:

1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. KJV Micah 4:1-2

Zechariah:

3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. KJV Zechariah 14:3-5

That last verse 5 gives the timeframe for Zechariah’s prophecy as being definitely at the time of the first resurrection of all the saints and prophets, apostles etc mentioned throughout old and new Testaments alike.

The apostle John sets down in the book of Revelation what amounts to full confirmation of Ezekiel’s prophetic vision of a throne and new temple sanctuary being actually set up or built on a “high” mountain which neither Mt. Moriah nor Mt Zion qualify for in terms of physical height. If either of those two hills/mountains were raised to great heights by the foretold great earthquake then a significant amount of current day Jerusalem would indeed be destroyed.

Moreover greater damage would be done to Jerusalem if Mount Moriah was raised to new heights by possible volcanic activity [Micah 1:4] than in the case of Mt Zion:

And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. KJV Micah 1:4

The Mount of Olives on the other hand is just far enough away from Jerusalem to cause the minimal amount of collateral damage [1/10^th destroyed] pictured in the one book of prophecy that the Jews may or may not acknowledge as such [Revelation] --- when that mountain is split in two according to Zechariah 14:4.

The book of Revelation shows, like Zechariah, a great earthquake occurs at Jesus’ return to rule planet earth.

These words of prophecy may not be acknowledged in Jerusalem until after the event becomes a reality and part of Jerusalem destroyed as a result:

And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. KJV Revelation 11:13

What do these 4 Old Testament prophets show in conjunction with the New Testament prophet John’s confirmation of the same theme of the establishment of the future location of God’s throne on this earth?

The New Testament prophet John confirms that ‘New Jerusalem’ will be overlaid straight over the top of “a great and high mountain” clearly located near old Jerusalem somewhere:

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, KJV Revelation 21:10

Author’s note: There are no such great and high mountains as described by God’s servants the prophets yet existing near Jerusalem but according to Zechariah --- the moment Jesus sets foot on the mount of Olives there will be one great mountain at least if not two or perhaps a lesser but still big mountain with a ‘new’ valley created between them --- notice in verse 5 again, the words, ‘valley of the mountains’:

· And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal:

Clearly a new and interesting geological phenomenon whereby a mountain that is not all that big regarding actual current height [The Mount of Olives could hardly be compared to a Mt. Everest for example in its current hill-like condition] will be moved a considerable distance in two directions at once and elevated to new heights after being split into two halves and after the millennium the prophet John states that atop a great mountain will be situated a new and heavenly built Jerusalem --- that defies all logic and ‘natural’ phenomenon to date.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. KJV Revelation 21:2

A great many prophecies as we’ve already shown in our ‘Day of the Lord’ articles [parts 1, 2&3] prior to this part of the essay, picture water flowing from the new throne and sanctuary of God but an interesting sideline issue would be does a valley of acacias already exist in Israel or is Joel’s little additional prophecy representing the ‘new’ valley between the two halves of the mount of olives here in this verse?

NIV Joel 3:18 In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias.

What are the implications and ramifications also of this seemingly innocent but vastly revealing ‘one liner’ from the book of Revelation [21:2] and the prophet John under inspiration of the holy spirit as all God’s holy prophets were and therefore under the Messiah, Jesus’ inspiration also at the time Revelation was written as the book of Revelation states in its intro?

What are the really big questions? One certainly concerns the location of God/Jesus future location of His throne/home for all eternity and Ezekiel’s third temple in that connection, which was also Isaiah’s theme in some of his very expansive and intricate prophecies.

Another big and entirely related question that Isaiah dealt with along with Jeremiah is the establishment of the New Covenant and when.

The New Testament and New Covenant is clearly not one and the same thing:

The New Testament is the equivalent of a modern ‘last will and testament.’

The ‘New Covenant’ is an “agreement between God and man” which leads to the question of exactly when that new Covenant comes into being.

A question that nobody in Christianity has ever asked, seemingly, till now:

Is the “New Covenant” actually in force or operation today?

What do the Old Testament prophets say? Can it be or was it confirmed by the New Testament prophet John to be in operation or not?

All New Testament Christian Churches [Sunday or Sabbath keeping] seemingly operate under the ‘assumption’ that the New Covenant is an established fact.

All prophecy indicates the answer to this big question is in the NEGATIVE.

All prophecy indicates the New Covenant hasn’t been made yet. By implication, that not having been made with the Jews until a future time, [Joel 3:17] nor has it been made therefore with modern Israel/the English speaking peoples, but will be made with both at the same time --- After the kingdom of God has been ‘fully’ established with Jesus’ return.

Are our readers suitably or understandably shocked? If you are a Christian you may very well be.

We did warn however that there would be surprises in what true prophecy does reveal and this is just one of the many surprises that we’ve uncovered during our intensive research into prophecy over the years since beginning our studies five or so years ago now.

This ‘new’ understanding is a surprise to the author of this essay also so it’s only fair that proof should be forthcoming --- and it will be --- and not surprisingly comes through those same abovementioned ‘misunderstood’ prophets, including Isaiah, But, once again Ezekiel stands out and takes the forefront in being most misunderstood as follows in this segment of the Isaiah essay:

Relevant related issues, prophetic ‘terminology’ and prophetic facts:

· The ‘Old Covenant’ was a ‘marriage covenant’ between God and the ‘whole’ 12 tribes of ancient Israel.

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: KJV Jeremiah 31:32

· Samaria [Ephraim/Joseph]and Jacob/Judah, represented by their capital cities, became ‘daughters’ to the original ‘mother’ of the ‘marriage’ covenant [whole Israel] once the tribes split into two houses of Israel, known as Israel and Jacob, or Samaria and Jerusalem, respectively, according to Ezekiel’s ‘allegorical’ parable style analogy.

This whole allegory in Ezekiel’s 23^rd chapter relates to how God regarded the two houses of Israel ‘individually’ as akin to ‘daughters’ of the Old Covenant ‘marriage’ [allegorically speaking] after they split from their ‘mother’ [whole Israel] who was married to God as follows:

2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. KJV Ezekiel 23:2-4

It’s quite an elaborate allegory and the author of this essay is not an expert on allegory or anything else for that matter, but any sensible bible student would be able to see what is represented there in Ezekiel is very plainly speaking of Israel [Samaria] and Judah[Jerusalem] for themselves. The prophecy says as much anyway, [verse 4] it’s very straight forward.

It doesn’t require a doctorate or degree in theology to see what the word of God plainly reveals in any case, fortunately, for us average Joes.

Ezekiel’s allegory reveal’s much more than meets the eye at first.

This allegory in Ezekiel 23 actually goes a long way in helping to actually arrive at the understanding that Jerusalem is quite often referred to as the “Daughter of Zion” in prophecy in various places and by different prophets:

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. KJV 2 Kings 19:20-21

Although this is recorded in Kings it’s actually very clearly during Isaiah’s time under Hezekiah and what it reveals for our purposes in proving that the New Covenant has not yet been made with the inhabitants of “New” Zion, of the future, is that Jerusalem,[ Ezekiel’s, Aholibah] clearly ‘the daughter of Zion’ had not yet figuratively or allegorically “played the harlot” as had Samaria [ Ezekiel’s, Ahola] and so could therefore legitimately be called the ‘virgin’ daughter of Zion at that time.

This in turn helps us to understand that the symbolic [feminine] terminology used for “Zion” is not necessarily or just a reference to Mt. Zion in Jerusalem itself and so in turn Joel’s reference to “Zion my holy hill” may also not be just a reference to that ‘physical’ and natural Mt Zion as an alternative site to the mount of Olives for Ezekiel’s temple.

Logically if Jerusalem was ‘the Daughter of Zion’ in the past --- this is not necessarily a reference to a hill or mountain that bears that name unless it is possible that Jerusalem might have had its start or ‘point of origin’ at mount Zion as a city and grown from that point .

This is of course an unknown but ‘possible’ factor to this author, however, and the earliest possible reference to Jerusalem within the confines of the bible itself before it became Jerusalem is when Abraham was returning from a battle and paid tithes to Melchizadek who was reportedly a high priest and King of a city called ‘Salem’ and cities in those early times were ‘city states’ and the logical place to build a ‘fortress style’ or ‘fortified city state’ would be on an elevated site or a hill just as a great many medieval castles were built on hills.

So the original Salem could have indeed been built on mount Zion and as it grew and expanded could have become Jerusalem of later ages.

While all this does fall into the realm of ‘speculation’ --- the otherwise inexplicable issue of Melchizadek’s mention in the New Testament is both a mysterious one and an intriguing one that gets a mention in both the old and New Testaments for no ‘apparent’ reason or one that is obscure and is therefore not really clear to us today.

A little more speculation regarding Melchizadek will follow because it did seem to have quite some significance to one of God’s apostles and as such may have a connection to the origins of the term ‘Zion’ in a fuller sense.

The term, Zion, then becomes a further consideration as a possible key to unlocking prophetic understanding of the nature of the future Kingdom of God.

Isaiah chapter 66 uses the term ‘Zion’ in a totally different context and needs to be considered in relation to the ‘temple question’ that this entire chapter brings to the fore as part of God’s final solution to the question of His/their future home for eternity [if we include Revelation’s statements of a joint home and shared throne, eventually, for both God the Father and the Lamb/Jesus, His Soon, Revelation 21:22-23]:

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.KJV Revelation 21:22

Note: the wording here indicates or possibly infers a ‘shared’ throne at a point beyond the millennial rule of Christ.

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? KJV Isaiah 66:1

This is actually quite an unusual question for God to put through His prophet Isaiah as a conclusion to Isaiah’s prophecies because at the time Isaiah’s prophecies were written the first Temple of Solomon was still very much in existence and was supposedly built as ‘house’ for the God of Israel according to God’s agreement with David that David’s son Solomon would be allowed to build a house for God’s name and worship.

It apparently housed all the sacred and holy vessels and other things [Menorah’s etc] used in the worship of God. Things that may be unfamiliar to Christians today in the modern era but still regarded as very sacred to Judaism.

To the Christian, the human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, just as the New Testament teaches through the Saviour and the apostles and there’s almost a hint of that in the second verse of Isaiah 66:2 as well:

For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

But the “home” or house of the Holy Spirit and the “house” or home of God’s throne is a completely different issue altogether.

The answer to the question of where God’s throne will finally reside should therefore be addressed separately and not be bundled together as some Christians have done to decry the necessity for a physical temple such as Ezekiel describes being relevant at all.

What we are endeavouring to show here is that the claim for the building of Ezekiel’s temple by the Jews is a valid one despite the sensitivity of some Christians to the contrary.

