Dec. 22, 2024

Isaiah 40:3-5 Pt 2

Isaiah 40:3-5 Pt 2

We conclude our study of Isaiah 40:3-5

Spreaker podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Deezer podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
RadioPublic podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Fountain podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Podverse podcast player badge
Podyssey podcast player badge
Breaker podcast player badge
Podurama podcast player badge
Audacy podcast player badge
JioSaavn podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player icon Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon PocketCasts podcast player icon Amazon Music podcast player icon Overcast podcast player icon Audible podcast player icon Castro podcast player icon iHeartRadio podcast player icon Castbox podcast player icon Podchaser podcast player icon TuneIn podcast player icon Deezer podcast player icon Pandora podcast player icon RadioPublic podcast player icon Podcast Addict podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon YouTube podcast player icon Fountain podcast player icon PlayerFM podcast player icon Goodpods podcast player icon Podverse podcast player icon Podyssey podcast player icon Breaker podcast player icon Podurama podcast player icon Audacy podcast player icon JioSaavn podcast player icon

We conclude our study of Isaiah 40:3-5

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:07.160
All right, Isaiah chapter forty. The way it should have

2
00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:09.679
worked is I needed to finish a certain thing in

3
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.439
the first hour, so I wouldn't continue in the second hour,

4
00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:14.759
because when it continues in the second hour, then I

5
00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:17.519
have to do more review. But we're going to go

6
00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:21.480
through this relatively quick, and I'll just try to get

7
00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:24.640
you caught up. All right, Isaiah chapter forty. We started

8
00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:29.440
the first hour reviewing our observational outline of Isaiah forty,

9
00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:32.280
but we're not going to do that now. The goal

10
00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:35.479
this morning is verses three through five. And what our

11
00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.359
goal is right now, what we started in the first

12
00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:41.399
hour is we're just working our way well well. First,

13
00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.320
we identified all kinds of questions and issues and difficulties

14
00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:47.880
with first three through five. That's the first thing we did. Second,

15
00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:52.640
we started working through Versus three through five, not in

16
00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:55.280
a completely in depth way, but really trying to work

17
00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:57.880
through some of the issues and trying to understand how

18
00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:01.399
to approach the text. The main thing I have done

19
00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.079
in the first hour, and I said, I was kind

20
00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:06.640
of walking myself into a hermeneutical trap, but I was

21
00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:09.680
willing to do so as I tried to establish that

22
00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.760
in Isaiah forty. If you go to Isaiah thirty nine,

23
00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:19.480
five through eight, that's literal prophecy of Babylonian captivity. The

24
00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:23.439
Babylonians are literal. The king has the kaya is literal.

25
00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:26.439
If you go to Isaiah chapter one, all the places,

26
00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:30.799
the people, everything is literal. Everything is literal. The context

27
00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:34.560
of Isaiah forty, verses three through five is this is

28
00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:40.000
a message to literal Judah and literal Babylonian captivity. All right,

29
00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:42.760
that's the way we have to understand that this is

30
00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.560
surrounded by literal, literal, literal, literal, literal. The reason we

31
00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:49.760
have to is because every pastor goes to verses three

32
00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:54.560
through five and goes crazy with spiritual spiritual, spiritual, spiritual,

33
00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:58.359
and that's a major hermeneutical problem. All right, So in

34
00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:01.159
verse three, I'm just gonna go through this relatively quick,

35
00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.159
so hopefully you get it. We talked about the immediate

36
00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:07.680
and broader context. I just kind of summarized that in

37
00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:10.680
a very very very simplistic way. Then we started working

38
00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:13.319
with verse three. Verse three, we have the voice of

39
00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:16.039
Him that Christ in the wilderness, prepare ye the way

40
00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.120
of the Lord, make straight, and the desert a highway

41
00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:24.439
for our God in Isaiah forty verse three. Some translations

42
00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:29.800
have the voice. Other translations have a voice. Whether it's

43
00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:32.520
a or whether it's the we'll get into that later.

44
00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:35.080
The main thing I want you to realize is in

45
00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:41.520
Isaiah forty verse three, that voice is not identified. The

46
00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.639
voice is not identified, and the New Testament the voice

47
00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:48.520
is identified as being John the Baptist. But we cannot

48
00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:51.879
insert John the Baptist back into this section. And here's

49
00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:55.840
the reason why. This voice is telling people to prepare.

50
00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:59.319
Who is it telling to prepare people who are coming

51
00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:03.080
seven hundred years later? No, there would be of no

52
00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.280
value to the people in Babylonian captivity. This voice is

53
00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:09.560
telling the people at that time to prepare. That's not

54
00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:11.680
John the Baptist, because he doesn't show up for seven

55
00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:16.080
hundred years later. Everybody understand that. So this voice, whom

56
00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:19.159
we don't know who it is, tells the people to

57
00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:24.599
prepare the way of the Lord. Now, please note, this

58
00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:28.000
voice is crying into wilderness. I almost mentioned this. Let's

59
00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:32.439
just remember historically and their contexts, the road, the route

60
00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:38.879
from Babylon back to Jerusalem was wilderness. So a voice

61
00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:42.639
comes to them in their wilderness situation. They're in captivity

62
00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:45.759
in Babylon, and tells them to prepare a way for whom.

63
00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:50.520
The text says of verse three, the Lord prepare the

64
00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:54.000
way for God. This is there to prepare somehow for

65
00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.719
God's coming, for the Lord showing up in some way,

66
00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.000
shape or form. Now here's what we do know history.

67
00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:06.199
Does God show up in a literal manifestation For the

68
00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:09.199
people on Babylonian captivity? He doesn't show up like in

69
00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:12.560
the incarnation, right, he doesn't show up that way. But

70
00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:14.919
how does he show up? If we're gonna say he

71
00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:19.879
shows up? And for those in Babylonian captivity, he shows

72
00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:24.720
up and their deliverance. So they are to prepare, and

73
00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:28.360
this is the idea for God coming ultimately to deliver them.

74
00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:31.680
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

75
00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:35.560
Now this is using the language in that historical setting

76
00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:38.360
when a king would come into an area. Guess what

77
00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:41.240
would happen. The people would go before it and make

78
00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:45.199
sure the road was straight and clear and everything's good

79
00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:47.680
to go. So they're to make a way. Make and

80
00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:51.160
in fact it says make a straight, make straight in

81
00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.959
the desert a highway for our God. Remove what's there?

82
00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.240
So that God can show up. Now, this is kind

83
00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:03.680
of weird, right, because they got to make the way

84
00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:06.040
straight so that God. God can't show up unless they

85
00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:08.800
make the way straight. That would be an obvious question, right,

86
00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:10.959
But they've got to get the way straight and to

87
00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:14.720
prepare the way for our God. Now, I'm gonna use

88
00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:19.720
this phrase a number of times in this section. What

89
00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:22.759
I believe is occurring, and I'm kind of doing a

90
00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:24.839
little review and kind of jumping ahead at the same time.

91
00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:27.079
For those who weren't here in the first hour, is

92
00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:32.680
this there is a allegorical or metaphorical type language being utilized,

93
00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:36.759
or I like to use poetic language, but it's pointing

94
00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:43.800
to something literal. Right, does everybody understand that it's poetic language,

95
00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:46.720
but it's pointing to something literal. It's not pointing to

96
00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.839
something spiritual, because everyone likes to come to this text

97
00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:53.600
and say, hey, prepare the way for God? And how

98
00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:57.040
do you prepare the way for God in a spiritual way?

99
00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:01.160
Getting rid of your sins, reading your Bible? Sure, whatever

100
00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:03.720
the case may be, I don't think it's a reference

101
00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:06.800
to that kind of thing. I think it's a reference

102
00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:11.519
to preparing for in a literal way. Something literally has

103
00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:15.519
to be prepared well for these people for God to

104
00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:20.920
show up to deliver them. For their ultimate deliverance, some

105
00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:25.920
things have to occur between the first hour and second hour.

106
00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:31.240
Sarah was doing some research and starting about ten years

107
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:37.800
was that correct? About ten years before the Israel's release

108
00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:40.839
from or Judah's released from Babylon in captivity. There's a

109
00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:46.160
king right of Babylon, and that king that's reigning about

110
00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:49.160
ten years before. What's a good way to describe him, Sarah,

111
00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:55.079
so that we're historically accurate, weak and ineffective and basically

112
00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.160
and aroundabout way, the people are kind of already free.

113
00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:00.639
He's kind of not worrying about them. He doesn't really

114
00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:04.879
care about Judah. He's just he doesn't really care. He's

115
00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:08.800
not even I think he wasn't even in the country.

116
00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:15.240
So already things are being prepared and away. The king

117
00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:18.639
doesn't even really care anymore. He's ineffective, he doesn't care.

118
00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:21.920
Said things are already happening, is what I'm trying to get.

119
00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:25.759
Things are already being prepared, and then we ultimately know

120
00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:29.560
who shows up ten years later, Cyrus shows up, and

121
00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.000
you know what's crazy. Sarah was reading how it all

122
00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:36.680
went down. He basically just walked in. It was peaceful,

123
00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:43.160
the people, the people. Some believe some of the accounts

124
00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:46.879
there were defectors inside of Babylon who basically just opened

125
00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:50.759
the gates and said, come on in. He just walked in. In

126
00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.399
other words, an prepared the way and he just walks in.

127
00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.639
And he walks in not as a conqueror, but as

128
00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:02.199
a liberator. I'm here to set every one free. And

129
00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:11.560
who was that? Cyrus? Yeah? Three years later, yeah, yeah,

130
00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:17.399
five point thirty six. So that like that, that's all literal, right,

131
00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.800
So we've got we got a voice now who is

132
00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:25.079
being told to prepare the way? See, we don't know

133
00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:27.680
who the voice is, but who's being told to prepare

134
00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:31.879
the way? That that that's up to a lot of interpretations, right,

135
00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:35.519
we could say Juda is Judas supposed to be doing

136
00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:39.759
to prepare? Is Cyrus doing? Who's doing the preparing? But

137
00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:44.600
someone is preparing something is making the way straight. And clearly,

138
00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:48.639
historically speaking, there was a lot happening in those ten

139
00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:53.679
well thirteen years. For ten years, you've got a Babylonian

140
00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.279
king is basically like whatever, I don't care, I'm not

141
00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.240
even in country. And the Israelites, for the most part,

142
00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:03.840
are kind of just for then then Cyrus just walks

143
00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.279
in peacefully. The Babylonians just kind of like, well, HARKing

144
00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.240
a left us here you where are the look? Hey

145
00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:12.480
comes in? And then three years later, how many people

146
00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:17.480
fifty thousand go back to your And that's why And

147
00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:19.320
we can see why some people wanted to stay in

148
00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:23.879
Babylon because everything had already been good for basically ten years.

149
00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:28.519
So that's something literal is going on. All of this

150
00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:34.200
language may be figurative, but it's figurative pointing to something literal.

151
00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:37.120
Does that make sense? Right? It would be like I

152
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:41.559
could use very exaggerated or poetic language to say it

153
00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:46.279
is nine hundred degrees I think I'm going to die right. Well,

154
00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:50.759
that that is very exaggerated language. I could write it

155
00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:53.200
in a poetic way, but I would be speaking to

156
00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:59.840
something literal that it is hot. Right? Does that make sense?

