I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old. Psalm 78:2.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
In our last Life Lesson we were discussing the parable of the leasehold interest of the tenant farmers in My vineyard. And I shared with you that there are two other prophecies alluded to in that parable as told by Jesus that are fulfilled in Jesus as Messiah and Lord. One I revealed through My prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 65:1-3, and the other I revealed to My servant Daniel through a dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 2.
Now, our journey of remembrance, which is the road to faith and freedom, we will look at the prophesies released into the earth.
The first one is about My Kingdom opening to the gentiles and not just the Jewish people. By Israel’s rejection of the Messiah they caused Me to look for people who would follow Me and produce fruit in My vineyard.
This is exactly what happened after My Son’s resurrection and the return of My Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The persecution in Israel of My early followers from among their own people drove them outside the nation of Israel across the Roman empire, and everywhere they went they witnessed to My Son. Acts 8:1; Acts 13:44-49. Many of the gentiles received that word with joy. Acts 13:48. You find in the book of Isaiah the following passage:
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held out my hands to a rebellious and obstinate people, who walk in ways that are not good, following their own thoughts a people who continually provoke Me to My face. Isaiah 65:1-3.
And I shared with Isaiah words I spoke to My Son Jesus telling Him of the magnitude of His mission for Me in the world according to the flesh as follows:
It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6.
In My Name, which before had belonged to My Covenant people of the line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the gentiles now find hope. Romans 15:12. Jesus is the root of Jesse that I set up as a signal for the nations. Isaiah 11:10. The gentiles shall seek Him out but He shall also reclaim the remnant of My chosen people and gather the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
As to the second prophecy I am referring to, do you remember that Daniel was among those taken into captivity in Babylon during the reign of Johiakim, king of Judah, and he was trained to be an advisor, a wise man, of the King of Babylon? Daniel 1:1-5. In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream that none of his astrologers or wise men could tell the king what he had dreamed and, of course, not being able to tell the king what he had dreamed they certainly could not interpret it. Daniel 2:1-12, The king then decreed that all the wise men would be put to death, but Daniel called upon Me for revelation to avoid the death penalty and I answered by revealing the dream and its meaning to Daniel. Daniel 2:12,17-19.
The dream gave a word of wisdom regarding the Messiah and his reign. After I revealed what it was to Daniel, he went before King Nebuchadnezzar and boldly attributed the interpretation of the dream to Me. He told the king: “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.” Daniel 2:27-28.
The dream went like this, the king saw an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance, of which the head was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. As the dream continued, the king saw a stone was cut out, but not by human hands, that struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. Daniel 2:31-38.
Please note the stone that was not cut out by a human hand that crushes the entire statue and then filled the whole earth.
After telling the details of the dream, Daniel then gave the interpretation of the dream. He told Nebuchadnezzar that I had given to him dominion and power and that he was the head of gold. After his reign, however, the dream showed that another kingdom would rise, inferior to that of King Nebuchadnezzar. After that, a third kingdom, one of bronze, would rule over the whole earth. Finally, there would be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will break all the others. The fourth kingdom is a divided kingdom, as seen by the feet and toes being partly of baked clay and partly of iron. It will be partly strong and partly brittle and its people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. Daniel 2:37-44.
Daniel then concluded the interpretation by resolving the meaning of the stone that crushed all the other kingdoms. He explained that in the time of those kings, I, the LORD, will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people; rather it will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it will endure forever.
Does this not sound familiar to you? The Kingdom that will be set up that will endure forever? Do you recall the child given to us from the book of My prophet Isaiah?
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore the zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7.
Yes, the government will rest on His shoulders and there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace forevermore. A child born whose Name is Mighty God. I do not think I could have given you a clearer sign that God would take on flesh and be born as one of you. Why did you not recognize Him? John 1:11.
And remember what My prophet Daniel wrote about his vision of the Messiah also, the Son of Man, who would have dominion and set up an everlasting kingdom: “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14.
Do you see the One like a Son of Man approaching My throne whose Kingdom will not be destroyed and will be everlasting? This is My Son returning to the Kingdom after His resurrection from the dead. What more could I tell you?
We already discussed the fulfillment of this when I sent My angel Gabriel to Mary and he told her that the child whom she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit would be great and called the Son of the Most High; and that I would give Him the throne of His father David and He would reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom would have no end. You see, I watch over My Word to perform it.
This, then, was the meaning of the king’s vision of the stone cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a stone that crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. A stone sent by Me that crushed all worldly empires and was the foundation stone of My eternal Kingdom on earth. Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6. This stone of course is My Son Jesus who became the cornerstone. Psalm 118:22-23.
Yes, My Son is the living stone, rejected by the builders but chosen and precious in My sight. 1 Peter 2:4. Do not doubt this, I gave you other prophecies about it. Have you not read in the book of My prophet Isaiah, “Behold I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame?” Isaiah 28:16.
You need to understand this. If you build your life on this foundation stone you will not be put to shame. It is the rock on which I built My church. The rock of the revelation of Jesus as Messiah and Lord. For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that I raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:8-11. For when you believe with your heart, you are justified (made righteous), and if you confess with your mouth, you are saved.
And again you will find another reference to the stone in My prophet Isaiah:
It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. and He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. then He shall become a sanctuary; but to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. many will stumble over them, then they will fall and be broken; they will even be snared and caught. Isaiah 8:13-15.
They stumbled by disobeying My Word. 1 Peter 2:8. Why? Because they did not have faith in the One that I sent.
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew He was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that He was a prophet. Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed Him, and He healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah about the promised One who would come:
Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. in his name the nations will put their hope.” Isaiah 42:1-4.
This passage again confirms that Jesus was the promised Messiah. At His baptism I spoke aloud from Heaven that He is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. I poured out My Holy Spirit on Him without measure. John 3:34. He proclaimed justice but He did not quarrel or cry out. Matthew 12:19. If you look at when He was condemned to death, He offered no defense but kept silence. Matthew 27:14. This also fulfilled another prophecy of Isaiah. In describing the sufferings which the Redeemer would undergo in taking away the punishment for your sins, Isaiah wrote:
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:6-7.
You also see in the ministry of Jesus that He never rejected anyone who came to Him. John 6:37. He reached out to lepers, tax collectors, and those who were considered lost. He never condemned. He did not crush a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick. He welcomed sinners and ate with them. He exhorted them to change their lives and did not accept their sins but He did not judge or reject them. He confirmed their value and importance to Me. He came to seek out and save the lost. Which was all of you.
And that is why He came. He came to heal you and deliver you from all your destructions. Psalm 107:20. He is My Word.
I love you. We still must consider more of His parables to see the truths I had hidden for you since the foundation of the world.