Peter and Paul both predict that the “Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10), referring to Jesus’ prediction that the events surrounding his second coming would resemble a thief breaking and entering a house when its owner wasn’t watching (Matthew 24:43). According to the Hebrew prophets, the “Day of the Lord” or “Day of Jehovah” is a worldwide judgment that precedes Jehovah’s coming to reign on the earth (Isaiah 2:12; 13:6, 9; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:31; Amos 5:18). It isn’t Jehovah/Jesus who comes as a thief in the night, therefore, but rather the events associated with his coming.
On the other hand, there is an actual thief who precedes Jehovah’s coming: the end-time “king of Assyria.” As a world conqueror, he robs the world of its wealth, boasting, “I have done it by my own ability and shrewdness, for I am ingenious. I have done away with the borders of nations, I have ravaged their reserves, I have vastly reduced the inhabitants. I have impounded the wealth of peoples like a nest, and I have gathered up the whole world as one gathers abandoned eggs; not one flapped its wings, or opened its mouth to utter a peep” (Isaiah 10:13–14). In the end, however, this archtyrant leaves none of his booty behind (Isaiah 10:12, 15–18, 24–27).
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“My People Are Taken Over without Price!”
Can people disregard the relevance of Isaiah’s prophecy to our day yet suffer no consequences? Can they prepare to deal with the real hardships that lie ahead but with no foreknowledge of them? “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know,” a wise man once said. Isaiah’s use of people and events of the past as types of those that will exist in the future helps us to understand his message. God’s people of Isaiah’s day, for example, form a type of those who claim to be God’s people in the end-time. Applying to ourselves the things Isaiah says, therefore, even the unpleasant ones, will give us so much the advantage when end-time events begin to unfold.
A big part of Isaiah’s prophecy deals with the “Day of Jehovah”—God’s Day of Judgment upon a wicked world. Characterizing that phase of human history is God’s people’s subjection to bondage: “‘My people are taken over without price. Those who govern them act presumptuously,’ says Jehovah ‘and my name is constantly abused all the day’” (Isaiah 52:5). Economic distress—a covenant curse—gives his people’s leaders a chance to subjugate them. Isaiah compares the severity of that subjugation to Israel’s bondage in Egypt and servitude to Assyria (Isaiah 52:4). Things will get that bad, in other words, before Jehovah comes to reign (Isaiah 52:8–10).
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A big part of Isaiah’s prophecy deals with the “Day of Jehovah”—God’s Day of Judgment upon a wicked world. Characterizing that phase of human history is God’s people’s subjection to bondage: “‘My people are taken over without price. Those who govern them act presumptuously,’ says Jehovah ‘and my name is constantly abused all the day’” (Isaiah 52:5). Economic distress—a covenant curse—gives his people’s leaders a chance to subjugate them. Isaiah compares the severity of that subjugation to Israel’s bondage in Egypt and servitude to Assyria (Isaiah 52:4). Things will get that bad, in other words, before Jehovah comes to reign (Isaiah 52:8–10).
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Precious, Semi-Precious, and Common Stones
Stones and metals add to Isaiah’s metaphors that designate people. Even God is called “the Rock of Israel,” “the Rock, your fortress,” “an everlasting Rock” (Isaiah 17:10; 26:4; 30:29). To the reprobates of his people, however, he is “a stumbling stone or an obstructing rock” (Isaiah 8:14). When the people of Ephraim and their leaders scoff and deceive themselves and God’s judgments are about to come upon them, God “lays in Zion a stone, a keystone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation” (Isaiah 28:16). Before Jehovah comes on earth to reign, his watchmen must prepare the way: they must “pave a highway cleared of stones” (Isaiah 62:10–11).
Isaiah uses such imagery to categorize people. Common stones and metals identify people on a low spiritual level, semi-precious on a higher level, and precious on a high level. When God destroys the wicked, for example, he “will make mankind scarcer than fine gold, men more rare than gold of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12). Zion’s children who return from dispersion in an exodus at that time belong in the precious category: “You will adorn yourself with them all as with jewels, bind them on you as does a bride” (Isaiah 49:18). In the millennial age, only precious and semi-precious varieties—“gold,” “silver,” “copper,” and “iron”—will remain (Isaiah 60:17).
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Isaiah uses such imagery to categorize people. Common stones and metals identify people on a low spiritual level, semi-precious on a higher level, and precious on a high level. When God destroys the wicked, for example, he “will make mankind scarcer than fine gold, men more rare than gold of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12). Zion’s children who return from dispersion in an exodus at that time belong in the precious category: “You will adorn yourself with them all as with jewels, bind them on you as does a bride” (Isaiah 49:18). In the millennial age, only precious and semi-precious varieties—“gold,” “silver,” “copper,” and “iron”—will remain (Isaiah 60:17).
