Doubting the authorship of the OT Book of Isaiah produces a nagging doubt that we cannot simply trust the declarations of the writer about the future, if we are not even sure he is who he says he is. “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (Isaiah 1:1 KJV). Does the following represent the views of your minister? Liberal scholarship has separated the Book of Isaiah into three parts, representing three different Isaiah authors: Proto-Isaiah (chapters 1-39), Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40-55), and Trito-Isaiah (chapters 56-66). In response, without consulting the differing language styles employed in each of the three sections, none other than the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, asserted the authorship of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah to be “Isaiah the son of Amoz” (1:1). Jesus quoted Isaiah 53:1: “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed” in John 12:38: “That the saying of Esaias [Isaiah] the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed.” Jesus further asserted Isaiah to be the author of Isaiah 6:10: “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” Liberal scholarship does “greatly err” (Mark 12:27).
Why not let them differ and be quiet? “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). We need all the confidence possible to wage war against the devil, and we cannot afford to allow nagging doubts to rob us of our offensive power against the real enemy. Jesus is coming soon, and we need everyone who names the name of Christ fully engaged with all offensive power to support the prophetic message of the Book of Isaiah. Between the declarations of the Suffering Messiah on the Cross in Psalm 22, especially verse 16, “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:16); and, the prophecy concerning the Messiah’s atonement for our sins, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5), we have a clear declaration of the NT Gospel in the OT. If our confidence is shaken in the authorship of the last chapters of Isaiah, how can we have confidence in the integrity of the first chapters? “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2).
May God give confidence to all readers of the Book of Isaiah, that He will as surely perform His saving work (Chapter 53) as He will fulfill His prophecies to build His actual Kingdom as foretold (2:2). Father, may Your will be done and Your Kingdom come. Grant to us knowledge and understanding that we may have renewed power. In Jesus’ name, amen.
We Need A Miracle 