Isaiah
When Thomas Paine arrived at the major and minor prophets in his criticism of the Scriptures in his Age of Reason, he used half of the space discussing books written by Jeremiah and the other half of the 33 pages on the remaining 15 prophetic books. In other words, he really did not linger on them—and for a very good reason—the prophetic books comprise compelling evidence for the veracity of the Scriptures. Isaiah, for example was written about 740 to 700 B.C., yet it contains specific prophecies that no one could know seven centuries in advance except the One Who knows and can declare "the end from the beginning" (Isa. 46:10).
Isaiah foretells numerous events that are recorded in the New Testament. Many people stand in awe of Nostradamus, whose prophecies first appeared in 1555, which is considerably less than 500 years ago. Many of these are clearly ambiguous. If he had foretold something as specific as the virgin birth, he would have been heralded even more highly than he is. But when Isaiah predicts the coming event, Paine had nothing but scorn for him. There is no way to ever satisfy some people. As Jesus said of children in the marketplaces, calling to their companions:
We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not lament
(Matthew 11:17).
If the Bible contains a prophecy that is somewhat ambiguous, it is castigated for not being specific; if it gives the actual name of someone more than 100 years in advance (before he was even born), then the conclusion of the critic is that the book "could only have been written by some person who lived at least a hundred and fifty years after Isaiah was dead" (Paine 162).
This was precisely the way that Paine dealt with Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1, where Cyrus, the king of Persia, is named as God's shepherd. Isaiah writes of him that he will give the decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Jerusalem would not be destroyed until 586 B.C., more than a century after Isaiah wrote, and the release of the captives would occur fifty years beyond that. Therefore, Paine must conclude that Isaiah did not write it. Why? The reason is that he did not believe that God gave men prophecies. Since God operating by inspiration or any other supernatural way did not fit his theology, Paine concluded that both the mention of Cyrus and the virgin birth are false.
However, to mention only these two predictions ignores dozens of others. Paine would object to all of the prophecies of the nations that Isaiah provides on the same basis, claiming that someone wrote the book after the events occurred. Of course, such is an unsubstantiated allegation with no proof whatsoever, but Paine cannot dismiss those things that were fulfilled in the New Testament because it is a historical fact that the Septuagint was available by at least 250 B.C. or earlier (c. 275 B.C.). No one can claim, then, something so foolish as that Isaiah or any other prophetic book was written after the New Testament. Clearly, there is a gap of more than 300 years between all prophecies and their fulfillments.
Prophecies
Having dealt with Isaiah 7:14 in a previous article, we now turn our attention to a multitude of prophecies that Paine ignored altogether, beginning with Isaiah 2:2-4:
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
This is a great prophecy of the Lord's church being established on the top of the mountain—in Jerusalem, which is exactly what happened after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus (Acts 2). Truly, the word of the Lord went forth from there. Jesus alludes to this passage when He tells His disciples:
"Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47-48).
All nations flow into the church because Jesus designed it to include all mankind—both Jews and Gentiles. If all men submitted to the teachings of Jesus, war would exist no longer. This prophecy is also contained in Micah 4:1-3. He wrote about the same time as Isaiah did. What these men are referring to is the kingdom, which is also found in Daniel 2 and 7, which John the Baptizer was preaching about as he prepared the way for Jesus. How strange to pass over and ignore all of these vital texts. Both Jesus and His kingdom were expected!
Space prohibits all of the prophecies of Isaiah to be analyzed, but several of them will be briefly mentioned. In Isaiah 6:9-10, the prophet noted the stubbornness of the Jews which caused their hearts to be dull and their ears heavy; thus they rejected God's Word. Jesus quotes this passage (Matt. 13:14-15), and an apostle uses it to describe those who rejected Christ (John 12:39-41). Jesus Himself will be, Isaiah says, "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (Isa. 8:14), which is referred to in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:8.
Isaiah 9:1-2 refers to where Jesus began His public ministry: "By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…." Jesus' enemies forgot about these verses when they said that no prophet would arise out of Galilee (John 7:52), but Matthew and Luke both quote from one or both of these verses (Matt. 4:15-16; Luke 1:79; 2:32).
Isaiah 9:6-7 combines both a prophecy of the Christ and of His kingdom:
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
In fact, Jesus is our Mighty God— "our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13). He was "manifested in the flesh" and "received up in glory" (1 Tim. 3:16). He made peace between all men by breaking down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14-16). Muhammad did not bring peace; Paine did not bring peace; only Jesus can reconcile all men to God. This text not only speaks of the Man who is to come but declares that He is God Himself. Isaiah 11:1, 2, and 10 also confirm that He will be descended from Jesse—in other words from King David, which harmonizes with the promise made to him in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Paul incorporated this verse in his sermon at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:23). Isaiah 11:2 speaks of the fact that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him, which the apostles confirmed (John 12; Matt. 3:16-17). This same passage again emphasizes the harmony and peace that will exist in the kingdom (Isa. 11:6-9), although it is not referenced in the New Testament.
In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus said that Isaiah hit the nail on the head when he wrote the words found in 29:13: truly the people only honored God with their lips; their hearts were far from Him. The prophet also wrote of the miracles of Jesus that were to come—the eyes of the blind would be opened, the lame would be able not only to walk but to leap, and the dumb would be made to speak (Isa. 35:5-6). Many such incidents are recorded in the gospel accounts of Jesus' life, but in Matthew 11:5 Jesus referenced this passage in explaining what He had accomplished.
Isaiah writes a famous verse with respect to John: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God'" (Isa. 40:3). About 300 years later, this same sentiment is repeated (Mal. 3:1) Luke cites it in 3:4-5. The fact of Jesus' Deity is acknowledged even in the Old Testament—before He, as the Word, became flesh (John 1:1, 14).