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“Forests” and “Trees” Are Cities and People
Just as “mountains” and “hills” may mean “nations” or “kingdoms” in the Book of Isaiah, so “forests” and “trees” may mean “cities” and “people.” A literal and metaphorical meaning may apply. Isaiah thus reveals more than meets the eye. He establishes such dual meanings by using synonymous parallel statements, as in Isaiah 32:19: “By a hail shall forests be felled, cities utterly leveled.” Or by simile, as in Isaiah 7:2: “The king’s mind and the minds of his people were shaken, as trees in a forest are shaken by a gale.” “Rivers,” too, may refer to rivers of people, as in Isaiah 18:2: “A people continually infringing, whose rivers have annexed their lands.”
Note how the king of Assyria recounts his world conquest: “Because of my vast chariotry I have conquered the highest mountains, the farthest reaches of Lebanon. I have felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses. I have reached its loftiest summit, its finest forest. I have dug wells and drunk of foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all Egypt’s rivers!” (Isaiah 37:24–25). When the tyrant passes away, “the pine trees rejoice over you, as do the cedars of Lebanon: ‘Since you have been laid low, no hewer has risen against us!’” (Isaiah 14:8). Those who rebuild are “called oaks of righteousness, planted by Jehovah for his glory” (Isaiah 61:3–4).
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Note how the king of Assyria recounts his world conquest: “Because of my vast chariotry I have conquered the highest mountains, the farthest reaches of Lebanon. I have felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses. I have reached its loftiest summit, its finest forest. I have dug wells and drunk of foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all Egypt’s rivers!” (Isaiah 37:24–25). When the tyrant passes away, “the pine trees rejoice over you, as do the cedars of Lebanon: ‘Since you have been laid low, no hewer has risen against us!’” (Isaiah 14:8). Those who rebuild are “called oaks of righteousness, planted by Jehovah for his glory” (Isaiah 61:3–4).
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Isaiah’s Apocalyptic Vision of the End-Time
By characterizing his book as a single “vision” (Isaiah 1:1) and claiming to “foretell the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10), Isaiah is evidently giving his own interpretive guidelines that he expects readers to follow. If they don’t, very likely they won’t understand his message. Indeed, synchronous holistic literary structures in the Book of Isaiah, such as Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure, require readers to view his book synchronously or as depicting a single scenario. Although grounded in historical events that occurred in Isaiah’s day and shortly thereafter, such events, without taking away from their historical origins, additionally portend end-time events.
But how did Isaiah come to have such an amazing apocalyptic vision? And how was he able to use historical events so selectively that they foreshadow such an end-time scenario? One answer may be that he lived in a portentous time of history, when many world events paralleled events that would occur in the end-time. Another may be that after serving forty years as a prophet from the time Jehovah appointed him (Isaiah 6) he had an apocalyptic vision in which he saw to the end of time (Isaiah 40). Assigned a new role, one similar to the seraphs who had ministered to him, Isaiah wrote new prophecies and reworked former ones into a single end-time “vision.”
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But how did Isaiah come to have such an amazing apocalyptic vision? And how was he able to use historical events so selectively that they foreshadow such an end-time scenario? One answer may be that he lived in a portentous time of history, when many world events paralleled events that would occur in the end-time. Another may be that after serving forty years as a prophet from the time Jehovah appointed him (Isaiah 6) he had an apocalyptic vision in which he saw to the end of time (Isaiah 40). Assigned a new role, one similar to the seraphs who had ministered to him, Isaiah wrote new prophecies and reworked former ones into a single end-time “vision.”
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King Ahaz’ Response to Assyria’s Hegemony
Neo-Assyrian expansion in the ancient Near East commences its most aggressive phase under Tiglath-Pileser III (747–727 B.C.). His incursions into Syria and Palestine put on edge local kings such as Ahaz who ruled Judah. Syria’s King Rezin and the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s King Pekah seek to bring Judah into an alliance against Assyria’s domination of the Levant. Ahaz’ refusal leads to these kings’ military incursion into Judea and their slaughter of Ahaz’ people (2 Kings 16:5; 2 Chronicles 28:5–7). Isaiah notes Ahaz’ fear: “The king’s mind and the minds of his people were shaken, as trees in a forest are shaken by a gale” (Isaiah 7:2).
