A Prophets Calling – God Reveals Jesus to Isaiah the Prophet (and more)

by Tim Parkinson

As a prophet, Isaiah was to proclaim what revelation His Lord was revealing to Him.

He only had limited understanding of God’s meaning by these words, but he left it up to God to bring them to pass. He was separated from the cares of the world to obey God.

The words Isaiah received were truth itself. God’s word has the power to set events into motion. It changes nations and futures. It cannot return empty or void. It builds and destroys, it brings life and death, brings hope and declares curses and because of it’s creative power, obedience to God’s word is mandatory.

Isaiah understood this each time he heard God’s directions by His Spirit.

You can read Isaiah 55:8-11 to hear from God’s perspective about the power of His words.

Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplishthat which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Basically, Isaiah’s calling, vocation, job, whatever you call it, was delivering a message carrying God’s powerful words or “handling dynamite” on a daily basis.

As God’s servant, he was only responsible for obeying his God’s directions and speaking out whatever whatever God said. Understanding or explanation was not necessary.

This is not an easy thing to do, even today. Knowing and doing God’s will didn’t exclude Isaiah, Jeremiah or anyone else from persecution and attacks of the enemy. Knowing that God will make everything work for good should be our refuge, when times get difficult. We need to remember that our pleasing God (besides His rewards) will last forever.

Jeremiah explains the experience of a prophets interaction with his God-given calling in this passage:

Jer 20:8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.

Basically, Jeremiah was tired of being made a laughingstock daily for speaking the word of the Lord. He was humiliated and made the brunt of the people’s jokes.

Jer 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

Speaking out God’s word was his whole reason for existence. In retrospect, thousands of years have passed and people are still reading Jeremiah’s words and none of his critics.

Since the beginning of time, we see that God’s word always changes the direction of the lives of the hearers. We all are compelled to live in line with God’s word or else reconcile within ourselves with the knowledge that we are going against God’s will to our own way (with possibly peril).

How God actually spoke to the prophets of old individually is not known or easily comprehended.

Did they hear a voice in their heads? In their spirits? Audibly? In dreams? How were they written down?

By themselves or someone else? Who kept them or preserved them? Although we might not have the answers to these questions, from the beginning of time we know that God spoke to his people through the prophets.

Since Jesus has come and the Bible’s been written, we have God’s word available to us all and God’s Spirit to speak to us regarding His will for our lives. The prophet’s voice is now used to confirm God’s will to the hearers in agreement with the Bible.

Here Isaiah reveals that a child will be born who will be named and called God and eternal Father. How could that happen by man’s doing?

Isa 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

We have, in the Bible, a revelation of the past, present and future and future, that people in Isaiah’s time didn’t have. Every word of prophecy today, must be judged against God’s word in the Bible.

In Bible times, the accuracy of the prophet determined whether or not they were false prophets or not. This could be a death sentence for them. Fortunately for today’s prophets, prophecy has a different function as it reveals direction to people.

700 years before Jesus was born, these words revealed the heart of God & revealed His Messiah to the hearers in Israel.

Isa 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he wasbruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace wasupon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Isa 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Thus this Messiah, was revealed through Isaiah as an average or less than average looking, unprivileged, suffering, oppressed, unliked, incarcerated man who was going to die for the people heating the message.

Not a handsome, rich politician, who by wise decisions would lift his special people up to their blessed status by God because they deserved it. He, instead, was the sacrificial lamb for THEIR sins.

Imagine the weight of that revelation on his soul and the responsibility of speaking it out to people who had been hearing and preaching another Messiah was coming.

What about the responsibility of you telling others about this Messiah? You certainly can’t do it if you’re not separated to God, like Isaiah.

Addendum – Additional revelations to Isaiah

God Reveals His Commitment to Israel through His prophets

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

Isa 54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

Isa 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

Isa 54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Isa 54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts ishis name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Isa 54:9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

Isa 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

Isa 54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

Isa 54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

Isa 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

Isa 54:14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

Isa 54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

God Reveals the Future to Israel and His everlasting covenant with them, through His prophets

The Compassion of the Lord

Isa 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Isa 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

This provision from God can’t be earned, because it’s freely given.

Isa 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

David here represents the Messiah, who will reign forever.

Isa 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

Isa 55:5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Because He may be found and is near. The following is the way:

Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither areyour ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isa 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isa 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isa 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name (testimony), for an everlasting sign thatshall not be cut off.

The earth and it’s produce will be a sign of the covenant being intact. This has always been part of Israel’s blessing from God.

God also spoke through Isaiah to the non-Jew (or Gentile) believers assuring them of mercy to all who come unto Him with a humble heart. These peoples were not previously accepted by the Jews, as they were not in covenant with God, like their ancestors were. God now declares their salvation, if they trust in and follow God’s commandments.

Salvation for Foreigners

Isa 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

Isa 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.

