Orthodoxy. Prophet Isaiah - life, miracles and predictions

Great and wonderful, most insightful and wisest, most divine. This is how the holy fathers called the prophet Isaiah, who lived in Israel in the 8th century BC.

The Lord was merciful to the Jewish people. But when the wickedness of the Israelites reached its extreme limits, the Lord, in order to stop their moral decline, retreated from the chosen people. He allowed foreign invaders to enslave the Jews and take them into captivity. In 722 BC, Israel, the northern kingdom of the Jews, fell. After his death, Judah, the southern kingdom, existed for about another hundred and thirty years. In this kingdom, from time to time, pious kings still ruled, and true worship of God still remained among the people - the veneration of the One God. Therefore, the Supreme Lord extended the life of Judea.

The Lord, giving His people the opportunity to repent, sent prophets to them, denouncing the iniquities and untruths of the Jews. The preaching of repentance was combined by God's messengers with prophecies about the Savior of the world, Who, according to the word of God, was to come to earth. For the sake of fulfilling this promise, the Lord chose the Jewish people: the Son of God was to be born among the chosen people, but to save all humanity from the slavery of sin and death.

The spiritually weaker God's chosen people became, the stronger the voice of God sounded, awakening the conscience of the people. In these troubled times, the promises of the Messiah were repeated more and more clearly and loudly.

One after another the greatest prophets appeared, who in word and deed heralded the approaching fulfillment of the times. One of them was the prophet Isaiah.

The Lord called him to prophetic service with a special, miraculous phenomenon. He appeared to Isaiah in a vision, sitting on a high throne. Six-winged Seraphim surrounded him and cried out: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts! The whole earth is full of His glory!” One of the Angels took a burning coal from the heavenly altar with tongs, touched Isaiah’s lips with it, and he was cleansed.

Now the prophet began to serve God, proclaiming His will to people. The prophet was called to save people from slavery, which was worse than the Egyptian one - it was spiritual slavery to pagan idols. From now on, the life of the prophet Isaiah became like a burning candle. This candle, with its radiance, exposed the works of darkness - the lawlessness committed by people. It was Isaiah who commanded the Lord to reveal to people that the kingdom of Judah would be destroyed by enemies, and all the inhabitants would be taken into captivity. But slavery will not last forever. In due time, God will return the Jews to their homeland.

The prophet Isaiah is especially famous for telling people about Christ as if they were talking about events that had already happened. His prophecies about the Savior are striking in their accuracy and clarity. For this, Isaiah is called the Old Testament evangelist.

It was revealed to him by God that the promised Savior would be miraculously born from a virgin, chaste and immaculate: “Behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means God with us” (Is. 7:14).

Isaiah predicted that the Lord would suffer for us, and this suffering would bring salvation to people: “He was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities; the punishment of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed” (Is. 53:5).

The Prophet also foresaw that through faith in Christ the Savior, people would receive the opportunity to be saved from eternal death, from eternal separation from God, into which they were plunged by the Fall of Adam: “... through the knowledge of Him, He, the Righteous... will justify many and bear their sins on Himself.” (Isa. 53:11).

These amazing prophecies sounded at a time when the people were indulging in the follies of paganism. When sacrifices were made to false gods even in the Jerusalem Temple - the place of God’s special presence on earth. When there was very little left before the death of the country.

The people did not heed the words of the prophet. He did not hear the sermon of repentance and laughed at the predictions of defeat and captivity. He did not accept the love of God that sounded in the words of exhortation. Unable to tolerate Isaiah’s just speeches, the people seized him and committed him to martyrdom.

Despite the fact that the Jews rejected the prophet of God and rejected Him Himself, the Lord fulfilled everything that He had predicted through Isaiah. Only a few centuries passed, and the Son of God was born on earth. People were able to see and touch Him - the One who is above all knowledge: God Himself. He came to give people salvation and teach them true love. That love that, despite the betrayal of a loved one, goes to death for him. The Lord came to save us from spiritual blindness, which pushes us into the abyss of sins, and to reveal to us the Light of Truth.

The name Isaiah in Hebrew means “salvation of Yahweh.”Jesus, the son of Sirach, in his praise of “glorious men” brings such praise to the prophet Isaiah (Sirach 48:25 - 26).The prophet Isaiah was the son of Amoz. Blessed Augustine (“On the City of God,” book XVIII, chapter 27) and Clement of Alexandria (“Stromata,” book 1) believed that the father of Isaiah was the prophet Amos from among the twelve. But both the origin of the prophet Amos and the depiction of his name in the original text do not allow him to be considered the father of Isaiah: “But this is not the same Amos who is among the 12 lesser prophets, for the pronunciation of their names is not the same (in the Hebrew reading of them) and the meaning they are not the same thing. It should be noted that among the prophets, some indicate their fathers, while others do not. Perhaps the prophets, who were descended from humble parents, kept silent about their fathers” (St. Basil the Great).

Isaiah stands out among the first generation of prophet-writers. Isaiah belonged to an aristocratic family close to the court. He was born around 765 in Jerusalem and spent his entire life in this city. As a young man, he hears on the porch of the Jerusalem Temple the fiery sermons of Amos, the brilliant, divinely inspired examples of oratory filled with courage. He is captivated by the lyrical power of his speech, the sophistication of the outline of his thoughts and the melody of the words that easily form in his mouth into a whimsical pattern. Isaiah will take a lot from Amos: he will take his intransigence, add to it the elusive fragility of Hosea and give his style unprecedented sophistication. The Lord called him to ministry in his youth; a time when the Assyrian Empire began to expand its borders westward, threatening Israel, which Isaiah announced as God's warning. The earliest event in his life - the call to prophecy - is described in the 6th chapter of the book of Isaiah. It happened around 740. The vision that made him a prophet (in the Temple in Jerusalem) is described in the first person narrative. According to this description, Isaiah saw God and from meeting him was filled with divine glory and holiness. He began to painfully realize that God needed a messenger to the people of Israel, and although considering himself unworthy of such an honor, he offered himself to serve God: “Here am I, send me,” and was sent to proclaim the Divine word. That was not easy; he had to condemn his own people and watch the country collapse. Isaiah understood that as he carried the word of God to the people, he would encounter distrust along the way, and that he must be strong in spirit in order to withstand such attitudes. God's vision became a sudden, firm and lifelong decision.

