Nathan Jones (2:34)

Oh, yes. Yeah. I'm still walking around groggy and drowsy. You, why do we do this to ourselves?

Vic Batista (2:42)

It's not that much of a good news for you, Nate. You don't like the time change.

Nathan Jones (2:47)

I like that it gets lighter later. That's, that's kind of cool. But you know, waking up in the dark now and being drowsy for a week and. I don't know, man, I, I, we talk every year about ending this thing and it never goes away.

Vic Batista (3:02)

Actually, you know, this conversation reminds me of last year when we talked about

Nathan Jones (3:05)

this and the year before and the year before that. Right. It's like a broken record. It, it never gets changed.

Vic Batista (3:11)

This is what we tell our listeners. Call us in and let us know what your thoughts are on the daylight saving side. No,

Nathan Jones (3:20)

I, I don't know of anybody who thinks it's a great idea, but it must have serve a purpose, right? At least supposedly for farmers, right?

Vic Batista (3:27)

Exactly. Well, Nate, at least we have good news to share with people. And it's not daylight savings time, but it's what, it's what the word of God brings to us as we're going to look at Isaiah chapter 52. So, Nate, you probably heard the same. When people are going to share news with you and they have bad news and good news to share, they always ask you the question, which news would you like to hear first? What type of person are you? Do you like the good news delivered to you or the bad news first?

Nathan Jones (3:58)

Well, usually good news means you don't have to deal with something. So I'll take the good news first. The bad news usually means you have to deal with something. So give me second, then we can plan on how to fix it. How about you? I know you're like glass half full type personality, right?

Vic Batista (4:16)

Yeah. I think sometimes I'll just rather get the bad news and get it out of the way.

Nathan Jones (4:19)

No, okay, Okay. I don't know.

Vic Batista (4:22)

But the reason why I say that, Nate, is because as we look at chapter 52, it's going to be talking about Israel. And it seems like the nation of Israel, they always have the bad news delivered to them. But then the encouragement comes with the good news in the future. So as we look at Chapter 52 is one of those chapters that has that mixed message in it. So with that, Nate, would you be able to take us there in Isaiah 52, verses 1:4, in case someone doesn't have a Bible as we're reading from the new King James. And I'll read the verses five through eight.

Nathan Jones (4:57)

Right? Right. All right, folks. Well, we're going to talk about how God redeems Jerusalem. And you want me to read one through five, right? Is that what you said?

Vic Batista (5:05)

Yeah. One through four, Nate.

Nathan Jones (5:06)

Oh, four. Excuse me. Awake. Awake. Put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you. Shake yourself from the dust. Arise. Sit down, O Jerusalem. Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord, you have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God. My people went down at first into Egypt to dwell there, and then Assyrian oppression caused them without cause. Oppress them. Excuse me. Without cause.

Vic Batista (5:44)

Thank you. In verse five. And now what do I have here? Declares the Lord, for my people have been taken away for nothing. And those who rule mock, declares the Lord. All day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name. Therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news and proclaim peace and bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion your God reigns. Listen, you watchmen, lift up your voices together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Nate, I know there's a lot packed into this opening of these verses, but it's just a wonderful passage that we have here.

Nathan Jones (6:37)

Absolutely. I'm reading from the new King James. Which. Which version are you reading from?

Vic Batista (6:43)

Oh, I apologize. Here I'm reading from the new international versions, and I said it was supposed to be the new King James. Sorry about that name.

Nathan Jones (6:50)

Oh, no problem, no problem. Just so everybody's on the same page here, so. Yeah, man, this is a fantastic passage. It's leading up to the ultimate passage in Isaiah, which is Isaiah 53, which is the suffering servant. It's a tremendously messianic passage. But just to give context here in Isaiah, you know, we're 52 chapters in out of the 66, and we. We see this relationship between God and Israel where God again expresses himself as the lover of their souls. Who's created a nation out of Abraham, who's blessed them, who. Who created a universe and can. Can save them if only they would repent and return to him. And we see Isaiah give this message again and again and again and again and the people of Israel just will not repent. And so he's prophesying, even though this is 700 A.D. the Northern tribes have been taken by Assyria and spread out, you know, they're into exile. And so what's left is Jerusalem surrounded by Judea and Benjamin and what's left of Israel, that's it. And so this is a prophecy about the fact. Well, it's pretty obvious that even in the hundred and so years ahead of them, they're not going to turn back to God. They'll always be a remnant, of course, but they're not turning back to God. And so Isaiah is prophesying a time where yes, they're going to all go into exile, but they will be, the city will be captive, the Gentiles will rule over them, will begin the time of the Gentiles around 600 B.C. in other words, Israel will never, except for a short period during the Maccabean era, self rule. And so this is going to lead all the way up to the day where we they look forward to where they're a nation again. Well, May 14, 1948 they became a nation again. But the gentiles still trample parts of Israel. And so we're looking for the Messiah to come and set up his kingdom. And the Jewish people will finally have their true king, the descendant of King David, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. So there's a lot packed in into this chapter.

