A Study of Isiah 40 to 48 – A prophecy relevant to our day?
This is a prophecy about Cyrus The Great. The prophecy was
written by Isiah at least 100 years before Cyrus was born. Like most prophecies, this one was a
foreshadowing of events that would occur in the future. It relates to men that
God would use to deliver His people from bondage and oppression. The ultimate
fulfillment can be seen in our Lord Jesus. But the prophecy concerning Cyrus, a
gentile anointed as God’s servant can be seen in other great leaders God has
used to deliver His people from great troubles.
In our day many
prophets and even world leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu have
called President Trump a modern-day Cyrus. This is a speculation and viewpoint
that we are going to explore as we study this Isiah prophecy. In this
speculation, we will see President Trump as a type of “Cyrus”. We will see the
USA (America) as “Israel” and we will see the Babylonian Empire as the current
Luciferian deep state.
To begin we need to know a little about Cyrus the
Great.
Cyrus the Great
By Darius of Parsa, 31 October 2007; Revised
Category: Ancient Mesopotamia and Near East:
Historical Figures
“Cyrus turned his sword to the
Neo-Babylonian Empire, which held the fertile lands of Mesopotamia and many
surrounding lands. Early peoples of the ancient world called the area between
the Tigris and Euphrates “The Land.” Unlike the earlier Ur dynasty, the
Neo-Babylonian Empire was under a weak and feeble ruler, named Nabonidus. Cyrus
took advantage of his enemy’s burden, much like he did when he attacked
Croesus, years before. The Persian King intended to march into southern
Babylonia and take the capital of Babylon itself without much dispute, but his
army was confronted by a Babylonian army near the town of Opis. Although Cyrus
was victorious, the battle was a close one, neither side inflicting significant
damage on the other. The Persians took over the city, and in turn caused a
nearby city, Sippar to fly the white flag. Nabonidus ordered a large division
of troops to patrol the Euphrates River to control law and order in his slowly
dying empire, and to protect the empire from an anticipated Persian attack.
Nabonidus hoped that the natural defense would give his army the upper edge
when another wave of troops descended on them. This tactic had been used by
innumerable Babylonian kings before him, with great success, but in the year of
539 B.C, the strategy rendered fruitless. The Persians did not confront the
Babylonians on their terms and marched down the Tigris instead. The Achaemenid
army reached the walls of Babylon shortly after giving the destination.
According to Herodotus, the Persians won a battle not far away from Babylon
itself, and that the remaining Babylonian army retreated to the walls of their
city. Herodotus also writes that Cyrus did not attack Babylon directly, but
derived canals on the Euphrates. The river then was drained to a height “to the
height of the middle of a man’s thigh”. The Persian army then walked under the
walls of Babylon itself.”
The important part of this story is that Cyrus fought a
battle with the Babylonians outside of the fortified city of Babylon and won
but not completely. The Babylonians retreated into their well-fortified city
thinking that Cyrus and his forces could not possibly get in to defeat them.
Cyrus then devised a plan, possibly based on the Isiah prophecy that he or his
people probably knew that had been penned so many years before. The city was
well fortified with massive walls and iron gates. Impossible to directly
attack. The Euphrates River ran through
the city and was also protected by iron gates. By diverting the waters of the
river upstream, Cyrus drained the river in the city, allowing his troops to
enter the city on the river bed. It was at this time that the king of Babylon
Belshazzar was having a great feast and there came handwriting on the wall (Dan
5).
[Dan 5:25-31 ESV] 25 And this is
the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the
interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom
and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and
found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and
Persians." 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed
with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made
about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night
Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31
And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years
old. (Darius
was a sub-king under Cyrus the Persian. He is referred to in secular history as
Gubaru.)
“In October 539 bc, Cyrus advanced
into lower Mesopotamia and, leaving Babylon till last, conquered and occupied
the surrounding territory. Seeing which way the wind was blowing, Nabonidus of
Babylon deserted his city, leaving it in the charge of his son Belshazzar...
the taking of Babylon was as bloodless and effortless as Daniel 5 implies.”
(Motyer, in his commentary on Isaiah)
The fall of mystery Babylon will be
like the fall of real Babylon – sudden, sure, and amid her worst blasphemies. The
final destruction of Mystery Babylon, Satan’s kingdom on earth, comes at the
hands of the returning Lord Jesus. In our scenario, a precursor to the final
fall of Satan’s kingdom could be the fall of the current cabal but not the
final destruction of Satan’s kingdom.
“Empires do not stand by human
might, man-made machines and missiles. There is not a wall high enough nor
thick enough to prevent a nation from falling when God pronounces that nation’s
doom.” (Strauss)
After the fall of Babylon Cyrus reigned for 9 years.
“When the Babylonians woke from their
slumber, they found themselves under Persian rule. Cyrus freed all the
Israelite slaves, and let them return to Israel if they wished. The Achaemenid
King did not punish the Babylonians but confronted a temple prayed to the god
of Marduk. Cyrus confined Nabonidus and announced himself as “king of Babylon,
king of Sumer and Akkad”. In the years between 549 B.C until his death, Cyrus
the Great was constantly subjugating and conquering tribes and nations on the
fringes of his empire onward. The Persian king conquered Bactria, modern-day
Afghanistan, all the way to the Jaxartes river. Cyrus carved his name into
stone in the city of Cyropolis, marking one of the longest journeys in his
military career. From one end of his empire to the other, was over three thousand
miles, every nation conquered in less than twenty years. Even the Assyrian
Empire, hadn’t come close to achieving such miraculous feats. Cyrus the Great’s
memorial told on what he had done during his lifetime. The beginning line wrote
“I am Cyrus, King of Kings.” Most citizens of the Achaemenid Empire agreed,
Cyrus the Great was indeed one of the greatest kings ever to walk on Earth.”
If Trump is a Biblical type of Cyrus
then we should see the pattern in Cyrus’ reign reflected in Trump’s reign. Cyrus
cleverly exposed the enemy’s weakness, their overconfidence in their
“fortress”, drained the part of the Euphrates River that ran through the city,
and while the enemy was partying in arrogance, pride, and overconfidence, he
suddenly attacked and in one night conquered the Babylonian Empire (Daniel 5).
Cyrus went on to conquer many other lands and built one of the largest
dynasties of the Middle east. Under his rule, the empire embraced all
the previous civilized states of the ancient Near
East. Cyrus also allowed and
supported the Jews in returning to their own land and rebuilding their Temple.
Before Trump, our nation and the
nations of the earth were essentially controlled by an evil, Luciferian cabal,
what the Bible would call Mystery Babylon (Rev 17:5). Trump, a businessman from
New York, suddenly appeared on the scene and ran for president of the United
States. Like for Cyrus, years before his rise to power, prophets had prophesied
that a man named Trump would run for the office of president, be elected
against all odds, serve two terms, and would change the course of history. His first four years were always a battle
with the deep state but he won many battles and made a major impact on the US
and in many ways, on the world, especially in the Middle East and on Israel.
However, in the election of 2020, it would appear that he lost the election and
a rogue actor became president. His enemies retreated into a seemingly
impregnatable political “fortress”. This fortress is a fortress of media,
political operatives and governmental agencies, wealthy individuals, and many demonic
forces. Trump's offensive strategy like
that of Cyrus was/is to “drain the swamp”, financially “starve” the system, and
expose their weaknesses and evil doings in many areas of life, then attack when
they are venerable because of pride, arrogance, and overconfidence. That is
where we find ourselves today. Trump’s path so far has followed that of Cyrus.
If the speculation holds, what does the future hold?
Will the Cyrus model hold for Trump?
Let’s turn to our text and see what we can discern.
