Isaiah 35 is a magnificent chapter.

Best I can tell, millennial from its first Line till its last!

It’s first two verses seem nearly poetic, word picturesque! “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.” Isaiah 35:1-2, King James Version.

The noun “wilderness” is “midbar” in Hebrew, translated “desert” 13 times in our Old Testament. And it is immediately “matched” (an example of literary “parallelism”) with the term “solitary place,” rendered as “dry” or “dry land” 9 times in Scripture. You immediately get the idea, the Holy Spirit being such a grand Author.

Seldom does the Bible associate “gladness” with “solitude or aridness. But here it clearly does! “Sus” in Hebrew does indicate a spirit of “rejoicing” (21 times) … but it is also the word for a “horse!” I suspect because horses “prance” and “dance” and “paw” often, being that exuberant for the race or battle or ride!

Why all this “gladness?”

The Lord has come!

Jesus, back to earth!

Deserts are not known for a lot of lush vegetation! (Ever heard of an “oasis?”) Very little rainfall too! But now …!

This hints at the fact that when Jesus rules on earth … even weather patterns will be “rectified, changed, healed!”

The dry “south” (“midbar” is translated “south” a few times, since that’s the general direction of the barren desert in relation to Israel) will trade its so-so reputation for that of glorious Lebanon (in Bible days) and the vibrancy of Carmel and Sharon!

This will be called a dramatic “reversal!”

And this once parched land will see “the Glory of our Lord!” Then another “parallelism,” will see “the excellency of our God!”

That’s Jesus, folks! (“Glorious, Excellent,” and a whole lot more!)

Just like when on earth the first time, everywhere He went dead people came to life … His second time on earth, everywhere He goes dead acreage begins to thrive!

Oh, the sheer Power of our Creator/Redeemer!

Paul was right, “By Him (Jesus) all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17) Literally meaning “all things hold together, exist, prosper, function rightly!” In Greek “sunistao.”

Wow!

When Jesus returns to earth …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

So much in the Bible about the Millennium, yet I still imagine “the half has not yet been told!” (As an overwhelmed Queen of Sheba once said to King Solomon.)

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What a lovely Text today.

“And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isaiah 32:2

Sure sounds good.

Safety, security, comfort, all needs satisfied!

But Who is this “man?”

I say, based on the previous verse … Isaiah 32:1 … that it is the Lord! (“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment,”as in King Jesus.)

If I am right in holding this old-fashioned, fundamental (literalist) view … the “he” in verse 2 above identifies with the “king” of verse 1. “King” is the antecedent of “he.”

Hence Jesus will be a “hiding place!” (In Hebrew a place of “withdrawal, secrecy, filled with love!”)

Jesus will also be a “covert.” (Meaning “shelter, protector, covering.”)

Talk about being “in Christ,” just Old Testament style!

Then suddenly, it looks like our verse almost “mixes metaphors.”

Jesus becomes a “River!” Let me re-word that, “rivers of water,” plural! In a previously “dry” place! (Does this remind you in any way of John 7:38-39? “Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man THIRST, let him come unto me, and DRINK. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow RIVERS of living water. But this spake he of the SPIRIT, which they that believe on him should receive.”)

So the Holy Spirit is compared to “Rivers.” And now today so is our Lord Jesus! (The Holy Spirit is also our Comforter, “Parakletos.” Then later we learn … so is Jesus. Specifically He is our “Advocate,” but still “Parakletos” in Greek!)

Wow!

Then, back to our Text, (Jesus is) as a “shadow,” that is cast by a “great rock.” (I’d say the “Rock of Ages!”) In a “weary land,” a place of extreme weakness.

Let’s read it yet again: “And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”

These last two Descriptors (“Rivers of waters” and a Protecting “Shadow in a weary land”) sound like Psalm 23, in reality! (You know … “Still Waters” and the “Valley of the Shadow, and His comforting Rod and Staff.”) This is Jesus our Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd of the sheep! (As in 1 Peter 5:4 … “And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”)

I believe this is the Millennial Jesus, folks.

They nowadays talk about the “Jesus of faith” and the “Jesus of history” and the “Probable Jesus.” I only know the Jesus of the Bible, the One introduced to me by the Holy Spirit of God when He saved my lost soul from Hell! The One Who lives in my heart! Jesus the Son of God!

Also the One Who is coming again, to rule and reign on this earth for a “thousand years.” Looks like from our Text a thousand “peaceful, restful” years!

One more thing today.

What do the “wind” and the “tempest” and the “dry place” and the “weary land” represent in our Verse?

Remember Jesus has just returned, interrupted the war of Armageddon and defeated (slain) the antichrist … snatching a battered Jewish remnant from sure destruction! People who have suffered indescribably from the Dragon, the Devil, Satan himself.

Those horrid Tribulational conditions surely are the “wind and tempest and aridness and fatigue” from which Jesus delivers them!

By the way, as a present day Christian Jesus has delivered me too! He is my “Hiding Place” and “Covert” and “River” and “Rock!” No longer do my sins torment me, because of Him! Nor the storms of life overcome me! Nor my needs define me!

Hallelujah!

“Behold the Man!”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Isaiah the Prophet, as I’m sure I’ve said earlier, says more about the Millennium than any other Bible Writer. And today’s Lesson is no exception.

Watch: “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.” Isaiah 32:1

When did Israel have any king, including David, of whom it could be truthfully said that he totally reigned in righteousness?

I can answer that.

Never!

Not yet!

Even David (usually considered the apex of Israeli Monarchy) sinned and fought and lied and proved Jeremiah 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Wow!

