Kingdom Come
(Isaiah 2:1-4, 4:2-6)
1. Today, my old joke was Peter Roussakis’ favorite – at least of all the jokes I told.
3 Greeks and 3 Turks are travelling by train to a conference. At the station, the 3 Turks each buy tickets and watch as the 3 Greeks buy only a single ticket. "How are 3 people going to travel on only one ticket?" asks one Turk. "Watch and you'll see," answers one Greek. They all board the train. The Turks take their respective seats but all three Greeks cram into a restroom and close the door behind them. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, " Ticket, please." The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on.
The Turks saw this and agreed it was quite a clever idea. So after the conference, the Turks decide to copy the Greeks on the return trip and save some money (being clever with money, and all that). When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip. To their astonishment, the Greeks don't buy a ticket at all. "How are you going to travel without a ticket?" says one perplexed Turk. "Watch and you'll see," answers a Greek.
When they board the train the 3 Turks cram into a restroom and the 3 Greeks cram into another one nearby. The train departs. Shortly afterward, one of the Greeks leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the Turks are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, "Ticket, please." [jokes4us.com]
2. Like the 3 Turks, I observed three chapters of Isaiah go together and thought about putting them together, but I decided to only do two of the three today for time. Chapter 11 is along the same theme, but lengthy. So I decided to file Chapter 11. I will retrieve it soon.
3. The common theme of these chapters is the Millennium. Review eschatology briefly.
Main Idea: Isaiah has much to say about the Millennium, and many of the millennial truths have surprising implications for us today.
I. The Millennium from a NATIONAL Perspective (2:1-4)
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that God’s special nation is Israel, and the Bible is written from that perspective; we worship Yahweh aka, “The God of Israel.”
A. Jerusalem will experience TOPOGRAPHICAL changes (1).
B. All nations will make pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem to LEARN (2-3).
1. The details of this temple are provided for us in Ezekiel 40-48
2. Temple worship in millennium: no longer an offering for sin.
3. hey will go there to learn from the Messiah.
4. We do not make pilgrimages, nor do we practice Temple-centered worship.
5. But the concepts of hungering to learn more about God applies (Psalm 119)
6. Christians have downplayed learning in our day. Attention deficit society.
C. The Messiah will JUDGE disputes and create a time of PEACE (4).
II. The Millennium from a NEW Covenant and the Work-of-the-Spirit Perspective (4:2-6)
A. The Messiah is referred to as the BRANCH (2).
1. In a parallel passage, Isaiah 11, Messiah is called a “shoot” from the stump of Jesse.
2. Jeremiah 33:15, “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”
3. Jesus Himself is the New Covenant (see Isaiah 49:8) –- Turn there!
4. All the covenants, except the Law, were permanent and unconditional; all of these will be completely fulfilled at the Second Coming of Jesus under New Covenant.
B. The New Covenant means ALL Jews surviving the tribulation are made holy (3).
(see Romans 11:26, Zechariah 12:8-10, and especially Jeremiah 31:31-40)
C. They will be cleansed by the FIRE of the Holy Spirit (4).
1. Many d/not believe “spirit” here refers to Holy Spirit. In chapter 11, another Millennial chapter, Messiah is clearly associated with the Holy Spirit. So I believe this refers to the Holy Spirit.
2. John the Baptist speaking of Jesus, “’I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Matthew 3:11).
3. The Three Persons of the Trinity make several appearances in Isaiah; in chapter 11, another chapter dealing with the Millennium, we will see Him again.
4. The church has a preview of this through the baptism of the Spirit. Jesus came to baptize with the Spirit and fire.
5. Fire purges and cleanses. The Holy Spirit helps cleanse us in theory & practice.
6. The difference between being indwelt/baptized by the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Spirit is worth discussing.
D. The Mount Zion region will be protected by a great SHEKINAH canopy (5-6).
1. Zechariah 2:5, And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
2. It will shelter the people from the heat of the sun and from rain.
III. We Enjoy the New Covenant NOW, but Its Ultimate Fulfillment Awaits Jesus’ Return.
A. Its participants are REGENERATE.
Jeremiah 31:33-34, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
This covenant is extended to gentiles, and we will address this more in Isaiah 25.
B. Those under the New Covenant have experienced the flame of the SPIRIT.
Romans 8:9, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
C. God has a special blessing in store for Millennial ISRAEL, which explains their survival
(see Jeremiah 31:35-37).
This, to me, is a wonderful apologetic for our faith.
D. In all ages, maturing believers seek to HONOR God and LEARN more about Him.
