My friend Sothenes, who often visits and posts at my message boards, has written a great analysis and comparison of Isaiah 61 and Luke 4. He was gracious enough to allow me to share it with my blog friends! Thanks Sothenes!
I will be back later for additional comments.
In Christ,
Christine
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Isaiah 61 and Luke 4
(C) By Sothenes
“And he (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,”-Luke 4:16-17
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”-Luke 4:18-19
“And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”-Luke 4:20-21
Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 61 and he stops quoting at the comma. Jesus said,”This day is this scripture filled in your ears.”
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,…”-Isaiah 61:1-2a
The part Jesus didn’t quote from Isaiah 61:2 is:
“, and the day of vengeance of our God;…” and there is a third part that Jesus doesn’t quote which is “…to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.”-Isaiah 61:2b-4
If Jesus had kept reading, He couldn’t have said,”This day is this scripture filled in your ears.” Jesus has already come once and the second coming is not to make peace but it is to come after the destruction in the tribulation to “comfort all that mourn” and to “give them beauty for ashes” because “they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities…”
These passages are a roadmap for what has come and what is to come. The first event was (Isaiah 61:1) the coming of the messiah. The second event is the “day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2B) and the third event is the restoration of the cities after the tribulation (Isaiah 61:4) when Messiah returns.
Israel has already rejected their Messiah because they were looking for a deliverer who was going to take off the shackles of Rome. Jesus came as a deliverer for men’s sins (Isaiah 61:1 “to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;” He stopped at that comma because that is where His earthly ministry ended. The next event is “the day of vengeance of our God”. Since Israel has already rejected their Messiah, there comes another to claim to be the deliverer to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity and that is the anti-Christ but they don’t know how to read their Bible and they aren’t looking at how God punctuated the verse because Hebrew doesn’t have commas. You can’t have a suffering servant (Isaiah 53:5) at the same time as a ruling King.
“Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”-Isaiah 26:20-21
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There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah who was to come. Jesus fulfilled most of them (the rest will be fulfilled at the second coming).
The way that Sothenes presented this comparison between Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 is just one example of a portion of Scripture that had already been fulfilled by Jesus when he preached and read Isaiah 61:1,2a. Then, the rest of Isaiah 61:2b-4 will be fulfilled at Jesus' second coming.
The next phrase in 61:2b, "and the day of vengeance of our God," will come true when Jesus returns to earth again.
What does all of this mean for us? It means that we are now under God's favor precisely because of what Jesus Christ accomplished at the cross for mankind. God's wrath is yet to come.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. - Revelation 2:7 (NIV)
Another example is in Isaiah 60:19, 20.
19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; and your days of sorrow will end. Isaiah 60:19, 20 (NIV)
We find in Revelation 21:23, 24 and 22:5 where this beautiful reality is also promised.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. Revelation 22:23,24 (NIV)
5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:5 (NIV)
Dear reader, where so you stand with God? Have you answered Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?"
How you answer that question and what you do with Jesus Christ, God's Son, will determine your eternal destiny!
25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 22:24-27 (NIV)
We see from the above verses that not everyone will be allowed into the new Jerusalem, but "only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."
The book of life is mentioned in Revelation 3:5 and Revelation 20:12-15.
5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. Revelation 3:5 (NIV)
To be "dressed in white" means to be set apart for God and made pure. Christ promises future honor and eternal life to those who stand firm in their faith. The names of all believers are registered in the book of life. This book symbolizes God's knowledge of who belongs to him. All such people are guaranteed a listing in the book of life and are introduced to the hosts of heaven as belonging to Christ (see Luke 12:8,9).
Jesus speaking:
8 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. Luke 12:8,9 (NIV)
The second section of the verse in Isaiah 61:2 (where Jesus stopped reading while in the synagogue) is to be fulfilled at his second coming according to Revelation 21:11-15
The Dead Are Judged
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:11-15 (NIV)
At the judgment, the books are opened. They represent God's judgment, and in them are recorded the deeds of everyone, good or evil. We are not saved by deeds, but deeds are seen as clear evidence of a person's actual relationship with God. The book of life contains the names of those who have put their trust in Christ to save them.
Either we die with our sins on our own souls, or, we repent of our sins, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and thus die with the forgiveness afforded to us through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. It is His saving grace and mercy through repentance for our sins that saves us and makes us "born again." Without Christ, we would die with our own sins on our souls, separated from our Holy and Righteous God forever!
In Revelation 20:14 (above)we find out why Jesus talked more about avoiding hell in his earthly ministry than he talked about heaven.
Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire. God's judgment is finished. Isaiah 61:2b will be fulfilled, "and the day of vengeance of our God."
The lake of fire is the ultimate destination of everything wicked - satan, the beast, the false prophet, the demons, death, Hades, and all those whose names are not recorded in the book because they did not place their faith in Jesus Christ. John's vision does not permit any gray areas in God's judgment. If by faith we have not identified with Christ, confessing him as Lord, there will be no hope, no second chance, no other appeal.
He who has ears let him hear...
The good news is prophesied in Zechariah 14 and fulfilled in Revelation 22.
Then the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.*
6 On that day the sources of light will no longer shine,* 7 yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen! There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light. 8 On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean,* flowing continuously both in summer and in winter.
9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord-his name alone will be worshiped. 10 All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place and will be inhabited all the way from the Benjamin Gate over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed. Zechariah 14:5b-11 (NLT)
And the angel showed me a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,* with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
3 No longer will anything be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there-no need for lamps or sun-for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
6 Then the angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true: `The Lord God, who tells his prophets what the future holds, has sent his angel to tell you what will happen soon.' "
Jesus Is Coming
7 "Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the prophecy written in this scroll." Revelation 22:1-7 (NLT)
12 "See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay all according to their deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. Revelation 22:11-14 (NLT)
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