Vic Batista (8:51)

Oh Nathan. Even from verse one, I mean it wakes up with a call to awake. We see that that's happening with the regathering the nation of ISRA Israel. Right Nate? They're getting back in their land. God's purpose is in full effect here. Of course we have this verse one prophesying forward all the way back, all the way into the far future if you will, where it talks about the uncleanness shall no longer come to you. It reminds me Nate, of Revelation chapter 21, the New Jerusalem, where there the Bible says that nothing unclean will be allowed into it. And it's just amazing when you look at this passage already, how prophecy begins to unfold.

Nathan Jones (9:35)

Yeah, it is kind of ironic that we're talking about daylight savings and verse one is awake, awake. I couldn't help but being struck by that. But yeah, the Lord's like, you know, wake up spiritually, you know, there is a future for them. It's, it's a beautiful thing that even though God continually prophesied judgment upon them for their sins. They earned it. They were warned all the way back at Moses time that if they continued in rebellion that he would exile them. It's pretty sure that it's coming. And he'll send other prophets, the minor prophets, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, all the way up to the day the last exile is dragged out of Israel, that the Lord has given them a chance. But knowing that they will go into exile one day, the Lord also prophesies their restoration. And you know, we can look at this physically as a nation, but it also applies to us spiritually, is that the Lord is always calling the individual to come back to him, to repent, to return to him, to have that perfect relationship. And even though there's trials and tribulations in this life, he will restore us in the eternal state and we will be cleansed and no more have that sin nature. And so it's interesting that the Lord looks at a nation and he is prophesying about an actual physical nation, Israel, but is also making spiritual connections to the individual.

Vic Batista (11:00)

Nathan and I think that's a good point because if you look at verse three, how many people haven't sold their selves for nothing? And God's grace, he shall redeem them without money. You and I, we couldn't do anything right, Nate, to earn our salvation. It was all God's grace. And humanity has sold itself to sin. Adam and Eve sinned, we know that. That plunged all of us into sin. And the only way to be redeemed is through Jesus. And he gave his life freely for us. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life. And I just love that redemption there. Nathan without money, the Bible says we cannot pay for our salvation. And also I can't thank the Lord enough for him taking that thinking of me and saving me.

Nathan Jones (11:57)

Absolutely, yeah. Verse three. And you shall be redeemed without money. In other words, they're redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. The sacrifice that he made not only for the individual, but for the national restoration of Israel to be possible for the world to lose the. The curse upon it. Jesus had to die on a cross as well. So it's the ultimate price, the Son of God sacrificing himself on our behalf. But at the same time it shows that these works, you know, using money to, to buy something or, or, or you know, walking a pilgrimage or carrying across around the world or, or climbing through a river and Praying or, you know, doing enough good deeds. The Bible says that. Romans. What's it 10, 9 and 10 about that works. We don't use works to bring salvation because we'd start boasting, we'd be saying, well, look what I did. I brought salvation to myself. And that's impossible. Only the Lord can bring salvation, Nathan.

Vic Batista (12:57)

That's a wonderful, wonderful reminder and a good point. And that's why we hope that anyone tuned into this program I can recognize, hey, you're not. You have not fallen away too far from God that he cannot redeem you if you're willing to turn your hearts over to him and give him an opportunity to work in you. Nate. I also love verse six because it's almost like one of these passages where God makes himself so personal here through the prophet Isaiah, therefore my people shall know my name, therefore they shall know in that day that I am he who speaks. And then I love where he says, behold, it is I. It's almost like you open the door, right, Nathan, and the Lord comes in

