The Relevance of Isaiah’s Warnings in Modern Society

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Cloaked traveler walking a rocky path through mountains at sunset with a castle in the valley

“But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty. So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.“
“Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upwards in a column of smoke.”
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.“
“Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.”
Isaiah 9:13-15, 10:1-2, 4b NIVUK

The section of Scripture from Isaiah 9:8 to 10:4 provides some terrible verses that are difficult to read, under the heading “The Lord’s Anger against Israel”, and one sentence is repeated three times: “Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.” We read the future tense with repeated “the Lord will” throughout the prophecy, detailing terrible events coming, yet despite all the warnings, and with the benefit of hindsight, we know Israel ignored them. The worrying thing is that some of the warnings can apply to our secular society today. We read “…for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks folly”. Then there is “wickedness burns like a fire” and a reference to “those who make unjust laws” and “those who issued oppressive decrees”. There are those who “withhold justice from the oppressed of [God’s] people”. But God asks the question, one that has hung in the air over all people and all generations ever since – “What will you do on the day of reckoning”?

I would contend that God’s hand is still upraised today and will continue to be as He allows sin and wickedness to continue in the hearts, minds, and actions of human beings, all of whom will one day be required to give an account of their lives before Him. In Old Testament times, God’s judgments were applied within a few generations, but in our New Covenant times, God is holding back until the final day, when Jesus will occupy the “Great White Throne”. The Apostles’ Creed includes the words, and referring to Jesus, “He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead”. One day, there will be a time of judgement because we live in a moral universe, and the scales so skewed by wickedness will be rebalanced, and God’s hand will finally be lowered. 

We pilgrims know, I’m sure, that our names are written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life” and we will escape the wrath to come. Not, I should add, by a grudging God, but because we have turned to Him and His Son, reaching out in repentance for forgiveness for our sin and wickedness. And now, as His children, we are in a privileged position, having seen a glimpse of Jesus and His love and compassion, which will follow us all the days of our lives. 

But I cannot finish this morning without returning to Isaiah 6. In the Temple, Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up”, a vision so real and meaningful that he could not fail to respond positively to the Lord’s question, “Who shall I send? And who will go for us?” with a response that totally transformed his life, as the words fell from his lips, “Here am I. Send me”. Is that our pilgrim position today? I hope so, because time is short and many lost souls are heading to the wrong place. 

Dear Father God. Many years later, we, too, answer the call with our own response: “Send me.” Guide us to the right mission field, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

The Danger of Pride: Lessons from Isaiah 9

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel. All the people will know it – Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria – who say with pride and arrogance of heart, ‘The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig-trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.’ But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on. Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.”
Isaiah 9:8-12 NIVUK

Isaiah sharply switches from the wonder of the coming “great light”, the One who will “reign on David’s throne” forever, to a warning against Israel, the ten Northern tribes. And the message makes grim reading. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem and mostly prophesied to the kings and people of Judah, which comprised the remaining two tribes of the Jewish nation. But occasionally, he had a word for those in the North. Straight away, he put his finger on their problem – “pride and arrogance of heart”. The references to Ephraim and Samaria refer to the people and their centre of political power. 

The city of Samaria was a source of pride for the Israelites, and they had built it up, so they thought, by their own efforts. And so they reasoned that, should it be destroyed, they would rebuild it even better. Their own efforts would be sufficient, so they thought. But how did they reach this mindset, with the Assyrians building up their forces on their borders? What was it in their logical thought processes that made them think that if they were attacked, then they would just recover through their own efforts? That’s arrogance. “We did it before, so next time it won’t take so long” was perhaps their motto. 

The Israelites had obviously forgotten the proverb, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18), or another one, “Before disaster the heart of a man is haughty and filled with self-importance, but humility comes before honour” (Proverbs 18:12). In Daniel 4, we can read what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. He had a dream that Daniel interpreted for him, and it ended, “You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses” (Daniel 4:25). It was a year later that his pride and arrogance showed up, and Daniel’s prophecy came true. Daniel 4:30, “As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendour’”. The next verse delivered God’s judgment, “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom’”, and off he went to eat grass for seven years and until he “honoured the One who lives forever”.

