The Man Who Saw the Future

This morning, I’d like to introduce you to one of the most remarkable men in the Bible—the prophet Isaiah.


If anyone deserved to be considered a prophet, it was Isaiah. He was an elegant prophet, a great writer and a scholar, a friend of priests and kings, but also a man who God gave the gift of precognition. He saw the future as clearly as we see our own day. He was a true prophet, in every sense of the word.

Isaiah lived in a time of great danger. The Assyrians had destroyed the Northern kingdom of Israel and almost destroyed the kingdom of Judah. Sennacharib, kind of Ninevah, had conquered most of the country, and surrounded what was left of the Judean army in Jerusalem. He surrounded the city with siege engines, catapults, archers, and 186,000 soldiers. Isaiah sat with good king Hezekiah, trapped behind the city walls.

Isaiah was not worried, though. He had seen the future. God was on their side. Isaiah knew with certainty that they would win.

How could he possibly have known that? All the evidence was to the contrary. They were far outnumbered by superior forces.

Historians say “It was a lucky guess. Besides,” they say “ What he said was written down after the event. Isaiah probably made it up later.”

But Isaiah was right and they were wrong. Isaiah knew the future, because he knew what God had said.

After the war was over, there was a great celebration of victory. Then countries from all over the world came to congratulate them. Among the nations who sent emissaries was the king of Babylon. (We read about this in Isaiah 39.) King Hezekiah was honored to see them. It gave him an opportunity to show off his rebuilt country. He showed them everything.

3 Then Isaiah asked the king "What did those men say, and where did they come from?"

"From a distant land," Hezekiah replied. "They came to me from Babylon."

Isaiah answered.

"Hear the word of the LORD Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

How could he have known that? Again historians would argue that those words were added later. Or, that Isaiah was simply smart enough to know that these emissaries were merely sizing them up for future conquest.

But they are wrong. Isaiah knew the future, because he knew what God had said.

King Hezekiah was too happy to worry about it. Besides, like most of us he only heard what he wanted to here.

8 "The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."

Then Isaiah wrot the second section of his book. It is a prophecy to the people who survive in Babylon, three hundred years later, when his prophecy was fulfilled. It contains names of people who had not yet been born.

Now, how could a man write a book for people who would not be born for three hundred years, naming names and places?

Historians say he didn’t. He didn’t’ because (they say) he couldn’t. It must be someone else who wrote these words, someone they call Second Isaiah. It would be an impossible miracle for Isaiah to have written it.

But they are wrong. Isaiah knew the future, because he knew what God had said.

Then, in the middle of this book, this so-called “second Isaiah,” he goes even farther in to the future, almost five hundred years more. In order to comfort those people who were not yet born, he tells them of future events in chapter 53. In a far-away time, God would sent a Suffering Servant to earth. He had spoken of him before, back in chapter 9 of his first book. He had called Him “wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, the prince of peace.” He would be wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities. He would be beaten and lashed until the blood poured out of his back. All this would be done for our cleansing. By His stripes we would be healed. He described the death of this Suffering Servant.

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. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living;for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

Historians dispute this, of course. They suggest that this chapter is misinterpreted. Others have suggested that they were actually added later, in Jesus’ time by another writer, a so-called third Isaiah. After all, it would be an impossible miracle for Isaiah to have known something that happened eight hundred years after he was born. To believe differently would be to believe in a miracle.

But they are wrong. Isaiah knew the future, because he knew what God had said.

Wouldn’t it be great to have Isaiah’s abilities to see into the future? Think of how you could use it. We could win the lottery or play the stock market. But what Isaiah uses his gift to change people’s perception of the present. When we know we are going to win, we can enjoy that victory, even when enduring present problems. Think about how happy you could be if, during labor, you could knew that your baby would be healthy. Think of how useful it would be to know while you’re looking for a job, that you’re going to get a good one. It’s like playing with your presents before you even open them, and still having the fun of unwrapping.

That’s called faith.

Faith is borrowing on future joys to endure present suffering. Faith is what keeps us going in the dark. Faith is what keeps us going through the tough times when there seems to be no way out.It is the gift of knowledge that everything will be all right.

Is this really possible? Of course it is. A child has it on Christmas Eve. A bride has it on her wedding day. We have it when we stand on the promises of God.

Christmas is all about faith. On the winter solstice, December 21, is the shortest day of the year. It is a dark, miserable day. But we are not disheartened by it. December 22 will be a little bit longer Every day afterward will be little brighter. We are brighter when we know the night will pass.

The first Christmas was not much of an event. Aside from the shepherds and wise men, no one knew what was happening. A baby born in a manger would hardly make the papers. Most of the world slumbered through it, alone in the dark. But it was the start of a miracle.

It’s not their fault they slept. They sleep because they do not hear. Many hear, but do not understand. Many understand, but do not believe. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

It’s all there in Isaiah 40, as well as many other places.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

The people were conquered twice because of their sins—first by Assyria, and then by Babylon. Even so, there is comfort. There is always an end to disaster. There is never an end to His mercy.

In order to have faith, there must be righteousness. Isaiah writes

3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD ;

make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be raised up every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

Sin puts mountains between us and faith. It makes us impossible for us to see God’s plan. We all know instinctively that when we do something wrong, God is not going to like it. But what we forget is this. He may not always like what we do, but he never stops loving us.

Jesus takes down those mountains between us and God and makes them into plains. He straightens the path between us and God, not for us to come to God, but for Him to come to us. If we are so broken that we cannot walk, God will come looking for us.

In order to have faith, we must have one who is worthy trust. He can save not only us, but the whole world with us . Isaiah writes.

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

What is God’s glory? It is His reputation, his fame, his influence, shining not only through space but also time. Isaiah saw his glory from hundreds of years in the past. We see it from thousands of years into the future. The birth of Jesus still warms our hearts today.

Isaiah saw the future. Now it’s your turn. Where do you see your future with God? Jesus came so that you could have a future. His death and resurrection bought you a place in the eternal heavens. Our celebration of Christmas is just an eternal reminder of the coming victory of Christ.

There are some who doubt this, of course. They only see gloom, doom and disaster. But they do not know the miraculous power of God.

They are wrong. We are right, because we have heard what God says.