In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the book of Isaiah and its themes of God's judgments and blessings. The speaker highlights how God's judgments are poured out on the people of Judah, but also emphasizes that God always preserves a remnant of his people. The sermon emphasizes the contrast between the judgments and blessings of God, with the sudden change from thunder and lightning to the shining sun. The speaker encourages the audience to understand that God's judgments are meant to bring repentance and restoration, and that God's faithfulness to his promises is evident throughout the book of Isaiah.

It's going to be an annual event. If you were cast adrift on a desert island, and you could have only one book of the Bible, which book would you want? I didn't hear you. Habakkuk. Habakkuk, okay. Whatever answer you give is right, because that's the one you would want. I think you were all afraid to answer, but whatever you say is right. Anybody else venture? You could only have one book of the Bible on this desert island. You're cast adrift. You don't know how long. Psalms. Okay? Psalms. In addition to the Psalms, if you could only have one book of the Old Testament. Isaiah. Clint says Isaiah. I'm glad he said it, because that's what we're going to talk about tonight. You're reading my mind, Brother Clint. I thought I'd just like to spend a little time with you tonight on some keys to understanding Isaiah. See if we can bring it down to street level. It is a wonderful book. All the books of the Bible are wonderful, but Isaiah is really special in a way, isn't it? First of all, it's special because it gives a wonderful biographical sketch of the Lord Jesus Christ, a full-length portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ 700 years before he was born. It's pretty wonderful, isn't it? I have a friend in California. He and his wife right now are expecting a baby, and I guess they know it's going to be a boy. His name is going to be David. So what? That's a sonogram, you know. There was a lady in one of our chapels, and she was expecting a boy too, but the boy turned out to be a girl. That happened just recently. But I think it's wonderful. And here a baby is going to be born, and the sixth of the baby is given. 700 years before he was born. Wonderful, isn't it? So you have the birth of the Lord Jesus. You have his virgin birth clearly taught there. You have his growth. You have his life as a disciple of God the Father, his discipleship, the true disciple. You have a very graphic description of his ministry. And then where could you get the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus on the cross more clearly expounded than in Isaiah 53? The Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Wonderful, isn't it? You have his death. You have his burial. You have his resurrection. You have his coming again. And you have his glorious messianic kingdom. I think that's pretty wonderful, don't you? It's tremendous. And I think that's why Isaiah is kind of a special place in our hearts, doesn't it? Because it speaks so much of the Lord Jesus. Then, Isaiah 2 is a book of comfort. You know, it would be interesting, only God knows the problems that dear friends in this meeting tonight are facing. You know, maybe heartache, maybe sorrow, maybe anxiety. Do you know there's a verse in Isaiah that fits any problem you're facing tonight? Do you know that? There really is. It's a book of tremendous comfort and tremendous guidance. And I've experienced that in my own life, going through times of difficulty and a verse coming out in neon lights, as it were. It was better than all the psychological therapy that anybody could give me. Really was. Just a single verse of Scripture. I'm thinking now tonight especially of keys that will help us understand the book. And first of all, I think it's very helpful to know the historical background. You don't have to be a historian. How thankful I am for that. That was a course I never had any love for in school. History. But it's nice to know the historical background of the book of Isaiah. The Assyrian army had invaded the northern ten tribes known as Israel. And they had been eminently successful, and they had carried the tribes off into captivity. Not completely, but taken a lot of people off into captivity and planted colonists in the land. Those colonists intermarried with some of the Hebrew people, and they became a new group known as the Samaritans. Well, having been successful in launching an attack against the northern tribes, they started against the southern kingdom, Judah. And that brings us right to the book of Isaiah. Are they going to be successful? Read the book of Isaiah. And you'll find that God said, yeah, well, they're going to come up to the neck, but they're not going to take the head. That's exactly the way it happened. That's exactly the way it happened. The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming with banners of gold. But God sent out his angel and wiped out the army overnight. And you can read it all in the book of Isaiah. God said that. He would destroy the army overnight. He says it here in Isaiah. But he said, a worse threat awaits you, and that's the Babylonian captivity. Assyria won't be successful, but Babylon will. Babylon will come in and take you and carry you off into captivity, and the cause is your idolatry. This is very, very helpful. Passages of Scripture really come to light in Isaiah when you know these things. And then at the end of the captivity, Isaiah