Nathan Jones (13:40)

and he says, it is I. I am that. I mean, that's what he told Moses, right? Moses says, well, who should we tell people you are? He says, I am. In other words, I exist. What more do you need? It's me. And then verse seven was such a beautiful one. You hear that a lot songs. You hear a lot of poems. It's integrated even in the greeting cards. Is how beautiful. Upon the mountains are the feet of him who bring good news, proclaim peace, who bring glad tidings of good things, who proclaim salvation, who says to Zion your God reigns. I know you were talking earlier about that, that. That the feet of good news, that. Who wants the good news or the bad news first? Well, you know, we don't really like the people bringing bad news to us, but we love the people bringing the good news to us. And. And that's it. Beautiful thing when salvation is proclaimed. And Isaiah might even, tongue in cheek, be talking about himself. You know, he's there suffering that. The rejection of the people who refuse to listen to the message God has for them. And he's saying, but, you know, it's. It's a beautiful, wonderful thing when we bring people good news. And I'm bringing you the best news, that God loves you and he wants to save this nation if only you'd repent, Nathan.

Vic Batista (14:57)

What? That. That is awesome. What a great reminder. And our program that you and I have been doing for so many years, one of our. One of the opening songs that we have chosen is that of good news. And it is because when we teach, we share bad news with people, but for the most part, we try to be encouraging and share the good news. The apostle Paul almost reiterated this verse in Romans 10, 15, 18, where he says, and how can anyone preach unless they are sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Ephesians, chapter six tells us to put on the full armor of God, the gospel of peace. Shed our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, that wherever we go, we're walking and bringing the good news of Jesus, that he loves individuals, he loves humanity, and he wants people to repent. So that's good news, right, Nate?

Nathan Jones (15:50)

Absolutely. It's good news. Yeah. And I love that our opening music used to be good news. Good news. Remember that?

Vic Batista (15:59)

Yeah. And. And that's our reminder, Nathan, because we want people to recognize that the gospel is good news. And unfortunately, you know, people think the gospel is bad news, gloom and doom. Well, it's only bad news if you're on the wrong side, right, Nathan? People that want to do whatever they want to do, live whichever way they want to live, they don't want to turn to God. Well, it's bad news because what awaits them is judgment, is torment. And. But God doesn't want that. God wants people to come to him and receive the good news, the glad tidings. So when we share the gospel, it's. It's salvation. Right, Nate?

Nathan Jones (16:38)

Yeah. I mean, second Peter three says that the. The Lord is not slow as we think slow, but he's patient. He's waiting for us. He's wanting all to come to salvation who are meant to be saved during this church age. But once that last person is saved in this time period, the Lord will rapture the church up to heaven and the world will begin to experience the tribulation era. So, yeah, it's good news to hear this stuff. And even the Paul said that the message of the rapture of the church is meant to bring comfort. The message of the prophets was meant to bring comfort. It was hard to hear at times. And we don't like being corrected. And I mean, who does? But, you know, when we're doing the wrong things, we need to be corrected and so we can have the right relationship, walk on the right path. That's why Isaiah, you know, we say, oh, 66 books, that's so long. Well, God had a lot to say to the Jewish people. He constantly calling them back again and again and again. And, you know, that is a lot of effort, really. We take that for granted. And even in our own lives, how many times did the gospel have to be presented to us before we surrendered and turned to him?

Vic Batista (17:48)

Oh, Nathan, that is so true. You know, sometimes we say, well, how many? Yeah, how many times do I have to hear that over and over again? We as parents, telling our kids, right, Nathan, how many times do I have to tell you?

Nathan Jones (18:02)

You're banging your head against the wall. Now you know how God feels when he's got billions of people not getting it right.

Vic Batista (18:09)

And it's a great reminder. I just love the way that verse one had opened up by telling us, awake, awake. And as we continue, we notice verses 9 through 12 again we see the Lord's message. Would you be able to read for us, Nate? Verses 9 and 10, and I'll do 11 and 12, and I do have the new King James pulled up.

Nathan Jones (18:27)

Okay, okay. Just trying to find out where you were. Break forth into joy. Sing together. You waste places of Jerusalem. For the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations. And the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Vic Batista (18:46)

Oh, depart, depart. Go out from here. Touch no unclean thing. Come out from it and be pure. You who carry the articles of the Lord's house. But you will not leave in haste or go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. I just love that, Nate.