But this wasn’t just an Old Testament problem. Jesus said, “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). About Jesus, Paul wrote, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). In the preceding verse, Paul wrote, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had“, and that really sums up all that was wrong with the Israelites. The only had an attitude of pride and arrogance, and this ultimately led to their destruction.

But we pilgrims need to be careful. It is so easy to slip into the same mindset as the Israelites, adopting an attitude of pride and arrogance. Perhaps things are going well for us, and we forget that it will be God showing us His favour, not our efforts producing good results. We must always keep close to God, thanking Him for being with us, for keeping us safe when we could so easily lapse into danger, for helping us when we run out of ideas, and for giving us His Spirit to lead and guide us through the minefields of life.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your grace and favour, and for always being with us each and every day. Amen.


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The Prophetic Vision of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6-7

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Golden throne with a richly decorated jeweled crown inside a cathedral with stained glass windows

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT

Isaiah 9:6 is a verse often quoted during the Advent season at Christmas, and it prophesies exactly what happened hundreds of years later: the coming of Jesus as a baby, born to a young teenage peasant named Mary in a stable in Bethlehem. But what about the rest of verses 6 and 7? As we review the Gospels, we find that rather than the Son ruling a government that will never end, His life ended in ignominy on a Roman cross, a life tragically cut short in His early thirties. And as for ruling with “fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David”, His body was interred in a tomb. Surely some will say this prophecy was incorrect. 

But these verses start by describing a Son who will be born, destined to become a ruler because “the government will rest on His shoulders”. Straight away, the assumption would be that this boy child would come from a royal household, because to be a ruler, the most likely source would be a new royal prince. The wise men in the Christmas story certainly thought that this would be the case, and so did King Herod. Matthew 2:1-3, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time, some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem”. 

The new ruler would have several titles, according to the prophecy: “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. The “Wonderful Counsellor” described the kingly wisdom of a monarch such as Solomon. He would be a leader who would always make the best decisions in every scenario and give unfailing counsel to His subjects. But the next title, “Mighty God”, was something no human could attain. Some scholars render the language here as “great hero,” but Isaiah clearly meant to convey that this deliverer of Israel and the world would be divine in and of Himself. He was describing the Messiah, who will ultimately be revealed to be Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In addition, this King would be called both “Everlasting Father” and “Prince of Peace.” Many kings have been referred to as the father of their people. However, this king’s fatherhood would not end. He would continue as Father to one generation after another and then to all generations of His people for eternity. In short, He was to be God. This king’s reign over Israel and the earth was not to be an endlessly bloody one, where He would rule with an iron fist. This divine king would be so powerful that He would create lasting peace on the earth, bringing an end to all war. Looking to the future, He will rightly be given the title of “Prince of Peace.” This is one of the names by which we know our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

So we pilgrims look at these verses from Isaiah 9 today and conclude that Jesus will return to this world as the King described in the prophecy. And it all started with the Resurrection of Jesus, when He left the tomb, alive and well, with an eternal body in which he ascended into Heaven. But there has not been a gap implied in the prophecy. There was to be no arrival on earth of the coming King, and then a significant period of time, in which we are still living, while the world waits with bated breath for His return. As we know, the Holy Spirit was given to the world: John 14:26, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you”. The Advocate is none other than the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Other names for Him can be found in the Amplified version of John 16:7, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counsellor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]”, all names that fit with the prophecy in Isaiah 9.

Daniel was also given a vision of the eternal Ruler. Daniel 7:13-14, “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honour, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed”. Also, the Angel Gabriel, in his message to Mary, said, “He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” (Luke 1:32-33). I’m sure Mary was in that upper room on the Day of Pentecost, and perhaps received confirmation that what Gabriel had said would one day come to pass, a day when she will look on the events of the final chapters of Revelation, comforted forever.