prophesied that a remnant would return to the land, just as it came to pass. You read about it in Ezra and Nehemiah. That's the first key. No, you don't have to know a detailed history of what was happening, but just to know that helps you. And we'll see that as we go along. Secondly, be prepared for quick transitions in the book of Isaiah. You say, what do you mean by that? Well, I mean, God can be talking about tremendous judgments that he's going to pour out upon the people and on the nations. But especially on the people of Judah. And the thunder is rolling, and the lightning is flashing, and God's sword is gleaming. And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, the sun is shining, and the blessing of the Lord has come. And you know, there's nothing between them but a period. It changes quickly in the book of Isaiah. Let me give you some illustrations. Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1 is largely a chapter of judgment. When God is dealing with the people. Pretty much the whole chapter. Not exclusively, but pretty much the whole chapter. He says in verse 5, Why should you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there's no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, they have not been closed or bound up or sewed with ointment. You know, as a young man growing up in the assembly, I've heard so many sermons on those verses. The total depravity of man, right? Is that what it's saying? Well, it would be a valid application of the verses, but what are those verses saying in their context? Well, I've always heard that it had to do with the total depravity of man. Once you get an idea like that in your head, it's very hard to dislodge it. But that's really not what it's teaching. What God is saying here is, look, I've beaten you in punishment. I've beaten you so severely that you're just one wound from head to foot. And you haven't changed. What else can I do? Now, read it in that light and see if that isn't what it's saying. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there's no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, they have not been closed or bound up. Verse 5. Why should you be stricken again? What's the use of my punishing you anymore? You will revolt more and more. It seems that the more God judged them, the worse they became. Well, anyway, the whole chapter speaks largely about the judgments of God. But notice chapter 2. Now it shall come to pass, verse 2, That's quite a transition, isn't it? From the darkness and gloom of chapter 1, and here you're in the millennial kingdom of the Lord Jesus in chapter 2. It's good to get used to that as you're studying the book of Isaiah, because it's all the way through. Why is that? Why doesn't God make a transition and say, Well, now I've talked about that, but that's not the end of the story, and after a while you'll be... I really think it gives us an insight into the heart of God that judgment is his strange work. And just as a farmer doesn't plow all year, God doesn't plow in judgment all year. In fact, it says that here in the book of Isaiah. And God loves to turn away from judgment to the blessing of his people, or at least a remnant of his people in that book. So, I find that very, very helpful in studying the book of Isaiah. Just get used to these quick transitions. Don't expect any great explanation between them. This is just the way the Lord is. He delights in mercy, and judgment is his strange work. Another thing that's very helpful, the third key that I find helpful in studying the book of Isaiah is to get used to words that are connected with idolatry. And some of them might seem strange to you. For instance, the word garden. It could be nicer. I have a vegetable garden up in the back of my house. I know. But just to know that the word garden is often used in the prophets in connection with idolatry. That was part of their idol shrines gardens. And then another one would be groves. Rather similar, groves. And even hills, because the shrines were often built on the top of hills. And even the word trees. You say, well, how do you know? Well, you'll know it by the context. That's very, very helpful to get to know the words that are associated with idolatry, with idol shrines, and realize what God is talking about. Now, it's not only here in Isaiah, but elsewhere. In the law of Moses, in the ceremonial law, God said, Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk. What does that mean? Thou shalt not seethe, boil, cook. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk, a little goat. Well, it's a difficult passage, but you know, in recent years, they have found out that that was an idolatrous practice. And that God is telling people, stay away from that type of thing. And certain ways in which they cut their hair and made gashes in their, those things were connected with idolatry, and God warns against it. Recognize words that are connected with idolatry. Then realize, realize, this is a very important key, I think, number four. Realize that many prophecies of Scripture have an early and partial fulfillment and a later and complete fulfillment. This is very helpful to me. It's known as the law of double reference. Many passages of Scripture have an early and partial fulfillment and a later and complete fulfillment. And they're here in the book of Isaiah. Probably the best example is from the book of Joel. Joel, the prophet of Pentecost, when the Lord says, I'm going to pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. And Peter