However God doesn’t really begin to answer the opening question in verse 1 of Isaiah about where His throne shall be housed for eternity until about verse 7 prefaced by verse 6 and the answer is tied into not only the birth of the Saviour but also the creation of a new nation from the old ‘Zion’ which we understand from what we call the “summary” chapter of Revelation i.e. chapter 12 to be both a ‘spiritual and physical’ nation in the future millennium just like the old Zion was, but in verses 7-9 it becomes a little clearer that the creation of the kingdom of God is an ‘ongoing’ process comparable to the gestation period before childbirth.

In Isaiah 66 however, a ‘transitional phase’ of the creation of New Zion [the kingdom of God] seems to be being described rather than its final fulfilment:

7 before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. KJV Isaiah 66:7-9

It’s no coincidence as far as we are concerned that the 12^th chapter of Revelation ‘mirrors’ the concepts of Isaiah 66 perfectly regarding old Israel’s [Zion’s] transformation into the new spiritual Israel[Zion]of the future.

It should come as no surprise therefore that the kingdom of God [New Zion] will be based on the Old Israel model of a ‘physical and spiritual’ nation. The book of Revelation does indeed show after all that the saints after their resurrection will be both “kings and priests” in that future kingdom which was practically unheard of under the old Israel’s ‘church and state’ set up. Under the old set up only the Levites were allowed to be priests --- kings were kings and priests were priests.

There was no combination of “king and priest” as far as we know with only one notable exception and that was before Israel became a nation --- Melchizadek was both ‘king and high priest’ of Salem.

Just because the Israelites of old failed God, doesn’t mean that God will not keep His promises or has changed His plans to make all of Israel over into a ‘model’ spiritual nation with a ‘physical’ component still.

If we are understanding this prophecy in Isaiah 66 correctly God is telling Isaiah here that the Saviour’s [man-child’s] birth came or comes before the labour pains associated with the birth of a new nation and after the birth of the Saviour’s ‘new children’ of Zion [Old Israel] are ‘brought forth’ into the world as a result of Old Israel’s [Zion’s] labour pains associated with bringing to birth a new [spiritual] nation.

The understanding then would be the kingdom of God [New Zion] is not yet fully born from the old Zion which brought forth the new children ahead of normal childbirth labour pains --- but has already brought forth new children [including the man-child] ahead of time that are apparently being readied for rulership as ‘kings and priests’ in that new spiritual kingdom of God [according to Revelation] --- when it is born:

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. KJV Revelation 1:5-6

According to the New Testament, Jesus was the first so begotten or born and is the leader or captain of the other new children’s salvation and also their older brother, so holding the title of “High Priest forever after the order of Melchizadek” would be most appropriate therefore because a high priest is or was always over lesser priests under the old order of Israel.

6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, KJV Hebrews 2:6-12

Where modern Christianity parted company with prophetic truth regarding God’s future throne is tied basically to the 12^th chapter of Revelation.

Sabbath and Sunday keeping Christian churches have likewise made the incorrect assumption that Revelation 12:14 is a reference to the modern day Christian churches fleeing to a place of safety during a supposed Great tribulation which actually occurred in 67-70 AD as prophesied in the synoptic Gospels in Mathew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and confirmed in Revelation 12.

There are only 3 places in Revelation 12 where the Christian churches are mentioned indirectly by implication to the future kingdom of God i.e. verses10-11 and the latter half of verse 17 and even then it’s a reference to the saints in all cases who feature prominently throughout Revelation’s pages elsewhere within that prophetic book.

All the rest of Revelation 12 is a summary and record of the ‘transitional phase’ of the Old Zion to the New Zion [i.e. Old Israel to the New kingdom of God.] and ties into Isaiah’s transitional phase of Zion in Isaiah 66:7-9 to the new ‘kingdom of God’ nicely.

The ongoing war pictured in Revelation 17 reflects along with verse 7 the “aftermath” of the fulfilment of Daniel 12:1’s, and Jeremiah 30:7’s ‘great’ tribulation that occurred in 67-70AD not our future as many believe and the continued troubles that would concern both the Jews [i.e. the ‘woman’ Israel] and Christianity until Jesus’ return, as Jesus said plainly that those tribulations/troubles so portrayed by those synoptic gospels were just the beginning of ongoing sorrows:

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. KJV Matthew 24:7-8

Other English language translations render these words that appear in each of the synoptic Gospels as the beginning of ‘birth’ pains:

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. NIV Mark 13:8

All these are the beginning of birth pains. NIV Matthew 24:8

Sorrows, troubles or ‘birth pains’ associated with what exactly?

What is the answer to the big question as to whether or not the New Covenant is actually in force in this day and age then, that nobody in Christianity has given thought to, most probably because freedom of thought that is not tied to “traditional” or “accepted teachings” is not encouraged among Christians, or Jews or even Muslims for that matter?

Have we been living in a ‘transitional phase’ that has lasted for nearly 2000 years now between the Old Covenant’s ending in 67-70 AD and the as yet establishment of the New Covenant at Jesus’ return?

It’s not as an absurd question as one might think when the evidence from the prophets is brought to bear on the subject, prophets and prophecies we need not add, that have been misconstrued, misunderstood and misinterpreted for centuries now because of lack of true understanding of prophecy.

Gathering some the evidence from all the prophets [both old and New Testaments] this is what we find:

Jeremiah:

31 “The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, “declares the LORD.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34 No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." N IV Jeremiah 31:31-34

Has the New Covenant been made with the Jews [Judah] yet? When will that be?

Joel:

An unmistakable ‘timeframe’ clearly sometime after Jesus’ return in our future:

`In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias.

20 Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations.

21 Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon. ` The LORD dwells in Zion! NIV Joel 3:18, 20-21

In what day, will these prophecies be fulfilled?

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

17 `Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. NIV Joel 3:14-17

It follows logically if the New Covenant hasn’t yet been made with the Jews and Jeremiah is suggestive as above in Jeremiah 31:31-34, that it will be made with both houses together, simultaneously, then neither has it been made with the rest of the ten tribes of Israel to date therefore.

Note the wording in Jeremiah again more closely with different emphasis this time [context is very important in understanding prophecy]:

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

After what time exactly?

When will the Laws of God be written into the hearts of Men? Which men?

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

Are men still teaching one another to “Know the Lord” today in this possibly ‘transitional age’ between the covenants? And, when the New Covenant comes into full force will that then become unnecessary?

No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Why will it become unnecessary to do what all Christians and indeed a great many Jews endeavour to do today? Isn’t that in essence teaching each other and others, i.e. their brothers, and/or neighbours, to know the Lord?

because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,"

But again, why exactly?

I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.

Throughout the ‘New Testament’ the apostle Paul, especially, taught the Gentiles that they must become spiritual Jews and have their “hearts” circumcised and, that circumcision of the flesh is no longer as important as it once was under the ‘Old Covenant/Old Testament’.

We, today, may in fact be conceivably living in the New Testament age but not necessarily in the New Covenant age as yet and a great deal of Old and New Testament prophecy seems to be pointing to this conclusion.

Christians are in fact called ‘heirs’ and not yet ‘inheritors’ of the promise of eternal life and Jews must, according to prophecy, come under the New Covenant also --- and at a specific point and/or time in world history, i.e. the so called, second coming.

As the Old Testament prophets show Jesus was of old, coming and going on our earth many times and, Melchizadek/Jesus was just one example of God’s visits to earth in ancient times, but humanity always invariably wants to hang labels on things, and so the appellation ‘first’ and ‘second’ comings came into common usage or the ‘first’ and ‘second’ advents as these events of Jesus’ public appearances came to be known.

The apostle Paul taught and made many well known statements in complete harmony with what Jesus also taught about how faith works to make all believers heirs to salvation and eternal life whether Jew or Gentile:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. KJV Romans 1:16

The apostle Paul understood Judaism perfectly well, having been formerly a very devout Jew and perfectly skilled as a teacher in all aspects of ‘the Law and the prophets’ and this explanation of his, although lengthy, is necessary here to show ‘faith’ very much like Abraham’s now operates in those who are called and chosen by the “grace” of God to be the ‘first fruits’ of the as yet not fully established, in our reality, “kingdom of God” in this seemingly transitional period of modern times, which could be compared to the human “gestation period” from the age of the “stone” kingdom’s infancy to final birth as new Israel or new Zion under what will then be the New Covenant age, seemingly, sometime after Jesus’ return.

1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2 for if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

KJV Romans 4:1-25

Which great eternal spiritual Law will be written into the mind and hearts of men and women after the New Covenant is made with the twelve modern tribes Israel?

Could those prophetic passages in Jeremiah indeed be alluding to all of Israel together, i.e. in all twelve ‘physical’ tribes of Israel? United once again as they are portrayed in the most misunderstood prophet’s work, i.e. Ezekiel’s 37^th Chapter?

Why is the essentially Hebrew bible that has been more or less adopted by the English speaking peoples as their very own holy book, and peddled, promoted or pushed on all the world as ‘God’s word’ by Christianity, called the ‘Old Testament’ and an additional section written just before the Old Covenant ended in 67-70AD called the ‘New testament’ and not the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?

Is it because the New Covenant hasn’t been ‘enacted’ yet?

It could conceivably be highly significant therefore that the New Testament was written after Jesus’ death and before the Old Testament ended in 67-70AD. How so?

A ‘testament’ in this biblical sense i.e. a ‘New’ Testament [as in human law, which often refers to man’s leaving an inheritance to his heirs as the ‘last will and testament’ of the testator who promises to leave the Heirs to his or her estate, whatever is contained in that ‘testament’] may be operating in exactly the same way as it does in man’s laws.

A great many of the apostle Paul’s teachings revolved around “promises” which were in fact prophecies of a future fulfilment of what the ‘heirs’ to those promises would receive by way of inheritance.

Paul clearly states in verse 13 in the above quote what Abraham was to inherit was the entire world/earth as part of those promises and not merely just the holy land:

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Clearly God’s “will” or “testament” has not been carried out yet concerning Abraham or his descendants and heirs yet, even to this day i.e. they haven’t yet received what was promised to all Abraham’s heirs under the New Testament i.e. rulership of the whole world under the kingdom of God.

Again, the apostle Paul clearly outlined what those who are led by God’s spirit were to inherit:

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

KJV Romans 8:14-25

These above passages of Paul’s are very descriptive of a ‘transitional period’ of waiting for the fulfilment of the kingdom of God when the heirs to the Kingdom will receive that Kingdom and all the promises pertaining to Abraham’s heirs who are at that time to become full ‘spiritual’ Children of God --- for all eternity.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. KJV Galatians 3:27-29

The Gentiles were also to be ‘heirs’ of the New Covenant promises --- but also not yet inheritors

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: KJV Ephesians 3:2-6

What was the ‘Gospel’ called that Jesus commanded His followers to teach and preach about?

Wasn’t it called “the Gospel of the Kingdom of God?”