Isaiah Chapters 40-48 are primarily Messianic prophecies
about the coming of the Lord Jesus to atone for sin and the ultimate
restoration of Israel. However, what follows chapter 39 is a prophecy
concerning King Cyrus of Persia who conquered the Babylonian Empire in 539 BC.
This prophecy concerning Cyrus was just a foreshadowing of the Messianic
prophecy but it sets the stage for our speculation concerning President Trump.
Remember where Isaiah 39 just
ended: announcing the coming Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and the exile of
the nation. "The announcement that the Babylonians would someday capture
Jerusalem and take the people into exile was a bitter blow. How could Judah
celebrate the downfall of Assyria when everyone knew that a more powerful
invader was on the way?" (Wolf)
[Isa 39:5 ESV] Then Isaiah said to
Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:
[Isa 39:6 ESV] Behold, the days are
coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored
up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the
LORD.
[Isa 39:7 ESV] And some of your own
sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and
they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
Now let’s begin looking at chapters 40-48 through the
speculation that they might relate to President Trump and the strange dynamics
that are taking place in our nation these days.
Isaiah Chapter 40
[Isa 40:1 ESV] Comfort, comfort my
people, says your God.
[Isa 40:2 ESV] Speak tenderly to
Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is
pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
The scriptures
of Isaiah 40-48 are ones of comforting the LORD’s people.
When we find
LORD in the scriptures it refers to God, the fullness of the God Head. Lord
generally refers to Jesus or just one of the God Head.
[Isa 40:3 ESV] A voice cries: "In
the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a
highway for our God.
These
scriptures are to prepare the way of the LORD as He moves to deliver His people
from the ravages of demonic oppression through what the Bible calls Babylon or
Mystery Babylon, Satan’s manifested kingdoms on the earth.
[Isa 40:4 ESV] Every valley shall be
lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall
become level, and the rough places a plain.
[Isa 40:5 ESV] And the glory of the
LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of
the LORD has spoken."
What is
prophesied is to reveal the glory of the LORD.
[Isa 40:6 ESV] A voice says,
"Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
[Isa 40:7 ESV] The grass withers, the
flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are
grass.
[Isa 40:8 ESV] The grass withers, the
flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
[Isa 40:9 ESV] Go on up to a high
mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O
Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of
Judah, "Behold your God!"
[Isa 40:10 ESV] Behold, the Lord GOD
comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
These
scriptures are preparing for a great move of God. The call is for God’s people
to cry out with a loud voice, “Behold your God” and fear not for He comes with
might and His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him.
[Isa 40:11 ESV] He will tend his flock
like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in
his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
God will take
care of His people as a shepherd takes care of his lambs.
[Isa 40:12 ESV] Who has measured the
waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
[Isa 40:13 ESV] Who has measured the
Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?
[Isa 40:14 ESV] Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him
knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
[Isa 40:15 ESV] Behold, the nations are
like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold,
he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
[Isa 40:16 ESV] Lebanon would not
suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
[Isa 40:17 ESV] All the nations are as
nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and
emptiness.
[Isa 40:18 ESV] To whom then will you
liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
[Isa 40:19 ESV] An idol! A craftsman
casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
[Isa 40:20 ESV] He who is too
impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful
craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
[Isa 40:21 ESV] Do you not know? Do you
not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood
from the foundations of the earth?
[Isa 40:22 ESV] It is he who sits above
the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who
stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell
in;
The LORD exists
outside of time and space; outside of our universe. He is its creator and He
controls every aspect of it. He is the great I AM, the Self-existing One.
Nothing exists that He does not order and control.
[Isa 40:23 ESV] who brings princes to
nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
[Isa 40:24 ESV] Scarcely are they
planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when
he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like
stubble.
[Isa 40:25 ESV] To whom then will you
compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
[Isa 40:26 ESV] Lift up your eyes on
high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is
strong in power, not one is missing.
[Isa 40:27 ESV] Why do you say, O
Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right
is disregarded by my God"?
[Isa 40:28 ESV] Have you not known?
Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of
the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
[Isa 40:29 ESV] He gives power to the
faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
[Isa 40:30 ESV] Even youths shall faint
and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
[Isa 40:31 ESV] but they who wait for
the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like
eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
What a promise.
They who wait for, know, obey, seek, make the Jesus their Lord shall be strong
and mount up with wings like eagles; strength to soar above everything else.
First, we soar up into heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians
2:6). Then we run the race (Hebrews 12:1).
Then we walk the walk (Colossians
2:6).
The message is clear. “Have you not
known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the
ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is
unsearchable.” The LORD (the fulness of the Godhead) is an all-powerful, all-knowing,
all present, all-loving creator of everything. He has a great master plan and
it can not be thwarted in any way. Let’s explore some of this plan as it might
be playing out in our nation in our day.
Isiah Chapter 41
Isa 41:1 NLT] 1 "Listen in silence
before me, you lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now
and speak. The court is ready for your case.
“Bultema on coastlands:
"a poetic name for the idolatrous distant nations." Motyer:
"Isaiah uses the word [coastlands] as shorthand for the far reaches of the
earth."
The idolatrous nations of the earth are
going on trial before the court in heaven. This story is about more than just
America, it involves all nations of the earth.
“There are many different reasons
for silence. There is the silence of shame, the silence of attention,
the silence of submission. Any one of these is good reason to initially be
silent in the LORD's presence.” (Guzik)
[Isa 41:2 NLT] 2 "Who has stirred
up this king from the east, rightly calling him to God's service? Who gives
this man victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings
underfoot? With his sword, he reduces armies to dust. With his bow, he scatters
them like chaff before the wind.
Cyrus came from
the northeast of Babylon. Trump came from the northeast coast of the USA. Cyrus
is a gentile called God’s servant. Trump has been called God’s servant. It is
God who gives His servants victory over many nations and their leaders. His
military is mighty and easily overcomes other militaries. Some prophets of our
day are saying that legions of God’s angels have been unleased over our nation.
[Isa 41:3-4 NLT] 3 He chases them away
and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.
Trump is a
businessman, not a politician. He is on unfamiliar ground.
[Isa 41:4 NLT] Who has done such mighty
deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the
LORD, the First and the Last. I alone am he."
This makes it
clear that neither Cyrus nor Trump was the one doing all of this. The focus is
not Trump or any man, it is the LORD alone! Jesus takes the same title
of the First and the Last in Revelation
1:17 and 22:13. Jesus
is the one doing all of this. He and He alone.
[Isa 41:5 NLT] The lands beyond the sea watch in fear.
Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.
As the idolatrous nations of the
earth watch all of this taking place the reaction is one of fear of themselves
being exposed, then mobilizing to combat this battle against the evil that can
be found in so many nations these days. Just what we are seeing in our world
today.
[Isa 41:6 NLT] The idol makers encourage one another, saying
to each other, "Be strong!"
To deal with Trump, the idolatrous
nations are forming alliances and encouraging one another to deal with this
rising power and movement in the USA.
[Isa 41:7 NLT] The carver encourages the goldsmith, and the
molder helps at the anvil. "Good," they say. "It's coming along
fine." Carefully they join the parts together, then fasten the thing in
place so it won't fall over.
People still see something of God's
power and glory, reject it and then make their own god. This is Paul's whole
message in Romans
1:18-25. (Guzik)
[Isa 41:8 NLT] "But as for you, Israel my servant,
Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend,
[Isa 41:9 NLT] I have called you back from the ends of the
earth, saying, 'You are my servant.' For I have chosen you and will not throw
you away.
America, “one nation, under God”, is
a nation that was established by God to be His servant. God has established the
USA and He will not throw it away. As with Israel, even though the nation has
fallen into humanism, idol worship, moral decline, and many into great
unspeakable sin, God is not going to forsake her. Like Israel, He is going to
redeem her. “This is because of God’s initiative, not because of America’s
achievement. America is different because of God’s work in her, not because of
her own greatness.” (Guzik)
[Isa 41:10 NLT] Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be
discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold
you up with my victorious right hand.
