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News From Israel MagazineIsaiah 40:9
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9).
The King James translation of Isaiah 40:9 seems to imply that Zion and Jerusalem are the proclaimers of the Good News message. But the ancient manuscripts disagree. For example, the Tanakh says: “Ascend a lofty mountain, O herald of joy to Zion; Raise your voice with power, O herald of joy to Jerusalem. Raise it, have no fear; Announce to the cities of Judah: Behold your God!” (page 699). Here we see that Zion and Jerusalem are the recipients, not the proclaimers. What type of message is it? “Behold your God.” Doubtless this announces the coming of the Messiah, the King of Israel and Savior of the world.
Does this describe the Lord’s First or Second coming? We must read the next two verses for an answer: “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (verses 10-11). We know that the Lord did not come with a “strong hand,” nor did “his arm…rule…” Therefore we learn that the message, “Behold your God,” is addressed to Zion and Jerusalem, to Zionism and the Jewish people, announcing that the Lord is coming again.
The passage does not denote the timeframe of when the Lord will come; it only describes the result of His coming. For example, “his reward is with him, and his work before him.” We know that the reward will be salvation for the people of Israel, because they will see the One they pierced, and a spirit of supplication will be poured out upon the children of Israel, fulfilling Romans 11:26: “And so all Israel shall be saved.” For the Gentile nations that have collectively rejected salvation in Jesus Christ, “His work,” which is His judgment or recompense of His work, will be executed. But to Israel we see the Lord turn to His people with great compassion and deep love. He is very personally involved in taking care of the Jews.
So again, we ask: When will the Messiah come? At His first coming, He was born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem, where His arrival went largely unnoticed. A heavenly vision was revealed to the shepherds. Gentiles also came from afar to worship the newborn King, but the political and religious authorities in Jerusalem were silent.
So it will be at His Second Coming. Thus, we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Again, the text provides no indication of when this event will take place. But this return is reserved exclusively for the Church, for the Lord Jesus will not come to earth, but will meet us in the air. Again, we ask when that will happen. Scripture offers no answer other than instructing us to watch and wait, which indicates the imminency of the Rapture is the only correct interpretation regarding the Lord’s coming for the Church.
Just recently I received two large cases of old books from Dr. John Cionci. One book specifically caught my attention: Die Vorschriften Der Thora by Ludwig Stern, published in 1929. This great Bible scholar was not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. He believed that the Old Testament was the final revelation to mankind until the Messiah came. But on page 39, he writes: “I acknowledge with complete sincerity the absolute assurance of the coming of the Messiah, although he may long tarry, I shall wait for him daily believing that he will come” (Article 12). This type of statement of faith confirmed by a Jew who believed only in the Old Testament is valid for us today, too, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44).
Nevertheless, we do have an indication as to the proximity of the Lord’s return to fulfill God’s Word. Isaiah 40:2 says: “Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.” Note that this is addressed to the Gentiles, because verse 1 says: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” That means other people; then “my people” are to comfort the Jewish people. There is a specific clue in verse 2, which establishes the identity of Israel: “hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” This cannot be said for the time when Israel returned from Babylonian captivity, because the testimony is recorded in Ezra 9:13: “And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this.” At that time they received less severe punishment than they deserved, but here God says they have received double the punishment than they deserve.
Is anyone comforting Jerusalem today? Not at all. The Muslims desire the Jews’ expulsion from Jerusalem. They make this desire clear in all their declarations.
They are Israel’s neighbors; in fact, they are actually cousins of the Jewish people. This is a family conflict and as such, it is always the worst.
But when we look at the Gentile world, re g a rdless of the continent, we will not find one single head of a nation who agrees with Scripture that Jerusalem is the indivisible capital city of the Jewish state. The Arabs, particularly Muslims, blatantly reject the Jews and Israel. The Gentile world is a little different, but both are enemies of God, enemies of Jerusalem, and enemies of Zionism.
Verse 2 is particularly prophetic because it already declares that Israel’s “ warf a re is accomplished.” There is definitely no evidence of that right now, and “her iniquity is pardoned.” There is no sign indicating a re t u rn to the God of the Bible. But when we read the Scripture, we must keep in mind these are the Wo rds of God and they will come to pass in exactly the way they are written.
One of the mistakes we hear from many Bible scholars is the assumption that Islam is the greatest danger. Of course they justify their claims based on such threats as Iran’s president exclaiming Israel needs to be wiped off the map. Doubtless, this is a brutal declaration that violates all principles of a civilized society, but we are overlooking the fact that each of the world’s governments is in the same boat, although anti-Israel rhetoric is softened with political phrases that would grant Israel partial rights to the Promised Land. They all support the establishment of an Arab/Muslim nation on Israel’s soil. They are all dividing the city of Jerusalem into a Jewish and Muslim section, as well as a Christian one. We may hear and read political rhetoric that fits present political circumstances, but no one in the world would ever take a stand for God’s Word and declare Jerusalem as the capital city of the Jewish state and recognize the borders from the Euphrates River to the river of Egypt as Promised Land territory, Israel’s inheritance.
This shows that believers cannot serve two masters — God and mammon. We cannot be partly favorable towards this world and partly favorable towards the Lord. Saying yes to Jesus and yes to the world means all to the devil. While we cannot change political developments, nor do we have any intention to try, we do loudly proclaim that the time of the coming of the Messiah is near and there f o re, the Rapture of the Church, the removal of God’s light to the world, must be even closer.
Yes, we may enjoy all the Christmas commercialism and all of the festivities connected to it, but the real issue is this: Are you ready and waiting for the Lord to return at any moment? If your answer is “maybe” or “I hope so,” then, based on the Wo rd of God, I must tell you that you are not ready, you have not given your whole, unreserved and unqualified “yes” to the suffering Servant who came to this earth in poverty, served the people of Israel, healed the sick, fed the hungry and redeemed those who were suffering under the bondage of demonic oppression. Today, He is awaiting your answer.
Will you follow Him?
Just as at His first coming, there was one who cried in the wilderness: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (verse 3). So at the Second Coming, the true Church is still longing and pleading with those who are outside of salvation. The invitation is still open, but we don’t know for how long. When He comes, “His reward is with him.” That is, the Church will be in His presence and with His saints the earth will be judged. Therefore, “today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7-8).
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