Some grand prophetic words
about Jesus Christ, his mission, sacrifice and reward appears in Isaiah, chapter 53. It also contains
prophecies of the generosity of the Master, and in which way he will
reward his followers. But the words of this chapter, as so many other prophetic
words, are frequently being misunderstood by its readers, and in order to
understand it properly one must be guided by the power of the Holy Ghost. We
will attempt to make it clear to each and every one who is filled with the
desire to understand the meaning of this mighty prophecy.
Let’s start by establishing that the narrator in this chapter is
not fixed in time. On the contrary, in one verse the narrator can talk as if he
lives in our time, in another verse at the time of Jesus, in yet another, at
the time of Isaiah, etc.
Further, the narrator is not a fixed person, either. He goes from
being one personage in one verse into being another personage in another verse.
Little tricks like these, changing persona and time-frame is one of the tricks
in Holy Writ to confuse the worldly, and only allow entrance to those who has
the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
Below; the red text is the original text from King James Version of
the Bible. The brown text represents an attempt to identify who the
narrator is in that verse, and from which time the voice is heard. The green
text is an attempt to paraphrase the verse to make the prophetic words somewhat
explained. We excuse ourselves for unworthily putting words into the mouth of
God at some places. We do feel badly about it, but could not find a better way
to solve a problem. The black text is explanations to prepare for the
paraphrase.
Chapter 53
1 WHO hath believed our
report? and to whom is the
arm of the LORD revealed?
It appears that the narrator(s) of the prophetic words in this
verse are the Apostles of Jesus, and they appear to be asking the people of our
time the two questions.
What does ‘the arm of the LORD’ mean? The arm of the LORD is the
Power of God, his potency and strength. In this particular case it refers to
Jehovah, later to be born as Jesus of Nazareth. Since God the Father, in this
case ‘the LORD’ gave this earth to Jesus, Jesus, in effect, became the power,
strength and potency of the LORD made manifest to this world. Paraphrasing the
first verse, then, would sound something like;
Who has believed our report? And to whom will (has) Jesus show/ed
himself?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Now the narrator and writer of the prophetic words are the one
and the same, namely Isaiah, talking to people of his own time about the time
of Jesus.
This verse talks about Jesus in mortality. It is important to read
it as in the paraphrasing below, and not understanding it as if Jesus had no
form. Of course he had form and shape! But he was not a looker. People didn’t
turn around when passing him in the street. Well, at least not for his looks
sake.
For Jesus shall grow up before God the Father as a tender plant,
and as a root out of dry ground: when we see him he doesn’t have the looks,
glory or beauty that this would attract people to him.
3 He is despised and
rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it
were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The narrator of these prophetic words is now the collective
voice of the house of Jacob, or the descendents of Abraham, viewing the trial
of Jesus as it unfolds.
Every person on earth is likely to encounter some kind of
rejection at one time or other; some more, some less. This passage does not
talk about that kind of run-of-the-mill rejection that we all encounter, but
the mother of rejections. There he was after a life of devoted service,
surrounded by his own. He had cleansed their lepers, given sight to their
blind, sound to their deaf, voice to their mute, movement to their lame, life
to some of their dead, friendship to their outcast, comfort to their mourning,
hope to their sinners, etc. And as the loud-mouths, the power-searching and
those that were paid-off were shouting “Barabbas”,
those who should be his friends: “hid as it were” their faces in shame for not
standing up for him in his hour of great need.
The naked, torn and bleeding Jesus is sneered at by men; obviously a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we turned away, didn’t want to meet his eyes,
because we are ashamed; but he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
The narrator is still the collective voice of the house of
Jacob, a short while after his death, but now before his resurrection.
It is very important to understand that the narrator realizes that
Jesus was not stricken by God the Father,
which shows that there is a mistake in the translation in verse ten “..it pleased the LORD to bruise
him; he hath put him to grief”.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet, wrongfully, we, the children of Israel,
did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed.
Now, the narrator of these prophetic words is a convert to the
gospel of Jesus, testifying about the atonement sometime before the
resurrection.
But instead he was wounded for our transgressions; he was
bruised for our iniquities. He took the punishment that will buy us peace to
our souls; and with his lashes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all.
The narrator now is a representative of all the true believers
at the last day, talking to all the people of his (our) time.
It is important to remember that Jesus is not picked out and
punished at the good pleasure of the LORD. In Jesus’ pre-mortal existence, as
the Father presented the plan, it was clear that a Savior was needed. At that
time Jehovah, Jesus, said: “Send me”. He knew he was qualified, and he was
willing to suffer because he loved us all. That is the history behind these
prophetic words.
Because of pride we have all sinned and gotten lost from the
fold, doing our own thing instead of obeying the shepherd. Therefore, God the
Father has laid the iniquity of us all upon Jesus.
7 He was oppressed, and
he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
At the beginning, the narrator, who is of our time, like a
historian gives an account of the bravery of Jesus, but that changes as he
suddenly becomes a reporter, as it were, standing really close to the scene of
events. Who knows if it wasn’t the centurion at the cross of Christ who uttered
the prophetic words at the end of the verse?