“Isaiah represents a type of fiery religious genius and at the same time a sober, realistic political figure, who with his word, his influence was decisive in the fate of Judea” (Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov). The southern kingdom at that time was smaller and weaker than Ephraim. It faced a choice: either accept the inevitable domination of the great power of Assyria, or enter into an alliance against it. The coalition was led by the kings of Syria and Ephraim. The young king of Jerusalem, Ahaz, initially chose a reasonable path and tried to stay away from military-political conspiracies. But the heads of the coalition decided to punish him for his adopted position of neutrality; their troops moved to Jerusalem (2 Kings 16; 2 Chron. 28). At this time, the prophet Isaiah first appeared before the king and promised him a sign from God. Ahaz must rely not on the force of arms, but on the help of God. The Lord grants salvation to the faithful. However, Ahaz showed cowardice and took a fatal step: he called on the Assyrians for help. Tiglath-pileser III used this pretext and invaded Syria. He defeated the Syrian troops and occupied Galilee. As a result, Judea itself became completely dependent on Assyria. For political reasons, Ahaz began to introduce pagan customs and make sacrifices to the gods.

During these years, the main theme of Isaiah's preaching is the unfaithfulness of the people and their leaders to God. Even before the war with the Ephraim-Syria coalition, he spoke about the impending catastrophe that would befall the country in the event of betrayal of God. He wrote down his prophecies and gave the scrolls to his disciples for safekeeping. Isaiah had followers early. It was they who saved the teacher’s writings for the future. In 722, after a long siege, Samaria fell. According to Ahab's census, Samaria, not counting foreigners, had 7 thousand inhabitants. And a hundred and fifty years later, in 720, Sargon of Assyria (according to his inscription) deported 27,290 people from Samaria. However, it is not clear whether this figure refers to the captive residents of Samaria alone or its entire surrounding area. But one thing is known, the end of the Northern, Israeli, kingdom as an independent state came quite quickly. The Southern Kingdom lasted noticeably longer than the Northern Kingdom. It also did not escape the Assyrian invasions of 732, 720 and 701, but these invasions were not as fatal for it as for Israel. The state retained its independence, and VII The century was for him a time of relative stability and active construction. But the beginning of the independent existence of the kingdom was by no means calm: after the invasion of the pharaoh of the 22nd dynasty, Shoshenq I , who plundered Jerusalem and broke through far to the north, virtually constant confrontation with Israel and a chain of local wars followed. So, the only center of revealed faith was now little Judea. The prophet Isaiah placed his hope in that “holy remnant” who would be converted and saved on the Day of the Lord. Then, at the end of the reign of Ahaz, he uttered his second messianic prophecy (9:2 - 7) about the birth of the Child from the line of David. In 715, Ahaz's son Hezekiah ascended the throne. The pious king brought Isaiah close to him and often used his advice. The Prophet inspired him to reform the cult, which cleansed temple worship from the remnants of paganism (2 Kings 18:1 - 8).

After the death of the Assyrian king Sargon (705), the kings subordinate to him began to again prepare for war against the empire. Egypt, the second great power and rival of Assyria, was also interested in this. Hezekiah, despite the protests of the prophet Isaiah, entered into this dangerous game. At his court, Prince Shevna gained great influence, who pushed the king to war, assuring him that a united coalition with the help of Egypt would defeat Assyria, especially since the king of Babylon, Marduk-apluiddin, began military operations against it. In the end, Hezekiah agreed to lead the fight, gathering the kingdoms and principalities of Syria-Palestine under his banner. Meanwhile, the new king of Assyria, Sennacherib, was preparing for a retaliatory strike. He carried out a punitive expedition to Babylon and moved west. In 701 he occupied Judea and besieged Jerusalem. The 2nd book of Kings tells about this campaign briefly (18:13 – 16). The further narrative (18:17 – 19:37) refers to Sennacherib’s second campaign against Jerusalem (about 688). Hezekiah paid off with a huge indemnity. Part of its territory was taken away. The country plunged into mourning. Etc. Isaiah took this moment to call the people to repentance. His main accusatory speeches date back to this period (Chapter 1). Through the prayer of the prophet, the king was healed of a fatal illness. Now he obeyed his mentor in everything.

Ten years later, Sennacherib decided to finally eradicate the centers of possible uprisings. He invaded Babylon (689), and Assyrian soldiers razed the ancient capital of the East to the ground. Then came the hour of Judah. Having occupied Lachish, Sennacherib sent troops from there to besiege Jerusalem (Isa. 36:2 - 37:37). This time Hezekiah was innocent in the eyes of the prophet Isaiah. The prophet sent disciples to the king to encourage him: the enemy will not enter the holy city. In vain did the Assyrian commander “Rabshak” negotiate for surrender, in vain did Sennacherib boast that he had defeated all the gods and would defeat Yahweh, Hezekiah held on with the courage of despair. Pharaoh tried to help Jerusalem, but his army was defeated. All that remained was to trust in God. The prophet's prediction came true. The Assyrians suddenly lifted the siege and left Judea. In Isa. 37:36 we read: “And the angel of the Lord went out and smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. And they got up in the morning, and behold, all the bodies were dead.” Josephus points out that a “deadly plague” broke out in the Assyrian camp, and the Greek historian Herodotus (II, 141) believes that Sennacherib’s army was attacked by a horde of mice (a symbol of the plague). This last period of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah dates back to his third messianic prophecy about the “Branch from the root of Jesse” (11:1 – 10). The exact date of the prophet's death is unknown. According to later legends, he outlived King Hezekiah and died as a martyr in the days of Manasseh, the persecutor of the prophets. The memory of St. Isaiah is celebrated by the Church on May 9.

The legend of the martyrdom of the prophet Isaiah was already known to Christian writers of the first centuries (Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Epiphanius, Blessed Jerome). The text of the apocrypha was first published in Oxford by Lawrence (1819) in Ethiopic. Greek and Latin translations also survive. According to most biblical scholars, the apocrypha arose in the Jewish environment of the 1st – 2nd centuries AD. and was subsequently subjected to Christian indoctrination. It has no historical value, but it gives an idea of the legends that developed in ancient times around the personality of the great prophet. The apocrypha tells how, in the days of Manasseh, the king's servants captured Isaiah and tortured him, forcing him to recant the prophecies he had uttered. Because Isaiah remained hard, he was tortured and sawed in half with a wooden saw. Dying in agony, the prophet “did not scream or cry,” we read in the apocrypha, “for his mouth spoke with the Holy Spirit.”

See: Blessed Augustine of Hippo. About the City of God. – Minsk: Harvest, M.: AST, 2000.

