TEXT: Isaiah 62:1-12
SUBJECT: God’s Plan for Jerusalem, Part II
INTRODUCTION:
Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Isaiah makes a personal declaration about the city of Jerusalem: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a blazing torch.”
What was it that was motivating this man of God to have such a passion for Jerusalem? What had God shown him about this small Middle Eastern town that so captivated his heart and his passion to cry out for her?
Although Isaiah didn’t have the full and complete picture of God for Jerusalem, he had been shown enough to know that this city was where the redemptive plan of God for the whole earth would be centered. Isaiah knew by the Spirit of God that Jerusalem was not just another city. It was the city where God’s salvation would be accomplished and from where His righteousness would fill the whole earth.
Beloved, this prophet was taken into the private counsel of God to be shown the importance of Jerusalem. God deposited into him the significance of Jerusalem not just for his own time but for the eternal future. There is a reason why Isaiah spoke so passionately and prophetically about this particular city.
And it is our prayer and desire here today, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to be able to enter into these inspired words of the Holy Spirit about God’s plan for the city of Jerusalem Israel.
We need to know God’s plan for Jerusalem because it is impossible to understand the end times without knowing it—plain and simple!
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that you would reveal to us your plan for the city of Jerusalem so that we may enter into the same passion that Isaiah had for this city. We ask it in the name of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. Amen
I. ISAIAH’S PASSIONITE AND PROPHETIC DECLARTION FOR JERUSALEM.
1.) The prophet says that he will not remain silent or keep quiet until the righteousness of Jerusalem is shining like the dawn.
After the long and dark ages of man’s sinful history, looking down the prophetic tunnel of time, the prophet sees the righteousness of God breaking forth like the dawn from the city of Jerusalem!
At the end of the age, the world having experienced the full grown evil of Satan in the Beast kingdom of the Antichrist, the prophet sees the city of Jerusalem as a shining light beaming with the righteousness of God which will fill the whole earth!
At long last, righteousness, true righteousness will be the rule of the day. God’s righteous Word will be exalted. Scriptural and moral truth will be not just a standard but will be the standard for the entire earth! God’s pure and genuine justice will be for all people. And it will go forth from the city of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be the model city of God’s righteousness. And this righteousness will flow out of Jerusalem where the King of righteousness, the Lord Jesus, will be reigning from. And the entire world will be impacted by this mighty river flowing from Jerusalem!
There will be no more time or space for those seeking unrighteousness; for those who would exalt sin and do harm and commit injustices against others.
The righteousness of God which is shining forth from Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, will raise the joy and blessing of life to levels never before experienced on the earth. This will so motivate the nations that they will seek and pursue His righteousness!
Beloved, Jerusalem will be the model city of God in the Millennial Reign of King Jesus upon the earth. Jesus, the King of Jerusalem, will rule over the whole world in perfect righteousness.
Radical Islam will be no more! Evil will be dethroned by Him who sits upon the throne in Jerusalem Israel!
Politicians and government leaders will be motivated to provide justice and equity for their people under the leadership of King Jesus. The glory of His righteousness will flow from Jerusalem and cover the whole earth.
And this Godly righteousness will transform the world into a millennial paradise where the blessing of God will be the lifestyle of choice for a thousand years.
Beloved, imagine turning on the television and hearing nothing but Good News! News anchors and reporters will be reporting on the amazing ways that people and nations are being blessed by God because of righteousness which has become the standard form of behavior.
How glorious to see television shows and movies where the splendor and beauty of true righteousness is lifting up people and families and creating a stunning atmosphere where God’s blessings are literally overtaking them!
Not only on Fox but also on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and even MSNBC is more breaking news of an explosion of cures coming out of the scientific community! Diseases that had ravaged the human race are becoming obsolete!
There will also be a worldwide network of nations working together—because of Jesus and what is coming forth out of Jerusalem—that will vastly improve the quality of life for people around the globe!
Because sin and its consequences will be tremendously reduced, the way to economic prosperity will be open for every person on planet earth! Everyone will benefit because of the righteousness that is flowing from the City of the Great King! No third world countries then!
This is why that the nations will flow to the model city of righteousness, Jerusalem Israel, to learn the ways of Jesus the Messiah.
It is said of King Solomon in II Chronicles 1:15 that he made silver and gold as common as stones in the city of Jerusalem. And under the Greater Solomon—even Christ Jesus the God-man—the whole world will enjoy abundant prosperity!
All of these blessings will be possible and available to the whole world because of the righteous king ruling the earth from the model city of Jerusalem—the city of righteousness!
As referenced earlier, the prophet Isaiah may not have known the complete plan of God for Jerusalem, but he knew enough through the Holy Spirit to pray for the day when God’s righteousness would shine forth from the chosen city and touch the whole world!