Others say Israel’s Goodness peaked during the administration of Solomon, David’s Son. Yet … “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart from God.” 1 Kings 11:14

Study Hezekiah too, and Josiah and any of the others.

Yet in the future … “Behold, a KING shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.”

Yes, King Jesus!

“Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
does its successive journeys run;
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.”

Hallelujah!

The defining word for Jesus’ Kingdom, “RIGHTEOUSNESS!”

“Tzsedeq,” my quaint spelling/pronunciation, means that which is “straight” (not crooked) in the Eyes of God! Never deviating from God’s Perfect Standard!

Even Jesus’ “helpers” during the Millennium (The Disciples? Those of us who are saved?) will “rule” (word meaning “to act as a prince, to govern”) in “judgment.” Meaning equity, to guide state affairs with “no partiality!”Justice that can’t be bought!

We shall not murder unborn babies to get their heathen mother’s votes! (Just one example.)

What a wonderful time it’s going to be, the Millennium!

Isaiah 9:7 agrees: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.”

“Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.”

“Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine.”

Yes, Hallelujah!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

An even more thrilling Lesson tomorrow (in my opinion anyway) … come study with us again!

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Not only will JESUS literally return to earth (“And HIS feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.” Zechariah 14:1) … and not only will multitudes then be SAVED, BORN AGAIN (“Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and HE WILL SAVE US: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his SALVATION.” Isaiah 25:9) … but also the earth itself will be abundantly blessed!

Even to the point that animal life will be impacted! (One of our upcoming Lessons … “The WOLF also shall dwell with the LAMB, and the LEOPARD shall lie down with the KID; and the CALF and the YOUNG LION and the FATLING together; and a little child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6) Yes, “physical” blessings too!

And today’s Text Verse, Isaiah 30:23 (not very well known, not often studied) hints at these physical (geographical) blessings.

“Then shall He give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.” Isaiah 30:23, King James Version

Look at the key words. The Lord “shall give rain.” That’s important in the Near East (including Israel) … but this divinely “controlled climate” is world-wide, I believe.

And this “rain” is targeting the “seed” of the ground … which will cause a bumper crop of wheat (or barley or rye) with which to make “bread!” Recall please the “famine” that will engulf planet earth under the antichrists’ reign of terror! (“A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny.” Revelation 6:6, a whole day’s wages to buy a handful of flour!)

Then Isaiah gives us a two word description of farming success during the Millennium … “fat” and “plenteous!” Self-explanatory, I think. But the former literally meaning “vigorous” and the latter meaning “stout, robust!”

Then the Holy Spirit gives us one more trait of the agricultural blessings of that coming Epoch … “In that day shall thy cattle feed in LARGE PASTURES.” Plenty of land! (Probably The CENTRAL issue in Israel today!) And apparently plenty of “cattle” to graze on that land! “CATTLE” feeding prodigiously, with the verb “feed” being cognate to the Hebrew noun “shepherd!” Yes, the “Chief Shepherd” will have returned! Not only to care for his “people sheep” but also for their “animal sheep” and livestock!

The Apostle Peter so promised: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a …” 1 Peter 5:5, no telling what all will be “received,” in total!

Wow!

I’ve enjoyed sharing this “thought” with you today. The Website here (these cumulative) Lessons have been building since 2002! This whole on-line endeavor was the idea of my older son Joel, a God-called preacher and Pastor himself. Joel unexpectedly went home to be with the Lord last Wednesday. But his influence will herein live on, the Lord willing. At least until his Dad is called home too!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Unless the Lord chooses to answer this prayer, the last request in the whole Bible: “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20

No more death!

Revelation 21:4 … “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be NO MORE DEATH, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Hallelujah!

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My Text this morning: “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:9, our chapter for nearly this whole week, focuses on the Millennium, the coming time when Jesus rules the earth.

Israel particularly is saying this. But the nations (gentiles) of the earth, by then, will freely agree!

“This is our God.” Is that not a personal, albeit collective, confession of faith? It may be the “Behold the Man” parallel of the Old Testament, quoting John 19:5. Or the “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” Sentiment, from John 1:29.

But the next clause, “We have waited for him,” is the real “clue” to what’s happening. The Hebrew verb “qavah” means “to hope for” someone or something! Actually this sentence occurs twice in our relatively short verse! “We have waited for him.” For emphasis no doubt! The seven year Tribulation will probably make its survivors (few in number) “eager” for the Messiah, the Deliverer, the Saviour!

By the way, we Christians today are yet to be “waiting for the Lord!” As in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 … “And TO WAIT for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” With “waiting” here implying our being “residents on earth with our hearts in Heaven!” It’s spelled “anameno.”

But back to Isaiah 25:9, this great watershed verse. “He will save us.” Is that not believing faith? Here is Israel (at least Israel, if not nearly all then-alive humanity) expressing the spirit of John 6:68 … “Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to WHOM shall we go? THOU hast the words of eternal life.”

Amen!

“He will save us” merely claims in advance such verses as Romans 10:13, written in a Jewish context anyway. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Or Acts 16:31, written in a gentile context. “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

Then the verse reveals the general result of such glorious salvation … “We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Happiness and joy (unspeakable) in the saving Grace of God! He saved us, Hallelujah!

Wow!

Isaiah 25:9 is at least an amplification of Romans 11:26 … “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”

It’s going to happen, dear students! Of if you prefer, dear readers! (I like to think of us as fellow-learners in the Word of God.)

Jesus is coming again!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

What a verse to sequentially appear in our series on the Millennium, for THIS SATURDAY! The day we bury my precious Son Joel. A Preacher (Pastor) who believed every word of our Text.

Who looked up Wednesday, having been ushered into the Presence of the Lord, and said “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Enjoy, Son!

We love you.

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