[Isa 41:11 NLT] "See, all your angry enemies lie there,
confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing.
[Isa 41:12 NLT] You will look in vain for those who tried to
conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing.
[Isa 41:13 NLT] For I hold you by your right hand--I, the
LORD your God. And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.
This is both a command and a
promise to America. Do not be afraid, and do not be discouraged because I am
your God, I am with you, I will strengthen you and help you, and I will make
you victorious. The Lord’s victorious right hand is His authority and power.
Note that it is America’s hand of power that God’s hand of power takes hold of.
The promise is
that Trump’s enemies (the Luciferian cabal or deep state in the world) will be
angry, confused, humiliated, and will come to nothing.
[Isa 41:14 NLT] Though you are a lowly
worm, O Jacob, don't be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you. I am the
LORD, your Redeemer. I am the Holy One of Israel.'
[Isa 41:15 NLT] You will be a new
threshing instrument with many sharp teeth. You will tear your enemies apart,
making chaff of mountains.
[Isa 41:16 NLT] You will toss them into
the air, and the wind will blow them all away; a whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in the LORD. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
"The name Jacob, as applied to
Israel here, always points back to Israel's lowly and deceitful past, so that
it is by no means an honor." (Bultema)
"I don't know of any other than
the Creator Himself who can take a weak worm and make it sharp with teeth! God
can do that." (Redpath)
Certainly, this applies to America. We
have fallen as a nation far from God. We have a lowly and deceitful past. Only
God can redeem us and turn us into a threshing instrument to deal with the evil
that is in our nation and indeed, in the world today. When this all comes about
we will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One!
[Isa 41:17 NLT] "When the poor and needy search for
water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the
LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
[Isa 41:18 NLT] I will open up rivers for them on the high
plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the
desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched
ground.
[Isa 41:19 NLT] I will plant trees in the barren
desert--cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
[Isa 41:20 NLT] I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means--that it is the LORD who has done this, the Holy
One of Israel who created it.
These verses tell us that God has
all the resources we will ever need as this current drama in our land plays
out. These resources will include not only natural resources but all the
resources of the Lord’s “Shalom”, His provision, peace, power, protection, His
presence. It will be clear that this “Shalom” will be miraculous, it will be
provided by the hand of our Lord. God will get the glory!
"Water and shade are the two great needs
of the desert traveller … None of the trees mentioned are fruit trees: the
point is shelter, not sustenance." (Motyer)
[Isa 41:21 NLT] "Present the case for your idols,"
says the LORD. "Let them show what they can do," says the King of
Israel.
[Isa 41:22 NLT] "Let them try to tell us what happened
long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the
future holds, so we can know what's going to happen.
[Isa 41:23 NLT] Yes, tell us what will occur in the days
ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything--good or bad! Do
something that will amaze and frighten us.
[Isa 41:24 NLT] But no! You are less than nothing and can do
nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves.
God is a righteous judge. He asks
those on trial to present their case. Why did they do what they did? Or let then
tell what the future holds. Those of the deep state believe that they are gods,
seeking power and control over the people of the earth. In the court of heaven,
they are given a chance to prove it. They can not because they are mear
narcissistic, fallen, and evil men and women, less than nothing that can do
nothing at all.
“Today, idolatry is still an
abomination. Though few bow down to statues, many still fashion a god of their
own opinion, and decide that is the god they will respect. Even many churchgoers
do this today. "The spiritual conflict experienced today is exactly of the
same nature and of the same character as you find depicted here. The issue is
still unsettled in the minds of men, though it is settled eternally in the mind
of God. The world is still making every effort to put the best possible show
upon its worship of the creature rather than the Creator. Its worship is more
the patronizing of the shell of religion than bowing in submission before an
empty cross, and occupied throne, and the King of kings in glory."
(Redpath)
[Isa 41:25 NLT] "But I have stirred up a leader who
will come from the north. I have called him by name from the east. I will give
him victory over kings and princes. He will trample them as a potter treads on
clay.
[Isa 41:26 NLT] "Who told you from the beginning that
this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No
one said a word!
[Isa 41:27 NLT] I was the first to tell Zion, 'Look! Help is
on the way!' I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.
[Isa 41:28 NLT] Not one of your idols told you this. Not one
gave any answer when I asked.
[Isa 41:29 NLT] See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
All your idols are as empty as the wind.
As Cyrus came from the northeast of
the land, so Trump comes from the northeast of our nation. As Cyrus was called
by name by the prophet Isaiah, so Trump was called by name by many prophets
well before he ran for office.
It is God who was and now who is
telling through His prophets (messengers) that all this would happen.
"This chapter is the great I
WILL chapter of the Bible. No fewer than fourteen times in the scope of these
verses does God reinforce His authority with the promise, 'I will.'"
(Redpath)
Look at them all:
- I will strengthen you. (Isaiah 41:10)
- I will help you. (Isaiah 41:10, 13,
and 14)
- I will uphold you with My
righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
- I will make you into a new
threshing sledge with sharp teeth. (Isaiah 41:15)
- I will open rivers in
desolate heights. (Isaiah 41:18)
- I will make the wilderness a
pool of water. (Isaiah 41:18)
- I will plant in the
wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree. (Isaiah 41:19)
- I will set in the desert the
cypress tree. (Isaiah 41:19)
- I will give to Jerusalem one
who brings good tidings. (Isaiah 41:27)
If our speculation about Trump
being a type of Cyrus, then these promises are promises for us today!
"When God says, 'I will,' He says
it with all the authority of omnipotence. He has foreseen every difficulty. He
has studied every obstacle which may come in His way. He has anticipated every
possible contingency. He knows the weakness of the one to whom He makes His
promise, and yet He says, 'I will!'" (Redpath)
Isiah Chapter 42
[Isa 42:1 NLT] "Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will
bring justice to the nations.
In its final fulfillment, this
chapter is all about Jesus the Messiah where the prophecy is fulfilled exactly
and completely. However, as a foreshadowing, it is also about Cyrus and we are
speculating about President Trump where it is not fulfilled exactly and
completely. We will look to see what of this prophecy might apply to Trump.
[Isa 42:2 NLT] He will not shout or raise his voice in
public.
[Isa 42:3 NLT] He will not crush the weakest reed or put out
a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
[Isa 42:4 NLT] He will not falter or lose heart until
justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will
wait for his instruction."
This all applies exactly to Jesus
but not to either Cyrus or Trump. But, the parts about bringing justice to
those who have been wronged, and not faltering or losing heart until justice
prevails could very well be very appropriate prophecies. As we can see in our
world today, “all the world is watching” to see what is taking place in the US
these days.
[Isa 42:5 NLT] God, the LORD, created the heavens and
stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath
to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says,
This prophecy is from God, the
LORD. It is a sure word of the LORD and sure to be fulfilled in Jesus in full,
but in part for Cyrus and those that the LORD chooses to make His anointed
servants.
[Isa 42:6 NLT] "I, the LORD, have called you to
demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I
will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And
you will be a light to guide the nations.
“Called You in righteousness:
"Because there was nothing unholy or unrighteous in My calling, You can be
confident that the calling will be fulfilled." (Guzik)
Here the promise is that His
servant is called to demonstrate God’s righteousness. God promises that He will
guard Trump and make him a light to guide the nations. Much of what Trump and
his associates are doing is exposing darkness and bringing light into a very
dark world.
[Isa 42:7 NLT] You will open the eyes of the blind. You will
free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
For Trump, many eyes have been
opened to the evil and darkness in our land setting many people free from the
captivity of manipulation and control of the deep state.