So we pilgrims read the Advent verses from Isaiah and consider what they say in the context of the eschatological plan God put into place. In Old Testament times, the coming Messiah was only a dim vision, partially revealed through faithful prophets who were prepared to stand up and declare God’s message. In hindsight, we pilgrims have seen part of the picture. We know that Jesus came two thousand years ago as a baby, fulfilling the first part of the prophecy. And we now look forward to what is yet to happen, praying the prayer at the end of the Bible, “Come Lord Jesus”. 

Heavenly Father. Thank You for Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins. We pray for His return, so that we can live in a world “ruled with fairness and justice”. Amen.

The Lord Will Come

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms, bloodstained by war, will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.”
Isaiah 9:2-5 NLT

Isaiah’s prophecy brought light into a dark nation, hope to a people who were hopeless in their outlook, and victory when only defeat and slavery could be anticipated. In a time when only sadness and depression were possible emotions, something would happen to bring joy and hope, celebration rather than mourning. As the Assyrians overran Israel and Judah, did the Jews remember what Isaiah had said, or did they succumb to their fate, going to their graves or into exile, thinking that God didn’t care for them, if they even thought of Him at all? A long period of darkness was about to envelop the sons of Jacob, their tribes and nation, but God had a plan that would turn around their distress, and “Galilee of the Gentiles … will be filled with glory. 

How long would it be before the “great light” would be seen? Isaiah neither knew nor said, but God knew. And we, with the benefit of hindsight, can see that it was seven hundred years or more before Jesus came. For the Jews, before that eventful day, there were four hundred years with no prophetic voice, a silence as God brought into being His plan for the salvation of mankind. In those four hundred years, between the Old and New Testaments, God did not speak, and no books or prophetic words were recorded. The Old Testament closed with two verses from Malachi, “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). This was written about 430 BC, and what followed was a time of instability as one nation, after another, overpowered the Jews and occupied their land. But the Jewish people never forgot the prophecy that Elijah was coming to prepare the way of the Lord. 

John the Baptist emerged from the shadows “to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony” (John 1:7). John was asked by the Jewish leaders, ““Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he replied. “Are you the Prophet we are expecting?” “No”” (John 1:21). A contradictory response, I’m sure we agree, because John fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy, but the Jews were expecting a literal Elijah, risen from the dead, whereas John “.. will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly” (John 1:17). About John, Jesus said, “The prophets wrote about Elijah. They said he would come again, to prepare for the Messiah. They were writing about John, and you should believe their message” (Matthew 11:14). 

But Jesus came as the “great light”, bringing a new world, a New Covenant, and one that has brought rejoicing to the people. No longer would God’s people be burdened and enslaved. No more “yokes of slavery”. No more “heavy burdens”. The “nation of Israel” was enlarged with the salvation of the Gentiles, and today it is estimated that a third of the global population is Christian. But in Isaiah’s prophecy, there is fulfilment of more to come, because Jesus will come a second time “to strike down the nations” who have risen up against Him (Revelation 19). 

We pilgrims, Gentiles saved by grace, have read to the end of the book, and we know what is coming. One day, there will be a new Heaven and Earth, and God will come to live with His people. Are we ready?

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your loving kindness, patience and grace. Jesus came to this world and transformed humanity forever, bringing light into a dark place. Thank You. Amen.

Choosing Light Over Darkness: A Spiritual Perspective

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Golden and white flowing light streaks over dark blue textured background

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms, bloodstained by war, will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.”
Isaiah 9:2-5 NLT

Darkness and light. Opposites that are well known to human beings, used as we are to day and night. From the earliest times, mankind has found ways to illuminate a place of darkness, from a candle to a modern light bulb. Today, we think nothing of flicking a light switch to transform a dark room into a place where our eyes can discover all that we want to see. But in a totally dark place, and should no light source be available, a human being’s eyes cease to be of any use, as any blind person will testify. 

In a spiritual sense, darkness and light have parallel meanings, and we must consider God as a light source that illuminates our darkness and brings into focus what we want to see. But that is where the similarities end. A physical perspective on light and dark is under a human being’s control. We can choose whether or not to flick a light switch or light a candle. But spiritually, we cannot switch God on and off at will to illuminate our situation. There is much more involved than that.