14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15 And saying the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. KJV Mark 1:14-15

Some theologians have made the claim that the apostle Paul’s writings were difficult to be understood and sometimes ‘at odds’ with the other apostles --- not so --- that assertion only holds true for those that don’t understand prophecy and what was clearly written in the Old Testament.

Paul affirms in his own way what all prophecy, the apostle John, in his Gospel account, especially in the 1^st chapter, as does the book of Revelation throughout its pages and indeed Isaiah’s 66^th chapter that the Jesus was the creator and that the “creation of the Kingdom of God” is “a process” that is still “a work in progress” that is not only a mystery to us but also isn’t complete yet and won’t be until the New Covenant is made with all of God’s peoples.

The modern day Jews and modern day English speaking peoples along with all the other twelve tribes of Israel’s modern descendants and some of the other Gentile nations that don’t oppose God are to have share in that eternal purpose and those promises:

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

KJV Ephesians 3:8-12

What does the Gospel of Luke say the archangel Gabriel told Mary, the mother of Jesus, just before His birth about the kingdom of God?

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, KJV Luke 1:26

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: Note: The term father in this case above in reference to David is synonymous with forefather.

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. KJV Luke 1:30-34

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. KJV Luke 1:35

Was that prophecy uttered by the very same angel that delivered all of Daniel’s prophecies concerning “Stone kingdom’s” transition into “the Kingdom of God” that was to eventually encompass the whole world --- fulfilled, then, about Jesus being called the Son of God? What’s the short answer? Yes, indeed.

Quite a startling statement by the very same angel that revealed to Daniel in Daniel’s prophetic book a great many details of the coming of the Messiah in the seventy weeks prophecy that is clearly showing whom Jesus will be ruling for all eternity in verse 33 of Luke then isn’t it?

he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. KJV Luke 1:30-34

All prophecy shows the Jews are the “house of Jacob”

The implications here then by one of the only two remaining Archangel’s of God who remained faithful after Lucifer rebelled and became renamed, Satan, the Devil --- is that the Jews/Jacob have an important role in that Kingdom of God.

The promises of “Grace” are involved and elaborated on in all the New Testament to varying degrees:

3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. KJV Titus 3:3-7

Jesus spoke of a “regeneration” to come at his return just after citing who would and would not be in His kingdom and many of His parables deal with the dividing of the sheep from the goats at that time and also a pulling out of the “weeds” or ‘tares’ that have been growing alongside or among the wheat of His “crop” or “harvest” of believers [Mathew 13:25-30] and what Jesus revealed to Peter was quite eye opening to say the least:

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. KJV Matthew 19:27-29

Jesus was revealing very plainly here that ‘the kingdom of God’ entails rulership over the 12 tribes of Israel and to be able to promise such rulership, the descendants all twelves tribe of Israel, must still exist somewhere on earth today.

The implication here in this “prophetic” statement is that His disciples were “Heirs” to all these things including eternal life --- just exactly as the apostle Paul taught and not yet inheritors.

Jesus in many of His parables was very plainly setting out “the conditions” or requirements for that inheritance that had to be met --- very much like a human “last will and testament” often has conditions that an heir must meet to obtain that inheritance.

Our modern laws therefore do not recognise any previous will or “testament” made before that “final” one --- a parallel comparison to the Old and New “Testaments” of the bible can therefore legitimately be made along similar lines.

But Isaiah in his extraordinarily “insightful prophetic work” spoke of that “refreshing” to come much earlier on --- somewhere between 700 to 800 years in advance :

To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. KJV Isaiah 28:12

Had the Jews listened to the prophet Isaiah things might have been different and that first terrible Diaspora may not have occurred and Isaiah is the prophet who sets out plainly that “the refreshing” the Jews could have had way back then except for disobedience to God --- would of necessity therefore be postponed for a later era or age and that the Old Testament covenant would be “disannulled” as a result of their religious and secular ruler’s actions at that time in ignoring God’s prophets and Isaiah in particular:

14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. KJV Isaiah 28:14-18, 21-22

The Jews suffered the first Diaspora exactly as foretold by Isaiah because of their leaders, both secular and religious and, the Old Covenant was clearly “disannulled” as a result. Making it of course a necessity for a “New Covenant” to be made at some later time [a “last will and testament” comparable to the human variety in modern law was inaugurated at that time but the New Testament is not in and of itself the New Covenant]

According to the New Testament writers --- in this case, the apostle Peter, this “refreshing” will now come at the time of Jesus’ second advent as follows:

18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. KJV Acts 3:18-26

The prophetic promises to Abraham as set out in the ‘Old Testament’ and confirmed in the ‘New Testament’ were clearly twofold of both Race and Grace and the “New Covenant” clearly deals more with the grace side of the equation as the apostle Peter sets out above:

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

As stated earlier in this instalment of the Isaiah essay, the Old Covenant was a “marriage” covenant. It follows that the New Covenant will also be a marriage covenant.

The book of Revelation reveals as does much of the New Testament that Jesus is yet to marry “somebody” in the future and much New Testament prophecy deals with that coming marriage. The Christian Churches believe Jesus is to marry the New Testament Church when He returns --- but that would leave out the Jews entirely from the New Covenant therefore and all prophecy shows the Jews will be not only be included but will be the chief teachers in the New kingdom of God under the saints and Jesus, with King David installed as their “prince” with the foremost of those prophecies coming from the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel with excellent back-up from Zechariah and Micah.

22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.

23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. KJV Zechariah 8:22-23

To answer the question of whether or not the New Covenant is in force today we need to gather all the evidence together into one place and that one place is this Isaiah essay because the “middle Isaiah” promises coupled to the “Jeremiah promises” with backup from Joel, Micah and even Ezekiel and the New testament writers, not the least of which is the prophet and apostle John in Revelation’s prophetic account are all indicative that the “New Covenant” has yet to be made with the descendants of all the twelve tribes of Israel.

The building of Ezekiel’s third temple ties into the establishment of the New Covenant with the Jews of the future.

So, logically, if the New Covenant has not yet been made with the Jews as the prophet Joel indicates [Joel 3:21] to whom the promises of Grace were given and the teachings of New Testament writers, including Peter and Paul, shown above, confirms that Christians are only Heirs at present and not yet inheritors of the promises of Salvation, which includes eternal life in addition to rulership in the as yet ‘future’ Kingdom of God, as both Kings and priests, the question that naturally arises then is “has the New covenant been made with the rest of Israel’s tribes?” i.e. the English speaking peoples being the chief representatives of the rest of the so called ‘lost ten tribes’ of Israel who were the main recipients of the Abrahamic promises of race.

The prophet Hosea adds a dimension concerning the Isaiah and Jeremiah promises to all twelve tribes of Israel and therefore to what the events of the future of the world and the outcome of what WW3 will be in the final analysis.

The next instalment of the ‘Isaiah essay’ after this will deal with all the nations that come into that final confrontation with Christ and His armies after Zechariah’s initial battle portrayed in Zechariah 12 and Revelation chapter 9 i.e. the ‘enemies’ of Christ.

Jesus did in fact emphasize in the New Testament that ‘salvation’ was of the Jews in the incident with the woman at the well near a town called Sychar, but notice what else Jesus says prophetically:

21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. KJV John 4:21-25

Notice further that this despised Samaritan woman had exactly the same beliefs that the Jews have in expecting a “Messiah” called “the Christ” was to come to reveal all things. Christ is in fact a ‘title’ that the Messiah was to have and not a surname as many people might think and He did in fact reveal all things concerning the coming Kingdom of God.

This woman, [along with her kinsmen later on] who was regarded even by Jesus’ disciples as all Samaritans were, an enemy of the Jews, and a Gentile [not of the original tribes of Israel that settled Samaria i.e. Ephraim and Manasseh, but of those that Nebuchadnezzar imported to live in the conquered Israelites lands in Zechariah’s times] recognized and acknowledged two things that even the High priests and the rest of the Jews of Jesus’ day couldn’t come to terms with:

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. KJV John 4:19

Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? KJV John 4:29

41 And many more believed because of his own word;

42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.

44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.

KJV John 4:41-44

It follows that if even the Gentiles of that day, living in the holy land, knew what the Jews knew in prophecy, that a Messiah called Christ was to come to be a ‘Saviour of the world’ --- that the Jews of that day may have understood the Old Testament prophecies also.

It follows logically, that if that was the belief of the Jews of that day then it may still hold true of Judaism in modern times --- that a physical messiah, leader, or the ‘prince’ stipulated in Ezekiel 44:3 to eat and worship before the Lord will come to Ezekiel’s third temple when it is built.

Lacking any personal contact with or understanding of modern Judaism the author of this essay can only draw from the scriptures themselves and speculate that this view held by the Samaritan woman and her kinsmen of those days probably in common with the Jews is a view that hasn’t changed at all since apostolic times.

While the apostles and early Christians accepted Jesus claims that He was the prophesied Messiah and Christ, exactly as He told this Samaritan woman in verses 25-26 together, the Jewish religious leaders of that day most decidedly did not:

25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. KJV John 4:25-26

We might well ask why out of all the disciples, John’s Gospel varies from Matthew Mark and Luke’s and doesn’t even have a version of the famous ‘Olivet prophecy’ upon which much of modern Christian churches’ studies of Eschatology rely so heavily for their interpretations of prophecy.

A host of interpretations, indeed, which have no support whatsoever from Old Testament prophecy or the other synoptic Gospel’s themselves regarding the ‘end’ of our modern age.

Assumptions are made that have no prophetic validation from any of the Old Testament prophets. Logic, seems to metaphorically ‘fly out the window’ in an eagerness for the long anticipated and awaited return of Jesus Christ among Christians.

Pure Logic, suggests that if the New Covenant were fully in force today in our age then our age cannot end at all.

The logical conclusion and answer to the question posed by this author on this subject then has to be in the negative therefore and that our modern age represents a period of time --- a long period of time constituting therefore, the New Testament era --- of nearly 2000 years duration that sits squarely between the End of the Old Covenant age that occurred as prophesied in 67-70 AD in the three synoptic Gospels that cover the ‘Olivet prophecy’ in only slightly varying detail --- and ‘the New Covenant age’ which will apparently be inaugurated at Jesus’ return --- and last forever.

The question then arises of why this cryptic statement by Jesus in John’s Gospel about Jerusalem not being the place of worship for future “true worshippers of God” who “must worship God the Father in spirit and in truth”

21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Where then will human beings be worshipping God the Father ‘in spirit and in truth’ if not in Jerusalem? And therefore not at Mount Moriah, within the confines of Jerusalem?

