Introduction
Isaiah’s Messianic prophecies are more precise than any other writer’s in the Old Testament. He does not only give accurate details of the person and work of Jesus Christ, he also lived and wrote these prophecies hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was born. The central theme of the book is Salvation is of the Lord. In this paper, the identities of the corporate and individual Servants and also their mission as portrayed by Isaiah will be discussed. In the book of Isaiah, the concept of the servant is more complex than one would expect. In certain passages in Isaiah, the Servant appears to be more of a collective character rather than an individual, whereas in other passages, the nation of Israel is identified as the servant. Biblical scholars over the years have studied extensively and produced several theories to identify the Servant in the book of Isaiah. Is the Servant an individual or corporate? A proper understanding of the Servant and the mission provides a clearer insight concerning the plan of God in restoring His children.
Overview Of The Servant Songs
The concept of servant hood in the book of Isaiah is found in the four servant songs (Isaiah 40-55). These songs shed light on the identity, role, and mission of the ultimate Servant of the Lord. The first servant song (42:1-9), introduces one who was tasked with bringing justice and righteousness to the earth. The second servant song (49:1-6) takes a different twist as the servant addresses the people outside Israel. God was not just interested in the salvation of Israel but also wanted the surrounding nations to turn to Him and be saved too. In the third servant song (50:4-10), the emotional and physical suffering of the Servant is revealed. The sufferi...
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...ventually lead to the coming of the Messiah. The failure of the Nation of Israel as the Corporate Servant shows that the sin problem of this world could not be solved with human agencies alone. God had to raise another person who would not fail. The apostle Paul states, “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many” (Romans 5:15). Jesus Christ became that Servant of God who would carry out the entire mission without failure and exalt the fallen human race. The entire weight of sins of the world rested on his shoulders, and like a sheep to the slaughter, he did not open his mouth. The ultimate price for our redemption is in the life, work, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was and will ever remain the true Servant of God.
Berlin, Adele, Marc Zvi. Brettler, and Michael A. Fishbane. "Job." The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. 1501-1505. Print.
Among Jewish peasantry at the time of Jesus were two distinct types of prophets: the action prophets, who "led sizable movements of peasants from the villages of Judea in anticipation of God's new, eschatological act of liberation," and the oracular prophets, who delivered oracles of either judgment or deliverance (185). The former, as illustrated by the case of Theudas, appea...
To discuss the topic of idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism, it is not hard to find out that there are many examples in the Holy Bible that teach people about the Sin of Idolatry, social injustice, and religious ritualism. Some of the prophets who were chosen by God, such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, Micah and Hosea, are good examples of those issues. God used those people and their stories to teach other people about His words and His will.
The redemption that mostly played out in the New Testament in a part of the New Covenant found in Jeremiah 31:33, “‘or this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” This covenant is also known as the permanent covenant, because God promised to write it on our hearts, and because God laid out His plans for the coming of Christ. The coming of Jesus was prophesied early in the Bible, and according to Williams Rainey Harper in his journal, Micah 5 told of the coming of Christ. The journal states, “A cornerstone shall be established in Zion; and out of Bethlehem from the line of David shall come a righteous ruler, who shall lead Judah against the Assyrians.” These verses in Micah also solidify the prophecy made by Nathan in 2 Samuel 7. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is from the lineage of David, He was born to atone for the sins of mankind. When Jesus first came to earth, and was declared to be the Son of God people did not believe Him. The Resurrection of Jesus and the Hope of Immortality states, “…significance for believers or for all men is considered to depend logically upon the similarity of Jesus to other men and is weakened in the degree in which he is considered unique as the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity.” While it is sometimes hard to understand, God fulfilled the New Covenant. Jesus died on a cross, so we are forgiven our sins. His blood was the price of our sins. The most well known Bible verse John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” His death promised us an eternal
In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
There are many definitions with regards to leadership, but what defines 'effective leadership' and how is it evaluated? Chemers (2000) explained that effective leadership is "follower satisfaction and group performance." (p. 28) G. Yukl expalined "there is no correct definition of leadership; it is only a matter of how useful it is increasing our understanding of effective leadership."(Yukl) How does an organization establish effective leadership? While some leaders of organizations direct considerable resources to find, train, and mentor managers to be effective leaders, many leaders of organizations put little research into the subject of effective leadership. Whatever the organization's policy on selecting the leadership group is, such as to promote from within or to hire from outside, most organization's leaders make decisions without a full understanding of leadership theories. The missing aspect that many leaders and developers of leaders ignore is that the construct of leadership is not an individual endeavor, but rather one that must include the organization as a whole. Leadership is not just the sum characteristics of an individual (leader) but should include the leaders, the followers, dyadic relationships, and group relationships. Hogg and Terry (2000) explained that "organizations are internally structured groups that are located in complex networks of intergroup relations..." (p. 121).
