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Contents:
Chapters with Brit-Am Commentary

Summary of Individual Chapters:

Chapter 61: The Captives will be freed (Isaiah 61:1) and the mourners of Zion comforted (61:2-3). The wasted places will be rebuilt (61:4). The land will be renewed. Strangers shall serve you and produce for you (61:5). All who see you will know that God has blessed you (61:9).

Chapter 62: There will be a Restoration of Israel which will be centered on Jerusalem (62:1). Jerusalem will be blessed greatly and known throughout all the earth (62:3-10). The people of Jerusalem will be recognized as the Redeemed of God (62:11-12). 

Chapter 63: A Special Person (The Messiah son of David? or son of Joseph?) shall take revenge on Bozrah of Edom through the strength of his might (63:1-5).  He will trample down peoples (63:6).  God will do great goodness to the House of Israel (63:7). God says these are my children who will act according to their parentage and fulfill the task they were destined to fulfill (63:8). God Himself suffered when HIS people were persecuted and suffered (63:9). I srael sinned and so God turned away (63:10).  Even though they sin and turn away from HIM, HE will remember and return to HIS people at some stage, no matter what.

WHERE IS HE THAT PUT HIS HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN HIM? If God puts HIS spirit in us or in His prophet we can be led onto the right track (63:11). We do not act as our forefathers would have wanted us to do and we do not merit to receive the blessings promised to them neither do we fulfill the tasks they accepted upon themselves on our behalf. They would be in their rights to disown us BUT even so God will not disown us.

We may not be recognized as the physical descendants of Abraham and Israel even though that is what we feel ourselves to be and probably are. Even so God will help us (63:16). We are the tribes of Israel. THE TRIBES OF THINE INHERITANCE.  We need to feel the Divine Presence and return (63:17). The enemy possesses the Temple Mount and defiles it. O UR ADVERSARIES HAVE TRODDEN DOWN THY SANCTUARY (63:18). Israel is the People of God.  The physical descendants of the Israelites are the chosen people. There is none other (63:19).

Chapter 64: If only God would show Himself then nobody would doubt or rebel against Him (64:1).
[Isaiah 64:4] FOR SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD MEN HAVE NOT HEARD, NOR PERCEIVED BY THE EAR, NEITHER HATH THE EYE SEEN, O GOD, BESIDE THEE, WHAT HE HATH PREPARED FOR HIM THAT WAITETH FOR HIM.
Nobody has seen that which God has prepared for the righteous in the Afterlife. Only they who have learnt the Torah of Israel have ever received a glimpse of the Ultimate Truth.
God has hidden His face from us and we are in danger of losing. If however we overcome and take hold of God He will save us (64:7). God is our father. He is the potter who forms us according to His will (64:8). God wants the cities of Israel and especially Jerusalem to be built up and inhabited with Israelites (64:10). Our soul is afflicted as long as the cities of Ancient Israel are not settled by Israelites.  The world is not as it should be as long as the Temple is not rebuilt (64:12).

Chapter 65: God will return to Judah and to the lost Tribes who forgot who they were and that God was their God, the God of Israel (65:1). God is calling us all the time (65:2). The Lost Tribes worshipped idols, in groves, and graveyards, and cults of the dead, and eat pig-meat and abominations  (65:3-4). The Lost Ten Tribes and Judah together shall return (65.9). They amongst the Israelites who continue in the Druidical and similar pagan idolatrous practices of their forefathers will be punished (65:11, 13-16). Creation will be changed. Everything will be renewed (65:17). There will be a New Jerusalem and a change in human nature with people living to a very very old age (65:18-21, 65:23-25). God will be close to us (65:22).

Chapter 66: We must give our heart to God (Isaiah 66:1). Man can give something of himself back to God (66:2). God wants righteous behavior and good intention (66:3). Someone who disregards the will of God is liable also to be disregarded when they need His help (66:4). God will take vengeance against those who disregarded Him and against those who desecrated the Temple and Temple site (66:6). Zion will be delivered suddenly (66:7). We should rejoice with Jerusalem that represents re-union and reconciliation (66:10). Through Jerusalem Israel will be comforted (66:13). Those who believed in God and the Bible and did the best they could will rejoice (66:14). People who keep pagan practices will be punished (66:17). They who from Israel and Judah were scattered amongst other nations will return (66:19). Priests and Levites will be drawn also from amongst they who return (66:21).

The Sages (Talmud, Kiddushin 70;a) said:
"When God decides to let it be known who belongs to which Tribe, he clarifies firstly who belongs to the Tribe of Levi, as it says, And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi... (Malachi 3;3)".
 
Maimonides (1135-1204):
<<In the days of the Messianic King: When his kingdom shall be settled and all of Israel gather unto him, he shall then give the Tribal-genealogy of each one. He shall do this through Divine inspiration. As it says, HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER (Malachi 3:3). He will purify the Tribe of Levi first.as it says, "till there be stood up a priest with Urim and with Thumim" (Ezra 2:63). He gives the genealogy of Israel only concerning which tribe each one belongs to..
 (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, The Laws of Kings, ch. 12, no.3).
 
Non-Israelite Gentiles will also be accepted and reconciled. All the world will worship the God of Israel whose worship will be centered on Jerusalem (66:23). There will be a Resurrection of the Dead (66:24).

Chapters with Brit-Am Commentary:
Isaiah 61 to 66
Chapter 61
This chapter continues the last part of the preceding chapter 60.
[Isaiah 61:1] THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD GOD IS UPON ME; BECAUSE THE LORD HATH ANOINTED ME TO PREACH GOOD TIDINGS UNTO THE MEEK; HE HATH SENT ME TO BIND UP THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES, AND THE OPENING OF THE PRISON TO THEM THAT ARE BOUND;
This could be applied to those who are in Exile especially to Judah. It could also apply to Israelites in general following a calamity that MAY occur prior to the End Times.

 [Isaiah 61:2] TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD, AND THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD; TO COMFORT ALL THAT MOURN;

 [Isaiah 61:3] TO APPOINT UNTO THEM THAT MOURN IN ZION, TO GIVE UNTO THEM BEAUTY FOR ASHES, THE OIL OF JOY FOR MOURNING, THE GARMENT OF PRAISE FOR THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS; THAT THEY MIGHT BE CALLED TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, THE PLANTING OF THE LORD, THAT HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED.                   

 [Isaiah 61:4] AND THEY SHALL BUILD THE OLD WASTES, THEY SHALL RAISE UP THE FORMER DESOLATIONS, AND THEY SHALL REPAIR THE WASTE CITIES, THE DESOLATIONS OF MANY GENERATIONS.
The Zionists in Israel have been rebuilding the Land to a degree. There is much more to do and what is being done could be improved upon. The over-grazing of  the land by the Arabs with their goats causes soil erosion and prevents the growth of trees. This could be changed. More trees could be planted. A canal linking the Mediterranean with the Dead  Sea could dug and vast desalination plants set up. In Sinai there may exist a great freshwater underground  Lake. The Litani River in Lebanon and Lebanon on general as well as Syria and other areas all should belong to Israel and all could be converted into very fertile healthy areas.  

 [Isaiah 61:5] AND STRANGERS SHALL STAND AND FEED YOUR FLOCKS, AND THE SONS OF THE ALIEN SHALL BE YOUR PLOWMEN AND YOUR VINEDRESSERS.


 [Isaiah 61:6] BUT YE SHALL BE NAMED THE PRIESTS OF THE LORD: MEN SHALL CALL YOU THE MINISTERS OF OUR GOD: YE SHALL EAT THE RICHES OF THE GENTILES, AND IN THEIR GLORY SHALL YE BOAST YOURSELVES.
The Lost Ten Tribes when they return in many respects will be the same as Judah so these prophecies probably apply to all Israel in the End Times.

 [Isaiah 61:7] FOR YOUR SHAME YE SHALL HAVE DOUBLE; AND FOR CONFUSION THEY SHALL REJOICE IN THEIR PORTION: THEREFORE IN THEIR LAND THEY SHALL POSSESS THE DOUBLE: EVERLASTING JOY SHALL BE UNTO THEM.