157
00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:03.080
So you can use a poetic language, but you're still

158
00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:05.480
what we have a tendency to do. If it's figurative

159
00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:09.759
or allegorical language, we just immediately make it what spiritual

160
00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:12.519
and I think we have to be very careful with that.

161
00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:14.200
So we looked at all of that invers Thary, and

162
00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:16.799
the look at verse four. To carry on this idea,

163
00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:20.159
every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hills shall

164
00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:22.720
be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight,

165
00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:27.519
and the rough place is plain. Now please note it's

166
00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:32.279
verse three a voice is telling someone to prepare the

167
00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:36.840
way everybody got that. Verse four is not telling them

168
00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:41.519
to do anything. It's saying this is going to happen. Now,

169
00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:46.559
what most pastors do is the valley and the mountains.

170
00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:51.559
This is all referencing pride and sin, and this is

171
00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.559
all going to be made right. Well, we know all

172
00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:58.480
sin is not made right, okay, because Israel does what

173
00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:03.240
when they get back the idolatry sin and they end

174
00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:08.080
up back in Roman captivity, go into New captivity. So

175
00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:12.200
I think that what this is referring to the valley

176
00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:15.039
should be exalted, the mountains should be made low, and

177
00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.159
the crooked should be made straight, and the rough place

178
00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:21.919
is plain. It's using figurative allegorical language to describe what

179
00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:27.639
literal everything is gonna be made right so that they

180
00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.120
can be delivered. And it starts ten years prior to

181
00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:35.120
their release. As Sarah pointed out that New King just basically,

182
00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:39.799
he's the king, he's the mountain, he's made low, he's ineffective,

183
00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:42.480
he's weak, nobody really cares. Everybody's kind of doing what

184
00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:47.000
they want. Right, Okay, the valley is now brought up

185
00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:52.480
because Cyrus can do what just walk right in? The

186
00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:56.639
gate is open. Like from a literal standpoint, this seems

187
00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:03.519
to describe exactly what occurred. Now it's using figurative language,

188
00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:09.399
but it's describing basically what's going to happen. Everything that

189
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:15.360
would be an obstacle politically, physically is going to be

190
00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:23.639
what removed. And their deliverer is Cyrus. Now Cyrus is

191
00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:28.039
the human deliverer. But who is working in and through Cyrus? God?

192
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:34.879
So it's God, but it's Cyrus. Everybody got that. And

193
00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:39.120
then what happens. So there's the voice, there's the transformation

194
00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:42.559
of the landscape. Now look what happens in verse five.

195
00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:47.159
So let's read three. We'll read three through four again.

196
00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:49.360
The voice of him, the Christ in the wilderness. Prepare

197
00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:51.279
you the way of the Lord makes straight in the

198
00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:54.440
desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted,

199
00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:58.679
every mountain shall be and hill shall be made low.

200
00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:01.039
And the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough

201
00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:05.120
place is plain. Again figurative language, but pointing to literal

202
00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.519
everything's removed to make their deliverance work. And then what

203
00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:14.320
happens in verse five? And now this seems to be

204
00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.720
following kind of like a chronological word. And what's gonna

205
00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:20.720
happen after all of that is done? The glory of

206
00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.679
the Lord should be revealed, and all the flesh shall

207
00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:27.039
see it twogether. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

208
00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:28.879
Now when we say the glory of the Lord is

209
00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.919
going to be revealed, what do we mean by that? Now?

210
00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:37.320
If we take this now versus says all flesh, I

211
00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:39.519
think right there, we're gonna have to qualify them to

212
00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:41.879
some level, don't you agree. I don't think this means

213
00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:43.799
the entire world's going to see it, because even if

214
00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:46.360
you point to this being the incarnation, did the whole

215
00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:50.360
world see the incarnation? No, So it has to be limited.

216
00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:53.639
All flesh is going to see it. Where those in

217
00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:57.080
Babylonian captivity are all going to see this glory? And

218
00:13:57.159 --> 00:14:01.360
what glory is that going to be? They're in Babylonian captivity,

219
00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:04.720
and all of a sudden, the gates are opened and

220
00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:08.120
someone walks through that gate and saying I'm here to

221
00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:13.799
liberate everyone. They're all going to know that, right, was

222
00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:17.039
there gonna be anyone in Babylonian captivity going I didn't,

223
00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.360
I don't know what's going on? What's going on? What happened?

224
00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:23.000
Now they're all going to know. And so the glory

225
00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:24.679
of God is going to be revealed in.

226
00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:31.919
Whom and Cyrus walking through the gate because that just

227
00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:35.919
showed who just showed up in a figurative way, kind

228
00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.240
of in a literal way, who.

229
00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:40.480
Just showed up? We see Cyrus, but who really showed

230
00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:47.159
up God? Oh yeah, we're going to we're gonna we're

231
00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:50.080
gonna take the Ezra part. We're gonna take that chapter apart.

232
00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:55.759
That's so key here. Oh yes, yes, because that's that's

233
00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:58.120
called the Decree of Cyrus. Yeah, we're gonna definitely look

234
00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:02.159
at that because I think I now, i'll just give

235
00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:05.080
you a preview. Me and Ai had big arguments here,

236
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.200
big arguments because Ai was trying to go with the

237
00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:10.879
way all Christians go and I'm like, come on, now,

238
00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:15.360
you're missing the point here. But Ai had finally acknowledged man,

239
00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:19.840
the decree of Sirius. You may be onto something. Right,

240
00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:22.960
that's basically, but I didn't like it necessarily because it's like, well,

241
00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.159
nobody else agrees with you. I don't care if anybody

242
00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.039
agrees with me. All right, this is gonna be literal

243
00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:30.600
in some way, all right, even though it's using a

244
00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:33.200
figurative language. So the glory's gonna be showed up now,

245
00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:36.720
just to go through some different things. In the immediate

246
00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:39.879
context the glory of the Lord be revealed, it has

247
00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:44.200
to refer to God's power and majesty displayed in Israel's

248
00:15:44.200 --> 00:15:49.360
deliverance from exile. You see that everyone admits and its

249
00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:52.759
immediate context that refers to God's power and majesty displayed

250
00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:56.879
in Israel's deliverance. How has God's majesty been prepared? The

251
00:15:56.919 --> 00:16:00.519
mountain has been made low, the valley has been brought

252
00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:03.679
ha ha, all of it's been made plain. It's been

253
00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:07.080
made level. And who comes walking in? Really, you can't

254
00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.960
get much more than a highway and a level playing

255
00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:13.879
ground when you're the conquering king and the people behind

256
00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:18.639
the walls just like open the gate and like come

257
00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:24.679
on in. That doesn't happen, Okay, that means something, maybe

258
00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:28.799
something supernatural is at work and when that happens, God's

259
00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:32.679
glory because God said that you're gonna be delivered and

260
00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:39.440
it just happened. That's the media context now, but of

261
00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:43.440
course and the New Testament, this phrase is connected to

262
00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:47.720
christ incarnation, where God's glory is revealed in Jesus. That's fine, well,

263
00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:50.360
we'll get there, but we're not there right now. I

264
00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:52.600
know pastors want to get there and go immediately to

265
00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:56.000
John the Baptist and the incarnation, but that that would

266
00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.720
I'm gonna I'm gonna state it again. The incarnation is

267
00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:03.279
of it own value to them and Babylonian captivity because

268
00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:07.640
the incarnation is not for how many years, seven hundred

269
00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:13.319
years later? All these people are gonna be dead, right,

270
00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.359
and their grandkids are gonna be dead, and their grandkids

271
00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:18.519
are gonna be dead. Ah, lot of people are gonna

272
00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:25.599
be dead before anything happens. Now. Just please note, if

273
00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:29.799
you are a Jew and you're very familiar with Isaiah

274
00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:34.440
forty verses three through five, Okay, let's try to put ourselves.

275
00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:36.200
We're gonna go to the New Testament. Here. You're a

276
00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:40.200
Jew in the New Testament and you know Isaiah forty

277
00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.640
three through five, and a voice shows up in the

278
00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:48.720
wilderness telling you to prepare your way for God, and

279
00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:53.880
then you hear that God has been born in a manger,

280
00:17:54.440 --> 00:18:00.119
taken on human flesh. Then you can immediately understand why

281
00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:07.880
what they thought that child was going to do? Deliver

282
00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:12.240
it sah our Cyrus has arrived. God has shown up

283
00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:14.960
in the flesh. They thought he was going to take

284
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.079
out the Romans immediately you can understand why they thought.

285
00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:21.200
You can't give everyone's like, I just don't know what

286
00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.000
the Jews problem was. Why they didn't understand give me

287
00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:28.319
a break. You're borrowing from Isaiah forty? What is this

288
00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:32.160
about people being delivered from captivity? Where are the Jews

289
00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:36.240
when Jesus shows up in captivity? So what did they

290
00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:43.359
expect him to do? Deliver them? You can understand that, Well,

291
00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:46.079
that's why the kings, that's why the politicians would have

292
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:48.680
been a little nervous thinking of that same concept. Right,

293
00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:52.559
So you can say, why what was going on? But

294
00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:55.599
in this context, we can't run to Jesus. We got

295
00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:02.240
to keep it here. Does that make sense? Right? Yeah,

296
00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.319
there's more I could go I could go here. Oh,

297
00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:08.480
we do have this? What's the last phrase there? In

298
00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:13.319
verse five? I do want to mention this, for the

299
00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.519
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. This phrase underscores

300
00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:20.240
the certainty of God's promise. His word is reliable, and

301
00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:26.079
his promise cannot fall. Remember these people, these words and

302
00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:30.519
Isaiah forty three through five are given one hundred years

303
00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:37.079
before the captivity. So this is an't this is going

304
00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:41.279
to happen. All right, this is going to happen. There's

305
00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:45.000
a voice telling you prepare because this is what's going

306
00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:48.880
to happen. Every valley, every obstacle is going to be

307
00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:51.559
made low, every oh is going to be removed, and

308
00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:53.319
God is going to show up and you're going to

309
00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:58.039
be delivered. But and so it's because it's from God,

310
00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:01.960
it's not from anybody else. Does that makes sense? All right?

311
00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.640
So what are some of the key themes here? Well,

312
00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:08.680
I think we can definitely see God's sovereignty is all

313
00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:14.039
over this. Can we agree with that? All right? I'm

314
00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:17.720
not Others will say that we have the idea of

315
00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:21.200
repentance here in spiritual preparation. I'm not going with that.

316
00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:26.920
I'm not. I don't think Look, if this message was

317
00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:29.880
for them to repent and get right spiritually, I think

318
00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.119
the Book of Isaiah has used language that would be

319
00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:36.839
a lot easier to figure out than using this metaphorical language. Right, Hey,

320
00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.880
every mountain is going to be get yourself right spiritually.

