Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (See parallel passage in Micah 4:1-3.)

Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

Isaiah 49:6b I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

Isaiah 55:5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God; and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.

Daniel 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Hosea 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

MEMORY VERSE: For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. —Malachi 1:11

CENTRAL THOUGHT: Isaiah, Daniel, Hosea and Malachi all continued the inspired prophecies of the message of salvation to the Gentiles and the prediction of the world-wide scope of the kingdom of God.

WORD DEFINITIONS AND PROPHECY FULFILLMENT

Isaiah 2:2 “The last days”: the time of the Messiah. “The mountain of the Lord’s house”: the true church of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, typified by the temple in the earthly Jerusalem, which was set upon Mount Moriah. God’s church would be a city set on a hill, which cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14), out of which God would shine (Psalm 50:2).

Isaiah 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness…”: a prophecy fulfilled in Matthew 4:13 -17.

Isaiah 49:6b “A light to the Gentiles…”: a prophecy fulfilled in Luke 2:32.

Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me…”: a prophecy fulfilled in Luke 4:17- 21.

Daniel 7:14 “And there was given him dominion…”: a prophecy fulfilled in Revelation 11:15-18.

Hosea 2:23 “I will have mercy upon her…”: a prophecy fulfilled in Romans 9:25-26 and I Peter 2:10

Malachi 1:11 “In every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering”: a prophecy fulfilled in Romans 15:16. See also a parallel verse in Isaiah 66:19-20.

LESSON BACKGROUND

Isaiah is known as “the Gospel prophet” because he continually pointed forward to the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of the Messiah and the establishing of the kingdom of God, the church of God in the earth. Again in the Word Definitions we have included the verses in the New Testament describing or pointing to the fulfillment of these prophecies. Isaiah was contemporary with Micah and Hosea; they all prophesied under kings Ahaz, Jotham, and Hezekiah—Hosea beginning a little before Isaiah.

Prophecies were also given through Daniel, Hosea and Malachi. Daniel saw many visions that detailed future events in the kingdoms of this world, the center of his dreams being the establishing of Christ’s kingdom, the world’s opposition to it, and its final triumph. Many of Daniel’s visions correspond with Ezekiel’s visions and the visions the Apostle John saw while on the Isle of Patmos. Comparing between them often helps to give clues as to their interpretation.

Hosea’s experience was unique: he was told by God to marry a woman who was a harlot. They had children together, then she forsook the family for her lovers. Hosea sought after her and brought her back, again at God’s command. This scenario was an object lesson before the children of Israel, to bring an appeal to them and show them how their unfaithfulness and their divided heart was to Him as heart-breaking as unfaithfulness and adultery in a marriage. Hosea also portrays how God courted the affections of not only the rebellious Israelites, but also the heathen Gentiles, making them His people as well.

Malachi, whose name means “my messenger,” was the last inspired messenger of the Old Testament. For about fifty years, Malachi supported and encouraged Ezra the priest and Nehemiah the governor in the period after the captivity in which the holy law and the holy city were re-established. His words were cited in the New Testament by Matthew, Mark and Luke, and also by Paul.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. Identical Prophecies: Which two prophets prophesied of Zion being exalted above the hills and all nations flowing into it?
2. Identify: Of whom was Isaiah speaking in chapter 4?
3. Confirmation: What elderly man recognized baby Jesus as the Light spoken of in Isaiah 49:6?
4. Unto Thee: To whom (or to what entity) was the prophet speaking when he said that the Gentiles would come to “thy light”? Give an example of how that happened in the book of Acts.
5. Name the Scene: Who fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 61? Describe where this happened.
6. Among the Heathen: Give an example of this (from our memory verse) by citing a story from missionary history.

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

These verses, and especially the scenes of their fulfillment, represent some very touching events in Bible history. I especially love the scene of Jesus as He takes the book of Isaiah and stands before the congregation in the local Nazareth synagogue. If you were there, eyes fastened on Him, would you wonder what He would say? Then, as He read about opening the blind eyes, would you have thought about the many who had been healed; as He spoke of the prisoners being loosed, would you have remembered those who had been freed—at Jesus’ word—from the possession of satan?

Think of the spacious courtyard of the centurion Cornelius, filled to overflowing with his Roman friends and relatives, hands reaching out, tears streaming down their faces as they heard, for the first time, the story of Jesus—the prophecies concerning His birth, His ministry, His death, His resurrection, His saving grace and abundant life now available to all through His Holy Spirit. Would you, a Gentile, have knelt in contrition as Peter led the way to repentance and faith?

Imagine standing with the excited crowd outside the upper room, when the disciples of Jesus come streaming out the door, and you, a Phoenician from the upper coast, begin hearing words of praise from a meek peasant woman and realize, she, a Jewess, is speaking to you in your language and explaining about the Man Jesus! How He loves you and sacrificed His life to allow you to have fellowship with the Creator God, and how He isn’t dead at all now, but is alive and sharing His life, like a flowing fountain, with anyone who would believe and ask Him.

These were people, just like you and me, hearing the GOSPEL for the first time. What an awesome thing it must have been!

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

REFLECTIONS

Rahab, the harlot from Jericho, testified to the spies, “I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt, and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” Rahab believed in the one true God, regardless of her heathen background.

Ruth, the woman from Moab, embraced the God of her husband and his family to the point that even after his death, she refused to return to her home. She, instead, chose to follow Naomi, her mother-in-law, back to Bethlehem and said, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Ruth loved the ways of righteousness, embraced the truth and followed in the paths of holiness.

This salvation has been graciously offered to each and every person. What a joy it is to see a soul embrace it even when they may not have had the advantage of a Christian home or godly environment. It is so refreshing to see them follow and love the ways of truth and righteousness. On the other hand, it is very heart-rending to observe those souls who have had such advantages, only to throw such opportunities away and regard this great salvation as nothing. How much do you value it?

—Sis. LaDawna Adams