And I believe that the Spirit’s call for us to day is to do exactly what Isaiah did: we should not be quiet or silent when it comes to the eternal God’s plan for the city of Jerusalem.
Our continual intercession and prayer to God should be for His plan of filling the earth with righteousness from Jerusalem to become a reality! Beloved, this is praying according to God’s will.
And as we align ourselves with God’s end time plan for Jerusalem, we will learn to hunger and thirst for His righteousness to fill our own lives. As it does, not only will we be blessed but those around us will also be blessed.
Learning to walk in righteousness, as it will one day be in the model city of Jerusalem, we will be a model for others to follow now—a model that will bring God’s abundance to their lives!
The point is this: As we pray for the ultimate revelation of God’s righteousness in Jerusalem when Jesus sets up His Millennial capital from there, we can even now know a measure of that righteousness in our lives, our families, our church and in our circle of love.
“Oh God, as we pray for the day when Your righteousness will flow from Jerusalem like the dawn, we ask You to fill us now with that same righteousness which is in us through Your Son Christ Jesus. Let now your righteousness flow out of our lives like the dawn!”
2.) The second part of Isaiah’s passionate and prophetic declaration is found in these Spirit- inspired words, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.”
The prophet is saying that he will continue to cry out until Jerusalem becomes that shinning city set on a hill for all to see. I believe that Isaiah was under a mighty anointing of God as he penned these inspired words of holy writ. He was feeling the heart of God for Jerusalem and what God desires and plans to accomplish there.
This is not just about a small dusty city in the Middle East; rather it is about what is on God’s heart to accomplish from this chosen city. It is about God’s eternal plan that will be centered in this city.
And the prophet said he would not remain quiet or silent until Jerusalem’s salvation is burning like a torch.
It is interesting and telling that the Hebrew word for “salvation” is “Yeshua.” We all know that “Yeshua” is also the English name of Jesus. In Matthew 1:21, the angel said that His name shall be called Jesus, for He will “save” His people from their sins. His name shall be called “Yeshua,” “salvation.”
I will show you the relevance of this to our text in Isaiah 62:1. Once again, Isaiah didn’t have the whole picture, but He knew enough through the Spirit to know that God’s salvation would be in the city of Jerusalem.
The best way that I feel that I can bring this truth home to you is by referencing the Seven Feasts of God: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles.
Keep in mind that these Seven Feasts are a stunning prophetic revelation of God’s plan of salvation from beginning to end.
So to make it simple, I will ask you seven questions that all have the same answer.
1. Where was Jesus/Yeshua (salvation) crucified as the Passover Lamb of God? Jerusalem!
2. Where was Yeshua’s (salvation) sinless body, God’s Unleavened Bread, buried? Jerusalem!
3. Where did Yeshua (salvation) rise from the dead as the First Fruits of those who sleep in death? Jerusalem!
4. Where did Yeshua (salvation) pour out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and begin and empower His Church? Jerusalem!
So Yeshua/Jesus fulfilled the first four of God’s Seven Feasts in the city of Jerusalem! Salvation burned like a torch in Jerusalem with the first coming of Yeshua/Jesus! Isaiah’s prayer was partially answered with the first coming of the Messiah.
Now let’s look at the last three Feasts of God which will be fulfilled at Jesus’ Second Coming.
5. Where will Yeshua (salvation) come when He raptures His Church and returns to the earth on the Feast of Trumpets? Jerusalem!
6. Where will Yeshua (salvation) fulfill the Day of Atonement when He kills the Antichrist, saves all of Israel, is welcomed back by the Jewish leadership and enters through the Golden Gates to be crowned King? Jerusalem!
7. And five days later, from what city will Yeshua/Jesus (salvation) begin the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles when He will bless the nations of the earth? Jerusalem!
Beloved, there is no other city on earth like the city of Jerusalem! It is the one place from whence has come and will come the salvation of God Almighty!
Therefore, it is right for us today in 2015 to join with the prophet Isaiah, who is now interceding from the balcony of Heaven, and to pray for the city of Jerusalem.
Especially today, when the devil is working so intensely and passionately through radical Islam to keep God’s plan for Jerusalem from becoming a reality, let us rise up and declare God’s strong and sure Word, which is forever settled in the heavens:
FOR ZION’S SAKE I WILL NOT KEEP SILENT; FOR JERUSALEM’S SAKE I WILL NOT REMAIN QUIET, TILL HER RIGHTEOUSNESS SHINES LIKE THE DAWN AND HER SALVATION LIKE A BLAZING TORCH!
Beloved, may our lives continually point people to the cross and empty tomb in Jerusalem where Yeshua/Jesus died and rose again for our salvation and also toward the Second Coming of Yeshua/Jesus to Jerusalem where He will complete our salvation!
