Satan is not the opposite of God. It's not a yin yang thing going on.
Yin yang is a lie. There's no alternate power in the universe that's evil and equal to the power of good. Satan is a created being and so he says that whether on earth invisible or visible, whether physical or spiritual, whether there are thrones dominions or principalities or powers, they are under the authority of God. And now here's Pastor Rick with this edition of Cross-Reference Radio in Isaiah chapter 42. He is kind.
He is patient. His mission of grace is characterized by quietness and gentleness. Now this is important especially when antichrist comes on the scene. Antichrist will behave as though he is the world's savior and be a no-brainer for anybody that knows the scriptures.
He's a fraud because he'll be unrighteous and he won't be gentle and he won't be quiet and we'll come to the verses that tell us that in a moment. But this verse says he will not cry out or raise his voice. He's not going to draw undue attention to himself. Now there was one particular moment in John 7 where he cries out with a loud voice and says if any man thirsts let him come to me.
And so that is a beautiful section of scripture. But he will not draw undue attention to himself. He will not cry out even to death. And so when Isaiah 53, when Isaiah, a thousand years before, almost a thousand years before the crucifixion of Christ, talking about the Christ, says he's going to be quiet when he goes to his execution. Like a lamb before his shearers, he opened not his mouth, took it.
And of course he cried out with a loud voice but the context of course different. It's not drawing undue attention to himself as antichrist will. And there is a noticeable contrast between John the Baptist and Messiah just by this verse. Isaiah 40 verse 3, not 42 where we are but chapter 40 looking back. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of Yahweh, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. And so there the prophet cries out to point to the coming Messiah.
Not drawing undue attention either, just a subtle distinction that is interesting. But then there's the sharp contrast between the coming beast, the man who the Bible says he's a monster. He's not a human. He is human.
He's animated by Satan but he is human. And he is the, what Christ is to the Godhead, antichrist will be to Satan. Daniel chapter 7. Daniel has a lot in that 7 chapters say about antichrist. He says he shall speak pompous words, big mouth, against the most high. Well, it wouldn't matter if he was saying this in a closet or his apartment somewhere but he's going to have mainstream media wrapped around his pinky. That's going to be his vehicle.
That's why he gets to speak these pompous words. He shall speak pompous words against the most high, shall persecute the saints of the most high and shall intend to change times and laws and probably pronouns. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and a half. And of course that's that last period of the great tribulation period. The great tribulation starts out not so bad for the worldling.
It ramps up. And that second part is horrific, such as the world's never seen. Anyway, the time will come, as verse 14 tells us, where he will no longer be restrained, the Christ, but he will judge. Verse 3 now, a bruised reed he will not break, a smoking flax he will not quench.
He will bring forth justice for truth. He is meek and the meek shall inherit the earth. What is meekness? Oh, the world will tell you meekness is weakness. That's not biblical. The biblical definition of meekness is strength held in reserve. Take an egg out of a refrigerator and you don't crack it ideally until you're ready to open it. That's meekness.
That's an illustration of meekness because you could just squish the egg if you wanted to. Christ, Messiah, he can destroy, he can end, he can quench, stop it all if he chooses. But he chooses instead to let matters play out. He knows the end from the beginning. And this, if you are a bruised reed by life and God is saying, I'm not going to break you, I'm not looking to crush you, a bruised reed he will not break.
No, God is not a brute nor is he a bully. And he is not rushed either. That which has been injured, he will not finish off. And the bruised reed is bruised externally.
Whereas the smoking flax, its problem is internal. Sometimes it can be both for an individual to carry the illustration into applications of life. That which is damaged will not be further damaged by him. This is Messiah. This is the Christ. Matthew applies this again to Jesus Christ. He quotes this section of Isaiah and he's saying this is the Christ. When Christ goes into the synagogue on a Sabbath, there's a man with a withered hand and Christ heals him. And then Matthew makes this comment.
Matthew is writing to the Jewish people and he writes in a way that they will more easily understand. And he says he goes into the temple on our Sabbath day, he sees a man with a withered hand and he heals him and he gets blowback because of that. But a bruised reed, he will not break. He could have crushed all the Pharisees that day if he wanted to because they're bruised also. A bruised reed is a sign of weakness, weakened by external force because a reed is not strong in and of itself. It's weak already, but then you break it halfway and it's completely weakened.
Your life's like that. The smoking flax, which is coming next, again is evidence of internal destruction already at work. With his smoke, there is fire. And there's various kinds of fire.
Rust is a form of fire, burning away at the metal. During his ministry of grace, the servant God, the Christ, he did not hasten the end. As I pointed to with the legions, he let things play out.
He waited patiently. Luke chapter 9 verse 56, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them. Hmm, this is Christianity.
Peter chapter 3 of the second letter. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some count slackness, but long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. You can't get right with God without admitting that you're wrong with God.
You're born, we are born wrong with God and thus the need to be born again. The long suffering, you know, some Christians say, I sure hope the rapture's today. Well, let's see, I was saved about almost 40 years ago. There are people that were praying that Christ would come back 50 years ago.