 [Isaiah 61:8] FOR I THE LORD LOVE JUDGMENT, I HATE ROBBERY FOR BURNT OFFERING; AND I WILL DIRECT THEIR WORK IN TRUTH, AND I WILL MAKE AN EVERLASTING COVENANT WITH THEM.    

 [Isaiah 61:9] AND THEIR SEED SHALL BE KNOWN AMONG THE GENTILES, AND THEIR OFFSPRING AMONG THE PEOPLE: ALL THAT SEE THEM SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE THEM, THAT THEY ARE THE SEED WHICH THE LORD HATH BLESSED.
There were times in history when the above prophecy was partially fulfilled both concerning Judah and "Joseph" and the other tribes.

 [Isaiah 61:10] I WILL GREATLY REJOICE IN THE LORD, MY SOUL SHALL BE JOYFUL IN MY GOD; FOR HE HATH CLOTHED ME WITH THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION, HE HATH COVERED ME WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AS A BRIDEGROOM DECKETH HIMSELF WITH ORNAMENTS, AND AS A BRIDE ADORNETH HERSELF WITH HER JEWELS.

 [Isaiah 61:11] FOR AS THE EARTH BRINGETH FORTH HER BUD, AND AS THE GARDEN CAUSETH THE THINGS THAT ARE SOWN IN IT TO SPRING FORTH; SO THE LORD GOD WILL CAUSE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PRAISE TO SPRING FORTH BEFORE ALL THE NATIONS.   
 

Chapter 62
[Isaiah 62:1] FOR ZION'S SAKE WILL I NOT HOLD MY PEACE, AND FOR JERUSALEM'S SAKE I WILL NOT REST, UNTIL THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THEREOF GO FORTH AS BRIGHTNESS, AND THE SALVATION THEREOF AS A LAMP THAT BURNETH.
 Isaiah continues the theme referring to the End Times and the Restoration of Israel  which will be centered on Jerusalem.

 [Isaiah 62:2] AND THE GENTILES SHALL SEE THY RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL KINGS THY GLORY: AND THOU SHALT BE CALLED BY A NEW NAME, WHICH THE MOUTH OF THE LORD SHALL NAME.                     

 [Isaiah 62:3] THOU SHALT ALSO BE A CROWN OF GLORY IN THE HAND OF THE LORD, AND A ROYAL DIADEM IN THE HAND OF THY GOD.

 [Isaiah 62:4] THOU SHALT NO MORE BE TERMED FORSAKEN; NEITHER SHALL THY LAND ANY MORE BE TERMED DESOLATE: BUT THOU SHALT BE CALLED HEPHZIBAH, AND THY LAND BEULAH: FOR THE LORD DELIGHTETH IN THEE, AND THY LAND SHALL BE MARRIED.  

 [Isaiah 62:5] FOR AS A YOUNG MAN MARRIETH A VIRGIN, SO SHALL THY SONS MARRY THEE: AND AS THE BRIDEGROOM REJOICETH OVER THE BRIDE, SO SHALL THY GOD REJOICE OVER THEE.

 [Isaiah 62:6] I HAVE SET WATCHMEN UPON THY WALLS, O JERUSALEM, WHICH SHALL NEVER HOLD THEIR PEACE DAY NOR NIGHT: YE THAT MAKE MENTION OF THE LORD, KEEP NOT SILENCE,                     

 [Isaiah 62:7] AND GIVE HIM NO REST, TILL HE ESTABLISH, AND TILL HE MAKE JERUSALEM A PRAISE IN THE  EARTH.

 [Isaiah 62:8] THE LORD HATH SWORN BY HIS RIGHT HAND, AND BY THE ARM OF HIS STRENGTH, SURELY I WILL NO MORE GIVE THY CORN TO BE MEAT FOR THINE ENEMIES; AND THE SONS OF THE STRANGER SHALL NOT DRINK THY WINE, FOR THE WHICH THOU HAST LABOURED:

 [Isaiah 62:9] BUT THEY THAT HAVE GATHERED IT SHALL EAT IT, AND PRAISE THE LORD; AND THEY THAT HAVE BROUGHT IT TOGETHER SHALL DRINK IT IN THE COURTS OF MY HOLINESS.                  

 [Isaiah 62:10] GO THROUGH, GO THROUGH THE GATES; PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE PEOPLE; CAST UP, CAST UP THE HIGHWAY; GATHER OUT THE STONES; LIFT UP A STANDARD FOR THE PEOPLE.         

 [Isaiah 62:11] BEHOLD, THE LORD HATH PROCLAIMED UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD, SAY YE TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, BEHOLD, THY SALVATION COMETH; BEHOLD, HIS REWARD IS WITH HIM, AND HIS WORK BEFORE HIM.

 [Isaiah 62:12] AND THEY SHALL CALL THEM, THE HOLY PEOPLE, THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD: AND THOU SHALT BE CALLED, SOUGHT OUT, A CITY NOT FORSAKEN.
 

Chapter 63
The Great Pageant
Prophecy and Reality can be likened to a great play or pageant. There exists an overall plot interwoven with subplots. Variations on the theme are possible. For every role exist several potential players who are suited to that role. In every generation or at least periodically some version or other of  the pageant is played out. Even so, there exists a Classic Primary Version of the Play and Master Players who are the most suited to their tasks and for whom the Pageant was mainly written. Eventually there will be a Grand Finale in which it will become apparent that everything that went beforehand was preparatory to what will be.


[Isaiah 63:1] WHO IS THIS THAT COMETH FROM EDOM, WITH DYED GARMENTS FROM BOZRAH" THIS THAT IS GLORIOUS IN HIS APPAREL, TRAVELLING IN THE GREATNESS OF HIS STRENGTH" I THAT SPEAK IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, MIGHTY TO SAVE.
EDOM: Who is Edom? Rome? Germany? Europe in general? Europe and Japan? And Elsewhere?
BOZRAH: There was a place in Jordan named Bozrah. There is a place in Iraq of that name. IN ancient times Bozrah (Batsra) was a city of Edom.
In Early Medieval Hebrew, "Bozrah" was the name applied to Byzantium. Byzantium (Constantinople) is now known as Istanbul. It is in Turkey. Constantine the Emperor of Rome made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. He divided the Empire into two: a Western half based on Rome and an eastern half based on Constantinople (Byzantium). The eastern half was Greek in language and culture.  The Church in Byzantium refused to acknowledge the authority of the Pope in Rome. Though considered in error it was not condemned by Rome to the same degree that Protestantism later was. It became known as the Greek Orthodox Church. This was the religion accepted by Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Ukraine, Greece, and some other places. Eventually Byzantium was conquered by the Turks. The rulers of Russia had intermarried with the rulers of Byzantium and considered themselves the rightful successors of Byzantium. They used the title "Czar" i.e. Caesar which title was that of the ruler of the Roman Empire. Russia could be considered "Bozra" OR IT COULD BE SOMEPLACE ELSE.
As mentioned, "Bazra" is the name of a city in Iraq and the center of the oil-producing region in that area of the country.

 [Isaiah 63:2] WHEREFORE ART THOU RED IN THINE APPAREL, AND THY GARMENTS LIKE HIM THAT TREADETH IN  THE WINEFAT?
In Ancient Israel Grape gathers would gather together bundles of grapes and put them in a square hole cut in rock in the ground. They would then tread the grapes with their feet. Juice from the grapes would run off in conduits, placed in receptacles, and be stored away to ferment and become wine. Those who trod the grapes would have red juice splattered all over them.

 [Isaiah 63:3] I HAVE TRODDEN THE WINEPRESS ALONE; AND OF THE PEOPLE THERE WAS NONE WITH ME: FOR I WILL TREAD THEM IN MINE ANGER, AND TRAMPLE THEM IN MY FURY; AND THEIR BLOOD SHALL BE SPRINKLED UPON MY GARMENTS, AND I WILL STAIN ALL MY RAIMENT.

