A New Voice of Freedom

Season 6, Podcast 66, Isaiah 14:9-20 “Lucifer.” The story of the fall of nations is common both in Biblical history and in secular history. The Prophet Isaiah, under inspiration of the Lord, selected the fall of Babylon as the symbol of the fall of the world just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. Babylon was the perfect candidate. Firstly, the very word Babylon stems from the legendary Tower o...

Season 6, Podcast 65, Isaiah 14:1-8 “Signs of the Times.” A running theme with Isaiah is the Millennium. Measuring time through Biblical chronology, the approximate dates are Adam to Abraham = 2000 years Abraham to Moses = 500 years Exodus to Solomon’s Temple = 480 years Solomon to Babylonian exile = 400 years Babylonian exile to Christ = 586 years That means that from Adam to Christ was approxima...

Season 6, Podcast 64, Isaiah 13:13-22 “The Fall of Babylon 2.” Isaiah uses the fall of Babylon as an analogy to describe the events just prior to the Millennium.  Enormous turmoil will mark the Second Coming of Christ, both in heaven and on earth. Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his f...

Season 6, Podcast 63, Isaiah 13:1-12 “The Fall of Babylon 1.” The Fall of Babylon is a symbol both of itself and of the destruction of the world prior to the Second Coming of Christ; therefore, it is helpful to compare Isaiah 13 with the revelations of John. Isaiah piles image upon image suggesting total annihilation of civilization and the end of the wicked. Keep that in mind as we discuss the vi...

Season 6, Podcast 62, Isaiah 12:1-6, “God is My Salvation.” Isaiah focuses on Christ. At the beginning of his ministry, he saw Christ. Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Isaiah speaks of the birth of Christ. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall c...

Season 6, Podcast 61, Isaiah 11:11-16, “The Gathering of Israel.” The story of the House of Israel is epic. Tremendous blessings came to Abraham because of his righteousness.  Genesis 17:5-7 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and king...

Season 6, Podcast 60, Isaiah 11:1-10, “The Stem of Jesse.” The entire focus of Isaiah is on Christ. Isaiah 11:1 1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: The stem of Jesse is Christ. Jesse, of the House of Judah, was the father of David and through the lineage of David the Christ child shall be born as prophesied by Isaiah. Isaiah 9:6-7...

Season 6, Podcast 59, Isaiah 10:18-34, “The House of Pride.” Sennacherib, king of Assyria, upon his attack of Jerusalem had every reason to believe that he would receive no significant opposition. His army had about 200,000 men. At the time of his attack against Jerusalem, Judah’s army was only probably 15,000 or less. Sennacherib declared victory even before he attacked. Why shouldn’t he be proud...

Season 6, Podcast 58, Isaiah 10:1-17, “Fall of Assyria.” Isaiah 10 begins with a very familiar word in the Bible—‘Woe.” Even the sound of the word denotes sorrow. It is also often used as a warning or a curse or a judgment that is about to fall. The reason it comes before the fall rather than after is because the ‘woe’ can be averted if the people repent. In other words, they don’t have to suffer...

Season 6, Podcast 57, Isaiah 9:8-21, “Come Unto Christ.” The Prophets, such as Isaiah and John, who appear to be the most negative are, upon close reading, the most positive. They are not prophets of doom. They are prophets of hope. The only reason they forecast destruction is to warn the people that they should repent. If they repent, they may avoid being brought down into captivity. As we read t...

Season 6, Podcast 56, Isaiah 9:1-7, “Unto Us a Child is Born.” John the Revelator and Isaiah were both visionaries of an extraordinary nature. John the Revelator’s peculiar role as prophet was to tell the history, not only of the whole world, but also of the premortal existence of man and the post mortal existence of man. Isaiah’s peculiar role as prophet was to warn the House of Judah in his own...

Season 6, Podcast 55, Isaiah 8:14-22, “A Stone of Stumbling and a Rock of Offense.” Last time we ended with “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” Synonyms for sanctify are to bless, to consecrate, to hallow, to glorify, to purify, to venerate, to exalt. That is the message of Isaiah 8.  This is a pivotal moment in the history of the House of Jud...

Season 6, Podcast 54, Isaiah 8:1-13, “Waters of Shiloh.” Isaiah’s style is unique. Like the Book of Revelation, everything is symbolic. What happens in Verses 1-3 in Isaiah 8, which is both literal and metaphorical, perhaps exceeds our expectations. In a dramatic way the Lord commands Isaiah and his wife to have a son. Before the child is even conceived, he is given a name: Maher-shalal-hash-baz,...

