Isaiah was a prophet that preached during the 8th century BC (700's) and long enough to live under at least 4 different kings. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, he preached about the coming judgement of the children of Israel and the nations around them, a coming messiah, the last days and the millennial kingdom and the new Jerusalem. Some of the language can be a bit more cryptic than the other prophets. Chapters 1-39 are mostly concerning the coming judgement on Israel and the nations surrounding it, but also a distant kingdom to come that has yet to be fulfilled. Chapters 40-66 mostly concern a messiah of both His first and second coming as well as the new Jerusalem.
A few of the major prophecies:
- Judah to fall and be carried into captivity
- Syria and Remaliah will not prevail against Jerusalem and Ephraim will be broken within 65 years, ch 7
- A coming messiah, ch 6, 7, 9, 11, 53 (basically all through)
- The day of the Lord ch 13
- A highway out of Egypt and Israel to be a third with Assyria and Egypt in ch 19
- Resurrection of the righteous, ch 26
- God will use Cyrus of Persia to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, ch 44 which happens later under Ezra and Nehemiah
- The Gentile nations will become part of the children of Israel, ch 54, also echoed through out the New Testament, eg. Galatians 3
Ch 1 - The children of Israel have rebelled and have become worse than Sodom in God's eyes. Their sacrifices and prayers mean nothing to Him now.
Ch 2 - Concerning the last days. The day of the Lord and a time when the Lord will judge among the nations.
Ch 3 - Judgement against Judah and it's rulers who cause the people to go into error. They are going to fall to the sword.
Ch 4 - The day that comes, women will be desperate for a husband because so few men are alive.
Ch 5 - Parable of a vineyard. Instead of grapes, it brought forth wild grapes. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil. The nations are being sent against the children of Israel.
Ch 6 - King Uzziah dies, Isaiah is shown the glory of the Lord on His throne. Is told to go and tell the people. Isaiah responds, here am I, send me. He is to go unto the people until men be carried away and the cities are wasted. A remnant will return and among them, the holy seed, from which will come the messiah.
Ch 7 - Israel and Ephraim was confederate with Syria and they come to invade Jerusalem but fail. See II Kings ch 15 and 16. The alliance wanted to set the son of Tabeal as king of Judah. The Lord tells Isaiah to go with his son to meet Ahaz, king of Judah to tell him not to be afraid, and the Lord will give them a sign of a virgin that conceives and his name shall be called Emanuel. The context of who is speaking is not immediately clear in verse 10, but elsewhere in the Bible like Hebrews 1:1, we see that the Lord often spoke through the prophets to the people. God will use the Assyrians to take away the northern kingdom and make it desolate.
Ch 8 The Lord tells Isaiah to write the name of a child as Mahershalalhashbaz that is born to a prophetess. Before the child knows to cry, his (Isaiah) father and mother and the riches of Damascus will be taken by the king of Assyria. The children whom the Lord had given to him are for signs.
Ch 9 Unto us a child is born, foretelling of a coming messiah. The Lord will use Manasseh and Ephraim to smite Israel.
Ch 10 Woe unto them that decree unrighteousness. The Assyrian is coming to spoil Israel. When the Lord is finished with judging both Israel and Jerusalem, he will punish Assyria.
Ch 11 A rod shall come forth from the stem of Jesse. See Ruth ch 4 & Luke 3. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the lion shall eat straw, foretells the time of the 1000 year reign of Christ.
Ch 12 It will be a day of joy when the messiah and Holy One of Israel comes. See John 4, Romans 10:13, Mark 1:24, Luke 3:34, Acts 2:27, Acts 3:14, Acts 13:35 ,1 John 2:20
Ch 13 Babylon will be made desolate in the day of the Lord - both the Babylon of that day and the one to come. Sun darkened and moon shall not give its light. See Rev 6, Matt 24, Luke 21
Ch 14 The Lord will have mercy on Jacob. Is what happened in 1948 with the founding of Israel a fulfillment of this? In John 3:36 the Bible says those who don't believe on the Son, the wrath of God is on them. This is likely speaking of the return from captivity. Satan is to be cast out of heaven (see Ezekiel 28, Rev 12, 13). Those who were their captors shall be their captives and servants. Likens the king of Babylon unto Lucifer. Palestina (Palestine? Exodus 15:14) told not to rejoice as their judgement is coming too.