Jerusalem was destroyed in the second Diaspora of 67-70AD --- fair enough --- making it impossible to worship at Jerusalem for an extended period of time --- due to the scattering of the Jews throughout all nations, but Jerusalem does exist today, very obviously, and there is seemingly nothing stopping the Jews from returning exactly to the form of worship that they have known for countless centuries from the time Jerusalem became the centre of Jewish veneration of God the Father since King David’s days of antiquity.

It’s indeed difficult for a non-Jew to realize that Jews have no such expectations as do Christians about the return of Jesus to rule the earth, but seemingly await, rather, a ‘physical’ ruler/messiah of the line of David to teach/restore the knowledge of the true God and thereby save the world.

The eagerness on the part of Jews to return to their former worship exactly as it was in pre-Christian times in building Ezekiel’s, so called, 3rd temple, is completely understandable from the Jewish viewpoint.

But, at the same time, however, difficult to comprehend in the light of the New Testament writings and especially that of the prophet John’s writing of the ‘testimony of Jesus’ in book of Revelation’s prophetic intro which shows the book of Revelation to be not only the very valid “acclaimed” word of God but also very comprehensive and detailed prophecy of the highest order with full verification as such, by the very one [God the Father] claiming to reveal this important book of prophecy through Jesus by an angel to His servant John:

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. KJV Revelation 1:1-3

This also much misunderstood prophetic book, confirms all prophecy, including the building of Ezekiel’s temple, in a completely odd sort of way, by showing that God the Father’s and the “Lamb’s” shared throne will be located on a high mountain, near Jerusalem --- after the Millennium [Revelation 21:10] --- which shows no temple present at that time after the renewing of the Earth’s surface by fire. [Revelation 21:1-3, 5, 10, 22-23]

However what Revelation does show very clearly is that the location of God the Father’s post millennial throne corresponds perfectly with either Zechariah’s Mount of Olives location on a high mountain near Jerusalem or the alternate possible site of Mt Zion.

One of those two is the future site of God’s throne and Ezekiel’s temple but definitely not Mt Moriah where the Dome of the Rock is built today.

The Mount of Olives will clearly be modified which Zechariah [14:4-5] and possibly Ezekiel [40:2&43:4-7] shows and a new valley will exist after certain “engineering modifications” on a geologically unheard of scale in all history to date have happened due to earthquake activity. Very significant earthquake activity also on a scale never seen before according to Revelation that starts with the earthquake that splits the Mount of Olives:

13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.

15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." NIV Revelation 11:13-15

And, possibly ends with the massive earthquake that destroys modern Rome*:

*see our article at this website titled “The true identity of Revelation’s Woman/Babylon”

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!"

18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.

19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.

20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.

21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

NIV Revelation 16:17-21

Isaiah did indeed foretell the exact same time of ‘a great slaughter’ with ‘towers falling’ that parallels exactly the prophecies of Revelation in many places:

In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. NIV Isaiah 30:25

Before closing this instalment of the Isaiah essay, with an unusual but relatively comprehensive, analysis/summary of Isaiah’s prophetic future announcements, chapter by chapter it’s necessary as promised in the earlier parts of this essay to add what Hosea the prophet contributes to our understanding of the enormous magnitude and scope of Isaiah’s incredibly insightful, expansive and previously misunderstood, prophetic book.

Misunderstood seemingly by secular scholars at least and religious scholars as well, if, as seems possible those religious leaders/scholars do indeed also pay any attention to men who clearly have little to no understanding of the spiritual things of God in the sphere of prophecy at least.

Misunderstood declarations by Isaiah of quite outstanding future events to come upon our world by stunning and largely heretofore unbelieved prophecy --- that was and is both past and present, apparently too incredulous for many to accept.

God says very clearly in His word through his servants the apostles and prophets that only those who have the spirit of God can discern the things of God and as a result can discern the truth –-- if they are guided by that Holy Spirit within them exactly as the prophets of old were guided in the writing of their prophetic works:

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. KJV Romans 8:5-7

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. KJV 1 Corinthians 2:11-16

It is very clear to this author then that any man that disparages or downplays the word of God as do the secular scholars, that that man, or woman, does not have the spirit of God and will never understand prophecy, unless a change of heart is forthcoming. That the secular scholars do not understand Isaiah is abundantly clear therefore.

The prophet Hosea adds important input to the ‘Isaiah promises’ of ‘middle’ Isaiah that show the involvement of other modern descendants of ancient Israel

The book of Hosea, a contemporary of both Micah and Isaiah’s, has contained within its opening pages an elaborate allegory [along similar lines to Ezekiel’s strange Ahola and Aholibah allegory] that Hosea is called upon by God to enact by taking a prostitute as wife to represent the ‘unfaithfulness’ of Israel.

In this strange allegory played out by the prophet Hosea as described in verses1:2-9, 2:1-13 there are some quite amazing things revealed about God’s punishments and conversely His ongoing love of the ‘ten tribed’ house of or nation of Israelites, simply referred to as Israel and focussing on Ephraim in the ensuing chapters –-- even though these people were abandoned by God for a time.

It’s important that we understand that Hosea shows God’s relationship to the other tribes of Israel that are not Jews, with particular emphasis in the pages of Hosea’s prophetic book on the leading tribe of those Israelites, i.e. Ephraim --- because Ephraim is shown throughout the bible to be the ancestor of the modern English speaking peoples of England and therefore the British Commonwealth countries because those peoples are the only peoples that fit like a glove “the nation and company of nations” promised blessings that were jointly bestowed on the ‘Joseph contingent’ of the original 12 tribes of Israel.

The incredible ‘spiritual’ futures of the English speaking peoples already revealed in middle Isaiah, Jeremiah 31, parts of Ezekiel and elsewhere in the Old Testament, are also covered in Hosea in reasonable detail that is unmistakeable as follows:

Amid abandonment by God for an unspecified period of time in Hosea’s prophecies for ‘unfaithfulness’ to Him comes an incredible future ‘timeless’ promise:

9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

The Jews have never been that numerous to be described as the ‘sand of the sea’ and unable to be numbered or measured by the sheer volume of their populations

throughout the earth --- on the other hand numbering and counting every single person of the combined British Commonwealth counties and America together as a whole would give any census taker a headache even in our modern times.

To be fulfilled at a time when Israel and the Jews are one people again:

11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. KJV Hosea 1:9-11

The Jews have never been “as the sand of the sea” numerically speaking and even today remain a small nation, with scattered remnants throughout the world totalling in round figures around 15 million all up.

Who were those Israelites that were being referred to as being so numerous as to be metaphorically likened to the sand in the sea? Hosea and our article “the Hand of God” at this website give the details of these oft mentioned and oft prophesied about peoples throughout all scripture of both Old and New Testaments.

An astonishing promise of future marriage:

Hosea shows that God is going to “marry” these peoples in very direct and very clear terms from verses 14-23. Note especially verses, 19&20 emphasized below.

Although shrouded in allegory the message is exceptionally clear that “a covenant” is going to be made with these Israelites that aren’t Jews at a distant point in time from when Hosea’s prophecies were given to him.

Since the Old Covenant was clearly already [from the time Israel first became a nation under God] still in force in Hosea, Isaiah and Micah’s times and all prophecy shows the Old Covenant was ended in 67-70AD by Jesus’ return at that time, just exactly as He promised that He would return ‘soon’ in the book of Revelation, [Rev. 1:1,3,7,22:20] and foretold by earlier prophets at the time of the great tribulation in Daniel 12:1, Jeremiah 30:7 and the three synoptic gospels, covering that close to the Old Testament, to End the age --- then Hosea can only be referring to the “New Covenant” as follows:

14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

15 And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. KJV Hosea 2:14-23

Did our readers happen to notice the “timeframe” setting of this marriage to God?

18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

Clearly then this is at a time when there are no more ‘world wars’ or wars of any kind whatsoever.

Parts of Isaiah and other prophets also show the very same time when even the nature of animals will be changed.

Lions, tigers and other carnivores equate with the beasts of the field/earth and crocodiles and venomous reptiles equate well with the creeping things that Hosea mentions here and Isaiah also attests to a future time when all these wild and dangerous animals will be tamed and many will become herbivores during the time of the yet to be ‘new’ covenant age:

1. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

3. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. KJV Isaiah 11:1-11

The latter days:

In chapter 3 Hosea is again told to ‘act out a prophecy’ according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, KJV Hosea 3:1

Notice exactly when this new ‘marriage covenant’ will be made:

4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:

The children of Israel have been ‘away’ from God for countless centuries, in terms of “true worship” but that will change evidently, in our future:

5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days. KJV Hosea 3:4-5

Since king David was long dead and buried at the time this prophecy was written and recorded by this particular prophet of God, Hosea is clearly speaking of a ‘resurrected’ David of the future and the reference to the ‘latter days’ then is unmistakeably, to begin after Jesus’ return, at the time of the first resurrection of saints and therefore this prophecy takes its fulfilment during the millennium.

The “whole of Israel” never returned to the Holy land, just the Jews, in Daniel’s and Ezra’s days. They never returned in apostolic times or Jesus’ day.

The children of Israel haven’t yet returned even in modern times.

We are indeed living in ‘the last days’ as Isaiah [Isaiah2:2] and Micah [Micah4:1] of the Old Testament and the apostle Peter [Acts2:17] of the New testament have declared --- but ‘the latter days’ are yet to come ahead of us in modern times when all of these prophecies will see fulfilment after the return of Jesus to rule as King of kings and Lord of lords. [Revelation17:14, 19:16 & 1Timothy 6:14-16]

From chapter 4 right through to the end of this very revealing prophetic book of Hosea’s God sets out like Isaiah and Micah’s books very similar reasons to their prophetic books exactly why and what he would do to the ancients Israelites but the main focus throughout its pages are the tribes of Ephraim coupled to references to Judah not to follow suit by going the way of these particular Israelites who were our ancient English speaking people’s forefather’s.

What is particularly outstanding however apart from what was just covered about the marriage covenant going to be with their future descendants is God’s great love for these peoples even though He visited upon them very similar destruction and dispersal a He did the Jews as these prophetic passages show:

5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: Judah also shall fall with them.

6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.

10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. KJV Hosea 5:5,6,9,10,14,15

Yet for all the punishment that God inflicted on His errant peoples some truly incredible promises are given to these peoples through His prophet Hosea from a God who clearly loves them more dearly than they deserve.

Hosea backs up the middle Isaiah promises from Chapter 40-45 and the Jeremiah promises of chapter 31 in quite unusual prophecy revealing God’s future intentions and ultimate purposes for the English speaking peoples after outlining all their faults:

4 "What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.

5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 Like Adam, they have broken the covenant-- they were unfaithful to me there.

NIV Hosea 6:4-7

Showing very clearly the two separate houses of Israel, Ephraim being one of the two joint leading tribes of the birthright promises, Hosea foretells the first Diaspora of the Jews:

10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel. There Ephraim is given to prostitution and Israel is defiled.

