Archive for the Isaiah Category

Jubilee, Part 2, Jesus Offers a Clue?

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Isaiah, Jubilee, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 24, 2021 by paulthepoke

Luke 4:17-21 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD.

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” -Jesus

Jesus read and spoke these words in the synagogue of His home town Nazareth (Luke 4:16). Jesus is reading Isaiah 61:1-2a. He reads verse 1 completely. Jesus then stops reading in the middle of Isaiah 61:2. By reading these words, He was claiming to be the Messiah. In other words, “Here I am!!”

The stoppage of reading in the verse has lasted close to 2,000 years. At His first coming, Jesus was a suffering servant who died for our sins. His death freed us from the bondage of sin. Christ did not come in vengeance the first time, hence the pause. And we wait for the remainder of Isaiah 61:2b-11. It describes the future conditions of the nation Israel under the leadership of the Messiah, Jesus. He returns the second time in wrath and judgment.

At this point, many have stopped their analysis. There remains another question. Who is the prophet Isaiah quoting?

…to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD…?

Isaiah is quoting Moses who received instruction from God.

Leviticus 25:10 You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.

The context of the verses quoted is a description of the jubilee year. Release the inhabitants and freedom for all the slaves.

Is Jesus leaving a clue about the timing of His second coming? Will He return in a year of Jubilee?

Here are some prophetic implications. The seven year peace covenant between the antichrist and Israel would likely be confirmed in God’s fall holiday season. A jubilee year is proclaimed on the Day of Atonement, Tishri 10 after the end of a set of seven years per Leviticus 25:9.

The Bible tells us a jubilee year is proclaimed after a Sabbatical or Shemitah year (Leviticus 25:8-11).

This would allow for the culmination of the seven year Tribulation to occur one year after a Sabbatical or Shemitah year, a possible jubilee year by definition.

A jubilee year has not been kept by Israel in over 2,000 years (www.chabad.org). As for the timing of the next jubilee year…

no one knows, only the Father.

It Shall Not Stand… Joshua of Ghana

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Isaiah, Joshua Ghana with tags , , on February 11, 2020 by paulthepoke
@beholy404

Joshua of Ghana @beholy404 on Twitter

Isaiah 7:7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

History is filled with accounts of despots – rulers who exercised absolute power over their subjects and terrorized those who crossed their path. They were deluded to think that they had the final word in every situation; but alas, they were often proven wrong. Something always happened that would remind them that they were finite and feeble humans. Only God has the final word. When He says, “It shall not stand…”, we can bank on it.

When Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of Israel with their confederate forces planned to invade and destroy Jerusalem, there was great panic in Judah. This combined army was formidable enough to destroy entire Judah and make an end of the rule of David’s lineage. To Rezin and Pekah, it was a done deal, but God said, “It shall not stand.” This was His message to even an ungodly Ahaz, king of Judah, who was already greatly worried by the news of the invasion.

God still “brings the counsel of the heathen to naught” (Psalm 33:10). Powerful, wicked and crafty people may perfect their plot against His people, but rest assured that “it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.” It is vain for anyone or group to think that they can work against the will of God or work without His will and succeed (Lamentations 3:37).

The world in which we live is full of intrigues, oppression, wickedness and threats from Satan and his demonic and human agents. Very often, they target people who have a covenant relationship with God. If you are one of such blessed people and the enemy is posing a threat against you, let God’s words of assurance settle your nerves; “it shall not stand”. The details of how it will be done are not yours but God’s. Just take it to Him in prayer.

*THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:* The enemy has not the final word, God does.

Water Emergency Declared in Egypt, August 2019

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , on August 22, 2019 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 19:5-7 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched, and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away. There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.

Cairo, Egypt: The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has declared a water emergency.

“The job of an irrigation engineer in Egypt has changed. We no longer manage water flooding but manage water scarcity, and make precise plans to deal with it, so as not to harm the main interests and the citizens’ needs,” Mohammed al-Sibai, Spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

The total annual Nile River flow has declined 5 billion cubic meters (1.3 trillion gallons, or 6.5 billion cubic yards) compared to last year 2018.