Ch 15 & 16 Moab is to be laid waste. Land of the Moabites. See Genesis 19 where we find Moab. Within 3 years, Moab and its glory will be held in contempt and there will be few left.
Ch 17 Damascus will be a city no more. The cities of Aroer are forsaken. Verse 3 "they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel" is not a positive thing, because Israel is to be brought low.
Ch 18 Woe unto Ethiopia
Ch 19 Egypt to be burdened, then healed. Yet, they will come to know the Lord and the Lord will know them. A highway out of Egypt to Assyria. Lot of parallels with Revelation 9, 14, and Isaiah 13. Note the same language in verse 1 with Revelation 1:7. Then inn verses 20 and 21, we see the Egyptians doing sacrifices unto the Lord, strangely similar with passages in Ezekiel chapters 40-48 concerning the temple that involve sacrifices and priests. However, in this passage in Isaiah this could be referring to a time when either Ptolemy or Alexander the great relieved Egypt from the Assyrians, but also a future fulfillment with the gospel and the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ. Paul speaks on the subject of Prophecy in I Corinthians 13, as seeking through a glass darkly. Also note Hebrews 7:12, there has been a change in the priesthood and the law. Also note the highway out of Egypt also mentioned in chapter 11.
Ch 20 Tartan, king of Assyria comes against Ashdod (city in Israel). Isaiah was to walk naked and barefoot 3 years as a sign against Egypt and Ethiopia. They were both to be lead away captive naked by the Assyrians. They (Ashdod and the children of Israel) were not going to be able to look to the Egyptians for help against the Assyrians.
Ch 21 The Medes are coming and Babylon is to fall. See Daniel ch 5,6,7, also Jeremiah 50,51. Verse 9 uses similar language with Revelation 18:2. Romans 4:17, God speaks of things that are not, as if they were. Also the burden of Dumah (Idumea), down near Edom, see also Joshua 15. Burden of Arabia, see also Jeremiah 25.
Ch 22 This chapter along with most of the 1st half of Isaiah is mainly concerned with the judgment coming upon the children of Israel. The phrase "valley of vision" is used nowhere else in the Bible, but this chapter is foreshadowing the last days as well as the judgments coming in the immediate future. Valleys are often where battles are fought and Joel ch 2 mentions a term "valley of decision" and is a clear reference to the day of the Lord.
24 Burden of Tyre. For 70 years Tyre would sing as a harlot but then commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth. Land of the Chaldeans was founded by the Assyrians.
Ch 25 Isaiah gives God praise, and speaks of a time when we will say this is our God, we have waited for him and he will save us.
Ch 26 The righteous shall sing a new song and the righteous dead shall rise and sing also. Come into thy chambers and shut thy doors for a little while until the indignation be overpast.
Ch 27 God will make Israel shall blossom and bud and leviathan (the devil) the serpent destroyed (see Rev 12:9, 19:15, 20:2)
Ch 28 Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim. Scornful men rule the people in Jerusalem.
Ch 29 Speaking of a city named Ariel, which is most likely referring to Jerusalem and God's people (see Galatians 3). In verse 4 it seems is speaking of when Jerusalem is destroyed, its story becomes as foreboding as someone with a familiar spirit. Isaiah is looking forward to a later time here. Nations are going to be made as if they are in a deep sleep, drunk but not of wine, to gather against Jerusalem. There are different types of unbelievers. They can not simply read the Bible and get saved, Acts 8. See also II Thessalonians 2 - in the last days, God is going to send a strong delusion to a world that refused to receive the truth, but the day of the Lord will not come until the man of sin is revealed. Also Jeremiah 6:30 concerning reprobates, those who God has rejected. See also I Cor 2:14 unbelievers cant receive the Spirit of God. Jesus refers to this refers to this passage in Matthew 15. Verses 18 & 19 speak of the coming messiah who will heal the deaf and blind.
Ch 30 Woe to the rebellious children of Israel. They take counsel but not of the Lord and seek help from Egypt against the Assyrians, but Egypt will not prevent whats coming. The Lord alone will beat down the Assyrians.
Ch 31 Again, woe to those that do evil and seek help from Egypt, both will fall. The Lord Himself will defend Jerusalem. Is this speaking of a near or far future time, since we know between the time Isaiah spoke this, Jerusalem has fallen.
