Our Great Commission from Our Savior is found in Matthew 28:18-20. “And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you to the end of the age.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine.)

It is said that John the Baptist was the one spoken of in Isaiah 40:3; “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'”

John was the cousin of our Savior who understood just who Jesus really was. In Matthew 3:11, he states, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

John 4:1-3 tells us, “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself did not baptize, but only His disciples), He left Judea and departed again for Galilee.”

After His resurrection, Acts 1:3-5 tells us, “He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, ‘You heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'”

When the day of Pentecost arrived, the Holy Spirit came to them with a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and all the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and were able to talk to the Jews who were gathered from all the nations in their own languages. Some declared that the apostles were drunk with wine, but Peter got up and quoted scripture from Joel, and ended with Joel 2:32a; “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

To carry this message further, in Romans 10:13, Paul states, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This becomes the “C” in the “A-B-Cs” of Salvation.

Romans 3:10 and 3:23 state that everyone is a sinner, and we all fall short of the grace of God. On our own, we cannot “earn” one minute of time in Heaven. Romans 6:23 gives us hope with, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.”

The “A” is that we are to admit or confess that we are indeed sinners and cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we may try.

The “B” is that we must believe Jesus is the true Son of God and that He came to this earth as a human (Hebrews 2:7 & 9) and was the only pure blood sacrifice the Father could ever accept. He died and was raised from the grave three days later to conquer sin and death for all who would receive and accept Him. Ephesians 2:8-9 plainly states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”

As has already been stated, “All who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Will we then be perfect, sinless people who never fall short again? John tells us the answer to this in 1 John 1:8-10. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

In David’s Psalm 103, verses 11 and 12, he reveals the love and compassion the Father has for us. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”

Our good news is that we have a Savior who fulfilled His Father’s will, as stated in John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”

Pricilla Jane Owens (1829-1909) wrote a wonderful Hymn in 1808 that is still popular today. Its title is “Jesus Saves,” also known as “We Have Hear a Joyful Sound.”

1.) We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Spread the tidings all around: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Bear the news to every land, climb the steeps and cross the waves; Onward ’tis our Lord’s command; Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves!

2.) Waft it on the rolling tide: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Tell to sinners far and wide: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Sing, ye islands of the sea; echo back, ye ocean waves; Earth shall keep her jubilee: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves!

3.) Sing above the battle strife: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! By His death and endless life: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Sing it softly through the gloom, when the heart for mercy craves; Sing in triumph o’er the tomb: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves!

4.) Give the winds a mighty voice: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Let the nations now rejoice: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Shout Salvation full and free, highest hills and deepest caves; This our song of Victory: Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves!

Jesus told us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Sadly, this world is evolving away from the Savior, just as prophecy said would happen. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

Then 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:4, “They will say, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.'”

John tells us to “test the spirits” in 1 John 4:2-3; “By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist which you heard was coming, and now is in the world already.”

John also states in 1 John 5:12, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” This is also found in several places in the New Testament.

The changes taking place today, not only in the attitudes of the world but in churches that are changing the word of the Lord to keep their seats and collection plates full, are just what the above verses said would happen.

God’s children are being called “haters,” and His chosen people, the Jews, are being persecuted worldwide. Even in America, the attitude toward the Sovereign Nation of Israel has changed. Zechariah 12:3 states, “On that day, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.”

The current protests taking place in the U.S. are cutting Israel and all Jewish people down while praising the terrorists. This is exactly what Genesis 12:3 is all about. God said that those who condemn and dishonor His chosen people would themselves be condemned. And by the way, our Heavenly Father is not surprised by any of what is taking place.

This era is approaching new dimensions. The next major prophecy to be fulfilled will be the Rapture of all true believers from this earth. All who have received and accepted Jesus will be removed from this planet to keep us from the wrath/tribulation, as the Father promised (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10).

We will finally be in the immediate presence of our Savior, Redeemer, and Shepherd, and it will be forever.

All who enter the seven-year tribulation period will experience the worst time that this earth has ever experienced. This could be totally avoided by carefully considering your future and making the choice now to receive and accept Jesus as your Savior. The Father will force no one to call out to be saved but will accept all who truly do so.

We do not know the day or hour that the Trumpet of God will sound and the shout will come from the archangel, but it could be any time now. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, but all who have Jesus as their Savior are guaranteed a Home with Him forever.

Just imagine: a new, forever immortal and imperishable body, and never able to be tempted by Satan again.

Hope to see you at Home when the call comes!

huebshman46@gmail.com

(Also, see raptureforums.com Home/Featured Articles)

Isaiah 1:1-18

Summary: This is the first of a series of messages on the life and ministry of the prophet Isaiah and his prophecies concerning the Promised Messiah and His work of redemption on our behalf.