The Egyptian government tells its citizens not to worry. The available water supply will not be affected.

“Egypt’s annual water quota will not be affected by the decline. A state of emergency means keeping all of the Water Ministry’s departments on maximum alert to periodically follow up on the water situation in the main riverbed and all canals and water channels in the governorates.”

This emergency is occurring as Egyptian water needs are increasing.

“In addition to the declining water flow, Egypt is dealing with a water gap that is widening every year. Internal needs are now estimated at 114 billion cubic meters annually, while only 59.4 billion cubic meters of running surface water is available.”

In the long run, Egyptian officials are not concerned about water. They have Lake Nasser behind the Aswan Dam.

“It’s not possible to be in real danger, as long as there is a strategic water reservoir in the Aswan Dam, and official figures indicate that the water level there is so far within the safe limits. The most important challenge is to maintain safe [levels] of water in Lake Nasser.” -Abbas Sharaqi, Water and Geology Professor at Cairo University

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/08/egypt-water-resources-plan-nile-flood-drop-5–million-bcm.html#ixzz5xMYME1ST

There is also the matter of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam construction continues on the Nile River. Construction of the dam is located in northwest Ethiopia. When finished, the GERD will be the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa. As of 2019, the project is estimated to be completed in 2022. Once finished, it estimated to take 5-15 years for the reservoir to fill to capacity.

Man says, “Don’t worry. We can conserve and manage the Nile River.”

God says…

Zechariah 10:11b …And He will strike the waves in the sea, so that all the depths of the Nile will dry up…

Ezekiel 30:12 And I will dry up the Nile and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers; I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it, by the hand of foreigners; I am the LORD; I have spoken.

Tisha B`Av, 9th of Av, 5779/2019

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Isaiah, Prophecy, Temple, Trend Update with tags , on August 7, 2019 by paulthepoke

Tisha b’Av:  To the Jew, this is a date, the 9th of Av. Av is a Hebrew month. It is the 11th month of the civil calendar or the 5th month of the religious calendar.

It usually occurs during July or August on the Gregorian calendar. This Gregorian calendar year of 2019, the Jewish date begins on Saturday, August 10 and ends at sundown on Sunday, August 11th.

The 9th of Av is a day of mourning in Israel. Tragedy came about because of the account of Numbers 13-14. This event occurred immediately after God had delivered Israel out of bondage in Egypt. The short story is the Lord told Moses to send a group of spies to go scout the Promised Land. The spies came back and proclaimed the Jews could not take the land because of the inhabitants of the land were too big and too strong. The people rebelled against Moses. The people stated they would rather go back to Egypt. The nation (except Caleb and Joshua) did not believe God to give them the Promised Land. We know it occurred during the grape harvest per the text (Numbers 13:20). This event is said to have occurred on the 9th of Av. God pronounced judgment on the nation at that time. And this date is said to be a reminder of nation Israel’s lack of faith in God.

Here is a list of Jewish history on the 9th of Av/Tisha B `Av.

  1. 586 BC, the first Temple was destroyed.
  2. 70 AD, the second Temple was destroyed.
  3. 135 AD, Betar fell. It was the last fortress to hold out against the Romans during the Bar Kochba revolt.
  4. 136 AD, one year after the fall of Betar, the Temple area was plowed.
  5. 1290 AD, Jews were expelled from England.
  6. 1492 AD, King Ferdinand of Spain issued the expulsion decree, setting Tisha B’Av as the final date by which not a single Jew would be allowed to walk on Spanish soil.
  7. 1914 AD, World War I began the downward slide to the Holocaust.
  8. 2005 AD, Israel turns over the Gaza Strip.

~

The following is from the Temple Institute in Jerusalem.

People Get Ready!!!