[Isa 42:8 NLT] "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will
not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.
[Isa 42:9 NKJV] Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them."
This is a scripture that is being
quoted a lot these days. God is telling us that the former things that were
prophecied came to pass and now He is telling us of new things that He has told
us of through His prophets will also surely come to pass.
[Isa 42:10 NLT] Sing a new song to the LORD! Sing his
praises from the ends of the earth! Sing, all you who sail the seas, all you
who live in distant coastlands.
[Isa 42:11 NLT] Join in the chorus, you desert towns; let the
villages of Kedar rejoice! Let the people of Sela sing for joy; shout praises
from the mountaintops!
[Isa 42:12 NLT] Let the whole world glorify the LORD; let it
sing his praise.
Psalm 33:3, 40:3, 98:1, and
others. These verses are a call for all the earth to lift up voices in praise
for what the LORD has done, is doing, and will do in the future as promised in
the scriptures.
Because true believers all over the
earth believe that the Lord God is with us wherever we go and that He will not
leave us or forsake us we can sing a new song of praise, rejoice in the Lord,
sing for joy, and glorify the LORD for all He has done, is doing, and will do
in the future. (Josh 1:9; 1 Kings 8:57; Heb 13:5)
[Isa 42:13 NLT] The LORD will march forth like a mighty
hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle
cry and crush all his enemies.
[Isa 42:14 NLT] He will say, "I have long been silent;
yes, I have restrained myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and
groan and pant.
[Isa 42:15 NLT] I will level the mountains and hills and
blight all their greenery. I will turn the rivers into dry land and will dry up
all the pools.
This is God’s battle cry, His call
to spiritual war. Now He shouts His battle cry and promises to crush all His
enemies. God has been patient and merciful even with the very evil people in
the world today. But now God is saying that He has had enough and is moving in
great power to destroy His enemies.
Righteous justice is coming. God is
on the move.
[Isa 42:16 NLT] I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them
and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I
will not forsake them.
This is a promise to America. God
is taking the US down a new path. It is a new era. Light is being shown into
the darkness. God is making a smooth way where there seemed to be no way. God
will not forsake the USA.
[Isa 42:17 NLT] But those who trust in idols, who say, 'You
are our gods,' will be turned away in shame.
Shame will be the reward for God’s
enemies, those who trust in the idols of our day.
[Isa 42:18 NLT] "Listen, you who are deaf! Look and
see, you blind!
[Isa 42:19 NLT] Who is as blind as my own people, my
servant? Who is as deaf as my messenger? Who is as blind as my chosen people,
the servant of the LORD?
[Isa 42:20 NLT] You see and recognize what is right but
refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don't really
listen."
In these verses, God is speaking to
His own people, His servants. He is speaking to the church today. If you are
spiritually blind you can not be much of a servant. If you are spiritually deaf
you can not be much of a messenger. At issue here is obedience. Some of the church
today sees and knows what is right but they do not act on it because of fear,
being politically correct, or as is popular to they are “woke”. Some hear words
from teachers and preachers but they do not hear what the Spirit is saying to
the churches. The last word the Lord gives to John before he is taken into
heaven and the beginning of the last judgment of the people of the earth is: [Rev
3:22 NKJV] "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches."
[Isa 42:21 NLT] Because he is righteous, the LORD has
exalted his glorious law.
The law is perfect and God holds
man to it. The law to fallen man is death because it is impossible for natural
man to fulfill it.
[Isa 42:22 NLT] But his own people have been robbed and
plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for anyone and
have no one to protect them, no one to take them back home.
[Isa 42:23 NLT] Who will hear these lessons from the past
and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
[Isa 42:24 NLT] Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt? It
was the LORD, against whom we sinned, for the people would not walk in his
path, nor would they obey his law.
[Isa 42:25 NLT] Therefore, he poured out his fury on them
and destroyed them in battle. They were enveloped in flames, but they still
refused to understand. They were consumed by fire, but they did not learn their
lesson.
Because we, America, turned away
from God, it was He who for a season allowed America to be overtaken by evil
people serving Satan (the cabal). We were fair game for Satan to move in,
installing his people and his ways into our nation. We were a people robbed,
plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped with no one to protect us. And much
of the church, God’s people, were blind and deaf to the Holy Spirit, bending
God’s ways into the ways of the world, rationalizing and being disobedient to
the Word.
“ 1 Peter
4:12-19, Peter also relates trials and correction from the Lord to
fire: Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is
to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you … For the
time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with
us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of
God? God's purpose in the fiery trial is to bring us to repentance and
softness of heart, and the more we resist that work, the more the fire will
burn! We should respond as Peter said we should in 1 Peter 4:19: Therefore
let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in
doing good, as to a faithful Creator. Is the fire of God's correction burning
away the sin and impurity in your life, or is it just making you blacker and
harder?” (Guzik)
God has allowed all the trouble we
find America in today in an attempt to draw us back to Him. And it is beginning
to work. As the believers in America began to humble themselves, repent, and
pray (2 Chron 7:14), God began in His mercy to heal our land. And this healing
seems to have started as God raised a “Cyrus” to deal with the “Babylon” in our
land.
This leads us to Isiah 43
Isiah Chapter 43
[Isa 43:1 NLT] But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who
created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, "Do not be afraid, for
I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
Now seeing Jacob and Israel as the
USA, there comes the promise of help from the Lord and the command to do not be
afraid! Why? Because it was God who formed this nation, who ransomed us, and
who has called us by name, “one nation under God”. America belongs to God!
[Isa 43:2 NLT] When you go through deep waters, I will be
with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When
you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames
will not consume you.
God does not promise us that there
will not be troubles, oppression, fiery trials, and some serious storms. What
He does promise is that He will be with us! God once told me, “in the midst of
the storm, you can walk on the water if you keep your eyes on Me”.
[Isa 43:3 NLT] For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of
Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia
and Seba in your place.
[Isa 43:4 NLT] Others were given in exchange for you. I
traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored,
and I love you.
Indeed, America has been saved from
many nations throughout our history. Through wars of independence, civil war,
WW 1 and 2, and many other challenges from other nations He has always
delivered us because we are precious to Him and loved by Him.
[Isa 43:5 NLT] "Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I
will gather you and your children from east and west.
[Isa 43:6 NLT] I will say to the north and south, 'Bring my
sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth.
[Isa 43:7 NLT] Bring all who claim me as their God, for I
have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.'"
America is a nation of refugees.
People gathered from all over the world. Initially founded by people from
Europe seeking religious freedom to worship God, people made for God’s glory!
[Isa 43:8 NLT] Bring out the people who have eyes but are
blind, who have ears but are deaf.
[Isa 43:9 NLT] Gather the nations together! Assemble the
peoples of the world! Which of their idols has ever foretold such things? Which
can predict what will happen tomorrow? Where are the witnesses of such
predictions? Who can verify that they spoke the truth?
Here God is calling his blind and
deaf servants along with the peoples of the world to present themselves in His
court. He
is inviting them to justify themselves in their rejection of Him and choosing
to worship and honor other gods.
"We must not miss the pathos:
imagine any litigant depending on the blind to testify to what they have seen
and the deaf to what they have heard!" (Motyer)
[Isa 43:10 NLT] "But you are my witnesses, O
Israel!" says the LORD. "You are my servant. You have been chosen to
know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other
God--there never has been, and there never will be.
[Isa 43:11 NLT] I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no other
Savior.
[Isa 43:12 NLT] First I predicted your rescue, then I saved
you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are
witnesses that I am the only God," says the LORD.
[Isa 43:13 NLT] "From eternity to eternity I am God. No
one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done."
