Chronology

JudahJudah ProphetsProphets IsraelIsrael

931 BC931 BC RehoboamRehoboam JeroboamJeroboam

AbijahAbijah NadabNadab

900 BC900 BC Asa*Asa* BaashaBaasha

850 BC850 BC Jehoshaphat*Jehoshaphat* ElijahElijah Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, JoramAhaziah, Joram

800 BC800 BC Jehoram*, Ahaziah, Jehoram*, Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, Queen Athaliah, Joash*Joash*

ElishaElisha

JonahJonah

AmosAmos

Johoahaz, Johoahaz, Johoash, Johoash, Jeroboam IIJeroboam II

750 BC750 BC Amaziah, Uzziah, AhazAmaziah, Uzziah, Ahaz HoseaHosea

MicahMicah

IsaiahIsaiah

Zechariah, Zechariah, Shallum, Shallum, Menahem, Menahem, PekahiahPekahiah

722 BC722 BC Hezekiah*Hezekiah* IsaiahIsaiah Pekah, HosheaPekah, Hoshea

KingKing ProphetProphet

650650 ManasseManassehh

AmonAmon NahumNahum

JosiahJosiah Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, EzekielHabakkuk, Ezekiel

JoahazJoahaz

600600 JehoiakimJehoiakim 605 – 1605 – 1stst invasion (Daniel) invasion (Daniel)

JehoiachiJehoiachinn

597 – 2597 – 2ndnd invasion (Ezekiel) invasion (Ezekiel)

586586 ZedekiahZedekiah 586 – 3586 – 3rdrd invasion (Jeremiah) invasion (Jeremiah)

“Listen to this, people of Israel, you that are descended from Judah: You swear by the name of the LORD and claim to worship the God of Israel--- but you don’t mean a word you say. And yet you are proud to say that you are citizens of the holy city and that you depend on Israel’s God, whose name is the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 48:1-2 – GN)

“Listen, heaven, and pay attention, earth! The LORD has spoken, ‘I raised my children and helped them grow, but they have rebelled against me. Oxen know their owners, and donkeys know where their masters feed them. But Israel doesn’t know its owner. My people don't understand who feeds them.’” (Isaiah 1:2,3 – GOD’S WORD)

“Is anyone more blind than my servant, more deaf than the messenger I send? Israel, you have seen so much, but what has it meant to you? You have ears to hear with, but what have you really heard?” (Isaiah 42:19-20 – GN)

“People of Israel, you are my witnesses; I chose you to be my servant, so that you would know me and believe in me and understand that I am the only God. Besides me there is no other god; there never was and never will be.” (Isaiah 43:10 – GN)

Authorship?

? Written in Babylon 200 years later?

“I say to Cyrus, ‘You are the one who will rule for me; you will do what I want you to do: you will order that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the foundations of the Temple be laid.’” (Isaiah 44:28 – GN)

“The LORD has chosen Cyrus to be king. He has appointed him to conquer nations; he sends him to strip kings of their power; the LORD will open the gates of cities for him. To Cyrus the LORD says…” (Isaiah 45:1 – GN)

Jesus attributes these passages to Isaiah

Literary unity: “Holy One of Israel” 12 times in Isaiah 1-39 13 times in Isaiah 40-66 Only 6 times in the rest of the

OT The tradition of one Isaiah dates

back to 185 BC (Ecclesiasticus)

“The things I predicted have now come true. Now I will tell you of new things even before they begin to happen.” (Isaiah 42:9 – GN)

“Summon the nations to come to the trial. Which of their gods can predict the future? Which of them foretold what is happening now? Let these gods bring in their witnesses to prove that they are right, to testify to the truth of their words.” (Isaiah 43:9 – GN)

“I predicted what would happen, and then I came to your aid. No foreign god has ever done this; you are my witnesses.” (Isaiah 43:12 – GN)

“I make fools of fortunetellers and frustrate the predictions of astrologers. The words of the wise I refute and show that their wisdom is foolishness. But when my servant makes a prediction, when I send a messenger to reveal my plans, I make those plans and predictions come true.” (Isaiah 44:25-26 – GN)

“At the LORD's command a prophet from Judah went to Bethel and arrived there as Jeroboam stood at the altar to offer the sacrifice. Following the LORD's command, the prophet denounced the altar: ‘O altar, altar, this is what the LORD says: A child, whose name will be Josiah, will be born to the family of David. He will slaughter on you the priests serving at the pagan altars who offer sacrifices on you, and he will burn human bones on you.’ And the prophet went on to say, ‘This altar will fall apart, and the ashes on it will be scattered. Then you will know that the LORD has spoken through me.’” (1Kings 13:1-3)

“King Josiah broke the stone pillars to pieces, cut down the symbols of the goddess Asherah, and the ground where they had stood he covered with human bones. Josiah also tore down the place of worship in Bethel, which had been built by King Jeroboam...Josiah pulled down the altar, broke its stones into pieces, and pounded them to dust; he also burned the image of Asherah. Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill; he had the bones taken out of them and burned on the altar. In this way he desecrated the altar, doing what the prophet had predicted long before during the festival as King Jeroboam was standing by the altar. King Josiah looked around and saw the tomb of the prophet who had made this prediction.” (2 Kings 23:14-16 – GN)

“I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that ‘I Am Who I Am.’” (John 13:19 – GN)

Are we afraid of God’s foreknowledge?