Ch 32 A king shall rule. Men shall be scarce. The liberal shall be called vile.
Ch 33 While speaking before the captivity begins, seems to be speaking of a time much different than when the return from exile takes place
Ch 34 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies
Ch 35 The wilderness will blossom, the Lord comes with a vengeance. The lame will walk and the dumb sing. Clearly this is still talking about the kingdom to come.
Ch 36 This chapter and the next is also mentioned in II Kings 18 & II Chronicles 32. The king of Assyria sends Rabshakeh with a great army against the cities of Judah and takes them (except for Jerusalem), but first accuses them of relying on Egypt even though Hezekiah had not, and then mocks the Jews and their trust in God in verse 7. This part seems at first to say Rabshakeh is stating the Hezekiah has done something against the Lord, but we know from II Kings and II Chronicles that Hezekiah done good in tearing down the alters to false gods and the high places. So in vs 7, it is actually blaming Hezekiah for tearing down these high places as if that was a bad thing. A similar story in Judges 17 where a man makes a molten image in the name of God, which was the wrong thing to do, but on the surface it might seem to some that they were worshiping God.
Ch 37 Hezekiah hears the message and sends word to Isaiah, who replies with a message to not be afraid of the words of the Assyrians that they have said and have blasphemed the Lord. The Lord tells Isaiah that the king of Assyria will return the same way he came and will not take Jerusalem. The Lord smote 185,000 Assyrians in their camp. King Sennacherib then departs the same way he came, goes to Nineveh where his two sons kill him, just as the Lord had told Isaiah (verse 7)
Ch 38 Hezekiah is deathly sick and prays. The Lord tells Isaiah that Hezekiah will get 15 more years and will yet deliver the city the Assyrians and as a sign, a sun dial will be made to go backwards 10 degrees. Isaiah told them to lay a lump of figs as a plaister (a plaster or paste) on the boil of the king.
Ch 39 The king of Babylon sends a letter and then his son to visit Hezekiah after hearing that he was sick, who then shows him all of his treasure and armor. Isaiah informs Hezekiah that all that he has will be carried into Babylon and that his sons (not yet born) will become eunuchs. Hezekiah replies that at least he will have peace in his days, seemingly being self-centered.
Ch 40 A message of comfort for God's people and a reminder of God's power and might, nothing else compares to Him. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness.
Ch 41 God telling Isaiah to consider who it is that has done the things He has done and to put their trust in Him. He is the first and the last.
Ch 42 Behold my servant who will bring judgement to the Gentiles. See Matthew 12:14-21. Who is this 'mine elect' being referred to in verse 1? The physical nation Israel and the Jews? See Galatians 3:14-16. He will make the lame walk and the blind to see.
Ch 43 Israel has been redeemed, they are told to remember who has done it. The people shall be gathered from all directions.
Ch 44 God calls to the people as Jacob His servant and Israel His chosen, that He has blotted out their sins and calls them to return unto Him. The decayed places will be raised up and the temple built.
Ch 45 Cyrus, king of Persia will subdue the nations. God has girded up Jacob even though they did not know Him. The Egyptians and Sabeans shall come unto Israel in chains and praise them saying surely God is in thee. Israel is to be saved with an everlasting salvation.
Ch 46 Also concerns bringing the Persians and compels the children of Israel to return unto the Lord, who declares the end from the beginning.
Ch 47 Judgement coming upon Babylon, referred to as a lady. See also Revelation 19
Ch 48 God's message for Jacob, called Israel, who make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth. He has refined them in the furnace of affliction. The Lord does this so that His name is not polluted.
Ch 49 Isaiah tells us that The Lord had called him to be a preacher. Verse 6 & 7 are prophetic of the coming messiah, Jesus Christ. Judgement comes for those that oppress the children of Israel.
Ch 50 Message to the children of Israel, that for their own transgressions have they been sold and their mothers put away (symbolic). Isaiah says that the Lord has given him the tongue of the learned.
Ch 51 God calls those that seek righteousness to look unto Him and promises to comfort Zion. The Lord promises to make the desert like the garden of eden, this hasn't happened yet. Obviously referring to the millennial kingdom, see Isaiah 11 and 43:18,19. God is promising to return His people and take away the cup of affliction and give it to those that have afflicted them.