321
00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:42.519
Isn't that what the first thirty nine chapters have been

322
00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:48.000
about your sin, repent your sin, and all of a sudden,

323
00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:52.920
Now he can't just say prepare your way by you know,

324
00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:57.359
fasting and repenting and getting ready for your idols. All

325
00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:01.079
of a sudden he can't just God can no longer

326
00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:03.559
speak that way. That just makes no sense. That all

327
00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:06.039
of a sudden he's telling them to get ready spiritually

328
00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:08.400
and he just can't say it in a literal. That

329
00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:10.480
just makes no sense to me. It makes no sense

330
00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:14.839
to me. I just reject that outright, all right. I

331
00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:18.359
think there's a So there's a there's a theme of preparation,

332
00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:21.759
but I just don't think it's a spiritual kind. There's

333
00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:25.480
the discussion of restoration and deliverance I think at least deliverance,

334
00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:28.720
I don't know. And there's a discussion of revealing God's glory.

335
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:30.880
Now we could try to apply this today. We're not

336
00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:32.880
even going to try to apply this today. We're not

337
00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:35.160
even going to attempt to do that. All right, So

338
00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:38.519
this gets us to where we need to go, all right,

339
00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:42.319
so verses three through five. Everybody good with that? So

340
00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:46.359
how as a church, how would we explain Isaiah forty

341
00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:51.160
three through five to anyone that this is a message

342
00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:59.200
that God is going to literally remove all obstacles so

343
00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:04.160
that the people can be delivered. Cyrus is that deliverer

344
00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:07.240
when he shows up. In a sense, God and his

345
00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:10.519
glory has shown up to reveal the people. That's what

346
00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:16.400
this is about. All right. That maybe as an oversimplification,

347
00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:18.839
but you get the basic idea. Everybody good with that?

348
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:23.880
All right? So here's what we need to do. And

349
00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:29.359
Isaiah chapter forty, verse three. Most English translations render the

350
00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:35.400
phrase the Hebrew phrase a voice cries rather than the

351
00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:43.200
voice cries. This difference is subtle but significant and understanding

352
00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:46.240
how this text is interpreted. So we're gonna look at

353
00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:50.200
some of the explanations and implications from this, all right.

354
00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:56.400
The Hebrew phrase and Isaiah forty verse three is its

355
00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:02.839
voice without a definite article. It's voice without a definite,

356
00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:06.759
definite article. And then you have the idea crying or calling,

357
00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:13.319
So almost you could say voice crying, voice calling. That's

358
00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:16.160
basically if you wanted to be very very literal, not

359
00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:22.279
a voice, voice calling, voice crying. Since there is no

360
00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:27.440
definite article attached to the word voice in Hebrew, the

361
00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:30.480
phrase is more accurately translated. And of course, if you're

362
00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:33.440
going to try to clean it up, a voice rather

363
00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:35.559
than the voice. So most say it should be a

364
00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:38.839
voice rather than the voice. Now, if it's a voice,

365
00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.759
that just makes it very generic, and you're not you

366
00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:46.200
don't feel this pressure to do what identify it? If

367
00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:50.680
it's the voice, you feel very much a I gotta

368
00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:55.400
identify the voice. Does everybody kind of see that? All right? Now?

369
00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:00.920
The common English translations, many translations ran the phrase as

370
00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.480
a voice cries to reflect the absence of the definite article.

371
00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:10.279
The ESV a voice cries in the wilderness, NIV a voice,

372
00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:16.039
the NASB a voice. A few translations use the voice

373
00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:23.839
the voice cries for stylistic or interpretive reasons. Uh oh,

374
00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:28.519
some translations have it the voice for interpretive reasons. And

375
00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:32.440
guess one of the two translations that do that, The

376
00:24:32.519 --> 00:24:36.920
King James and the New King James. The voice the voice. Now,

377
00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:43.079
why would they possibly want to say the voice because

378
00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:47.319
they're borrowing from the New Testament and they're reading it

379
00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:50.319
back into it, and I actually, you cannot do that.

380
00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:55.279
You cannot do that because the voice that they're trying

381
00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:58.400
to point to is of no value to these individuals.

382
00:24:58.440 --> 00:25:01.000
They're going to be dead before that voice shows up.

383
00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:04.480
I mean they can't. Yeah, there's just so many problems

384
00:25:04.519 --> 00:25:10.000
with that, all right, So why the difference. Well, a

385
00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:14.759
voice gives us the idea that this is a general messenger,

386
00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:20.559
a general voice that's come here. This translation focuses on

387
00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:23.599
the symbolic nature of the voice. The voice represents a

388
00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:27.680
call to action, not necessarily a specific individual in its

389
00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:30.920
immediate context. In other words, hey, there's a voice crying

390
00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:34.720
out to prepare. It's not necessarily about identifying the voice

391
00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:39.079
or anything specific. It's just saying, there's a message for

392
00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:43.720
you to prepare. Now, if we wanted to get very technical,

393
00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:49.799
who would be the voice from a very literal technical

394
00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:59.359
perspective and its context, it would be Isaiah, right, agreed, Now,

395
00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:03.200
he'sad but by this point, right, I mean, he does it,

396
00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:07.480
but one hundred years before do I. But his voice

397
00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:11.559
still calls, right exactly, The voice still calls. The voice

398
00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:14.519
still calls. So I think that makes a little bit

399
00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:19.519
of sense. Some would argue that by doing a voice,

400
00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:22.839
it reflects the ambiguity of the original Hebrew text, leaving

401
00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:26.400
the identity of the voice open to interpretation. Since the

402
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:31.039
Hebrew locks the definite article, a voice is closer to

403
00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:33.279
a literal rendering. I know that's going to tick off

404
00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:37.240
KJV only people, But I'm sorry. There's no definite article

405
00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:39.880
in the Hebrew. And if there's no definite definite article

406
00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:42.160
in the Hebrew, then what should we translate that as

407
00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:45.759
a voice? It just should be. That's just the way

408
00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:48.119
it should be, all right, Now, if we go with

409
00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:54.240
the voice, well, this is an interpretive choice. Some translations

410
00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:58.160
use the voice to indicate a specific prophetic figure or personification.

411
00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:02.200
This often reflects a fill lot interpretation, linking the passage

412
00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:07.599
to whom John the Baptist. The voice may emphasize the

413
00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:10.880
importance of the Herald's message and its connection to God's

414
00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:15.799
divine plan. Right, So if we go with the implications,

415
00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:22.319
then how would this How would these implications impact our interpretation? Well,

416
00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:26.039
a voice could just represent a general prophetic call to

417
00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:29.319
prepare for God's coming. This is just a general call,

418
00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:33.400
Hey everyone prepare? What are you getting prepared? For God

419
00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:38.200
is showing up. Now we know how he's going to

420
00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:41.720
show up in Cyrus, because Cyrus is the one who's

421
00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:44.519
going to deliver them. It could be a symbolic figure

422
00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:48.599
or collective proclamation, such as the prophetic community calling the

423
00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:51.599
people to spiritual readiness. This could just be like the

424
00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:55.920
voice of Isaiah and anyone in the prophetic community is

425
00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:00.279
telling the people get ready. He's coming. God is going

426
00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:03.079
to show up. It's supposed to meant to be like

427
00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:06.200
a message of almost hope, because they can be filled

428
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:10.319
with despair, right, and this is like, hey, guys, guys, guys,

429
00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:12.440
God is going to show up. Now. You may be

430
00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:16.640
asking when are we there yet, but he's going to

431
00:28:16.680 --> 00:28:19.839
show up, so you don't really need to worry about

432
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:22.119
who it is. It's just it's a voice telling the

433
00:28:22.119 --> 00:28:26.960
people to get ready. Does that make sense? All right?

434
00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:29.599
So if we go with the voice, well then you

435
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:34.359
know what they're going to do, all right. Now, I'm

436
00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:38.440
gonna say if you translated the voice that's Isaiah in

437
00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:41.119
the historical context. If you say that's the voice and

438
00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:43.400
you're renting the New Testament, I believe that's a problem

439
00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:47.200
until it's appropriately time to do so. But not while

440
00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:49.559
you're still trying to figure it out. And it's proper

441
00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:55.079
it's proper context. All right, Does that make sense? All right?

442
00:28:56.599 --> 00:29:00.720
I think that's okay. Now, some may say we should

443
00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:02.839
attempt to identify the voice and connect it with a

444
00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:06.039
specific person within a historical context. What I want to

445
00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:09.119
do is now try to bring Cyrus into this somehow.

446
00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:13.920
All right, I want to bring Cyrus into this. So

447
00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:18.799
let's do a comparison. I'm just gonna bring Cyrus into

448
00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:25.359
this general context here, right, So everybody ready, Let's compare

449
00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:31.880
Isaiah forty three through five and the Decree of Cyrus.

450
00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:34.400
All right, this is what we're going to try to

451
00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:38.559
get accomplished in before we go home. Everybody ready, So

452
00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:41.599
we have everyone familiar with Isaiah forty three through five.

453
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:43.160
We've read it now, I don't know how many times,

454
00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:46.799
multiple times. I'll read it one more time. The voice

455
00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:49.519
of him that criest in the wilderness, prepare ye the

456
00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:52.279
way of the Lord makes straight in the desert a

457
00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:57.559
highway for our God. So the voice is telling, I mean,

458
00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:00.519
it doesn't tell. I mean, when you say prepare ye

459
00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:14.200
the way, how does the NIV translate Verse three? Just

460
00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:22.400
the whole verse first three. Okay, it just says prepare.

461
00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:24.960
It doesn't even say so. In the NIV. It doesn't

462
00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:27.440
even have prepared ye the way, just as prepare the way?

463
00:30:28.440 --> 00:30:32.359
Who who is being spoken to? Right? We immediately think

464
00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:36.240
this is telling Judah to do so? Right, But this

465
00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:38.519
would be that how are they going to prepare the

466
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:43.039
way if they're in captivity. Now that's why preachers go

467
00:30:43.079 --> 00:30:47.160
into oh well, they were to prepare them way. Spiritually, Nah,

468
00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:50.759
this is says prepare the way and make straight in

469
00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.599
the desert a highway for our God, who is supposed

470
00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:57.440
to do this. How can they in captivity make the

471
00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:01.039
highway straight for God? That seems it's difficult in how

472
00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:03.720
they would be able to pull that off, right, Like, okay, guys,

473
00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.440
God can't show up until we go fix it. That

474
00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:12.119
seems ah, okay, all right, So just keep that in mind.

475
00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:14.319
So we've read that, of course verse four, every valley

476
00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:16.799
should be exalted, every mountain and hill should be made low.

477
00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:18.960
The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough place

478
00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:21.240
is plain. The glory of the Lord should be revealed.

479
00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:25.480
All flesh shall see it together, For the mouth of

480
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:28.319
the Lord hath spoken it right. There's Isaiah forty three

481
00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:31.319
through five. Everybody got that? Do we have that broken down?

482
00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:36.240
Really good? Now? Go to Ezra chapter one. Go to

483
00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:40.279
Ezra chapter one, because this is where we really need

484
00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:46.680
to spend some time. All right, Ezra chapter one, Right

485
00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:56.480
there it is. It's like, who stole Ezra from my Bible?

486
00:31:56.519 --> 00:32:02.880
All right? Ezra chapter one, verses one through four. Right,

487
00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:08.880
this is Some refer to this as the decree of Cyrus.

488
00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:12.119
All right. Some of your bibles may call it King

489
00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:19.039
Cyrus's proclamation or Cyrus's proclamation. Everybody see this, all right?

