Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 732. Bible Study: Isaiah 44 (Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Israel and Cyrus- prophesized 100 years before Cyrus birth and 700 years before Jesus birth!)

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732. Bible Study: Isaiah 44 (Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Israel and Cyrus- prophesized 100 years before Cyrus birth and 700 years before Jesus birth!) · Faith by annm2705

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  Chapter 44 from the book of Isaiah.
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  First, a prayer, dear God, please give us wisdom and
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  insight as we read through the scripture in Jesus name, Amen.
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  This one's titled Israel, the Chosen, and it starts out, but
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  now listen, Jacob, my servant Israel, whom I've have have
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  chosen, This is what the Lord says, He who made you, who
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  formed you in the womb, and who will keep and who will help you.
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  Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, just you on and I'll
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  tell you what that says. Just you on means the upright 1
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  and that is Israel. So that's another word that's
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  used a few times in the Bible. Just you run whom I have chosen,
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  for I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the
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  dry ground. I will pour out my spirit on
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  your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.
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  They will spring up like grass in a Meadow, like Poplar trees
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  by flowing streams. Some will say I belong to the
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  Lord, others will call themselves by the name of Jacob.
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  Still others will write on their hand the Lords and will take the
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  name Israel. So one thing that I got after
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  reading all of that was that the Spirit changes people.
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  Just like Jesus said that we must be born again, born of the
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  Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God.
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  God is so merciful that even though Israel has turned against
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  God or turned their backs to God so many times over and over
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  throughout history, God is still promising them, I will pour out
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  my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.
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  So Israel will still, they will, they will receive God's spirit
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  at some point in the future. And the blessing of God, when
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  Jesus returns and reigns on earth for 1000 years, that's
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  when all of this will will begin again.
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  So there is a restoration for Israel.
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  This is what the Lord says, Israel's King and Redeemer, the
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  Lord Almighty. I am the 1st and I am the last.
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  Apart from me, there is no God. So this is also important
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  because this is when we have to. In Isaiah he refers to this a
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  couple times, 1st I guess in this this chapter 44 and then
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  again in chapter 48 Isaiah says listen to me Jacob Israel, whom
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  I have called I am he, I am the 1st and I am the last.
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  So of course this we understand is the Lord.
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  This is God speaking. So then we get to the Book of
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  Revelation in chapter 1. When I saw him, I fell at his
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  feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on
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  me and said, do not be afraid. I am the 1st and the last.
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  So that's really interesting. So listen to the rest of it.
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  I am the living one. I was dead and now look, I am
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  alive forever and ever and I hold the keys of death and
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  hades. So that I think is really
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  important because right the next, the very next line, it
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  says I am the living one. I was dead.
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  God the Father was never dead. Jesus was dead.
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  And he says, and now look, I am alive forever and ever, and I
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  hold the keys of death and Hades.
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  So at one point Satan had the power, power over death or some
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  sort of level of authority over death.
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  But with Jesus's death on the cross and resurrection, he took
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  the keys of death in Hades like the eternal death away so that
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  people will not be eternally separated from God, but have the
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  the possibility of being in eternity with God based upon our
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  our decision. So let's see what else our our
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  decision, our surrender and receiving the Holy Spirit
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  because Jesus did the the the impossible for us like his death
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  on the cross as the perfect sacrifice was a ransom.
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  And we will also talk about that in a little bit too.
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  So who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
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  Let Him declare and lay out before me what has happened
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  since I established my ancient people and what is yet to come.
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  Yes, let them foretell what will come.
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  So again, prophecy has always been a part of God's interaction
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  with mankind. He has shared future with his
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  prophets and told people of things that would be to come.
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  And I believe God still does that today.
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  There are definitely not all of the people who say that they
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  have a word from God, truly have a word from God.
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  But you know, whether it's just their ignorance of knowing that
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  or they're trying to be deceitful, who knows?
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  But God will know. And I just, I was listening to a
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  very interesting study today that was talking about the word
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  Messiah that's used in scripture and the translation of it.
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  And a lot of times the word Messiah doesn't exclusively
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  refer to Jesus, but it refers to the anointed 1.
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  And in the past there have been, you know, kings that were
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  anointed. So some of our translations of
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  Scripture. It's really interesting.
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  And this was relevant to the book of Daniel, and it had to do
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  with the 70 sevens. And it was a very interesting
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  commentary on that chapter, which I'm not going to go
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  through right now because it has nothing to do with what we're
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  talking about right here. But it's just interesting that
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  we really do need to dive into looking at something like
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  blueletterbible.org for verses when we're really trying to
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  understand or when there's a complicated verse that we're
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  trying to understand something that doesn't make sense to us to
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  look at what was the original translation because the original
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  Hebrew or Greek, depending on if we're in the Old Testament or if
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  we're in the New Testament. But that opens, that just
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  enlightens us in a lot of ways. Anyway, I will continue on
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  Scripture. He says do not tremble, do not
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  be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and
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  foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses.