Here God is calling His servants to
stand up and be His witnesses. God says that He has predicted the rescue of His
servants, saved them, and proclaimed it to the world. His servants are the
witnesses and should be proclaiming it to the nations. God reassures His
servants that no one can snatch them out of His hand!
[Isa 43:14 ESV] Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy
One of Israel: "For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as
fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
[Isa 43:15 ESV] I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of
Israel, your King."
[Isa 43:16 ESV] Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the
sea, a path in the mighty waters,
[Isa 43:17 ESV] who brings forth chariot and horse, army and
warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like
a wick:
God is promising to bring down the
cabal (Babylon) making them fugitives using the very weapons/tactics that they
are using plus the military. In verse 17 God tells us that the cabal’s weapons
are quenched like a wick.
Note the titles of God used here. The
Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (America), your Holy One, the
Creator of Israel (America), and your King. God is comforting us in the midst
of our Babylonian captivity with images of His own strength and power.
[Isa 43:18 ESV] "Remember not the former things, nor
consider the things of old.
[Isa 43:19 ESV] Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it
springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and
rivers in the desert.
[Isa 43:20 ESV] The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals
and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to
give drink to my chosen people,
[Isa 43:21 ESV] the people whom I formed for myself that
they might declare my praise.
God is saying to us to not dwell on how
things have been because He is doing something new and wonderful. He is going
to make a way where there seems to be no way. He is going to cause changes that
will cause us, His people, to shout His praises, declaring His glory to all the
world.
We need to forget the past
discouragement and defeat and move on to what God is promising for the future.
To give drink to my chosen people hints
at a new outpouring of His Holy Spirit.
[Isa 43:22 ESV] "Yet you did not call upon me, O
Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
[Isa 43:23 ESV] You have not brought me your sheep for
burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you
with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense.
[Isa 43:24 ESV] You have not bought me sweet cane with
money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened
me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.
“When we feel like this, it
is certain evidence that we are not in step with Jesus, and the true
nature of Jesus. He said, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I
am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew
11:28-30) If following God always seems like some great, weary burden -
then you really aren't following Him.” (Guzik)
There are some people that even
after hearing of God's wonderful promises will not believe and give praise and
glory to our Lord and will continue in their old ways of living, thinking, and
“iniquities”.
[Isa 43:25 ESV] "I, I am he who blots out your
transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
[Isa 43:26 ESV] Put me in remembrance; let us argue
together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
[Isa 43:27 ESV] Your first father sinned, and your mediators
transgressed against me.
[Isa 43:28 ESV] Therefore I will profane the princes of the
sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.
Even for those that reject God, His
ways, His commandments, and His promises, He can and will forgive them with
their confession of and repentance for their unbelief and sin/transgressions.
But for those that continue to reject the Lord and His ways, there is only
destruction.
Isiah Chapter 44
[Isa 44:1 ESV] "But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
[Isa 44:2 ESV] Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed
you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun
whom I have chosen.
[Isa 44:3 NKJV] For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My
blessing on your offspring; [Isa 44:4 ESV] They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
[Isa 44:5 ESV] This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another
will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The
LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel."
Reading Israel as the USA, once
again God tells us the He has chosen us. Then there are promises of blessing on
the land and a promise to pour at His Holy Spirit on the people of the land.
The result will be a great return to the Lord. Note who God pours out His Holy
Spirit on, it is those that are thirsty. If you are not thirsty for the Holy
Spirit, you should not expect to be a part of this great ingathering.
"Without the Spirit of God we can
do nothing; we are as ships without wind, or chariots without steeds, like
branches without sap, we are withered; like coals without fire, we are useless;
as an offering without the sacrificial flame, we are unaccepted. I desire both
to feel and to confess this fact whenever I attempt to preach. I do not wish to
get away from it, or to conceal it, nor can I, for I am often made to feel it
to the deep humbling of my spirit." (Spurgeon)
"I believe that, at this
present moment, God's people ought to cry to him day and night that there may
be a fresh baptism into the Holy Ghost. There are many things that are
desirable for the Church of Christ, but one thing is absolutely needful; and
this is the one thing, the power of the Holy Ghost in the midst of his
people." (Spurgeon)
[Isa 44:6 NKJV] "Thus says the LORD, the King of
Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I [am] the First and I [am] the
Last; Besides Me [there is] no God.
[Isa 44:7 NKJV] And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him
declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them.
[Isa 44:8 NKJV] Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told
you from that time, and declared [it]? You [are] My witnesses. Is there a God
besides Me? Indeed [there is] no other Rock; I know not [one].' "
"As first he does
not derive his being from any other, but is self-existing; as last he
remains supreme at the End." (Motyer)
“Because there is no
other God besides the LORD, it means that God the Father is the LORD,
God the Son is the LORD, and God the Holy Spirit is the
LORD. Yahweh - the name translated by the small-caps LORD -is the
Triune God, the One God in Three Persons. There are no "grades" or
"degrees" to true deity. There are false gods, symbolic gods, and the
true God -and the only true God is Yahweh, the LORD.” (Guzik)
[Isa 44:9 NKJV] Those who make an image, all of them [are]
useless, And their precious things shall not profit; They [are] their own
witnesses; They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
[Isa 44:10 NKJV] Who would form a god or mold an image
[That] profits him nothing?
[Isa 44:11 NKJV] Surely all his companions would be ashamed;
And the workmen, they [are] mere men. Let them all be gathered together, Let
them stand up; Yet they shall fear, They shall be ashamed together.
[Isa 44:12 NKJV] The blacksmith with the tongs works one in
the coals, Fashions it with hammers, And works it with the strength of his
arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; He drinks no water and is
faint.
[Isa 44:13 NKJV] The craftsman stretches out [his] rule, He
marks one out with chalk; He fashions it with a plane, He marks it out with the
compass, And makes it like the figure of a man, According to the beauty of a
man, that it may remain in the house.
[Isa 44:14 NKJV] He cuts down cedars for himself, And takes
the cypress and the oak; He secures [it] for himself among the trees of the
forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes [it].
[Isa 44:15 NKJV] Then it shall be for a man to burn, For he
will take some of it and warm himself; Yes, he kindles [it] and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships [it]; He makes it a carved image, and falls
down to it.
[Isa 44:16 NKJV] He burns half of it in the fire; With this
half he eats meat; He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms [himself]
and says, "Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire."
[Isa 44:17 NKJV] And the rest of it he makes into a god, His
carved image. He falls down before it and worships [it], Prays to it and says,
"Deliver me, for you [are] my god!"
[Isa 44:18 NKJV] They do not know nor understand; For He has
shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, [And] their hearts, so that they
cannot understand.
[Isa 44:19 NKJV] And no one considers in his heart, Nor [is
there] knowledge nor understanding to say, "I have burned half of it in
the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and
eaten [it]; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down
before a block of wood?"
[Isa 44:20 NKJV] He feeds on ashes; A deceived heart has
turned him aside; And he cannot deliver his soul, Nor say, "[Is there] not
a lie in my right hand?"
"The sacred writers are
generally large and eloquent upon the subject of idolatry; they treat it with
great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But
this passage of Isaiah … far exceeds anything that ever was written upon the
subject, in force of argument, energy of expression, and elegance of
composition." (Clarke)
"The idolater chose a delusion and
became deluded." (Motyer)
"The idolater picks up the
figurine in his hand, holding it, but in reality it holds him. He is in bondage
to a lie." (Motyer)
"And such passages as these
are added in such cases to give an account of the prodigious madness of sinners
herein; because, as they wilfully shut their own eyes, and harden their own
hearts, so God judicially blinds and hardens them, and gives them up to believe
lies, and then it is no wonder if they fall into such dotages." (Poole)
[Isa 44:21 NKJV] "Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel,
for you [are] My servant; I have formed you, you [are] My servant; O Israel,
you will not be forgotten by Me!