The vision of the rebuilt Holy Temple in Jerusalem is the hope of all mankind and unites the family of man. People get ready! It is time to rebuild and transform mourning into preparation for the glory of the future.

https://www.templeinstitute.org/

Isaiah 2:2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it…

Breaking… California Earthquake

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Earthquakes/Volcanoes, Isaiah, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , on July 6, 2019 by paulthepoke

Luke 21:11a There will be great earthquakes… -Jesus

Developing Story…

Ridgecrest, CA: A 7.1 magnitude quake has occurred on Friday evening at 8:19 p.m. This trembler comes on the heels of a 6.4 magnitude quake that happened the day before on Thursday.

USGS

Ridgecrest is located about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles and about 230 miles west of Las Vegas. Ridgecrest has a population of about 27,000 people.

Click on the video from Twitter https://twitter.com/jedent

Fires are reported in the Ridgecrest area. Highway damage was noted from the quake on July 4th. Injuries are indicated.

Highway 178 Closed

This is a preview of what Isaiah says is to come. See Isaiah 24-27 for complete details of the end times geological scenario in Isaiah’s Apocalypse.

Isaiah 24:19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.

Middle East Super Highway

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah with tags , , , , on May 19, 2019 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 19:23-25 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

There will come a time when there will be a public road that connects Africa to the Middle East. The road will go through Israel. There will be a peaceful flow of travel between ancient Assyria to modern day Egypt. Even more amazing, the Egyptians and the Assyrians will worship the God of Israel.

So where is Assyria? Ancient Assyria was at the height of its power during the time of Isaiah. It was the world superpower of the time. The most fertile and densely populated part of Assyria lay east of the central river Tigris which is near modern day Baghdad, Iraq. Most of the population lived in country towns.

Ancient Assyrian Empire

Geographical boundaries were as follows. The Assyrian empire stretched from Egypt on the west to Persia (modern day Iran) on the east and from the Persian Gulf on the south to Anatolia (modern day western Turkey) on the north. This is essentially the Middle East as we know it today (May 2019). Information is noted from New Unger’s Bible Dictionary and Logos Bible Atlas.

During the time of Isaiah (approximately 700 years before Christ), these two countries (Egypt and Assyria) had caused nothing but angst for Israel. The countries flank Israel on the east and the west. Israel was stuck in the middle.

Notice what the text says regarding Israel. They are blessing in the middle of the earth or “erets”. The Hebrew word for earth is erets. It could mean the land in this context or the totality of the earth.

This would have been an incredible prophecy to the Jewish people of the day (incredible for today as well in May 2019). From the perspective of Israel, two major ancient enemies are going to get along with them in peace. And they are going to worship the God of Israel with them.

Finally, real peace on earth.

Fulfilling Hagar’s Promise

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , on May 12, 2019 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 19:22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and He will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

The concept of “striking” in the verse is noted consistently with idea of war or battle. The vast majority of times, the word for “striking” is nagaph in the Hebrew.  Nagaph is to win the battle. In Ye Olde English… smote or smite. Someone gets smacked. See an example below.

2 Chronicles 25:22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home.

Somebody is going to be defeated and in this case it is Egypt. Now the loss is not intended to be permanent. God has purpose and He is the One directing history. The intent is to bring Egypt towards Him. 

Twice in Isaiah 19:22, God states He will rapha or “heal” Egypt.

…and they will return to the LORD… The verb in question is “return” or shab in the Hebrew. It means: to turn back, return. So this begs the question, “When was Egypt ever with the Lord?” Return to the Lord? Really…

This is the fulfillment of a promise to Hagar, an Egyptian.

Genesis 16:3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

As the story goes, Abram fathered a son with Hagar, Ishmael. And there was this prophecy from the Angel of the Lord.

Genesis 16:11-12 And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

God listened to Hagar. And the name Ishmael means “God hears”. God always reminds us with the name Ishmael, He hears Ishmael. And frequently after God calls Ishmael (God Hears) by his name, He states, “I have heard you…” God always hears Ishmael.

Definitions provided by Strong’s Concordance. 