490
00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:24.799
Everybody ready? Verse one, Ezra chapter one, verse one. You

491
00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:29.000
got Isaiah forty three through five in your mind? All right?

492
00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:33.680
You have it down now in the first year of Cyrus,

493
00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:37.640
King of Persia, that the word of the Lord by

494
00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:42.599
the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. The Lord stirred

495
00:32:42.759 --> 00:32:46.880
up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia. Now I

496
00:32:46.920 --> 00:32:48.920
do like the fact that it says that the word

497
00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:51.000
of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah. Now it's

498
00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:54.119
going to go more to Jeremiah. But that same phrase

499
00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:56.960
is used at the end of Isaiah forty verse five, right,

500
00:32:57.519 --> 00:32:59.480
that the mouth is to say the mouth of the Lord.

501
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:02.960
All right, just denote that, all right. I wish it

502
00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:05.160
would have said the mouth of Isaiah. That would be

503
00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:07.200
so great. Way to not but that'd be so great,

504
00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:09.359
all right, But all right, it might be fulfilled. The

505
00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:11.880
Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, the king of Persia,

506
00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:15.920
that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and

507
00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.559
put it also in writing, saying, oh, that sounds interesting.

508
00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:26.519
Who's going to make the proclamation? Wow? That sounds like

509
00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:33.960
a voice making a proclamation, does it not. I'm not saying.

510
00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:36.599
I'm not saying that that means that he's the voice.

511
00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:39.160
I'm just saying I do find it interesting, right that

512
00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:46.000
he's making a proclamation. When he makes the proclamation, where's Judah,

513
00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:50.079
They're still in captivity? Huh? Interesting? Right, okay, all right,

514
00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:52.240
what's the what does he tell? What does he say?

515
00:33:52.240 --> 00:34:00.160
In verse two? Thus next word saith, Oh that he's speaking.

516
00:34:00.279 --> 00:34:07.079
How does the NIV have verse two? He speaks? That's

517
00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:13.519
a voice, right, Okay? The Lord, God of Heaven. Oh,

518
00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:18.000
some strong language, right there, is it? Not hath given

519
00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:24.320
me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath

520
00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:30.880
charged me to build him and house at Jerusalem, which

521
00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:37.519
is in Judah. Oh that sounds like building. That's like

522
00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:42.920
a proclamation. What else does he go on to say,

523
00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:52.440
who is there among you all of his people? Oh

524
00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:56.559
that's interesting. His people go back to Isaiah forty, Comfort ye,

525
00:34:56.559 --> 00:35:02.280
comfort ye, my people. So he's a parcolact. And what

526
00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:08.960
does he say to them, all of his people? His

527
00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:12.159
God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem,

528
00:35:12.199 --> 00:35:14.480
which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord,

529
00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:18.880
God of Israel. He is the God which is in Jerusalem.

530
00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:26.760
Do we read verse four? Yeah, we do, okay. And

531
00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:30.280
and whoever remaineth in any place where he's so journeth,

532
00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:32.440
let the men of his place help him with silver

533
00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:35.760
and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts beside

534
00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:37.639
the free will offering for the house of God that

535
00:35:37.760 --> 00:35:43.760
is in Jerusalem. He does what prepare, prepare everything, get

536
00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:47.119
everything ready? I mean, come on, how do you not

537
00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:54.039
connect that to Isaah forty? I don't know how you don't. Okay,

538
00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:56.760
maybe you're not as convinced as I am. All right,

539
00:35:56.800 --> 00:35:59.719
here's some of the similarities. So what I did, I

540
00:35:59.719 --> 00:36:01.719
would like I as soon as I saw this, I

541
00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:03.519
was like, I was ready to go right, But I

542
00:36:03.559 --> 00:36:07.360
was like, okay, let's just back up. So I'm like, okay, AI,

543
00:36:08.119 --> 00:36:11.920
give me the similarities and give me the differences, right,

544
00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:15.039
because they can put it together. It can. It can

545
00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:17.239
build you a chart. It can. So I'm like, just

546
00:36:17.559 --> 00:36:20.280
you go to town, put the similarities together. We'll see if

547
00:36:20.320 --> 00:36:23.000
we agree with AI or disagree with the similarities. All right,

548
00:36:23.159 --> 00:36:25.239
I think I just pointed out a bunch of the similarities.

549
00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:26.800
But let's see what they have to say. All right,

550
00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:30.280
here we go. Similarities between Isaiah forty verse three through

551
00:36:30.320 --> 00:36:34.360
five and the Decree of Cyrus Number one, Restoration of Exiles.

552
00:36:34.920 --> 00:36:37.519
Both texts announced the return of the exiles from the

553
00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:41.840
babelon from Babylon to Jerusalem, or at least indicates it

554
00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:45.400
or seems to speak that it's going to happen. Number

555
00:36:45.400 --> 00:36:50.840
two Divine initiative. Restoration is attributed to God's intervention. In Isaiah,

556
00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:53.039
the call is to prepare for the Lord's coming, while

557
00:36:53.039 --> 00:36:56.280
in Cyrus the decree he acknowledges that God has changed

558
00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:59.760
charged him to act. In other words, in both cases,

559
00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:06.760
is doing the work God I Cirrus acknowledges it's God

560
00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:13.000
focus on Jerusalem. Both emphasis emphasize Jerusalem as central to

561
00:37:13.079 --> 00:37:17.079
God's redemptive plan. Isaiah points to spiritual preparation, while Sorrus

562
00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:19.760
calls for the physical rebuilding of the temple. Now Here,

563
00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:22.719
that's where I disagree with Ai. You see what it said.

564
00:37:23.320 --> 00:37:29.320
Isaiah points to spiritual preparation, So disagree with that. But

565
00:37:29.400 --> 00:37:32.079
AI is pulling from most Christians, most Christians, And no,

566
00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:37.039
why is it gonna be spiritual preparation? Sorrus shows up?

567
00:37:37.159 --> 00:37:39.920
Does does Cyrus go, oh, guys, I need to make

568
00:37:39.960 --> 00:37:44.519
sure you're spiritually prepared? No, he's like God has told me,

569
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:47.599
I'm gonna build a house. We're gonna do it. What

570
00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:51.440
does he need them to do? Gather everything together? What

571
00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:56.239
does it say? And and uh ezra gold, silver animal?

572
00:37:56.360 --> 00:37:58.639
What what kind of preparation is that, ladies and gentlemen,

573
00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:07.719
physical literal. It's ridiculous to go back to Isaiah saying, oh,

574
00:38:07.719 --> 00:38:12.039
they're to do the spiritual preparation. That's nonsense. Cyrus is

575
00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:15.320
showing up and delivering them whether they're spiritually prepared or not.

576
00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:18.239
Because God said they're gonna be in captivity for how long?

577
00:38:18.840 --> 00:38:21.440
Seventy years? He doesn't say they're gonna be in seventy years.

578
00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:26.559
If you're spiritually prepared to get out. That's ridiculous, right.

579
00:38:26.880 --> 00:38:30.079
Their deliverance is not based off their faithfulness. The deliverance

580
00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:32.960
is based off God's faithfulness. But as Christians, we got

581
00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:36.079
to turn everything into a moral lesson. And it's basically like, well,

582
00:38:36.119 --> 00:38:38.559
if you're good boys and girls, God will show up

583
00:38:38.559 --> 00:38:42.000
and get you out of Babylonian captivity. That's not the message.

584
00:38:43.079 --> 00:38:46.199
They went into captivity because they're sin They're still sinners,

585
00:38:46.280 --> 00:38:48.679
and is bringing them out and they're gonna demonstrate they're

586
00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:52.480
still sinners because immediately they start sinning. But so they

587
00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:55.480
were no longer. We want to think that they went

588
00:38:55.519 --> 00:38:57.840
into seventy years of captivity and they came out going,

589
00:38:58.360 --> 00:39:03.840
oh in Latin and chanting, wearing robes and we will

590
00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:08.599
never sin again. Okay, they came out and then God

591
00:39:08.599 --> 00:39:11.239
had to send profits to go. Uh. I think you

592
00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:13.960
want to finish building the stuff since you've stopped doing

593
00:39:14.039 --> 00:39:19.320
things and become lazy and complacent and idolatrous. That's medically

594
00:39:19.400 --> 00:39:24.840
answer right, right, yeah, because they're not doing much right

595
00:39:24.960 --> 00:39:28.639
Why because they weren't spiritually prepared. Even though we want

596
00:39:28.679 --> 00:39:32.760
to believe that, we always want to believe that right, Ah,

597
00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:35.960
so drives me crazy. Okay, but yeah see AI, right,

598
00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:38.079
that just made me want to just scream. All right.

599
00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:44.800
Isaiah calls for preparation through leveling obstacles, while Cyrus invited

600
00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:47.760
the people to rebuild the temple practical and physical. Now

601
00:39:47.960 --> 00:39:50.800
AI wanted to say that they were called to remove

602
00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:56.800
obstacles spiritually, but no, there stop that. There's nothing in

603
00:39:56.840 --> 00:40:00.079
the text that says, hey, guys, get ready spiritually. No, oh,

604
00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:05.960
this is prepare. God is coming. Everything's gonna be made

605
00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:09.559
right and you're going home and you're gonna see God's glory.

606
00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:13.800
And I'm sorry who showed up and did it? Cyrus?

607
00:40:15.400 --> 00:40:20.599
Now God is involved. Even Cyrus acknowledges that. So when

608
00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:24.760
you see Cyrus showing up walking through the gates and

609
00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:28.840
a roundabout way, that's God's glory. Because God takes a

610
00:40:28.880 --> 00:40:33.719
pagan king to accomplish his purpose for his glory. Who

611
00:40:33.719 --> 00:40:37.519
gets the glory for all? Even Cyrus gives him the glory?

612
00:40:37.559 --> 00:40:44.159
Does he not? That's amazing? Now? What are the differences

613
00:40:44.199 --> 00:40:51.840
between Isaiah forty and the decree of Cyrus Well number one?

614
00:40:52.280 --> 00:40:56.599
According to AI, there's a difference in speaker Isaiah forty

615
00:40:56.639 --> 00:40:59.800
a prophetic voice speaks on behalf of God the decree

616
00:40:59.840 --> 00:41:03.239
of Cyrus. Cyrus, the king of Persia, issues a rule decree.

