>> We went over, or the chapters. So if you look at it, there are four chapters every single day. Okay? So that's a lot of reading. So the assignment for every single day, and I hope you guys will take advantage. I know it's a lot of chapters. It's four chapters, but I know just talking to a few of you that some of you guys are already a little bit lost.

Right? So we want to review so that when we pick back up next time in chapter, I think, 21. We're going up to chapter 19, but I'm going to have you guys go up to chapter 20, because 20 is kind of connected to 19. Then when we get back together, we're going to start on chapter 21.

Okay? So especially those of you guys who kind of jumped in in the middle, and those of you guys who feel like, man, we're like, one week we're talking about the end times, next week we're talking about Assyria, and you know, you kind of want to catch up. Again, I want to make it clear to you for your -- just for clarity, if you are lost as far as a theme, you know, what theme is being carried out, it's okay to be lost.

Okay? Because Isaiah is not written like, oh, chapter 1, 2, 3 is about this, and then it builds to the next one. The subjects are sometimes completely different. In fact, the time -- even the time that Isaiah is talking about will sometimes jump to the end times, and then it'll come back, talks about Assyria, and then it goes to Babylonia, and then it comes back to Assyria.

So it's not a consecutive thing. So if you -- if we're studying up to chapter 20, it's like, you know what, I kind of lost, you know, it's not like math or chemistry where you didn't understand the first three chapters, I don't know where this is going. So every week that we're studying, you kind of have to study it independently.

Okay? There's no clear connection to what he said before and what he said afterwards. When you look at the big picture, the 66 chapters, there's some thematic things that kind of hold together, but they're not done in a systematic way where it's like chapter 1, you know, is the judgment, chapter 2 is this, chapter 3 is that.

So if you feel like, you know, we're in chapter 19, and we talked about this, and then three days, three weeks ago we talked about that, and I don't know how they'd all connect together, don't worry. They're not, they don't all connect together. Some connect, some don't connect. So you don't have to, when you're studying Isaiah, you don't have to think that way.

You don't have to think like, well, you know, Thessalonians chapter 1, and then chapter 2, chapter 3 builds on this, and this is a theme that kind of unites it all together. That's not how Isaiah is written. Okay? Isaiah is, the large theme is about salvation of mankind and the coming of the Messiah as a solution to the problem of mankind.

But how that's presented is very choppy. Okay? So what I want you to do in preparation for next week's overview study is just to go back and read it. So every day you have four chapters. Now when I ask you, on top of it you'll see that it says outline.

Okay? I'm not asking you to outline verse 1 and 2 is this, 3 and 4, that'll take you, you know, too long. What I'm asking you to do is just read it, and then you're going to see large sections. Oh, he's talking about Assyria in verses 1 through 18.

Right? I just want you to see the large outline so that in each chapter there should be no more than about 2 or 3 outlines in each chapter. So you'll just read it. So if you can't do it all in one sitting, maybe do, you know, one or two chapters in the morning, and then come back at night and do one or two chapters at night.

So that way, by the time you come here next week, you'll kind of have some, a general flow in your head as to the first 20 chapters. Okay? So that when we review it, we're just going to reinforce what you've already done. All right? So I really want you guys to take advantage of the fact that we're kind of going back and reviewing.

So especially those of you who jumped in the middle or those of you that are coming, you know, every other week, it'll kind of help you to see, to see some kind of, you know, that these are the subjects and these are the things that we've been talking about.

Okay? The large picture of Isaiah, the first section goes all the way to chapter 39. It's about the judgment of God. Right? And then, remember we talked about it last week that, that you know how he, he's specifically mentioning certain nations, like Damascus, Assyria, Philistia, that is going to continue up to chapter 23.

But the larger theme of judgment, because of sin, is going to go all the way to verse, chapter 39, generally speaking. And then starting from chapter 40, you're going to see a slight, you know, change where there's, there was a lot more hope. Right? First 39 chapters is a lot of, you're being judged for this reason.