 [Isaiah 63:4] FOR THE DAY OF VENGEANCE IS IN MINE HEART, AND THE YEAR OF MY REDEEMED IS COME.

 [Isaiah 63:5] AND I LOOKED, AND THERE WAS NONE TO HELP; AND I WONDERED THAT THERE WAS NONE TO UPHOLD: THEREFORE MINE OWN ARM BROUGHT SALVATION UNTO ME; AND MY FURY, IT UPHELD ME.
Who is speaking?
God?
The Messiah?
Judah?
All Israel?
The spirit of God entering into them and speaking through them?

 [Isaiah 63:6] AND I WILL TREAD DOWN THE PEOPLE IN MINE ANGER, AND MAKE THEM DRUNK IN MY FURY, AND I WILL BRING DOWN THEIR STRENGTH TO THE EARTH.
"THE PEOPLE": in Hebrew "amim" = peoples.

 [Isaiah 63:7] I WILL MENTION THE LOVINGKINDNESSES OF THE LORD, AND THE PRAISES OF THE LORD, ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THE LORD HATH BESTOWED ON US, AND THE GREAT GOODNESS TOWARD THE HOUSE  OF ISRAEL, WHICH HE HATH BESTOWED ON THEM ACCORDING TO HIS MERCIES, AND ACCORDING TO THE  MULTITUDE OF HIS LOVINGKINDNESSES.

 [Isaiah 63:8] FOR HE SAID, SURELY THEY ARE MY PEOPLE, CHILDREN THAT WILL NOT LIE: SO HE WAS THEIR SAVIOUR.
"CHILDREN THAT WILL NOT LIE" also renderable as saying: Children that will not do falsely i.e. they will act according to their parentage. They will fulfill  the task they were destined to fulfill.

 [Isaiah 63:9] IN ALL THEIR AFFLICTION HE WAS AFFLICTED, AND THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE SAVED THEM: IN HIS LOVE AND IN HIS PITY HE REDEEMED THEM; AND HE BARE THEM, AND CARRIED THEM ALL THE DAYS OF OLD.
"IN ALL THEIR AFFLICTION HE WAS AFFLICTED": God Himself suffered when HIS people were persecuted and suffered.

 [Isaiah 63:10] BUT THEY REBELLED, AND VEXED HIS HOLY SPIRIT: THEREFORE HE WAS TURNED TO BE THEIR ENEMY, AND HE FOUGHT AGAINST THEM.

 [Isaiah 63:11] THEN HE REMEMBERED THE DAYS OF OLD, MOSES, AND HIS PEOPLE, SAYING, WHERE IS HE THAT BROUGHT THEM UP OUT OF THE SEA WITH THE SHEPHERD OF HIS FLOCK? WHERE IS HE THAT PUT HIS HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN HIM?
Even though they sin and turn away from HIM, HE will remember and return to HIS people at some stage- no matter what.
WHERE IS HE THAT PUT HIS HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN HIM? If God puts HIS spirit in us or in His prophet we can be led onto the right track.

 [Isaiah 63:12] THAT LED THEM BY THE RIGHT HAND OF MOSES WITH HIS GLORIOUS ARM, DIVIDING THE WATER BEFORE THEM, TO MAKE HIMSELF AN EVERLASTING NAME?

 [Isaiah 63:13] THAT LED THEM THROUGH THE DEEP, AS AN HORSE IN THE WILDERNESS, THAT THEY SHOULD NOT STUMBLE?                  

 [Isaiah 63:14] AS A BEAST GOETH DOWN INTO THE VALLEY, THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD CAUSED HIM TO REST: SO DIDST THOU LEAD THY PEOPLE, TO MAKE THYSELF A GLORIOUS NAME.

 [Isaiah 63:15] LOOK DOWN FROM HEAVEN, AND BEHOLD FROM THE HABITATION OF THY HOLINESS AND OF THY GLORY: WHERE IS THY ZEAL AND THY STRENGTH, THE SOUNDING OF THY BOWELS AND OF THY MERCIES TOWARD ME? ARE THEY RESTRAINED?              

 [Isaiah 63:16] DOUBTLESS THOU ART OUR FATHER, THOUGH ABRAHAM BE IGNORANT OF US, AND ISRAEL ACKNOWLEDGE US NOT: THOU, O LORD, ART OUR FATHER, OUR REDEEMER; THY NAME IS FROM EVERLASTING.
"THOUGH ABRAHAM BE IGNORANT OF US, AND ISRAEL ACKNOWLEDGE US NOT":  We do not act as our forefathers would have wanted us to do and we do not merit to receive the blessings promised to them neither do we fulfill the tasks they accepted upon themselves on our behalf. They would be in their rights to disown us BUT even so God will not disown us.
Also we may not be recognized as the physical descendants of Abraham and Israel even though that is what we feel ourselves to be and probably are. Even s, God will help us.
God is our redeemer.
Another point:
Even though we are or well may be the physical descendants of Abraham and Israel that is not enough. We have to ask God for His mercy and forgiveness.

 [Isaiah 63:17] O LORD, WHY HAST THOU MADE US TO ERR FROM THY WAYS, AND HARDENED OUR HEART FROM THY FEAR? RETURN FOR THY SERVANTS' SAKE, THE TRIBES OF THINE INHERITANCE.
We are the tribes of Israel. We need to feel the Divine Presence and return.
THE TRIBES OF THINE INHERITANCE: The twelve Tribes of Israel: both "Joseph" and "Judah".
Return to acknowledge us and our Tribal ancestry.

 [Isaiah 63:18] THE PEOPLE OF THY HOLINESS HAVE POSSESSED IT BUT A LITTLE WHILE: OUR ADVERSARIES HAVE TRODDEN DOWN THY SANCTUARY.
The Holy Mountain and site of the Temple is in the effective possession of the Muslims. Jews are not allowed to go up there or pray there. The enemy possesses the Temple Mount and defiles it. The Muslims dig up the temple Mount, they have a childrens school up there and public lavoratories, they dig it up and destroy remnants of the First and Second Temples. All the world backs them up in these contemptible acts.
OUR ADVERSARIES HAVE TRODDEN DOWN THY SANCTUARY

 [Isaiah 63:19] WE ARE THINE: THOU NEVER BAREST RULE OVER THEM; THEY WERE NOT CALLED BY THY NAME.
Israel is the people of God.  The physical descendants of the Israelites are the chosen people. There is none other.
 

Chapter 64
 [Isaiah 64:1] OH THAT THOU WOULDEST REND THE HEAVENS, THAT THOU WOULDEST COME DOWN, THAT THE MOUNTAINS MIGHT FLOW DOWN AT THY PRESENCE,
Isaiah continues his message from the last chapter. If only God would show Himself then nobody would doubt or rebel against Him.

 [Isaiah 64:2] AS WHEN THE MELTING FIRE BURNETH, THE FIRE CAUSETH THE WATERS TO BOIL, TO MAKE THY NAME KNOWN TO THINE ADVERSARIES, THAT THE NATIONS MAY TREMBLE AT THY PRESENCE! 

 [Isaiah 64:3] WHEN THOU DIDST TERRIBLE THINGS WHICH WE LOOKED NOT FOR, THOU CAMEST DOWN, THE MOUNTAINS FLOWED DOWN AT THY PRESENCE.

 [Isaiah 64:4] FOR SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD MEN HAVE NOT HEARD, NOR PERCEIVED BY THE EAR, NEITHER HATH THE EYE SEEN, O GOD, BESIDE THEE, WHAT HE HATH PREPARED FOR HIM THAT WAITETH FOR HIM.
Intepreted as nobody has seen that which God has prepared for the righteous in the Afterlife. Also only they who have learnt theTorah of Israel have ever received a glimpse of the Ultimate Truth.

 [Isaiah 64:5] THOU MEETEST HIM THAT REJOICETH AND WORKETH RIGHTEOUSNESS, THOSE THAT REMEMBER THEE IN THY WAYS: BEHOLD, THOU ART WROTH; FOR WE HAVE SINNED: IN THOSE IS CONTINUANCE, AND WE SHALL BE SAVED.