Jesus said, “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (John 3:19-21). The propensity of man to prefer sin and evil started in the Garden, and we read, “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too” (Genesis 3:5-6). We can rationalise our thoughts and actions, but only from the wrong perspective. Our selfish desire for personal control and the pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25) will always drive us in the wrong direction, time and time again. 

But Jesus taught much about the light that reveals the sin and evil in people’s lives, because turning our backs on it is a fundamental requirement for eternity spent with God. There is no sin and evil in Heaven, and those who tried to introduce it there, the angel called satan and his followers, were cast out: “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels” (Revelation 12:7-9). 

Jesus said to the people (and the Pharisees who were there with them), “… I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12). We know what the “life” is from an earlier verse in John – 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Jesus was referring to the only life that really matters, eternal life. Life in His presence forever. But there is an alternative for those who prefer the darkness, and that is an eternity away from God’s light, in the company of those who were ejected from Heaven.

So people today have a choice between light and darkness. Many claim to walk in the light because they are “good” people who don’t do the things traditionally associated with sin and evil. They haven’t killed anyone or stolen anything, they avoid alcohol as a beverage, and don’t visit nightclubs. They don’t gamble or swear. But they miss the point that sin in its basic form is following their selfish desires and, in the process, rebelling against God and His ways. Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). We pilgrims decided to repent of our sins and turn to God, committing our lives to follow Him. And through Jesus, we have been cleansed of our sin and have found ourselves covered by His righteousness. We have a wonderful, loving and caring God who wants us to be with Him forever. We have “seen the light” and have shunned anything to do with darkness. And because of that, we are entrusted with illuminating the dark places with our witness and testimonies. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Genesis 1:3 we read, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”. Today, His word continues, but this time through His people, as we continue His creative work in the lives of those around us. 

Dear Heavenly Father. In a land where the darkness seems to be increasing, we pray for the grace and boldness to shine even brighter so that our fellow citizens can discover how dark their lives really are. Please help us we pray and lead and guide us in Your ways. Amen.

The Significance of Zebulun and Naphtali in Isaiah Prophecy

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Map of Zebulun and Naphtali territories featuring Mount Calvary and surrounding biblical locations

“Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”
Isaiah 9:1-2 NLT

Isaiah’s message continued over the page in chapter 9. He included a theme of hope, that the darkness through which the people in Israel and Judah are stumbling will not go on forever. Something remarkable and wonderful will happen in the region of the Galilee, and the people there “will see a great light”. “The land of Zebulun and Naphtali” became highly significant in the New Testament as the setting for much of Jesus’ early life and ministry. Zebulun was the sixth son of Jacob by his wife Leah and the tenth of all Jacob’s sons, and he was one of Joseph’s brothers who sold him as a slave to traders who took him to Egypt. Jacob pronounced a blessing on each of his twelve sons before he died. To Zebulun, he said, “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon” (Genesis 49:13). Naphtali was Jacob’s sixth-born son and the second of two sons by Rachel’s maidservant, Bilhah. Naphtali’s older brother was Dan. Moses, when Israel was about to enter the Promised Land, pronounced a blessing on Naphtali’s tribe: “Naphtali is abounding with the favour of the LORD and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake” (Deuteronomy 33:23). As indicated in this blessing, Naphtali settled in northern Canaan in the high regions west and northwest of the Sea of Galilee. So the reference to Zebulun and Naphtali in the Isaiah prophecy was extremely significant, and was mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel. Referring to Jesus, Matthew wrote, “He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live” (Matthew 4:13-15). 

