Isa 54

Devotion 1 of 1: Isa 54

I love this chapter because it talks about the barren woman who will have more children than the married woman (v.1)! Of course, the barren woman applies to the church, especially in Japan, compared to the Babylon woman of the world (Rev 17). The world has more children than the church, 5.8B to 2.4B (５8億人対２４億人), but that includes all Christian groups, including those that have a liberal theology (don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God), so they may not be born again! Therefore, the actual number of true Christians may be closer to 1B, making the contrast between non-believers and believers much bigger at 7.2B to 1B (７２億人対１０億人)!
But God gives us a monumental promise that our numbers will be greater than the world’s! And he confirms his promise through 7 barren women in the Bible who broke the curse of barrenness and gave birth to wonderful children who impacted world history! Here is a list of their names, Bible reference and their children:
1. Sarah. Gen 11:30. Isaac (Gen 21:3). Became start of the Jewish nation.
2. Rebekah. Gen 25:21. Jacob (Gen 25:26). Became patriarch of the 12 tribes of Israel.
3. Rachel. Gen 29:31. Joseph (Gen 30:24). Saved the Jewish nation and the world from starvation.
4. Hannah. 1 Sam 1:5. Samuel (1 Sam 1:20). Became prophet of Israel and ushered in King David.
5. Manoah’s wife. Judges 13:2. Samson (Judges 13:24). Became a judge, protecting Israel from Philistines.
6. Shunammite woman. 2 Kings 4:14. Unknown (2 Kings 4:17). Died and was resurrected by Elisha.
7. Elizabeth. Luke 1:7. John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-60). Prepared way for Jesus’ 1st coming.
Let’s believe God’s promise will apply to the LDC and we will have millions and even billions of spiritual children through the greatest revival in world history (Rev 7:9-14)!

COL 1: Free sharing!
Paul wrote some fantastic things about Jesus in this chapter in v.15-18: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
How did Paul know these things? Where did he get these revelations? How do we know they are accurate and true?
I believe that Paul received those revelations directly from God when he died in Acts 14:19-20, went to heaven and heard amazing things that he could not talk about for 14 years! He describes his NDE in 2 Cor 12:2-4, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago…was caught up to the third heaven…he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
Paul didn’t talk about that experience, but he wrote what he heard about Jesus, salvation by grace, the church, and many other topics, in his epistles, and it must have astounded the early church because they had never heard teaching like that before! But when the church leaders gathered together to discuss whether to accept Paul’s epistles as God’s inspired Word or not, they all agreed that it was Holy Spirit-inspired!
But although Islam recognizes Jesus as the Messiah and parts of the Bible as God’s Word, it doesn’t accept Paul’s writings. Why? Because they elevate Jesus to the level of divinity, way above any other human being, including their prophet, Mohammed, whom they claim to be the greatest human in history!
Also, Paul warns against any gospel that is different from what he preached, and said those who believe it would be accursed in Gal 1:8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
What Paul is warning about fits exactly to the Quran, which Mohammed claimed an angel, Gabriel, showed him in a cave! But it is different from Paul’s teaching, and therefore, Paul calls it accursed! So we cannot accept both Islam and Christianity. Islam claims Jesus was only a man; Christianity says he was God. Islam claims the Quran is God’s Word, given in addition to the NT and OT; Christianity says God’s inspired Word ended with the NT, and any added, different teaching will bring a curse.
Let’s study to understand the Bible thoroughly so we will not be deceived by false prophets (Mohammed) or false Christs (AC)!