This is how judgment is going to come. This is what judgment is going to look like. This is what it's going to look like after you're judged. This is why you're being judged. That's 39 chapters. Starting from chapter 40 is there's a lot more emphasis on the solution. Right?

All the way to chapter 66. So if you think of any particular outline, that's the outline that I want you guys to have in your head. First section, judgment. Second section, hope. Okay? And then within the first section, there's, he goes into detail. Well, this judgment is to the nation of Israel.

This judgment is the nation of Syria. This judgment is for, you know, putting confidence in man. This judgment is for idolatry. Right? This judgment is for false religion. Right? And so he goes into detail, all the thematically that way. But under the larger, chapter 4, connect to chapter 10, you know, what does chapter 13 have to do with chapter 19?

You don't have to worry about that. Okay? Isaiah, you don't study it that way. When you New Testament, you have to study it that way. Okay? And then the memory verses too. I'm, I didn't add any memory verses. And I know that most of you probably have been trying to do it cumulatively.

So I'm just asking you guys to review the verses. Okay? So don't wait until the last day and then come and then review all of it all at once. So try this week to go back and just review a few verses every week so that when you come back.

I know you guys are, you know, you guys, all of you have been very diligent in memorizing. I know that for a fact. Right? So I'm very encouraged to see all of it. But next week, just kind of solidify it. All right? Okay. So let me pray first and we'll jump in.

Abba Father, we thank you so much for this evening. We thank you, Lord God, for your living word. We thank you for your patience and love that compels us, Lord God, to come and study, to learn, to get a greater glimpse of Christ and his work. We pray, Father God, that as we truly have a cloud of witnesses that have gone before us, people who have succeeded, people who have failed.

We know, Father God, in the midst of chaos and rebellion in history, that you've been faithful all this time. And so we pray, Father, as we study the history of Israel and and your thoughts behind what is happening, what has happened and and your hope that you give, Lord God, in the context that all of these things would give insight, Lord, into where we are in our history and and to learn from mistakes and learn from good examples and that you would cause us, Lord, to grow and to mature as a result.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen. All right. So the first part, Isaiah. The. OK, can somebody go check this? >> Okay. Brian, did somebody take that out? Oh, okay. That's-- okay, okay. No, it's working now. Okay. All right. So let's get the first section, Isaiah 17, 1 through 6.

First question, against what two nations does Isaiah prophesy in Chapter 17? The two nations, obviously, to be playing Damascus and Ephraim, okay. We talked about this in the beginning. Damascus is the city for what nation? Syria. And Ephraim is another word for-- Israel, but Northern Kingdom, right? So the Northern Kingdom is where all the 10 tribes went, and then the Southern Kingdom is where the two tribes-- do you remember the two tribes that went to the south?

Benjamites and Judah, okay. So Benjamites and Judah. So Ephraim is another name for the Northern Kingdom, the 10 tribes, right. So the judgment is pertaining to these two nations. And the background is these two nations conspired against Israel, okay. Israel meaning the Southern Kingdom because they refused to join their alliance against Assyria.

Remember, we talked about that, I think, in the beginning, Chapter 1 or 2. So again, remember, we-- he talked about it in the beginning, and he's bringing it back up again, right. So it's not necessarily a consecutive, like, argument building one upon another. There should be somewhere on the table somewhere.

I don't have any more here. Anybody have extra on the table? Okay. All right. So that's the background behind the judgment against these two nations because they weren't necessarily natural friends. The only reason why they're trying to conspire is because you know how they have a superpower, Assyria, and so the historical background behind what's going on here is a lot of these little nations are making alliances to-- because they can't fight Assyria by themselves, okay.

And we're going to see that Ethiopia plays a part in this later on as well as Egypt, okay. But right now, that's the background behind it where they're-- they want-- they come to the Southern Kingdom saying, "Hey, join us." But instead, instead of joining them, who do they join?