617
00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:06.079
But when Cyrus issues the rule decree, is he not

618
00:41:06.199 --> 00:41:12.559
issuing that on behalf of God? Yes? So I'm having

619
00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:15.280
a hard time, like to me, the voice crying in

620
00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:18.760
the wilderness to prepare the way. You see why I'm

621
00:41:18.840 --> 00:41:25.639
tempted to say, Cyrus. You see why I'm tempted to

622
00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:29.960
do that. Now I know it's also Isaiah, right, that's

623
00:41:29.960 --> 00:41:32.639
why it's a voice. Right now. You could say, well,

624
00:41:32.679 --> 00:41:35.119
shouldn't it be plural? I think it's just there's a

625
00:41:35.159 --> 00:41:41.280
prophetic voice that's speaking, and Isaiah spoke it one hundred

626
00:41:41.360 --> 00:41:47.239
years before, and Cyrus is the voice that speaks it

627
00:41:47.719 --> 00:41:52.760
literally while they're in captivity. In fact, he's ware when

628
00:41:52.760 --> 00:41:58.559
he speaks it. He's there, Cyrus is in he's shown

629
00:41:58.679 --> 00:42:00.400
up and he's like, all right, guys, I want you

630
00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:02.440
to do this. They're not like, well, this is a

631
00:42:02.519 --> 00:42:04.880
voice from one hundred years ago. It's a voice that

632
00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.599
was present at that time. Like does that not I

633
00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:15.000
mean that? I don't understand. Okay, all right, the focus

634
00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:17.800
of the message, and I see, oh, this is where

635
00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:19.559
AI say, I want This is where I wanted to

636
00:42:19.599 --> 00:42:23.239
start having a major fight with Ai. I was like,

637
00:42:23.280 --> 00:42:24.960
come on, come out on the computer. We need to

638
00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.519
have a physical fight, all right, because just what Ai says,

639
00:42:30.039 --> 00:42:34.000
the focus of the message Isaiah for three through five

640
00:42:34.360 --> 00:42:37.519
spiritual preparation for God's coming in the revelation of his glory.

641
00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:42.280
What are you talking about? The decree of Sorrus, a

642
00:42:42.320 --> 00:42:47.199
political and logistical directive to rebuild the temple. Yeah, and

643
00:42:47.320 --> 00:42:51.079
Isaiah was talking about the political and logistical preparation and

644
00:42:51.159 --> 00:42:53.760
what God was going to do by removing everything so

645
00:42:53.760 --> 00:42:57.280
Sorrus can walk right in, which is exactly what happened. Literally,

646
00:42:58.199 --> 00:43:00.440
I don't understand why we have to make it so

647
00:43:00.559 --> 00:43:08.760
complicated imagery. Now here's what Ai says Isaiah forty three

648
00:43:08.840 --> 00:43:12.280
through five, symbolic. I do agree it's symbolic, or it's poetic.

649
00:43:12.320 --> 00:43:15.239
I do agree with that. Valleys lifted, mountains, made low,

650
00:43:15.559 --> 00:43:20.599
rough places smooth. But here's what I hate. Ai then

651
00:43:20.679 --> 00:43:27.119
put in parentheses spiritual preparation. It won't leave that alone

652
00:43:29.119 --> 00:43:32.760
because that's how every sermon approaches it. Why does it

653
00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:36.159
have to be spiritual preparation because it seems to give

654
00:43:36.199 --> 00:43:39.880
the idea that, hey, you guys gotta get yourself right

655
00:43:40.039 --> 00:43:45.599
before God shows up. Well, if I'm gonna get myself

656
00:43:45.679 --> 00:43:48.159
right before God shows up, then I don't need God.

657
00:43:49.800 --> 00:43:52.639
He's never gonna show up right because I'm never gonna

658
00:43:52.639 --> 00:43:57.000
be spiritually prepared. I have major issues with that. The

659
00:43:57.079 --> 00:44:01.679
Decree of Cyrus is practical returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding

660
00:44:01.719 --> 00:44:05.880
the temple. Physical restoration. Physical restoration is what the people

661
00:44:05.960 --> 00:44:08.480
need in their particular situation. When are they going to

662
00:44:08.559 --> 00:44:12.000
ever be spiritually restored? If we talk about Israel, when

663
00:44:12.039 --> 00:44:14.440
are they ever going to be spiritually restored? Then we

664
00:44:14.480 --> 00:44:16.880
have to go to Ezekiel and the fulfillment of the

665
00:44:16.920 --> 00:44:20.239
New Covenant. When God's going to give them a new heart,

666
00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:23.079
he does not give them a new heart in Babylonian captivity,

667
00:44:23.119 --> 00:44:25.119
because if they did, they never would ended up in

668
00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:27.360
Roman captivity and they wouldn't have been wiped off the

669
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:31.320
face of the earth to seventy a day. Because when

670
00:44:31.360 --> 00:44:33.880
they get the new heart, what happens. According to Ezekiel,

671
00:44:34.440 --> 00:44:37.159
they get the land and there's no more idolatry and

672
00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:43.400
there's no more sin. Well, that's something that has never occurred,

673
00:44:44.320 --> 00:44:51.159
So oh drives me crazy. So scope all right, The

674
00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:55.079
next difference Isaiah forty three through five is universal, all

675
00:44:55.119 --> 00:44:59.079
flesh shall see it together, emphasizing God's glory for all nations. Well,

676
00:45:01.079 --> 00:45:03.920
the decree of Cyrus is practical directed at the Israelites

677
00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:06.199
and their temple in Jerusalem. I don't see that that's

678
00:45:06.199 --> 00:45:09.840
a difference. All flesh is going to see it. Come on,

679
00:45:09.920 --> 00:45:13.440
let's just be honest. Even in that setting, the world

680
00:45:13.519 --> 00:45:17.920
may hear about Cyrus, but I don't even know if

681
00:45:17.920 --> 00:45:20.719
we can even guarantee that. I think the point is

682
00:45:21.159 --> 00:45:23.599
is all flesh. Who's going to be the flesh who's

683
00:45:23.599 --> 00:45:26.440
going to see it? All those in Judah, well, the

684
00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:34.039
Babylonians are going to see it, all the kingdoms. Now,

685
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:37.239
how literal do we make that? Is he saying in

686
00:45:37.239 --> 00:45:39.199
in just a kind of a poetic way, because in

687
00:45:39.239 --> 00:45:43.519
a roundabout way, he's now defeated the Babylonians, He's got Israel.

688
00:45:44.079 --> 00:45:47.639
So I just think when it says all flesh, we

689
00:45:47.679 --> 00:45:49.880
don't have to make sure every single person in the

690
00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:51.760
world's going to see it. At the same time. The

691
00:45:51.800 --> 00:45:55.119
point is the Babylonians see it. All of them know

692
00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:58.719
that Cyrus has taken over, and all of Judah knows

693
00:45:59.039 --> 00:46:02.800
Cyrus has taken over, so all the people and surrounding

694
00:46:02.880 --> 00:46:06.400
nations immediately close would know what's going on. Obviously, Obviously

695
00:46:06.400 --> 00:46:07.960
there are people in other parts of the world who

696
00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:13.000
never knew Cyrus existed. Okay, does that make sense? All right?

697
00:46:13.840 --> 00:46:17.400
The glory of the Lord Isaiah forty verses three through

698
00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:22.559
five central to the prophecy. God's glory is revealed. What

699
00:46:22.760 --> 00:46:26.199
just happened here? God's glory is revealed in his redemptive work.

700
00:46:26.559 --> 00:46:29.639
The Decree of Cyrus implied, but not explicitly emphasized. The

701
00:46:29.679 --> 00:46:34.519
focus is on the temple of God's dwelling place. Okay,

702
00:46:33.079 --> 00:46:38.079
I think the Decree of Cyrus shows where God's glory

703
00:46:38.079 --> 00:46:42.400
shows up and Cirrus and he gives God glory. So

704
00:46:42.559 --> 00:46:47.760
I don't see there's a difference. Then the AI wanted

705
00:46:47.800 --> 00:46:50.760
to talk about the roles of human agency. It says

706
00:46:51.039 --> 00:46:55.920
Isaiah forty three through five, exiles are called to spiritual readiness,

707
00:46:55.960 --> 00:46:58.679
symbolizing the removal of obstacles to God's work. Is he?

708
00:46:58.800 --> 00:47:02.320
That's where once again, I don't they're not called to

709
00:47:02.360 --> 00:47:07.559
spiritual anything again. Go back to Isaiah forty verse three,

710
00:47:08.119 --> 00:47:11.800
when it says prepare the way. It doesn't identify who

711
00:47:11.880 --> 00:47:13.960
is preparing the way? Does that make sense? It just

712
00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:17.440
says it doesn't. It says the NIV. I like it.

713
00:47:17.440 --> 00:47:21.039
It doesn't say you. It just says, prepare the way,

714
00:47:22.719 --> 00:47:24.880
prepare the way. Now you could say, well, that is

715
00:47:24.920 --> 00:47:28.239
being spoken to whoever is told to prepare the way

716
00:47:28.400 --> 00:47:31.800
is to prepare the way, and that preparation could have

717
00:47:32.199 --> 00:47:36.280
lots of different things, And I don't think it's necessarily spiritual.

718
00:47:36.599 --> 00:47:39.199
The Decree of Cyrus plays a key role as God's

719
00:47:39.280 --> 00:47:43.840
instrument with exiles tasks to physical rebuild. Yes, the exiles.

720
00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:55.760
Cyrus clearly identifies who has to be involved. All right, okay,

721
00:47:57.039 --> 00:47:59.880
so this is what So I kept pushing. I'm running

722
00:47:59.880 --> 00:48:04.639
out of time here. So I kept trying to push Ai, like,

723
00:48:04.719 --> 00:48:07.119
come on, come on now, we gotta work together here,

724
00:48:07.119 --> 00:48:09.440
come on, stop fighting me here. So this is what

725
00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:12.679
AI was finally able to kind of give me. All right.

726
00:48:13.119 --> 00:48:16.440
The similarities between Isaiah forty three through five and the

727
00:48:16.480 --> 00:48:19.960
Decree of Cyrus could support the idea that Cyrus is

728
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:23.000
at least indirectly connected to the fulfillment of the prophecy

729
00:48:23.039 --> 00:48:28.559
in Isaiah forty three. But you're ready, it is unlikely

730
00:48:29.079 --> 00:48:32.000
that Cyrus himself is the voice crying out in the wilderness.

731
00:48:32.239 --> 00:48:34.840
Here's an analysis of why Cirrus may play a role

732
00:48:34.880 --> 00:48:38.000
in the prophecy's fulfillment but is not the voice itself.

733
00:48:38.159 --> 00:48:40.760
So now AI still wants to argue with me. It

734
00:48:40.800 --> 00:48:43.440
does not like that. Now I do love that about AI.

735
00:48:43.519 --> 00:48:45.320
It's not just willing to go with what I want.

736
00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:48.440
I like that right, argue with me? Right? This is

737
00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:52.559
good because hermoneutically, if you just go That's why AI.

738
00:48:52.599 --> 00:48:55.599
To me, this is why AI is better than any commentary,

739
00:48:56.079 --> 00:48:58.199
because commentary is I'm just gonna find the commentary that

740
00:48:58.239 --> 00:49:02.000
does what agrees with me. Why that's not now and

741
00:49:02.079 --> 00:49:04.599
I have a limited of how many commentaries that can check.

742
00:49:04.800 --> 00:49:07.360
AI is willing to have real time back and forth.

743
00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:09.199
So it's going to try to argue to it with me.

744
00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:13.039
Why Cyrus is not the voice right now, Let's just

745
00:49:13.079 --> 00:49:17.159
make it very clear. I think the voice, if you

746
00:49:17.159 --> 00:49:22.639
wanted to argue the voice could have three three possibilities,

747
00:49:22.679 --> 00:49:25.519
and I think they can all be in view. Isaiah

748
00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:29.119
is clearly the original voice because he writes us one

749
00:49:29.199 --> 00:49:33.000
hundred years before this happened. He's writing before Cyrus is

750
00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:36.840
even on the scene, all right, So he's clearly the

751
00:49:36.880 --> 00:49:40.280
original voice. You can't deny Cyrus is the voice in

752
00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:44.719
the moment because he's literally speaking to the literal people.

