Isaiah Chapter 61 "Messiah in Person." This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org Isaiah Chapter 59 concerned the First Advent or coming of Messiah, while Isaiah Chapter 60 dealt with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and His Millennium kingdom, and flowed right past the judgment and into the eternal Kingdom. Now in Isaiah Chapter 61:1, 2 it will tie both of those chapters together at one time. Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;" This is prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. The word "Christ means the "Anointed". The purpose for Jesus Christ coming to teach is to present the Gospel of Christ to the meek, which is to say, "to those that will listen". Father hath sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth to bind up and heal those bodies that are broken as shards of pottery. Christ can put the broken pieces back together physically or spiritually. He can take those souls that have no hope and place within them a hope that is eternal. To proclaim liberty to the captives deals not only with those that are held captive by the world, but also to those that were captive before Christ paid the price. Our Heavenly Father is always fair, in that if He made something available to you, you can be sure that that same opportunity has been made available to everyone, all the way back to Noah and Adam. Up until Christ paid the price on the cross, the simple salvation by faith, and repentance in Jesus name was not available to those that lived prior to that time. The faith that pulled you through prior to Jesus Christ's death on the cross, was through the law, for it was the law that you were judged by. Any time a person broke one of those laws then, they were separated from God and were in trouble. In part this is also as it is today, however today there is freedom from the guilt of sin through repentance in Jesus name. Peter talked about this in I Peter 3:18-20, that Christ while in the tomb, went to those that were bound prisoners, all the way back to Noah, [which is a figure of speach meaning the beginning]. I Peter 3:18 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, that Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" I Peter 3:19 "By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison," These "spirits in prison" are the souls of the people that had died and their soul were in a place of holding for this day. When Jesus preached to these souls, many accepted and came out of that place and were saved. I Peter 3:20 "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, eight souls were saved by water." Jesus gave each of those souls that lived and died in the flesh before He went to the cross the same opportunity to hear and accept as we have today. God made available to every child of His the opporunity to choose for themselves. Once the gospel has been presented to any individual it is up to them whether they will accept or not. He will never force anyone to accept Him. However at the end of the Millennium age, and after judgment God has reserved a place for Satan and all those that follow him and that place is called Hell. In verse one, God leveled the playing field so that every one had the same opportunity. Isaiah 61:2 "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;" This is another duty of the Messiah when He came came in the first advent, "to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord". When we read Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 Jesus is proclaiming the acceptable year of His return, and those events that happen surrounding His return. This applies to Jesus' First Advent, where as the rest of the verse, "the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;" is concerning His second advent. Christ's vengeance does not come until His second advent. Jesus spoke these words in Luke 4:18, 19. Luke 4:17 "And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias [Isaiah 61:1]. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written," Luke 4:18 ""The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised," "He hath anointed me", the word "Christ" means the "Anointed One". The poor are the poor in spirit, those hungering for the gospel of Christ. Jesus Christ will preach deliverance to the captive immediately after the crucifixion and resurrection, then the spiritual eyes of many are opened to the truths of God's Word. It doesn't matter what has happened to you, Christ can set you at liberty for those bonds that hold you down, such as divorce, the loss of loved ones, or even when it seems like the whole world is against you. In Christ you become a new creature, and your salvation comes by our faith in Him and the repentance of your sins in Jesus name. Jesus Christ is our credentials before the throne of God, for the blood of Christ paid the price to give you that right, when you accept it. Then it gives you a destiny and purpose for living. Luke 4:19 "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Notice that Jesus ended His reading half way through the verse, and He did not go on to say; "and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;" and the rest of Isaiah 61. Jesus did not state those things because that is not the reason that He came to earth in the First Advent. There is a gap in this sentence between the two advents or comings of our Lord. Jesus came to earth at the first advent to pay the price whereby you and I as sinners, could come to Him in repentance, and can find perfection in Him. Though we are not perfect, that part of Him that is in us, is perfect. Jesus was quoting from this verse in Isaiah 61:1, 2, and that part of the schripture had been fulfilled. Luke 4:20 "And he closed the book and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down, And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him." Luke 