11 “Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. NIV Hosea 6:10-11

8 "Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.

9 Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.

10 Israel's arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the LORD his God or search for him.

11"Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless-- now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.

12 When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like birds of the air. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them.

13 Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me.

14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me. NIV Hosea 7:8-14

This is a description of the English speaking people’s of today’s ancestors, Ephraim, and how like them we still are today relying on foreign allies rather than God all the while claiming to acknowledge God very much like these passages from our past:

2 Israel cries out to me, `O our God, we acknowledge you!'

3 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.

7 "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like a worthless thing.

NIV Hosea 8:2-3, 7-8

13 The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him.

14 But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger; his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his contempt. NIV Hosea 12:13-14

A stunning future for the English speaking peoples in spite of their unfaithfulness to God

4. "But I am the LORD your God, [who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.

5. I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat.

6. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. NIV Hosea 13:4-6

Yet for all the immediate local and quite negative prophecy of Hosea’s times on a par with Isaiah’s opening negative pronouncements on the Israelites turning away from and spurning of God --- the ultimate future of the English speaking peoples, the descendants of Ephraim, to which most of the prophecies of Hosea allude is a quite spectacular one as these revealing verses show in complete accord with most prophecy dealing with the rest of the twelve tribes of Israel:

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.

4. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them. NIV Hosea 11:3-4

7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.

8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.

9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man-- the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.

10 They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.

11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes," declares the LORD. NIV Hosea 11:7-11

I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them."

NIV Hosea 12:10

1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!

2 Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. NIV Hosea 14:1-2

Hosea’s prophecies end on this incredibly positive note:

4 “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots;

6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

7 Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? I will answer him and care for him. I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me."

9 Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. NIV Hosea 14:4-9

Do any of the above quotes from Hosea sound like the doom and gloom fables of a God who is going to destroy the modern descendants of Ephraim, i.e. The English speaking peoples? We think not!

There are no such prophecies anywhere in all the bible showing the destruction of the peoples God says he loves despite their unfaithfulness to Him.

Hosea ends on the same positive note that ‘middle’ Isaiah [chapters40-45] and Jeremiah 31 convey perfectly clearly.

What about modern America though? Hosea shows that Ephraim’s modern English descendants will be loved freely by God. Manasseh [America] doesn’t quite get the same coverage as Ephraim does though in prophecy but their fates are implied in this part of Hosea’s prophecies of the times after Jesus’ return in our future:

5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days. KJV Hosea 3:4-5

America’s [Manasseh’s] fates are tied to their English brothers and always has been as the split tribes of Joseph and even the book of Revelation shows they will take their place in the future kingdom of God and are not left out of the picture in the final analysis:

And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. KJV Revelation 7:4, 6

America will clearly have representatives even among the famed 144,000 servants of God, showing if nothing else that they still exist as a nation among the 12 tribes of Israel.

9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. KJV Revelation 7:9-10

Would one of the tribes of Israel and a birthright holder be left out of the multitudes pictured here?

Why do modern religious leaders among Christianity assume erroneously without any basis whatsoever in prophecy that America will be destroyed and basically left out of the picture in the last days when all of Isaiah’s middle chapters together with Jeremiah 31’s promises show otherwise?

KJV Isaiah 40:5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. KJV Isaiah 40:9-11

Referring to both Jacob [the man] and Israel together:

sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? KJV Isaiah 40:27

8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. KJV Isaiah 41:8-14

We’ve already shown in several prophets and prophecies the promises of rivers of waters opening up at Jesus’ return and during the millennium when both Isaiah in the Old and Jesus in the New Testament [book of Revelation]foretell of the holy land blossoming as the rose and the surrounding deserts becoming like the Garden of Eden and do we imagine all these tremendous promises are just reserved for the Jews alone when God calls Himself, The God of Israel, the holy one of Israel and, the King of Jacob?

I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

19. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:

20. That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

21. Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. KJV Isaiah 41:17-21

The 45th chapter of middle Isaiah ends with these incredible promises for all of Israel as a whole:

17 But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

KJV Isaiah 45:17-19

21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

24 Surely, shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

25 In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

KJV Isaiah 45:21-25

While it is true that in many prophecies Jacob is used in reference to the Jews or tribe of Judah the whole sense or context of the middle ‘Isaiah promises’ is that all of the descendants or seed of Jacob/Israel is being referenced rather than just the Jews in this case.

As an interesting sideline, the apostle Paul shows that it will be Jesus to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess with wording only slightly different to Isaiah’s 45:23 verse showing Isaiah’s closeness to his Saviour and spot on understanding of a future time over 2700 years into his future of Jesus’ return when those words of Isaiah above will be fulfilled:

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

NIV Philippians 2:9-11

Just a further little proof Coupled to Isaiah’s prophecies that the ‘Holy one of Israel/God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob/God of Israel/King of Jacob, was indeed Jesus Christ of the New Testament.

The opening of the 30^th and 31^st chapters of Jeremiah confirms or supports middle Isaiah’s chapters 40-45 showing all Israel will return and are re-united as one nation again both during and as Ezekiel’s 37^th chapter shows clearly after the millennium also:

2 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.

3 The days are coming,' declares the LORD, `when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD."

4 These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: NIV Jeremiah 30:2-4

Showing the timeframe to be at the time of the first resurrection and Jesus’ return:

9 Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 “`So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel,’ declares the LORD. `I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. NIV Jeremiah 30:9-10

1 “At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people."

2 This is what the LORD says: "The people who survive the sword will find favor in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel."

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

4 I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.

5 Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit.

6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, `Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.'"

7 This is what the LORD says: "Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, `O LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.'

8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return.

9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: `He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'

11 For the LORD will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.

12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD-- the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.

13 Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. NIV Jeremiah 31:1-13

Jeremiah too shows ‘the streams of water’ theme running through the Old Testament prophecies and also in the Book of Revelation’s closing chapters when New Jerusalem will become a reality.

Even Jeremiah shows a reality that secular scholars deem fanciful on the part of the author of the book of Isaiah and make absurd claims in effect that middle Isaiah was written by ‘a poet’ and a dreamer with big and unrealistic ideas.

What the book of Revelation shows as to the location of Ezekiel’s third Temple

The apostle Paul wrote that we can only know things in part which implies that there’s always more to learn even when you think you have things down pretty pat, and this is never more so than when studying prophecy:

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, NIV 1 Corinthians 13:9

But we certainly can’t possibly know everything there is to know and this was brought home while writing this part 4 of the Isaiah essay in quite an unusual way.

A PC failure led to the author having to rely on the many online bibles that are available when the usual bible library CD the author uses in reference and study was inadvertently left in the hard disc drive when the PC was sent away for repairs.

The KJV public domain version selected by the author to carry on writing on an older PC had of course different and unfamiliar search parameters.

There was nothing unusual in that but a keyword search highlighted something which made a statement in Revelation stand out like a beacon though it had been covered many times before:

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. KJV Revelation 14:1

What we’ve shown in previous articles at our website is that the seemingly out of sequence nature of parts of Revelation are not out of sequence at all and that Chapters 1 through to 11 are outline chapters setting the scene for the day of the lord chapters that follow on from chapters 14-19 showing events that occur just prior, during and after Jesus returns covering a vast array of events that occur on the actual day of the Lord itself in those vital pivotal chapters.

What we’ve also shown is that Chapters 12 & 13 placed almost dead centre of the book of revelation are summary chapters, Chapter 12 summarizing the growth and the conversion of the kingdom of God from the OT kingdom of Israel through the times of the great tribulation and the following times of ongoing sorrows or tribulations that were to be part and parcel of the ongoing war between God’s peoples of both the early believers and God’s physical peoples, that would continue until our day and age but would be halted by Jesus’ return.

Chapter 13 Summarizes the kingdoms of the opposing forces arrayed against God’s peoples from the Roman times through to modern times with the yet future appearance of the full manifestation of ‘image of the beast’ destined to be arrayed against both God’s modern peoples and true believers who keep the commandments of God.

The important consideration to note here in conjunction to Ezekiel’s third temple’s establishment is that chapters 7&14 of Revelation are linked together.

The summary outline in chapter 7 shows the 144,000 selected from the 12 tribes of Israel at that time are still on the earth and need to be ‘sealed’ and protected against events to follow in chapters 8 through to 11.

All these events correspond with and are closely linked by a parallel prophecy in Zechariah showing the return of Jesus to the Mount of Olives during the events of chapters 10-11 of Revelation:

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

KJV Zechariah 14:2-5

What was clearly brought out by the different online bible search engine was that at this point in the time of Jesus’ touchdown on the Mount of Olives is that the 144,000 are not mentioned as being with Jesus on the Mount of Olives at that time but are yet to still come to a different mountain at a later point as verse 5 of Zechariah’s prophecy shows clearly in the words and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

What does all this mean?

Simply that the touchdown on the mount of Olives and spitting it in two is not necessarily the public return of Jesus to earth but may be a preliminary protection of the remainder of the survivors of the ‘first’ preliminary battle of Armageddon shown in Zechariah 12:

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. KJV Zechariah 12:2-3

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. KJV Zechariah 12:9

The last part of chapter 13 coupled to the first part of Chapter 14 of Zechariah shows that the third of the modern day Jews that are brought through the fiery trial they are to undertake in modern times will be in dire straits and in need of protection from the forces ravishing Jerusalem at that time:

8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. KJV Zechariah 13:8-9

1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. KJV Zechariah 14:1-2

Notice the wording in verse 5 of Zechariah’s prophecy again:

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. KJV Zechariah 14:5

Up to this point Jesus is pictured returning to the Mount of Olives just as the angels told the disciples he would be again sometime in their distant future:

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. KJV Acts 1:6-12

Who is “The Lord my God” that is coming and bringing all the saints with him at that time and exactly where?

and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. KJV Zechariah 14:5

Now notice what was brought out by a different online bible search engine in Revelation that highlights where, when and who:

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. KJV Revelation 14:1

Earlier in the 7^th chapter of Revelation these 144,000 saints selected from all the tribes of Israel are in need of sealing and protecting by the Holy Spirit before all the events described and outlined in chapters 8-11 occur.

