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[1] I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a nation that did not call on my name.
[2] I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;
[3] a people who provoke me to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks;
[4] who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine's flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
[5] who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you."
These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
[6] See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
[7] their iniquities and their ancestors' iniquities together,
says Yahweh; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions. ס
[8] Thus says Yahweh:
As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, "Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,"
so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all.
[9] I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
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This is the second of two optional Old Testament selection, which can be chosen to be read aloud on the second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If chosen, it will precede a singing of selected verses from Psalm 22, which includes, “I will declare your Name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.” That pair will then be followed by a portion of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, where he wrote: “Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.” All selections will accompany the Gospel reading from Luke, where Jesus healed a man possessed by the unclean spirit called Legion. We read, “When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.”
In Isaiah’s sixth chapter, he told of a vision of the spiritual world, where seraphim encountered his soul. In that vision, after a coal from the altar fire was held by tongs and placed to Isaiah’s spiritual lips, cleaning his voice, he heard the question asked by the “voice of adonay” (the teaching soul of Adam-Jesus that became the voice of Isaiah), “Who shall I send and who shall go for us?” To that question, Isaiah’s soul responded, “behold me. Send me.” With that dream-vision, Isaiah became a prophet of Yahweh, possessed by the soul of His elohim created to save lost souls. That means Isaiah was Jesus reborn, such that the name “Jesus” means “Yah Saves.” In verse one of this chapter sixty-five, Isaiah repeats that assignment of his soul to Israel, even though that nation was ignoring his prophecies and was facing ruin.
When we recall this beginning of Isaiah’s ministry, it is important to realize Isaiah responded as a soul newly married to Yahweh. The death of Uzziah meant a shift away from devotion to the true meaning of “sons of Israel” was beginning; and, the question asking, “Who can we send for us” directs one to see the soul of Isaiah submitted his soul fully to be led by the Yahweh elohim that was the soul of Adam-Jesus raised in his soul. So, everything written in Isaiah is because a divine elohim possessed him; and, one cannot see him (or any prophet in the Holy Bible) as a special entity that no one can ever match. All were the same divine soul raised by Yahweh in the soul of one submitting himself (equally applies to her selves too) to Yahweh. Therefore, the “I” read in these selected verses of Isaiah 65 can be understood as referring to his body of flesh (that named Isaiah), but the words are those of Jesus, who spoke through the minister in his name [sent by Yahweh to save souls].
Keeping this in mind, it is Jesus speaking in these verses. He said through Isaiah in verse one, “I was sought to not they did ask , I was found to not they who sought me ; I said behold I am behold I am , to a people not they were called by my name .” This says several things.
First, it says the Yahweh elohim that makes one become a true ‘son of Israel’ was the expectation of people calling themselves ‘Israelites,’ but none of those called for the divine soul [the Yahweh elohim - Adam-Jesus] to rise in their souls, making them become true ‘Israelites.’ Second, the soul of Jesus was “found” by a few (such as Isaiah, as a youth not yet enslaved to a sinful world), but those few were not seeking to do anything, having never been taught what they should seek. Those found by Yahweh were those who believed in Scripture, despite never been told what it means. Third, once the soul of Isaiah was found, the soul of Jesus told him, “I am within you.” The double statement of “I am” says Jesus was sent by Yahweh – the great “I AM.” With Isaiah one of the few prophets found by Yahweh, as souls seeking to serve Him completely, all the prophets of Yahweh were sent to “the people” that were wayward (“not”), but called themselves the children of Yahweh, throwing His “name” around like they were special. They were “not;” thus, their failure to serve Yahweh demanded Yahweh send them prophets, so they could get their lives straight and return to the fold.
In verse two, Jesus then spoke these words: “I have spread out my hands all day towards people stubborn , those who walk the road not agreeable , following their own thoughts .” This says the light of truth (“day”) has been made available to the “people,” where the “hands” that produce that “light of truth spread before them” had been Moses and all the prophets and judges of “the people.” Just as they were under Moses (seeking salvation) and just as they were every other forty years (praying for help, when not led by a judge), they were “stubborn” or “rebellious.” That rebelliousness was based on selfish desires to serve self, rather than submit to Yahweh and be eternally saved, as His priests on earth. Instead, they walked a path that took them away from that commitment of divine marriage; and, that is not “agreeable” to the Covenant their forefathers committed to. By going the path of “their own thoughts” or “their own devices,” they decided what was good for them, forsaking Yahweh’s “good.”