They conspire with, right, the Southern Kingdom doesn't join with them, right. And so they become angry. And then they say, "Well, we're not going to join us. We're going to attack you. You're our enemy," right. So what does the judgment say that's going to happen to them? Okay. Damascus is going to be ruined and no descendants will remain.

Remember, I think Laura asked that question last week, the Syria, you know, all the news coming out of Syria, is that connected to this Syria, right? You know, years ago before the internet, that would have taken at least months to answer. I would have had to go to school, look it up, ask a genius, you know what I mean, or somebody who's like trivia genius.

All I had to do is go to the office and Google, "Is Syria that Syria?" And then the answer was, "No, it is not," okay. So basically, this Syria that we're talking about, exactly as God says, later on, the Babylonians actually come in and they conquer them and they're gone.

From that time on, that particular kingdom is gone. The Syria that we're talking about in modern history, they were only newly developed after World War II. So those two nations may have the same name because it's in the same region, but it's not the same kingdom that came continuously, okay.

Just like this prophecy, God says, "Because of your sin, God's going to wipe out your nation," right? Otter destruction without any trace of descendants is going to be wiped out. The fortress of Ephraim will be gone and their glory will be no more. Their security will be taken away and their glory will be no more, in verse 3.

So basically, it's saying that Ephraim is not going to be destroyed. Ephraim is because they're part of Israel, but their glory is going to be diminished. So there's a reason. Remember when Paul, in the New Testament, when he brags about or he's kind of like, "Hey, you want to go toe to toe with these legalists and, you know, who's got what?" And remember one of the first things Paul says, "I'm a what?

I'm an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin," right? Because it was kind of bragging rights. So if you were a part of the southern kingdom, it was shame because you were part of that nation that broke away from God's covenant people, right? So he says, "Ephraim, you're, you know, anybody who belongs to that kingdom, you know, in Israel's history, they were on the wrong side." Right?

So he said, "Your glory is going to disappear. Your security is going to disappear." Right? Uh-huh? Well, Damascus, again, it's just the name of the city. So under, during a period of Rome, it was under Roman Empire. So the city exists. But the nation of Syria is destroyed. Yeah.

So Syria is no longer in control. Here it just says Damascus in reference to Syria. Okay. Uh-huh. Yes? Here? Yeah. I mean, it's Judah, but again, you know, this is why whenever we talk about Israel's history, it's confusing because sometimes they say Israel in reference to the Northern Kingdom.

Sometimes they say Israel in reference to the nation of Israel. Sometimes they'll say Israel in reference to the Southern Kingdom, right? So you just have to remember the context because Israel obviously is in reference to the nation of Israel. So you just kind of have to understand, like, in that context.

Yeah. No, Syria. Syria and Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, got together because Assyria was coming to attack. Syria and Assyria are different. Two different nations. Yeah. Assyria actually ends up conquering all of them, you know, except for the Northern Kingdom, the Southern Kingdom. And then later on, Babylonians conquer the Assyrians, and then they end up conquering the Southern Kingdom as well.

Northern, Southern Kingdom. Okay. We'll review it one more time next week, and I'll put some PowerPoints so that, you know, at least you have something to kind of cling on to. Okay. Second section, 714, what would happen as a result of this judgment that God is going to bring?

And if you notice, if you go to Chapter 17, and the text that we're looking at starting from Verse 7, okay, let's read that. It says, "In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eye will lock on the Holy One of Israel. He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the ashram or the altars of incense." Now, is he speaking of revival, repentance, or judgment?

You understand my question? All right. So if you look at it, it says several things are going to happen, that they are going to recognize, finally recognize their Maker, right? They will not be able to put their confidence in false religion, right? And they're not going to be able to put their confidence in his own work, so that what their hands have made.

Is this because they're repenting and they're returning to the Lord? Not here, right? Here it says the judgment is coming, and whether, you know, like you can come to me because you repent and you want me, but you're going to come to me either way, right? He's saying that his judgment is going to be so harsh, they're going to finally recognize him.

