In last week’s reflections on our daily bible readings from Isaiah, Pastor Brian discussed the need to carefully consider the prophetic nature of Isaiah’s writings, and how these passages that appear to be talking about things we don’t understanding or can’t relate to are speaking of events coming in the future — events happening long after Isaiah’s lifetime.
Isaiah writes like a poet. He will take an image, or a concept, and keep coming back to it to emphasize an aspect of what I believe is the underlying theme and purpose of his writing — the culmination of history in the coming of the Messiah.
You may have noticed some of these themes already. For example, Isaiah uses the parts of a tree—the “branch” in chapter 4, “seed” and “stump” in chapter 6, and all of these plus “root” in chapter 11—as a metaphor for the concept of a time of restoration, the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, and the coming of a specific person descended from the family “tree” of King David, who will serve as the deliverer and King of Israel — the Messiah.
A different reference is emphasized and repeated throughout this week’s reading, appearing in 25:9, 26:1, 27:1, 28:5, 29:19, and 30:23-25. Isaiah speaks of “in that day” or “on that day.”
The “day of the Lord,” “in that day,” or “on that day” is a phrase used throughout the Old Testament prophetic writings and is especially important to the prophet Joel, as well as Isaiah. Isaiah uses a form of it 14 times in chapters 2–13, and twenty-four times in chapters 17-31.
These references are multi-faceted — They are prophecies of a time in human history when God is ultimately victorious, vindicating his claims to be the Lord over all the earth. These prophecies often are full of apocalyptic, “end times” imagery, such as the sun darkening and the moon turning to blood (for example, Zephaniah 1:14–16). It always carries the characterization of judgment and/or blessing, with God triumphing over his enemies and granting blessing to his people.
Because of the graphic, “end times” feel to these passages, it's easy to file this language away in the same spot as the sensationalist imagery of the book of Revelation. But Isaiah’s references to “that day” or the “day of the Lord” appear to also connect to decisive moments of God’s intervention within his current history, or to events that will happen in the future, but not necessarily the “end of the world” future.
For example, in the context of the previous chapters, the reference to “that day” in Isaiah 25 could be connected to the eventual defeat of Judah’s political rivals, particularly Assyria/Babylon, which eventually happens 70 years after Isaiah’s death. But the language Isaiah employs for the fulfillment of this victory goes so much deeper than that.
Chapter 25:6 speaks of a banquet — the language implies a feast fit for the coronation of a king – but Judah already has a King. What King does he mean? Verse 7 seems to speak to the ultimate fulfillment of God’s eternal kingdom, rather than the vindication of King Hezekiah: “swallow up death forever,” “wipe away the tears from all faces,” “remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.” Indeed, similar phrases are found in the letters of Paul, and in Revelation. The affirmation that Isaiah is looking to the future messianic age finally comes in v.9, when he states how all this will occur “in that day.”
The “in that day,” cosmic, “end times” imagery can signal a messianic connection that extends to us in the present day as well. For example, in Joel 2:28, it states that on “the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (referenced in v. 31), the Holy Spirit will be poured out “on all people,” with “your sons and daughters” speaking prophecies, while “old men will dream dreams,” and “young men will see visions.” Of course, this was fulfilled at the time of Christ on the day of Pentecost, but also during my lifetime, as I have experienced these same things in the modern charismatic renewal. In the book of Isaiah, we also often see an application of these prophecies to the contemporary, historical events of Isaiah’s time circa 700 BC, as well as the time of the coming of the Messiah or the end of the world, all in view in a single passage.
But the most important aspect of the “in that day” references is their connection to the coming of Jesus. In the gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly refers to the concept of “a time” that is coming. Other translations render this word as “the hour is coming,” and still others as “a day is coming.” I believe Jesus is referring to “the time” of his death and the fulfillment of his messianic mission and is connecting it to the Old Testament prophecies of “the day of the Lord,” or “on that day.”
In John 2:4, Jesus tells his mother that “my time has not yet come.” This reference to “time” occurs in John’s gospel 7 more times, amplifying the connection to Christ’s death as the climax of the messianic age: in John 4:23, Jesus says, “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth;” John 5:25, “I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live;” John 5:28, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice;” John 12:31, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out;” John 16:2 “the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God;” John 16:25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father;” and John 16:32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home.”
Each of these statements by Jesus is a reference to his death, or the results of his death. There is an ominous connection between the use of “a time is coming” in John’s gospel to the references in Isaiah to “the day of the Lord,” or “on that day.” Indeed, on the day Jesus was crucified, the “end times” imagery of all the Old Testament references to “the day of lord” came true— the sun grew dark, the earth shook, the curtain in the temple was torn asunder, and an image of messianic prophecy we will get to later in Isaiah, in chapter 53, the “suffering servant,” hung on the cross for all to see and died for our sins. God executed his judgment – his wrath was poured out, but not on humanity (though we all deserve it), but on Jesus instead. There was blessing poured out on God’s people because we now all could inherit eternal life.
Keeping these things in mind makes it a little easier to understand what Isaiah is saying. It’s exciting to see the unfolding of God’s master plan that culminates in the coming of Jesus as Messiah reflected in the writing of a man hearing the prophetic voice of God some 700 years before Jesus was born.
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John Russell
