In today’s chapters, Isaiah switches from warning Judah to prophesying about Jesus, the Messiah, the Holy Spirit, and what life on earth will be like when Jesus comes back in all His Glory. Here, Isaiah is describing the Millennial Kingdom. In the Book of Revelation, we’re told how it will be fulfilled. In a way, God, through Isaiah is trying to comfort the Jews after He told them that everything will be destroyed. We’ll get to that in due time.
At this point, Isaiah is telling them of the coming Messiah, the Holy Spirit and how the whole earth will be very different from what they know — and from what we know! Let’s dig in…
Isaiah 11 – The Branch From Jesse
Out of the stump of David’s family (Jesse, King David’s father) will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 He will delight in obeying the Lord.
He will not judge by appearance
nor make a decision based on hearsay.
4 He will give justice to the poor
and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
5 He will wear righteousness like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.10 In that day the heir to David’s throne (the root of Jesse)
will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him,
and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time
to bring back the remnant of his people—
those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt;
in southern Egypt, Ethiopia (Cush), and Elam;
in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.
12 He will raise a flag among the nations
and assemble the exiles of Israel.
He will gather the scattered people of Judah
from the ends of the earth.13 Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end.
Isaiah 11 NLT
They will not be rivals anymore.
14 They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west.
Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east.
They will occupy the lands of Edom and Moab,
and Ammon will obey them.
15 The Lord will make a dry path through the gulf of the Red Sea.
He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River,
sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams
so it can easily be crossed on foot.
16 He will make a highway for the remnant of his people,
the remnant coming from Assyria,
just as he did for Israel long ago
when they returned from Egypt.
Messianic Prophecy
In 2 Samuel 7, David was assured that his lineage would continue and through him, the Messiah would be born. That no matter what happens to the Jews before then, there is salvation in the future. This was fulfilled when Jesus was born and when He was baptized.
Also, this is why the boring genealogies were important in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
One Spirit 7 Ways
The Holy Spirit rested on Jesus the moment He came out of the water at His baptism. Isaiah then explains the 7 traits of the Holy Spirit…
- He is the Spirit of the Lord
- Of Wisdom
- Of Understanding
- He is our Counselor
- The Spirit of Might
- The Spirit of Knowledge
- Fear of the Lord
These are 7 aspects of the Holy Spirit. Last year, I wrote about the 7 Roles of the Holy Spirit, which are a bit different. Check that out here. Paul wrote to Timothy…
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
When you’ve got the Spirit, you’ve got Jesus in your heart. There are 2 ways to recognize the leading of the Holy Spirit...
- Since the Spirit authored the Bible, He can never contradict it.
- Since He is the Spirit of Jesus, He will never violate the Nature of Jesus. The Holy Spirit will always speak and act in harmony with the Written Word and the Living Word (Jesus)!
Growing up Catholic, I knew the Holy Spirit existed, but to me, He was somewhere up in Heaven with God and Jesus and we lowly humans could never have access to Him. As a result, I was missing out on one of the benefits of salvation. Clearly, the Roman Catholic Church has distorted the Bible so much that they are misleading the people on the truth of the Holy Spirit and the true salvation of Jesus Christ.
If you do not have the Holy Spirit in your heart, you’re missing out on hidden, untapped, wisdom, power, understanding, and knowledge. Worse yet, you are missing out on the best thing in this world — a relationship with Jesus! Don’t be afraid of the Holy Spirit!
The Millennial Kingdom
Next, Isaiah describes how peaceful the Millennial Kingdom will be. This is the 1000 years of peace after Jesus comes back in the Glorious Appearing and binds Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet for 1000 years. Back in the Garden of Eden, everyone, including the animals were vegan. After the flood, however, humans and many animals became carnivores. In the Millennial Kingdom, we’ll all be vegans again. How else can a wolf and a lamb live together. Imagine a lion eating hay! Jesus will remove the aggressive instinct God instilled in animals after the flood. There will be no more hostility!
All born-again believers will all KNOW the LORD and live in peace!
I’m going to borrow a teaching from Pastor Sandy Adams…
Notice, Isaiah speaks of “the second time” God recovers His people and returns them to the land. The first time this occurred was 535 BC. After the fall of Babylon, the conquering Persians allowed displaced citizens to return home. Jews returned to Judah. When the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 70 AD, Jews were again dispersed to the ends of the earth. But they never returned. For 1900 years the Jews were scattered across the globe.
They called it, “The Jewish Diaspora” or “Dispersion.” Until modern times… Beginning with the Zionist Movement in the 1800s… escalating with the birth of the state of Israel… with a wave of Russian immigration in the 1980s… we’re seeing a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Jews are returning to the land God gave them, “a second time.” ! In 1840, only 5000 Jews lived in Jerusalem. In 1948 there were 84,000 Jews there.
Today, the Jewish population of Jerusalem has grown to 570,000. In 1948, 650,000 Jews lived within the borders of Israel. In 1982 that number had swelled to 3.2 million. Today, over 6 million Jews live in the land of their forefathers – the number that died in the Holocaust. Our generation has seen biblical prophecy fulfilled before our eyes. As Isaiah predicted, for a “second time” God has brought back His people to their land.
Sandy Adams, 2014
Check out the video from Amir Tsarfati, of Behold Israel explaining the Millennial Kingdom at the bottom.
Next we have a short psalm praising the Lord for His salvation.
Isaiah 12 – A Praise for Salvation
In that day you will sing:
“I will praise you, O Lord!
You were angry with me, but not any more.
Now you comfort me.
2 See, God has come to save me.
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
The Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.”3 With joy you will drink deeply
Isaiah 12 NLT
from the fountain of salvation!
4 In that wonderful day you will sing:
“Thank the Lord! Praise his name!
Tell the nations what he has done.
Let them know how mighty he is!
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.
Make known his praise around the world.
6 Let all the people of Jerusalem (Zion) shout his praise with joy!
For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
Did you know that Hallelujah means “Praise the Lord!”? And “Yahweh” means “The Lord God”.
Jesus spoke of verse 3 to the Samaritan Woman in John chapter 4. He is the Living Water! When we drink water, we are thirsty again in a little while. When we have the Living Water of Salvation that only comes THROUGH JESUS, FROM JESUS, our souls will never thirst again.
The GOOD NEWS is that your soul never has to thirst again if you KNOW JESUS! He wants to get to know you!
What are you waiting for?!
