God's Character

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Isaiah 1:24, 25 - God's Refining Fire

"I will take revenge on you, my enemies, and you will cause me no more trouble. I will take action against you. I will purify you the way metal is refined, and will remove all your impurity." (Isaiah 1:24,25)

Fire is a repeated theme of this book. When Isaiah encountered God in all his glory he felt guilt and shame until a burning coal touched his lips.

"God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29) in the book of Isaiah: "God, the light of Israel, will become a fire. Israel's holy God will become a flame, which in a single day will burn up everything, even the thorns and thistles." (Isaiah 10:17)

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Isaiah 14:20 - You Killed Your Own People

A major earthquake rocked Japan today, resulting in hundreds of deaths and unspeakable damage. Who is responsible for this? Questions about God's involvement in disasters like this always arise such as: "How could God allow this?" "Is God punishing the people of Japan for their sin?" "Is this a judgment of God on the earth as described in the book of Revelation?"

Yesterday's Bible study was timely given the recent world events. Isaiah 14 is a funeral poem that describes the fall of Satan, initially from heaven to the earth and then finally into the abyss. Relevant for the events we are watching today are the words from this poem: "Is this the one who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who would not let his prisoners go home?...You have destroyed your land, you have killed your people."

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Isaiah 52:15 - Shocked into Silence

The book of Isaiah has many parallels to the book of Revelation. Isaiah and Revelation not only describe God on his throne and in all his glory, but also God in his humility as a slaughtered Lamb and as a suffering Servant. Isaiah and Revelation also describe the character and the kingdom of the Adversary.

As we discussed in this lecture, the key Old Testament reference for understanding the "silence in heaven" that occurs in Revelation is found in Isaiah 52 and 53. "Kings will be shocked into silence when they seem him. They will see and understand something they had never known." (Isaiah 52:13,14). What is it that will stun all of heaven into a praise that is most fitting of silence?

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Isaiah 40+: The Gospel Prophet

Isaiah is sometimes called "the gospel prophet" not only because the good news is specifically mentioned several times in this book, but also because Isaiah opens such beautiful prophet windows into the life and death of Jesus. This Bible study covered chapters 40-66 and primarily addressed one question: "What is the Gospel?" We frequently say "the gospel must go throughout the world", but what is the gospel?

Bible study for the Loma Linda University School of Allied and Public Health, recorded May 19, 2008.

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Isaiah 1 - 39

This Bible study on Isaiah covered some of the major topics within the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is quoted 21 times in the New Testament. Isaiah saw God in all His glory on His heavenly throne, he saw God in all his humility as he was tortured to death, he saw Satan, he saw heaven and he saw hell. The theology in this book is profound and exciting.

Bible study for the Loma Linda University School of Allied and Public Health, recorded May 12, 2008.

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Isaiah Audio, 2008

Part 1

The book of Isaiah is quoted 21 times in the New Testament. Isaiah saw God in all His glory on His heavenly throne, he saw God in all his humility as he was tortured to death, he saw Satan, he saw heaven and he saw hell. The theology in this book is profound and exciting.

Read more...