See: Clement of Alexandria. Stromata. / Fathers and teachers of the Church of the 3rd century. Anthology. Comp. hierome Hilarion (Alfeev). Volume 1. – M., 1996.

Quote By: Olesnitsky A. A. St. Petersburg, 1894, 11+224 pp. / - 1 electron, disk (CD-ROM). P. 91.

Shuraki A. Everyday life people of the Bible / A. Shuraki; lane A. E. Vinnik. – M.: Young Guard, Palimpsest, 2004. P. 202 – 203.

World Encyclopedia: Mythology / Ch. ed. M. V. Adamchik; scientific ed. V. V. Adamchik. – Minsk: Modern writer, 2004. P. 363.

II. / A. Men. – M., 2000. / A. Men. – / A. Men // Symbol. –2000. – No. 43 (September).

Merpert N. Ya Essays on the archeology of biblical countries. / N. Ya. Merpert. – M.: Biblical and Theological Institute of St. Apostle Andrew, 2000. P. 285.

Merpert N. Ya Essays on the archeology of biblical countries. / N. Ya. Merpert. – M.: Biblical and Theological Institute of St. Apostle Andrew, 2000. P. 290.

See: Review of prophetic books Old Testament. / Comp. A. Kherzogersky. M.: Sretensky Monastery, 1998. P. 14 – 58; Men A. Experience of a course in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. T. II. / A. Men. – M., 2000. § 4. Isaiah is the prophet of holiness and messiahship; Men A. About the biblical prophets. / A. Men. – Riga: Christianos III, 1994. pp. 89 – 118; Men A. Isaiah. / A. Men // Symbol. –2000. – No. 43 (September).

See: Review of the prophetic books of the Old Testament. / Comp. A. Kherzogersky. M.: Sretensky Monastery, 1998. S. 14 – 58; Men A. Experience of a course in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. T. II. / A. Men. – M., 2000. § 4. Isaiah is the prophet of holiness and messiahship; Men A. About the biblical prophets. / A. Men. – Riga: Christianos III, 1994. pp. 89 – 118; Men A. Isaiah. / A. Men // Symbol. –2000. – No. 43 (September).

Olesnitsky A. A.Guiding information about the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments from the works of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church. St. Petersburg, 1894, 11+224 pp. / Electron, text, graph, sound. Dan. and application program (546 MB).M.: Publishing house. KB MDA and the Seraphim Foundation, 2005.- 1 electron, disk (CD-ROM). P. 92.

Men A. Experience of a course in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. T. II. / A. Men. – M., 2000. § 4. Isaiah is the prophet of holiness and messiahship.; Men A. Bibliological dictionary. T. I. / A. Men. – M.: Alexander Men Foundation, 2002. P. 79.

Prophet Isaiah and his book.

Kontakion, Chapter 2: The gift of prophecy is received, prophet-martyr, Isaiah, preacher of God, you explained to everyone the incarnation of the Lord, exclaiming in a loud voice at the end: behold, the Virgin will receive with child.

“Isaiah” translated means the salvation of the Lord. That. the name of this great prophet is a symbol of the salvation awaiting God’s chosen ones.

According to legend, the prophet Isaiah came from a royal family: his father, Amos (Is. 1:1), may have been the brother of the Jewish king Amaziah. Isaiah was born around 760 in Jerusalem, where he lived and preached. The Prophet, according to his own testimony, had a wife and children. His wife was a prophetess (8:3). The names of the children symbolically foreshadowed the judgment of God that was coming to the kingdoms of Judah and Israel: Shearasuv - “the remnant will return” (7:3) and Mager-shelal-hash-baz - “quick robbery” or “quick prey” (8:3).

Isaiah began his prophetic activity when he was about 20 years old, in the year of the death of King Uzziah, i.e. sometime in 759 BC. (according to another dating – 740). The last time he appears as an active figure is around 701.
The Prophet gathered young people around him and created a school that existed for more than 200 years. This school gradually grew into a new religious movement in Jerusalem called "The Poor of the Lord." The participants in the movement were indeed poor people, but in this case the word “poor” was used in its biblical meaning - morally pure and loving God.

Tradition says that the prophet Isaiah died as a martyr under King Manasseh, fleeing from whose persecution, the prophet hid in a cedar trunk and was sawed down along with the tree with a wooden saw, which is indirectly indicated, for example, by the prophet Jeremiah (2:30) and the apostle Paul (Heb. .11:37).
Call to ministry.

One day, still very young, Isaiah was present in the temple at a divine service; before his eyes was the courtyard of the priests and the sanctuary. Suddenly he saw that the temple was moving apart and the curtain separating the Holy of Holies was disappearing before his spiritual eyes. Next, the Prophet saw the Lord, “sitting on a high and exalted throne,” standing as if between heaven and earth; the edges of God's royal vestments filled the temple. Around the Lord “stood seraphim, each of whom had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their legs, with two they flew. And they cried out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts...”.

Saint Isaiah was horrified and exclaimed in fear:
-Woe is me! I'm dead! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people also of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

Then one of the seraphim flew to him with a burning coal, taken with tongs from the altar, and touched the prophet’s lips with the words:

Behold, this has touched your mouth, and your iniquity is taken away from you, and your sin is cleansed.
Immediately Isaiah heard the mysterious voice of Jehovah:

Whom should I send? And who will go for Us?

Filled with sacred confidence, Saint Isaiah expressed his desire to accept the responsibility and heavy duty of being a preacher of the will of God for the Jewish people:

Here I am, send me.

The Lord did not reject the offer of Saint Isaiah:
Go and tell this people: You will hear with your ears and will not understand, and with your eyes you will see and will not see. For the heart of this people has become hardened...

Isaiah asked how long the people would remain in such coarseness:

Until the cities are desolate and without inhabitants...until this land is completely desolate (Isa. 6:1-11).

The vision ended and the Spirit of God rested on the holy prophet.
The fact that Isaiah was called by the Lord of Hosts Himself in such an obvious and terrible vision, and even in very early youth, testifies to his pious life. Moreover, he reveals deep knowledge holy books his people, which means he absorbed this knowledge from childhood. Therefore, the Lord chose this man for a special mission and generously gifted him with the gift of speech and miracles, because he was worthy of it.