If he answered their prayers, I would have been trapped in my sin or headed for the great tribulation period. So I'm not in such a rush anymore. The rapture comes, I'm not protesting. I've got my position ready, I know how to go up.
Joke. But I understand the salvation of souls is close to God's heart. He's willing to let the suffering play out even though it disturbs him greatly too because there are souls being saved. And let me say, this world is more wicked than you can know.
Video footage, video recordings or visual recordings from around the world have helped us understand how widespread evil is, but it still doesn't get us there. God sees it all. We see fragments, particles, and yet he sees the soul saved. That's why when it talks about his crucifixion, Isaiah 53, he says he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. It's going to be worth it to get them into heaven is what God is going to be saying, is saying through the prophet. Anyway, this is consistent with the next clause that flax was often made out of these flax reeds.
So Isaiah is being, he knows his stuff, you could say, in using his analogies. A smoking flax he will not quench. Now they would twist the flax and use it for wicks, for lamps, amongst other things. They would make garments.
They did a lot of things for it. Anyway, that which is struggling to fulfill its purpose. That's what a wick that is smoking, it's not doing what it's supposed to do. It's trying to do what it's supposed to do and not talking about a wick that has just been snuffed out, but one that is still burning and you want it to burn, but it's not flaming.
Smoking flax has within itself that element of destruction within itself. We all have had that experience to some degree, some far greater. Some people are just self-destructive. They make poor decisions all the time.
And one of the best things that they can do for themselves is come under good discipleship and start learning how not to trust their bad decisions. I don't want to simplify that because sometimes people bring you scrambled eggs and they say, could you unscramble this please? No, I can't. I can't unscramble that. But maybe we don't have to spill it all over the place.
Maybe we can do that. So the soul that is impenitent, that refuses the mercy of God, is the rebellious soul that is a smoking flax also. Well, he's not going to snuff them out. He's going to let it run its course until they burn out, until life ends.
And is this not also the case of the world? Could have ended it all at any time. He could have ended it at Adam and Eve. But God says, oh, I have my purpose. I am populating eternity with the people that will love me, sight unseen, but not without reason. Those are the ones I'm bringing into my eternity with me. And those who become born again, that is precisely what takes place.
This world is a smoking flax. The fire within that slowly destroys it, eating away what's left, but not fulfilling its purpose. He will bring forth justice for truth. This is the hallmark of Messiah. Truth and justice.
You know, you take truth away, you won't have justice. If you think about Communist China, to make the distinction, there's a great difference between the Chi Coms and Chinese people. Communism is a religion and it is a violent, hateful religion.
It destroys everything it touches. And anybody who tells you otherwise is lying or just conveniently in the dark. Who wants to move to Cuba? You know, just the people at the top of that pyramid are doing well. Everybody else is at the bottom. China, the floods have gone through, you know, they lose a million people in one shot.
They don't even report it. People are expendable there. And, you know, we're oblivious to that. You're seeing more and more things that are saying made in Taiwan, made in India. Because China is, Communist China, the Chi Coms at the top have created a tofu city, a tofu country. And they're trying to impress the world and these things are collapsing all over the place.
And the footage of it has to be smuggled out because they don't want to lose face. And where am I going with that? I don't know. I just had that in me and I had to get it out.
No, I do have that. The reason why is because the corruption, the injustice, the lack of truth is, it just has infested the land. The payoffs on building inspectors, the sewer systems, the water drainage storm systems, they're all working. And so when they have a problem, things are very seriously. And so my point is, yeah, where there is no truth, there's not going to be justice. And where there is justice, there's going to be truth. And parents, you know, you raise your children's truth and justice have to be what guides you.
Well, what is the alternative? Well, verse four, if too much is going these rants, verse four, he will not fail nor be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the coast lands shall wait for his law. So that last part, the coast land shall wait for his law, that's the second coming. Isaiah, you know, he just is pointing out God's going to achieve his will, what he wants, his objective, regardless of how much time it takes. But only the sinless Christ never failed. The cross was not a failure. It was a plan from the foundations of the world.
It was not random. It was choreographed and he followed it to the letter and the letter was given to us in, again, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and other places. Only Jesus is sinless and I would categorize saying that Mary is sinless as a sin. That is unbiblical.
That is a lie. And I'll hit that with a lot of verses soon, but I want to cover some space first. We'll come back to the beauty of the sinless one. It says, nor be discouraged. The word discouraged is the same word used up top for bruised reed. He's not going to be bruised.
It's a proper rendering. He won't be moved off course no matter what he has to go through. He will not quench those that are failing and he will not be quenched at disappointment. He would not discourage or discourage others, nor will he be discouraged until he has established justice. It says here. So his strengths are not temporary.
They are permanent. Verse 5, thus says God, Yahweh, that's the covenant name, is very significant to the Jewish people and it should be to Christians also. It could be rendered Jehovah or Yahovah, but it's Yahshua is probably closer to the pronunciation. You know, the Jews, they wouldn't write the whole word out.