4:21 "And He began to say unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Jesus Christ told them that the reason that He could only read this far is that in His first advent, this would be the only part of Isaiah's prophecy that would be fulfilled. So these verses have what is termed as the gap theory, because there is a gap between the "acceptable year of the Lord", and "The day of vengeance of our God." That day of vengeance naturally falls on the day that Jesus Christ shall return to this earth and set up His Millennium Kingdom. Isaiah gives us the prophecy of the two comings of Christ, while Luke 4:18-21 gives us the documentation of that prophecy being fulfilled. Isaiah 61:3 "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." All the events that shall take place in the Millennium age kingdom, will be done for one reason, that Jesus Christ may be glorified. In the Millennium age, those that had the spirit of slumber upon them will be set free from those blinders, and all of God's Word will be revealed to them. Then out of the ashes of this earth age of the flesh, we will see the true beauty of Christ, and all those things that held us in bondage will be gone. Many are going to be saved out of this earth age of the flesh, however there will be many more that will see the truth and be saved in the Millennium age. This shall be done so that our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you. This sets into action that any sinner, poor and miserable sinner can become a son of the King, a child of the living God by simply loving Him. It is through you acceptance of Him and the change in your life that God is glorified. Now in verse four, according to the outline, the restoration will begin. The restoration is the making things ready for the eternity. The selection of those that will be part of it, and we will be able to see the rewards that you earn today, that will come to you after the Millennium and judgment day. For those in their flesh bodies that do not worship the Antichrist, the rewards are part of judgment, if you have them coming. Isaiah 61:4 "And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generation." This is to say that those old deserted cities of this age of the flesh will be restored. This is talking about the heavenly age, that will take place right here on this earth. It will not be off on some distant star of planet. During this new age, things and ways are going to be restored to be as they were in that first earth age [former], prior to the fall of Satan, and the desolation that brought on this age of the flesh. Isaiah 61:5 "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers." This verse is speaking to God's elect, those that stood in that first earth age against Satan's rebellion and were judged then, according to Ephesians 1:4. The elect were also were sealed in their minds during this age of the flesh with the truth of God's Word, and were not deceived by by Satan when he comes in the role of "instead of Christ" [Antichrist]. They are the ones that follow Jesus Christ, and they are the ones that are called "firstfruits". These "strangers" that shall tend to your flocks are foreigners, while the "alien" that do the work are an unknown people. Isaiah 61:6 "But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves." In the Millennium age, the "Elect", shall reap the rewards from all the nations [Gentiles] for they have no lands rewarded to them because the entire earth is their inheritance. In this earth age God protects those that love Him, and in the Millennium Kingdom to come all the glory that comes to our Lord, will be shared with His Elect, who will be priests of the Lord, and ministers of God. Ministers are the ones that plant the seeds of God's Word, that are part of the family. It takes the entire family of God to have a ministry for the Father, because one man cannot do it. Therefore the entire family is bonded together, and becomes a minister of fire. It is no secret that the riches of the nation shall feed this family of God, because there will be only one nation in the Millennium age. That nation will be the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 61:7 "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them." "The double" is the inheritance for all those that are part of the firstfruits, which are the "elect". The analogy of this in our flesh age, is the rights of the first son. When there was no sons in the family, then that right went to the first born daughter. The duties of the first son was to carry on the family business and responsibilities. This required added expense and work and with those duties went an extra portion. This is as it is with our Heavenly Father, and when you become a firstfruit of God, then there are added duties and responsibilities. God is promising you that in His Kingdom you will receive a double portion, and that is guarenteed. It is interesting that the word "everlasting" is used here, for in the Hebrew text it reads, "from ancient", even from before shall this joy be to those that even understood them. The ancient times goes back even into the first earth age. Any time the true meaning of the Scriptures are revealed to anyone, confusion is removed from their minds. It is the understanding of God's overall plan, and the restoration of those souls that fell short at the rebellion of Satan in the first earth age and return those souls back to the Father, and into the family of God. So the double portion to the firstfruits, the elect, is for the service to Father in the work required by Him in the restoring of those souls back into the family. It is of course the persuasion of the Holy Spirit that causes this all to happen, and brings understanding to those rebellious souls. So we see that this everlasting joy, was from the beginning, prior