Okay, we'll pick up where we left off after the last taping and the prophecy concerning Christ's crucifixion -- the graphic description of His suffering and His death in chapters 52 & 53. Let's go on into chapter 54 as we come into the glorious promises that will follow Israel. First, after they've come back from the Babylonian captivity, they re-establish Temple worship. But the big picture, remember, which is what we're always looking at, is after the horrors of the seven years of Tribulation. Christ will return and Israel is going to have all these Old Testament promises fulfilled. This is what we're going to look at right here.


Isaiah 54:1a

"Sing, O barren, (Well, what does singing remind you of? Good feelings, joy, and happiness.) thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child:..." More than likely, what Isaiah is referring to are those years when Israel was spiritually dead. There were hundreds of years where Israel was steeped in their unbelief and their rebellion, and, consequently, there was no joy or an increase in blessings or anything else. So, now with the hope of this coming kingdom, they can sing like one who has travailed.