So the conclusion is they are physical and flesh and blood human beings in the earlier chapters until all those events of chapters 8-11 are fulfilled and then following on straight after chapter 11 quoted below to show the time sequence in order when the day of the Lord is fulfilled in chapter 11 --- in chapter 14 the scene shifts to a new location after the events of chapter 11 other than the Mount of Olives that the prophet Zechariah reveals was where Jesus sets foot at the end of the preliminary battle described in Zechariah 12 and paralleled in Revelation 9:

14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. KJV Revelation 11:14-19

The prophet Zechariah reveals that Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives splits it in two by a massive earthquake and provides a very great valley between the two halves for the protection of the survivors of the modern day siege of Jerusalem [Zechariah 12:2-9,14:5]

So then this valley is part of Jesus/God’s i.e. the Lord’s defence of the Jews after the holy land has been invaded by the world’s armies, 2/3^rds overrun and half of Jerusalem has been captured and the other half about to be taken into captivity --- at which point Jesus begins His counter attack from the Mount of Olives and all the events portrayed in Zechariah 14 begin to occur:

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. KJV Zechariah 12:8

3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. KJV Zechariah 14:3-7

The events of Revelation 11:11-19 then occur at this precise point in time in Zechariah’s prophetic narrative after the death and resurrection of God’s last two witnesses/prophets of the modern age have delivered and completed their commissions and prophecies of the previous 3 ½ years [Rev11:3-10]

11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Evidently the exact same earthquake that splits the Mount of Olives also takes out a tenth part of Jerusalem at the same time --- very probably including that section currently containing the dome of the Rock immediately adjacent to the mount of Olives so anything built on Mount Moriah would most likely be destroyed.

14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. KJV Revelation 11:11-16

Revelation chapter 14 takes up the sequence of events beyond this point of Joel 3’s day of Judgement of the invading armies of the world arrayed against the holy land at that time:

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. KJV Joel 3:2

12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

This is a key verse that ties directly into the question of the location of Ezekiel’s third temple [the theme of this entire part 4 of the Isaiah essay] because Revelation chapter 14 shifts the focus from the mount of Olives where Jesus initially descends to give battle to earth’s armed forces arrayed against the Jews to Mount Zion:

17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. KJV Joel 3:12-17

Compare to revelation 14:

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. KJV Revelation 14:1

What is the significance of the 144,000 having the Father’s name written in their foreheads? Clearly at this point in time after the resurrection of all Gods saints and prophets standing with Jesus on Mount Zion as they are pictured, the 144,000 are now at that point ,members of the God family --- because “God” is the family name of God the Father. It’s either symbolically or actually written in their foreheads --- but ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ suggests that it is internal rather than external and is a spiritual thing to do with their minds or intellects.

Taking all the evidence from all the prophets including Ezekiel and Isaiah we arrive at a stunning conclusion as set out below regarding the future location of Ezekiel’s third temple during the thousand years of Jesus’ reign as King of kings and Lord of lords: [Revelation 19:16]

Conclusion

Isaiah is the main prophet who first put forward the highly significant question in his 66thchapter of where God’s future throne for all eternity would be established and at a time when Solomon’s original temple was fully operational and still in existence and was reputedly the place of God’s residence as was promised King David to be fulfilled in his son, Solomon’s reign, i.e. the ‘House’ of the Lord.

Isaiah’s prophetic book has the most of all the Old Testament prophetic books

‘prophecies within prophecies’ of detailed references to Jesus the Christ’s, first advent, ministry and future rule for all eternity --- whether this is due to the sheer volume of his 66 chapters or the inspiration of the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob’s personal direction of that prophetic work would be hard to say.

To say that ‘the hand of God’ was involved in the sheer diversity and scope of

that prophetic book is almost a given so we make that assertion with full confidence and as the personage in middle Isaiah is asserting --- let the critics/scholars bring forth their proofs to the contrary.

We shall indeed see who’s word stands the test of time in a very few short years and it’ll be ‘no contest’ as far as man vs. God is concerned.

In the meantime, Zechariah provides some additional information that we should be aware of regarding not only the splitting of the Mount of Olives in two – but some remodelling of valleys or plains to the south of Jerusalem:

10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. KJV Zechariah 14:10-11

Both Isaiah and Micah [contemporaries] with their almost identical ‘parallel’ prophecies show an ‘elevated’ house of God:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. KJV Isaiah 2:2

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. KJV Micah 4:1

Mt Zion falls within the area cited as being part of the prophesied ‘raised’ plains south of Jerusalem seemingly and it is unlikely the rebuilt Jerusalem of Zechariah’s day or the Jerusalem of Jesus’ day and subsequently of the centuries that followed exceeded the current ‘Old city’ boundaries that can be clearly seen on Google earth.

There are currently no “great or high mountains” near Jerusalem that would fit either Ezekiel’s vision or that of the New Testament prophet and apostle John’s showing an elevated position for the throne of God as pictured in both prophetic books:

In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. KJV Ezekiel 40:2

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, KJV Revelation 21:10

If however a great plain that contains mount Zion is raised to new heights as cited above in Zechariah 14:10 and men begin to “dwell” in it then we might very well see ‘a city framed to the south” of Mt Zion that Ezekiel describes come into being.

The massive prophesied earthquake splitting the Mount of Olives [Zechariah 14:4] might well trigger the shifting of tectonic plates to the south of Jerusalem raising those plains and Mount Zion to new heights.

Ezekiel cites “the Glory of God” coming from the east to enter the new temple sanctuary built on an elevated high mountain:

1. Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:

2. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. KJV Ezekiel 43:1-2

What is currently located to the east of Mount Zion? Isn’t it the Mount of Olives to where according to Zechariah Jesus descends to take up the fight and from which He ends the battle of Armageddon with the judgment of all the earth’s armies and nations in Joel’s valley of Jehoshaphat [Joel 3:12-15]that were gathered against the Jews?

Joel confirms as do many other prophets including Isaiah that ‘the day of the Lord’ [which may last a full year] begins from Mount Zion after the destruction of the armies that came against the Holy land:

15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. KJV Joel 3:15-18

6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. KJV Zechariah 14:6-9

Ezekiel confirms the flowing of these waters from God’s throne during the millennial thousand year rule of Christ cleansing even the largely salt water Dead Sea [Ezekiel 47:1-12] with the Prophet and apostle John confirming that those living waters will still be flowing a little over a thousand years later when God the Father comes to dwell with His children:

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

KJV Revelation 21:2-4& 22:1-7

Further confirmation from King David That Ezekiel’s third temple will be most likely built from the start of the millennium of Christ’s rule in the one mountain that has apparently always been the place of God’s design and desire since King and eternal high priest Melchizadek’s day at least for His final and future permanent residence on earth:

Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. KJV 2 Samuel 5:7

....nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. KJV 1 Chronicles 11:5

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee.

8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. KJV Psalms 2:1-12

7 But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

KJV Psalms 9:7-8, 11

A little psalm for the secular scholars and all those who doubt the authenticity of God’s prophetic writing’s through His servants the prophets follows:

1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.

5 There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.

6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge.

7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. KJV Psalms 14:1-7

Rather a good question that David raises about those who would denigrate the word of God, and that applies liberally to those who would downplay one of God’s master prophets in claiming multiple authorship of Isaiah.

Do the secular scholars have any real knowledge of God from seeking out the truth and the answer has to be that they are talking bullshit and their arguments and esteemed opinions are just that and derived from their vanity and puffed up self importance.

1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. KJV Psalms 48:1-2

1 The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. KJV Psalms 50:1-4

1 In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

2 In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. KJV Psalms 76:1-2

68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.

69 And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever. KJV Psalms 78:68-69

1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. KJV Psalms 87:1-2

16 When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.

17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.

19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth;

20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to lose those that are appointed to death;

21 To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; KJV Psalms 102:16-21

1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. KJV Psalms 110:1-2

KJV Psalms 125:1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

13 For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.

14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

KJV Psalms 132:13-14

The final conclusion then is there is enough evidence here in this part of the Isaiah essay, as presented, to show that Mount Zion will be God’s and Jesus’ future home

for all eternity from the moment Jesus and the 144,000 set foot on that Mountain[Revelation 14:1] that will most likely be raised by volcanic activity along with the plain that is prophesied to be elevated to the south of Jerusalem by earthquake activity.[Zechariah14:10]

Micah’s prophetic evidence of mountains melting like wax at Jesus’ return [Micah1:3-4]] coupled to this last quote we’ll leave our readers pondering from the earlier chapters of the master prophet’s work are more than enough evidence that the Jews will be building in the wrong place at the wrong time should they consider going ahead with their plans of restoring Solomon’s temple mount’s original location as a place for the location of Ezekiel’s Third temple:

17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. KJV Isaiah 24:17-23

The earth quite obviously survives this time of monumental global and cosmic upheaval on a scale never before seen on earth because of the many prophecies showing this to be the case.

What we normally think of as heavenly signs associated with previous ‘days of the Lord’ and even the prophesied future one are usually much milder than this one time final cataclysmic shaking of the earth, by the God of all the earth, that Isaiah refers to in the later chapters of ‘first Isaiah’ [according to scholars] as the time of the ‘great slaughter’ when ‘the towers fall’ [Isaiah 30:25] but all other prophecy including Revelation show that the cosmic events of meteor showers, mountain sized asteroids and comets plummeting to the earth [Revelation 8:1-13 i.e. the 7 trumpet seals] although devastating and knocking our earth from its current orbit leaving the earth reeling and broken like a drunk who has been beaten up and falls flat on his face and doesn’t rise again unless carted off to hospital and restored by medics --- our earth would not rise again from these cataclysmic events unless Jesus begins the restoration and healing process of the entire planet from his new home on earth --- i.e. Mount Zion.

All prophecy Including Isaiah shows that Jesus begins to do exactly that at his return showing as Isaiah and other prophets put it and even the New Testament gospel writers quoting as Jesus put it --- the times of “refreshing or regeneration” shall come and be put into effect at that time beginning with the river and waters of life flowing from beneath Jesus’ throne and Ezekiel’s third temple sanctuary.

One final affirmation showing that Ezekiel’s third temple will be located on the top Mount Zion:

7 I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. 8 As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem." NIV Micah 4:7-8

Isaiah 28:12, acts 3:19, Mathew 19:28 all show a time of restoration and regeneration will come from the presence of The Lord --- and the earth will be in dire need of that restoration because of the weight of its inhabitant’s sins bringing the judgement s of God upon it just prior to Jesus’ return.

Prophecy shows that the world’s societies will have reach a similar point in evil and self destruction that necessitated God starting over with Noah’s family from scratch because the previous age of man had descended to the depths of depravity and violence from which there would have been no recovery without God’s intervention:

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. KJV Matthew 24:37

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. KJV 2 Peter 3:5-7

The greatest irony

The greatest irony of all time is that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, known in relatively modern times for the last nearly 2000 years since 67-70 AD as Jesus Christ is going to have to force peace upon mankind.

Mankind desires world peace in general but under the auspices of man and mankind has proven itself incapable of lasting world peace, time and time again.

Two full scale world wars with a possible third looming on the world’s future horizon should have given men insight enough to know in view of ongoing world crises that follow one after another, that mankind is not naturally geared for peace or cooperation on a global scale.