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  Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other rock.
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  I know not one. All who make idols are nothing,
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  and the things they treasure are worthless.
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  Those who would speak up for them are blind.
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  They are ignorant to their own shame.
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  Who shapes the God and casts an idol which can profit nothing?
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  People who do that will be put to shame.
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  Such Craftsman are only human beings.
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  Let them all come together and take their stand.
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  They will be brought down to terror and shame.
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  The blacksmith takes a tool and works with with it in the coals.
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  He shapes an idol with hammers. He forges it with the might of
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  his arm. He gets hungry and loses his
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  strength. He drinks no water and grows
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  faint. The Carpenter measures with a
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  line and he makes an outline with a marker.
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  He roughs it in with chisels and he marks it with compasses.
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  He shapes it up in a human form, human form in all its glory,
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  that it may dwell in a shrine. He cut down the Cedars, or
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  perhaps took a Cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees
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  of the forest, or planted a pine and the rain made it grow.
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  It is used for fuel, as burnt, for burning.
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  Some of it he takes and warms himself.
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  He Kindles a fire and bakes bread, but he also fashions a
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  God and worships it. He makes an idol and bows down
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  to it. Half of the wood he burns in the
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  fire over it. He prepares his meal.
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  He roasts his meat and eats his fill.
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  He also warms himself and says, ah, I am warm.
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  I see the fire from the rest. He makes a God his idol.
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  He bows down to it and worships it.
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  He prays to it and says, Save me, you are my God.
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  They know nothing, they understand nothing.
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  Their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds
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  closed so they cannot understand.
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  No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or
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  understanding to say. Half of it I use for fuel.
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  I even baked bread over its coals.
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  I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing
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  from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of
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  wood? Such a person feeds on ashes.
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  A deluded heart misleads him. He cannot save himself or say,
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  is this thing in my right hand a lie?
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  It just goes to show. That not goes to show, but God
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  is communicating. You know, God is a living being
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  and not something that we just made-up in our minds like he is
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  real. God is real.
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  Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant.
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  I have made you. You are my servant, Israel, I
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  will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses
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  like a cloud. Your sins like the morning mist
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  return to me, for I have redeemed you.
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  So again, this is where I think about Jesus because Jesus is the
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  one that redeemed. You know, how else did Israel
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  become redeemed? The sacrifices that they were
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  making it, it was only temporary because every year they had to
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  do it. It was never a permanent thing.
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  There was never a, a permanent atonement for their sins.
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  But Jesus is the one who did that, and Jesus was the ransom.
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  And in Matthew 20, verse 28, just as the Son of Man did not
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  come to be served, even though he was the Son of God, He didn't
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  come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom
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  for many. And then in the Gospel of Mark
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  chapter 10 verse 45 for even the Son of Man did not come to be
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  served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
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  And then in first Timothy chapter 2 verse six, he says it
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  also who who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
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  This has now been witnessed at the proper time.
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  And then Hebrews Chapter 9 verse 15 says for this reason Christ
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  is the mediator of a new covenant.
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  We talked about a new covenant, I think last chapter, that those
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  who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,
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  God's Kingdom, now that he has died as a ransom to set free,
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  set them free from sins committed under the first
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  covenant. So the first covenant were the
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  the laws, the 10 commandments that God gave Moses on Mount
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  Sinai and nobody could keep them.
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  And so that is why Christ, that is why Jesus came and he died on
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  the cross so that he could break that curse.
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  He could become the sacrifice that was required so that we
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  would not be under the first covenant.
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  And even God says that. I mean, I think like I said just
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  a few chapters ago, it was prophesied that he would make a
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  new covenant with the people. And that new covenant is Jesus.
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  And so he had his plan for how it would happen.
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  That's why Jesus willingly went on the cross.
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  That's why that's why everything happened.
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  He came with a purpose to tell people about God's Kingdom and
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  to die on the cross so that we could someday be in God's
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  Kingdom with him as brothers and sisters.
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  So I'll continue, but it is the Lord has redeemed Jacob.
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  Yes, Jesus has. He displays his glory in Israel.
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  So actually I jumped because there's a couple times where it
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  talks about redeemed. So he says return to me.
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  God says return to me, for I have redeemed you.
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  Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this.
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  Shout aloud, you earth beneath, burst into song, you mountains,
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  you forest and all your trees. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob.
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  He displays his glory in Israel. One day Jesus will reign as king
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  out of Israel, out of Jerusalem, so Jerusalem to be inhabited.
