Our text is from Isaiah 45, verses 22 and 23, and you can see why I say it refers to YESHUA, the Messiah. It is at the Name of YESHUA,
'that every knee shall bow;'
and here is the prophecy of it in verse 23:
not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
The word 'age' is the word that is translated 'world', but it means more then just this physical world; it means the present world order. The present world order is chaotic, and it's just going to get worse! Pity those optimists who say, 'Before Messiah comes back, things are going to get better.'
One famous theologian wrote a book on Millennialism and in it he, being a post-Millennialist, that means a post-Millennialist is the one who believes things are getting better and better, until at last the 'golden age' arrives; and then Messiah comes; he says, 'Look how things are improving; look how much the United States has donated in billions of dollars for foreign aid, and how countries are benefiting from it.' Dear me! He must be hard up for some sort of explanation to refer to that materialistic kind of argument. No, YESHUA said, 'That as in the days of Noah and of Lot, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.'
What was it like in the days of Noah? We read, 'All flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.'
The earth was filled with violence. What was it like in the days of Lot? Homosexuality, lesbianism, and all these evils of which it is almost dangerous to speak now. We might get hauled in by the police. And yet those are the evils that GOD's Word has denounced, and continues to denounce.
Well, things are going to get even worse then they are now, before they get better. We can only hope and pray they won't get much worse. It seems as though we are almost at the end of the road as far as wickedness and evil are concerned. But, 'He is above every name that has been named,'
in this present world order, and in that which is to come. That is the Messianic kingdom, what is called in our tradition, 'olam haba,' the coming age. We read about it at the end of Isaiah, when we got to the last Chapters of Isaiah we saw GOD is going to create new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.
Let's go back at another view of this, in Isaiah, Chapter 65. It is obvious that this new world order begins with the redemption of Israel and of Jerusalem; and it will culminate in the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven; out from her GOD. It is a process; it's not just a point in time. It's an age, that's why the word is translated 'age'.
Isaiah 65, verse 17: 'For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. The former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create, for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.'
There is still sin there, although it is suppressed. You see this world order? It begins here. It ends with heaven and earth being reunited! It begins small. When was this inaugurated? YESHUA referred to it as the 'regeneration'. When Shimon said to Him, ''Behold, we have left all and followed You. What shall we have therefore?' He said, 'Those of you who have followed Me, in the regeneration, you shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.''
And the 'regeneration' there speaks of His return, when He reigns over this world!
That same hope is found in the Book of Revelation; the saints say, 'We shall reign on the earth!'
There is a time coming called 'the Millennium', the thousand years of peace under the rule of the Messiah. It begins small. In the vision of Daniel; (may I give you a sneak preview - some time this Fall, once we resume yeshivah after Labour Day, after a few studies in the Feasts of Israel, I hope we will cover the Book of Daniel - just to whet your appetites; some time in October); but in the Book of Daniel, in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, he saw small stone, cut out without hands, and this stone demolished a huge statue made of gold, silver, brass, iron and clay. It smashed the idol to pieces. That statue represented the kingdoms of the world, the great kingdoms: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. And this stone pulverized that statue; the wind blew the dust away, and the stone itself grew into a great mountain that filled the earth. That was a picture of Messiah's kingdom. It begins small, and even in this present time, Messiah's kingdom is already being established. First of all in individuals, and finally, openly - when Messiah comes to reign. But preparations have been underway now for the last two thousand years. He has been gathering the people for His Name! He has been building His kingdom quietly in hearts and lives, and one day it will be manifested. It will become visible!
