Tag: religion

Isaiah 2, swords into ploughshares, study war no more, the Day of the Lord

This famous messianic prophecy is duplicated in Micah 4. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah. Isaiah was also the chief scribe and wrote down the chronicles for that time, such as part of Isaiah 36, which is duplicated in part of 2 Chronicles 32.

The symbol Schwerter zu Pflugscharen was the most important emblem of the German Democratic Republic’s opposition movement in the 1980s which finally lead to the “revolution” of 1989 and the German unification.

The bronze sculpture “Let Us Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares,” was created by Soviet artist Evgeny Vuchetich, and presented to the United Nations on 4 December 1959, by the Government of the USSR.

Or the lyrics as sung by Peter, Paul and Mary

I’m gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
I’m gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside
Study war no more

I ain’t gonna study war no more
Ain’t gonna study war no more
Ain’t gonna study war no more
I ain’t gonna study war no more
Ain’t gonna study war no more
Ain’t gonna study war no more

Isaiah 1, a rebellious nation, a sinful nation, the LORD’s judgment and restoration.

No other book of the Old Testament contain as many prophecies as the Scroll of Isaiah. In fact there are so many that it was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Isaiah most probably was written in its final form around 400 A.D.

Then in 1947 A.D. a complete scroll of Isaiah was found in the cave of Qumran, and it gives the timeline of its writing as around 700 B.C.

The scroll they found was a copy, copied no later than 140 B.C. and possibly much earlier, and with that discovery a hundred years of critical biblical analysis was rendered obsolete. They found fragments of most of the Old Testament books, but also much material about day-to-day life around Jesus time, which helped in understanding many terms in the Hebrew language, the meaning of which had been lost.

Here is a list of the prophecies in Isaiah

and their fulfillment in the New Testament.

The NIV translation of the Bible uses “the LORD Almighty” instead of “the LORD of Hosts”. The LORD of Hosts is more true to the Hebrew text.

John 21, another catch of fish, Jesus reinstates Peter.

That makes it eight miracles of Jesus, seven before his resurrection and one after.

 

Knowing John mentioned only seven miracles my rendition of the NIV study bible omits the man born blind, washing in the pool of Siloam.

The Ryrie NIV study bible mentions John mentions seven miracles, then goes ahead and lists all eight.

The first two times Jesus asks “Do you love me” he uses the word agappe, which means godly love, and Peter answers that he loves Jesus (fileo) with a brotherly love. The third time Jesus too uses the word fileo. Peter was hurt. He realized how far short of godly love he still was

John 19, the crucifixion, the seven last words, the burial, the special Sabbath.

Psalm 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

A Psalm of David: Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

The word Elohim is plural. Eli or Eloi is “my God” in the singular. They had never heard it in the singular, so they thought Jesus called for Elias!

This was the moment when Jesus became sin for us.

Meanwhile, back in the Temple, the scapegoat having been released, the Passover lamb was placed on the altar.

Jesus was the Passover lamb, sacrificed outside the camp on Golgatha. The veil that separated the holiest area from the rest of the temple was rent from top to bottom to signify the end to all offerings. Jesus was offered once for all time.

This was now late on 14th of Nisan, the Passover.

 

It is now Thursday afternoon, and the next day is a special Sabbath.  Then comes the normal Sabbath on Saturday. This is not all that uncommon, it happens every seventh year on average, and this was the case in A.D. 30. The preparation means to prepare meals for two days as well as the passover meal before sunset. (  https://lenbilen.com/2017/04/14/when-was-the-crucifixion-of-jesus/ )

John 12, Jesus anointed at Bethany, the triumphal entry.

We are now at A.D. 30.

Spikenard is still available ( and still expensive)

The most important week in history is about to begin.

This raises one question:

Passover A.D. 30 was the most important in world history, so let us find out the exact date. To find out we must know about

The Jewish calendar is luni-solar. Leap months occur in year 3,6,8,11,14,17 and 19  to make Passover occur early spring. The keys on a piano can help memorize which year has a leap month. (The Muslim calendar on the other hand is strictly lunar, so the month of Ramadan occur 11 days earlier every year, making 103 Muslim years every century).

We must synchronize time with a total solar eclipse, which gives the perfect time for starting a Jewish new month. There was a perfect Solar eclipse in 2006.

There is a second source for solar eclipse calculations

The eclipse had its maximum 11 37 A.M. Nov 24 A.D. 29 over Jerusalem (solar time)

But there is one more twist in the calculations:

Now back to the biblical narrative:

Prophecy from Psalm 118:25 Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord, and from Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

The sign was not that he rode on a donkey. Lots of people rode on donkeys. No the sign was that the donkey colt was unbroken, and that was the sign.

Isaiah 53:1-5 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 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. 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. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we 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.

Is 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

John 8, The sinful woman, the validity of Jesus’ testimony, before Abraham was born, I am!

The verses 7:53 to 8:11 are not in the earliest manuscripts, but have been added later, maybe as late as around 1100 A.D. The stylistic differences hint at not being written by the apostle John. They did however exist as a separate document from the first century, and were added to complete Jesus dialogue at the feast of Tabernacles. The verses could have been placed elsewhere, since they break up Jesus dialogue at the Temple. However, they were at some time accepted as inspired and are included in most manuscripts (Textus Receptus).

“Go and sin no more”, Jesus last words to the woman, after not condemning her for her past but looking to the future.