753
00:49:45.159 --> 00:49:48.199
Isaiah is not speaking to those people in a literal way.

754
00:49:48.400 --> 00:49:50.599
He's just giving the words that someone's going to have

755
00:49:50.639 --> 00:49:52.880
to go deliver to the people because they don't have

756
00:49:52.920 --> 00:49:56.119
a copy of Isaiah in their back pocket. Right, So

757
00:49:56.199 --> 00:50:00.760
Cyrus is the voice for the moment, and then John

758
00:50:00.800 --> 00:50:05.559
the Baptist is the voice for seven hundred years into

759
00:50:05.559 --> 00:50:09.000
the future. So you've got a voice one hundred years before,

760
00:50:09.639 --> 00:50:11.880
a voice in the moment, and a voice seven hundred

761
00:50:11.920 --> 00:50:17.400
years later. Does that make sense? Well, this is what

762
00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:21.440
AI is going to argue the role of the voice

763
00:50:21.440 --> 00:50:24.480
in Isaiah forty verse three. The voice in Isaiah forty

764
00:50:24.519 --> 00:50:28.199
three calls for preparation for the Lord's coming, symbolizing by

765
00:50:28.440 --> 00:50:31.280
symbolized by making a straight highway in the wilderness. The

766
00:50:31.360 --> 00:50:35.559
focus is on spiritual and symbolic preparations. See AI cannot

767
00:50:35.599 --> 00:50:39.599
leave it alone, leveling mountains and raising valleys for God's intervention.

768
00:50:39.920 --> 00:50:43.199
The voice is proclaiming God's arrival and urgent readiness rather

769
00:50:43.239 --> 00:50:47.440
than directly acting as the means of deliverance. Now there

770
00:50:47.480 --> 00:50:50.599
you may have it. I do agree that in Isaiah forty,

771
00:50:50.719 --> 00:50:55.360
verse three, it is the hey prepare for God's coming,

772
00:50:56.039 --> 00:50:59.199
not necessarily the voice is the deliverer. That's that is

773
00:50:59.239 --> 00:51:04.280
a good argument. I will agree with that. But in Ezra,

774
00:51:05.320 --> 00:51:09.519
Cyrus is not only the deliverer, He's also the voice?

775
00:51:09.760 --> 00:51:13.800
Is he not? So can he not be both? I

776
00:51:13.800 --> 00:51:18.559
don't know. All right, Cyrus is a key figure, you think, so.

777
00:51:19.239 --> 00:51:24.960
He facilitates Israel's return from Babylon. His role is practical

778
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.199
and political. Now this is where I disagree, a ISAs

779
00:51:29.280 --> 00:51:39.280
Cyrus's role is not prophetic, I'm not. I disagree. He's

780
00:51:39.400 --> 00:51:42.920
literally the very person fulfilling all the prophecy, is he not?

781
00:51:46.920 --> 00:51:51.079
He's literally the one who fulfilled si Oh in Isaiah

782
00:51:51.159 --> 00:51:53.400
forty we've already talked about. He's mentioned how many times

783
00:51:53.440 --> 00:51:55.400
in Isaiah forty fifty five. I don't have the number

784
00:51:55.440 --> 00:51:59.079
in front of me. He's mentioned multiple times by name,

785
00:52:00.559 --> 00:52:09.920
by name, So I know, man, I disagree with this strongly. Okay.

786
00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:18.800
He Cyrus said he issues the decree as a chapter one,

787
00:52:18.880 --> 00:52:21.840
verses one through four, and acts as God's instrument, but

788
00:52:21.960 --> 00:52:27.599
he does not cry out or symbolically prepares the people's hearts.

789
00:52:27.719 --> 00:52:29.760
I don't think the heart have to be prepared. I

790
00:52:29.760 --> 00:52:32.440
think that's where the mistake is. But what do you

791
00:52:32.559 --> 00:52:35.599
mean he doesn't cry out? What in the world does

792
00:52:35.920 --> 00:52:39.199
It's say an Ezra. Now it may not use the

793
00:52:39.199 --> 00:52:43.599
word cry out, but he speaks when you give a proclamation,

794
00:52:44.079 --> 00:52:49.840
and you're the king that's crying out, right, And he

795
00:52:49.920 --> 00:52:53.039
literally tells the people to prepare. I mean, how do

796
00:52:53.119 --> 00:52:57.599
I don't understand. Oh, this drives me crazy right now.

797
00:52:58.920 --> 00:53:04.280
But one positive thing about AI, it does say, well, okay,

798
00:53:04.400 --> 00:53:07.800
there are some similarities, all right, So here are the

799
00:53:08.400 --> 00:53:14.119
undeniable parallels between the imagery and Isaiah forty and Cyrus's role.

800
00:53:14.960 --> 00:53:19.480
So AI says, this is undeniable. These things are in common.

801
00:53:19.800 --> 00:53:25.559
The highway imagery, Cyrus's decree facilitates the physical return of

802
00:53:25.679 --> 00:53:29.800
the exiles, mirroring the preparation of a highway described in

803
00:53:29.920 --> 00:53:35.719
Isaiah forty verse three. No, he literally prepares like a

804
00:53:35.840 --> 00:53:39.880
highway in a sense, he's gonna prepare the way. But

805
00:53:40.320 --> 00:53:42.840
is Ezra gonna go do the work? I'm sorry, is

806
00:53:43.079 --> 00:53:46.079
Cyrus gonna go do the work? No, he's gonna tell

807
00:53:46.119 --> 00:53:48.320
other people to prepare, which we see in the little

808
00:53:48.840 --> 00:53:54.360
How can you say? Is not the voice? I don't ah?

809
00:53:54.360 --> 00:53:59.119
That drives me crazy? All right? But this could symbolize

810
00:53:59.559 --> 00:54:04.119
the literal clearing of obstacles for the exiles journey back

811
00:54:04.159 --> 00:54:08.159
to Jerusalem. You think it could symbolize that, I'd be shocked.

812
00:54:08.880 --> 00:54:12.760
Come on, he's the literal one coming in doing what guys?

813
00:54:13.039 --> 00:54:17.119
Everything's ready, The Babylonians are out of your way. Everything's ready,

814
00:54:17.239 --> 00:54:19.960
and he tells them to get everything ready, that everything

815
00:54:19.960 --> 00:54:22.400
you need. And then but he says he's gonna be

816
00:54:22.440 --> 00:54:25.159
the one who builds it. Did you notice that I'm

817
00:54:25.199 --> 00:54:27.599
gonna be the one who builds it? But I want

818
00:54:27.599 --> 00:54:31.440
you to get ready. He's all over this. There's no

819
00:54:31.480 --> 00:54:34.280
way to get Cyrus out of this. There's just no way,

820
00:54:34.920 --> 00:54:39.599
all right. Both Isaiah forty and Cyrus's decree emphasizes God's

821
00:54:39.599 --> 00:54:44.280
control over history. Can we agree with that? Right? And

822
00:54:44.480 --> 00:54:48.039
Isaiah forty, the preparation is for the Lord and Cirrus's decree,

823
00:54:48.079 --> 00:54:51.199
God is explicitly acknowledged as the one who directs Cirrus.

824
00:54:51.320 --> 00:54:57.880
God is the one directing Cyrus, all right. The deliverance

825
00:54:57.880 --> 00:55:02.199
of Israel. Both passages focus on the restoration of Israel,

826
00:55:02.360 --> 00:55:09.880
with Corrus as the agent of their release and return. Okay,

827
00:55:10.599 --> 00:55:14.440
now guess what. Ai then pushes back again and says, wait,

828
00:55:14.440 --> 00:55:19.000
but wait, there's key differences that suggest it's not Cyrus.

829
00:55:20.239 --> 00:55:23.000
It does not want it to be Cyrus. It does

830
00:55:23.039 --> 00:55:26.079
not like it in any way, shape or form. So

831
00:55:26.280 --> 00:55:29.559
you're ready for these key differences quickly. And I don't

832
00:55:29.559 --> 00:55:32.199
know why this is supposedly a difference the focus on

833
00:55:32.280 --> 00:55:36.079
God's glory. Isaiah forty focuses on God's arrival and the

834
00:55:36.119 --> 00:55:38.840
revelation of his glory to all flesh. Cirrus is an

835
00:55:38.880 --> 00:55:43.280
instrument of God, but the voice emphasizes preparation for God himself.

836
00:55:43.840 --> 00:55:47.599
But I think when Cyrus shows up, that is in

837
00:55:47.679 --> 00:55:54.079
a sense, God's showing up. I mean, look, no, if

838
00:55:54.719 --> 00:55:57.719
God does not literally show up in either situation, right,

839
00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:00.880
but Cyrus literally shows up and he says, who brought

840
00:56:00.960 --> 00:56:04.480
him there? God? I just I don't see how that

841
00:56:05.159 --> 00:56:09.039
does anything. Sorrus's decree primarily focuses on the rebuilding of

842
00:56:09.039 --> 00:56:13.400
the temple, not the broader spiritual preparation or universal revelation

843
00:56:13.480 --> 00:56:17.239
described in Isaiah forty You are assuming it's spiritual preparation.

844
00:56:19.400 --> 00:56:21.800
Everyone look at Isaiah forty three through five again. Just

845
00:56:21.840 --> 00:56:24.599
look at it again and tell me if you see

846
00:56:24.639 --> 00:56:30.480
anything there that screams this is spiritual preparation. You just

847
00:56:30.519 --> 00:56:34.719
tell me if and if you can disagree, that's okay.

848
00:56:35.199 --> 00:56:43.239
I mean you're wrong, but you can disagree anything there

849
00:56:43.239 --> 00:56:49.000
that screams spiritual this is spirit spiritual preparation. There's nothing there.

850
00:56:51.880 --> 00:56:55.519
You know where you get that from? You? Where do

851
00:56:55.559 --> 00:57:00.480
you get the spiritual preparation from John the Baptist? You're

852
00:57:00.519 --> 00:57:03.599
reading John the Baptist back into this. That's that's not

853
00:57:03.840 --> 00:57:11.119
the case here, all right? Does that make sense? All right?

854
00:57:11.840 --> 00:57:17.079
He goes Ai says the voice is symbolic and prophetic,

855
00:57:17.320 --> 00:57:21.199
representing a call to spiritual preparation. It can't leave it alone.

856
00:57:22.039 --> 00:57:24.960
Sarrus's role is practical and political, issuing a decree to

857
00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:29.239
facilitate physical restoration. Sorus does not deliver a prophetic message

858
00:57:29.400 --> 00:57:32.639
or engage in spiritual preparing for God's coming? What do

859
00:57:32.719 --> 00:57:36.039
you mean he does not deliver a prophetic message in

860
00:57:36.039 --> 00:57:39.559
a sense, he's delivering the fulfillment of a prophetic message?

