COMFORT MY PEOPLE!
It is wonderful to communicate with you again! As I write this message, it is my hope and prayer that all of you and your beloved ones are doing well – physically and spiritually, by God’s grace.
We are tremendously blessed by our current Sabbath School Quarterly. I need to be careful as I say this because I do not want to give the impression that the previous SS quarterlies have not been a blessing to our members. No, that is not what I am suggesting. I am making this statement because Isaiah is my favourite prophet and I simply love his messages. The beauty of his book fascinates me! Theologians compare the book of Isaiah as a small version of the entire Bible. Why? Let me share some comparisons with you:
1 – The Bible is comprised of 66 books; the book of Isaiah has 66 chapters.
2 – The Bible has two parts: The Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament has 39 books and the New Testament has 27 books. So, this is the case in the book of Isaiah. It also has two distinctive parts. The first 39 chapters deal with the history of the Assyrian Empire and of God’s people, the Israelite nation. Then, the “second part” relates to the future of Israel and of their Babylonian captivity, which had not yet started.
3 – Another gem is that, if we consider the beginning of the “New Testament” part of the book of Isaiah starting on chapter 40, then, chapters 40, 41, 42, and 43 could be “viewed” as the Gospel books and can be compared to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament.
4 – Yes, when we open and read those chapters in the book of Isaiah, we can clearly see a concentration in the work of the promised Messiah to come. In the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, this promise is fulfilled and the Messiah’s ministry (Jesus Christ) is described in detail!
5 – Furthermore, Isaiah 40 introduces a Messianic promise and invites the people to “prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert.” (Isa. 40:3 NIV) for the coming of the Messiah. That promise is fulfilled in John the Baptist who is described in the Gospel of Matthew as the one who was preparing the way for the coming of the Saviour.
So many coincidences, right? However, when we begin to read this “New Testament” in the book of Isaiah, it begins with two verses that bring a very special message: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isa. 40:1-2 NIV) What a comforting message from the Lord to us, especially in these days that we are living now! As the prophet was saying to God’s people in his days: Be comforted! I hear through my “ears of faith” God saying to Isaiah: Please comfort my people and tell them that the time of their ordeal has come to an end as their iniquities have been forgiven and instead of the punishment for their sins, the Lord has forgiven them and that they will be doubly blessed by Him!
This special message comes to you and me today as fresh as when God used His prophet Isaiah to give it to His people in the 7th century BC. Once we are comforted ourselves in the Lord, we are to share that comforting message with those around us. It fits so perfectly as we are living in the final days of this world. Very soon, we will see Jesus coming back to put an end to sin, suffering, and death, and He will take us to His eternal Kingdom of glory! As He forgave the sins of His people in Isaiah’s time, He will also forgive ours when we confess them to Him! Also, there will be a much greater reward for His faithful children, soon: Eternal Life, together with Jesus, our loving Saviour! That is why the message of Isaiah is very relevant to all of us today as we do God’s work, together. It is one of forgiveness and salvation: Comfort my people! (Isa. 40:1)
Please find below the link to our Conference’s video for this month. It presents a heart-touching testimony and an appealing message from Brother Jim Trana, a very committed volunteer at Camp Hope for the last 7 years! All those who watch this video will be richly blessed by his words of encouragement, which is for all of us to use “our” talents to continue to make that camp the BC Conference Sanctuary. Let’s give our best to the Lord!
Thank you for your faithful service to God’s people. We are a team and a family!
Happy Sabbath!
In His Service,
Wesley Torres
President