Instead of joining the northern kings’ alliance against Assyria, Ahaz appeals to Tiglath-Pileser to come and deliver him from them. By calling himself Tiglath-Pileser’s “servant and son,” paying him tribute moneys with the temple’s gold and silver, he makes himself his vassal (2 Kings 16:7–8). Isaiah’s version of these events in the second part of his Seven-Part Structure (Isaiah 6–8; 36–40) is limited to structurally contrasting Ahaz’ disloyal response to Israel’s God under the terms of the Davidic Covenant with King Hezekiah’s loyal response at a similar incidence of Assyrian aggression a generation later. To Isaiah, history serves a typological purpose.
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Instead of joining the northern kings’ alliance against Assyria, Ahaz appeals to Tiglath-Pileser to come and deliver him from them. By calling himself Tiglath-Pileser’s “servant and son,” paying him tribute moneys with the temple’s gold and silver, he makes himself his vassal (2 Kings 16:7–8). Isaiah’s version of these events in the second part of his Seven-Part Structure (Isaiah 6–8; 36–40) is limited to structurally contrasting Ahaz’ disloyal response to Israel’s God under the terms of the Davidic Covenant with King Hezekiah’s loyal response at a similar incidence of Assyrian aggression a generation later. To Isaiah, history serves a typological purpose.
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The Harlot Babylon—Anti-Ideal for Women
In opposition to the Woman Zion in the Book of Isaiah appears the harlot Babylon. Besides representing a wicked world, she exemplifies the undesirable traits of womanhood and serves as a kind of anti-ideal or false model. Completely engrossed in herself, she manipulates those who inhabit her world, including the Woman Zion, to serve her selfish purpose: “I was provoked by my people, so I let my inheritance be defiled. I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy; even the aged you weighed down heavily with your yoke. You thought, ‘I, the Eternal Mistress, exist forever!’ and did not consider these, or remember her final destiny” (Isaiah 47:6–7).
As her domination of her environment increases, she begins to rival God, so God punishes her: “Secure in your wickedness, you thought, ‘No one discerns me.’ By your skill and science you were led astray, thinking to yourself, ‘I exist, and there is none besides me!’ Catastrophe shall overtake you, which you shall not know how to avert by bribes; disaster shall befall you from which you cannot ransom yourself: there shall come upon you sudden ruin such as you have not imagined” (Isaiah 47:10–11). In Isaiah’s structural model of a Greater Babylon, those of God’s people who possess her dictatorial traits form an integral part of Babylon and thus suffer her fate.
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As her domination of her environment increases, she begins to rival God, so God punishes her: “Secure in your wickedness, you thought, ‘No one discerns me.’ By your skill and science you were led astray, thinking to yourself, ‘I exist, and there is none besides me!’ Catastrophe shall overtake you, which you shall not know how to avert by bribes; disaster shall befall you from which you cannot ransom yourself: there shall come upon you sudden ruin such as you have not imagined” (Isaiah 47:10–11). In Isaiah’s structural model of a Greater Babylon, those of God’s people who possess her dictatorial traits form an integral part of Babylon and thus suffer her fate.
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Israel from National to Universal to Individual
One of several layered holistic literary structures of the Book of Isaiah—one based on Egyptian narrative patterns—divides the book into Trouble at Home (Isaiah 1–39), Exile Abroad (Isaiah 40–54), and Happy Homecoming (Isaiah 55–66). These three different historical settings, rather than being grounds for multiple authors of the Book of Isaiah, demonstrate its literary integrity and show it to be the work of a single author, a prophet–poet who saw to the end of time. Coinciding with this literary division, Israel appears as a national entity in Isaiah 1–39, as a universal entity in Isaiah 40–54, and as an entity comprised of certain individuals in Isaiah 55–66.
It is a national Israel—Israel still in its homeland—that finds itself in trouble for breaking the terms of God’s covenant. Israel’s exile abroad occurs as a consequence of its apostasy. However, all is not lost. Dispersion among and assimilation into the nations of the world has the effect of refining God’s people and renewing their cognizance of Israel’s spiritual heritage. Additionally, it provides a chance for the nations of the world to enter into God’s covenant together with Israel’s natural lineages. In the end, those who return and reconstitute a new nation of Israel called Zion consist of righteous individuals who come out of all nations, kindreds, and peoples.