quoted that on the day of Pentecost, and he said, this is that which was spoken by the prophet. Well, you see, it had a partial fulfillment on the day of Pentecost. Some of the things that Joel spoke about took place on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit wasn't poured out on all flesh. The Spirit of God was only poured out on a handful of Jews on the day of Pentecost. But it's going to be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus comes again the second time to set up his kingdom on earth. That will be literally fulfilled at that time. His Spirit will be poured out on all flesh. Many of the prophecies of Scripture have an early and partial fulfillment and a later and complete fulfillment. I personally believe that with regard to the prophecy of the virgin birth. I believe, I can't explain it all, but I believe that that prophecy had an early and partial message for King Ahaz, but it was obviously completely fulfilled when you get over to Matthew's gospel as the Lord Jesus was born of a virgin. Now, we're going to turn to some passages just to see how these little keys will help us in studying the book. Isaiah chapter, you'll really need your Bibles, Isaiah on the desert island. Isaiah chapter 65, verses 2-7. Isaiah chapter 65, verses 2-7. This is Israel. I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good according to their own thoughts. A people who provoke me to anger continually to my faith. Notice. Who sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on altars of brick. Who sit among the graves and spend the night in the tombs. These all kinds of occultic practices, huh? Spiritism. Who eat swine's flesh and the broth of abominable things as in their vessels. Who say, keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you. These are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Behold, it is written before me, I will not keep silence, but I will repay, even repay into their bosom, your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, says the Lord. Who have burned incense on the mountains. See, they were building shrines, idolatrous shrines on the mountains. Mountain is neutral in itself, but it was the use for which it was put. Blaspheme me on the hills, therefore I will measure their form of work into their bosom. And then verses 11 and 12 of the same chapter. You are those who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad. And if you have notes in the margin of your Bible, it probably says fortune there. A pagan deity. See, it was a form of idolatry. Who prepare a table for Gad, and who offer a drink offering for Mani. Mani also means destiny. So these were forms of idolatrous practices that they were involved in. And chapter 66, verse 17. Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go to the garden. There it is again. How do you know? After an idol. In the midst, eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse. Shall be consumed together, says the Lord. Well, of course, God's great complaint with the people of Judah and the people of Israel, too, was how they turned to idolatry. So just expect when you read this book to read a lot about idolatry and the folly of idolatry and the greatness of God in comparison. Okay, we mentioned that Judah was being threatened by Assyria. Let's see just how that comes about. Isaiah chapter 8, verses 6 through 8. This is where it helps to know a little about the historical background. Isaiah chapter 8, verse 6. And incidentally, it helps to have the soul of a poet when you read Isaiah. Because much of it is in poetry. And these verses that we're going to read are in poetry. And they're figurative language. But it's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Inasmuch as these people, this is Isaiah 8, verse 6. Inasmuch as these people refused the waters of Shiloah that flow softly, and rejoiced in Resan and in Remeliah's son, now, therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters of the river, strong and mighty. Who? The king of Assyria. And what it's really saying is, since they refused the voice of God, which came to them gently and softly, and rather trusted in military alliances with Syria and Egypt and other countries, God says, the river's going to overflow you. And He explains what the rivers, what the rivers, the waters are. Therefore, the waters of the river, strong and mighty, the king of Assyria, and all his glory, he will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks. He will pass through Judah. He will overflow and pass over. He will reach up to the neck. The stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel. And that was exactly what happened. He came up to the neck, as it were. He didn't conquer. He didn't conquer Judah. The Lord drove back the army by slaying them overnight. Now, King James Version is a very interesting translation. It says, And when men awoke, they were all dead. But it's changed a little in some of our more modern versions. Judah threatened by Assyria. Chapter 28, verse 11. To me, this makes the study of the book really pleasurable, when the parts of it begin to fit together. And really, I think even after a little meeting, if you go through Isaiah with some of these things in mind, you say, Oh yeah, that's what it means. Verse 11, For with stammering lips and another tongue he will speak to this people, to whom he said, This is a rest with which you may cause the weary to rest. This is a refreshing, yet they would not hear. And of course, you know, Paul uses that verse in 1 