[Isa 44:22 NKJV] I have blotted out, like a thick cloud,
your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have
redeemed you."
[Isa 44:23 NKJV] Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done
[it]! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you
mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And
glorified Himself in Israel.
Again we see the LORD’s promise
that we will not be forgotten and God’s cry to return to Him for He has
redeemed us.
Creation rejoices when God saves
and glorifies Himself in His people. Paul developed this theme in Romans
8:19-22. (Guzik)
[Isa 44:24 NKJV] Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, And He
who formed you from the womb: "I [am] the LORD, who makes all [things],
Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by
Myself;
[Isa 44:25 NKJV] Who frustrates the signs of the babblers,
And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge
foolishness;
[Isa 44:26 NKJV] Who confirms the word of His servant, And
performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be
inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, 'You shall be built,' And I will raise up
her waste places;
[Isa 44:27 NKJV] Who says to the deep, 'Be dry! And I will
dry up your rivers';
[Isa 44:28 NKJV] Who says of Cyrus, '[He is] My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be
built," And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid." '
The fulness of the God Head, the
LORD, is telling us that it is He that formed this nation; who will frustrate,
drive His enemies mad, and turn their evil plans to foolishness.
It is the LORD that promises to
build up our nation. It is the LORD that is telling us that Trump (“Cyrus”) is
His shepherd, and Trump will be the instrument He will use to build up and
restore that which had been in ruin especially regarding Israel.
From Guzik’s commentary. “Cyrus was
a special instrument in God's hand, for God's work. He would do the work of the
LORD (He shall perform all My pleasure), and open the door for the work of
rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple after the Babylonians
destroyed them.
The royal proclamations of Cyrus
fulfilling this prophecy are found in Ezra 1:2 and 2
Chronicles 36:23.
The specific work commissioned by
Cyrus is described in detail, including drying up the waters (Who says to the
deep, "Be dry!") and laying the foundation for the temple (Your
foundation shall be laid).
Trapp on Who says to the deep,
"Be dry!" "That will put it into the heart of Cyrus to dry
up the Euphrates, and so to take Babylon."
"Foundations: interestingly,
as Ezra records (3:10-13; 5:16), in the
days of Cyrus the rebuilding of the temple did not progress beyond the laying
of the foundations." (Motyer)
With such amazingly specific
claims, it is no wonder that God proves who He is through predicted and
fulfilled prophecy. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you
do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and
the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will
of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter
1:19-21)” (Guzik’s commentary on Isa 44:28)
Isaiah chapter 45
God's calling and mission for Cyrus. This is the chapter
most often referred to when associating President Trump (the 45th president of the United States) with king
Cyrus.
[Isa 45:1 NKJV] "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To
Cyrus, whose right hand I have held--To subdue nations before him And loose the
armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not
be shut:
"There is precedent for the
divine anointing of a non-Israelite king, though in one passage only (1 Kings
19:15-16). Although the living God normally employed Israelites for such
purposes, he is sovereign and may use whom he will." (Grogan)
The prophecy concerning Cyrus was
given many years before it took place. Prophecies concerning Trump were given
many years before they took place.
The royal proclamations of
Cyrus fulfilling this prophecy are found in Ezra 1:2 and 2
Chronicles 36:23.
Cyrus (Trump) was/is the LORD’s
anointed to who He gave the power to subdue leaders and nations; to open doors
and gates before him that will not be shut.
"In October 539 B.C.,
Cyrus advanced into lower Mesopotamia and, leaving Babylon till last, conquered
and occupied the surrounding territory. Seeing which way the wind was blowing,
Nabonidus of Babylon deserted his city, leaving it in the charge of his son
Belshazzar … the taking of Babylon was as bloodless and effortless as Daniel 6 implies."
(Motyer)
There is a hint here that there is/was
a person that was a leader who abandoned his position to a lesser man that was
actually in charge when a bloodless victory is finally accomplished.
Nabonidus was the King of Babylon and had no connection to previous
royalty. He was proclaimed king after the murder of the previous king. He was
an idolater His reign came to an abrupt end when Cyrus took Babylon in 539 BC
without a fight. There are interesting parallels here regarding Obama and
Biden.
[Isa 45:2 NKJV] 'I will go before you And make the crooked
places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of
iron.
God promises to break down all of
the fortifications and defenses of Trump’s enemies.
[Isa 45:3 NKJV] I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who
call [you] by your name, [Am] the God of Israel.
Alone with victory will come the
treasures and hidden riches of the dark and secret places of the cabal. It will
also be done in such a way that all will know that only the LORD could have
accomplished such a thing.
[Isa 45:4 NKJV] For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My
elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have
not known Me.
Proverbs 21:2 says The
king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it
wherever He wishes. God can work in and through others in very unexpected
ways.
[Isa 45:5 NKJV] I [am] the LORD, and [there is] no other;
[There is] no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
It is believed that Trump was not a
believer when he first came into office. God called Trump into office for the
sake of His people.
[Isa 45:6 NKJV] That they may know from the rising of the
sun to its setting That [there is] none besides Me. I [am] the LORD, and [there
is] no other;
[Isa 45:7 NKJV] I form the light and create darkness, I make
peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these [things].'
In the end, was of what we have
been through in the years of very bad leaders, and what we are now going
through as God brings deliverance is that the world may know the there is none
besides our LORD and it is He that has and is doing all these things. (Ezra 1:1-3)
[Isa 45:8 NKJV] "Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring
forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have
created it.
[Isa 45:9 NKJV] "Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
[Let] the potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say
to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork [say], 'He
has no hands'?
[Isa 45:10 NKJV] Woe to him who says to [his] father, 'What
are you begetting?' Or to the woman, 'What have you brought forth?' "
These verses speak of the
foolishness of resisting God the creator of all things. There is also great
“woe” to those that question God and His ways. Great woe is coming to the evil
leaders in our nation today.
[Isa 45:11 NLT] This is what the LORD says--the Holy One of
Israel and your Creator: "Do you question what I do for my children? Do
you give me orders about the work of my hands?
[Isa 45:12 NLT] I am the one who made the earth and created
people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars
are at my command.
[Isa 45:13 NLT] I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my
righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore my city and
free my captive people--without seeking a reward! I, the LORD of Heaven's
Armies, have spoken!"
"In the Old Testament, the Creator
is not only the One who began everything, but also the One who maintains
everything in existence, controls, and guides everything." (Motyer)
Trump has been raised up to fulfill
God’s righteous purpose and God will guide him in the process of restoring our
nation and freeing all who have been under the control of evil leaders,
determined to establish a one-world government. And Trump will do it not
for price or reward, but out of a conviction from God that he must do it! (Ezra 1:1-3)
[Isa 45:14 ESV] Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of
Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come
over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains
and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely God is in you,
and there is no other, no god besides him.'"
There is a promise here that the wealth
of Trump’s enemies will be given to America because of Trump, and his enemies
will be found in chains (prison).
[Isa 45:15 ESV] Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O
God of Israel, the Savior.
[Isa 45:16 ESV] All of them are put to shame and
confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.
America’s
enemies will be put to shame, confounded, and confused.
[Isa 45:17 ESV] But Israel is saved by the LORD with
everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all
eternity.
The “everlasting salvation” will have
to wait until the Lord Jesus’ return. But there is temporary salvation promised
for a season.
[Isa 45:18 ESV] For thus says the LORD, who created the
heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he
did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
[Isa 45:19 ESV] I did not speak in secret, in a land of
darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the
LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.
[Isa 45:20 ESV] "Assemble yourselves and come; draw
near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry
about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
When we seek God with all of our
heart, we will find Him. Jeremiah
29:13 says, And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for
Me with all your heart. Hebrews 11:6 says, he
who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.