Isaiah himself, by virtue of his daring faith and vision of the Lord of Hosts, always remembered that it was God who called him to serve. Therefore, he always showed devoted obedience and unconditional trust in God, was always free from human fear, placing all his trust in the Creator. He was not afraid to loudly denounce the wicked policies of Ahaz (ch. 7), priests, prophets and people (ch. 2, 3, 5, 28), to condemn Hezekiah’s policies (ch. 30-32) and even predict the death of the king (ch. 38 ). Because the truth of God was for him above all fear.

Book of the holy prophet Isaiah.

His prophecy begins with words against Judah (Isa. 1:1). For, according to the words of Peter, “the time is coming for judgment to begin from the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17), because those closest to us grieve the most when they sin against us.

And in Ezekiel, the Lord, commanding to punish those who have sinned, says: “Begin from my sanctified ones” (Ezek. 9:6). Therefore, Isaiah began from the country chosen by God, and from the city in which there was a sanctuary, announcing to them the disasters awaiting them.

Secondly, he talks about Babylon, then - about the land of Moab, then - about Damascus, fifthly - about Egypt, then - about the desert, then - about Idumea, then - about the wilds of Zion, then - about Tire and then - about quadrupeds. This is followed by incidents that happened in the 40th year of Hezekiah’s reign. After this there are prophecies that do not have any inscription and announce disasters to Jerusalem and Judea, the fate of those who are scattered, their return after the execution of judgment, predictions about Christ, scattered throughout every prophecy, because with every true legend there is something mysterious associated" (St. Basil the Great. Interpretation of the book of the prophet Isaiah).

First part (Ch. 1-39) is predominantly accusatory. Whom and for what does the prophet denounce?

The mighty of this world and all the people for their vices (especially during the time of the wicked king Ahaz):

Ingratitude to God, idolatry (2:20, 17:8,30:22,31:7)

Unbelief in Divine Revelation (29:9)

External fulfillment of the Law and simultaneous immoral behavior (1:10-17)

Dishonesty towards neighbors, lack of love, charity, mercy, especially on the part of rulers (1:16,5:22-23,10:1)

Condemnation of the policy of intercourse with pagan powers (8:6,30:1,31:1).

The conviction is followed by a prediction of God's judgment through the pagans: the devastation of the earth, the expulsion of the Jews (6:11, 5:13,17:9), the capture of Jerusalem (2:12, 3:8,16; 22:5,30:13,32 :13,19), the imminent fall of Samaria (chap. 28), the Babylonian captivity (39:5-8).

But even in this part, full of accusations and menacing omens, the prophet found a place for consoling notes: he reminds the people that “God is with us” (8:10) and promises that “the burden will be removed from your shoulders” (10:27), and “the Lord will establish Zion” (14:32), and “Assur will fall” (31:8), etc. But for all this to happen, the people must turn to their God: “The Lord of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill... he will cover Jerusalem, protect and deliver, spare and save. Turn to Him from whom you have fallen away, O children of Israel!” (31:4-5).

Departments of the first part:

1) chapters 1-6 – introduction; 7-12 – Israel’s attitude towards Assur under Ahaz and the outcome of friendship with Assyria;

2) prophecies for foreign nations: Babylon (chap. 13-14:23), Assur, Philistines, Moab, Syria, Ethiopia, Egypt (14:28-30), again about Babylon, as well as about Edom, Arabia, Jerusalem ( Ch.21-22), Dash (Ch.23). The prophet also speaks about the final judgment of the world (24-27), the resurrection of the dead and salvation;

3) the relationship of Israel with Assur under Hezekiah (28-33): in this section, the speeches are arranged chronologically and are united by the main theme - the salvation of Israel depends only on the Lord;

4) chapters 34-35: about God’s judgment over earth and heaven,
about the salvation of Israel, the return from captivity;

5) chapters 36-39 – events described in 2 Kings 18:13-20; 19.

Second part (chapters 40-66) contains the prophet's consoling speeches to the people in view of the coming Babylonian captivity. It consists of three sections of 9 chapters, united by a single theme: they tell about the era of redemption of Israel and humanity, beginning with the liberation of Israel from Babylonian captivity and extending to the Last Judgment.

Departments of the second part:

1) chapters 40-48: liberation from Babylonian captivity, the culprit of which is Cyrus; as well as moral liberation from sin through the Messiah.

2) chapters 49-57: Messiah, His suffering.

3) chapters 58-66: glorification of the Messiah.

Features of the prophetic contemplation of Isaiah.
- the present and the future for him represent a single, continuously developing whole, without any temporal distinctions, the prophet quickly turns his gaze from the present to the future

Clarity of Messianic prophecies (Nativity of Christ from the Virgin in Chapter 7, suffering and death of the Savior - Chapter 53

Exact time definitions (16:14, 37:30,38:5)

Rich language, images, persuasiveness.

All these and other merits of Isaiah’s prophetic speeches gave reason for interpreters of all times to praise him as a “great prophet” (Sir.48:25, Eusebius of Caesarea), “the most divine” (Blessed Theodoret), “the most insightful and wisest of the prophets” (Isidore Pelusiot ), “Old Testament evangelist and apostle” (Blessed Augustine, St. Cyril of Alexandria).

In defense authenticity the book of the prophet Isaiah is the main argument: his book is recognized as a work by the Holy Scriptures (Sir.48:25-28, Luke 4:17-22, Matthew 15:7-9, Luke 22:37, Acts 8:28,28 :25, Rom.9:27).

In addition, the following facts can be contrasted with the point of view about the inauthenticity of the book, about the non-belonging of some of its parts to the prophet Isaiah:

Same tone of speech throughout the book: Isaiah speaks boldly - Rom.10:20

Presence of repeated images (vineyard, desert)

The single idea of the entire book is that Zion will be saved by the power of God, not by man.

Gradual revelation of the troubles awaiting the Jews and future redemption

Sirach also knew the book of Isaiah as an integral work, which is part of the Old Testament canon (i.e. 200 years before the birth of Christ - Sir.48:22-25).

Translations.

Jewish Masoretic

Translation of the Seventy

Peshito – similar to the translation of the Seventy

The Vulgate is similar to the Masoretic text.

Interpretations.

The book of the holy prophet Isaiah was interpreted by St. Ephraim the Syrian (according to the text of Peshito), St. Basil the Great (Chapters 1-16), St. John Chrysostom (Greek text - only chapters 1-8, Latin and Armenian translations - all chapters), bl. Jerome (based on Hebrew and Greek texts), St. Cyril of Alexandria (according to the translation of the Seventy, Blessed Theodoret.