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It is a national Israel—Israel still in its homeland—that finds itself in trouble for breaking the terms of God’s covenant. Israel’s exile abroad occurs as a consequence of its apostasy. However, all is not lost. Dispersion among and assimilation into the nations of the world has the effect of refining God’s people and renewing their cognizance of Israel’s spiritual heritage. Additionally, it provides a chance for the nations of the world to enter into God’s covenant together with Israel’s natural lineages. In the end, those who return and reconstitute a new nation of Israel called Zion consist of righteous individuals who come out of all nations, kindreds, and peoples.
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Excerpt - Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah by Avraham Gileadi, Ph.D.
1:3 The ox knows its owner, the ass its master’s stall, but Israel does not know; my people are insensible.
Israel . . . my people. We learn from Isaiah’s multi-layered literary structures that Isaiah speaks on two distinct levels simultaneously, and that the “Israel” he addresses, therefore, is primarily two: (1) those who were Jehovah’s covenant people anciently; and (2) those who are Jehovah’s covenant people in the end-time. Accordingly, Isaiah’s linear structures enable us to read his prophecy as relating to Israel’s past, while his synchronous structures enable us to read it as relating to the end-time. In that end-time context, names such as “Israel” designate those who have covenanted with Israel’s God.
The ox . . . the ass. Whereas the ox is a ritually clean animal—because it divides the hoof and chews the cud (Leviticus 11:3)—the ass is not. Such dual imagery of beasts at times appears in Isaiah’s writings to represent (1) Israel’s natural or ethnic lineages; and (2) the nations of the Gentiles, or those lineages of Israel that assimilated into the Gentiles after its exile from the Promised Land. In an allegorical but not a contextual sense, therefore, this implies that Jehovah acknowledges a covenant relationship with both Israel’s ethnic lineages and those lineages that assimilated into the Gentiles.
The ox knows . . . Israel does not know. The verb “to know” (yad‘a) is a theological term that expresses an intact covenant relationship—as when Adam “knew” his wife Eve and she conceived and bore a son (Genesis 4:1). Israel’s “not knowing,” on the other hand, implies that Jehovah’s people have broken the covenant with their God or voided their relationship with him (cf. Matthew 7:23). Although righteous individuals among them may come to know Jehovah personally—as he manifests himself to those who love him—in this case most appear unwilling to do what it takes (cf. Matthew 25:12).
My people are insensible. As the negative reflexive verb “insensible” (lo’ hitbonan) (also “undiscerning” or “uncomprehending”) parallels “not knowing” Jehovah—his people’s owner and master—and “not knowing” the stall or institution he provides to feed his people, it connotes a disintegration of their covenant relationship with him and ignorance of spiritual truths. Says Paul, “The things of God no man knows but the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11). Unless one obtains the Spirit of God that comes with keeping the law of his covenant, it is impossible to know God or to comprehend his truth.
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Israel . . . my people. We learn from Isaiah’s multi-layered literary structures that Isaiah speaks on two distinct levels simultaneously, and that the “Israel” he addresses, therefore, is primarily two: (1) those who were Jehovah’s covenant people anciently; and (2) those who are Jehovah’s covenant people in the end-time. Accordingly, Isaiah’s linear structures enable us to read his prophecy as relating to Israel’s past, while his synchronous structures enable us to read it as relating to the end-time. In that end-time context, names such as “Israel” designate those who have covenanted with Israel’s God.
The ox . . . the ass. Whereas the ox is a ritually clean animal—because it divides the hoof and chews the cud (Leviticus 11:3)—the ass is not. Such dual imagery of beasts at times appears in Isaiah’s writings to represent (1) Israel’s natural or ethnic lineages; and (2) the nations of the Gentiles, or those lineages of Israel that assimilated into the Gentiles after its exile from the Promised Land. In an allegorical but not a contextual sense, therefore, this implies that Jehovah acknowledges a covenant relationship with both Israel’s ethnic lineages and those lineages that assimilated into the Gentiles.
The ox knows . . . Israel does not know. The verb “to know” (yad‘a) is a theological term that expresses an intact covenant relationship—as when Adam “knew” his wife Eve and she conceived and bore a son (Genesis 4:1). Israel’s “not knowing,” on the other hand, implies that Jehovah’s people have broken the covenant with their God or voided their relationship with him (cf. Matthew 7:23). Although righteous individuals among them may come to know Jehovah personally—as he manifests himself to those who love him—in this case most appear unwilling to do what it takes (cf. Matthew 25:12).
My people are insensible. As the negative reflexive verb “insensible” (lo’ hitbonan) (also “undiscerning” or “uncomprehending”) parallels “not knowing” Jehovah—his people’s owner and master—and “not knowing” the stall or institution he provides to feed his people, it connotes a disintegration of their covenant relationship with him and ignorance of spiritual truths. Says Paul, “The things of God no man knows but the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11). Unless one obtains the Spirit of God that comes with keeping the law of his covenant, it is impossible to know God or to comprehend his truth.