Nathan Jones (19:07)

Yes, and it's again looking forward to that time when Jerusalem will be purified by the return of the Messiah. It won't be a. An unholy city. More it'll be considered holy. The. The Jewish people who are redeemed and during the millennial kingdom will be there says that it'll be so holy that the cups and the. The horses jingle bells that they wear, and all that will be dedicated to the Lord. I mean, Jerusalem, you and I have been to it. And you know, folks, if you've been there, you know that it's quite the pagan city. Almost every religion is represented there. The worst is to go into some of those medieval churches where they're. They're kissing stones and worshiping crosses and the idolatry is awful. But one day, all that is going to be cleared out. There's going to be a brand new Jerusalem. Not the eternal Jerusalem, but a millennial Jerusalem. Jesus Christ will rule and reign. He's going to build his millennial Temple. It's 20 miles squared. It's going to be massive. And the Jewish people will bring the nations up to see King Jesus and they'll celebrate the feast of Tabernacles with them. And Jerusalem will be known as a holy city. You know, we call it the Holy Land today. Not quite so in reality, but at that time when Christ returns, it will be cleansed and it will be made holy.

Vic Batista (20:25)

Oh, Nathan. And that's why verse nine says, burst into songs of joy together your ruin, you ruins of Jerusalem. For the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. And I just love these verses, Nate, where it speaks about how individuals will see him. It reminds me of Revelation 1:7. Behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, and even those who pierce him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so. Amen. And there is going to be this visual, there's going to be this eyewitness of the Lord when he returns his kingdom. So all this is tangible, Nate. Right. This is not like a fairy tale type of story. This is stuff that is starting to develop and we're going to see it physically.

Nathan Jones (21:12)

Yeah. If you have any doubt it, just look at the world's reaction to who controls Jerusalem. You know, Jerusalem is a fairly metropolitan, but it doesn't hold a candle, I believe, to some of the super cities out there, like London, Washington D.C. paris, you know, some of these mega Moscow, these mega cities. And yet you wonder why does everybody want to control Jerusalem? The UN wants to control Jerusalem, the Vatican wants to control Jerusalem, the Arabs want to control Jerusalem. You know that it's Jerusalem, it's David's city. And yet they don't want the Jews to control it because the satanic forces behind our world powers know that that's where Jesus is going to set up his kingdom. And so they want to dominate and control it so the Messiah can't return to it.

Vic Batista (22:01)

Nathan. And that's why people need to also kind of wake up and recognize what's going on, even right now, presently, with, with the Muslim world and all these nations that are constantly trying to come against Israel. What is the purpose? Well, we know the prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes. What's going on with Iran and all these other places. And the Bible shows us, Nate, how much closer we are than ever to what we're reading here in Isaiah chapter 52. Because constantly you turn on the news and it seems like it's bad news for Israel. But the Bible predicts that there's good news for them coming in the near future. And we believe that's can come, that can really start wrapping up at any moment.

Nathan Jones (22:46)

Yeah, yeah. And this is where we get to the end of the chapter because in the last three verses it, it basically addresses what you just said there. Do you mind if I read it?

Vic Batista (22:56)

Oh, go ahead.

Nathan Jones (22:57)

Behold my servant. This is a reference to the Messiah shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so his visage was marred. More than any man in his form, more than the sons of men, so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him for what has not been told them, they shall see. And what they had not considered heard, they shall consider again. Another wonderful Messianic passage, Nathan.

Vic Batista (23:30)

And you know what's, what's amazing too that's does when you look at this as we get to Isaiah chapter 53 and on it's going to talk about the crucifixion. And here we see those glimpses of who this Messiah is, who this individual is that they're talking about. Revelation 1 tells us that it's going to be the glorified Jesus. But here verse 15 gives us little glimpses. So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouth at him. In the Gospels it speaks about the kings and the blasphemy of the Lord. It speaks about his blood that was shed and sprinkled upon those that were there. So we already see here the definition of who this individual that they're talking about is.

Nathan Jones (24:13)

Yeah, and it's interesting how just three verses cover both the first and second coming of the Lord because you've got here his crucifixion, his visions was marred. In other words, he was tortured and beaten and he had his. His beard ripped out and it says his form more than the sons of men. In other words, when Jesus appeared before the crowds after he was flogged, people had trouble recognizing him because he was so beaten and swollen and bruised. And yet in these same verses, it's, they like to say it's a chiastic structure here. Verse 13 and 15 point to his exaltation where the instead of being punished for taking the sins of humanity, he's exalted for it. He's lifted high, he's praised. He says even the leaders of the earth, these, the future kings, which I believe to be the church age saints, you and me, we're going to be like, oh, you know, we'll Just be so in awe of him. And whereas his first coming, the people hardly regarded him except when he did miracles. You know, he's going to be king of the earth and eventually king of the universe. And so he's going to finally get the respect and the praise that is due him for his not only being the king of the universe, but for suffering and dying on our behalf, for. For our sins. It's a, it's amazing. Beginning to kick off when we get in our next episode into Isaiah 53.