But how did Isaiah know about the event that was coming when Jesus would become the “great light” for the people in the land where He grew up? It could only have come from God, who could see His plan working out in that very region. But why “Galilee of the Gentiles” of all places? God could see that the exact mix of people and the right political and social circumstances would collide at that point in history, and set the backdrop for what was to come. Paul wrote, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners” (Romans 5:6). That was the “time” for Jesus’ first coming, and the “place” was in Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 

There has always been speculation of Jesus coming to other places, as was written in Blake’s hymn “Jerusalem”, where he asked the question, “And did those feet in ancient time / Walk upon England’s mountains green? / And was the holy Lamb of God / On England’s pleasant pastures seen?” No, of course, Jesus didn’t personally visit the UK, at least not in person. But He did visit here through the Holy Spirit: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future” (John 16:13). Many believers and followers of Christ, have stepped on “England’s pleasant pastures” and still do as the “Spirit of truth” prevails in the places where we live. Christ’s ambassadors to a “people who walk in great darkness”.

God’s timing is always perfect, and we are so grateful for His love and care. Peter wrote, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9). But Peter warned of something that would happen one day, and that is the next verse in 2 Peter 3. “But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment”. 

The starting gun for the New Covenant was fired when Jesus came to this world in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. He ministered to a “people who walk[ed] in great darkness”, training up 12 men who carried His message into the lands further afield, performing miracles to underpin His message of the Kingdom of God, but ultimately dying on a Roman cross. But something amazing happened that weekend, and Jesus rose from the dead straight out of a rock-hewn tomb, not many miles away in Jerusalem. And then He returned to His Heavenly home, but He continues to live in the hearts and minds of His followers through the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, gifted to us when we turn to Jesus, in repentance for our sins. Pilgrims everywhere walk in Jesus’ steps, following Him and His teaching in lives transformed. And it all started in “Galilee of the Gentiles” two thousand years ago.

Father God. Your plan for the salvation of mankind was flawless, and You implemented it at just the right time and in just the right place. Thank You. Amen.

How to Overcome Spiritual Darkness with God’s Truth

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Golden sunbeam streaming through a ceiling opening onto old stone floor in a dim room

“Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.”
Isaiah 8:20-22 NLT

If a person walks into a room at night, there is no light there. So, they look for the light switch and turn it on. Simple, really, in our modern days. Not so long ago, the equivalent would have been a candle or an oil lamp, but any action to introduce light into a dark place involves two things. An understanding that there is darkness, but with a remedy, and then the application of an action to introduce light. But it seems that in Isaiah’s day, people were “in the dark” about what was happening to their nation and about God’s role and remedy. Instead of asking Him, however, they headed for the mediums and necromancers to obtain an answer. To return to our earlier analogy, the person entering the dark room would understand that they were in a dark place, but instead of turning on the light, they had forgotten what they needed to do to illuminate the room. And they would then have started asking other people, equally “in the dark,” for a solution, even to the point of seeking out dark and demonic spirits to see if they knew anything. Perhaps the person looking for a remedy to the darkness only had a very dim memory of a light switch, or had even completely forgotten what it was, and instead of asking the owner of the house how to illuminate the room, they started to ask other sources, such as the internet, Google, or even ChatGPT, for a solution. A very simple analogy, I know, but it illustrates that the people, God’s people at that, had forgotten that God was there for them, with an answer to their darkness. 

The problem was not that God is hiding the truth by keeping them “in the dark”. It was that His people would not receive it. In other words, Isaiah said that those who will not hear the revealed word of God live in darkness. They rejected the light, and the light did not come. The day of their understanding of the truth never dawned. Paul picked up this theme in Romans 1:18-20. He wrote, “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. Ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God”. We pilgrims all know the tendency that people have to reject God and His ways, despite all the evidence. Paul pointed out that there is much evidence for God in the natural world, and so there is. Even atheistic scientists admit that the Earth is located, in stellar terms, in what they have called the “Goldilocks Zone”. The conditions for human life are precisely established: the right temperature for water to be a liquid, the right amount of gravity, the right amount of oxygen, the right amount of light, and so on. That all that happened by accident beggars belief, and yet “sinful, wicked people [have suppressed] the truth by their wickedness”. The same problem exists today just as it did in Isaiah’s day. To believe God and His “instructions and teachings” and, consequently, the truth about their existence, means that people will have to abandon their sin and live their lives God’s way.