The spirit of competitiveness is too ingrained within the human psyche and ‘the law of the jungle’ prevails in a dog eat dog, survival of the fittest, attitude that pervades most societies the world over.

Love towards neighbour or love towards God is simply not on modern mankind’s list of priorities in this fast paced high technological world of today.

We live in a world society not of our making and also a planet not of our making and yet by and large do not acknowledge the God who grants the privilege to live on His planet and whom without which a world society made up of individual families and tribes of man grown into multiple nations, could not exist in the first place.

The prophetic book of Isaiah is in essence a summary outline of God’s future plans for mankind and the understanding that God’s desire is to live with His creation for all eternity epitomised in the 66^th chapter.

Most, if not all the other prophetic works and books of the bible whether New or Old Testament support the central themes of Isaiah.

We tend to think that modern times are growing more evil than ever before but secular and biblical history show that mankind’s lot in this world has always been to be subjected to a human nature that is naturally tending towards evil and is expressed in New Testament by the apostle Paul in this manner:

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. KJV Romans 8:6-7

The Apostle Paul hit the nail squarely on the head in two areas showing both the purpose for mankind on this earth in the first place and also how God’s plans will be achieved through the fulfilment of all prophecy pertaining to those plans. In verse 6 above of Romans the only part not underlined is the key to all God’s plans for mankind’s future:

to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The whole of the New Testament is all about changing mankind’s nature when the New Covenant comes into being when Jesus returns in our future --- If mankind does not become spiritually minded then, the alternative is the death of mankind as a whole --- total extinction.

The Old Testament affirms this conclusion:

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. KJV Proverbs 14:12

There is simply no guarantee that our western world based loosely on biblical principles of freedom and equality for all will survive the modern ‘war on terror’ without God’s intervention at some point --- terror and violence have been a way of life for the majority of mankind since recorded history began and perhaps even before that.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

KJV Jeremiah 17:9

In reality what we call ‘peace’ in modern times is only a brief ‘interlude’ between bouts of wars of ever increasing violence and scale.

Wars can no longer be fought without massive carnage and loss of life and the resultant inevitable destruction of civilization on this planet.

The apostle Paul however lays out God’s plan as does Isaiah when the veil of confusion and deception is finally lifted from mankind [Isaiah 25:7] to have the heart within mankind changed to a spiritual one:

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. [Jesus foretold that the Great tribulation of 67-70 AD was just the beginning of ongoing sorrows or pain until His return Matthew 24:8, Mark 13:8]

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. KJV Romans 8:12-39

The ultimate truth then, from the pages of prophecy with particular emphasis on Isaiah’s expansive and insightful prophetic panorama’s is that God is going to come and live among His creation and change both the animal and human natures from that of violence and death to that of peace and harmony and eventually eternal life for those that learn to love God.

It makes perfectly logical sense that you can only really learn to love somebody if they are physically present in your life and God/Jesus is going to avail mankind of the opportunity to get to know him better through His physical and spiritual presence among His children in the coming Kingdom of God and all that that entails.

Will mankind be appreciative of the God of all the earth’s overtures towards His beloved creation? Does God indeed have enemies or will have enemies at His return?

That’s what part five of Isaiah’s prophecies via this ‘Isaiah Essay’ and that of the other prophets reveals in no uncertain terms.

Who exactly [which nations] the ‘Wrath of God’ falls on and why is made plain in prophecy to come in the concluding part 5 of ‘The Isaiah Essay.’

End notes:

Following this listing of all the quotes from the New Testament writers, including Jesus, that we can find quoting from Isaiah, and thereby authenticating Isaiah as valid and official scripture will be the outline as set forth earlier in this series of the essay --- showing that the secular scholars assumptions that Isaiah must have been written by multiple authors because of the sheer magnitude and expansive nature of those prophecies not falling within those secular scholars opinions as being credible for a single author is just that --- opinionated assumption, without base or proof for those assumptions.

The alterations to the original Wikipedia article upon which some of the Isaiah essay was originally based has necessitated what would have been core proof of Isaiah’s authenticity as being written by a single author just being placed in the footnotes instead of the body of the original article as was stated in earlier sections/parts of the essay.

The continuity of prophetic themes from first Isaiah, middle Isaiah, and what scholars apparently referred to as third Isaiah is still important and valid as proof of single authorship of the Book of Isaiah as a whole and a unified prophetic work of monumental scope and coverage that portends events for our future of unprecedented and cosmic proportions that will leave all those who survive that future and know their God and His word, with lasting impressions of the truth of scripture.

Quotes from Isaiah in the New Testament:

1^st Isaiah:

Romans 9:29 quoting Isaiah 1:9

Matthew 13:14 quoting Isaiah 6:9-10

John 12:39-40 quoting Isaiah 6:9-10

Acts 28:25-27 quoting Isaiah 6:9-10

Matthew 1:23 quoting from Isaiah 7:14

Matthew 4:14 quoting Isaiah 9:1-2

Romans 9:27 quoting Isaiah 10:22

Romans 15:12 Quoting Isaiah 11:10

Matthew 15:7-8, Mark 7:6, Jesus quoting Isaiah 29:13

2^nd Isaiah [middle]

Matthew 3:3, Jesus quoting Isaiah 40:3, Also Luke 3:4,John1:23

Matthew 12:17 quoting Isaiah42:1

3^rd Isaiah

John 12:38 quoting Isaiah 53:1

Romans 10:16 quoting Isaiah 53:1

Matthew 8:17 quoting Isaiah 53:5-6

Acts 8:28, 32-33 quoting Isaiah 53:7-8

Luke 4:17 Jesus quoting Isaiah 61:1-2

Romans 10:20-21 quoting Isaiah 65:1-2

Placing these quotes in the ‘rough’ categories that the secular scholars reputedly segregated Isaiah into [according to the original Wikipedia article] we find that Jesus, the apostles and gospel writers Matthew Luke and Paul recognise Isaiah’s early chapters as Isaiah’s, then Jesus, Matthew, Luke and John recognizing middle Isaiah as Isaiah’s work and finally, Jesus, and John, Paul, Matthew and Luke recognizing 3^rd Isaiah or Isaiah’s latter chapters as Isaiah’s prophecies.

What right do modern secular scholars with a university degree and a string of letters after their names have in dissecting the word of God and claiming some of it may be doubtful or even spurious because of multiple possible authorship or uninspired because it might have been written by Isaiah’s disciples and because it doesn’t meet with modern scholars arbitrary assumptions or approval or fit into their view of the world and seems incredulous to them?

The short answer is, none whatsoever, no matter what credentials they may carry from a so called higher educational institute of learning [that most probably teaches the theory of evolution as fact] proclaiming themselves experts on the word of God and the slightly longer answer from the scriptures itself is as follows:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, KJV Romans 1:18-22

A synopsis/listing of all Isaiah’s future prophecy dealing with events far beyond the confines of the prophecies pertaining to his days regarding the Israelites, chapter by chapter:

Note: Only ‘prophecies within prophecies’ pertaining to Jesus’ first or second advents [there are a few of these] and prophecy covering the Days of the Lord and future events concerning modern times will be featured mostly to show that the themes from start to finish in all of Isaiah’s work are consistent with a single author proclaiming monumental changes are ahead for mankind. If we understand that Isaiah was just the messenger [albeit a VIP one] delivering what he was instructed through the holy spirit and the Saviour he followed in ancient times then what is foretold and written in Isaiah is profound and profoundly relevant to us today also --- upon whom these prophecies will no doubt ‘fall’ in our future in quite dramatic and spectacular ways..

An ‘overview’ of Isaiah, future prophecies, from Babylonian captivity onwards:

8 categories, i.e. [1^st category] Prior to Babylonian siege and captivity, [2^nd category] Babylonian siege and captivity [3^rd category] after Babylonian captivity [categories 4&5]1^st and 2^nd advents, [categories 6&7] 1st and 2nd Diaspora’s [8^th category] “during the millennium or after”

*categories designated by a number in brackets throughout also, e.g., Category 1 = [1]

Isaiah chapter’s 1-39 ‘Future’ prophecies ---chapter by chapter:

Note: Not all chapters will have future prophecy but a great many do indeed corroborate middle and end chapters of Isaiah nevertheless.

Chapter 1:

[5] 2^nd advent: known by most as “the second coming” Plus [8] “During the millennium or after

[Though there have in fact been many ‘comings’ i.e. “days of the Lord” or interventions in world history]

24 Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: "Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. 25 I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. 26 I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City." 27 Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. 28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the LORD will perish. NIV Isaiah 1:24-29

Support prophecies: Malachi 3:3, Zechariah 13:9

Chapter 2: [5] 2^nd advent, plus, [8] “During the millennium or after”

1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2 In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. NIV Isaiah 2:1-5

Suporting prophecies: Micah 4:1-3, Zechariah14:4, 9, 11&17

Additional support info from Micah:

6 “In that day," declares the LORD, "I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. 7 I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. 8 As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem." NIV Micah 4:6-8

Verses 10-21 below could be a possible first Diaspora application at the 67-70 AD ‘great’ tribulation but could in fact be ‘timeless’ for all of God’s ‘day of the Lord’ interventions in history, however there is definite support for 2^nd advent from the book of Revelation. [see below]

10 Go into the rocks, hide in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!

11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled),

13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan,

14 for all the towering mountains and all the high hills,

15 for every lofty tower and every fortified wall,

16 for every trading ship and every stately vessel.

17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

18 and the idols will totally disappear.

19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.

20 In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.

21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. NIV Isaiah 2:10-21

Supporting prophecy for 2nd advent in Revelation:

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? KJV Revelation 6:13-17

Chapter 3: [2] Babylonian siege and Captivity [Whole Chapter verses1-26]

A supporting ‘witness’ from Jeremiah: Lamentations chapters 1&2 specifically with similar reasons given for destruction as Malachi’s, that of religious leader’s culpability.

10 With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.

11 The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.

12 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous. NIV Lamentations 4:10-13

The evil kings of those days could be blamed for their fair share of perfidy in turning away from God --- but they wouldn’t have done so easily without the support of evil priests and prophets who condoned those king’s practices without complaint apparently, except from God’s true prophets who were in many cases murdered by kings and priests determined to defy God.

Chapter 4:

Note: There are two possible periods in time this chapter could be referring to, i.e. the period 70 years after the Babylonian captivity in the times of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah, however verses 5&6 don’t fit into or correspond with that period.

Therefore a split category is ‘tentatively’ chosen for the chapter:

For verses 1-4: [3] After the Babylonian Captivity [the “disgrace” of the women may have been taken away under Ezra and Zechariah’s ministries. [see “Author’s notes” below for a possible explanation]

1 In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, "We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!"

2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.

3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem.

4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. NIV Isaiah 4:1-6

For verses 5&6: [8] “During the millennium or after”

5 Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy.

