The Highway and Messiah’s Return!

The Highway and Messiah’s Return!
A look at Isaiah 35
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Prophecies are messages from the Lord given through the prophets by the Spirit of God. They give encouragement, warning, rebuke, or they foretell future events.

Messianic prophecies are messages from the Lord given through the prophets that foretell or reflect the life of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus) hundreds of years before His birth. (For more about Messianic prophecy, please see my writing The Masterpiece of Messianic Prophecy.) 

The prophets of the Old Testament gave messages for their current time; however, their messages often went beyond their own understanding with multiple fulfillments in the immediate and far futures. We see hints in their messages that connect to other portions of Scripture.

Isaiah 35 takes a turn (from God’s judgment on evil in Chapter 34) to joy in Israel’s deliverance. In it, we see hints of Yeshua’s return and our deliverance from this corrupt world. It speaks of a glorious highway!

In Scripture, the Hebrew word for highway, maslûl, metaphorically represents a wide-open, smooth, safe passageway of deliverance for God’s people.

• Isaiah spoke of a highway for the remnant of God’s people coming from exile “just as there was
  [a highway] for Israel on the day they came out of the land of Egypt [through the Red Sea].
  (Isaiah 11:16; Exodus 14:21-22)
  
  
• Likewise, God provided a highway for His people through the overflowing Jordan River as they approached the city of Jericho. (Joshua 3:14-17)
  
  
• Isaiah 40:3 foretells of John who would immerse the repentant ones in water to prepare a highway in their hearts to receive Yeshua. John “came as a witness to testify about the Light so that all might believe through him.” (John 1:7) He said, “I am the voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” (John 1:23)
  God always provides a highway for us to follow Him!

As I read Isaiah 35, I see Yeshua coming back on the clouds to take us to Himself! We will walk up the highway of transformation! Our bodies will be metamorphosized and our entire beings will be made new! Some people call this the rapture, since we will be suddenly and gloriously carried away!

Following is a chart that shows Isaiah 35 side-by-side with passages about Yeshua’s return!

 Prayer with words from Isaiah 40:
Father, we cannot wait to be caught up with You, walking on the highway You have prepared for us! Not only will we be completely changed, but we will see You in all Your beauty… the One we have loved, the One from Whom we have received such love and grace! Until then, level the terrain in our hearts so we can see You. Take away every obstacle so we can run the race with endurance. Let every valley be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low; let the uneven ground become a plain so we can see Your glory revealed in the clouds of heaven! Our longing eyes are raised to the sky!

Shale Fragments™ - devotionals by Beth Ann Phifer is a division of Flower Girl Greetings, LLC. ©2020, All Rights Reserved.
Blessings and love in Him,
Beth Ann