Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Isaiah 63

The Lord in Judgment and Salvation

The prophet Isaiah speaks, as the second person of a two-person interchange.

Isaiah 63:¹ Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah (Fortress) (Mt. Seir, settled by the Edomites)
This One who is glorious (Or adorned) in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—

• Isaiah 34:⁵ “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
  Indeed it shall come down on Edom,
  And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
  ⁶ The sword of the Lord is filled with blood …
  For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
  And a great slaughter in the land of Edom…
  ⁸ For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance,
  The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
• Jeremiah 49:¹³ For I have sworn by Myself,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
• Obediah 1:18
  And NO SURVIVOR shall remain of the house of Esau (Edom),”
  For the Lord has spoken.

Jesus is prophetically returning from the Battle of Armageddon after fighting against the Edomites who are descendants of Esau.

Jesus answers the Prophet.

“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

The prophet speaks again, questioning Jesus’ appearance. He notices Jesus’ garments are stained with blood, like stains from grapes. The Hebrew word for both red wine and red blood is literally the same: “Dam” or “Dom”

Isaiah 63:² Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

• Jacob’s last words to his sons before his death: to his son, Judah he says “The Messiah will come from your lineage, Judah, and He will trample in the day of vengeance (the Day of Jesus’ Return), like the Grapes of Wrath.
  
  • Gen 49:¹⁰ The scepter (kingship) shall not depart from Judah,
    Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
    Until Shiloh (Messiah the Savior) comes;
    And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
    ¹¹ Binding his donkey to the vine,
    And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
    He washed his garments (apparel) in wine (blood),
    And his clothes in the blood (wrath) of grapes.

Jesus, The Deliverer answers the Prophet. All the armies of the earth have fought against Him.
The “winepress” was the Battle of Armageddon on the Day of His Return and Wrath.
Men are compared to grapes, put in a winepress, having a mill stone roll over them, pressing them until the juice of blood runs out and is collected in the valleys of Jerusalem. (A Flood of Blood) And the (metaphoric) winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. Revelation 14:20

Isaiah 63:³ “I (Jesus) have trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples (armies on earth) no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.

• Each robe symbolizes the robe of His title. The robe of a King is different from the robe of a Judge or Prophet.
  • The robe of John the Baptist was made of camel hair. Zechariah 13:4, Matthew 3:4
  • The robes of priests have a tunic, sash, and an intricately woven band. Leviticus 8:6
  • The robes of kings have long trains, rich with colors, and ornaments with significance.
  • The robe of a judge is austere.
  • The robe of God fills the temple. Isaiah 6:1

• A List of Some of Jesus’ Titles:
  • Isaiah 9:^6-7 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
    And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called
    Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God (‘ēl), Everlasting Father (‘āḇ), Prince of Peace.
    Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end…
    
• After Armageddon Jesus sets up His Kingdom on earth in which the Jews are given preeminence to serve as priests for God.
  
  • Exodus 29:21 is a vision of God’s plan for the Jews as priests: And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

Isaiah 63:⁴ For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.

Jesus speaks to Himself as both God and the Arm of God.

Isaiah 63:⁵ I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I wondered That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury (wrath), it sustained Me.

The arm of a King is still the King.
The arm of a Man is still the Man.
The arm of a Prophet, Priest, or Judge is still the Prophet, Priest, or Judge.
The Arm of God is still “God”. ~BG – Isaiah 63:5

Isaiah 63:⁶ I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk (unable to think clearly or respond appropriately) in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth.”

God’s Mercy is remembered by the Prophet concerning God’s Salvation.

Isaiah 63:⁷ I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ)
And the praises of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ),
According to all that the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) has bestowed on us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies,
According to the multitude of His loving kindnesses.

Isaiah 63:⁸ For He said, “Surely they are My people,
Children who will not lie.”
So He (Jesus) became their Savior (Literally, Jesus means “savior” or “salvation”).

• The Hebrew word for Savior is the root meaning for Jesus; “Yeshua” in Hebrew, and “Jesus”, in Greek. Yeshua and Jesus are the same names. Yeshua and Salvation are the same Hebrew words. Jesus and Yeshua both mean “Savior/Salvation”. Three words, one meaning: (Yeshua=Jesus)=Salvation in both translations of Greek and Hebrew.

Isaiah 63:⁹ In all their affliction He (Jesus) was afflicted,
And the Angel of His (own) Presence saved them;
In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And He (Jesus) bore them and carried them
All the days of old.

• John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Isaiah 63:¹⁰ BUT they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;
So He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
And He fought against them.

The Prophet Speaks of God in terms of the Godhead

Isaiah 63:¹¹ Then he remembered the days of old,
Moses and his (or His) people,

saying:
“Where is He (As the Father) who brought them up out of the sea
With the Shepherd (Jesus) of His flock?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit) within them,

Isaiah 63:¹² Who led them by the right hand (the Holy Spirit) of Moses,
With His glorious arm (Jesus),
Dividing the water before them
To make for Himself an everlasting name,

• Symbolically, the Shoulder represents the Father who carries men’s burdens, the Arm represents the Son who is the Prince of the Almighty and who carries out the desires of the Father, and the Hand with its fingers is the Holy Spirit who writes in the sand, on the tablets, and on Belshazzar’s wall.

Isaiah 63:¹³ Who led them through the deep,
As a horse in the wilderness,
That they might not stumble?”

Isaiah 63:¹⁴ As a beast goes down into the valley,
And the (Holy Spirit) Spirit of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) causes him to rest,
So You lead Your people,
To make Yourself a glorious name.

A Prayer of Penitence by the Prophet

Isaiah 63:¹⁵ Look down from heaven,
And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious.
Where are Your zeal and Your strength,
The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me?
Are they restrained?

• The Zeal of Zion

Isaiah 63:¹⁶ Doubtless You are our Father (sing:‘āḇ),
Though Abraham was ignorant of Us,
And Israel does not acknowledge Us.

• Who are the “US”? Is it the plural ‘ĕlōhîm of Genesis 1:26?
• How were Abraham and Israel ignorant of “Us”?
  Unaware of God’s plan for man, as a Trinity of the Godhead.

You, O Lord (Yᵊhōvâ), are our (the Jewish nation’s) Father (singular ‘āḇ);
Our (Kinsman) Redeemer (gā’al) from Everlasting is Your name.

• Yᵊhōvâ is the Kinsman Redeemer from the Everlasting beginning.

Isaiah 63:¹⁷ O Lord (Yᵊhōvâ), why have You made us stray from Your ways,
And hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants’ sake,
The tribes of Your inheritance.

• The prophet wants the nation to return to “their” God, and God wants to return to them.
• Yᵊhōvâ will return, literally, to reap “His” harvest, at the end of the age.
• The prophet accuses God of making them stray and hardening their hearts, but the hardening of their hearts begins with their own disobedience.

Isaiah 63:¹⁸ Your holy (chosen, separated) people have possessed it but a little while;
Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary.

• The adversaries of the Jews during the last 3-1/2 years of the 7-year Tribulation are the Gentiles who take over the Jewish temple for 42 months. (Revelation 11:2, 13:5)

Isaiah 63:¹⁹ We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled,
Those who were never called by Your name (the Gentiles).

• They have become like the prodigal son who left his father’s house of wealth, protection, and honor to be debased eating as a pig in a pigpen of mire.