Russian works devoted to this book:

Ep. Peter. Explanation of the book of the holy prophet Isaiah in Russian translation, extracted from various interpreters
-Yakimov. Interpretation of the book of the prophet Isaiah

Vlastov. Prophet Isaiah.

Yungerov's articles in the journal Pravosla
a good interlocutor."

The era of the prophet Isaiah.

The life of the greatest of the prophets was closely connected with historical events. In those days Assyria devastated the kingdom of Israel, reached the highest degree of prosperity under Hezekiah and finally destroyed the kingdom of Israel, then subjugated Judah, and took Manasseh into captivity. But in 630, Media and Babylon captured Assyria and turned it into a Median province.

Egypt was an ally of the Jews, but under Isaiah he was already weakened by age and internal strife, and also weakened by the wars with Assyria.

Syrian kingdom constantly fought with Assyria. In 732, Syria was turned into an Assyrian province.

Babylon under the prophet Isaiah he became a vassal of Assyria.

Israel and Judea were in constant hostility.

Violence and cruelty reigned in Israel, political anarchy (2 Kings 15:8-28), which led it to internal disintegration (which was prophesied by Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah). Before the fall of Samaria in 722, the kingdom of Israel was also the subject of Isaiah's prophetic speeches (28:1-4)

Isaiah began his prophetic activity in the year of the death of the Jewish King Uzziah around 759 or, according to another chronology, 740 BC. The last time he appears as an active figure is around 701. Uzziah was a pious king, under him life was good in Judea, she won victories over the Philistines, Arabs and other peoples.

He will inherit King Jotham (2 Kings 15:32-38, “Par. 26:23), his son, who ruled for 16 years (4 years independently - 740-736 [Lopukhin]).

Like his father, Jotham was very pious, the country prospered economically and was independent. But already during his reign the people began to turn away from the Law of God, therefore Isaiah already speaks here about punishment (chapter 6). At that time the people were proud of their success foreign policy their country, attributing them to their own account, forgetting to thank the Lord, morals have fallen.

The following chapters of the book of the prophet Isaiah belong to this period: 2-5. Isaiah speaks here about the problems of social injustice (3:16), about forgetting God. The motive for punishment sounds. But not because Isaiah wants Jerusalem to be destroyed, but in order to call for repentance.

After the death of Jotham, he became king of Judah Ahaz , Israeli by birth, pagan by heart. During his reign, Judah achieved state power, the Ammonites and Philistines paid tribute to it. Enormous wealth had accumulated in the country, which the wicked Ahaz put to unworthy use.

The king decided to turn Jerusalem into something like the capitals of the pagan states of Phenicia and Assyria:

He introduced the worship of the sun, moon, and heavenly bodies (2 Kings 23:5),

In the house of God they placed an idol of Astarte (goddess of debauchery),

“Houses of harlots” appeared in the city (2 Kings 23:6-7),

At the entrance to the temple, in the rooms where sacred vessels were previously kept, white horses were now kept, dedicated to the solar god,

In place of the altar of burnt offerings they put a new one, made according to the Assyrian model (2 Kings 16:14-15),

“High places”—places for making sacrifices—spread throughout Jerusalem and other cities,

In the valley of Ginnom (under the walls of Jerusalem) they placed Moloch, an idol in whose arms children were burned. Ahaz himself sacrificed one of his sons to Molech (2 Kings 16:3, 2 Chronicles 28:3).

For all these atrocities, the Lord allowed Judah to be devastated by the king of Israel, Pekah, and the king of Syria, Rezin (2 Chron. 18:19).

And then, in such a difficult moment of testing, the prophet Isaiah tries to encourage Ahaz, assuring that God will not abandon him, calls for a “policy of faith”: “watch and be calm... let not your heart become sad... Ask yourself a sign from the Lord... and Ahaz said: I will not ask, nor will I tempt the Lord” (7:4.11-12). Ahaz did not believe God, he preferred to rely on powerful of the world this: he entered into an alliance with Tiglath-palassar 2, to whom he gave all the Jewish treasures, even the temple ones. Then, to please his newly-made allies, Ahaz takes a drawing of the Assyrian altar, which was erected in place of the altar of burnt offerings. As a reward for such humility of Ahaz, Assyria ravaged Syria and part of Palestine, but so far only imposed tribute on Judea. Ahaz, having robbed the temple, closed its doors, and the service stopped.

IN Hezekiah , its next king, Judah found a caring, God-fearing ruler. He restored the veneration of Jehovah, in which he was helped by the students of the school of the prophet Isaiah: idols were removed from the temple and worship was restored (2 Chron. 29: 3-36), the “high places” were destroyed, even Hezekiah destroyed the copper serpent, which Moses had made (Num. .21:9) and who then stood in the middle of Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:4).

In those same days, a change of rulers occurred in Assyria: Sargon died and was succeeded by Sennacherib. Taking advantage of the time of change, the peoples subordinate to Assyria, including King Hezekiah, raised a series of uprisings. The Assyrian king brutally suppressed the rebels: 46 Jewish cities were taken and plundered, and the enemy besieged the capital Jerusalem. Famine began in the city. In the end, Hezekiah decided to surrender and the siege was lifted. But soon the city gates were closed again. Hezekiah, together with the prophet Isaiah, offered a prayer to God (2 Kings 19:15-19 and 2 Chronicles 32:20).

And the Lord answered (2 Kings 19:21-22, 28-31). And “the angel of the Lord went and smote 185 thousand in the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 19:35), and the king of Assyria returned in shame to his land” (2 Chron. 32:21). For some time there was peace in Judea (2 Chron. 19:22-23).

Another misfortune befell Hezekiah, he fell ill, and Isaiah told him to prepare for death. But in the Old Testament times afterlife seemed like darkness, and besides, Hezekiah did not yet have an heir. The king prayed (2 Kings 20:3) and the Lord had mercy. Through his prophet he conveyed to Hezekiah that “I have heard your prayer... I will heal... I will add 15 years to your days... I will save this city from the hand of the Assyrian king (2 Kings 20:5-6). Hezekiah was grateful to the Lord and filled with pious intentions: “...I will spend all the years of my life quietly...” (Is. 38:11-15,17).