 [Isaiah 64:6] BUT WE ARE ALL AS AN UNCLEAN THING, AND ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS; AND WE ALL DO FADE AS A LEAF; AND OUR INIQUITIES, LIKE THE WIND, HAVE TAKEN US AWAY.     

 [Isaiah 64:7] AND THERE IS NONE THAT CALLETH UPON THY NAME, THAT STIRRETH UP HIMSELF TO TAKE HOLD OF THEE: FOR THOU HAST HID THY FACE FROM US, AND HAST CONSUMED US, BECAUSE OF OUR INIQUITIES.
This verse tells us that God has hidden His face from us and we are in danger of losing. If however we overcome and "take hold" of God He will save us.

 [Isaiah 64:8] BUT NOW, O LORD, THOU ART OUR FATHER; WE ARE THE CLAY, AND THOU OUR POTTER; AND WE ALL ARE THE WORK OF THY HAND.
God is our father. He is the potter who forms us according to His will. Every living being is created with the basic constituency most suited to itself as it itself would want if it knew the options and task laid upon each option.

 [Isaiah 64:9] BE NOT WROTH VERY SORE, O LORD, NEITHER REMEMBER INIQUITY FOR EVER: BEHOLD, SEE, WE BESEECH THEE, WE ARE ALL THY PEOPLE.
We have to realize all the time that we are His people and endeavor to act accordingly.

 [Isaiah 64:10] THY HOLY CITIES ARE A WILDERNESS, ZION IS A WILDERNESS, JERUSALEM A DESOLATION.
God wants the cities of Israel and especially Jerusalem to be built up and inhabited with Israelites.

 [Isaiah 64:11] OUR HOLY AND OUR BEAUTIFUL HOUSE, WHERE OUR FATHERS PRAISED THEE, IS BURNED UP WITH FIRE: AND ALL OUR PLEASANT THINGS ARE LAID WASTE.
The Temple is still in ruins. Every descendant of Israel is responsible for the Temple and should strive to rebuild it.

 [Isaiah 64:12] WILT THOU REFRAIN THYSELF FOR THESE THINGS, O LORD? WILT THOU HOLD THY PEACE, AND AFFLICT US VERY SORE?
Even if we are not aware of it our soul is afflicted  as long as the cities of Ancient Israel are not settled by Israelites.  The world is not as it should be as long as the Temple is not rebuilt. 

Chapter 65
 [Isaiah 65:1] I AM SOUGHT OF THEM THAT ASKED NOT FOR ME; I AM FOUND OF THEM THAT SOUGHT ME NOT: I   SAID, BEHOLD ME, BEHOLD ME, UNTO A NATION THAT WAS NOT CALLED BY MY NAME.   
Referring to the Lost Ten Tribes.
A NATION THAT WAS NOT CALLED BY MY NAME: This must mean "Joseph" i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes since the Jews of Judah are recognized as the People of God: They may not always act accordingly but nevertheless they are recognized as the People of the Book whereas  "Joseph"  is not so recognized. 

 [Isaiah 65:2] I HAVE SPREAD OUT MY HANDS ALL THE DAY UNTO A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE, WHICH WALKETH IN A WAY THAT WAS NOT GOOD, AFTER THEIR OWN THOUGHTS;
"ALL THE DAY": God is calling us all the time.

 [Isaiah 65:3] A PEOPLE THAT PROVOKETH ME TO ANGER CONTINUALLY TO MY FACE; THAT SACRIFICETH IN GARDENS, AND BURNETH INCENSE UPON ALTARS OF BRICK;
GARDENS, i.e. groves as the ancient Druids used to do.

 [Isaiah 65:4] WHICH REMAIN AMONG THE GRAVES, AND LODGE IN THE MONUMENTS, WHICH EAT SWINE"S FLESH, AND BROTH OF ABOMINABLE THINGS IS IN THEIR VESSELS;
"LODGE IN THE MONUMENTS": the word translated as "monuments" is "natzurim", literally (perhaps) "covered up places".  The word "Natzurim" however is linked with a type of worship that once prevailed amongst the ancient Israelites.  This is connected to Christianity and indications that the prophets foresaw that the Lost Ten Tribes would be Christians in the End Times. This is explained in detail in our work "Ephraim", chapter nine.

 [Isaiah 65:5] WHICH SAY, STAND BY THYSELF, COME NOT NEAR TO ME; FOR I AM HOLIER THAN THOU. THESE ARE A SMOKE IN MY NOSE, A FIRE THAT BURNETH ALL THE DAY.

 [Isaiah 65:6] BEHOLD, IT IS WRITTEN BEFORE ME: I WILL NOT KEEP SILENCE, BUT WILL RECOMPENSE, EVEN RECOMPENSE INTO THEIR BOSOM,

 [Isaiah 65:7] YOUR INIQUITIES, AND THE INIQUITIES OF YOUR FATHERS TOGETHER, SAITH THE LORD, WHICH HAVE BURNED INCENSE UPON THE MOUNTAINS, AND BLASPHEMED ME UPON THE HILLS: THEREFORE WILL I MEASURE THEIR FORMER WORK INTO THEIR BOSOM.                     

 [Isaiah 65:8] THUS SAITH THE LORD, AS THE NEW WINE IS FOUND IN THE CLUSTER, AND ONE SAITH, DESTROY IT NOT; FOR A BLESSING IS IN IT: SO WILL I DO FOR MY SERVANTS' SAKES, THAT I MAY NOT DESTROY  THEM ALL.

 [Isaiah 65:9] AND I WILL BRING FORTH A SEED OUT OF JACOB, AND OUT OF JUDAH AN INHERITOR OF MY MOUNTAINS: AND MINE ELECT SHALL INHERIT IT, AND MY SERVANTS SHALL DWELL THERE.   
"A SEED OUT OF JACOB, AND OUT OF JUDAH AN INHERITOR", i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes and Judah together. 

 [Isaiah 65:10] AND SHARON SHALL BE A FOLD OF FLOCKS, AND THE VALLEY OF ACHOR A PLACE FOR THE HERDS TO LIE DOWN IN, FOR MY PEOPLE THAT HAVE SOUGHT ME.