It was too sacred. So we've lost the consonants and just have left with fragments of it. So the exact pronunciation is unclear. Well, but the fact is not unclear.
That's the important part. If somebody comes to you and say, you know, love, the word love is not written in the book of Acts. Yeah, but the fact is all over the book. These men being persecuted to their death because they love Jesus and they love the people that they're trying to reach.
The fact is what is important, not the package. And so, yeah, the fact of Messiah or Yahweh is unmistakable. And thus says God, Elohim, in Hebrew, Yahweh, so Yahweh is God, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it. Were there naysayers in the day of Isaiah?
Absolutely. The whole first 39 chapters are about all the people who don't believe in His own beloved homeland. The northern kingdom is gone because they didn't believe their own scripture.
So Isaiah comes along and says, yeah, you believe what you want to believe. But I'm telling you, Yahweh is the creator. We're doing the same thing with, you know, evolution is laughable. The sad part is they won't abandon it because if they do, they have the only alternative that's viable is creation. Sagan the pagan, Carl Sagan, you know, he said, we're abandoning evolution. We're now looking to the stars. So aliens are going to be our gods. Well, where'd they come from?
So he's back to the same problem. You know, seeking to be wise, they became fools. They don't listen to the law and the prophets.
What wisdom do they have? Says the scripture. Anyway, the God of Israel is the creator of everything except trouble. And unless you go against Him.
And that is His prerogative. That's God. Colossians tells us, and not only Colossians, John in Hebrews, tells us that Christ is that creator. Christ is Yahweh. He's equal with the Father, indivisible. Colossians 1, verse 16, speaking of Jesus. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him. Satan is not the opposite of God. Not a yin-yang thing going on. Yin-yang is a lie. There's no alternate power in the universe that's evil and equal to the power of good. Satan is a created being and so he says that whether on earth, invisible or visible, whether physical or spiritual, whether they are thrones, dominions or principalities or powers, they are under the authority of God. Now what is left out of that verse is that something went wrong, twice. Satan's rebellion, I will exalt my stars, I will be like the most high, and then of course Adam and Eve. Here Adam, eat this.
Okay. And that behavior of lack of discernment and full out disobedience is still in motion, has been ever since. It's never been a break except in Christ. Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it? Well in contrast to those who create the idols that were rampant in Isaiah's day who had these figurines with no breath, they couldn't see, they couldn't do anything. We covered that already in Isaiah. Verse 6, I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles. Now he's speaking about the coming Christ.
This is not being applied directly to us. These are characteristics that we benefit from in God, but right now he's speaking about his elect servant, his beloved servant. And Messiah is God Almighty, El Shaddai.
As I mentioned, it will not be random. Matthew 5 14, Jesus said this to the church. It wasn't a church yet. He said this to the righteous Jews and whatever Gentiles were righteous. You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. And then he says in another place, Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. That is called Christ likeness.
It is a doctrinal position that if any man is in Christ, he's a new creation. Part of that new creation is now he's giving off light. And this is, you know, when you come to Christ, you can't wait to tell people about Christ. That's shining the light.
City set on a hill cannot be hidden. You know, when you first come to Christ, you annoy people. Like, oh boy, he's going to preach to me. I know it. You got that right, buddy. They can see the pin coming out of the grenade. Maybe I should use more friendly examples.
I don't have any. I mean, they can see me pulling the rake out of the pickup. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles. The people there, here in verse 6, are the Jews.
And the distinction between they and the non-Jews is the word Gentiles. And they both are under a new covenant now. Jeremiah said God's going to give us a new covenant, and the new covenant is the New Testament. Same covenant, testament, same thing. Luke 22, verse 20. Likewise, he also took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.
Not us. Christ was sinless. No one had to die for him.
No one else was good enough to die for me. I love the gospel. I love the word of God.
It's hard to, you know, it's a hard life because of the curse. But it's worth pursuing righteousness in Christ. So we, well, I should stop and say God wanted Israel to be the head of nations, leading them to Yahweh, to their creator.
But because of idolatry, mainly idolatry, she failed. And this will be patched up in the millennial reign when the Jews will again be righteous and not, as a people, backslide ever again. Verse 7, to open blind eyes to bring out prisoners from prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. Well, this describes a state of lost and broken souls in every language, every religion on earth. Found in Acts chapter 26, demonstrating that the servant Messiah will overthrow the powers of darkness and the consequences of the curse from Eden. And he is over these things. He's above them.
This is a purlative language again. The signs of and proof of Messiah were that he would go through a village and heal everybody that was sick in accordance to the prophets. And this is why the Jews that rejected him had no excuse.
And this is why the Jews that received him were able to link it to what had already been written. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio today. Cross Reference Radio is a ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel mechanicsville in Virginia. If you'd like to learn more about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com.
You'll find a number of teachings from Pastor Rick available there. We also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe, you'll be notified of new editions of Cross Reference Radio. Just search for Cross Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app. You can also follow the links at crossreferenceradio.com. We're glad we were able to spend time with you today. Tune in next time to continue learning from the book of Isaiah with Pastor Rick right here on Cross Reference Radio.
