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Isaiah 2:1-5 (1)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Russell Dunaway<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Establishment of the Church<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
One of the things setting the Bible apart from all other books ever written are the prophecies contained in the Old Testament Scriptures. Nothing like Old Testament prophecy can be found in any other book ever written. Prophecy sets the Bible in a class of its own. In this article, we are going to begin to study the prophecy of Isaiah 2:1-5, and seek to understand the meaning and fulfillment of that prophecy. Thus, in the very beginning, it is important that we establish a few principles concerning prophecy and the interpretation of prophecy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All to often men think of prophecy as being the mere predicting of future events. Such is not the case with the prophecies of the Old Testament. Prophecy of the Old Testament is more than a mere predicting of future events. A weatherman predicts what the weather will be in the future. His predictions are based on knowledge of certain facts that he has of the things that affect the weather. He knows the location of the high and low pressure centers. He knows the location of the cold and warm fronts. He knows the direction and the velocity of the wind. He knows the temperature and barometric pressure. It is with a knowledge of these facts that the weatherman is able to make somewhat accurate weather forecasts, or predictions of what tomorrow\u2019s weather will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Old Testament prophets had no knowledge concerning the things which they prophesied. There were no world conditions on which they could base their prophecies. There was nothing on this earth that could move the prophets to say what they said. Peter wrote, \u201c. . . knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost\u201d (2 Pet. 1:20,21). Prophecy did not come by the wisdom of man. It was not the product of any man\u2019s own private interpretation of world trends and events of the time. Prophecy came by the will of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter, speaking of the salvation which was in the Church, wrote,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf which salvation the prophets inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven . . .\u201d (1 Pet. 1:10-12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inspired prophets desired to know and to understand the meaning of the things they prophesied. All that was revealed unto them concerning these things was that it was not for themselves that they prophesied, but for those who should hear the Gospel of Christ as it was revealed by the Holy Ghost. The prophets did not understand what was prophesied. They did not understand that it was not for themselves until God revealed it unto them that they prophesied for those who should hear the gospel. Old Testament prophecy was given for the benefit of you and me, for the benefit of those who should hear the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With this in mind, we now point your attention to the facts revealed in the New Testament as we endeavor to understand the interpretation and fulfillment of Isaiah 2:1-5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaiah said, \u201cIt shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord\u2019s house shall be established in the top of the mountains . . . \u201d To understand when this prophecy was fulfilled, it is essential that we determine when \u201cthe last days\u201d began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every student of the Bible is aware of the fact that the history of God\u2019s dealings with man can be divided into three ages. The first of these three ages is known as the \u201cPatriarchal Age\u201d and began with the creation of man. This was an age of family religion. The term \u201cpatriarchal\u201d comes from Latin and means \u201cfather government.\u201d The \u201cPatriarchal Age\u201d began with creation and lasted until God led Israel out of Egypt and gave His law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When God gave His law to Moses, the second age, known as the \u201cMosaic Age,\u201d began. This was an age of national religion. The law was for the Jews, and the Jews only. The \u201cMosaic Age\u201d lasted until the death of Christ on Calvary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Jesus came, He said to His disciples, \u201cAll things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me \u2026. Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day\u201d (Lk. 24:44-47). When Jesus was crucified, He fulfilled all that was written in the law, the prophets, and the psalms concerning Himself, and took the law out of the way by nailing it to His cross (Col. 2:14). This marked the beginning of the third age, the \u201cGospel Age.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Acts 2, Luke tells us that \u201cwhen the day of Pentecost was fully come, the apostles were gathered in Jerusalem with one accord.\u201d Fifty-three days after Christ\u2019s death, the disciples were in Jerusalem as Christ had commanded them (Luke 24:47-49), and God poured out His Spirit upon them (Acts 2:14). The apostles began to speak as the Spirit of God gave them utterance, and the Jews which had gathered at Jerusalem to observe the Pentecost feast were unable to understand what was happening. They began to reason among themselves, and some mocked the apostles, saying, \u201cThese men are drunk on new wine.\u201d Peter answered this false charge as He began the first Gospel sermon to ever be preached. Peter said, \u201cThese men are not drunk on new wine as ye suppose, for it is but the third hour of the day.\u201d The first Gospel sermon began at 9:00 on Sunday morning. If these men are not drunk, Peter, then what is the explanation of what is happening? Peter said, \u201cThis is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.\u201d What had Joel said? \u201cIt shall come to pass in the last days. . . \u201d Joel gave a prophecy that was to be fulfilled \u201cin the last days. \u201d Isaiah said that the Lord\u2019s house was to be established \u201cin the last days.\u201d Peter said, \u201cThis is that.\u201d The day of Pentecost marked the beginning of \u201cthe last days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter proceeded to proclaim the gospel of Christ, and for the first time, \u201crepentance and remission of sins\u201d in the name of Christ was preached (Acts 2:37,38). Luke said, \u201cThey that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls\u201d (Acts 2:41). Again, Luke said, \u201cAnd the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved\u201d (Acts 2:47). For the very first time, the Church was spoken of as being in existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaiah had prophesied over 700 years before that the church would be established \u201cin the last days.\u201d John the Baptist came preparing the way for Christ and said, \u201cRepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d The church had not yet been established. Jesus said, \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d It had not yet been established. But in Acts 2, Luke said that the church was in existence, and that the Lord was adding unto it daily. Thus, we have a fulfillment of Isaiah\u2019s prophecy. The \u201clast days\u201d were come, the church was established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Via Guardian of Truth<\/em> XXVIII: 5, pp. 141-142, March 1, 1984 \u201cBecause Your lovingkindness is better than life, 1) Hear<\/strong> the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31). Tebeau Street \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 Contents: 1) Isaiah 2:1-5 (1) (Russell Dunaway)\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 -1- Isaiah 2:1-5 (1) Russell Dunaway The Establishment of the Church One of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":391,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions\/391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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My lips will praise You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name\u201d (Psalm 63:4, NASB).
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2) Believe <\/strong>in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent<\/strong> of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith<\/strong> in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized<\/strong> in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:26-27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith<\/strong>, living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA\u00a0 31501
Sunday<\/strong> services:\u00a09:00 a.m. (Bible class); 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. (worship)
Wednesday:\u00a0<\/strong>7 p.m. (Bible class)
evangelist\/editor:\u00a0<\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/a>
http:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go<\/a> (Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but back to March 1990)
http:\/\/tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org\/<\/a>
http:\/\/ThomasTEdwards.com\/audioser.html<\/a> (audio sermon)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"