God has always heard and watched over Ishmael, even after Hagar and he were kicked out of their home with Abraham.

Wikimedia Commons

Genesis 21:17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

God has never left the descendants of Hagar and Ishmael. He has always watched over them and still has a promise of hope for them today.

Genesis 21:20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.

God promised to make a great nation from the line of Ishmael. Granted, this is the birth of the Arab people. But, Ishmael is the descendant of an Egyptian.

Genesis 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 21:18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

And Ishmael (half Egyptian) married an Egyptian woman. His offspring were ¾ Egyptian.

Genesis 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

God is not finished with the Egyptian people. He still hears them today. Approximately 4,100 years ago, God made a promise to the Egyptian people. And He always keeps His promises.

…and He will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

Hebrew Altar in Egypt

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , on May 4, 2019 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 19:21 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD near its border.

At some point in the future there will be a structure of worship, an altar to the God of Israel in the middle of Egypt. This is an incredible statement.

Imagine what would happen if one would go over to Egypt at this time in history (May 2019) and try to build an altar to some god other than Allah. I don’t think that would be well received or tolerated. Note the location of the altar, it will be in the middle of Egypt. The Hebrew word for midst is tavek. It means among or middle.

It would appear the pillar is a second and different structure than the altar based on grammar. It is placed on the border, which border?

screencapture-google-maps-place-Cairo-Cairo-Governorate-Egypt-29-935436-31-2946245-7-33z-data-4m5-3m4-1s0x14583fa60b21beeb-0x79dfb296e8423bba-8m2-3d30-0444196-4d31-2357116-2019-05-04-08_10_26

Ancient Egypt was divided into Upper (area in southern Egypt) and Lower (area in the north) Egypt. The terminology upper and lower is based on the flow of the Nile. The Nile flows from upper elevations in the south to lower elevations in the north. The border between the two areas is roughly modern day Cairo or near Giza and the Great Pyramid. Generally, the pharaoh of Egypt was leader of both Upper and Lower regions.

The other possible border would be the one Israel and Egypt share.

altar-model-10

There needs to be a point of comparison between the two nouns altar and pillar. Note that altar (mizbeach) is a masculine noun and pillar (matstsebah) is a feminine noun. The gender of the two nouns is an issue because of the pronoun that begins the next verse, “It”. In the Hebrew, “It” is a masculine pronoun. It would stand to reason that ties it to the masculine noun altar (mizbeach).

The altar is in the middle of Egypt. The pillar could be on the border of Israel/Egypt or the border of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Isaiah 19:22 It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them.

The altar will be a signal to the LORD. So there is no confusion, the altar is in the middle of Egypt. Believing Egyptians will cry out to the God of Israel at that time. The idea of oppression is “being squeezed” in the Hebrew. God hears them and sends them One who will deliver and save. One who is exceedingly and abundantly great and strong. Guess who?

He is coming again…

Egypt Will Fear Israel… God’s Will

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2019 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 19:17 The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is purposing against them.

Who and where is the land of Judah? Judah is a son of Jacob/Israel from Genesis. The lineage of Judah becomes the Tribe of Judah (Genesis 46, 49).  Jesus is from this tribe and is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). This tribe is synonymous with the southern kingdom in the day of Isaiah. It is modern day southern Israel, the area which shares a border with Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

From previous verses in Isaiah 19, we know the Nile River is dry during this time. The text does not say if the cause is by drought or if water is being withheld by a dam or whatever. Time will tell. The following is food for thought in the event the waters of Nile are restrained by the dam.

Aswan Dam

Recently as 2009, Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has stirred controversy with comments about Arab citizens and Egypt. Liberman once suggested Egypt’s Aswan Dam might be bombed. In 2008, he told Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian President at that time, “Go to hell!”

Now if Israel is threatening to bomb the Aswan Dam, this would most certainly cause fear, dread, and terror. The concept of the verse is reeling in terror. This would effectively flood and wipe out Egypt.

…because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is purposing against them.

