This Article: (4 Pages)
1) Unto us a child is Born
The passage in Isaiah 9 is as follows,
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. You have multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:2-7)
Isaiah is full of positive messages to the people of Yahweh. It was so valued by Yahweh that it was one of the few scrolls kept complete in a Dead Sea cave and it was found, providentially, just as Israel became a nation. The complete Great Isaiah Scroll, which was clear and legible in 1947, after almost 1900 years, is fading now. This scroll proclaims,
But now thus says Yahweh that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou are mine. You are my witnesses, says Yahweh, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (Isaiah 43:1,10)
Many Christians value Isaiah 9:6, applying it to the nature of Jesus. However any conclusion reached from this verse about the nature of Jesus must deal with 3 problems.
They are reading from a translation.
They aren't Jews living in Isaiah's day, and must remember it is an ancient Jewish text.
They have artificial chapter divisions, whereas Isaiah was written on a scroll. There are sections in Isaiah, but the break at Chapter 9 is not one of them!
The following deals with the problems in reverse.
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There has been much said about 'building bridges not walls'. But this idea has no resonance in the scripture. The word 'bridge' never appears. Which is very, very strange, as they certainly existed before and by the time of Christ.
I like sharing interesting things. This article comes from a recollection of my Hebrew teacher from Jerusalem based eTeacher and features the beauty of the Hebrew Language.
Many people have heard of Jesus Christ. Many use 'Christ' as a surname. But it is not a surname, it is a title.