Let’ pray.
SUBJECT: God’s Plan for Jerusalem, Part II
INTRODUCTION:
Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Isaiah makes a personal declaration about the city of Jerusalem: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a blazing torch.”
What was it that was motivating this man of God to have such a passion for Jerusalem? What had God shown him about this small Middle Eastern town that so captivated his heart and his passion to cry out for her?
Although Isaiah didn’t have the full and complete picture of God for Jerusalem, he had been shown enough to know that this city was where the redemptive plan of God for the whole earth would be centered. Isaiah knew by the Spirit of God that Jerusalem was not just another city. It was the city where God’s salvation would be accomplished and from where His righteousness would fill the whole earth.
Beloved, this prophet was taken into the private counsel of God to be shown the importance of Jerusalem. God deposited into him the significance of Jerusalem not just for his own time but for the eternal future. There is a reason why Isaiah spoke so passionately and prophetically about this particular city.
And it is our prayer and desire here today, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to be able to enter into these inspired words of the Holy Spirit about God’s plan for the city of Jerusalem Israel.
We need to know God’s plan for Jerusalem because it is impossible to understand the end times without knowing it—plain and simple!
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that you would reveal to us your plan for the city of Jerusalem so that we may enter into the same passion that Isaiah had for this city. We ask it in the name of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. Amen
I. ISAIAH’S PASSIONITE AND PROPHETIC DECLARTION FOR JERUSALEM.
1.) The prophet says that he will not remain silent or keep quiet until the righteousness of Jerusalem is shining like the dawn.
After the long and dark ages of man’s sinful history, looking down the prophetic tunnel of time, the prophet sees the righteousness of God breaking forth like the dawn from the city of Jerusalem!
At the end of the age, the world having experienced the full grown evil of Satan in the Beast kingdom of the Antichrist, the prophet sees the city of Jerusalem as a shining light beaming with the righteousness of God which will fill the whole earth!
At long last, righteousness, true righteousness will be the rule of the day. God’s righteous Word will be exalted. Scriptural and moral truth will be not just a standard but will be the standard for the entire earth! God’s pure and genuine justice will be for all people. And it will go forth from the city of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be the model city of God’s righteousness. And this righteousness will flow out of Jerusalem where the King of righteousness, the Lord Jesus, will be reigning from. And the entire world will be impacted by this mighty river flowing from Jerusalem!
There will be no more time or space for those seeking unrighteousness; for those who would exalt sin and do harm and commit injustices against others.
The righteousness of God which is shining forth from Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, will raise the joy and blessing of life to levels never before experienced on the earth. This will so motivate the nations that they will seek and pursue His righteousness!
Beloved, Jerusalem will be the model city of God in the Millennial Reign of King Jesus upon the earth. Jesus, the King of Jerusalem, will rule over the whole world in perfect righteousness.
Radical Islam will be no more! Evil will be dethroned by Him who sits upon the throne in Jerusalem Israel!
Politicians and government leaders will be motivated to provide justice and equity for their people under the leadership of King Jesus. The glory of His righteousness will flow from Jerusalem and cover the whole earth.
And this Godly righteousness will transform the world into a millennial paradise where the blessing of God will be the lifestyle of choice for a thousand years.
Beloved, imagine turning on the television and hearing nothing but Good News! News anchors and reporters will be reporting on the amazing ways that people and nations are being blessed by God because of righteousness which has become the standard form of behavior.
How glorious to see television shows and movies where the splendor and beauty of true righteousness is lifting up people and families and creating a stunning atmosphere where God’s blessings are literally overtaking them!
Not only on Fox but also on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and even MSNBC is more breaking news of an explosion of cures coming out of the scientific community! Diseases that had ravaged the human race are becoming obsolete!
There will also be a worldwide network of nations working together—because of Jesus and what is coming forth out of Jerusalem—that will vastly improve the quality of life for people around the globe!
Because sin and its consequences will be tremendously reduced, the way to economic prosperity will be open for every person on planet earth! Everyone will benefit because of the righteousness that is flowing from the City of the Great King! No third world countries then!
This is why that the nations will flow to the model city of righteousness, Jerusalem Israel, to learn the ways of Jesus the Messiah.
It is said of King Solomon in II Chronicles 1:15 that he made silver and gold as common as stones in the city of Jerusalem. And under the Greater Solomon—even Christ Jesus the God-man—the whole world will enjoy abundant prosperity!
All of these blessings will be possible and available to the whole world because of the righteous king ruling the earth from the model city of Jerusalem—the city of righteousness!
As referenced earlier, the prophet Isaiah may not have known the complete plan of God for Jerusalem, but he knew enough through the Holy Spirit to pray for the day when God’s righteousness would shine forth from the chosen city and touch the whole world!