Then, Jesus (through Isaiah) said in verse three (literal English translation), “the people them vexing me to my face continually ; them sacrificing in gardens , and them burning sacrifices upon the bricks .” Here, the element of “the people” can equally be read as “a people,” where this designated those “people” who were led by Moses from the routine commonality of the world, with the express purpose being to submit fully to Yahweh and be raised as His Sons (women included as “Sons”).
Now, during the times of Isaiah, “the people” are found “vexing” or “angering” the soul of Jesus, by showing him their “faces” of self; when they should all be wearing the “face” of Yahweh, as His Son resurrected within them all. The “continuity” of this “angering” means “the people” had absolutely no desire to serve anyone other then their own selves as gods.
The second and third segments then show the ways of “the people” are the same as the ways of Cain, who produced the fruits of the land and then burned them as an offering on an altar. The problem with that, which did not please Yahweh, was the fruits of the “garden” are meant only to be sacrificed to the goddess Mother Earth. No souls are released in the burning of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the wayward child Cain had become the ”face” worn by “the people” Isaiah faced, not the “face” of Yahweh’s Son Jesus (like Isaiah wore).
In today's version of Christianity (which has degraded in the same way the Northern Kingdom stopped being servants to Yahweh, deciding it was more fun to serve self as an equal god) false priests (and hired hands) are going through the same motions as are true priests (Abel sacrificing a soul to Yahweh - out of the picture). They just cannot grasp how their sacrifices are not what Yahweh wants. Yahweh looks away from false sacrifices in his name. Christians get all Cain-like in their rejection of anyone who would tell them, "You are going about everything wrong."
Verse four must be seen as a prophecy of Jesus, where he compared the ways of the “people” of the Northern Kingdom as like the man possessed by Legion (the Gospel reading from Luke that tells that story accompanies this optional reading from Isaiah). Here, Jesus said of “the people:” “they who dwell in their graves , and with their watchers they pass the night ; them devouring flesh a swine , [and broth] (and broth) foul things with their utensils .”
Here, the same metaphor exists, which said the man possessed slept in the tombs and wore no clothes. He was obviously possessed and did not try to hide that fact. Likewise, the “people” of the Northern Kingdom “dwelled” in their bodies of flesh, which reflects each soul’s “tomb.” Their “watchers” are those who do vigils for the dead, staying awake with the corpse, in case it comes back to life. The problem here is the “watchers in the night” are rejected (Isaiah and all the prophets sent with the light of truth into the darkness), as the dead prefer that state of being. This make themselves reflect “swine,” because they are what they eat.
By “devouring the flesh,” they enjoy the short life a soul animating dead flesh has, before finding reincarnation or eternal damnation as their Judgment. The repeating of “and broth” in brackets, followed by parentheses, makes “and broth” be unstated, as it is a spiritual condition. Since a “broth” is a soup with chunks of meat and vegetables, boiled in a cauldron, stirred frequently, this imagery applied to the spiritual becomes like witches are portrayed at Halloween time. By being what they eat, they conjure up “foul” recipes of life, which they stir by all their acts or “devices” available to them.
In verse five, Jesus said through Isaiah, “them saying come near into yourself , not yourselves have drawn near to me for yourself to be made holy by me ; these smoke in my face , a fire burning all the day .” In this, Jesus is pointing out how those saying they believe in Yahweh think they are the masters, whereby they can call to Yahweh as if He were their servant.
Never do the religious realize it is them that needs to do the acts of submission to Yahweh, so He will come to their assistance as their possessor - their owner. Instead, they blow smoke in Yahweh’s “face” (or up His “nostrils”) through the ritual of altar sacrifices, while refusing to allow His “face” (that of Jesus) to become their “faces.” To wear that face a sacrifice on the altar “fire” is demanded; and, that is not a daily singe that can be smeared with ointment, so a temporary pain subsides and more sins can be committed the next “day.” A “day” is eternal life in the light of truth; and, that requires a total commitment “fire burning” forever.
In verse six, this view continues, with Jesus saying through Isaiah, “behold! having been written from them with my face ; not will I keep silent for condition to have been completed , and completed above their bosom .” When Jesus said, “having been written from them with my face” (from “ḵə·ṯū·ḇāh lə·p̄ā·nāy”), this is saying everything of divine Scripture (that held dear to the people of the Northern Kingdom) had been written by prophets wearing the “face” of Yahweh, who were possessed by His Son. Isaiah was one of the many who are those “having written” the guidelines to their souls. Because Jesus was resurrected within Isaiah (another of this holy lineage), the words produced still continue to have applicable meaning. This is because the only “completion” to be found is a return of a soul to Yahweh, which must come from a deep-seated love in “their bosom” for Him. The metaphor for “bosom” is one’s soul.