 [Isaiah 65:11] BUT YE ARE THEY THAT FORSAKE THE LORD, THAT FORGET MY HOLY MOUNTAIN, THAT PREPARE A TABLE FOR THAT TROOP, AND THAT FURNISH THE DRINK OFFERING UNTO THAT NUMBER.
"THAT FORGET MY HOLY MOUNTAIN" i.e. Israelites who abandoned the Temple in Jerusalem and everything connected with it.
"PREPARE A TABLE FOR THAT TROOP": The word translated as "Troop" is Gad. Gad was the name of an Israelite Tribe. It also can mean "luck". It can also connote a particular pagan deity. The Medieval Commentator Radak (Kimchi) quotes ("Safer HaShorashim") another authority (Rabbi Moshe Cohen) as saying that "Gad" was the name given by the Arabs to the planet Jupiter. Gad could be pronouncedas "God" and is the source of the word "god" in English.
AND THAT FURNISH THE DRINK OFFERING UNTO THAT NUMBER.
"NUMBER": in Hebrew "Mani" which was also the name of a god, i.e. they were preparing a table for the god "Gad" and drink for the god "Mani".
Cf. Alexander Hislop, "The Two Babylons", chapter three:
<<The name of the Lord Moon in the East seems to have been Meni, for this appears the most natural interpretation of the Divine statement in Isaiah lxv. 11, "But ye are they that forsake my holy mountain, that prepare a temple for Gad, and that furnish the drink-offering unto Meni."[15] There is reason to believe that Gad refers to the sun-god, and that Meni in like manner designates the moon-divinity.[16] Meni, or Manai, signifies "The Numberer," and it is by the changes of the moon that the months are numbered: Psalm civ. 19, "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth the time of its going down." The name of the "Man of the Moon," or the god who presided over that luminary among the Saxons, was Man" as given in the "Edda",[17] and Mani, in the "Voluspa."[18] That it was the birth of the "Lord Moon" that was celebrated among our ancestors at Christmas, we have remarkable evidence in the name that is still given in the lowlands of Scotland to the feast on the last day of the year, which seems to be a remnant of the old birth festival for the cakes then made are called N"-cakes, or Birth-cakes. That name is Hogmanay.[19] Now, "Hog-Manai" in Chaldee signifies "The feast of the Numberer;" in other words, the festival of Deus Lunus, or of the man of the Moon. To show the connection between country and country, and the inveterate endurance of old customs, it is worthy of remark that Jerome, commenting on the very words of Isaiah already quoted, about spreading "a table for Gad," and "pouring out a drink-offering to Meni," observes that it "was the custom so late as his time [in the fourth century], in all cities especially in Egypt and at Alexandria, to set tables, and furnish them with various luxurious articles of food, and with goblets containing a mixture of new wine, on the last day of the month and the year, and that the people drew omens from them in respect of the fruitfulness of the year."[20] The Egyptian year began at a different time from ours; but this is as near as possible (only substituting whisky for wine), the way in which Hogmanay is still observed on the last day of the last month of our year in Scotland. I do not know that any omens are drawn from anything that takes place at that time, but everybody in the south of Scotland is personally cognisant of the fact, that, on Hogmanay, or the evening before New Year's day, among those who observe old customs, a table is spread, and that while buns and other dainties are provided by those who can afford them, oat cakes and cheese are brought forth among those who never see oat cakes but on this occasion, and that strong drink forms an essential article of the provision.
We see from the quote of Hislop that the worship of Mani was practised amongst the Scandinavians (Edda), Saxons and Scottish as well as amongst other peoples.

Christianity and Prophecy:The followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch  (Acts 11:26) in ca.50 c.e. Before that time they had been known as Nazarenes which in the Middle East is pronounced the same as, or at least very similarly to, "Nosairi". In local Arabic the very name "Nosairi" is a diminutive for Christian!
    
Verses in Isaiah indicate that the exiled Israelites will be
adherents of a form of worship whose ideas parallelled those later adopted by mainstream Christianity:

    Isaiah 49:6 " ..Raise up the Tribes of Jacob and the preserved [Hebrew: "Notseri"] of Israel to return for I have given you as a light unto the Gentiles  for my salvation  to reach unto the ends of the earth.

  The word "NOTSERI" (translated in the KJ above as "Preserved") also connotes "enclosed"  or "locked away", sometimes it is translated as "watchman"..In the verse above "notseri of Israel" refers to the   Ten
Tribes. As indicated  the name "Notseri" hints at a form of Hebraised
semi-pagan religion which may then have been extant and from which one form of Christianity may have developed. In Hebrew "Notsri" was the name given to a Christian and is derived from the appellation they called themselves in the beginning. Whatever one thinks of Christianity, this interpretation and related expressions indicate that the Lost Ten Tribes at the time of their return  (or just before it) will be practising a form of Christianity.

 HEBREW VERBAL ROOTS: In Hebrew every single word may be considered as derived from a verbal root of three letters. All words  based on the same three letters in the same order are assumed to have a similar internal meaning. The root "n-ts-r" is that from which the word "notsri" meaning Christian is derived allegedly in honour of Natsareth (Nazareth) which was considered the home-town of Jesus. It was suggested above that "notsri" had previously been the name for a type of religious practice ultimately perhaps derivable from the Lost Ten Tribes.

The above mentioned words "Nosairi", "Nasaraioi", "Nazareth", "Nazerini", "Nazarine", and so on (though transliterated differently) all are based on the same Semitic "n-ts-r" word root.


      THE MEANING OF THE HEBREW ROOT "N-ts-r".

"N-ts-r"  and its derivatives  generally connotes preservation or guarding. The sprig (shoot) of a young tree is called a "n-ts-r" since it preserves and continues qualities of the parent. "N-ts-r" may therefore be applied to an heir or descendant.
 
  A rod will come forth from Jesse and a "NeTSeR" (English: "branch") shall grow out of his roots (Isaiah 11:1); meaning the future Messiah who will be a descendant of David son of Jesse.
 
    Isaiah (ch.19) speaks of Hillel Ben Shacher whose name is translated as "Lucifer, son of the morning". Whoever this person was, or will be, his image seems to be based upon that either of the King of Tyre or of the King of Babylon. This man (i.e. "Lucifer") claimed to be like God (Isaiah 19:13-14) yet he will be thrown out of his grave like an abominable "NeTSeR" (English: "branch" , Isaiah 14;19)*k.

There was a god named "Netser" worshipped by the Ancient Israelites. An inscription from about 750 BCE concerning this god has been found east of the Jordan in what was the former territory of Gad. Netser is described as descending to hell.  The inscription is in a mixed hebrew-Aramaic dialect.  It is described and translated in the book "Ephraim".

     The Children of Israel in the future will be the "NeTSeR" (English:
"branch") of God's planting (Isaiah 60;21).

    God promises that the Tribes of Jacob (according to the context, meaning the Lost Ten Tribes in their places of exile) will be raised up, and the "NaTSuRi" (English: "preserved") of Israel restored; they shall
be a light to the gentiles and salvation  unto the end
of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).
 
 Isaiah, chapter 65, speaks mainly concerning the Ten Lost Tribes.
                          
    "I was  sought of them that  asked not for me; I made myself found to those who did not request me; I said, I am here, I am here, to a people who did not call my name (Isaiah 65:1).

     "I spread my hand out all day long to a deviating people (65;2)

     "...a people who were angering me...sacrificing in the gardens and offering incense...(65:3).

         "Which remain among the graves and lodge in NoTSRim [English (KJ): "Monuments(*l)] who eat the flesh of swine and dishes made of improperlyslaughtered [i.e. non kosher] meat..(Isaiah 65:4).
                                      
           Isaiah continues his description and depicts the northern Ten Tibes as eating bread and wine  in a religious ceremony:

          " ...for the sake of my servant I will not destroy all of them (Isaiah 65;8).

         "I will bring seed out of Jacob   and an inheritor of my mountains  from Judah and he who is my chosen will inherit them and my servant shall inhabit
there....(Isaiah 65:9).      

          " And you who abandoned The LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who lay out a table for God (*) and for Mani(*m) fill the glass with consecrated wine
(Isaiah 65:11).
  
       Isaiah, Chapter 66,  is addressed to, and speaks of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel, the Jews of Judah, individual Jews and Israelites whose ancestors were assimilated amongst the Gentiles, and the Gentiles themselves.  

     The root "n-ts-r" as mentioned connotes preservation and lends itself to the formation of words that are somehow connected with each other. Amongst these words is the Hebrew "notser" applied in the sense of "guard" or "watchman" since both are occupied with preservation:

  Jeremiah (31:6) later again talks of "Notsrim" and in this case both the
simple sense of the passage as well as the opinion of most major
commentators (e.g. Yehonathan, Rashi, Radak, etc.) says that those spoken of are the exiled of Israel. Jeremiah predicts that these Lost Israelite "NoTSRim" (English: "watchmen") upon the mount of Ephraim,
 
       "Shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God" (Jeremiah 31:6).       

The only Commentator who does not think that this verse refers to the
returnees of Israel is Don Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508) who interprets it differently. Even so, the opinion of Don Abarbanel is interesting since he also suggests that the word "Notsrim" used here refers to members of the Christian faith as it was received by the Romans of old:

          "The Prophet foresaw through Divine Inspiration that the Roman descendants of Edom would believe [in that faith]  and therefore they would be called by name Notsrim"30.

Don Abarbanel therefore at least supports our opinion that the appellation "Notsrim" was used by the prophets as referring to Christians.