When you ask a Christian whether they are a long-time follower of Jesus or a new convert about the subject of prophecy, the first thing that usually comes to their mind is the prophecies describing the events leading to the return of Jesus Christ. Sermons, studies, and scholarship have been focused on the Second Coming because, as we see the events described by Jesus while on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24; Mark 13: Luke 21) coming to pass with rapidity, our natural inclination is to, hopefully, look up, be watchful, for our redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28).

Much ink, thought, and inquiry has been used to put together the varied theories of how everything in history is coming to a conclusion, with Jesus as the center of it all. A lot of attention has been given to the future, and rightly so. However, we may be missing something that is just as relevant when discussing or teaching Bible prophecy, and it does not deal with issues such as the timing of the Rapture, the coming time of tribulation, or the millennium. Prophecy, first and foremost, is to center on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, for without Him, especially concerning His resurrection, the subject of prophecy, along with the entirety of Scripture itself, would be irrelevant and futile (1 Corinthians 15: 1-8, 12-19).

What I would like to do is turn the prophetic clock back to the time of the Old Testament “prince of prophets,” the man known as Isaiah, and in particular, his prophecies concerning the person and work of God’s Promised Messiah and the mission of redemption He would bring to His people and ultimately the world. Isaiah would also prove to be an evangelist, calling on the people of Israel to repent and prepare themselves for the arrival of the Messiah.

The name Isaiah means “Yahweh Saves.” It is an appropriate name for this prophet who wrote of both the judgments of God but also of His mercy and saving grace. Isaiah’s life and ministry took place in the kingdom of Judah from 740-701 B.C. He was in service to the LORD from the time of his calling (701 B.C.) until the last years of good King Hezekiah (716-687 B.C.) or the early reign of Manasseh (687-642 B.C.), Judah’s most wicked king who, according to tradition, had Isaiah put to death by being sawn in half.

Isaiah lived through the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, giving advice to all of them. He was also familiar with the last four wicked kings of Israel and prophesied the fall of the Israelite kingdom in 722 B.C.

Isaiah was born in Jerusalem around 760 B.C. He was a highly educated man, familiar with the history, customs, politics, and religious customs of both Israel and Judah. We know from Scripture that he was married, although we do not know the name of his wife. He had two sons. One was given the name of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, so named because before he would be old enough to talk, the threats against Judah by the kingdom of Syria would be gone. The naming of this child coincided with the prophecy he gave to wicked king Ahaz that a virgin would conceive and bear a Son with the name of Immanuel, meaning “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14).

There are noteworthy events in Isaiah that merit our attention before we get to what many Bible scholars have called “the fifth Gospel,” specifically Chapters 52:13—53:12. In Chapter 1, Isaiah condemns the wicked behavior of Judah. He describes their condition as that of a sick person, full of sores, aches, and pains that seem incurable (1:2-9). If God had not decided to intervene, Judah would be no better than Sodom and Gomorrah, cities that had been destroyed by God for their unrepentant perversions and sexual deviancies (Genesis 19:1-29).

The kingdom of Judah vainly thought that their religious practices would get them off the hook with the LORD. Instead, it is condemned by God for its empty routines and vain repetitions, with no real indication that they were devoted to God (1:10-17). This is a lesson for the last days church in that we cannot afford to “go through the motions” of religious thinking that it will satisfy our obligations to the LORD. That is no better than offering Him a filthy leper’s rag, for it assumes that works and rituals will give us a pass into heaven. It does not work that way (Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:8-9).

Nothing of our own making is sufficient to take away the plague of sin that we brought upon both ourselves and the world ages ago in Eden (Romans 5:12, 8:18-23). The question is: If we cannot redeem ourselves before God, then what hope do we have? Hear the Word of the LORD. It is He who offers the following counsel that worked then and still does today:

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are like crimson, they shall be as wool'” (1:18).

Almighty God tells both the people of Judah and us to think for a moment. Do we live lives that are pleasing to the LORD? Do we actually think that our fallen nature and corrupted minds are sound enough to figure out a way to have peace with God? Are you kidding? It is the gracious mercy of God who calls for us not only to “reason with Him” but to understand and accept the truth that it is only He who can redeem us and change us from sinful, hell-bound reprobates into redeemed children who are His forever. It is the LORD who provides salvation to anyone who comes to Him (Matthew 11:28-30).

This is seen all throughout Isaiah’s writings, and the promise of salvation was made manifest in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross on behalf of our sins and resurrection provided the one and only means by which any of us can come to God and receive both eternal life and the unchanging promise of a place with Him in heaven (John 14:1-6; Revelation 21:1-7), free from the curse of sin for all time.

Here is the question I present to the reader as I come to a close. If you were to die today and faced Almighty God, and He asked you, “By what right do you have to enter into my heaven?” I implore you to reason with the LORD, realizing that nothing you do in your own strength will suffice. Let Him take your wounded heart and corrupted soul and change you into a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Isaiah’s opening words in his book are that of an evangelist, calling on all who will hear to run to the Savior and receive the gift of forgiveness and true peace that the world cannot give. It still works today.

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