861
00:57:39.639 --> 00:57:44.800
Is he not? But what Ai can't get around what

862
00:57:45.280 --> 00:57:49.920
Isaiah forty is spiritual prep and ezra and the decree

863
00:57:50.280 --> 00:57:55.719
is physical. He I keep saying, he AI cannot separate that,

864
00:57:55.880 --> 00:58:03.760
and you have to all right now, this is the

865
00:58:03.760 --> 00:58:10.199
one good argument. Cyrus is explicitly mentioned later in Isaiah

866
00:58:10.400 --> 00:58:13.239
chapter forty four twenty eight forty five to one, but

867
00:58:13.400 --> 00:58:16.800
not in Isaiah forty three. This omission suggests that the

868
00:58:16.880 --> 00:58:19.440
voice in Isaiah forty three is not intended to directly

869
00:58:19.440 --> 00:58:24.159
refer to Cyrus. Well guess what, John the Baptist is

870
00:58:24.199 --> 00:58:27.639
not explicitly mentioned in Isaiah forty verse three. Isaiah is

871
00:58:27.679 --> 00:58:30.760
not explicitly mentioned in Isaiah forty verse three. So just

872
00:58:30.800 --> 00:58:34.400
because someone's name is not explicitly mentioned doesn't mean though

873
00:58:34.440 --> 00:58:36.960
you can't draw a correlation, right, I mean, like, I

874
00:58:37.159 --> 00:58:51.920
don't know if that necessarily proves anything, All right, okay,

875
00:58:52.119 --> 00:58:55.519
uh yeah, Well I'm gonna I think, well, I think

876
00:58:55.519 --> 00:58:58.079
we've done enough here. I've got a lot here to

877
00:58:58.119 --> 00:59:03.199
go through. Yeah, I mean, I got pages here, but

878
00:59:03.360 --> 00:59:10.480
I think, yeah, right, I got pages here. I'm not

879
00:59:10.519 --> 00:59:21.400
gonna go through all of this. Yeah. Literally, I got

880
00:59:21.440 --> 00:59:26.519
so many notes here and I could break it all down.

881
00:59:26.519 --> 00:59:28.679
But I mean we could be here for six months

882
00:59:28.719 --> 00:59:31.400
on this issue. So here's what I'm going to say.

883
00:59:31.719 --> 00:59:40.480
All right, go back to Isaiah forty Isaiah forty three

884
00:59:40.519 --> 00:59:49.400
through five. Everybody ready, Isaiah forty verse three the voice

885
00:59:49.519 --> 00:59:53.920
or a voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Okay,

886
00:59:54.760 --> 00:59:59.679
this voice. Clearly Isaiah is in view because he's the

887
00:59:59.719 --> 01:00:04.079
one who ultimately give this message. Correct, the voice of

888
01:00:04.159 --> 01:00:08.440
him that cries in the wilderness. To some level, Cyrus

889
01:00:08.480 --> 01:00:11.960
is involved because Cyrus is the voice for the actual time.

890
01:00:12.159 --> 01:00:15.599
Isaiah's the voice from one hundred years before. Cyrus is

891
01:00:15.679 --> 01:00:20.119
literally the voice that walks literally into Babylon and literally

892
01:00:20.159 --> 01:00:25.800
speaks directly to whom to Israel and what and where

893
01:00:25.840 --> 01:00:28.920
are they at. They're in Babylon, they're in the wilderness.

894
01:00:31.119 --> 01:00:32.960
He literally goes out, and what does he tell them

895
01:00:33.000 --> 01:00:37.840
to do together? To prepare to get ready, right, because

896
01:00:37.880 --> 01:00:43.039
they're gonna go do what rebuild the temple? Right? So

897
01:00:43.119 --> 01:00:46.079
he literally shows up now and this also points to

898
01:00:46.559 --> 01:00:49.119
because the New Testament takes it and points to John

899
01:00:49.199 --> 01:00:54.199
the Baptist. Now, I will argue John the Baptist is

900
01:00:54.239 --> 01:01:00.679
the one who's gonna make it spiritual. Right here is

901
01:01:00.920 --> 01:01:05.920
physical deliverance right, make straight in the desert a highway

902
01:01:06.079 --> 01:01:13.079
for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every

903
01:01:13.119 --> 01:01:15.480
mountain and hills shall be made low, and the crooked

904
01:01:15.559 --> 01:01:18.199
shall be made straight, and the rough place is plain.

905
01:01:18.360 --> 01:01:21.440
We're going to say that this is symbolic, figurative, poetic

906
01:01:21.559 --> 01:01:27.320
language that points to what all obstacles being removed so

907
01:01:27.800 --> 01:01:31.719
that what can occur in a sense where God can

908
01:01:31.760 --> 01:01:38.079
show up, utilizing Cyrus and take the people and bring

909
01:01:38.159 --> 01:01:43.960
them to the temple so that they can rebuild it all. Right, Now,

910
01:01:43.559 --> 01:01:46.960
this works a couple of ways. It really starts. All

911
01:01:47.000 --> 01:01:50.840
of this starts really ten years before Cyrus shows up,

912
01:01:50.960 --> 01:01:55.639
because the Babylonian king is weak and effective, doesn't basically

913
01:01:55.639 --> 01:01:57.440
do anything. The people have kind of already been set

914
01:01:57.480 --> 01:02:01.920
free or really everything's already been made ready to go.

915
01:02:02.280 --> 01:02:05.559
And then it seems like people in Babylon defect and

916
01:02:05.679 --> 01:02:07.920
just like, okay, here's Cyrus, come on in our king.

917
01:02:07.960 --> 01:02:09.679
We don't know where our king went, just come on

918
01:02:09.760 --> 01:02:12.119
in and he shows up not as a conqueror as

919
01:02:12.159 --> 01:02:18.360
a liberator to set the people free in a literal way,

920
01:02:20.280 --> 01:02:24.199
So all the making everything ready starts ten years before,

921
01:02:24.440 --> 01:02:27.320
and it continues after he shows up to make sure

922
01:02:27.360 --> 01:02:29.400
everything is ready to go so that the people can

923
01:02:29.440 --> 01:02:32.360
do what go and to make sure they have all

924
01:02:32.400 --> 01:02:36.559
the provisions and everything they need so that they can

925
01:02:36.599 --> 01:02:39.119
go back and build the temple. And he's going to

926
01:02:39.159 --> 01:02:42.280
take credit for it, okay, because he says God told

927
01:02:42.360 --> 01:02:48.239
him to do that, right, And then verse five, and

928
01:02:48.280 --> 01:02:50.599
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Isn't it interesting?

929
01:02:50.599 --> 01:02:54.119
They're going to go rebuild wide the temple. The temple

930
01:02:54.199 --> 01:02:57.960
is the sign of God's glory, but in a roundabout way,

931
01:02:58.079 --> 01:03:02.199
when Cyrus walks through the gate and it says God's

932
01:03:02.239 --> 01:03:05.639
glory is being revealed. Why because God has kept his word.

933
01:03:06.960 --> 01:03:10.519
He kept his word, ladies and gentlemen, seventy years of captivity.

934
01:03:10.800 --> 01:03:16.199
God has shown up and delivered the people. That's good news, right,

935
01:03:16.400 --> 01:03:18.719
And they're going to go back and rebuild the temple.

936
01:03:18.960 --> 01:03:21.719
They're all connected to God's glory. And what does the

937
01:03:21.760 --> 01:03:25.719
text go on to say, all flesh will see it? Well, definitely,

938
01:03:25.840 --> 01:03:27.880
all the people involved are going to see it, right,

939
01:03:28.039 --> 01:03:32.880
no question. And this is the key phrase for the

940
01:03:32.920 --> 01:03:35.280
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. What do we

941
01:03:35.360 --> 01:03:41.960
take from this? This is God sovereignly working out everything

942
01:03:42.079 --> 01:03:45.960
he intends, and nothing gets in his way. And when

943
01:03:46.039 --> 01:03:50.719
God says something is going to happen, it's going to happen.

944
01:03:51.119 --> 01:03:54.679
His word is being fulfilled. And so what can we

945
01:03:55.000 --> 01:03:58.599
take from that, Well, this is where we can find

946
01:03:58.599 --> 01:04:01.760
a spiritual application. We want to apply it to us.

947
01:04:03.159 --> 01:04:04.880
I'm going to go through this over and over again.

948
01:04:04.920 --> 01:04:10.400
Where are we Babylonian captivity? We're in a physical literal

949
01:04:10.440 --> 01:04:15.840
captivity to sinful body, sinful nature, a body that's corrupted.

950
01:04:16.000 --> 01:04:21.519
We live in a world where there's pain, suffering, and death. Right, Yes,

951
01:04:22.360 --> 01:04:27.639
that's the world we live in. I mean, war, famine,

952
01:04:27.760 --> 01:04:31.079
all the things that go on, suffering, suffering, suffering, suffering.

953
01:04:31.239 --> 01:04:36.880
But God's word has proclaimed by the mouth of God

954
01:04:37.239 --> 01:04:40.719
that there will come a time all of that is

955
01:04:40.760 --> 01:04:44.360
gonna go away. Now, it may not happen in my lifetime,

956
01:04:44.639 --> 01:04:48.119
but well, but this way, when my lifetime ends, I'm

957
01:04:48.159 --> 01:04:50.840
set free from all of it, right, because I get

958
01:04:50.840 --> 01:04:54.760
a new body, no more pain, no more suffering, no

959
01:04:54.840 --> 01:04:57.039
more death, and there will be an eternal kingdom that

960
01:04:57.119 --> 01:05:01.239
will last forever. So there is a literal fulfillment of

961
01:05:01.280 --> 01:05:04.480
me being set free. Now you can say, but there's

962
01:05:04.480 --> 01:05:08.920
a spiritual deliverance. We'll let John the Baptist deal with that, correct,

963
01:05:09.280 --> 01:05:11.159
But if we want to find kind of a fulfillment,

964
01:05:11.400 --> 01:05:14.800
we are in literal Babylonian captivity, and we're gonna literally

965
01:05:14.840 --> 01:05:17.800
be set free, just like they were literally set free.

966
01:05:18.000 --> 01:05:21.639
And guess what they had to wait seventy years. I

967
01:05:21.719 --> 01:05:24.320
may have to wait seven years. Maybe if they even

968
01:05:24.320 --> 01:05:27.679
make it to seventy, right, maybe Christ will come back.

969
01:05:27.719 --> 01:05:30.000
When Christ comes back, he's gonna come back a little

970
01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:33.480
different than Cyrus. He's coming back on a horse with

971
01:05:33.519 --> 01:05:35.280
a sword, and a whole lot of people are going

972
01:05:35.320 --> 01:05:37.920
to die, and then he's gonna set up his kingdom.

973
01:05:39.199 --> 01:05:43.039
But if I'm not here for that, right, I still

974
01:05:43.119 --> 01:05:48.599
know that I'm going to be delivered in a literal way. Correct.

975
01:05:50.119 --> 01:05:53.840
That I think is Isaiah forty three through five. Now

976
01:05:54.039 --> 01:05:56.039
I did not even cover I mean literally, you don't

977
01:05:56.039 --> 01:06:00.599
even know how many notes I have here, Like I

978
01:06:00.639 --> 01:06:02.920
probably have ten pages of notes. We didn't even get

979
01:06:02.920 --> 01:06:07.000
to all, right, But I think we covered it as

980
01:06:07.000 --> 01:06:09.400
well as we did. Everybody feel comfortable with it. The

981
01:06:09.480 --> 01:06:11.679
kids are gonna be like, yes, man, that's great, I

982
01:06:11.719 --> 01:06:15.559
got it. Good to go done. Let me go home, right, understand.