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Key Words for Isaiah Believers
Word Links: Repeated terms, intentionally embedded in a text, that connect ideas and contexts and elucidate their message and meaning.
The King of Assyria/Babylon—An Antichrist
Isaiah’s version of an end-time Antichrist is the king of Assyria/Babylon, whom Isaiah portrays as a composite of types. That is, he combines several precedents of ancient tyrannical rulers to project a single end-time one—an all-time archtyrant. Setting a precedent for world conquerors from the North are the kings of Assyria (Isaiah 10:5–14; 37:18, 21–27). To that type, Isaiah adds the “king of Babylon,” perhaps the same world conqueror from the North but one who styles himself as a demi-god and exemplifies Babylon’s idolatrous ideology (Isaiah 14:3–21; 47:1–8). Because of the loyalty of God’s righteous people, however, the archtyrant perishes in the end.
Thus, Isaiah predicts that in that day those who survive destruction will rejoice: “How the tyrant has met his end and tyranny ceased! Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of those who ruled—him who with unerring blows struck down the nations in anger, who subdued peoples in his wrath by relentless oppression. Now the whole earth is at rest and at peace; there is jubilant celebration!” (Isaiah 14:4–7); “Those who catch sight of you stare at you, wondering, ‘Is this the man who made the earth shake and kingdoms quake, who turned the world into a wilderness, demolishing its cities, permitting not his captives to return home?’” (Isaiah 14:16–17).
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Thus, Isaiah predicts that in that day those who survive destruction will rejoice: “How the tyrant has met his end and tyranny ceased! Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of those who ruled—him who with unerring blows struck down the nations in anger, who subdued peoples in his wrath by relentless oppression. Now the whole earth is at rest and at peace; there is jubilant celebration!” (Isaiah 14:4–7); “Those who catch sight of you stare at you, wondering, ‘Is this the man who made the earth shake and kingdoms quake, who turned the world into a wilderness, demolishing its cities, permitting not his captives to return home?’” (Isaiah 14:16–17).
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Excerpt - Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah by Avraham Gileadi, Ph.D.
62:10–11 Pass on, go through gates; prepare the way for the people! Excavate, pave a highway cleared of stones; raise the ensign to the nations! Jehovah has made proclamation to the end of the earth: Tell the Daughter of Zion, See, your Salvation comes, his reward with him, his work preceding him.
As Jehovah’s raising his ensign to the nations takes effect and those who repent return in the new exodus to Zion (Isaiah 11:10–12, 15–16; 18:3; 49:22), Jehovah comes to dwell there (Isaiah 12:1–6; 40:10–11; 59:20). The servant’s “work”—of preparing the way of holiness among them (Isaiah 35:8–10; 40:3–5; 49:11–12)—leads to Jehovah’s “rewarding” them at his coming (Isaiah 35:4; 40:10; 61:8). Those who fail to repent, on the other hand—common “stones” that clutter the ground (Isaiah 5:2; 45:9; 57:14)—are cut off from being Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 48:18–19; 50:10–11; 65:11–12).
Parallel depictions of “the Daughter of Zion” and “the end of the earth” signify that at the time Jehovah raises up his servant or “ensign to the nations” to announce his coming and to gather his people (Isaiah 11:10–12; 49:22; 52:7) many are scattered to the ends of the earth. Jehovah’s descent phase of atoning for humanity’s transgressions—(1) on the model of a vassal who answers for the disloyalties of his people to the emperor; and (2) in the pattern of an animal’s sacrifice for sin (Isaiah 43:12, 25; 44:22; 53:4–10)—now bears fruit as he comes as the personification of salvation in his ascent phase.
62:12 They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of Jehovah; and you shall be known as in demand, a city never deserted.
Parallelism of “the redeemed of Jehovah” and “the holy people” shows that the redemption of Jehovah’s people isn’t complete until they emulate his holiness. Only then does the Holy One of Israel, their Redeemer (Isaiah 41:14; 47:4; 48:17; 54:5), bring to fruition his redemptive work among them. To that end, the covenants he made with them from the beginning—the Sinai, Davidic, and Abrahamic Covenants—provide successive vehicles through which his people and individuals may attain greater degrees of holiness and ascend to higher spiritual categories (Isaiah 4:2–3; 24:16; 52:1–2, 13; 60:14).
