OK, I just read 2 Chronicles and I thought “what could I say that you already don’t know”. If I had randomly opened 2 Chron 27 on January 1 and read this short chapter most of us would say “Ummm, what”. You got this! But I will give you this just because I love you.
Isaiah 9-12- Now Isaiah, maybe you read and said “Yup, got it”. If you did-you are taking over this blog! I needed help. Let’s do this! Let me start off by saying if we stick with the TV/Remote analogy- today is definitely split screen and they are all talking at once! We have current time (735 BC), Messiah time, and End Times all talking at once. I am going to keep this Simple. But feel free to ask questions.
Chapter 9 (if you have not noticed I have a pattern of starting with verse 1)
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
Ummm what? Wait for it…we are about to have a “Drop Mic” moment. When Jesus BEGINS his ministry this prophecy is fulfilled:
Matthew 4:12
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Naphtali and Zebulun are 2 of the 10 tribes that formed the North. He begins his preaching in Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee (starts with G) that is how you are going to remember that when we say Gallilee Jesus is with the Gentiles.
Jesus came to bring Light to the Darkness!
Isaiah continues with….
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Ok Ok…I won’t’ break down EVERY scripture…but I want to. The rest of the chapter is a description of the Lord’s anger against the Northern Kingdom Israel. Note the “attitude” of Israel (or should I say the complacency)…
“The bricks have fallen down,
but WE will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but WE will replace them with cedars.”
Are they crazy…they said the same thing at the tower of Babel and we all know how that turned out!
Chapter 10- God uses Assyria as the instrument to discipline Israel (after 300 years of warning).But Assyria became prideful in the power God gave them. When God is done with them, they too will witness God’s judgment on themselves. Verse 12:
12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;
like a mighty one I subdued their kings.
14 As one reaches into a nest,
so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.’”
The next section can be summed up v21:
A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob
will return to the Mighty God.
If you don’t know what the who, what, where, when, and why of the Remnant…let me know in comments.
Chapter 11: In Chapter 4 we talked about a Messianic Passage. We can look at this with a split-screen of the Messiah Coming…or as the 2nd Coming (Millennial period). Both are correct. Remember, prophecy is both Near and Far messages. You will read these scriptures and know it is Jesus in the prophecy BUT there are scriptures about Peace and Safety that will only occur during the Millennial period.
OK, If you love me (ha!) you will look at Chapter 11 and copy and paste your favorite part in comments. Click here. (If you are on your phone just comment on the scripture address (number) and I will look it up.
The End. You may Stop here. I don’t want to make an assumption that everyone understands the Millenium (the time period following the Christ’s return). If you need a refresher course on that I posted below.
Spoiler Alert: I am going to tell you how this Book Ends. Chapter 11 will concentrate on the Millenial period. For those who say “Revelation is confusing” it is not. It actually might be one of the easiest books we read. So here it is:
Read Left to Right.
- We are currently in the Church Age (since Acts 2)
- Then we will have the Rapture of the Church (if you believe in a Rapture (I do)but if you don’t ignore that-all good)(Thessalonians 4:13-18)
- Then we begin a 7 year period of Tribulation
- Then Jesus will return to earth (called the 2nd coming) This will be the Battle of Armageddon. Satan will be tied up (literally) for 1,000 years.
- The 1,000 years of Peace is called the Millennial Reign
- After 1,000 years Satan will be released and there will be one final rebellion-he will quickly be defeated
- The final judgment will occur and a New Heaven and New Earth are created and we enter into eternity!
Rememeber…if you love me….
Reading the Bible in a Year-2020 