Saturday 28 April 2012

Isaiah 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 3:3, Prepare the way of the Lord.


John the Baptist was the greatest of Prophets (Matt. 11:9-11) and the privileged messenger who was sent to prepare the way of the Messiah according to the Word of God. There are four main texts used to verify this:
  1. "For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!'' (Matt. 3:3).
  2. "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way; 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight,'" (Mark 1:1-3).
  3. 'This is the one about whom it is written, 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You,' (Matt. 11:10).
  4. "He [John the Baptist] said, 'I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said,'" (John 1:23).
Clearly, John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus as all four quotes above demonstrate. But, we must note that in the four citations, the Old Testament is quoted from two sources: Isaiah and Malachi.
  • Isaiah 40:3, "A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord [YHWH] 1 in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God."
  • Mal. 3:1, "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord [adonai], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the Lord [YHWH] of hosts."
Notice that according to the quotes above, John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Jehovah. Isaiah 40:3 says that John is to clear the way for YHWH (Jehovah). In Mal. 3:1, it is God who says that "he will clear the way before Me." Yet we see that the fulfillment of these verses is found in the arrival of Jesus.
Clearly, the Bible prophecies that John the Baptist will prepare the way of YHWH (Jehovah), yet it is Jesus who arrives on the scene. How can this be? The simple answer is that Jesus is divine; that is, He is the fullness of deity in bodily form (Col. 2:9). Also, John 1:1,14 tell us "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." The fulfillment of John the Baptist as the messenger and Jesus as YHWH make these scriptures clear for us to understand.
Do not be deceived  that would have you deny the true nature of Christ. Only God can save us and only God can fulfill the prophecy given in Isaiah 40:3 and Mal. 3:1.

Isaiah 9:6, Is Jesus the Everlasting Father?


"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace," (Isaiah 9:6).
Oneness Pentecostal believers deny the Trinity and teach that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all one person.  They sometimes quote Isaiah 9:6 in their attempt to prove their position.  However, Isaiah 9:6 cannot be used to disprove the Trinity nor bolster their Oneness doctrine.
When Isaiah 9:6 says that Jesus' name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, etc., it is not saying that Jesus is the eternal Father, but that he has the characteristics of God.  In other words, Jesus has all the attributes of God, including eternality.
In the ancient Jewish culture, names had meanings.  We can better understand this by noting American Indian names such as "Running wolf" or "Fighting Bear."  The same with Jewish names.  They had meanings.  Isaac, for example, means "laughter."  Noah means "rest" or "peace."  So, when Isaiah is speaking of the name of the coming Messiah and says his name will be Mighty God, Eternal Father, etc., it is telling us about the characteristics of the Messiah to come in a prophetic manner.
If Jesus' name is "Eternal Father", then why don't we call Jesus "Eternal Father"?  For that matter, why don't we call his name "Wonderful Counselor," or "Mighty God," or "Prince of Peace"?  The text speaks of a name, yet has four things revealed in the name.  Again, this shows us that it is the characteristics of the then-coming Messiah.  The fact that the Messiah would be divine is verified in Heb. 1:3, when it says, "And He [Jesus] is the radiance of His [God] glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power..." This also explains why Jesus said, "...He who has seen Me has seen the Father," (John 14:9).  It was because Jesus so precisely represented God the Father as His prophesied name reveals.

What does it mean when the Bible refers to the Third Heaven?


At the time of ancient Israel they did not have as complete an understanding of the universe as we do today.  So they wrote in terms with which  they were familiar.  The Jews spoke of three heavens.  The first heaven consisted of the the earth atmosphere where the clouds and birds were. The second heaven was where the sun, stars, and moon was.  The third heaven was the dwelling place of God.  When Paul said he was caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2), he was referring to the very dwelling place of God.
As a note, the Mormons erringly teach that the three heavens consist of telestial, terrestrial, and celestial.  They divide them into compartments dwelt by people after they die.
The First Heaven: Earth Atmosphere
  • Deut. 11:17 -- Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce....
  • Deut. 28:12 -- The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.
  • Judges 5:4 -- "O LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.
  • Acts 14:17 -- "Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;...
The Second Heaven:  Outer Space
  • Psalm 19:4,6 -- In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun... It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;...
  • Jeremiah 8:2 -- They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens which they have loved and served....
  • Isaiah 13:10 -- The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.
The Third Heaven:  God's Dwelling Place
  • 1 Kings 8:30 (phrase repeated numerous times in following verses) -- then hear from heaven, your dwelling place...
  • Psalm 2:4 -- The One enthroned in heaven laughs; The LORD scoffs at them.
  • Matthew 5:16 -- In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The highest heaven, the third heaven is indicated by the reference to the Throne of God being the highest heaven:
  • 1 Kings 8:27 -- "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.
  • Deut. 10:14 -- To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.