That they refuse to recognize his grace and mercy, but you're going to refuse, now you're going to, you know, see his judgment. Either way, you're going to meet the Maker, right? That you're not going to be able to worship idols. You're not going to be able to have confidence in the things that you've made, because when the real God shows up, you're going to see, right?

So this is in the context of the judgment, what's going to result because of the judgment that's coming, right? Why were their efforts, again, in the second section of that, their efforts to sow and harvest become a heap of ruins? And he says, because you have forgotten your Maker, their hard work will amount to nothing.

And all throughout Scripture, we're told the exact same thing over and over again, right? Unless the Lord builds a house, the builder builds in vain, right? So he said, all that work that you put into building your kingdom, your harvest, your farm, your family, in the end, because you refuse to recognize the Maker, right?

All of it is going to be for nothing, right? It's kind of like, you know, you got hired at Google, and you're putting in all the work, and in the end, everything that you've done ultimately belongs to Google, right? Because you're not the owner. But it's like, you know, you did all of that, and he says, "No, I refuse to recognize Google.

I did this work. This is mine." You know what I mean? And so he put all that work in, at the end of the day, because he refused to recognize the owner or the Maker, all that is going to be for nothing. It's going to all be scratched, right?

They're not going to get any credit, right? So that's what he's saying, like, because you refuse to acknowledge the Maker, everything that you've done is going to be for nothing. Verse 12 and 14, again, specifically, says, "Ah, the thunder of many peoples, they thunder like the thundering of the sea.

Ah, the roar of nations, they roar like the roaring of mighty waters. The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but He will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like the chaff on the mountains before the wind, and whirling dust before the storm." So again, when you think about the historical background of this time, if, you know, the United States is protected by a body of water on either side, so we don't have enemies on the border that has, you know, nuclear bombs, you know, pointing at us, and any day that war can break out.

So you have to remember, these guys are living, these are tiny nations surrounded by superpowers. They're surrounded by Egypt, they're surrounded by Assyria, the Babylonians, you know, and Persians later on. And so this tiny little nation is constantly living in fear that if they don't pay the tribute to the right people, if they don't ally with the, you know, people who are going to come into power, and they're kind of jockeying to see, "Hey, it looks like Babylonians are going to come into power," so now they're sucking up to the Babylonians.

You know, it's like, "Oh, it looks like Egypt is going to be the next gun," then they're sucking up to the Egyptians. So basically what God is saying is, all these people that you fear that seem mighty in your eyes, when the judgment comes, all of them are going to be nothing, right?

Because you're--and that's what the scripture said, if you're going to fear anything, fear one who has authority over life and death, right? So it's natural that feeble human beings are going to fear, but your fear should not be of the Assyrians or the Babylonians, but the greater fear ought to be the God who created all these people.

So when the judgment comes, everything that you thought that you were afraid of is going to become nothing inside of God, right? That's what he's saying. You mean the judgment? Mankind. Right, so if you look at the context of the judgment, obviously, remember we talked about how there is an immediate fulfillment historically against these nations, and then there's a fulfillment that comes at the end times, you know what I mean?

And so every prophecy--not every prophecy, but most of the prophecies that we see in Isaiah is talking about judgment and restoration, has an ultimate judgment, ultimate restoration. So immediate context, obviously, this is talking about-- he's in the context of judging Ephraim in Damascus, but at the same time, when the final judgment comes, all of this is going to be true of all mankind.

I think for both. Yeah. For both. Yeah, I know, like whenever we study-- that's the big issue that we have when we're interpreting prophecies, because you have one camp that is going to allegorize everything and say, "Well, this means this, and this means that." We're trying to take it as literally as possible, but again, prophecies, there's allegorical aspect of it, and there is a literal aspect of it, and that's where the difficulty lies.

That kind of stuff, is that applying to now? Is that applying to later? But again, when we're studying Isaiah, most of what he says has end-time application. Right? Okay, so the second part in Isaiah 18-7, Cush, the city beyond Cush, basically is another word for Ethiopia. And what I want to point out about Ethiopia is that Ethiopia's power, at least at this particular time, is not as obvious because they're not physically in that area.