Season 6, Podcast 53, Isaiah 7:17-25, “God is My Refuge.” As stated earlier, this is a time of tremendous turmoil for the House of Judah. The tribe of Benjamin stayed with the tribe of Judah when the northern kingdoms split, but their tribe blends in with Judah and no distinction is made. Ephraim, though it is an individual tribe, as used in Isaiah, symbolizes the entire northern kingdom including...

Season 6, Podcast 52, Isaiah 7:1-16, “Shall Call His Name Immanuel.” This is a time of enormous turmoil for the Jews. Shortly after the death of King Solomon, about 930 BC, due to heavy taxes, the ten northern tribes under the leadership of Jeroboam I rejected Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, and formed their own kingdom, known as the Northern Kingdom. The Northern tribes consisted of Reuben, Simeon,...

Season 6, Podcast 51, Isaiah 6:5-13, “Return from Babylon.” Let’s look at the approximate timeline from the prophet Isaiah to the birth of Christ and finally the Diaspora. Let’s consider Isaiah’s vision of Jesus Christ in 740 BC to be the beginning of his ministry as prophet of Israel. That would have been at the death of King Uzziah. Isaiah was prophet during the reigns of King Jotham (750-735 BC...

Season 6, Podcast 50, Isaiah 6:1-4, “The Holy Temple.” King Uzziah died around 740 BC which marks the year that Isaiah saw Jesus in vision which came at the beginning of his ministry. Isaiah 6:1 1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. This establishes Isaiah’s special mission. He is a personal witness of Je...

Season 6, Podcast 49, Isaiah 5:24-30, “An Ensign to the Nations.” The House of Judah is under threat of war from Ephraim (the Ten Northern Tribes) and Syria, but their real dangers are with Assyria and Babylon, two very large kingdoms. Previously Isaiah described the effects of the Babylonian captivity which will occur if they don’t repent. In the following Isaiah continues to describe how complet...

Season 6, Podcast 48, Isaiah 5:11-23, “The Five Woes.” Isaiah clearly teaches us that laws bring consequences. Laws have conditions. Conditions bring consequences. Obedience to the conditions of law brings blessings. Disobedience to the conditions of law brings cursings. All blessings are predicated upon obedience to the laws of God. All sin is violation of the laws of God. When Adam fell, he tran...

Season 6, Podcast 47, Isaiah 5:1-10, “Lord of the Vineyard.” Analogy is a primary tool in Hebraic poetry. We often call them parables. An analogy is a comparison between two things that are unlike but have similar characteristics. An analogy may be literal or figurative. It may be brief or extended. For example, Isaiah 5 is an extended analogy, comparing the House of Israel to a Vinyard. The Lord...

Season 6, Podcast 46, Isaiah 4:1-6, “Redemption.” In our last episode, “The Law of Chastity,” the Lord condemns the daughters of Zion for pride and lasciviousness. In this episode, the Lord cleanses the daughters of Zion.  Isaiah 4:1 1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away...

Season 6 Podcast 45, Isaiah 3:16-26, “The Law of Chastity.” For those who love poetry one of the unique characteristics of Isaiah is his use of concrete language. None are better than Isaiah. Language is astonishingly flexible. It can be abstract or concrete, general or specific. Abstractions often appear in long Latin polysyllabic words. Concrete statements often appear in short one syllable word...

Season 6, Podcast 44, Isaiah 3:12-15, “The Four Laws of Liberty.” In Isaiah 4:1-11, the Lord warns the House of Judah that if they don’t repent, their nation will be destroyed. He promises the righteous that it shall be well with them. That doesn’t mean that they shall be entirely spared for trials, but it does mean that the Lord will uphold them in their trials. He tells the wicked, however, that...

Season 6, Podcast 43, Isaiah 3:1-11, “Pattern of Prophecy.” There is a pattern of prophecy in the Holy Bible. Prior to destruction, the Lord sends prophets to warn his people of forthcoming calamities. We, as Christians, revere prophets of the past, and Isaiah is one of the most revered, but in their own day they were often persecuted, imprisoned, and even killed. It was very unpopular for a proph...

Season 6, Podcast 42, Isaiah 2:1-22, “The Millennium.” Isaiah could also be called the Millennium prophet. Many prophets spoke of the Millennium: Ezekial, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Zechariah, Matthew, John. But none, perhaps, more than Isaiah. Isaiah 2:1 1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Why did Isaiah say Judah and Jerusalem? Aren’t they the same thing. They are...