In verse seven, Jesus then said through Isaiah, “the iniquities of your souls and the iniquities of your forefathers unite as one that has said Yahweh , who they have burned sacrifices upon the mountain , and above the hills they have blasphemed me ; thus I will have measured their recompense first [upon] (upon) their bosom .” This says that “you” must be read as “yourselves,” thus “your souls,” where a “self” is only a “soul.” This means all “iniquities” judged are those done by souls, who have bowed down before their flesh and worshiped material realm ‘gods.’
The “iniquity” in that is to say the name “Yahweh,” while doing nothing to bring “Yahweh” into “their bosom.” They have “burned sacrifices” of animals, which Yahweh has sent prophets (Jesus reborn in each) to tell them, “I am not pleased by the smoke of your animal sacrifices.” What that means is the only pleasing sacrifice burnt is one’s own soul placed on the altar of Mount Ophel (or Mount Zion). When Jesus said, “above the hills you have blasphemed me,” that says Yahweh had disdain for the building of Solomon’s Temple, as that building became an idol of worship for the people. The split between Israel and Judah is another meaning for “above the hills.”
In the final segment, Jesus spoke for the Father, saying, “You payment for your sins can only come by a spiritual presence in each of their souls. Here, again, the repeating of “upon” written inside brackets, followed by it found inside parentheses, speaks silently, as a spiritual presence that cleanses a soul and elevates it “above the hills and mountains” of earth, to the divine of heaven.
In verse eight, after having said the people use the name “Yahweh,” while not sacrificing their souls to His service, now speaks as the Son saying what the Father expects. Here, Jesus spoke as Isaiah, saying “thus ׀ says Yahweh as who he will find the new wine from the cluster , and says not they will destroy you , for a blessing in him ; thus I will accomplish the intent my servants , not that I may let ruin the whole .”
Here, following the word “thus,” is a vertical bar of pause placed. Everything stated prior has now led to this point, where Jesus (in Isaiah’s flesh) says what “Yahweh” has decreed. Those who seek Him will become like “new wine,” made from “a cluster” of good fruit, filled with the Spirit that is intoxicating to souls (not flesh). Those who have become the “good fruit of the true vine “ (those souls reborn as Jesus) will be granted eternal life; but they must next work as “servants” in ministry. This is where the resurrection of Jesus will lead them, as the Lord of their souls in their flesh. Rather than Yahweh “destroying the whole,” due to stubbornness and rebellion, Yahweh will save the few to be sent into the many.
In regards to this ministry [the theme of the Ordinary after Pentecost season], Jesus then said through Isaiah, “and I will bring forth from Jacob offspring , and from Judah one inheriting my mountains ; shall take possession of my chosen ones , and my servants he shall dwell there .” In this, the names “Jacob” and “Judah” must be understood also as the meaning behind the names.
This means Jesus’ intent had Yahweh saying, “and I will bring forth from a supplanter good seed” that will grow to produce good fruit. Yahweh then added, “and from praised one receiving the Son of Yahweh [Jesus as the “mountain,” plural in many]. The presence of Jesus’ soul will be the “possession taking place” [the “inheritance” of Salvation], which will only be in souls “chosen” by Yahweh to be His wife-souls. To become a wife-soul, a soul must submit fully to Yahweh, becoming His willing “slave” or “servant.” As a “servant,” one will be led into ministry by the Son having been reborn into a new “dwelling place.”
When all the mistranslations are swept aside and the truth has been revealed, it is easy to see why this selection from Isaiah 65 is an option for reading on the second Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s ministry as Jesus reborn has begun. The warnings given by Jesus, through Isaiah’s pen (or his divine ‘biographer’), say Christians today are the same rejecters of Yahweh, preferring to ‘blow smoke up His nose,” rather than place one’s own soul on the sacrificial altar fire and completely submit to Yahweh’s Will. It is so much easier to reject Yahweh and do nothing, while crying out, “I love Jesus! I love the Lord (whose name I never say publicly)!” That comes so quickly, rather than do the works of faith. To do the Acts of the Apostles, one has to be reborn as the Son of Yahweh, letting him speak through one’s lips. Isaiah 65 is an example of what a true Apostle does: Shut up and let Jesus speak through your lips.