They're beyond Cush, so they have to travel a bit. So they were also a mighty power. And so what Israel and the smaller nations are doing, is kind of jockeying, like, "You know, the Assyrians are coming, and they seem like they're not going to show us any mercy. We don't have any mighty countries for us to have allegiance to." So they're reaching out to the Ethiopians who are far away.

And the reason why I put subtle power beyond Cush is because they're not thundering. If you look at the judgment, or if you look at the description of them, we'll talk about it a little bit later. The Cushan Ethiopians, the subtle power behind Cush, meaning they're not immediately there, they're not threatening anybody, but they're a superpower.

This nation may have tried to build an alliance to get tribute to withstand the superpower of Assyria. But basically what the Ethiopians were doing was coming around and saying, "If you want us to stay on your side to protect you from the Assyrians and the Babylonians, give us the tribute." And again, these guys are not a threat because they're not their neighbors.

You have to go travel beyond Cush. And what would the Lord do? The Lord waits patiently for the harvest. So let's look at that passage. Verse 4 and 8. It says, "For thus says the Lord said to me, 'I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like the cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.

For before the harvest, when the blossom is over and the flower becomes ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots from the pruning hooks, and spreading branches, he lops off and clears away.'" You notice how when he talks about the judgment, the judgment here is talking about he's not thundering, he's not like mighty warrior.

He's just kind of like, before the sun rises, before the dew comes, it's going to be very quiet and silent. But when the judgment comes, they're going to be wiped out too. Their strength is just going to diminish. So if you study history during this period of time, Ethiopia is very quiet.

They weren't like superpower jockeying with Assyria, but for that region, they were considered powerful. But they're pretty quiet. They're not conquering. Because they're a little bit removed by land, they don't have that immediate threat of people coming over, but they were superpower. So a lot of these smaller nations were relying, reaching out to them, saying, "If we pay tribute, would you protect us?" And so again, he's bringing judgment upon that, saying, "That's not where you should be paying tribute." So in the end, what does he say?

He's going to quietly, wait patiently for the harvest, like the sun or the dew of morning. In time, Judah, instead of giving tribute to Ethiopia, Ethiopia will give tribute to the Lord. So you don't have faith enough in me to trust in me, and you're going out to Ethiopia.

But when the time is going to come, that these people that you're relying on are going to come and rely on me. These people you fear are going to end up fearing me. So against what nation is Chapter 19 a judgment? Okay, let's see, Egypt. Okay, and Egypt is one of three superpowers at this time.

The Assyrians, the Babylonians, jockeying for power. And how is the Lord depicted as coming in judgment upon this nation? He comes in might and mightiness. So when you think about the Assyrian nation, he comes in might as with clouds to make idols of Egypt. So there's like a thundering, and he's not just kind of quietly causing them to disappear, which is fitting of these nations because these nations, whenever you study history during this period, they're making a lot of noise.

They're conquering nations. Assyrians are--like crucifixion was developed by-- started by the Assyrians to scare their enemies, right? And then it was adopted by the Persians, and eventually the Romans took over. So just as they were trying to put fear upon the neighboring neighbors, God is going to come in, and he's going to come in thunder, right, to show them who's the one that's really powerful.

In what two forms would judgment come against a nation? Okay. Now I put two forms, but there's more than two. They're going to come in civil war. It says Egyptians are going to be against the Egyptians. In other words, they're going to tear each other apart. They will be conquered by a greater power, right?

The Syrians are going to conquer them, and eventually the Babylonians are going to conquer all of them. The waters, the Nile River that the Egyptians are completely dependent upon, God says he's going to bring judgment, and he's going to take that away, their confidence. So Egyptian economy was directly related to the Nile River.

So when God says that river is going to be dried up, right, he's going to take--your source of power is going to be taken away. And all the leaders and the wisest counselors will become foolish because Egypt was known for their knowledge, for wisdom, right? Before the Greeks came, Egypt was kind of like the center of civilization.