      The name "Notsrim" and its derivatives was later applied to the
Christians who at least superficially held parallel notions.
References in Isaiah (and Jeremiah") to "Notsrim" in connection with the Lost Israelites together with other passages also in Isaiah (such as described religious practices, etc.) leave room to suppose
that the Lost Ten Tribes right up unto the End Times will be of a Christian persuasion and therefore must be searched for amongst the "Christian" nations. The fact is that the Lost Ten Tribes are amongst these peoples so why should the prophets have not mentioned it"  

  [Isaiah 65:12] THEREFORE WILL I NUMBER YOU TO THE SWORD, AND YE SHALL ALL BOW DOWN TO THE SLAUGHTER: BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED, YE DID NOT ANSWER; WHEN I SPAKE, YE DID NOT HEAR; BUT DID EVIL  BEFORE MINE EYES, AND DID CHOOSE THAT WHEREIN I DELIGHTED NOT.

 [Isaiah 65:13] THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL EAT, BUT YE SHALL BE HUNGRY: BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL DRINK, BUT YE SHALL BE THIRSTY: BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL REJOICE, BUT YE SHALL BE ASHAMED:      

 [Isaiah 65:14] BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL SING FOR JOY OF HEART, BUT YE SHALL CRY FOR SORROW OF HEART, AND SHALL HOWL FOR VEXATION OF SPIRIT.

 [Isaiah 65:15] AND YE SHALL LEAVE YOUR NAME FOR A CURSE UNTO MY CHOSEN: FOR THE LORD GOD SHALL SLAY THEE, AND CALL HIS SERVANTS BY ANOTHER NAME:

 [Isaiah 65:16] THAT HE WHO BLESSETH HIMSELF IN THE EARTH SHALL BLESS HIMSELF IN THE GOD OF TRUTH; AND HE THAT SWEARETH IN THE EARTH SHALL SWEAR BY THE GOD OF TRUTH; BECAUSE THE FORMER TROUBLES ARE FORGOTTEN, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE HID FROM MINE EYES.

 [Isaiah 65:17] FOR, BEHOLD, I CREATE NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH: AND THE FORMER SHALL NOT BE REMEMBERED, NOR COME INTO MIND.

 [Isaiah 65:18] BUT BE YE GLAD AND REJOICE FOR EVER IN THAT WHICH I CREATE: FOR, BEHOLD, I CREATE JERUSALEM A REJOICING, AND HER PEOPLE A JOY.

 [Isaiah 65:19] AND I WILL REJOICE IN JERUSALEM, AND JOY IN MY PEOPLE: AND THE VOICE OF WEEPING SHALL BE NO MORE HEARD IN HER, NOR THE VOICE OF CRYING.

 [Isaiah 65:20] THERE SHALL BE NO MORE THENCE AN INFANT OF DAYS, NOR AN OLD MAN THAT HATH NOT FILLED HIS DAYS: FOR THE CHILD SHALL DIE AN HUNDRED YEARS OLD; BUT THE SINNER BEING AN HUNDRED YEARS OLD  SHALL BE ACCURSED.          

 [Isaiah 65:21] AND THEY SHALL BUILD HOUSES, AND INHABIT THEM; AND THEY SHALL PLANT VINEYARDS, AND EAT THE FRUIT OF THEM.   

 [Isaiah 65:22] THEY SHALL NOT BUILD, AND ANOTHER INHABIT; THEY SHALL NOT PLANT, AND ANOTHER EAT: FOR AS THE DAYS OF A TREE ARE THE DAYS OF MY PEOPLE, AND MINE ELECT SHALL LONG ENJOY THE WORK OF THEIR HANDS.

 [Isaiah 65:23] THEY SHALL NOT LABOUR IN VAIN, NOR BRING FORTH FOR TROUBLE; FOR THEY ARE THE SEED OF THE BLESSED OF THE LORD, AND THEIR OFFSPRING WITH THEM.

 [Isaiah 65:24] AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT BEFORE THEY CALL, I WILL ANSWER; AND WHILE THEY ARE  YET SPEAKING, I WILL HEAR.      

 [Isaiah 65:25] THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER, AND THE LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE BULLOCK: AND DUST SHALL BE THE SERPENT'S MEAT. THEY SHALL NOT HURT NOR DESTROY IN ALL MY HOLY  MOUNTAIN, SAITH THE LORD.
"THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER": Some say this is literal that the nature of man and beast will change. Others say it is allegorical and refers to an improved state in human affairs.

[Isaiah 65:25] THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER, AND THE LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE BULLOCK: AND DUST SHALL BE THE SERPENT'S MEAT. THEY SHALL NOT HURT NOR DESTROY IN ALL MY HOLY  MOUNTAIN, SAITH THE LORD.
"THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER": Some say this is literal that the nature of man and beast will change. Others say it is allegorical and refers to an improved state in human affairs.

Similarly we had a similar verse previously:
[Isaiah 11:6] THE WOLF SHALL DWELL WITH THE LAMB, AND THE LEOPARD SHALL LIE DOWN WITH THE KID, AND THE CALF AND THE LION AND THE FATLING TOGETHER, AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM.                     
"THE WOLF SHALL DWELL WITH THE LAMB": Some take this literally. Others see it as a metaphor meaning that things will be better and there will be peace on earth: No more war, oppression, or violence.

It is worth quoting Maimonides (1135-1204 CE) on this passage:
[Free Translation] <<Do not imagine that in the Times of the Messiah anything of this world will be abolished or that anything new will occur in the way of creation. On the contrary the world will continue as it always has done. That which it says in Isaiah
"THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER" [Isaiah 11:6]  is a parable and allegory. The truth of the matter is that Israel will be settled securely alongside the evildoers of the world who are compared to a wolf and a leopard, as it says,
 "A WOLF OF THE EVENINGS SHALL SPOIL THEM, A LEOPARD SHALL WATCH OVER THEIR CITIES" [Jeremiah 5:6]. Everyone of them will return to the true faith. They will not steal or destroy but rather eat permitted food with Israel.  As it says,
" THE LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE OX" [Isaiah 11:7]. Similarly everything said  in connection with these matters concerning the Messiah are parables. In the Times of the Messiah it will be made known to all what subject each parable was referring to and what was hinted about it.  (Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, Laws of Kings, Chapter 12, Halachah 1).
 
Chapter 66
 [Isaiah 66:1] THUS SAITH THE LORD, THE HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND THE EARTH IS MY FOOTSTOOL: WHERE IS THE HOUSE THAT YE BUILD UNTO ME? AND WHERE IS THE PLACE OF MY REST?
God wants us to endeavor to rebuild the Temple as numerous verses indicate BUT He does not want us to forget the major principle: We must give our heart to God.

 [Isaiah 66:2] FOR ALL THOSE THINGS HATH MINE HAND MADE, AND ALL THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN, SAITH THE LORD: BUT TO THIS MAN WILL I LOOK, EVEN TO HIM THAT IS POOR AND OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT, AND  TREMBLETH AT MY WORD.
God made the heavens and earth and all that is in it. Man can remake himself, improve himself, subdue his nature and commit himself to God as an offering: Man can thus give something of himself back to God.

 [Isaiah 66:3] HE THAT KILLETH AN OX IS AS IF HE SLEW A MAN; HE THAT SACRIFICETH A LAMB, AS IF HE CUT OFF A DOG'S NECK; HE THAT OFFERETH AN OBLATION, AS IF HE OFFERED SWINE'S BLOOD; HE THAT BURNETH INCENSE, AS IF HE BLESSED AN IDOL. YEA, THEY HAVE CHOSEN THEIR OWN WAYS, AND THEIR SOUL DELIGHTETH IN THEIR ABOMINATIONS.
If someone offers sacrifices but does not fear God it is as if they sinned rather than did a good deed. God wants righteous behavior and good intention. He also wants sacrifices but righteous behavior and good intention take priority.

 [Isaiah 66:4] I ALSO WILL CHOOSE THEIR DELUSIONS, AND WILL BRING THEIR FEARS UPON THEM; BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED, NONE DID ANSWER; WHEN I SPAKE, THEY DID NOT HEAR: BUT THEY DID EVIL BEFORE MINE EYES, AND CHOSE THAT IN WHICH I DELIGHTED NOT.
Someone who disregards the will of God is liable also to be disregarded when they need His help.