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  This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer who formed you in the
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  womb. So not only is Jesus a part of
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  creation from the beginning, but it's talking about your Redeemer
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  who formed you in the womb. And the Redeemer is God.
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  Jesus is the Son of God says I am the Lord, the maker of all
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  things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the
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  earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets.
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  So that's something else that we should pay attention to.
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  If there's a false prophet, then if the if it's a false prophet
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  that's coming and their plans don't turn out, it's God who
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  made it not turn out because, well, maybe one, it wasn't even
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  true. So maybe God didn't even have to
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  do it. But if it's a false prophet or
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  they're telling a lie, he can, he's just, he has no purpose for
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  them. So they're just speaking on
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  their own. And but it's God who makes it
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  not happen and makes fools of the diviners, who overthrows the
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  learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense.
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  So a lot of it's interesting because it talks about really
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  about how wise people are going to be looked at as foolish when
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  all of this is revealed at the return of Jesus.
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  And then he, he continues to say who carries out the words of his
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  servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers.
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  So God gives if God gives a word and somebody believes it to be,
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  if it comes true, it's truly from God.
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  If it doesn't come true, it's not from God.
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  So that's how true and false prophets can be recognized,
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  whether they their predictions come true or not.
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  Who says of Jerusalem it shall be inhabited?
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  Who says of Jerusalem it shall be inhabited?
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  Of the towns of Judah they shall be rebuilt, and of the ruins I
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  will restore them. So God is going to restore the
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  ruins of Israel. Who says to the watery deep, Be
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  dry, and I will dry up your streams.
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  Who says of Cyrus? He is my shepherd and will
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  accomplish all that I please. He will say of Jerusalem, let it
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  be rebuilt, and of the Temple, let its foundations be laid.
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  Now this one's really interesting and I didn't realize
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  this until I read what was in the study Bible.
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  So I have to read this again because this is really
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  impressive prophecy here. So who was the Cyrus?
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  Cyrus the Great ruled over Persia from 5:59 to 5:30 BC.
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  The fact that Isaiah announced him by name more than 100 years
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  before his birth is one of the most amazing instances of a
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  predictive prophecy in Scripture.
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  It is also a major reason why scholars who are skeptical of
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  such predictions have assumed that someone other than Isaiah
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  must have written chapters 40 through 66.
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  So to me, that seems like somebody of weak faith that is
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  doubting these things. But God tells his prophets and
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  these things happen and just like Jesus, as we've seen in
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  several chapters where Jesus was talked about 700 BC, so almost
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  3000 years ago he was talked about and you know, like 700
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  years before he was ever here on earth.
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  I think that's even greater than 100 years when he talked about
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  Cyrus. And then just the whole plan for
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  what's going to happen when you think about the thousands of
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  years that this had been foretell foretold what will
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  happen in our future. So this is actually I finished
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  reading chapter 44 and there's just a couple more questions and
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  answers that I'll read and then we'll wrap it up.
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  So this one is not going to be as long as the past ones have
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  been. So how would Cyrus accomplish
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  all that God pleased? Whereas previous empires had
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  dominated the ancient Near East with military might, Cyrus
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  combined might with diplomacy. He allowed peoples from various
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  captive nations to return home and set up a decentralized
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  government. God used this leader's rise to
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  power to save his people, as Cyrus decreed that the people of
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  Judah would return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
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  And that's documented in Isaiah chapter 45 and Ezra chapter 1,
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  and also chapter 6. It's talked about as well.
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  So then there's a couple things like how can we know if a person
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  is a true prophet? The most immediate way to
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  determine if a person is a true prophet is to see his or her
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  word to see if his or her words align themselves with the rest
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  of Scripture. You can also identify a true
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  prophet by whether or not his or her predictions are fulfilled
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  over time. A prophet's truthfulness can can
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  also be determined by whether or not he or she influences people
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  to worship and obey God. Is this quote godly person
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  always looking for something new in his religious experience?
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  Is she getting a lot of attention for her predictions?
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  Another consideration is the value of a prediction.
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  Will it deepen your walk with the Lord, or is it just vain
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  speculation? Does it build up the church or
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  call into question someone else's spirituality?
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  Then how had God redeemed Israel?
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  Redeem means to buy back, and the Word is commonly used as an
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  expression for God's deliverance in general and His rescue from
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  the penalty of sin in particular.
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  Here, God bought back his people from the penalty that their sin
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  would have imposed on them. How can mountains and forests
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  burst into song? This is personification, A
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  literary technique common in the Bible, especially in Psalms in
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  Isaiah. Obviously inanimate objects
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  don't sing the way people do, but the wonder of creation can
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  shout out in quotations as a testimony to the awesome power
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  and majesty of God. And that concludes chapter 44.
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  So I hope you come back for chapter 45.