God is the One imposing fear on Egypt. Granted, God has many options at His disposal in regards to stirring up fear. He has plagues, weather, darkness (Exodus) just to mention a few.  I am not suggesting or claiming to know the mind or purpose of God. It does not say. The scenario is worth noting in today’s geo-political climate. God can absolutely plant an idea or emotion into the mind of a country’s psyche (see Ezekiel 38, 39 with Gog; note Pharaoh and his hardened heart in Exodus).

There is also the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). As of April 2019, the dam is about 2/3 complete. The dam is expected to be finished in 2022. Egypt is expressing concern about their neighbors in Ethiopia up river withholding water. The Egyptians are discussing “dire humanitarian consequences” of the completion of the GERD. Ethiopia expects to block 19.5 trillion gallons (74 billion cubic meters) of Nile River water behind the dam. The Nile River is the definitive source of life for Egypt. This is an insane amount of water not going to Egypt.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1470516/middle-east

Plausible scenario: Egypt wiped out and flooded by waters withheld by destruction of the Aswan Dam. Nile River goes dry in Egypt by waters withheld by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

See the link below for articles related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

https://paulthepoke.com/?s=grand+ethiopian

~

Isaiah 19:18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.

There are all kinds of speculation and conjecture as to the symbolism or meaning of the five cities noted in this verse. Some commentators are looking for a hidden meaning. Some are seeking spiritual significance of the number five. Some are allegorizing the number of cities.

I am going to take God at His word and believe that He says what He means. There will be five cities in Egypt where those residents will speak Hebrew. Hearts in Egypt will change. Those people in those five cities will be committed to the God of the Bible.

One of those cities is named. The name of that city is debated with legitimate scholarship, not speculation or allegorical interpretation. The argument lies in which text. Here are the considerations.

The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV).

The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa (Dead Sea Scrolls) and some medieval Hebrew manuscripts read   עִיר הָחֶרֶס (ir hakheres, “City of the Sun,” i.e., Heliopolis). This reading also finds support from Symmachus’ Greek version, the Targum (Aramaic translation of the Bible), and the Vulgate (Latin translation of the Bible).

FYI, Heliopolis is located in northern Egypt on the Nile River where it branches into multiple rivers and streams.

I trust at some point in the future this city name will be clarified and make sense.

Make no mistake. God is in control. Egyptian hearts will turn to the Hebrew God of the Bible.

A Spirit of Drunkenness

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah with tags , , on March 24, 2019 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 19:14 The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

As a point of review, it is the LORD who is making all of these events happen. Based on the Hebrew grammar and language, some would argue it is the Spirit of the Lord who is influencing the Egyptians. The text tells how this is happening. The idiomatic language in the verse drives home the point. It is God who is pouring and mixing the distortion, perversion, and warping the Egyptians. The country has no clue what it is doing.

Their actions are consistent with a drunk who staggers in his vomit. The Bible is not boring. It tells of people partying like rock stars 2,700 years ago and beyond. There were people back in the day who had tiger blood. I am sure some of them had Adonis DNA. The Egyptians dabbled in the occult (see Exodus with Moses and the plagues). Some of them were “warlocks” if you will. So those who boast of their partying prowess, sorry you are just not that fresh. The Bible reports there have been fools doing this for centuries. God practically and accurately points out this behavior leads to poor decisions and causes one to wander about.

Isaiah 19:15 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

More review from God. Unemployment is the reminder, no work. It does not matter who you are, what socioeconomic class one belongs, there will be no work.

Figurative language could also prove a point. Scripture answers the riddle of the “head or tail” and “palm branch or reed”. The answer comes from earlier in the book of Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9:14-15 So the LORD cuts off head and tail from Israel, both palm branch and bulrush in a single day. The head is the elder and honorable man, and the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.

Again, it does not matter your lot in life in Egypt. One could be a person of character. Or one could be a religious con man. There will be no work for you. The source of income and life, the Nile River, is dry.

And this is God’s will. He wants people to turn to Him.

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