 [Isaiah 66:5] HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD, YE THAT TREMBLE AT HIS WORD; YOUR BRETHREN THAT HATED YOU, THAT CAST YOU OUT FOR MY NAME'S SAKE, SAID, LET THE LORD BE GLORIFIED: BUT HE SHALL APPEAR  TO YOUR JOY, AND THEY SHALL BE ASHAMED.

 [Isaiah 66:6] A VOICE OF NOISE FROM THE CITY, A VOICE FROM THE TEMPLE, A VOICE OF THE LORD THAT RENDERETH RECOMPENCE TO HIS ENEMIES.
God will take vengeance against those who disregarded Him and against those who desecrated the Temple and Temple site.

 [Isaiah 66:7] BEFORE SHE TRAVAILED, SHE BROUGHT FORTH; BEFORE HER PAIN CAME, SHE WAS DELIVERED OF A MAN CHILD.
Zion will be delivered suddenly. There will be no preparatory period warning of the approaching event as there is when a woman gives birth.

 [Isaiah 66:8] WHO HATH HEARD SUCH A THING? WHO HATH SEEN SUCH THINGS? SHALL THE EARTH BE MADE TO BRING FORTH IN ONE DAY? OR SHALL A NATION BE BORN AT ONCE? FOR AS SOON AS ZION TRAVAILED, SHE BROUGHT FORTH HER CHILDREN.
This may be referring to the return and reconciliation with the Lost Ten Tribes and "Captive" Jews who were assimilated amongst the nations. They will be revealed suddenly as to who they are and at once accepted as if they had never been estranged.

 [Isaiah 66:9] SHALL I BRING TO THE BIRTH, AND NOT CAUSE TO BRING FORTH" SAITH THE LORD: SHALL I CAUSE TO BRING FORTH, AND SHUT THE WOMB? SAITH THY GOD.
Everything has a purpose. All that we do is leading up to something. The Almighty has a PLAN and there is no reason why at the last minute He should not complete his PURPOSE!

 [Isaiah 66:10] REJOICE YE WITH JERUSALEM, AND BE GLAD WITH HER, ALL YE THAT LOVE HER: REJOICE FOR JOY WITH HER, ALL YE THAT MOURN FOR HER:
Jerusalem represents re-union and reconciliation.

 [Isaiah 66:11] THAT YE MAY SUCK, AND BE SATISFIED WITH THE BREASTS OF HER CONSOLATIONS; THAT YE MAY MILK OUT, AND BE DELIGHTED WITH THE ABUNDANCE OF HER GLORY.
We  have to seek the good of Jerusalem since this is the will of God and ultimately will be our good.

 [Isaiah 66:12] FOR THUS SAITH THE LORD, BEHOLD, I WILL EXTEND PEACE TO HER LIKE A RIVER, AND THE GLORY OF THE GENTILES LIKE A FLOWING STREAM: THEN SHALL YE SUCK, YE SHALL BE BORNE UPON HER SIDES, AND BE DANDLED UPON HER KNEES.
"THE GLORY OF THE GENTILES": The word translated here as "glory" is "kavod". This usually means "honor" but Amos Chocham points out that in Genesis 31;1 it means riches:
"AND HE HEARD THE WORDS OF LABAN'S SONS, SAYING, JACOB HATH TAKEN AWAY ALL THAT WAS OUR FATHER'S; AND OF THAT WHICH WAS OUR FATHER'S HATH HE GOTTEN ALL THIS GLORY" [Genesis 31:1] .
"Glory" in Hebrew "kavod" meaning wealth and riches in this case. Amos Chocham (in the Commentary "Daat Mikra") explains the verse to mean that Jerusalem as the capital of the world will receive the riches of the nations. This will come streaming unto her as a flowing river.

 [Isaiah 66:13] AS ONE WHOM HIS MOTHER COMFORTETH, SO WILL I COMFORT YOU; AND YE SHALL BE COMFORTED IN JERUSALEM.
Through Jerusalem Israel will be comforted.

 [Isaiah 66:14] AND WHEN YE SEE THIS, YOUR HEART SHALL REJOICE, AND YOUR BONES SHALL FLOURISH LIKE AN HERB: AND THE HAND OF THE LORD SHALL BE KNOWN TOWARD HIS SERVANTS, AND HIS INDIGNATION TOWARD HIS ENEMIES.
Those who believed in God and the Bible and did the best they could will rejoice at the sight.

 [Isaiah 66:15] FOR, BEHOLD, THE LORD WILL COME WITH FIRE, AND WITH HIS CHARIOTS LIKE A WHIRLWIND, TO RENDER HIS ANGER WITH FURY, AND HIS REBUKE WITH FLAMES OF FIRE.

 [Isaiah 66:16] FOR BY FIRE AND BY HIS SWORD WILL THE LORD PLEAD WITH ALL FLESH: AND THE SLAIN OF THE LORD SHALL BE MANY.

 [Isaiah 66:17] THEY THAT SANCTIFY THEMSELVES, AND PURIFY THEMSELVES IN THE GARDENS BEHIND ONE TREE IN THE MIDST, EATING SWINE'S FLESH, AND THE ABOMINATION, AND THE MOUSE, SHALL BE CONSUMED  TOGETHER, SAITH THE LORD.
"ONE TREE IN THE MIDST": In Hebrew it only says: "Echad [or "Echat"]  BeTevach", i.e.  "one transfixed" or  "one crucified". The word "tree" used in the KJ translation  is not there in the Hebrew.
"THE MOUSE": in Hebrew "akbar" which is mouse but it could also conceivably apply to porcupine or hedgehog.  These animals are still eaten by the Druse in Israel and the hedgehog was eaten in Scotland. 
Isaiah (66;17) condemned pagan practitioners AMONGST THE EXILED ISRAELITES and predicts that they will be rebuked: The eating of mice was practiced in the cult of Apollo. This cult was adapted by the Greeks from the Hittites. It had connections with the cities of Philistia and with the Tribe of Dan in Israel.  Donald A. MacKenzie ("Scottish Folk Lore And Folk Life. Studies in Race, Culture, And Tradition", London & Glasgow, 1935) traces the influence of the Apollo cult to Scotland. He reports an occasion when the King of Alba (Scotland) forces his guests (Lugaid and company) from Ireland to eat mice. The ingestion of the mice <takes the place of the blood covenant which obtained in Ireland"Lugaid and his men became "mouse brothers" to the king of Alba and his subjects. (MacKenzie p.77). Isaiah linked swine with mice. In Scotland two different traditions prevailed, one (like many of the Celts) regarded the pig as sacred while the other considered it taboo and also usually avoided eating any of the animals forbidden in the Mosaic Code.
Adapted from "Ephraim":
Crucifixion (a crucified god) was known to the ancient world and was an attribute of several pagan deities4, such as Osiris. Lempriere ("Lempriere's Classical Dictionary", 1788) stated that the Egyptian Osiris was the model upon which the ritual mouse-eating cult of Apollo was based and the same verse quoted from Isaiah mentions ritual eating of mice. Other authorities point out that Osiris was identified with Tammuz who was also known as Adonis. Ezekiel condemns the women of Jerusalem for weeping for Tammuz, who (like other gods) had been crucified and whose death and resurrection were celebrated every year.

Ezekiel 8;14: "AND HE BROUGHT ME TO THE DOOR OF THE GATE OF THE LORD'S HOUSE, WHICH WAS TOWARDS THE NORTH; AND BEHOLD, THERE SAT WOMEN  WEEPING FOR TAMMUZ.

8;15 "AND THEN HE SAID UNTO ME, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS, SON OF MAN" TURN YET AGAIN, AND YOU SHALL SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS THAN THESE.