[Isa 45:21 ESV] Declare and present your case; let them take
counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I,
the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
The LORD declares His greatness and
the foolishness of idolatry.
[Isa 45:22 ESV] "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends
of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
[Isa 45:23 ESV] By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has
gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'
Hebrews 6:13 says, For
when God made a promise to Abraham because He could swear by no one greater, He
swore by Himself.
[Isa 45:24 ESV] "Only in the LORD, it shall be said of
me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who
were incensed against him.
[Isa 45:25 ESV] In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory."
This chapter ends with a powerful
reminder that we must look to the LORD for our help and no other. The battles
we find ourselves in these days are in the end, spiritual battles that will not
be won in the natural. They must be fought spiritually for our warfare is not
against flesh and blood but against the agents of demonic power in our world
these days.
[Eph 6:10 NKJV] Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
[Eph 6:11 NKJV] Put on the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[Eph 6:12 NKJV] For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual [hosts] of
wickedness in the heavenly [places].
[Eph 6:13 NKJV] Therefore take up
the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand.
Whatever our future holds, it will
be the LORD’s doing. It is He who is in control, and in the end, it will be
good, very good!
Isaiah Chapter 46
[Isa 46:1 NLT] Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as
they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The
poor beasts stagger under the weight.
[Isa 46:2 NLT] Both the idols and their owners are bowed
down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the
gods. They go off into captivity together.
The demonic gods of the cabal and
those that worship them are taken down and disposed of. Those that worship
these demonic spirits can not protect them and both are taken into captivity, in
prison, or bound in spiritual chains.
[Isa 46:3 NLT] "Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all
you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I
carried you before you were born.
[Isa 46:4 NLT] I will be your God throughout your
lifetime--until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for
you. I will carry you along and save you.
[Isa 46:5 NLT] "To whom will you compare me? Who is my
equal?
[Isa 46:6 NLT] Some people pour out their silver and gold
and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it!
[Isa 46:7 NLT] They carry it around on their shoulders, and
when they set it down, it stays there. It can't even move! And when someone
prays to it, there is no answer. It can't rescue anyone from trouble.
God is telling us that He knew America
before it existed and has been caring for us ever since. God made the USA, has
always cared for us, and will save us from this current crisis.
Money, power, control, perversion, and
pleasure are prevailing gods of our age. In the end, none of these will be able
to stand, much less save any of those that worship these gods from the fate
that awaits them.
[Isa 46:8 NLT] "Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
Remember this, you guilty ones.
[Isa 46:9 NLT] Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.
[Isa 46:10 NLT] Only I can tell you the future before it
even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.
This is a wake-up call. God is
calling all of us to remember what He has done in the past. God isn't
just watching the entire parade of history, He
is directing the parade. The LORD (God, the fulness of the Godhead)
is in total control. God always WINS and because He wins, His people win.
[Isa 46:11 NLT] I will call a swift bird of prey from the
east--a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what
I would do, and I will do it.
[Isa 46:12 NLT] "Listen to me, you stubborn people who
are so far from doing right.
[Isa 46:13 NLT] For I am ready to set things right, not in
the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save Jerusalem and show my
glory to Israel.
This is another reference to Cyrus
(Trump). God's people need to remember that God always has a deliverer for His
people, even if He has to find one among pagans.
“God's people need to remember that
God's timing is always precise and wise. When we are stubborn-hearted we
need to listen to the LORD and remember He never delays and is never
late. God always has His deliverer, and always knows exactly when to bring His
deliverance.” (Guzik)
Isaiah Chapter 47
[Isa 47:1 NLT] "Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon,
and sit in the dust. For your days of sitting on a throne have ended. O
daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and
delicate.
[Isa 47:2 NLT] Take heavy millstones and grind flour. Remove
your veil, and strip off your robe. Expose yourself to public view.
[Isa 47:3 NLT] You will be naked and burdened with shame. I
will take vengeance against you without pity."
[Isa 47:4 NLT] Our Redeemer, whose name is the LORD of
Heaven's Armies, is the Holy One of Israel.
Bultema calls this "The bold image
of a rich, frivolous and sensual young woman who, as a prisoner, is doomed to
the despicable state of a slave and in every respect is treated like a
Near-Eastern slave woman."
The days of the current evil leaders of
our nation are coming to an end. These individuals will never again be found in
any positions of leadership. Shame will be their garments.
When God humbles the cabal, He is
taking vengeance and cannot be talked out of His judgment.
[Isa 47:5 NLT] "O beautiful Babylon, sit now in
darkness and silence. Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms.
[Isa 47:6 NLT] For I was angry with my chosen people and
punished them by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed
them no mercy. You oppressed even the elderly.
[Isa 47:7 NLT] You said, 'I will reign forever as queen of
the world!' You did not reflect on your actions or think about their
consequences.
The people that make up this
current evil cabal will be silenced forever. That does not say that the new
leader of Satan’s cabal will not rise in the future. But for now, this current
evil will be done away with.
As America fell away from God and
the church did little to stop this falling away, God allowed evil people to
creep into leadership. But these evil, blind, cruel, proud, and presumptions people
did not consider that there is a real God that promised to protect our nation
and that this God at some point just might turn on them and destroy them.
Bultema applies the sense of Isaiah
47:5-11 to the corrupt Church: "In her self-satisfaction and
frivolous self-deception she says, I shall be a lady. She claims royal
riches, power and honor for herself for ever. A queen feels she must
reign, and that was also the Church's goal quite early. Soon it placed a cross
on its steeple instead of on its shoulders. With all its veneration of the
cross, it hated the cross in a spiritual sense and reached for the crown of the
world." (Bultema)
[Isa 47:8 NLT] "Listen to this, you pleasure-loving
kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure. You say, 'I am the only one, and
there is no other. I will never be a widow or lose my children.'
[Isa 47:9 NLT] Well, both these things will come upon you in
a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will
come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
[Isa 47:10 NLT] "You felt secure in your wickedness.
'No one sees me,' you said. But your 'wisdom' and 'knowledge' have led you
astray, and you said, 'I am the only one, and there is no other.'
[Isa 47:11 NLT] So disaster will overtake you, and you won't
be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won't be able to
buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are
not prepared.
In their arrogance, this pleasure-loving,
feeling so secure and powerful current cabal believes that they are untouchable
and all-powerful. But very suddenly calamity will come upon them despite the help
they count on from the demonic realm (occultic arts and practices). Secrecy,
lies, and deception are their method of operating or functioning. They think that no one
sees what they are doing but the various schemes (wisdom and knowledge) they
employ will end up being their downfall.
So disaster will overtake them,
and they won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon them, and they
won't be able to buy their way out. A catastrophe will strike them suddenly,
one for which they are not prepared.
God resists the proud but gives
grace to the humble. (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).
[Isa 47:12 NLT] "Now use your magical charms! Use the
spells you have worked at all these years! Maybe they will do you some good.
Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
[Isa 47:13 NLT] All the advice you receive has made you
tired. Where are all your astrologers, those stargazers who make predictions
each month? Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.
[Isa 47:14 NLT] But they are like straw burning in a fire;
they cannot save themselves from the flame. You will get no help from them at
all; their hearth is no place to sit for warmth.
[Isa 47:15 NLT] And all your friends, those with whom you've
done business since childhood, will go their own ways, turning a deaf ear to
your cries.
God challenges the cabal to use
their occult practices and sorcery to save them from His judgment. But their
weakness in the face of the LORD's judgment will be exposed.
"For the Babylonians, sorcery
also included a mood of complacency (v. 10),
because the people relied on their magicians to predict the coming of the enemy
and to defeat him. In Babylonia the intellectual and the magical were
intertwined, the wise man being instructed in all the arts of the
supernatural." (Grogan) This seems to be true of many of our current
leaders and people in positions of influence.