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As Jehovah’s raising his ensign to the nations takes effect and those who repent return in the new exodus to Zion (Isaiah 11:10–12, 15–16; 18:3; 49:22), Jehovah comes to dwell there (Isaiah 12:1–6; 40:10–11; 59:20). The servant’s “work”—of preparing the way of holiness among them (Isaiah 35:8–10; 40:3–5; 49:11–12)—leads to Jehovah’s “rewarding” them at his coming (Isaiah 35:4; 40:10; 61:8). Those who fail to repent, on the other hand—common “stones” that clutter the ground (Isaiah 5:2; 45:9; 57:14)—are cut off from being Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 48:18–19; 50:10–11; 65:11–12).
Parallel depictions of “the Daughter of Zion” and “the end of the earth” signify that at the time Jehovah raises up his servant or “ensign to the nations” to announce his coming and to gather his people (Isaiah 11:10–12; 49:22; 52:7) many are scattered to the ends of the earth. Jehovah’s descent phase of atoning for humanity’s transgressions—(1) on the model of a vassal who answers for the disloyalties of his people to the emperor; and (2) in the pattern of an animal’s sacrifice for sin (Isaiah 43:12, 25; 44:22; 53:4–10)—now bears fruit as he comes as the personification of salvation in his ascent phase.
62:12 They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of Jehovah; and you shall be known as in demand, a city never deserted.
Parallelism of “the redeemed of Jehovah” and “the holy people” shows that the redemption of Jehovah’s people isn’t complete until they emulate his holiness. Only then does the Holy One of Israel, their Redeemer (Isaiah 41:14; 47:4; 48:17; 54:5), bring to fruition his redemptive work among them. To that end, the covenants he made with them from the beginning—the Sinai, Davidic, and Abrahamic Covenants—provide successive vehicles through which his people and individuals may attain greater degrees of holiness and ascend to higher spiritual categories (Isaiah 4:2–3; 24:16; 52:1–2, 13; 60:14).
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Key Words for Isaiah Believers
Earth: The place where humanity lives presently that is destined to experience two transformations, the first paradisiacal, the second celestial.
The Terms “Servant” and “Son” Mean Vassal
Much of our understanding of covenant relationships with God comes from ancient Near Eastern parallels of covenants between emperors and vassal kings. Under the terms of those covenants, a “servant” or “son” identifies a “vassal” to an emperor. As the prophets use this model to define God’s covenants with Israel and with Israel’s kings, we can learn much about how God’s covenants work by comparing them with their ancient Near Eastern counterparts. When the disloyal Jewish King Ahaz, for example, seeks to establish a covenant relationship with the Assyrian emperor Tiglath Pileser, he calls himself the emperor’s “servant” and “son” (2 Kings 16:7).
Although the terms “servant” and “son” both mean “vassal,” an emphasis on the term “son” suggests that a covenant relationship has become unconditional. In other words, after a vassal proves exceedingly loyal to an emperor, the emperor legally adopts him as his own “son.” The vassal’s privileges under the covenant then become “everlasting.” In that light, the goal of covenant keeping with Israel’s God is to prove loyal under all conditions with which he may test his “servant.” Only then does the covenant—whether with his people as a nation or with individuals—become unconditional. Only then do its blessings and privileges become “everlasting.”
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Although the terms “servant” and “son” both mean “vassal,” an emphasis on the term “son” suggests that a covenant relationship has become unconditional. In other words, after a vassal proves exceedingly loyal to an emperor, the emperor legally adopts him as his own “son.” The vassal’s privileges under the covenant then become “everlasting.” In that light, the goal of covenant keeping with Israel’s God is to prove loyal under all conditions with which he may test his “servant.” Only then does the covenant—whether with his people as a nation or with individuals—become unconditional. Only then do its blessings and privileges become “everlasting.”
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Excerpt - Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah by Avraham Gileadi, Ph.D.
5:3–4 Now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and you men of Judea, please judge between me and my vineyard! What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it produce wild grapes?
When Jehovah exposes his people’s actions for what they are, not for what they assume they are, his people are compelled to judge themselves. Although what Jehovah does for them lacks nothing, they fall far short of his rightful expectations. They may indeed be bringing forth fruit, even much fruit, but none of it any good: “Their watchmen are altogether blind and unaware” (Isaiah 56:10); “Their works are worthless” and “amount to nothing” (Isaiah 41:24, 29). Sinking into apostasy, they “have not wrought salvation in the earth” in order that its inhabitants “might not abort” (Isaiah 26:18).
5:5 Let me now inform you what I will do to my vineyard: I will have its hedge removed and let it be burned; I will have its wall broken through and let it be trampled.