The modern equivalent of the consultation of mediums and necromancers is a plethora of self-devised theories and explanations, such as evolution, big-bang theories and so on, all designed to replace God and His creation with a pack of lies. Sadly, just as in Isaiah’s day, the lies are propagated into lifestyles that deny God, and all sorts of social and religious error have crept in and corrupted our nation. 

Isaiah prophesied that people would become hungry. Not for food but for the truth. Starvation would come later. We see a parallel in today’s society: it has permitted Godless laws and practices, and people have started to rage at each other because of their different beliefs and ideologies, and because they are all wandering around “in the dark”. Social cohesion has become a forgotten light switch in a Godless nation. People have been starved of the truth about God and even effectively rage against Him in their ignorance. And our churches and denominations, who should be the arbiters of God’s truth, have largely failed in their mission. But there is hope, just as there was in Isaiah’s day. Isaiah proclaimed God’s message, even though the people didn’t want to hear it. They could never claim before God that they were totally ignorant of the truth. 

Fortunately, we pilgrims know where the spiritual light switches are located, and we diligently and counterculturally push back the forces of ignorance with our message of the truth. The people around us may not want to hear the Good News about Jesus and His selfless act of salvation, but without it, they will find themselves in a lost eternity. Jesus made a truthful statement that we can read in John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life””. An unequivocal statement, I think we can agree, and the people around Him, who heard that message and ignored it, would have continued to walk in darkness, as so many people do today. 

So, wherever we are, we pilgrims must proclaim the light of God to the people stumbling around in darkness, believing lies and ignoring the truth. 

Father God. We pray once again for the boldness we need to proclaim the Good News about Jesus and how He will forever illuminate people’s lives. Amen.

Isaiah’s Message: Trusting God Over Mediums

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion. Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?”
Isaiah 8:18-19 NLT

The Jews today, looking back to the days of Isaiah, must thank God or him and his family, because they stayed strong in their faith in a time when most had turned away from God. And more, Isaiah kept writing down his prophecies about the disasters that would fall upon a sinful and rebellious people. We know from Isaiah 6:13b that, “… as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed”. There would be a remnant of the people who, like Isaiah and his family, would not have succumbed to the pressures of the sinful lifestyles of those around them; instead, they would ensure the continuation of the nation of the “descendants of Jacob”. Though the people of his generation would not respond to his preaching, the hope of Isaiah’s messages rested in this “holy seed”, pointing to the coming Messiah who would, as we know, bring salvation to the world. Isaiah’s mandate, first given to him after his vision of the Lord “high and lifted up” in the Temple, was to “serve as signs and warnings to Israel”, a mandate given to him by the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in His Temple on Mount Zion”. Did God really live there? Isaiah thought so, and he knew that was the case because he saw the Lord there.

It appears that, in their concern about what was happening in their nation, the people of Judah were given to asking the mediums “and those who consult the spirits of the dead”. And they really expected that this would result in instructions as to what actions they should follow. Quite rightly, Isaiah asked, “But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?” I came across a headline in a newspaper the other day that said, “ChatGPT convinced me to quit my job. I wish I hadn’t listened”. I’m not saying that ChatGPT is the same as a medium or a dead spirit, but the principle is the same. There is only one person who sees the end from the beginning, and that is God Himself. Why would someone ask a piece of computer software, even if it is supported by a huge dataset and very clever algorithms, a potentially life-changing question about their employment and believe it would be acting in their best interests? As I say to people today, artificial intelligence is a helpful servant but a terrible master. 

But people today still consult sources of data that are not from God. Take horoscopes, for example. Or the palm readers and others who frequent fairs and other similar events. God specifically told the Israelites, “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31). It was so sad that the Jews had forgotten the basics of their faith. God Himself continually reached out to His people. Through Isaiah, He said, “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it” (Isaiah 8:6a). There was a remedy from the distress to come, but God, their Source, was ignored.

The Bible bulges with helpful verses that explain God’s relationship with His people. Even before they crossed into the promised land, God warned the people. “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him” (Deuteronomy 7:9-10). Ever since, God has been reaching out to His people, even to the point of sending His Son, Jesus, to die for them. The Apostle John wrote, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognise that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. … Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him” (1 John 3:1, 4-5). 

