e-Watchman articles considering the entire prophecy of Isaiah.
Revised repost from November 2011 Other than Israel and Judah no other nation is featured so prominently in the Bible as Egypt. Before God even founded Israel Egypt existed as a great nation. The father of all those with faith, Abram, along with Sari his beautiful wife, once sought relief from the famine in Canaan by going down to Egypt. Abraham’s offspring did too. In [...]
The 18th chapter of Isaiah opens with these words: “Ha for the land of the whirring insects with wings, which is in the region of the rivers of Ethiopia! It is the one sending forth envoys by means of the sea, and by means of vessels of papyrus upon the surface of the waters, saying: ‘Go, you swift messengers, to a nation drawn out and scoured, to a people fear-inspiring everywhere, a nation of tensile strength and of treading down, whose land the rivers have washed away.’”
What is the land of the whirring insects with wings and what is the message of the envoys God commands them to send forth? And who are the fear-inspiring people and the nation of tensile strength to whom the messengers are sent?
Over the years that I have studied prophecy I have revisited the 18th chapter of Isaiah many times to ponder it’s possible meaning. It remains maddeningly inscrutable. What seems clear, though, is that, the prophecy is intended to apply to the ultimate success of God’s purpose at the conclusion of the present system of things.
And what is God’s purpose?
As all of Jehovah’s Witnesses know, God’s grand, over-arching purpose is to bring forth a new creation composed of 144,001 humans that will ultimately be reborn into immortal, incorruptible spirits. Jesus is, of course, “the firstborn among many brothers,” as Paul described the Christ.
The 17th chapter of Isaiah is the denunciation of Damascus and Israel. But like most prophecies, although the setting is in ancient times the prophetic message pertains to the time of the end.
That ought to be evident from the concluding part of the prophecy, which says: “Ha for the commotion of many peoples, who are boisterous as with the boisterousness of the seas! And for the noise of national groups, who make a din just like the noise of mighty waters! The national groups themselves will make a din just like the noise of many waters. And He will certainly rebuke it, and it must flee far away and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before a wind and like a thistle whirl before a storm wind.”
“O how you have fallen from heaven, you shining one, son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the earth, you who were disabling the nations!"
The fall of mighty Babylon vindicated Jehovah as the true God. Not only had he foretold that Babylon would serve as his punishing agent, wrecking all the earth, but God foretold the name of the man who would bring Babylon down, nearly two centuries before he was even born - naming Cyrus as the anointed of Jehovah, the liberator of God’s oppressed people; obviously, a type of Christ.
In conjunction with that, in the latter chapters of the same prophecy of Isaiah the repatriated Jews and company were said to have been ushered into a new heavens and new earth. To be sure, that expression is also used in the 2nd letter of Peter and in Revelation, both in reference to the system to come.
That being the case, the prophetic account of the fall of ancient Babylon did not merely vindicate God as a foreteller of future events, it led to the complete accomplishment of God’s overall purpose.
. This article was originally published July 11, 2011. The sudden overthrow of Babylon stunned the ancient world. The event is one of the centerpieces of Bible prophecy, having been foretold by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel - the reason being, Babylon had been an unwitting instrument in the hand of Jehovah to smash all the nations surrounding, including the kingdom of Judah and [...]
The 12th chapter of Isaiah is only 6 verses. It basically is a Psalm praising God for the salvation he provides. In context, salvation comes after God subjects “Jacob” to the heat of his anger. The opening verse states: In that day you will certainly say: “I thank you, O Jehovah, for although you were angry with me, your anger gradually subsided, and you comforted [...]
From the beginning —before the founding of the world of mankind —when Satan originally slandered God, implying that God did not trust His creation and the creation ought to be suspicious of their Creator, Jehovah determined to bring into existence a new creation —something that has never existed before. It is not that the individuals who will make up the new creation have not lived already, [...]
This is an edited repost of an article originally published in June 2011 Jehovah God has a purpose. That is a fundamental truth expressed in Scripture. God is not aimless, haphazard, or uninterested in the goings-on of his wayward creation down here, as some may suppose. On the other hand, neither does he choose to control every detail and facet of life as some religionists believe. [...]
In the 10th chapter of Isaiah the denunciation continues: “Woe to those who enact harmful regulations, who constantly draft oppressive decrees, to deny the legal claim of the poor, to deprive the lowly among my people of justice, making widows their spoil and fatherless children their plunder!" God has always required the judges of his people to look after the welfare of the helpless and disadvantaged. God [...]
Jehovah has feelings. Seems strange to even have to say that. Sometimes, though, we might forget or fail to appreciate that simple fact. Actually, we have thoughts and feelings and can relate to ourselves and the people around us and God because we are made in His image and likeness. For example, we may feel impatient in a certain situation. That’s because God endowed us with [...]