983
01:06:18.920 --> 01:06:21.880
I think I think we covered it pretty good, that

984
01:06:21.960 --> 01:06:30.119
we missed anything. Okay, all right, Now now it goes

985
01:06:30.159 --> 01:06:34.119
on the internet and there's gonna be massive disagreements with

986
01:06:34.199 --> 01:06:37.440
all of it that that's okay, that's okay, all right,

987
01:06:37.440 --> 01:06:40.239
and please note AI never completely. I think when I

988
01:06:40.280 --> 01:06:44.280
finally pushed AI, it did acknowledge finally. I don't think

989
01:06:44.320 --> 01:06:47.800
I copied it down. Basically, it was like, well, you're right,

990
01:06:47.960 --> 01:06:52.920
the Isaiah and Ezra, that's that's far more like there's

991
01:06:52.960 --> 01:06:56.559
a lot there to to see a connection, maybe more.

992
01:06:56.800 --> 01:06:58.960
But the thing is, and I didn't I should have

993
01:06:59.000 --> 01:07:02.079
pushed AI. Well, what if we say that the preparation

994
01:07:02.239 --> 01:07:04.639
in Isaiah forty is not spiritual? Then it would have

995
01:07:04.719 --> 01:07:07.360
been completely on my side. But it could not let

996
01:07:07.400 --> 01:07:09.559
that go. I didn't push it on that. I should have.

997
01:07:09.639 --> 01:07:11.800
I may go back and push it and see if

998
01:07:11.880 --> 01:07:15.079
what it will do. Because you're reading that into the text.

999
01:07:15.920 --> 01:07:18.679
You're reading that into the text. You just read no,

1000
01:07:18.679 --> 01:07:29.440
no way, no way, yeah, over and over and well,

1001
01:07:29.480 --> 01:07:32.840
because it's yeah, it's because it's so radically different than

1002
01:07:32.840 --> 01:07:35.679
the way it's it's typically approached. And as I said

1003
01:07:35.679 --> 01:07:37.239
in the first hour, on the way here, I was

1004
01:07:37.280 --> 01:07:39.639
listening to a sermon on Isaiah forty three through five.

1005
01:07:42.199 --> 01:07:44.920
You know what, the three major points was made in

1006
01:07:44.960 --> 01:07:47.920
the midst of the sermon that you need to show

1007
01:07:48.000 --> 01:07:52.800
up to church early to prepare yourself for worship. And second,

1008
01:07:52.840 --> 01:07:54.760
you need to meditate on the scripture that's going to

1009
01:07:54.760 --> 01:07:57.679
be preached that day before you get there to prepare yourself.

1010
01:07:57.840 --> 01:08:01.559
And number three, you should meditate and look and review

1011
01:08:01.599 --> 01:08:03.280
the hymns that are going to be sung so that

1012
01:08:03.320 --> 01:08:05.639
you can prepare yourself. What does any of that have

1013
01:08:05.679 --> 01:08:09.199
to do with Isaiah forty three through five. Now, you

1014
01:08:09.239 --> 01:08:11.639
know what's so frustrating is when I was young and

1015
01:08:11.719 --> 01:08:14.000
learning to preach, I would have taken that and went

1016
01:08:14.039 --> 01:08:18.720
to town with it. Prepare your way for God. You

1017
01:08:18.840 --> 01:08:21.239
need to be prepared for God. And I mean I

1018
01:08:21.239 --> 01:08:23.760
could go full blown fundamental Baptist on it, right, I

1019
01:08:23.760 --> 01:08:26.760
would have my three points. May are you prepared for

1020
01:08:26.880 --> 01:08:29.159
God today? Well, you need to come to the altar

1021
01:08:29.279 --> 01:08:31.039
and make things right. And people would come to the

1022
01:08:31.039 --> 01:08:33.159
altar and cry, oh, what a good sermon, pastor, And

1023
01:08:33.199 --> 01:08:35.439
none of us would have walked away understanding Isaiah forty

1024
01:08:35.439 --> 01:08:37.520
three through five. That's why sermons are the worst thing

1025
01:08:37.560 --> 01:08:42.560
that's ever been invented in the history of Christianity, because

1026
01:08:42.640 --> 01:08:47.079
sermons keep you from the actual text to walk through

1027
01:08:47.079 --> 01:08:48.960
the text like that that didn't feel like a sermon?

1028
01:08:49.000 --> 01:08:51.560
Did it? No? Because it wasn't And I would have

1029
01:08:51.560 --> 01:08:55.439
been accused of it being too much like a school. Well,

1030
01:08:55.760 --> 01:08:58.520
I know this. We've had two thousand years of churches

1031
01:08:58.560 --> 01:09:01.359
trying to do sermons and you know what we hear

1032
01:09:01.600 --> 01:09:04.399
year after year after year. Christians are biblically illiterate. Christians

1033
01:09:04.439 --> 01:09:07.199
are theologically illiterate. So how are we going to fix

1034
01:09:07.239 --> 01:09:10.720
the problem. Well, small groups will fix the problems. Small groups.

1035
01:09:10.720 --> 01:09:14.720
There's just small Bible studies with snacks and everyone gets

1036
01:09:14.760 --> 01:09:17.800
to hold hands and sing kumbai Ya. That's not fixing

1037
01:09:17.840 --> 01:09:21.279
the problem. We've had decades of small groups still haven't

1038
01:09:21.279 --> 01:09:23.640
fixed the problem. You know why nobody wants to fix

1039
01:09:23.680 --> 01:09:27.880
the problem because nobody wants to do what actually do

1040
01:09:27.960 --> 01:09:33.000
what we just did. Because if you do what I

1041
01:09:33.199 --> 01:09:35.680
just did in any church, guess what would happen to me.

1042
01:09:37.399 --> 01:09:42.880
I wouldn't have a job, or everybody would leave. Everyone

1043
01:09:42.960 --> 01:09:44.760
talks a big game. I want to be in a

1044
01:09:44.800 --> 01:09:48.159
place that studies the Bible. No, you don't. Just stop

1045
01:09:48.199 --> 01:09:50.800
it Like I'm such to a point out if someone

1046
01:09:50.800 --> 01:09:52.279
wants to walk through the door and going this is

1047
01:09:52.359 --> 01:09:56.159
the church I want, just leave, Just leave, because how

1048
01:09:56.159 --> 01:09:58.279
many people walk through this front door saying this is

1049
01:09:58.319 --> 01:10:01.279
what I want? They got it, and they didn't want

1050
01:10:01.319 --> 01:10:04.159
it anymore because they just want me to have a

1051
01:10:04.199 --> 01:10:07.319
team and preach that team and make them all feel good.

1052
01:10:07.319 --> 01:10:09.439
To stop it. I'm so sick of it. It's all

1053
01:10:09.439 --> 01:10:13.159
such a game. The church is a game, and nobody

1054
01:10:13.159 --> 01:10:15.119
wants to actual get to the text. You get to

1055
01:10:15.159 --> 01:10:18.319
the text, it gets ugly and difficult. Did we leave

1056
01:10:18.359 --> 01:10:20.920
with all the answers? No? But guess what we did.

1057
01:10:20.960 --> 01:10:22.720
We just dealt with the text, probably more than any

1058
01:10:22.720 --> 01:10:24.640
other church has ever dealt with the text. And I'm

1059
01:10:24.640 --> 01:10:27.199
not trying to be arrogant. It's not because I'm spiritual.

1060
01:10:27.600 --> 01:10:30.399
Has nothing to do with spiritual, just says I'm just

1061
01:10:30.439 --> 01:10:33.680
gonna figure out the text. And I don't know how

1062
01:10:33.720 --> 01:10:35.560
you can see Isaiah forty three through five and not

1063
01:10:35.640 --> 01:10:38.960
think Cyrus. You know why you can't see Cyrus because

1064
01:10:39.000 --> 01:10:41.720
all you ever hear is John the Baptist, which was

1065
01:10:42.000 --> 01:10:45.960
no value to those people. I would love for you

1066
01:10:46.000 --> 01:10:48.920
to go running into Babylonian captivity. Hey, guys, I got

1067
01:10:48.920 --> 01:10:53.159
some great news for you. Seven hundred years from now,

1068
01:10:55.439 --> 01:10:58.479
John the Baptist is gonna show up. Who and your

1069
01:10:58.520 --> 01:11:04.079
Messiah's gonna show up seven hundred years from now? Well,

1070
01:11:05.039 --> 01:11:08.560
thank you? Just could you just leave now? All right, kids,

1071
01:11:08.720 --> 01:11:13.800
we're all gonna die here. Good news. I got some

1072
01:11:13.880 --> 01:11:18.680
good news. They need someone to show up going. No no, no, no, no,

1073
01:11:18.680 --> 01:11:23.239
no no. Get ready And they heard that voice when

1074
01:11:23.319 --> 01:11:28.000
Cyrus spoke and said, get ready, you're going and you're

1075
01:11:28.000 --> 01:11:32.680
gonna build a house for God because God told me

1076
01:11:33.159 --> 01:11:35.600
to tell you that's what's going to occur. I don't

1077
01:11:35.640 --> 01:11:37.479
know how you don't see Isaiah forty three through five

1078
01:11:37.520 --> 01:11:41.880
all over that, And that doesn't lessen the beauty and

1079
01:11:41.960 --> 01:11:45.560
the power of it. Right. I know people said, but

1080
01:11:45.640 --> 01:11:48.520
what is about me? Well, and about us? I already

1081
01:11:48.520 --> 01:11:50.880
explained how it fits us. Just the problem is the

1082
01:11:50.880 --> 01:11:53.960
passage is not really about us. I know that's shocking.

1083
01:11:54.000 --> 01:11:55.439
All right, let's pray. Look at we come for you

1084
01:11:55.520 --> 01:11:58.039
this afternoon. Thank you for us being in a place

1085
01:11:58.039 --> 01:12:01.600
where we can do this. I wish more people would

1086
01:12:01.680 --> 01:12:05.159
long for this and want this and desire this, But

1087
01:12:05.680 --> 01:12:08.720
as long as I can, I'm going to continue to

1088
01:12:08.760 --> 01:12:12.000
try to handle the text in a way that may

1089
01:12:12.000 --> 01:12:14.640
be different than everyone else, but may get us closer

1090
01:12:14.680 --> 01:12:17.560
to the actual meaning of it. We know we're still

1091
01:12:17.640 --> 01:12:20.119
far from it in this church. We're nowhere close to

1092
01:12:20.199 --> 01:12:23.840
the ultimate meaning of any text because it's a lifetime

1093
01:12:23.840 --> 01:12:29.199
of study by imperfect, sinful people who definitely are very fallible.

1094
01:12:29.600 --> 01:12:33.600
We are grateful that your word is perfect, your word

1095
01:12:33.640 --> 01:12:37.239
is infallible, and we ask your forgiveness that are fallible

1096
01:12:37.319 --> 01:12:41.079
hands sometimes twist it and misunderstand it. And we asked

1097
01:12:41.079 --> 01:12:48.560
this in Jesus name, and God's people said thank you.