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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 11

1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots.⁠ 2 The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him—a⁠ Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans,⁠ a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.⁠ 3 His smelling is in the fear of the Lord7.⁠ He will not judge by mere appearances or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 4 He will treat the poor fairly and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth.⁠ He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and order the wicked to be executed.⁠ 5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist, integrity will be like a belt around his hips. 6 A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.⁠ 7 A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw. 8 A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand.⁠ 9 They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.⁠ 10 At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations.⁠ Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic. 11 At that time the Lord will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the seacoasts.⁠ 12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations; he will gather Israel’s dispersed people and assemble Judah’s scattered people from the four corners of the earth. 13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim. 14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects. 15 The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals.⁠ 16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria for the remnant of his people,⁠ just as there was for Israel, when they went up from the land of Egypt.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 11:4 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

2 Thessalonians uses language from Isaiah about a ruler whose breath brings justice and ends corruption. In Isaiah, the ruler’s words restore fairness and order, and in 2 Thessalonians, this image becomes a picture of evil’s final destruction.

Passages

Isaiah 11:4

Hebrew Bible
2 The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him—a Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. 3 His smelling is in the fear of the Lord7. He will not judge by mere appearances or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 4 He will treat the poor fairly and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and order the wicked to be executed. 5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist, integrity will be like a belt around his hips. 6 A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

2 Thessalonians 2:8

New Testament
6 And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time. 7 For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. However, the one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival. 9 The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders, 10 and with every kind of evil deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Thessalonians

References

"... A non-literal notion of ‘sitting in the temple’ is supported further by the observation of many commentators that 2 Thessalonians 2 is apocalyptic in nature. ‘Sit on a throne’ (with kathizō or kathēmai) in the Apocalypse is used often (approximately 15 times) figuratively for God, Jesus or saints being in a position of authority, which is enhanced by the obviously metaphorical picture of Jesus ‘sitting on a cloud’ in heaven (in Revelation 14:14–15). Perhaps most comparable to 2 Thessalonians 2:4, however, is the negative picture of Babylon the Whore ‘who sits on many waters’ (Revelation 17:1) and is dressed as a priest (17:4; 18:16), which is interpreted as ruling over ‘peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues’ (Revelation 17:15, 18; 18:7). This conclusion is consistent with the apocalyptic imagery of 2 Thessalonians 2:8 that is based on the same Isaiah 11:4 text as in Revelation 19:15, both of which portray Jesus judging the final enemy. The Revelation passage portrays Jesus defeating the corporate foe and their leader, while 2 Thessalonians pictures Christ ‘slaying’ the eschatological fiend ‘with the breath of his mouth’. The depiction in both apocalyptic passages underscores Jesus’ convicting and punishing the enemy by means of God’s Law that has been disobeyed ..."
G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004), 344–345.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 11:4 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8

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