Vic Batista (25:33)

Oh, Nate, that is. Yeah. And that's why I just love the way that this almost has been setting us up to get to that passage in the previous passage before we see these little glimpses of again speaking about the Messiah, his suffering, and again, everyone, why, why did he have to suffer? Why does the Bible bring about these details? So that you can recognize that Jesus is truly the Messiah, also speaking to the Jewish nation and also to the Gentiles. And the reason why is because he was going to come. He was going to die at the cross. His blood was going to be shed. But many individuals will come to the Lord through his suffering, his resurrection, and then his glorified state. So, Nate, that opportunity is still available for many. The sprinkling through the blood of Jesus Christ, a church. Every month or so we do communion. Some do it more often. And we take the bread representing the body of Christ and we drink the cup representing the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us at the cross. Right, Nate? And that is still available to people if they put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And that's the wonderful picture of communion.

Nathan Jones (26:43)

Absolutely. And to pull up that verse that I referenced earlier, Romans 10, 9, 10. Although I think I was really referring to Ephesians 2 about not doing good works, but this verse is just as good, is that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God had raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made into salvation. People hear the word saved. I don't think we really, truly understand what we're being saved from. We're being saved from the consequences of our sin, which is eternal death in the lake of fire. If people truly understood the fate that awaits us, that we're born into it because of our sin nature, we'd be clamoring for Christ's salvation. But you know, we, we just kind of, what do I need to be saved from? They go back to that good Works thing, you know, I'll go up to heaven. I'll. I'll talk God into.

Vic Batista (27:39)

Let.

Nathan Jones (27:40)

One woman told me that just God. He'll talk. I'll let him. I'll talk him into it. I've done enough good stuff. He'll let me in. And yet you cannot be saved without putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible is explicitly clear about that.

Vic Batista (27:55)

Nathan, that's a very good point. Somehow we have. The enemy has blinded so many and duped them into thinking that what we're talking about here, it's almost like a fairy tale. It's like, oh, no, no, God is a good God. I'm. I'm sure he'll forgive me. It's not that big of a deal. Well, it is a big of a deal because he sacrificed his own son. And, you know, that's a. That's a. That's a. That's a big deal when you come to think about it. How many parents will sacrifice their child for someone else? Suddenly you realize, well, wait a minute. This is. This is serious. And yes, sin is serious. And that's why we have to take it serious and not make light of it. Eternity, it's a long time for people to be suffering, but also eternity is a great thing. When you find yourselves in the arm of the Lord, the arms of the Lord. And that's what this good news is, that if you turn to the Lord while there is still time, you can also enter into this goodness. And you can do that with a. With a prayer. As we oftentimes, before we close, we invite you, if your heart is. Is. Has been stirred and you recognize that you are in the. In need of. Of salvation and help you recognize that you're a sinner and you want to turn to God. Well, here's an opportunity for you right now to call on the name of the Lord with a wonderful passage that Nathan just shared with you. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And you can do that from wherever you are. Pause for a minute. Recognize you're a sinner. Ask God to forgive you for your sins and invite him into your heart. And if you need a little help in that, follow this simple prayer that I want to share with you. And if you mean it from your heart, God will change your life. Just say, lord Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner, but God, right now I ask you to forgive me for my sins. I want to invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart, to be my Lord, to be my Savior, and to be my friend. And from this day forth, I want to follow you, Jesus, in your name. I pray in Jesus name. And maybe you just pray that prayer. We rejoice with you. We thank you for taking the time to pray that prayer by faith. And Nathan and I would love to hear from you. We want to rejoice with you. You can call us or take Texas at 305-992-9537 or write to us@webministeramlion.com and that is the good news, Nate. That's why we love to close our programs, right, Nathan? With that good news.

Nathan Jones (30:23)

Absolutely. That is the good news we all need to hear.

Vic Batista (30:27)

And speaking of good news, actually, we pray that God will continue to bless you. This week we ran out of time for this segment of the program. Vic Batista and Nathan Jones, say goodbye. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you.

Vic Batista (30:44)

Good news. Good news. The good news is finally here. Friends, listen to me. This is serious business. What the world needs today is Jesus. The Bible says in John 3:16, that for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.