to this age of the flesh and continuing right on into the Millennium age, and into eternity. It is a continuing and non-ending joy. Remember that time has no bearing on our Father, the past the present, and forever are all present with our Father. When you can Spiritually look at our Heavenly Father and see how the passage of time means nothing to Him, then you can see the destiny that you are part of. This is why the Scriptures tell us that that which was, shall happen again. As it was in the beginning shall happen again. Isaiah 61:8 "For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them." God is telling us that He loves things that are right. The bad are discarded while the good are kept for the betterment of the body. This is the reason for the Millennium age, following this age of the flesh, for in that time of restoration the good will take place, and the bad will be separated from the others. God loves judgment; He loves the part of saving the good and destroying the bad. God is saying that He hates those that plunder the burnt offering. You rob God and plunder His offerings when you claim to be a church, and plunder the people. They are fake ministers that go around saying they are of God, yet they live and teach against the ways of God. They bring in their false doctrines and traditions of men that go against His Word. They are the men and women in the black robes pretending to be ministers of God, when they are nothing but wolves out to steal and kill [deceive] the sheep of God's kingdom. They rip off people in the name of God, and God is telling us that He hates those that do this. This covenant that God has with those that plunder and rob God's people is just as sure as the double portion that the firstfruits have in their double portion. However the covenant that God has made with those robbers is is damnation and hell fire, where their souls are going to be turned into ashes, and even the memory of them will be removed from the minds of their loved ones. Isaiah 61:9 "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed." Here again God is guarenteeing that those that are of His kingdom of all the peoples, and their offspring or children that have an inheritance coming. Have you claimed that inheritance which is rightfully yours? The price has been paid at the cross of Christ, only you have to step up and claim the inheritance that came through the death of our kinsman Redeemer Jesus Christ. Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be foyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." The clothing of salvation that we are to cloth ourselves in is Christ, and the things that He has promised us that He would do when we put on the gospel armor of Ephesians 6:10-20. That clothing includes the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the shoes of preparation of the gospel of peace, a girt of truth around our waist which is the Word of God, the breastplate of righteousness, and topped off with the sword of the Spirit of God, which is also the Word of God. When you put on God's Word in your mind, you then become an inheritor, a blessed one by God. "He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" even though not one of us deserves that covering. We are covered with that righteousness by allowing the blood of Christ cover all of our sins, for when we put on the righteousness of Christ we become perfect in the eyes of God, because we have taken Christ's righteousness to be our own. This comes upon our repenting to the Father in Jesus name, for in Jesus name is the only credentials that we can use to approach the throne of God. We are to prepare ourselves for that wedding that shall come to pass upon the return of our Lord Jesus Christ at the seventh trumpet. Our studies in His Word to prepare for the coming of our Lord should be just a detailed as a bride pays attention to every detail in preparation for her wedding. Her mind is focused on the one that she loves, and every act of preparation for that day is gone over so that there can be no flaw in the events of the day. Friend, if you plan on taking part in that wedding of the bridegroom of Christ, will you have the right garments on and in place for the wedding? From the garment of salvation that covers your head, to the shodding of the right protection for your feet, so that you do not stray into the wrong path and be deceived, it is all important for your preparation. Ephesians 6:18 "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints," Ephesians 6:19 "And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." Ephesians 6:20 "For which I am an ambassador in bonds; that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." The armor is essential if you expect to remain part of the bride of Christ, for it is what gives us the power to speak boldly, and our authority is the Word of God. It is the Spirit of God that gives us the Word's from His Word that we are to utter, as we present His Word boldly. Isaiah 61:11 "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." God is telling us that Messiah is like the rain that falls upon our garden, and when He rains His love, that garden springs forth those wonderful things. When the love of God is poured down on our lives, then His Word and love causes righteousness and praise for Him to spring up in our lives. When we all His love to take over in our lives, and yield to Him and repent from the sins in our lives, then He will bring forth peace of mind in our lives. When God's Word is read and studied and placed in our minds, it is the rain that falls from heaven that shall prepare us for His coming. When the Word of God saturates your mind there is no way to keep it within you, for you then desire to go out and tell other of the joy that has come into your life.
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