Salvation and Rejoicing Under the Messiah's Reign

IN THE days of Isaiah, the spiritual condition of God's covenant people was bad.  Even under the rule of faithful kings, such as Uzziah and Jotham, many of the people worshiped at the high places.  (2 Kings 15:1-4, 34, 25;  2 Chronicles 26:1, 4)  When Hezekiah became king, he had to remove the appendages of Baal worship from the land.  (2 Chronicles 31:1) No wonder that Jehovah urged his people to return to him and warned of discipline to come!

Still, not all were out-and-out rebels.  Jehovah had faithful prophets, and likely there were some Jews who listened to them.  Jehovah had comforting words for these ones.  After describing the terrible depredations that Judah would experience during the Assyrian invasion, the prophet Isaiah was inspired  to pen one of the most beautiful passages in the whole Bible, a description o the blessings to come under the reign of the Messiah.  Some aspects of these blessing turned out to have a small-scale fulfillment when the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon.  But the prophecy as a whole has a major fulfillment today.  True, Isaiah and other faithful Jews of his time did not live to see these blessing.  But they looked forward to them in faith and will see a fulfillment of Isaiah's  words after the resurrection. -Hebrews 11:35.

Jehovah's modern-day people also need encouragement.  Rapidly decaying moral values in the world, vicious opposition to the Kingdom message, and personal weaknesses challenge them.  Isaiah's wonderful words about the Messiah and his reign can strengthen and help God's people to meet these challenges.

Next time: Messiah-A Capable Leader

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000