Corinthians, doesn't he, in connection with the gift of tongues. What does it mean here? Well, God is saying in this passage, Look, I spoke to you simply. I spoke to you in your language. You could understand what I said, but you wouldn't. Now you're going to hear a foreign language in your midst. What was the foreign language? The Assyrian language, is what it was. That's the language that they would hear. The language of the invader. That's what it means. With stammering lips and another tongue he will speak to this people. They wouldn't listen to him in Hebrew. Well, they'll hear it in Assyrian now. And of course, it's a measure of judgment. They wouldn't understand Assyrian. But it meant that the invader would come in to their land, and this would be the judgment of God upon them. Will Assyria capture Jerusalem? Turn to chapter 37 and get the answer. Chapter 37 and verse 10. Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah. Of course, Hezekiah was trembling. I mean, the threat had come to him. They were prattling up to Jerusalem, as it were. And now the word of the Lord comes to Isaiah to go and speak to Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying, Do not let your God... No, this is the blasphemer, sorry. Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. This was the taunt that was brought against them. But the fact of the matter is, God would preserve the people. And then Hezekiah prays to the Lord down in verse 15, and the promise is given that they would not be conquered by the Assyrians. Now, God didn't like, as I said before, the foreign alliances that they depended on. Turn to chapter 30, verses 1 through 5. Chapter 30, verses 1 through 5. God wants us to trust Him, not in the force of our own strength. I may have told you once, after one of those celebrated wars in Israel recently, in recent years at least, I said to a Jewish fellow over there one day, Well, you have to admit that God gave you a wonderful victory. And he said, God, nothing. He said, we won that victory by the strength of our arms. That's what he said. We won that victory by the strength of our arms. Chapter 30, verse 1. Woe to the rebellious... This is an alliance with Egypt. Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who take counsel but not of me, and who devise plans but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, who walk to go down to Egypt, and have not asked my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation. God is jealous of the faith and the trust of His people, and He doesn't like it when they do something like this. And yet it goes on all the time. Chapter 31, verses 1 through 3. Chapter 31. Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, verse 1, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots, because there are many, and in horsemen, because they're very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord. Yet He also is wise, and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers, against the help of those who work iniquity. Now the Egyptian are men, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. For the Lord stretches out His hand, and both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down. They all will perish together. And it's interesting, all through the Old Testament, and in modern life, it's the same. Nations forging alliances. You had the Axis during the Second World War. Same thing goes on all the time. Don't look to the Lord, just look to the strength of your arms and of your allies. Well, as I said, God promised through, predicted through Isaiah, that the Babylonians would come in. The Syrians would not succeed in conquering Judah. And they didn't. But the Babylonians would. Chapter 47, verses 1-15. Chapter 47. I might not have time. Well, I will have time. This has to do with the fall of Babylon. Oh, Judah would become captives. 39. I gave you the wrong reference. 39, 5 and 6. 39, 5 and 6. Notice what it says. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and what your fathers have accumulated until this day shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. Well, that's it. The Babylonians would invade the land and would carry the king and the people off into captivity. Of course, that's what happened. They were in captivity for 70 years. And notice in verse 8, poor Hezekiah's milk-toast answer. What an answer. He said, The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good. He said, At least there will be peace and truth in my days. That's pretty prophetic, isn't it? I think it is. I've never become famous for saying that. But eventually Babylon would be destroyed. You know, it's marvelous, isn't it? And Isaiah makes a great point of this. God's ability to predict the future and the idols, their absolute inability to predict anything, to do anything. Really, the irony in the book of Isaiah concerning idols is really remarkable. And you can't read it without chuckling. Babylon will be destroyed. And that's what I meant when I turned to Isaiah 47. This has the fall of Babylon. Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil. Take off the skirt. Uncover the thigh. Pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered. Yes, your shame will be seen. I will take vengeance. And I will not arbitrate with a man. Then another prominent theme throughout the book of Isaiah, and throughout the prophets as well, not just Isaiah, is that God would always preserve a remnant of his people. God is a covenant-keeping God. And he will not go back on his promises to his people. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 9. Watch out for the word, remnant, as you study the book of Isaiah. And really, it's a principle of God that he maintains a remnant testimony. I think this is going to be truer and truer as we see the darkness enveloping us morally and socially and every other way. There's going to be a remnant of God's people preserved. They're going to speak often one to another, and a book of remembrance is going to be written. Notice verse 9 of chapter 1. Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom. We would have been made like Gomorrah. God will preserve a remnant. The majority of the people will be destroyed, but that's not the whole story. And then, of course, you have the remarkable prophecies of the return of the people from captivity. God says they're going to go off, the Babylonians are going to come in, they're going to invade the land, they're going to be successful, they're going to carry the people off to Babylon into captivity, but they're going to return. Chapter 14. Chapter 14. Verses 1 through 4. Well, actually, more than that, but we'll read verses 1 through 4. Excuse me. So the Lord will have mercy on Jacob and will still choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then people will take them. This is interesting. People will take them and bring them to their place. And the house of Israel possess them for servants and maids, the land of the Lord. They will take them captive, whose captives they were. United Airlines will be carrying some of them back to the land, you know, people will bring them back to the land, and those that oppress them will be servants in their house, and they will rule over their oppressors. It will come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve. You will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and what the proverb is, it's a taunt song against the king of Babylon, all in poetic form. Chapter 41. Chapter 41 in verse 25. This is remarkable. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun, he shall call on my name, and he shall come against princes as though mortar, as the potter treads clay. Who's that? That's Cyrus. He's prophesying, he's saying, look, a king is going to arise, a Persian. Persian. A Persian. What about the Babylonians? The Babylonians will be defeated, and the Medo-Persians will take their place. And here's this scripture telling it in great detail, that a man would come, and he would issue a proclamation that would allow the people of God to return to the land. Chapter 44, verse 28. Chapter 44, verse 28. I get this, dear friend. This is written a long before it ever happened. The king is mentioned by name. By name. Who says of Cyrus, that great God mentions him by name, who says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, you shall be built to the temple, your foundation shall be laid. And you turn to 2 Chronicles, and the last chapter of it tells of the decree of Cyrus. The first chapter of Ezra. But here he's mentioned before he was ever born. And his name is given. I think that's brilliant. I can see why the modernists and the liberals don't like prophecy. Can't you? I mean, this really sticks in their throat. When they go to the Old Testament and see the dynasties. I had a laugh. I had a laugh the other day when I read about the Jesus Seminar. You know, a group of scholars, and they take the Gospels, and they say, now, it's very unlikely that Jesus didn't say that. And, well, we know definitely that he didn't say this. And then they have this tremendous statement. They say, no reputable scholar believes that. And I just laughed out loud. No reputable. In other words, if he believes that, he's not a scholar. It's really pathetic to think of men who wound Jesus in the house of his friends, isn't it? And the liberals and the modernists, they don't like this. They don't like the fact that Isaiah predicted Cyrus by name. But he did. By inspiration of the Spirit of God. That's a wonderful verse. Verse 4820. 4820. Go forth from Babylon. This is beautiful. Flee from the Chaldeans. What is this? It's telling the people, look, pack up your bags and get going. Get out of that country and come back to Judah. Isn't that beautiful? Go forth from Babylon. Flee from the Chaldeans. Will the voices sing, declare, proclaim this, utter it, even to the end of the earth, saying, the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. What does it mean? It means the captivity is over. Time to go back to the land. I tell you, my heart rejoices when I read some of these things. Chapter 51, verse 11. And this is a verse we all love. And we apply it to the time when we're going to be gathered home in heaven. But it really returns, it refers to the return of Judah, a remnant of Judah, from Babylon to the land. So the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness. Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Now, that had an early and partial fulfillment in the returns under Ezra and Nehemiah. It was irrevocable. Had an early and partial return. The complete return of that, the complete fulfillment of that verse will be at the second coming of the Lord when Israel will be gathered from all over the earth and brought back to the land. But certainly in the context it refers primarily to the return from Babylonian captivity. One more. 52, verse 11. Once again, it's just beautiful, the language here. Verses 11 and 12. Depart, depart, go out from there. From where? From Babylon. Touch no unclean thing. Go out from the midst of her. Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. Well, you who bear the vessels of the Lord, they still have some of the vessels from the temple, and they're going to carry them back to Judah, and they want to be clean when they do it. For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Well, they didn't have to hurry because they had the decree of Cyrus permitting them to go and actually giving some financial help in the process. Isn't prophecy wonderful? It doesn't say you better hurry out because the Babylonians will be chasing you. The Babylonians weren't a power anymore when it happened. Medo-Persians were. Chapter 57, Highway for the Returning Exile. Chapter 57, verse 14. I just love this. One shall say, heap it up, heap it up, prepare the way, take the stumbling block out of the way of my people. What does it mean? It means get the highways ready. Get the highway department out there and work so this will be good highways for the people to return to the land. And then, of course, many, many prophecies in the book of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah chapter 32. 32, verses 1 through 4. Easy to recognize these. You don't have any trouble with that at all. Behold, a king will reign in righteousness and princes will rule with justice. A man will be as a hiding place from the wind and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. The eyes of those who see will not be dim. The ears of those who hear will listen. Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge. The tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly. And it goes on to Q. A marvelous description of the day when the Lord Jesus comes back and reigns as king of kings and Lord of lords and reigns in righteousness. And then, of course, Isaiah is filled with descriptions of what it's going to be like in the millennium. The conditions that will exist. Just quickly. Isaiah chapter 2, verses 2 through 4. Chapter 2, verses 2 through 4. Well, we read part of that. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on top of the mountains and be vaulted above the hills. The temple! Read more about that in Ezekiel. All nations shall flow to it. And many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the house 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, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. We shall judge between the nations and shall rebuke many people. Listen to this. They shall beat their swords into plowshares. All the money that they were spending for ammunition and munitions will be used for agricultural implements. Isn't that marvelous? And reapers will have all of these reaping machines. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into prunings. Nations shall not lift up, nation against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Different that prophecy has never been fulfilled. And it won't be fulfilled till the Lord Jesus comes back again. Chapter 11, verses 6 and 9. Chapter 11, verses 6 and 9. This whole chapter is beautiful. The wolf also shall lie down with the lamb, some twelve with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and the little child shall lead them. The wild animals will be domesticated, won't they? They'll all be tamed. The cow and the bear shall graze. Their little ones shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole. The weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy, in all my holy mountains. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse who shall stand as a banner to the people. For the Gentiles shall seek him. It's beautiful. And his resting place shall be glorious. So come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again, again the second time, to recover the remnant of his people who are left scattered throughout the world. And finally, Isaiah 35, verses 1 through 10. The Millennial Conditions. We won't read it all, but just to get the taste of it. The glory of the coming kingdom. The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them. The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose. Shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it. The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. And right down through verse 10, we have a beautiful description of conditions that will prevail during that glorious kingdom, coming kingdom, of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Well, I hope that the next time you read the book of Isaiah that some of these things will... Oh, you'll be able to say, yeah, that's what that means, you know. Some of it's poetic, and some of it's figurative, but most of it, I think, is for those keys. The parts of the puzzle come together. Shall we pray? Father, we do thank you for your word. We just stand in awe of it when we think of these marvelous predictions that were made, prophecies that were given many, many years, and we think of the prophecy still unfulfilled. We think of that glorious day when the men of Calvary will come back as rulers of kings, and kings shall shut their mouths at him, and that which had not been told them they shall know in that day. They'll know that the one that was crucified on Calvary's cross, the Lord of glory. We think of how beautiful it'll be, Gentiles coming up to worship at Jerusalem and bringing their tributes and their offerings, and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. We look forward to see the Lord Jesus crowned in a scene where once he was rejected and despised. We give our thanks in his worthy name. Amen.