Isa 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

Isa 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

Isa 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

Isa 56:8 The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. (Messiah)

Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

God doesn’t want His or any people living without guidance, so he continues to speak and confirm His word through the mouths of 2 or 3 witnesses, including His prophets, the Holy Scriptures, the inward witness, people in our lives, dreams, visions and many types of media today.

This is probably on a “need to know” basis and faithfully shows that God isn’t willing that any perish, but He warns people to change their ways to His ways.

God isn’t obligated to reveal His plans to anyone, but in doing so, He reveals His nature and great compassion to us.

Why is that? I’ve learned to love the backstory.

I estimate that I have read the entire Bible through at least a dozen times in those 35 years. I don’t always read it cover to cover, sometimes I park in a book (for different reasons) for months.

Throughout the years, I’ve realized that there’s a difference between reading the Bible and studying the Bible. People can read the Bible and pick and choose what they want to believe or which parts they want to ignore. Different parts of the Bible make everyone uncomfortable at some point.

Pick a subject that you like to think about. Love, faithfulness, truth, forgiveness, winning, life after death, having a personal relationship with God. You’ll find all these subjects covered in both Old and New Testaments. But you’ll also find sin, murder, treason, sex including homosexuality, incest, rape, and suffering, abandonment, greed, the devil and demons and eternal judgement including damnation.

If we truly believe the Bible is God’s words to humanity, we cannot pick and choose what we will read or won’t read, what we’ll study or what we won’t, simply because throughout the Bible God is speaking to us, His children, personally for our own good and our spiritual growth.

I’m sure that many of you can already quote scriptures confirming what I’m saying. A number of years ago, I learned that God’s word is alive life giving. It’s food & drink to our bodies, minds and emotions. It can turn a bad situation into an overcoming triumph just by us trusting in it.

One of the few significant things that I have done in my life is that I have loved God’s word all these years and I am a better person for having read and studied it.

Let’s study God’s word now and see if learn something new in John 9:1-5.

Joh 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

The disciples knew that all mortal flesh has sinful tendencies.
They wondered if sin happens before birth.
They knew that sin can cause physical handicaps. They knew parental sin can introduce problems to their children.

Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Jesus knows about peoples spiritual condition just by being near to them.
He also knows about each person’s past, present and future.
We can know that a person’s present condition doesn’t have to be permanent. God works to restore or renew mankind’s ailments.

Joh 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Jesus was on the earth revealing and doing God’s will.
He draws a parallel between the world and God’s kingdom.
Everyone walks in darkness without Jesus .

Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

We, like Jesus, being God’s children, are to bring light into this dark world.
Our position requires us realizing this purpose for our being here. We need to accept our calling and declare it before it happens in our lives.

Studying God’s word is not hard work. It’s simply taking the time to read, consider and draw conclusions, which God, in time, will confirm to you. This personal confirmation is where God’s guidance for our lives comes from. Faith is imparted with the revelation of God’s word in our spirits.

God doesn’t always give revelation instantly. Sometimes we need to read things repeatedly, before some revelation is imparted to us. God is patient with us. He gives us the revelation that we can handle.

Receiving revelation from God’s word doesn’t mean we’re supposed to tell everyone what God revealed to us. We need to learn to be taught by God, to apply the revelation to our own lives and wait to see God produce the results. At that point, we then have a testimony of God’s faithfulness to His word and we can then use His word like a sword (of the Spirit) when needed.

It’s not wrong to share your revelations with others after first receiving them. Believers can be a blessing to one another and growing spiritually by discussing God’s word. This can be a great help to people’s faith, since faith comes by hearing God’s word.

We don’t need to argue over personal revelations or doctrines, doing so causes confusion and separates believers. This is how denominations or sects are formed. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.

God wants us to be in unity, so that is want we should want. When people try to prove they’re “right” concerning scripture, it can often get into a mental or soulish area, which hinders our personal instruction by God’s Spirit. No matter who is “right” or “not right”, all discussing of God’s word should be done to edification of one another.

God’s word has enough power to confirm itself, so there’s no point trying to intellectually “prove it” to anyone. God’s word glorifies God and His nature, not the spirituality or intelligence of who’s speaking it. Let people say what they will, and should you disagree, try to concentrate on walking in unity with them concerning what you do agree on.

If something someone says is unscriptural, you can state what God’s word says without attacking or making personal comments about them being “wrong”. You will need to know God’s word before attempting to “correct” someone. Let God’s word do the work to correct or teach someone, as you concentrate on loving and edifying them.

Shall we study more of God’s word right now, or should we think some more about what we’ve learned from these 5 verses?

In any learning, we can go to a place of higher learning, but it’s a waste of time, if it’s a mental exercise without any “proof by experience”. It’s learning that is easily forgotten or “stolen from us”. So let’s concentrate on being a doer of the word and not a hearer only.

A good attitude for us to take to be a good student of God’s word was expressed by our Lord Jesus in the book of Matthew.

Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Why We Study God’s Word by Tim Parkinson

Having been a saved, Holy Ghost filled, Bible believing Christian for over 35 years, I have a different view of the Holy Scriptures than someone who has been saved a few years.