Assyrians were known for their brutality. Babylonians were known for their power, right? Egyptians were known for their culture, you know, wisdom. And so he says he's attacking each one of these things, saying these things that you rely on, God's going to bring judgment upon. Did you get that? And then finally, how are future blessings described for this and to other nations, right?

And so in the midst of all this judgment, remember, he always goes back and forth. Even though he brings judgment, his ultimate purpose of judgment is not simply to destroy. It's by demonstrating his power to realign your hope, your confidence, your fear. All of these things are placed in the wrong place.

And then so when God's judgment comes, to correct them, to bring them to repentance and to ultimately restore them, right? So he says in that day, their language is going to be united. They're going to be speaking the language of the Canaanites, right? And at that time, the Hebrews, Aramaic, Arabic, Syriac, right, and other languages are there.

So what is the significance of language being united? What is the first thing to build a relationship in marriage that you need to have? Communication, right? So Tower of Babel, when they were united, they worked for evil to build themselves up and say, "We're going to be like God." But at the end, when God brings restoration and their love for God is restored, he said the first thing he's going to do is bring them back together, right?

So they're going to be speaking the same language. In that day, the people will be united in serving the Lord. So all these nations that were jockeying and hurting each other and conquering one another, God's going to, again, conquer all of them. And those who remain and are repentant are going to be united together.

Again, even though God has a special place for Israel, his intent is always for the nations, right? When he called the nation of Israel in Genesis 1, 12, he says, "Through them, I'm going to bless all these other nations." So in the end, we see the restoration of all the nations coming back together.

In that day, more enemies, Egypt and Assyria, will enjoy peace and friendship with one another. You know, I talk about Egypt and Assyria, that they're going to be going back and forth, it says in that passage, right? That there's going to be business, there's going to be friendship, right?

Because there's going to be peace. Which offering in the Old Testament illustrates this? One of the major offerings. Peace offering. Peace offering, right? So you have five major offerings in the Old Testament. You have, if we're playing trivia, I'll give you extra points if you do all of them.

But one of the main offerings, or the five offerings, is peace offering. The peace offering was, they would give the offering, and they would only burn the stuff that they couldn't eat. And the meaty stuff, they saved, and then they would end up having a picnic on the side.

So with the priests and with the family members, they would come. And what that offering signified is that because we have peace with God, we have peace with each other. And it kind of symbolizes, there is no direct connection from that to the communion table, but if you understand the significance of the communion table, it's very similar.

That because we have peace with God, we have union with one another. That's basically the communion table. And so that's what we see here playing out. Because now that they have peace with God, that all this contention, all this war and fighting is going to be done away with, and there's going to be unity and peace.

So again, the teaching is, every generation, they're looking for peace. You have peace signs. Why can't we have peace? Why can't we just all get along? But you can change politics, but until sin is eradicated, there will never be peace. And so again, that's what's being illustrated here. And finally, "In that day, Israel, Egypt, and Assyria will together be a blessing in the midst of the earth." That not only will Israel be blessed, that all the other nations will be a blessing as well, which is what God intended from the beginning.

Historical, Christological, and then ultimately Second Coming. No, historically, I mean, obviously the language, you know, well, I mean, I guess you can kind of say they were united in Greek, you know. So language-wise, you could say, "Kh," but united in serving the Lord together? I don't know if that ever really happened.

Maybe, I guess you could milk it. You can say, "The church," kind of, maybe. Enjoy peace and friendship? I don't know if that ever happened. Together, they were a blessing to the earth? So I don't know if that ever happened. So the first two I can kind of see, but last two, no, I don't.

I can't think of an instance in history where we could say, "Oh, that was the fulfillment." All right, a few of you entered late, so just kind of reiterate. Next week, we're having a review. So I know that the husband and wives kind of go back and forth. If you are able to make it, I encourage you guys, you know, I know it's probably--it might be physically impossible because of the children, but next week, if you feel like you can make it,