In other words within the Land of Judah at that time there existed a cult who worshipped a crucified god who died and was resurrected. This cult was popular with women and had penetrated the Temple precincts, which suggests a possible synthesis with Judaic beliefs and the penetration of a pagan god who dies and is resurrected idea amongst more susceptible elements of Judaic society.
What prevailed in Judah would also have held in northern Israel. Pagan gods tended to acquire aspects of sun idols and their separate identities in the eyes of devotees seem to have intermerged so that one god would become identifiable with aspects of another. The pagan world saw no problem in synthesizing aspects of one idol with those of others. Plutarch said that Adonis equalled Dionysus (Bacchus) , whereas at Phoenician Byblos, Adonis was identified as Osiris5. Bacchus, Adonis, and Apollo were all said to have been born in a cave6. Jeronomius (Patrologia Graeca 22,581) speaks of a cult of Tammuz-Adonis at Bethlehem7. Adonis (like Osiris) was depicted in some accounts as having been crucified as was Horus, Prometheus, Iao, and Tammuz, though the latter two (Tammuz and Iao) were more usually regarded as aspects of, and therefore identical with, Adonis8. The names "Adonis" and "Iao" are forms of appellations originally given by the Hebrews to God Himself! "Adon" in Hebrew means, "master." The Phoenicians (Canaanites) called Tammuz "Adon." The name is synonymous with the primary meaning of "Baal" which is, "lord." Iao is derived from the four-lettered name of God, which it was later forbidden to utter since it was being misused. Iao and Adonis and all the rest were pagan synthetic cults that may have had Hebraic origins or have been influenced by Hebrew practices!

[Isaiah 66:18] FOR I KNOW THEIR WORKS AND THEIR THOUGHTS: IT SHALL COME, THAT I WILL GATHER ALL NATIONS AND TONGUES; AND THEY SHALL COME, AND SEE MY GLORY.

 [Isaiah 66:19] AND I WILL SET A SIGN AMONG THEM, AND I WILL SEND THOSE THAT ESCAPE OF THEM UNTO THE NATIONS, TO TARSHISH, PUL, AND LUD, THAT DRAW THE BOW, TO TUBAL, AND JAVAN, TO THE ISLES AFAR OFF, THAT HAVE NOT HEARD MY FAME, NEITHER HAVE SEEN MY GLORY; AND THEY SHALL DECLARE MY GLORY AMONG THE GENTILES.

Isaiah is referring to the exiled who were scattered out of Judah or to the Lost Ten Tribes or to some future scattering of Israelites. This may be seen from the context of the verses that precede this one and those that follow.
"TO TARSHISH", originally Spain, and probably also Gaul and Britain. Later applied to Atlantic area in general including North America.
"PUL", some say Poland and the Ukraine. If so, the reference is to Judah many of whom dwelt in those areas for a very long time and on the whole suffered greatly there whilst reaching a high stage of religious and spiritual development at times.
"AND LUD",  - Lydia in Anatolia (present day Turkey) but one Irish account traces their ancestors to Lydia.
"THAT DRAW THE BOW", "Moshkei-keshet" identified by some with the Scythians. Red Indians"
"TO TUBAL", oringinally an area north of Syria, also identified with areas in Russia and with Spain. The Abarbanel says that Tubal here means England but I fail to see his reasoning or the source he uses.
"AND JAVAN",  Yavan is Greece but descendants of Yavan were also to be found elsewhere. Craig White (based on ancient traditionsand other sources) identified the people of southern France as descendants of Yavan.
"TO THE ISLES AFAR OFF", The British Isles"

 [Isaiah 66:20] AND THEY SHALL BRING ALL YOUR BRETHREN FOR AN OFFERING UNTO THE LORD OUT OF ALL NATIONS UPON HORSES, AND IN CHARIOTS, AND IN LITTERS, AND UPON MULES, AND UPON SWIFT BEASTS, TO MY HOLY MOUNTAIN JERUSALEM, SAITH THE LORD, AS THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BRING AN OFFERING IN A CLEAN VESSEL INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.                     

 [Isaiah 66:21] AND I WILL ALSO TAKE OF THEM FOR PRIESTS AND FOR LEVITES, SAITH THE LORD.
Abarbanel (1437-1509): <<From those Childen of Israel who will be brought from distant lands, who were immersed among the Gentiles and intermixed with them. From these Israelites will also be taken individuals for Priests and Levites. These will be they who [originally] came from Priestly and Levitical families. It will not matter if they had once been sold as slaves and against their will had become Gentiles. How will it be known what family they came from? Doubtless it will be through Divine Inspiration as predicted by Malachi: "AND HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER OF SILVER: AND HE SHALL PURIFY THE SONS OF LEVI, AND PURGE THEM AS GOLD AND SILVER, THAT THEY MAY OFFER UNTO THE LORD AN OFFERING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.
"THEN SHALL THE OFFERING OF JUDAH AND JERUSALEM BE PLEASANT UNTO THE LORD, AS IN THE DAYS OF OLD, AND AS IN FORMER YEARS" : [Malachi 3:3-4].                    

Note the Talmud also says:
"Said Rabbi Hama Bar Hanina: When God decides to let it be known who belongs to which Tribe, he clarifies firstly who belongs to the Tribe of Levi, as it says, "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi..." (Malachi 3;3); (Talmud, Kiddushin 70;a).

Maimonides (1135-1204) says:
"In the days of the Messianic King: When his kingdom shall be settled and all of Israel gather unto him, he shall then give the Tribal-genealogy of each one. He shall do this through Divine inspiration. As it says, HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER (Malachi 3:3). He will purify the Tribe of Levi first; as it says, "Till there be stood up a priest with Urim and with Thumim" (Ezra 2;63). He gives the genealogy of Israel only concerning which tribe each one belongs to.." (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, The Laws of Kings, ch. 12, no.3).

Rashi (1040-1105): << "AND I WILL ALSO TAKE OF THEM FOR PRIESTS" [Isaiah 66:21]: He will take from the peoples who bring them [i.e. the Children of Israel] back  and from those [Israelites] who are brought back as Priests and Leivtes. At present these have been forcibly assimilated amongst the Gentiles. Before me [i.e. God] it is clear those amongst them  who are Priests and Levites. I will separate them out and they will serve before me, says God. Where did God first speak of this" "THE SECRET THINGS BELONG UNTO THE LORD OUR GOD"  [Deuteronomy 29:29] This is what is explained in the Midrash on Psalms.
Note: These sources are speaking from the orientation of Judah. The British and Americans were responsible in some degree for enabling the return of Jews to the land of Israel. They were the ones who can be described as "Gentiles" who brought "Israel" (i.e. the Jews in this case) back and from them too will Priests and Levites be chosen out.

[Isaiah 66:22] FOR AS THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH, WHICH I WILL MAKE, SHALL REMAIN BEFORE ME, SAITH THE LORD, SO SHALL YOUR SEED AND YOUR NAME REMAIN.
Israel and Judah will always exist and continue onward.

 [Isaiah 66:23] AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT FROM ONE NEW MOON TO ANOTHER, AND FROM ONE SABBATH TO ANOTHER, SHALL ALL FLESH COME TO WORSHIP BEFORE ME, SAITH THE LORD.

Pesikta Rabati:abg <<"SHALL ALL FLESH COME TO WORSHIP BEFORE ME", "Even Gentiles, but not all Gentiles; rather only those who did not oppress Israel [the Jews] will be received by the Messiah".

 [Isaiah 66:24] AND THEY SHALL GO FORTH, AND LOOK UPON THE CARCASES OF THE MEN THAT HAVE TRANSGRESSED AGAINST ME: FOR THEIR WORM SHALL NOT DIE, NEITHER SHALL THEIR FIRE BE QUENCHED; AND THEY SHALL BE AN ABHORRING UNTO ALL FLESH.

Some (e.g. Abarbanel) say that this is referring to a future punishment to befall the wicked after the Ressurection of the Dead. This is beyond our sphere.

Our Preliminary Study Of Isaiah is Completed.


 

Isaiah chs. 56 to 60

See also:
Biblical Proofs
http://www.britam.org/Proof/ProofsIntro.html
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