Because Jehovah has done for his vineyard all he can possibly do, his people are left without excuse. His response to their permitting the vineyard to become derelict is to remove its “hedge”—his divine protection—and “let it be burned”; to “have its wall broken through”—its defenses violated—and “let it be trampled.” Word links identify the king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah’s fire and sword, as the one who burns and tramples Jehovah’s reprobate people: “I will commission him against a godless nation . . . to tread [them] underfoot like mud in the streets” (Isaiah 10:6; cf. 26:10–11; 34:5–8).
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When Jehovah exposes his people’s actions for what they are, not for what they assume they are, his people are compelled to judge themselves. Although what Jehovah does for them lacks nothing, they fall far short of his rightful expectations. They may indeed be bringing forth fruit, even much fruit, but none of it any good: “Their watchmen are altogether blind and unaware” (Isaiah 56:10); “Their works are worthless” and “amount to nothing” (Isaiah 41:24, 29). Sinking into apostasy, they “have not wrought salvation in the earth” in order that its inhabitants “might not abort” (Isaiah 26:18).
5:5 Let me now inform you what I will do to my vineyard: I will have its hedge removed and let it be burned; I will have its wall broken through and let it be trampled.
Because Jehovah has done for his vineyard all he can possibly do, his people are left without excuse. His response to their permitting the vineyard to become derelict is to remove its “hedge”—his divine protection—and “let it be burned”; to “have its wall broken through”—its defenses violated—and “let it be trampled.” Word links identify the king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah’s fire and sword, as the one who burns and tramples Jehovah’s reprobate people: “I will commission him against a godless nation . . . to tread [them] underfoot like mud in the streets” (Isaiah 10:6; cf. 26:10–11; 34:5–8).
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Key Words for Isaiah Believers
Invasion of the Promised Land: In the Book of Isaiah, Assyria’s invasion of the Promised Land as a type of end-time Assyrian invasion.
Cosmic Cataclysm Prior to the Millennial Age
Isaiah’s method of predicting end-time events based on ancient events includes the idea of cosmic cataclysm. Just as God anciently destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with a hail of fire and brimstone (Genesis 19:24), so he will destroy an end-time Babylon—an idolatrous and wicked world (Isaiah 13:1, 9, 11, 19): “The stars and constellations of the heavens will not shine. When the sun rises, it shall be obscured; nor will the moon give its light. . . . I will cause disturbance in the heavens when the earth is jolted out of place by the anger of Jehovah of Hosts in the day of his blazing wrath” (Isaiah 13:10, 13). Only a few survivors will remain (Isaiah 13:12).
At fault are God’s covenant people, whose apostasy acts as a catalyst for God’s coming Day of Judgment: “The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants: they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, set at nought the ancient covenant” (Isaiah 24:5). “When the windows on high are opened, the earth shall shake to its foundations. The earth shall be crushed and rent; the earth shall break up and cave in; the earth shall convulse and lurch. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, sway back and forth like a shanty; its transgressions weigh it down, and when it collapses it shall rise no more” (Isaiah 24:18–20). Only a few will survive (Isaiah 24:16).
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At fault are God’s covenant people, whose apostasy acts as a catalyst for God’s coming Day of Judgment: “The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants: they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, set at nought the ancient covenant” (Isaiah 24:5). “When the windows on high are opened, the earth shall shake to its foundations. The earth shall be crushed and rent; the earth shall break up and cave in; the earth shall convulse and lurch. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, sway back and forth like a shanty; its transgressions weigh it down, and when it collapses it shall rise no more” (Isaiah 24:18–20). Only a few will survive (Isaiah 24:16).
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Excerpt - Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah by Avraham Gileadi, Ph.D.
53:1 Who has believed our revelation? On whose account has the arm of Jehovah been revealed?
Parallel statements infer that Jehovah’s arm (Isaiah 51:9; 52:10)—his end-time servant—is “revealed” for the sake of those who “believe” the revelation concerning the person who is the subject of verses 1–10. Believing in Jehovah’s revelation as his servant reveals it (Isaiah 21:10; 50:10; 52:15) thus constitutes a test of one’s faith in the God of Israel. Use of the possessive “our revelation” suggests that alternative versions exist that aren’t grounded in the truth. It also implies that a division occurs between those of Jehovah’s people who believe the revelation and those who don’t (Isaiah 28:16; 43:10).