6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

Author’s note: This is actually a fascinating little prophetic revelation with verses 5&6 very likely adding a measure of support for Ezekiel’s last 8 chapters especially if ‘Mount Zion’ is the place for Ezekiel’s Temple to be built and not the Mount of Olives.

Nothing like verses 5&6 has ever been done or spoken of in the scripture since the days of the Israelites deliverance from Egypt where God had a pillar of smoke by day and a column of fire by night in the camp of the Israelites of old to guide them to the holy land through the wilderness.

The ‘Branch of the Lord’ is a reference to Jesus everywhere else in the OT and, therefore here as well and it is definitely speaking of a future time as can be plainly seen, how far into the future is the question, but verses 2 and eternal, 3&4 could indeed be a reference to the period from Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah’s times to the period of first advent and up until the 67-70 AD great tribulation.

There is Joel 3:21 to consider however, was the blood ‘cleansed’ completely during the Babylonian captivity? or just the pagan women’s part in the overall situation?

Compare to Joel 3:21 to Isaiah 4:4 above:

KJV Joel 3:21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.

The reference to ‘the women’ seems a little obscure at first but so does another obscure reference elsewhere that doesn’t seem to have an explanation --- but could this indeed be that explanation?:

22. How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. KJV Jeremiah 31:22

Verse 4 could have been accomplished and most likely was [fulfilled] as part of the Babylonian captivity and Jerusalem’s destruction of that time because it was the women who were largely responsible for corrupting the men of those times and drawing them away from God with their pagan religions through intermarriage with Hebrew husbands, but that was also a problem in Ezra and Nehemiah’s days also after the captivity.

Both men of God decried the intermarriage [presumably with Babylonians or other pagans present in those days] that had been going on during the years of the captivity and after. Ezra made a really big thing of it! [Refer to all of Ezra chapter 10 and Nehemiah 13:23-29]

However God also made a big thing of it before the captivity and perhaps it was one of the main reasons for the corruption of God’s true religion by the men who took more notice of their wives than they did of God. [Refer to Jeremiah 7:18-24, 44:2-28 and note especially verses 15-22]

Chapter 5: Category? Read on!

In the original Wikipedia article the secular scholars supposedly noted the Isaiah of the middle chapters was supposedly a grandiose “poet” of some sort but they failed to notice that in this early chapter he was apparently a “singer” as well!

What the scholars really failed to notice is that a lot of Allegory and symbolism is used throughout prophecy that actually represents “real people and real events.”

The new article at Wikipedia has the scholars noting there are several “songs” of the “suffering servant” and the really strange thing is they seem to make no connection whatsoever to the fact that all those references are to Jesus.

This particular “allegory” [verses 1-6] of chapter 5 is a forerunner to many of Jesus’ parables in the New Testament along very similar to almost identical lines.

One of the most consistent things throughout Old and New Testament prophecy is the recurrent allegorical/symbolic parable themes, using either flora or fauna to illustrate biblical or spiritual principles. It is in fact almost Jesus’ trademark, so to speak, mostly using flora to describe His Kingdom in the New Testament, characteristic of nearly all His teachings.

Just as Jesus gave the explanations to his disciples of His many parables the explanation is similarly given here for Isaiah’s/God’s/Jesus’ song/parable in this instance also:

7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. KJV

Notice again the fine-line distinction between Israel as a whole, being ‘the vineyard’ and Judah [the Jews] His special or ‘pleasant’ plant within that vineyard.

Is this next verse a warning to us today about cramped living quarters in city suburbs? Could be?

8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! KJV

Periodic solitude may be more important than we realize --- after all don’t we jump into our RV’s at the weekends to get away from the ‘rat-race’ of city life? To go fishing or whatever? We call it, “getting away from it all” and many speak of needing ‘personal’ space!

Do these next verses have a familiar ring to them in sounding a lot like us today?

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. 12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands. NIV

We do indeed love ‘to party’ and not take much notice of God don’t we?

What about these next verses? Sound like our society and judicial systems of today?

A possible warning for us?

18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,

19 to those who say, "Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it."

20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.

24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. NIV

Is this following passage of prophecy a description of what God is going to do to us for ignoring Him? In our day and age? If this were to be a ‘timeless’ warning for us today our modern nations would be in serious trouble for ignoring God.

25 Therefore the LORD's anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.

26 He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!

27 Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal thong is broken.

28 Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.

29 Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue.

30 In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds.

Although we haven’t changed that much in national character from our ancestors it seems the category of this chapter is actually that of:

[2] Babylonian siege and Captivity

Note: One of the character traits the author of this essay has acquired in regard to those who denigrate or alternatively, misrepresent the word of God, is a ‘wicked’ sense of humour and this little diversion was to demonstrate the absurdity of assuming ‘a change of pace’ equates with a change of author.

Is the author of this essay going to be reckoned to be ‘two’ separate authors now, figuratively, by modern day scholars --- for posterity? J Presuming our little website is even going to be noticed. J

Chapter 6: [2] Babylonian siege and Captivity

Isaiah ‘foretells’ both diaspora’s

This chapter is quite a key chapter in two ways:

[1.] It shows God deliberately lowering the people’s understanding of spiritual things i.e. they were to kept from salvation for a time in not understanding the truth anymore:

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,

KJV Isaiah 6:9-10

Isaiah then asks the natural question, “for how long?” And, is given an answer that encompasses the complete devastation of the holy land and is a forward projection from Isaiah’s day to the beginning of the Babylonian captivity showing God completely forsaking His peoples at that time by allowing them to be utterly destroyed as a nation:

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? and he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

12 And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. KJV Isaiah 6:11-12

[2.] What this chapter also shows is the accuracy of prophetic announcements made by the prophets of God, Isaiah in this case, in particular:

What the secular scholars have missed completely is the next ‘one liner’ verse

that is indeed somewhat a little obscure in the KJV bible but made clearer in the NIV version:

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. KJV Isaiah 6:13

NIV: [second diaspora]

And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land." NIV Isaiah 6:13

So Isaiah was given more than just an insight into the upcoming Babylonian captivity in the very earliest opening stages of his prophetic work.

Whether or not what he was given to record was completely understood by him or not is the only thing that can be open to speculation because subsequent and following prophets such as Ezekiel, Jeremiah and even Daniel prove out the reality and fulfilment of these pronouncements by God for the Jewish nation.

As shown in part 4 of this essay above Isaiah’s contemporary Hosea outlined the pronouncements for the rest of Israel and specifically the ancestors of the British and English speaking people’s of the world. The Jews were to be the ‘Stump’ of the holy peoples that was to remain in the holy land until Jesus’ day and both secular and prophetic biblical history prove this to be the case.

Isaiah shows that they were to be devastated again after that time though and even more importantly in a later chapter shows that what God set in motion in this chapter i.e. the lowering of the Jews understanding of the prophetic truth and indeed the whole world’s understanding would not be lifted again until Jesus’ return in our future:

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. KJV Isaiah 25:7

Jesus did indeed say that His [true] disciples were privileged to understand things that even many of God’s prophets did not understand even though they desired to know:

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. KJV Matthew 13:16-17

The one thing that the secular scholars have completely overlooked and don’t even acknowledge in any way shape or form is what Ezekiel in addition to Micah shows and the New Testament shows and that it is it is absolutely necessary for a prophet or servant of God to have the spirit of God to comprehend the things of God:

And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. KJV Ezekiel 11:5

Although Isaiah deals mostly with the Jews and their fates in his 66 chapters this little insight from the earlier chapters of Ezekiel highlights not only what the modern day Jews claim in that they think they are all of Israel, but very clearly that the rest of the houses of Israel’s fates are tied to the Jews and that God is intensely interested in all of Israel:

14 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given in possession.

16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. [speaking of the bulk of Israel that are not Jews]

17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.

19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God. KJV Ezekiel 11:14-21

What all the New Testament shows as do many of the prophets just as verse 21 here in Ezekiel shows is that God is not dealing with nations in the interim period between the destruction of Old Israel and the creation of the Kingdom of God at Jesus’ return on a ‘national’ basis but on an ‘individual’ basis according to the individual’s sins. Just as the previous chapter 5 of Isaiah shows very clearly as well, this time in the NIV for a little more clarity:

15 So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled.

16 But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.

17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,

19 to those who say, "Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it."

20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.

24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. NIV Isaiah 5:15-25

The time for God to deal with nations as a whole once again is approaching an unknowing and uncaring world and most probably won’t be all that far into our future as all prophecy reveals and is cited by all the prophets to be at the time of Jesus’/the holy one of Israel’s return to earth as revealed in Daniel also:

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. NIV Daniel 2:44

In the meantime in modern times we find modern man often downplaying the prophetic word of God as being written by multiple author’s and inferring Isaiah’s author’s to be dreamers and poets or disciples of Isaiah’s and not crediting Isaiah’s work to its real author and this is what God says of men who do that:

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

Of special note in this 6^th chapter are the earlier verses and the way in which God draws attention to Isaiah’s calling as a prophet. [Isaiah6:1-8]

There are only three Old Testament prophets that were given such intricate visions and detailed insights into God’s heavenly throne, and, all three are major players in the prophetic sphere, with Daniel’s 7^th chapter coming close to being a forerunner to the book of Revelation, John from The New Testament makes a 4th and very nearly summarizes the final fulfilment of all the other three’s prophetic work with Zechariah’s prophecies paralleling Revelation so closely that there can be no doubt that the Author of all their work was and still is the son of God, The master prophet and the Holy one of Israel, who declares by an angel in Revelation that His testimony is “the Spirit of Prophecy”. [Revelation 19:10]

What the secular scholars have failed to understand in declaring Isaiah’s middle chapters written by a poet with lofty notions of mountains raised and valleys lowered which are indeed pictured as we’ve shown in the essay itself to occur at Jesus’ return in our future is that all of the KJV bible was written in lofty prose style poetic language --- it was simply the style of the times in the year 1611AD but that in no way diminishes the impact or reality of what God outlines in Isaiah and pronounces for the future ---our future. So we repeat verse 21 in Isaiah 5:21:

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. NIV Isaiah 5:21

A few university degrees with a bunch of letters after one’s name gives nobody the right to claim in their starry eyed self importance that they are experts on the word of God, even those with theology degrees that are grounded in the traditions of men:

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. KJV Matthew 15:9

The remainder of the earlier chapters of Isaiah from chapter 7 up to about chapter 40 [middle Isaiah] fall under the general category of some local prophecy that occurs just prior to, during and post exilic or what we’ve indeed termed ‘local prophecy’ of those times and much of that to the enemies of the Jews.

So for these chapters we’ll simply list prophecies that are far future prophecies contained in these chapters that align perfectly with middle and third Isaiah [Chapters45-66]

Chapter 7:

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