MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/22/2026
9:54 AM
My
Worship Time Focus:
“The
Prophetical Setting”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke
3:4-6
Message of the verses: “as it is written in the book of the words
of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready
the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
Every ravine will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought
low; the crooked will become straight, and the rough roads smooth; and all
flesh will see the salvation of God.’”
I realize that not all people who read the Bible
believe what is says, but there is nothing more convincingly that demonstrates
God’s control over history than fulfilled prophecy. Prophecy about the end of the world is what
led me to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. I have studied prophecy, taught prophecy, and
written about prophecy on and off for over 52 years, and prophecy that is
fulfilled is something that proves to me that the Word of God is TRUTH. Seeing Israel become a nation on May 5, 1948,
is the first thing that I learned about fulfilled prophecy. Let me tell you a true story that I was
reading in a novel last evening that warmed my heart. The book is about Israel and in the story
there was an older man talking to a younger man about how this younger man’s
grandfather was his friend. The date he
refers to is June 14th 1946, almost two years before Israel would
become a nation, and he was in Israel and the times were bleak. He looked up into the night sky and there was
a blood moon. Let me just quote from
this book entitled “On the Mountain of the Lord” written by Ray Bentlley and
Bodie Thoene. Bodie Thoene and her
husband have written many books that I have read. Here we go with the quote: “Sol nodded, “I believe everything means
something. The day I heard your
grandfather had not survived was June 14, 1946.
That very night there was a Blood Moon over Jerusalem. I was gathered with a small band of Haganah
resistance fighters. It seemed somehow
to me this eclipse was a sign from heaven that one day we would be free—that Israel
would truly be a Jewish homeland—that Jerusalem must be our capital city again
after 2,000 years. I did not know what
it meant until just recently. Now I have
learned your American President [Donald J. Trump] was born on June 14, 1946—on that very night. As the Blood Moon appeared over Jerusalem the
future president of America—who would one day declare Jerusalem as the eternal,
undivided capital of Israel—was born.
Yes. That fulfillment somehow
softens the memory of the terrible night when I grieved your grandfather’s
death.” I will stop here because you
would have to understand the plot of the story if I went on. Now after I read this I asked my smart phone
when Donald Trump was born, and it was June 14, 1946, and then I asked my phone
if there was a blood moon that evening in Israel, and it said that there
was.
I will now quote from John MacArthur’s
commentary “One such prophecy is Isaiah 40:3-5, the subject of these
verses. It was written in the book of
the words of Isaiah the prophet seven centuries before John’s birth, and
has immense theological and historical significance. John’s fulfillment of the prophecy also shows
the continuity between his ministry and the Old Testament, something critically
important if the Jewish people were to accept him as a prophet of God.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5)
“3 ¶ A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare
the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every
mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the
rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of
the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth
of the LORD has spoken.’”
Now remember I have written before
that Isaiah’s book has 66 chapters in it, and chapters were added later on, but
the first 39 chapters speak mostly about Old Testament things, while the last
27 beginning with verse 40 speak more of what will happen in the New Testament.
Back to MacArthur’s comments “John
perfectly fulfilled this prophecy. He was the voice…crying in the
wilderness, where he lived most of his life and where he ministered. In keeping with his role as Messian’s
forerunner, John called on the people to make ready the way of the Lord, to make His paths straight. The imagery is of an Oriental monarch on
a journey sending a messenger ahead of him to make sure the roads were cleared
of debris or other hazards. In the
process ravine[s] would be filled in mountain[s]s and hill[s]
brought low, crooked paths made straight, and…rough roads made smooth.
“Chapter 40, the source of this prophecy, is a pivotal
point in the book of Isaiah. The first
thirty-nine chapters focus largely on God’s coming judgments on Israel and the
surrounding nations. The opening words
of chapter 40, ‘Comfort, O comfort My people,’ says your God,’ mark a dramatic
change in tone. The message of Isaiah’s
prophecy changed from judgment to salvation, which is the them of the rest of
the book.” (It seems that MacArthur
agrees with me in what I wrote about the book of Isaiah.) “The same God who judged Israel for her sins
will one day have mercy on her; His ultimate purpose for the nation is not
judgment but the salvation of the believing remnant, based on His unmerited
grace (cf. Rom. 11:1-32). The theme of
God’s comforting of Israel runs throughout the last half of Isaiah’s prophecy
(cf. 40:6-11, 28-32; 41:8-10, 13; 49:14-16; 51:1-3, 12; 52:9; 54:4-8; 57:18;
61:12-13).
“Ultimately, God’s comfort of Israel
will culminate in the millennial kingdom.
Human history will end when the Lord Jesus Christ establishes His
earthly kingdom and reigns over the entire world (Ps. 2:6; Isa. 2:2; Jer.
33:15; Ezek. 34:23-24; Dan. 2:44-45; Hos. 3:5; Rev. 20:4-6). Politically, the millennial kingdom will be characterized
by Christ’s universal, absolute, and righteous rule. Physically, the curse will be lifted,
resulting in abundant provision, health, and long life for all. Spiritually, knowledge of the Lord will be
universal (Isa. 11:9), and the believing remnant of Israel will be saved (Zech.
13:1, 8).” One more thing and that is
that the raptured saints of the Lord will help in ruling the earth during this
time, and I look forward to that as I will have a new body.
“The words of Isaiah’s prophecy
quoted here also serve as an analogy of the repentance John preached. The wilderness pictures the sinful heart, and
repentance involves bringing to light the deep, dark things of the heart,
pictured by filling in the ravines, and humbling human pride, depicted in the
imagery of bringing low the mountains and hills. The crooked, deceitful, devious perverse
things must be made straight, and any other rough places in the heart, whether
self-love of the world, the lust of the flesh, indifferences, or unbelief, must
be smoothed out. Only then will the
truly repentant see the salvation of God.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: Knowing all these things will take
place, and I believe it will be soon, gives me great hope, and I praise the
Lord for His Truth.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Trusting
the Lord at my wife’s appointment with her doctor as there need to be some decisions
made.
4/22/2026
10:47 AM
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