While scholars lump Isaiah 52:13–53:12 together as a single messianic prophecy, a distinction exists between those verses in which Jehovah speaks of his servant (Isaiah 52:13–15; 53:11–12) and those in which a spokesman for Jehovah’s people, tenably the servant, speaks of the subject of Isaiah 53:1–10. Isaiah’s Servant–Tyrant Parallelism—a structure of twenty-one antithetical verses that contrast the king of Babylon in chapter 14 with the King of Zion in chapters 52–53—shows that the subject of Isaiah 53:1–10 is none other than Jehovah, the King of Zion, and that his servant resembles him.
As we have seen, a close affinity exists between Jehovah and his servant. They appear as two arms of God—righteousness and salvation—that intervene among humanity to restore and deliver Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 33:2; 40:10–11; 48:14–16; 51:5, 9–11; 52:10; 59:16). Jehovah’s empowering his arm (Isaiah 51:9) thus means that with the coming of the servant events take a new turn. Word links show that divine revelation comes forth that only those weaned from milk can digest, while those who are content with a lesser portion of Jehovah’s word are ensnared and taken captive (Isaiah 28:9–16).
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Parallel statements infer that Jehovah’s arm (Isaiah 51:9; 52:10)—his end-time servant—is “revealed” for the sake of those who “believe” the revelation concerning the person who is the subject of verses 1–10. Believing in Jehovah’s revelation as his servant reveals it (Isaiah 21:10; 50:10; 52:15) thus constitutes a test of one’s faith in the God of Israel. Use of the possessive “our revelation” suggests that alternative versions exist that aren’t grounded in the truth. It also implies that a division occurs between those of Jehovah’s people who believe the revelation and those who don’t (Isaiah 28:16; 43:10).
While scholars lump Isaiah 52:13–53:12 together as a single messianic prophecy, a distinction exists between those verses in which Jehovah speaks of his servant (Isaiah 52:13–15; 53:11–12) and those in which a spokesman for Jehovah’s people, tenably the servant, speaks of the subject of Isaiah 53:1–10. Isaiah’s Servant–Tyrant Parallelism—a structure of twenty-one antithetical verses that contrast the king of Babylon in chapter 14 with the King of Zion in chapters 52–53—shows that the subject of Isaiah 53:1–10 is none other than Jehovah, the King of Zion, and that his servant resembles him.
As we have seen, a close affinity exists between Jehovah and his servant. They appear as two arms of God—righteousness and salvation—that intervene among humanity to restore and deliver Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 33:2; 40:10–11; 48:14–16; 51:5, 9–11; 52:10; 59:16). Jehovah’s empowering his arm (Isaiah 51:9) thus means that with the coming of the servant events take a new turn. Word links show that divine revelation comes forth that only those weaned from milk can digest, while those who are content with a lesser portion of Jehovah’s word are ensnared and taken captive (Isaiah 28:9–16).
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Key Words for Isaiah Believers
Kingdom of Israel: The monarchic state that passed from Saul to David, which divided in two after Solomon, and which ended with Judah’s exile.
Descent before Ascent, Ascent before Descent
According to Isaiah’s theology—which he develops systematically by means of his seven-part literary structure—every ascent to a higher spiritual level is preceded by a temporary descent. That descent phase consists of God’s trial of a person’s faith equal to the level of that person’s ascent. In other words, the higher one ascends, the greater the temporary descent that precedes it. Ruin may occur cyclically before rebirth to a higher spiritual level, as may suffering before salvation, humiliation before exaltation, and so forth—intensifying each time a person ascends. Even Messiah descends below all before he is exalted above all to sit on his Father’s throne.
Trials of faith escalate as one ascends because the terms of God’s covenant on ascending levels are more exacting, each representing a higher law than the one before. The terms of the covenant Messiah keeps, for example, are to atone for humanity’s transgressions. Still, on their own level, God’s servants, too, fulfill saving roles in the course of keeping the terms of God’s covenant. In effect, the lower the spiritual level, the less demanding are its covenant’s terms. On the other hand, the very lowest levels keep no divinely appointed covenant’s terms. Instead, in seeking to ascend by lording it over others, persons on those levels end up descending even further.
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Trials of faith escalate as one ascends because the terms of God’s covenant on ascending levels are more exacting, each representing a higher law than the one before. The terms of the covenant Messiah keeps, for example, are to atone for humanity’s transgressions. Still, on their own level, God’s servants, too, fulfill saving roles in the course of keeping the terms of God’s covenant. In effect, the lower the spiritual level, the less demanding are its covenant’s terms. On the other hand, the very lowest levels keep no divinely appointed covenant’s terms. Instead, in seeking to ascend by lording it over others, persons on those levels end up descending even further.
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