Another great prophecy concerning Jesus is the one found in Isaiah 42:1-4. The prophet repeated what he previously mentioned in 11:2—the fact that God's Spirit would be upon Him. Matthew quotes this passage in 12:18-21. Once again, the Gentiles will fare well when this elect One comes, referring to the equality of all who will be in the kingdom of heaven. Isaiah continues to record promises to the Gentiles in 42:6-7. Perhaps they had hope based upon verses such as these. The Gentiles eagerly embraced the gospel as soon as they had an opportunity. Because of the Septuagint version, anyone with a spiritual appetite had access to these prophecies.
Isaiah 49 contains several prophecies. In the first one, Jesus describes His mouth "like a sharp sword," which foreshadows Revelation 1:16 and 2:12. Verse 5 is reminiscent of Jesus' desire to gather God's children together, as a chicken gathers her chicks (Matt. 23:37). Verse 6 again describes Jesus as a light to the Gentiles, as Isaiah 9:1-2 did (cf. Luke 2:32). Verse 8 proclaims: "In an acceptable time I have heard You; and in the day of salvation I have helped you," which is quoted by Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:2. The prisoners going forth from verse 9 are alluded to in Luke 4:18. Hunger, thirst, the heat, and the sun are no longer a problem. The description in verse 10 is reused in Revelation 7:16-17. Here in just ten verses are a number of varied prophecies which are found later in the New Testament.
Jesus thinks of Isaiah 54:13 as He is speaking in John 6:45, where He affirms that "they shall all be taught by God" (John 6:45). Paul remembered Isaiah 59:20-21 while writing the book of Romans—that the Redeemer would come to Zion and make a covenant with them (Rom. 11:26-27). So many of these prophecies have had to do with the Lord and the covenant that He would make with all mankind—both Jew and Gentile—which shows that the church was in the mind of God all along. He never made up anything on the spur of the moment; He had the end planned from the beginning, which all of these verses cited reveal.
The Crucifixion
The prophet Isaiah not only records the virgin birth, but he also writes about the death of Jesus. First, there is the fact that He set His face like flint in order to go to Jerusalem (Isa. 50:7), which Luke records in 9:51. The preceding two verses in Isaiah (50:5-6) refer to the submissive attitude that Jesus had when being captured and mocked. He allowed Himself to be taken captive and did not turn away from what He was appointed to do. He prayed that the Father's will be done (Matt. 26:39). When He asked the soldiers whom they were seeking, and they answered, "Jesus of Nazareth," He did not try to hide or encourage His disciples to fight (in fact He discouraged them), He freely confessed, "I am He" (John 18:4-6).
Isaiah 50:6 also relates the way He gave His back to those who struck Him, which clearly refers to the scourging that He received (Matt. 27:26). The abuse to His face in the same verse is delineated in Matthew 26:67 and 27:30. These were only the preliminaries, however. The description of Jesus and His suffering on the cross is found in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, which talks about His visage being "marred more than any man," being "despised and rejected by men," being "led as a lamb to the slaughter," and pouring out "His soul unto death." At least 21 verses in the New Testament refer to this passage, including the fact that Jesus was numbered with the transgressors and that He was with the rich in His death. Striking is the fact that no guile is in His mouth. No wonder Paine could not find much to say about the book of Isaiah!
Other Passages
Isaiah would be an amazing book if just the prophecies of Jesus were considered; many others concerning various nations are also found, which are not here discussed because they are so numerous. Some of the non-prophetic texts also have great value. The book begins with God issuing the following invitation to His people: "Come now, and let us reason together," the Almighty says. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (1:18). In how many systems of religion are the people invited to reason with Deity? God created us as rational beings, and He desires for us to think, reason, and evaluate. The fact that He is willing to forgive sins is incredible, but He will when we repent (quit doing them).
Isaiah 5:20 is as relevant today as the moment it was written: "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!" When "Christian leaders" attempt to justify adultery, fornication, and homosexuality, the passage is most pertinent.
Isaiah 6:3 once and for all proclaims (in case the reader missed it in Exodus and Leviticus) that God is holy, holy, holy while man is unclean, dwelling amidst people of unclean lips (v. 5). How grateful we are for the volunteer spirit of the prophet as he answers God's question of, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" by declaring: "Here am I! Send me" (v. 8).
The solution to all of mankind's problems is found in Isaiah 8:20. We listen to the wrong people. The solution is presented: "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Connected ideologically with this verse is another one that explains the problem; many were saying to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits" (30:10).
Isaiah 40:6-8 reminds us that, as human beings, we are as temporary as grass, but the Word of the Lord stands forever (quoted in the New Testament). Isaiah 40:29-31 is inspirational as it describes what God can do for the faithful. Isaiah 40:22 describes God as sitting on "the circle of the earth"; how did Isaiah know that 2,700 years ago, and why did Paine fail to comment on it? It certainly contradicts his low view of the Bible.
Isaiah 47:13 shows the futility of relying on anyone other than the true and living God. The astrologers have no power to help mankind. Equally harmful to the practice of idolatry is the mockery of it found in Isaiah 44. Man plants and cuts down trees (v. 14). He burns half of it and cooks his meat over it. He warms himself from the fire also. With the other half of the tree he makes a god; then he bows down and worships it (v. 17). Yes, he bakes bread on part of it but then falls down before a block of wood to worship it (v. 19). How silly! May all choose rather to worship God eternal (Isa. 43:10-11).
THE AMAZING ASPECTS OF THE BIBLE (PART 8)