Isa 53

Devotion 1 of 1: Isa 53

This chapter is an amazing prophecy of what Jesus suffered on the cross. It is such a detailed and accurate description of the crucifixion that many Bible critics thought it must have been written after the cross by Christians and inserted into Isaiah to make it look like an OT prophecy about Jesus’ crucifixion.
But in 1947, the biggest archaeological discovery of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls, was made. They were written by a Jewish sect called the Essenes, who lived around 200BC to 70AD in the Judean desert, away from society, which they considered corrupt. One of this group’s important tasks was to make copies of the Jewish Bible, the OT.
Because many of their Bible manuscripts were written 2000 years ago on papyrus, they were found in poor condition, damaged by natural causes or by careless human handling. But a few scrolls were amazingly well-preserved, and miraculously, there was one scroll found almost fully intact! That was the Great Isaiah Scroll!
The previous oldest OT manuscripts were written around 1000AD. So many doubted whether the contents of the OT were genuine and accurate or re-written and changed. But the Isaiah Scroll was found to be amazingly consistent with the Isaiah found in our Bible, which became strong evidence that the modern OT is an accurate, genuine copy of the original words of Scripture!
Therefore, Isaiah 53, the amazing prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion, was not written by Christians and added to the book of Isaiah, but was part of the original book that the prophet wrote to Israel! The Word of God is accurate and trustworthy! Let’s believe what it says about our generation, too!

PHILI 4: Free sharing!
Paul was truly an amazing individual! In v.11b-13, he says, “…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
This is the kind of attitude the LDC will need in the endtime! By not taking the mark of the beast, we will not be able to buy or sell anything (Rev 13:16-17). This means we will be abased, hungry, homeless, and outcast by society. But at the same time, just as God fed Elijah and the 5,000 supernaturally through ravens and only 5 pieces of bread and 2 fish, he will cause his people to miraculously abound in the midst of AC’s persecutions!
Let’s grow spiritually so we can be like Paul and know how to be abased and to abound!