Jesus was whipped and scorned, stripped, and had a crown of
thorns pressed down upon his head, but he didn’t open his mouth. He was brought
as a lamb to slaughter and as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth.
8 He was taken from
prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land
of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
In verses eight, nine and a bit into the ten, the narrator
appears to be one of the Apostles of the Lord, since the depth of his
understanding, and his tone of authority goes way beyond any gentile, and the
members of the Church of Jesus Christ at that time were so new and
inexperienced. One would imagine that Isaiah, filled with the Spirit of
prophecy, gives the prophetic words of the Apostle that holds the keys of the
Kingdom, and who was a special witness of Jesus and the crucifixion. So the
narrator might be Peter, giving his first hand account.
Jesus had the power in himself to leave the prison of the dead,
and he did! Lucifer, who keeps the gates, had no legal rights to hold him,
since there was no sin of Jesus’ own that brought him there. And judgment had
nothing on him either. But how can a resurrected being, with no children in
mortality beget offspring?
Jesus moved from the prison of death, and since he drunk that
bitter cup and was innocent; judgment had no hold on him after he proclaimed:
“It is finished”. Who will be his children? After all, he was killed before he
had any children. He was stricken for the transgression of my people.
9 And he made his grave
with the wicked, and with the
rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in
his mouth.
Look at the exactness of the prophetic words of this verse. Jesus
was hanging on the cross between two malefactors. That’s where he died, or “delivered
himself to his grave”, and quickly Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich follower of Christ, begged his
body, and placed it in his hewn tomb. The sentence starting “Because
he never violated any commandments..” should be
continued into verse ten. Then you will see how important it is to have the
Holy Ghost when Holy Scripture is translated or studied.
He delivered himself unto his grave while he was among the
wicked, and once he was dead he was
delivered to the grave of the rich man. Because he never violated any
commandments, and all of his commandments were just and true,
10 Yet it pleased the
LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his
days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Isaiah appears to be narrating the end of this verse, taking
over after St Peter.
Rather, it was the desire of the Father that the already wicked
would execute the sacrifice to confirm their eternal reward. He knew that
placing the innocent Lamb among ravenous wolves could only lead to one thing… In this context the word ‘soul’ means the body
and the spirit in union, or in other words, the mortal man. And to make the
mortal man an offering of sin should remind us of the last supper, when Jesus
said: “This is my body…This is my blood”.
It was the desire of God the Father that Jesus should be bruised
and put to grief (so that when you let his body and his blood atone for your
sins, then he will, in you, see a child of his). Jesus, even though his body
will be spent, will not give up the ghost until the sacrifice is completed, and
the purpose of God the Father shall be in full effect in the hand of Jesus.
11 He shall see of the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
At first Isaiah is the narrator, speaking from his own time, but
is soon replaced by God the Father.
Again, the Holy Spirit will be invaluable in understanding
prophetic words like these. How could anyone know, without the Spirit who ‘he’
and ‘his’ is the first time, the second time, the third time, etc.
God the Father shall see Jesus empty the bitter cup, and shall
know that the requirements of the atonement are satisfied: by his discernment
Jesus shall cleanse many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I
divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered
with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for
the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12)
God the Father is now narrator, but it is impossible to place in
time, since it could have been said at any time, for everything is present for
the LORD.
Jesus will receive a portion with “the great”. The great must be
some kind of peers to Jesus, since there is no evidence that there should be
any strange creatures that doesn’t belong to this earth. Some have discussed
that angels are a class of their own, having nothing to do with man, but that
appears to be shear speculation. Rather, angels appear to be spirit beings
either waiting to be born into this world, or deceased people waiting for the
resurrection. There is even an example where angels can be righteous people in
mortality, doing the will of the Lord, also can be considered angels. So, these
“great” would most likely be holy individuals who lived, died, and was
resurrected sometime in the eternities.
Therefore, I, God the Father, will give Jesus a portion fit for
a Jehovah who has glorified the name of his Father, together with his peers.
And Jesus, in turn, will divide all this with all those who have
found salvation through him (known as the strong), making them co-inheritors
with Christ. This, I, God the Father, will bless Jesus with, because he poured
out his soul for the children of men, until he died, and he was counted with
the transgressors, since he bore all the sins of all, and stepped in between me
and the sinners.
Let’s recap what we learned about Jesus in the prophetic words of
Isaiah chapter 53:
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words promise that there are those who will see Jesus and the power of
God, but he does not reveal who they are.
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words shows that the sufferings of Jesus were not punishment of the
Father, but the house of Jacob saw it that way.
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words teach that Jesus allowed the Father to lay our sins upon him, so
that he could take our chastisement, so that we could find peace.
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words teach that Jesus could atone for our sins because he was without
sin.
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words explained that Jesus had the power to be resurrected from the dead.
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words teach that when we make his soul the sacrifice for our sin, we will
become his children.
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words show that Jesus will know when someone is truly penitent, and he
will save that person.
- Isaiah’s prophetic
words show that Jesus will inherit dominions with his peers.
- Isaiah’s
prophetic words show that the true saints will be co-heirs with Jesus.