Is the future determined or “fixed”?

“Comfort my people,’ says our God. ‘Comfort them! Encourage the people of Jerusalem. Tell them they have suffered long enough and their sins are now forgiven. I have punished them in full for all their sins.’ A voice cries out, ‘Prepare in the wilderness a road for the LORD! Clear the way in the desert for our God! Fill every valley; level every mountain. The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it. The LORD himself has promised this.’

A voice cries out, "Proclaim a message!’ ‘What message shall I proclaim?’ I ask. ‘Proclaim that all human beings are like grass; they last no longer than wild flowers. Grass withers and flowers fade when the LORD sends the wind blowing over them. People are no more enduring than grass. Yes, grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever.’ Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain and proclaim the good news! Call out with a loud voice, Zion; announce the good news! Speak out and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah that their God is coming!” (Isaiah 40:1-9 – GN)

“For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal. As the scripture says, ‘All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ This word is the Good News that was proclaimed to you.

(1Pe 1:23-25)

“In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 – GN)

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” (John 1:18 – GN)

“The time has come, and the kingdom of God is near. Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News.” (Mark 1:15 – God’s Word)

“The Sovereign LORD has filled me with his Spirit. He has chosen me and sent me To bring good news to the poor, To heal the broken-hearted, To announce release to captives And freedom to those in prison.” (Isaiah 61:1 – GN)

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35 – GN)

“What gives life is God’s Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit.” (John 6:63 – GN)

“I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death to life.” (John 5:24 – GN)

“Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!” (John 12:48 – GN)

“How wonderful it is to see a messenger coming across the mountains, bringing good news, the news of peace! He announces victory and says to Zion, ‘Your God is king!’ Those who guard the city are shouting, shouting together for joy. They can see with their own eyes the return of the LORD to Zion. Break into shouts of joy, you ruins of Jerusalem! The LORD will rescue his city and comfort his people.” (Isaiah 52:7-9 – GN)

“Put on your shoes so that you are ready to spread the Good News that gives peace.” (Ephesians 6:15 – GN)

“The LORD says, ‘My servant will succeed in his task; he will be highly honored. Many people were shocked when they saw him; he was so disfigured that he hardly looked human. But now many nations will marvel at him, and kings will be speechless with amazement. They will see and understand something they had never known.’ The people reply, ‘Who would have believed what we now report? Who could have seen the LORD's hand in this?’” (Isaiah 52:13-15, 53:1 – GN)

“And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says, ‘How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!’ But not all have accepted the Good News. Isaiah himself said, ‘Lord, who believed our message?’” (Romans 10:15-16 – GN)

“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought GOD’s saving power would look like this?” (Isa 53:1 – The Message)

“The LORD says, ‘My servant will succeed in his task; he will be highly honored. Many people were shocked when they saw him; he was so disfigured that he hardly looked human. But now many nations will marvel at him, and kings will be speechless with amazement. They will see and understand something they had never known.’ The people reply, ‘Who would have believed what we now report? Who could have seen the LORD's hand in this?’” (Isaiah 52:13-15, 53:1 – GN)

“The servant grew up before God--a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried-- our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him--our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.

We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him. He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and he was led off-- and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.” (Isaiah 53:2-9 – The Message)

“And so I will give him a place of honor, a place among the great and powerful. He willingly gave his life and shared the fate of evil men. He took the place of many sinners and prayed that they might be forgiven.” (Isaiah 53:12 – GN)

? Me-centered Good News

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed…” (Romans 1:16,17 – NKJV)

“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought GOD’s saving power would look like this?” (Isa 53:1 – The Message)

“For if the gospel we preach is hidden, it is hidden only from those who are being lost. They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. For it is not ourselves that we preach; we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. The God who said, ‘Out of darkness the light shall shine!’ is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6 – GN)

“I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4 – GN)

“I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me.” (John 17:6 – The Message)

“But I don’t place any value on my own life. I want to finish the race I’m running. I want to carry out the mission I received from the Lord Jesus - the mission of testifying to the Good News of God’s kindness.” (Acts 20:24 – GOD’S WORD)

“I am now entrusting you to God and to his message that tells how kind he is. That message can help you grow and can give you the inheritance that is shared by all of God’s holy people.” (Acts 20:32 – GOD’S WORD)

“The Good News was promised long ago by God through his prophets, as written in the Holy Scriptures. It is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 1:2,3 – GN)

“This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1 – GN)

Who is Jesus? “He reflects the brightness of God’s glory

and is the exact likeness of God’s own being” (Hebrews 1:3 – GN)

“We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God. We live in union with the true God---in union with his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and this is eternal life.” (1 John 5:20 – GOD’S WORD)

“Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation.” (Revelation 14:6 – GN)

“It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy and truth…The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is the revelation of His character of love.” (COL)