But the Lord sent him another test, “in order to reveal everything that was in his heart”: the Babylonian king (whose country, one of the few at that time, was independent of Assyria) heard about miraculous healing Hezekiah. Under the guise of congratulating him on his recovery, he sent an embassy to Judea, the real purpose of which was to conclude an offensive and defensive alliance with Hezekiah. Hezekiah was flattered by the visit of such a vast state and, out of vanity, showed the guests all his treasures. He quickly forgot about the omnipotence of God and put his trust in people and himself. After the departure of the ambassadors, the prophet Isaiah predicted the loss of all treasures and the Babylonian captivity. Hezekiah repented (2 Kings 20:13-19, 2 Chronicles 32:31, Isa.39). The Lord forgave him and granted him to live the rest of his days in peace (2 Kings 20:21).
During the time of King Hezekiah, the following chapters of the book of the prophet Isaiah occur: 22, 28-33, 36-39, 40-66, as well as prophecies about foreign nations: chapters 15,16,18-20, 21:11-17, 23).

Messianic prophecies of Isaiah.

Prefaced by the coming of the Forerunner (Is. 40:33), the Messiah, descending in humanity from the line of Jesse (11:1), will be born of a husbandless Virgin (17:4) and will be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit (11:2) and bear names indicating on His Divine dignity (9:6).

The humble and meek Servant of God... called by Him to proclaim the truth to the nations, the Messiah “will not break a bruised reed or quench the smoking flax,” will establish His kingdom on earth (9:1-4). “Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid... The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord...” (11:6-9).

But the coming of the kingdom must be preceded by the humiliation, suffering and death of the Messiah for the sins of the people: “Lord,” exclaims the prophet, as if standing at the Cross of the Crucified Savior, “who believed what he heard from us... For He rose up before Him like an offspring and like a sprout from dry ground ; There is no form or greatness in Him; and we saw Him... He was despised and we thought nothing of Him.” Whereas “He took upon Himself our infirmities, bore our illnesses, and we thought that He was struck, punished and humiliated by God. But He was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities... by His stripes we were healed... He suffered voluntarily... for the crime of the people He suffered execution. He was assigned a coffin with the villains, but He was buried with a rich man..."

Next to this image of the suffering Messiah, majestic in His immeasurable humility, the prophet depicted the Messiah, the Founder of the Church, glorified for His suffering: “It pleased the Lord to strike Him and He gave Him over to torment; when His soul brings a sacrifice of propitiation, He will see a long-lasting descendant... through the knowledge of it He, the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify many and bear their sins on Himself. Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will have the spoil with the mighty, because He gave His soul to death and was counted among the evildoers, while He bore the sin of many and became an intercessor for the criminals” (Isaiah 53:1- 12).

Spiritual educational institution"HVE Bible College"

Essay

THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH

Subject: Prophetism of the Old Testament

Completed by a student

3 HE courses

Tsybulenko Svetlana Stefanovna

Teacher:

Kalosha Pavel Alexandrovich (M. A.)

Minsk – 2010

The prophet Isaiah, son of Amos, was born in Jerusalem around 765 BC. The name of the prophet - jeschajehu translated from Hebrew means: salvation is accomplished by the Almighty or the salvation of the Lord.

Isaiah belonged to the highest society in the capital and had free access to the royal house. The Prophet was married and had children, and he also had his own house. He calls his wife a prophetess (Is. 8.3). His children - sons - with their names symbolically predicted the judgment of God that the kingdom of Judah and Israel would undergo (Is. 7.3; Is. 10.20; Is. 8.3,18), while the name of the prophet himself served as a symbol of the salvation awaiting God's chosen ones.

Isaiah, being 20 years old, was called to his ministry in the year of the death of the Judah king Uzziah, who reigned from 780 to 740 BC. The ministry of the prophet falls during the reign of four kings of Judah: Uzziah (died 740 BC), Jotham (750-735 BC), Ahaz (735-715 BC .) and Hezekiah (729-686 BC). He witnessed the invasion of Syrian troops in alliance with the Ephraimites (Israelites) (734-732 BC - ch. 7-9); uprisings against Assyrian rule (713-711 BC - ch. 10-23); Assyrian invasion and siege of Jerusalem (705-701 BC - ch. 28-32, 36-39).

With God's help, King Uzziah managed to introduce good order in his small state. Prosperous rule led to the fact that the Kingdom of Judah acquired important importance among other Asia Minor states, especially due to its successes in wars with the Philistines, Arabs and other peoples. The Jewish people lived almost as well under Uzziah as under Solomon, although, however, some misfortunes sometimes visited Judah at that time, such as an earthquake (Isa. 5.25) and although the king himself last years in his life he was struck by leprosy, sent to him because he showed claims to perform priestly service. At the end of his reign, Uzziah made his son, Jotham, his co-ruler (2 Kings 15.5; 2 Chronicles 26.21).

Jotham (according to 2 Kings 15.32-38 and 2 Chronicles 26.23) ruled the kingdom of Judah for 16 years - 11 years as a co-ruler with his father and more than 4 years on his own (740-736). He was a pious man and happy in his endeavors, although already under him the Syrians and Ephraimites began to plot against Judea. But the Jewish people under Jotham, by their deviations from the law of God, began to incur the wrath of God, and the prophet Isaiah began to announce to his fellow citizens about the punishment awaiting them from God (chapter 6). It is obvious that the external successes achieved by Jotham not only did not contribute to the moral improvement of the people, but on the contrary, as Moses predicted (Deut. Chapter 32), instilled in this people a sense of pride and gave them the opportunity to lead a carefree and dissolute life.
The speeches of Isaiah contained in chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 of his book date back to this time.

After Jotham, Ahaz ascended the throne (2 Kings 16.1 and 2 Chronicles 28.1), who reigned for 10 years (736-727). In direction, he was not like his father and deviated into idolatry. For this, the Lord, according to the writers of the 4th book of Kings and 2 Chronicles, sent enemies against him, of whom the most dangerous were the Syrians and Israelites, who formed an alliance among themselves, to which the Edomites also joined (2 Kings 16.5 et seq., 2 Chronicles 28.5 etc.). Things got to the point that many Jews, subjects of Ahaz, were captured by enemies and, together with their wives and children, resettled in Samaria: only the prophet Oded convinced the Israelites to free the Jews from captivity. In addition to the Edomites, Syrians and Israelites, the Philistines also attacked Judea during the reign of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28.18). Under this king, Isaiah made speeches contained in chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 (vv. 1-4), 14 (vv. 28-32) and 17. In these speeches, Isaiah condemned the policy of Ahaz, who turned to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser (or Tiglath-Pilezer III) for help against his enemies. He predicted that these Assyrians would eventually plot to subjugate the kingdom of Judah and that only the Messiah, Immanuel, would humiliate their pride and crush their strength. Touching inner life of the Jewish state under Ahaz, Isaiah denounced the lack of justice among the rulers of the people, and the increasing licentiousness of morals among the people.

Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, (2 Kings 18.1 - 2 Kings 20.1 and 2 Chronicles 29.1 - 2 Chronicles 32.1), ruled the state of Judah for 29 years (from 727 to 698 BC). Hezekiah was a very pious and God-fearing sovereign (2 Kings 18.3,5,7) and cared about the restoration of true worship, according to the statutes of Moses (2 Kings 18.4,22). Although at first he was surrounded by people who had little understanding of the essence of the theocratic structure of the Jewish state and who were inclining the king to enter into alliances with foreign sovereigns, but then, under the influence of the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah became firmly established in the idea that the only strong support for his state was the Most High Himself. During Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, Hezekiah sends envoys to Isaiah for advice, and the prophet consoles the king with a promise of divine help. At the time of Hezekiah the speeches of Isaiah, contained in ch. 22, 28-33, as well as chapters 36-39 and, finally, perhaps the entire second section of the book of Isaiah (40-66 chapters). In addition, the prophecies regarding foreign nations in ch. 15, 16, 18-20 and maybe in 21 (11-17 vv.) and 23 ch. To the very end of Hezekiah's reign, the speeches contained in ch. 13, 14, 21 (1-10 art.), 24-27, 34 and 35.

There were other peoples who had a greater influence on the life of the Jewish Israelite state in the days of Isaiah. In this regard, Assur was in first place. In the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, the first king of the new dynasty, Phul, ascended the Assyrian throne. This king devastated the kingdom of Israel. The same kingdom was attacked under Ahaz by the powerful Assyrian king Tiglath-Pilezer III, and in the days of Hezekiah, the Assyrian kingdom reached its highest degree of prosperity and King Salmonassar finally destroyed the kingdom of Israel, and his successor Sennacherib made attempts to subjugate the kingdom of Judah. But already in Sennacherib's last years, the power of Assyrian began to disappear. Asar-Gaddon, however, managed to suppress the uprising in Babylon and subjugated Judea to himself, taking its king, Manasseh, into captivity, but the days of the Assyrian monarchy were obviously already numbered, and around 630 Kyoxares of Media, in alliance with Nabopolassar of Babylon, took the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, and Assyria after that became the Median province.

As for the other great power of that time, Egypt, the Jews for the most part were in alliance with it and hoped for its help when they began to dream of liberation from subordination to the Assyrians, who for the most part pestered the Jewish kings by demanding tribute from them. Egypt, however, at that time was already outdated and weakened. In those days, Egypt was weakened by internal strife. During the era of Isaiah’s activity, as many as three dynasties changed on the Egyptian throne - the 23rd, 24th and 25th. In their wars with Assyria over disputed Syrian possessions, the Egyptian kings of the so-called Ethiopian dynasty (725 to 605) were initially defeated. Then the powerful Egyptian king Tirgak inflicted a strong defeat on Sennacherib and restored the greatness of Egypt, although not for long: Sennacherib’s successor, Asar-Gaddon, entered Egypt with his troops, and then the Ethiopian dynasty was soon overthrown.

Quite an important figure in the era of Isaiah was the kingdom of Syria with its main city, Damascus. This kingdom constantly fought with the kingdom of Assyria. The Assyrian kings, especially Tiglath-Pilezer III, cruelly punished the Syrian sovereigns who gathered allies for themselves from among the Asia Minor states subject to the Assyrian power, but in 732 Syria was finally annexed to Assyria as its province. It is known that then there was the kingdom of the Chaldeans with its capital, Babylon. This kingdom, in the era of Isaiah, was in vassal relations with Assyria and the kings of Babylon were considered only the viceroys of the Assyrian king. However, these kings constantly tried to restore the former independence of the Chaldean state and raised the banner of indignation against Assyrian rule, attracting some other kings of Asia Minor to this, for example, Hezekiah of Judah, and in the end they still achieved their goal.

As for the other peoples who came into contact with the Jews in the days of Isaiah - the Tyrians, Philistines, Maovites, Edomites, etc., they, due to their weakness, could not cause particularly serious harm to the Jews, but for that they provided them with little help, as allies against Assyria.

It should also be noted that in the era of Isaiah, the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were almost always at odds with each other. hostile relationship and this, of course, could not but affect sad fate, which first befell the kingdom of Israel, and then the kingdom of Judah.

During the second half of the 8th century. BC the prophet denounced the hypocritical (1:10-15), greedy (5:18), self-indulgent (5:11), cynical (5:19) rulers, who with their depravity led the people into a state of moral decline. The prophet predicted God's judgment, which would finally decide both the fate of unworthy rulers (6:1-10) and the fate of the entire people (5:26-30). In 722 BC. Israel was expelled from its land, and King Hezekiah barely escaped Assyrian captivity (36.1 - 37.37). The prophet's tragic prediction that the people of Israel with all their riches would be taken to Babylon at God's appointed time (39:6-7), became the basis for the further ministry of Isaiah, who was called upon to comfort and encourage those mourning in captivity (40:1). In a series of prophecies, both comprehensive and specific, Isaiah predicted the fall of pagan Babylon (46.1 - 47.15) and the salvation of the remnant of Israel. More than a hundred years before Cyrus's reign, he announced that this Persian king would be God's anointed and messenger who would return the remnant of Israel to the promised land (44.26 - 45.13). Isaiah foretold the coming of a Servant-Savior greater than Cyrus. This nameless Servant will bring righteous judgment to the nations (42:1-4), establish a new covenant with the Lord (42:5-7), become a light for the Gentiles (49:1-7), take upon Himself the sins of the whole world and rise from the dead (52.13 - 53.12). New Testament identifies the Servant-Savior with the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Lord Himself in the flesh.

As we have already said, the Old Testament prophets had the enormous task of keeping the Jewish people in faith in the One God and preparing the ground for faith in the coming Messiah, as a Person who, in addition to human, also had a Divine nature. The prophets had to speak about the Divinity of Christ in such a way that it would not be understood by the Jews in a pagan way, in the sense of polytheism. Therefore, the Old Testament prophets revealed the secret of the Divinity of the Messiah gradually, as faith in the One God was established among the Jewish people.