Ch 52 The Lord is telling the people they will be set free, that no uncircumcised or unclean thing will enter Jerusalem from henceforth.
Also mentioned in Isaiah 66, Rev 21,Galatians 4 (esp vs 24-31) this chapter is speaking of a distant event and a future Jerusalem. Has this been fulfilled yet - No.
Ch 53 The coming messiah. See also John 12 (esp vs 38-40). Some Jews and skeptics claim this chapter is referring to Israel, but it is clearly speaking in the singular and of an individual, even in the same sentence that includes the people. It's worth noting that many Jews today have come to accept Jesus as Lord from this very passage, and that many Synagogues when they begin reading Isaiah, will skip this chapter.
Ch 54 Fear not, God is going to bless the people with children. Their seed (Christ, see Galatians 3:16) shall inherit the Gentiles, making another prophetic statement of a time when the Gentiles would be grafted in (see Romans 11:17). This and the next few chapters, some will claim that the Bible is telling us the Jews are going to rule the world. Yes and no. Yes, in that the saved and redeemed will be priests and kings (Rev 1:6, 5:10) and rule in a kingdom that is to come. Yes also, in that Jesus Christ who is the physical seed of Abraham will rule with a rod of iron. No, in that the Jews as the physical seed of Abraham are not going to rule the world as a people, simply because they are Jews (see Matthew 21:43).
Ch 55 God calling people to return unto Him and for an everlasting covenant, including the mercies of David, of whom the messiah would come and eventually rule over an everlasting kingdom.
Ch 56 A call to those outside the physical lineage of Israel to call upon the lord and keep His covenant. Especially verse 8. Another example is Acts 10:34, God is not a respecter of persons. Rebuke and condemnation of the watchers (the religious leaders), Hebrews 13:17
Ch 57 When the righteous perish, none lay it to heart that they are taken away from the evil to come. Rebuke of the wicked. He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall inherit the land.
Ch 58 Verse 1 is a call to preach strongly and to call out sin, unlike how some will say that preachers shouldn't raise their voice or be too negative.
Ch 59 The Lord can still save and hear, but our iniquities separate us from Him. Shedding innocent blood (eg. abortion). The Redeemer shall come to Zion. Verse 21 is yet another promise to preserve His Word from generation for ever.
Ch 60 Another message about the Gentiles will come to know the God of Israel. Verses 11 & 12 is referring to a time of the new Jerusalem. At no time has Israel ever been a place of righteousness, yet it will one day when the son of David, Jesus Christ rules in Jerusalem. Verse 18 & 19 are clearly a case of this, as this has never happened - yet and is hard to fathom the light of the Lord replacing the light from the sun.
Ch 61 Isaiah proclaims the spirit of the Lord is upon him to preach good tidings to the meek who are captive. Continuation of ch 60
Ch 62 The Lord will give us a new name, Rev 2:17, Jerusalem and God's people will be redeemed.
Ch 63 God will have vengeance and the winepress of his wrath will flow, see Rev 14
Ch 64 Isaiah cries out to the Lord to restore his people and his city, Jerusalem. The mountains will flow and the nations tremble at His presence. See Rev ch 6
Ch 65 God says he has stretched out His hand all day long and provoked Him to anger, yet will the Lord be found by those that sought not for Him. See also Romans 10:1 (esp vs 20,21) and continues in Romans 11, also Galatians 3. Notice verse 9 mentions the seed of Jacob, see Galatians ch 3. God's elect, see Isaiah 42, Romans 8:33
New heavens and a new earth. Valley of Achor see Joshua 7
Verse 12 God calls but not all answer, bye bye Calvinism.
Ch 66 The people have chosen their own ways, yet God will choose their delusions and fears, because when He called, none answered. God opens and closes the womb. Verse 11 likens how He will comfort them like the milk from the breasts of a mother as consolations, see I Peter 2:2, John 1:1. Behold the Lord is to come with fire and chariots and by fire and sword will He plead with all flesh (see Rev 19 & II Thess 1). Nations and tongues shall be gathered and will see the glory of the Lord. The city of Jerusalem and nation of Israel was not then, nor is it now a holy place. The "holy land" is anything but holy. There will be new heavens and a new earth and will look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against the Lord, see also Mark 9:44-46 (which counterfeit bibles such as the the NIV omits). Amen