Such love! God made a covenant, and he has never broken it. And because of Jesus, we have a remedy for our sin and can be assured of our future, regardless of the storm clouds that might be massing on our personal or national borders. Whatever we are facing today, we know that God is there just waiting for us to reach out to Him for more of His love and grace. There may of course be hard times ahead of us in our lives, but we know the One who is with us and who will support and encourage us every step of the way. 

Father God. We don’t have to concern ourselves about the future because we know that You know what is ahead and have the resources to help us reach our ultimate destination. And so we look to You today and every day, assured of our salvation and Your love and grace. Amen.

Preserving Biblical Truth Against Modern Challenges

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Preserve the teaching of God; entrust his instructions to those who follow me. I will wait for the Lord, who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my hope in him.”
Isaiah 8:16-17 NLT

“Preserve”, “entrust”, “follow”, “wait”, and “hope”. All words that define our relationship with God, or should do. There is something in these words and in today’s verses that provides a picture of God: dependable, unmoving, reliable, alive, active, and the One who should determine our course of life. And yet, in today’s secular societies, there seems to be great efforts to do the opposite. The “teaching of God” is eroded and distorted by some people and even denominations, so that it aligns with a worldview considered more acceptable to the people of our day. “His instructions” are largely ignored because people think they know better, and anyway, they want to live their lives following their own agenda, free of external influence. Such people certainly don’t want to follow God, because they have a distorted, or even downright wrong, view of who He is. The next verse is equally ignored because the concepts of waiting on and hoping in God are foreign to most of the people we live among today. 

Jesus taught about the ways of the world compared to God’s Kingdom in His Sermon on the Mount. He said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Pictorial language that was picked up by John Bunyan many years ago in his book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. John Bunyan used the broad and narrow ways to represent two opposing paths in life: destruction and eternal salvation. The narrow way represents faith in Christ, which is straight but difficult, whereas the many broad ways represent the easy, tempting roads of the world. Early in the story, the character Goodwill introduced Christian to the narrow path. He explains that this road was laid out by the patriarchs, prophets, Christ, and the Apostles. Goodwill warned that many wide, crooked paths intersect with the narrow way, making it very easy to get lost. The broad paths represent the various worldly philosophies, sins, and distractions that lead to ruin. It’s a fascinating book to read, and can even be found brought up to date with more modern language. John Bunyan wrote the book from a jail cell in Bedford after the monarchy cracked down on religious separatists, but it had a marked effect in furthering the Protestant faith in the 17th Century and became the second-best-selling book of his age.

The “teaching of God” we find in the Bible is expounded by Godly men and, through the Holy Spirit, supported and implemented in the lives of faithful pilgrims everywhere. The Bible is, as someone once said, God’s only written work, and it has survived many generations and the tests of time to bring Godly counsel to Christians today. The problem for many today, including people in some denominations, is that Biblical teaching contradicts what they want to believe, presenting truths that are countercultural and opposed to the beliefs in the society around us. But Isaiah wrote that such teaching is to be preserved, and it is, both on paper and in the hearts and minds of God’s followers. Intuitively, someone who follows God will know what is true and what is false, because the Holy Spirit lives within them. 

In the lives of us pilgrims, the “teaching of God” leads us in His paths day by day, and the Holy Spirit is constantly at work helping us to do what we should, veer away from what we shouldn’t, and keep us close to Him. Isaiah said he would continue to wait for God to keep His promises to those who are faithful to Him. And that is where we pilgrims are today. Waiting. The Bible is full of His promises, and they will be worth waiting for, even if some are not realised until we are in His presence. In Isaiah’s day, God had turned away from “the descendants of Jacob” because of their sin and idolatry, but Isaiah would wait for Him by placing his hope in God. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We, too, put our hope and trust in You and Your Word. Please guide us along the narrow way so that we do not get lost in our journey to the Heavenly Promised Land. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Understanding the Rock: God’s Eternal Strength in a Chaotic World

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Hiker on a rocky trail near a large monolithic rock formation with a colorful sunset sky

“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah, he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured.”