And I believe that the Spirit’s call for us to day is to do exactly what Isaiah did: we should not be quiet or silent when it comes to the eternal God’s plan for the city of Jerusalem.
Our continual intercession and prayer to God should be for His plan of filling the earth with righteousness from Jerusalem to become a reality! Beloved, this is praying according to God’s will.
And as we align ourselves with God’s end time plan for Jerusalem, we will learn to hunger and thirst for His righteousness to fill our own lives. As it does, not only will we be blessed but those around us will also be blessed.
Learning to walk in righteousness, as it will one day be in the model city of Jerusalem, we will be a model for others to follow now—a model that will bring God’s abundance to their lives!
The point is this: As we pray for the ultimate revelation of God’s righteousness in Jerusalem when Jesus sets up His Millennial capital from there, we can even now know a measure of that righteousness in our lives, our families, our church and in our circle of love.
“Oh God, as we pray for the day when Your righteousness will flow from Jerusalem like the dawn, we ask You to fill us now with that same righteousness which is in us through Your Son Christ Jesus. Let now your righteousness flow out of our lives like the dawn!”
2.) The second part of Isaiah’s passionate and prophetic declaration is found in these Spirit- inspired words, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.”
The prophet is saying that he will continue to cry out until Jerusalem becomes that shinning city set on a hill for all to see. I believe that Isaiah was under a mighty anointing of God as he penned these inspired words of holy writ. He was feeling the heart of God for Jerusalem and what God desires and plans to accomplish there.
This is not just about a small dusty city in the Middle East; rather it is about what is on God’s heart to accomplish from this chosen city. It is about God’s eternal plan that will be centered in this city.
And the prophet said he would not remain quiet or silent until Jerusalem’s salvation is burning like a torch.
It is interesting and telling that the Hebrew word for “salvation” is “Yeshua.” We all know that “Yeshua” is also the English name of Jesus. In Matthew 1:21, the angel said that His name shall be called Jesus, for He will “save” His people from their sins. His name shall be called “Yeshua,” “salvation.”
I will show you the relevance of this to our text in Isaiah 62:1. Once again, Isaiah didn’t have the whole picture, but He knew enough through the Spirit to know that God’s salvation would be in the city of Jerusalem.
The best way that I feel that I can bring this truth home to you is by referencing the Seven Feasts of God: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles.
Keep in mind that these Seven Feasts are a stunning prophetic revelation of God’s plan of salvation from beginning to end.
So to make it simple, I will ask you seven questions that all have the same answer.
1. Where was Jesus/Yeshua (salvation) crucified as the Passover Lamb of God? Jerusalem!
2. Where was Yeshua’s (salvation) sinless body, God’s Unleavened Bread, buried? Jerusalem!
3. Where did Yeshua (salvation) rise from the dead as the First Fruits of those who sleep in death? Jerusalem!
4. Where did Yeshua (salvation) pour out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and begin and empower His Church? Jerusalem!
So Yeshua/Jesus fulfilled the first four of God’s Seven Feasts in the city of Jerusalem! Salvation burned like a torch in Jerusalem with the first coming of Yeshua/Jesus! Isaiah’s prayer was partially answered with the first coming of the Messiah.
Now let’s look at the last three Feasts of God which will be fulfilled at Jesus’ Second Coming.
5. Where will Yeshua (salvation) come when He raptures His Church and returns to the earth on the Feast of Trumpets? Jerusalem!
6. Where will Yeshua (salvation) fulfill the Day of Atonement when He kills the Antichrist, saves all of Israel, is welcomed back by the Jewish leadership and enters through the Golden Gates to be crowned King? Jerusalem!
7. And five days later, from what city will Yeshua/Jesus (salvation) begin the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles when He will bless the nations of the earth? Jerusalem!
Beloved, there is no other city on earth like the city of Jerusalem! It is the one place from whence has come and will come the salvation of God Almighty!
Therefore, it is right for us today in 2015 to join with the prophet Isaiah, who is now interceding from the balcony of Heaven, and to pray for the city of Jerusalem.
Especially today, when the devil is working so intensely and passionately through radical Islam to keep God’s plan for Jerusalem from becoming a reality, let us rise up and declare God’s strong and sure Word, which is forever settled in the heavens:
FOR ZION’S SAKE I WILL NOT KEEP SILENT; FOR JERUSALEM’S SAKE I WILL NOT REMAIN QUIET, TILL HER RIGHTEOUSNESS SHINES LIKE THE DAWN AND HER SALVATION LIKE A BLAZING TORCH!
Beloved, may our lives continually point people to the cross and empty tomb in Jerusalem where Yeshua/Jesus died and rose again for our salvation and also toward the Second Coming of Yeshua/Jesus to Jerusalem where He will complete our salvation!
Let’ pray.
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