King David was the first to predict the deity of Christ. After him, there came a 250-year break in prophecies, and the prophet Isaiah, who lived seven centuries before the birth of Christ, began a new series of prophecies about Christ, in which His Divine nature is revealed with greater clarity.

Isaiah is the outstanding prophet of the Old Testament. The book he wrote contains such a large number of prophecies about Christ and New Testament events that many call Isaiah the Old Testament Evangelist. Isaiah prophesied within Jerusalem during the reigns of the Judah kings Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. Under Isaiah, the kingdom of Israel was defeated in 722 BC, when the Assyrian king Sargon took the Jewish people inhabiting Israel into captivity. The kingdom of Judah existed after this tragedy for another 135 years. Etc. Isaiah ended his life as a martyr under Manasseh, being cut down with a wooden saw. The book of the prophet Isaiah is distinguished by its elegant Hebrew language and has high literary merits, which can be felt even in the translations of his book into different languages.

The prophet Isaiah also wrote about the human nature of Christ, and from him we learn that Christ had to be born miraculously from a Virgin: “The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a Virgin (alma) will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name: Emmanuel, which means: God is with us" (Is. 7:14). This prophecy was spoken to King Ahaz in order to assure the king that he and his house would not be destroyed by the Syrian and Israeli kings. On the contrary, the plan of his enemies will not come true, and one of the descendants of Ahaz will be the promised Messiah, who will be born miraculously from the Virgin. Since Ahaz was a descendant of King David, this prophecy confirms previous prophecies that the Messiah would come from the line of King David.

In his next prophecies, Isaiah reveals new details about the miraculous Child who will be born from the Virgin. Thus, in chapter 8, Isaiah writes that the people of God should not be afraid of the wiles of their enemies, because their plans will not come true: “Understand the nations and submit: For God is with us (Emmanuel).” In the next chapter, Isaiah speaks about the properties of the Child Emmanuel: “Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; the government is on His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) -7). Both the name Emmanuel and the other names given here to the Baby are not, of course, proper, but indicate the properties of His Divine nature.

Isaiah predicted the preaching of the Messiah in the northern part of St. The land within the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, which was called Galilee: “The former time disparaged the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but the next time will exalt the seaside way, the country beyond the Jordan, the Gentile Galilee. The people walking in darkness will see a great light on those living in the land light will shine in the shadow of death" (Isaiah 9:1-2). This prophecy is given by the Evangelist Matthew when he describes the preaching of Jesus Christ in this part of St. A land that was especially religiously ignorant (Matt. 4:16). In Holy Scripture, light is a symbol of religious knowledge and truth.

In later prophecies, Isaiah often calls the Messiah by another name - Branch. This symbolic name confirms earlier prophecies about the miraculous and extraordinary birth of the Messiah, namely, that it will take place without the participation of a husband, just as a branch, without a seed, is born directly from the root of a plant. “And a Branch will come from the root of Jesse (that was the name of King David’s father), and a branch will come from his root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness” (Is. 11:1 ). Here Isaiah predicts the anointing of Christ with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, that is, with all the fullness of the grace of the Spirit, which was realized on the day of His baptism in the Jordan River.

In other prophecies Isaiah speaks of the works of Christ and His attributes, especially His mercy and meekness. The prophecy below quotes the words of God the Father: “Behold, My Servant, whom I hold by the hand, My chosen one, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim judgment to the nations. He will not cry, nor lift up His voice... A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench” (Isa. 42:1-4). These last words They talk about the great patience and condescension towards human weakness with which Christ will treat repentant and disadvantaged people. Isaiah made a similar prophecy a little later, speaking on behalf of the Messiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach release to the captives and the opening of prison to the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1-2). These words precisely define the purpose of the coming of the Messiah: to heal the spiritual illnesses of people.

In addition to mental ailments, the Messiah was to heal physical infirmities, as Isaiah predicted: “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap up like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing: for waters will flow in the wilderness and streams in the desert” ( Isaiah 35:5-6). This prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel, healed thousands of all kinds of sick people, those born blind and those possessed by demons. With His miracles He testified to the truth of His teaching and His unity with God the Father.

According to God's plan, the salvation of people was to be carried out in the Kingdom of the Messiah. This blessed Kingdom of believers was sometimes likened by the prophets to a well-ordered building (see the appendix for prophecies about the Kingdom of the Messiah). The Messiah, being, on the one hand, the founder of the Kingdom of God, and, on the other hand, the foundation of the true faith, is called by the prophets the Stone, i.e., the foundation on which the Kingdom of God is based. We find such a figurative name for the Messiah in the following prophecy: “Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am laying a stone for the foundation in Zion, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation stone: he who believes in it will not be put to shame” (Isa. 28:16). Zion was the name given to the mountain (hill) on which the temple and the city of Jerusalem stood.

The remarkable thing is that this prophecy for the first time emphasizes the importance of FAITH in the Messiah: “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame!” Psalm 117, written after Isaiah, mentions the same Stone: “The stone that the builders rejected (in English - masons) has become the head of the corner (corner stone). This is from the Lord, and is marvelous in our eyes.” (Ps. 118:22-23, see also Matt. 21:42). That is, despite the fact that the “builders” - the people standing at the helm of power - rejected This Stone, God nevertheless laid It at the foundation of a grace-filled building - the Church.

The following prophecy complements previous prophecies that speak of the Messiah as the Reconciler and source of blessing not only for the Jews, but for all nations: “Not only will You be My Servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the remnant of Israel, but I I will make You the light of the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6).

But no matter how great the spiritual light emanating from the Messiah would be, Isaiah foresaw that not all Jews would see this light due to their spiritual coarsening. This is what the prophet writes about this: “If you hear with your ears, you will not understand, and with your eyes you will look, but you will not see. For the heart of this people has become hardened, and their ears are hard to hear, and they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and They will hear with their ears, and will not understand with their heart, and will not be converted, so that I may heal them” (Isaiah 6:9-10). Due to their aspiration only for earthly well-being, not all Jews recognized in the Lord Jesus Christ their Savior, promised by the prophets. As if foreseeing the unbelief of the Jews, King David, who lived before Isaiah, called on them in one of his psalms with these words: “Oh, that you would now listen to the voice of Him (the Messiah): do not harden your hearts, as in Meribah, as in the day of temptation in wilderness" (Ps. 95:7-8). That is: when you hear the preaching of the Messiah, believe His word. Do not persist, as did your ancestors in the wilderness under Moses, who tempted God and murmured against Him (see Exodus 17:1-7), “Meribah” means “reproach.”