Isaiah 8:13-15 NLT

Our planet is made of rocks presented in different forms. We have the dust and small particles that can cover large areas, such as in our deserts and seashores. There are pebbles used for roads and paths, and for decorative purposes.  There are even heavy monoliths forming structures like Stonehenge, a monument to a bygone religious custom. Rocks are dressed and used for building purposes, walls and houses, and even the Egyptian pyramids. But much of our planet consists of rock, solid and immovable. But, fascinatingly, these rocks have formed in different ways; however, a lesson in geology is beyond my abilities and the scope of this blog. 

The Lord is described as being a Rock, because He is unchangeable, a secure foundation and a place of safety. Malachi 3:6 reads, “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed”. Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety”. We have these lovely words that fill us with a sense of security, words such as ”fortress”, “protection”, “rock”, and “Saviour”. But why should we feel so? In our world, in our societies, and in our towns, cities and villages, there seems to be no place of ultimate security. Yes, we can visit our churches and cathedrals and find a little peace, but then we find that even the insecurities of our world have penetrated within their doors.

Today, there is a hunger in society, particularly amongst young people, for peace and security. The world around us is fast-changing. New customs, more technology, and changes in government that never seem to make any improvements. Just more of the same old problems with promises that they will be fixed, but they never are. Jobs are not secure any more. The list of woes seems endless. Such societal distress calls for a solution, and our churches are seeing an upsurge in people seeking meaning in our meaningless world. But in all the chaos, there is a Rock who never changes and who promises an eternity that will be marked by the peace and security that cannot be found in the kingdoms of the world. 

The people in Judah found that they ignored the Rock, who is the Lord, at their peril. God is like a large, stable rock: a secure foundation and place of safety. To those who do not honour the Lord as holy, that same Rock, a cornerstone, becomes something of a tripping hazard. God’s truth cannot be denied, any more than a person can walk through a boulder. For those who reject Him, God becomes a “stumbling rock.” He’s something they cannot help but trip over. Everyone who tries to succeed and thrive apart from the Lord eventually falls and does not prosper. And for everyone who honours Him as holy, He is the solid rock on which they build their life.

Isaiah declared that the Lord would become the stumbling stone for both houses of Israel. That meant that both the northern ten tribes, Israel, and the southern two tribes, Judah, would be destroyed. The Lord would become a trap and a snare even to the people of Jerusalem in the end. They refused to honour Him, and that would ultimately bring them misery and destruction.

In Matthew, we find the account of a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees, and at one point, He told the parable of the Evil Farmers. Jesus engaged the religious leaders by asking them the question, ““When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”” (Matthew 21:40). Having drawn an answer from the Pharisees, Jesus quoted the verses from Psalm 118, “Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on”” (Matthew 21:4-44). The Pharisees quickly caught on to what Jesus meant, realising that it was they He was referring to as the evil farmers. But there had been no change in attitudes to God since the days of Isaiah, and the Jews would once again experience what it meant that God was a Rock over which they would stumble, and it would ultimately fall upon them. In AD 70, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and many Jews perished.

There is a simple principle that applies to all mankind and has always done so. There is a God in Heaven, who is eternal and real and who put human beings on this planet for one purpose: “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Short Catechism). The people hearing Isaiah’s prophecies chose to ignore that and suffered the consequences of stumbling over the Rock, ending up “snared and captured”. We pilgrims have a mission as builders, building on the Rock that is the Lord in ways that will bring order into this chaotic world. Only God has the answer for those who intuitively know that he is there, but for many, they cannot find Him unless someone opens the door into His Kingdom, where they will find Jesus, and His saving grace, a fount of blood that will cleanse all from their sins. 

Dear Heavenly Father. You are the only Source of peace and security. Only You are the Rock on which we can be founded. In today’s chaotic world, we choose to stand firm on a foundation that will never move, and we give You all the glory and all the praise. All the thanks and all the worship. Amen.