Surveying the Old Testament reveals the theme of God’s faithfulness to his people. In light of this understanding, the restoration of the Israelites prophesized in the Old Testament is essentially the fulfillment of every covenant with God. This perspective relates to the work of Christ and encourages any follower of God to trust in his faithfulness.
...edge of Good and Evil did indeed produce the lustful Fall of Man, but it was in Christ that God fulfilled the covenant. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (King James Version, 1 Cor. 15.22).
Stuart has authored commentaries and articles in journals and magazines. The authors acknowledge that many books have been written on this topic. Their goal is to be unique by focusing on different types of literature (genres) so their readers will understand how to properly interpret them in the context they were written. This review will examine the principles the authors use to interpret the Bible. The review will summarize the book, followed by a critique, and a conclusion.
The term millennium does not appear anywhere in Scripture. The idea originated from a thousand year period of time that characterizes the reign of the Messiah. In fact, the phrase “thousand years” is stated six times in Revelation 20. There are three main schools of thought based upon one’s view of the thousand-year reign of Christ. These views are: Amillennial, Postmillennial and Premillennial. Over the centuries these prophetic differences have caused conflict within the body of Christ and are still currently widely debated. Instead of the book of Revelation being the basis of comfort (1 Thess. 4:18) among Christians it has become a bone of contention. However, this controversy should not deter Christ’s disciples from receiving the blessings that Revelation has to offer (Rev. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14). Rather, one should study prophecy under the Spirit’s guidance and look at the data provided within the full context of the Word assessing each of the views for correct motives and presuppositions. Therefore, this paper will examine the nature, timing, and duration of the millennium as well as the occupants of the millennial kingdom and the relationship of Israel and the Church to the millennial kingdom. The aim of this paper is to address “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1, ESV).
Many people want to attain and hold influential positions in society whether it would be in the field of science, politics, education, or in public service. However, many people tend to forget how servitude is one of the main life highways to travel in order to arrive at that successful destination called “Leadership.” Nevertheless, there was one man who knew how powerful the concept of servitude was in order to grasp the reigns of successful leadership. Socrates was a phenomenal philosopher, scholar, teacher, and servant. Socrates leadership style was unique in regards to letting students communicate among one another in an articulate theological reasoning process by questioning and probing at one’s belief system in order to seek self-purification.
“Mohammed Dib, a Bedouin shepherd of the T’Amireh tribe” (Keller, 1957, 401) could not have known that he would be the person who, in 1947, would bring to bear the words of Isaiah 40.8
God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of the temptation of Jesus and how other sects defined the Messiah.
Isaiah is thought to be one of the greatest poets of the Bible, and his book a classic of the Hebrew language. His writing has a very concise style, effective imagery, and an equilibrium between form and content which classify the type of poetry as classical. From the theological aspect, Isaiah moves in the religious tradition influenced by David's dynasty and the election of Sion, and also contributed to the shape and expression of the messianic hopes (Obstat, p.278).
The book is an account of the past of the Jewish people. It is powerful in its ability to foretell the future. Isaiah is a book, much like Jeremiah from our previous assignment that calls out to God and questions why things are unjust. People at times wonder if God has left themor no one or nothing is in actual control—these are questions that are being asked today. The answer today is the same as yesterday—Isaiah reminds us that we are limited in our true understanding of God’s ways and