THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

The Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament was written between 700 B.C. and 680 B.C. It contains sixty-six chapters. Liberal theologians, in their never-ending quest to discredit God's Word, claim that Isaiah was written by two different people.

The reason for this is clear. Isaiah is broken into two parts. The first part is described by Bible scholars as "The Book of Judgement" and the second part is "The Book of Comfort". So different are these two parts that some scholars believe they were written by different people. However, one would think that a believer, a person of faith, would believe that the Book of Isaiah was written by one person, because that is what the Bible says.

The Lord, in His foreknowledge, provided His opinion on the subject of two authors of Isaiah, long before the liberal theologians came up with their discrediting theory. The Apostle John, in John 12:38-40, quotes from both The Book of Judgement and The Book of Comfort. Specifically, he quotes from Isaiah 6:10 and 53:1. John ascribes both of the quotes to Isaiah the Prophet. He does not quote Isaiah number one and Isaiah number two. The Holy Spirit, through John, says the Book of Isaiah was written by one person.

Even more interesting, the Book of Judgement is thirty-nine chapters long; the same as the Old Testament. The Book of Comfort is twenty-seven chapters long; the same as the New Testament. There are some who would claim this is a coincidence. Dr. Gary Stearman has done a study showing that each chapter of Isaiah follows the theme of the corresponding book of the Bible. There are sixty-six chapters and sixty-six books.

Isaiah chapter forty is the first chapter of The Book of Comfort. This second part of Isaiah represents the New Testament. Isaiah 40:3 says "A voice of one calling; In the desert prepare the way for the Lord." Chapter three of Luke describes the ministry of John the Baptist and quotes Isaiah 40:3. This is a suitable introduction for The Book of Comfort.

The last chapter of Isaiah, chapter sixty-six, asks an interesting question. "Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in moment?" (Isaiah 66:8). This is interesting because it is exactly what occurred in 1948. Israel was created in a day by decree of the United Nations. The chapter, which according to Dr. Stearman represents the Revelation, also says "the Lord is coming with fire" (Isaiah 66:15) and speaks of "the new heavens and the new earth" (Isaiah 66:22). These are both themes or ideas from the Revelation.

The concept of Isaiah being divided into two parts representing the Old Testament and the New Testament is fascinating. Even more so is the idea that each chapter represents a book of the Bible. I believe this is further confirmation that the entire Bible is divinely inspired and that from the beginning, the Lord knew the end (Isaiah 46:10).

In God's Word, there are no accidents or coincidences. We have received exactly the scripture that He intended we receive. And the Book of Isaiah demonstrates this. May the Name of the Lord be praised forever!

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