"False religion may seem to
offer the warmth of 'helpfulness', but it is not a fire to sit by, rather
a fire which will burn up, a furnace of destruction."
(Motyer)
Finally, the LORD tells us that the
people that will be exposed and punished thought would come to their aid and
defend/protect them will distance themselves from them and even turn upon them.
Isaiah Chapter 48
[Isa 48:1 NLT] "Listen to me, O family of Jacob, you
who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen,
you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and call on the God of Israel. You
don't keep your promises,
[Isa 48:2 NLT] even though you call yourself the holy city
and talk about depending on the God of Israel, whose name is the LORD of
Heaven's Armies.
The LORD sees the hypocrisy in our
nation. He sees how far we have fallen away as a nation.
By calling us Jacob, essentially
meaning "deceiver, cheater, God is reminding us of our past sins as a
nation. Using the name Judah who was noted for his cruelty (Genesis 37:26-27) and immorality (Genesis 38) again calls out the sins of the cabal
that is trying to take over our nation.
Look at all Judah has: "An
honoured name, an impeccable pedigree, a true religious allegiance, a
privileged citizenship and a mighty God to rely on - but it is all unreal.
There is no genuineness (truth) in it, nor does it satisfy the standards of God
(righteousness)." (Motyer)
[Isa 48:3 NLT] Long ago I told you what was going to happen.
Then suddenly I took action, and all my predictions came true.
[Isa 48:4 NLT] For I know how stubborn and obstinate you
are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard as bronze.
[Isa 48:5 NLT] That is why I told you what would happen; I
told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say, 'My idols
did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!'
The LORD gives us predictive prophecy
to show us His power. About 95 % of Biblical prophecy has come to pass. This
means that we are without excuse. God’s people know the greatness and power of
God, yet often still live with only a religious image, without a spiritual
reality.
[Isa 48:6 NLT] You have heard my predictions and seen them
fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it. Now I will tell you new things, secrets
you have not yet heard.
[Isa 48:7 NLT] They are brand new, not things from the past.
So you cannot say, 'We knew that all the time!'
[Isa 48:8 NLT] "Yes, I will tell you of things that are
entirely new, things you never heard of before. For I know so well what
traitors you are. You have been rebels from birth.
So many people, especially of the
church, have heard of God’s prophecies, yet do not acknowledge them and tell of
them. Now the LORD seems to be telling us new things, secrets we have not yet
heard. Because of doubt, lack of faith, and just because of our basic tendency
of being rebellious, will we believe the new things God is telling us?
“It is a difficult concept for our
individualistic ears, but the Bible teaches that we are sinners from the
womb and that we inherited a sin nature because we descend from Adam and sinned
in Adam (Romans
5:12). It isn't our individual acts of sin that make us sinners; it is our
descent from Adam. Our individual acts of sin merely prove that each of us is
a transgressor from the womb.” (Guzik)
[Isa 48:9 NLT] Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my
name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out.
[Isa 48:10 NLT] I have refined you, but not as silver is
refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
[Isa 48:11 NLT] I will rescue you for my sake--yes, for my
own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory
with idols!
[Isa 48:12 NLT] "Listen to me, O family of
Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last.
[Isa 48:13 NLT] It was my hand that laid the
foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When
I call out the stars, they all appear in order."
Once again God reminds us that it
is for His name's sake, for the honor of His name, that He holds back His
righteous wrath for now and rescues our nation from the evil that has been
allowed to come upon us. We were established as “one nation under God” and He
will not let His reputation be tarnished and will not share His glory with
idols. We
need to remember, everything God does and allows furthers His eternal purpose.
[Isa 48:14 NLT] Have any of your idols ever told you this?
Come, all of you, and listen: The LORD has chosen Cyrus as his ally. He will use
him to put an end to the empire of Babylon and to destroy the Babylonian
armies.
[Isa 48:15 NLT] "I have said it: I am calling Cyrus! I
will send him on this errand and will help him succeed.
Is the LORD telling us that He has
chosen Trump as His ally and that He is using Trump to put an end to the
current evil cabal? If so, Trump will succeed because God is behind it all.
[Isa 48:16 NLT] Come closer, and listen to this. From the
beginning I have told you plainly what would happen." And now the
Sovereign LORD and his Spirit have sent me with this message.
[Isa 48:17 NLT] This is what the LORD says--your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is
good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.
[Isa 48:18 NLT] Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness
rolling over you like waves in the sea.
[Isa 48:19 NLT] Your descendants would have been like the
sands along the seashore--too many to count! There would have been no need for
your destruction, or for cutting off your family name."
It is God’s ultimate and great love
for His people that motivates Him to do all these things for His people. God
calls us to submit and honor Him for our good, not to satisfy some need in God.
“So, just as much as it is the love of the LORD for His people that shall
do His pleasure on Babylon -punishing this nation that set itself against
His people - so it is the love of the LORD that allows the refining fires to
touch His people.” (Guzik)
If only we had listened to His
commandments and obeyed. It is sobering to think what unfulfilled potential we have,
and what disobedience or unbelief keeps us from everything God has for us.
"Yes, I am deeply impressed with the
simplicity of the road to revival. Just twenty-four hours' obedience in our
lives, and we would be living in such a flood tide of Holy Spirit blessing that
there would not be room enough to contain it!" (Redpath)
[Isa 48:20 NLT] Yet even now, be free from your captivity!
Leave Babylon and the Babylonians. Sing out this message! Shout it to the ends
of the earth! The LORD has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel.
[Isa 48:21 NLT] They were not thirsty when he led them
through the desert. He divided the rock, and water gushed out for them to
drink.
When we see the cabal fall, the
response should be breaking out in singing and praise for our great God! The
people of God should declare His praises, His greatness, and His mercy to the
whole world.
[Isa 48:22 NLT] "But there is no peace for the
wicked," says the LORD.
But, hand in hand with God’s
greatness and His love is His righteousness justice. There is no peace for the
wicked.
The broad section of Isaiah 40 through 48 focused
on the promise of God's deliverance of His people from their captivity in
Babylon, and the specific prediction of the Gentile king who would deliver
them, Cyrus. Through the section, God shows that His desire to deliver His
people proves His love, His ability to deliver His people proves His power, and
His prophetic knowledge of the deliverer proves His uniqueness among all gods. Starting
with Isaiah chapter 49,
there is no longer a mention of Cyrus, now the focus is on the ultimate
deliverer, the Messiah. Though there is still reference to the deliverance from
Babylon's captivity, the real focus is on the ultimate deliverance the Messiah
will bring.´(Guzik)
Now that we have considered these chapters from Isaiah in
light of our speculation that President Trump could be a type of King Cyrus,
what do you the reader think? Is there enough circumstantial evidence to
believe that Trump is to some extent following the prophecies concerning Cyrus?
If so then this is indeed good news for our nation. Deliverance from the evil
cabal that has infected our nation for many years is about to suddenly happen.
The Isaiah prophecy concerning Cyrus was only a foreshadowing of the earth’s
deliverance from Satan’s Mystery Babylon at the Lord’s return. And if the
speculation holds, Trump’s victory over our current evil cabal (our Babylon)
will only be for a season. In this season our focus should be on completing our
assignment, the great commission.
[Mar 16:15 ESV] And he said to
them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole
creation.
[Mat 28:19 ESV] Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
[Mat 28:20 ESV] teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age."
[Mat 28:19 ESV] Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
[Mat 28:20 ESV] teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age."
(22) And the LORD spoke to
Moses, saying: (23) "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way
you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: (24) "The LORD bless
you and keep you; (25) The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious
to you; (26) The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace."
' (27) "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will
bless them." [Num 6:22-27 NKJV]
