Isaiah: A Mini-Bible
The Book of Isaiah could be called a mini Bible. It has notable parallels with the Bible itself. Isaiah has 66 chapters and the Bible has 66 books. Isaiah shows God as Creator and reveals His creation, as does the Bible.
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18 (KJV)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (KJV)
Several verses in Isaiah reveal God to us, just as Genesis 1:1 does.
Isaiah speaks of sacrifices and points to Jesus Christ as the Supreme Sacrifice. The entire 53rd chapter prophesies of Him. Isaiah also tells of both Jesus’ first coming and His second coming (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Isaiah 66:8 (KJV)
The rebirth of Israel as a nation is noted in Isaiah 35 as well as in Isaiah 66:8. As a matter of fact, Isaiah 66 covers end-time prophecy.
The Book of Isaiah tells of the defeat and judgment of the devil and his demons (Isaiah 42:21), just as the New Testament refers to in several places (Ephesians 6:12, Luke 10:19, Colossians 2:15, Revelation 20:1-3, 10).
The Book of Isaiah speaks of peace, joy, victory, blessings, judgment, forgiveness, restoration, knowing God, praise, and prophecy. The New Testament quotes Isaiah a lot, a good number of those being times when Jesus quoted it.
As we read and study the Book of Isaiah, we get an overview, an outline, or a condensed version of the entire Bible. It covers everything needed for life and shows us better and new things to come.
Here is something interesting. In the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC), it references both the Old and New Testament where a verse is quoted from, as will a good cross reference Bible. It will allow you to go from Old Testament to New Testament and from New Testament to Old testament in following a subject or to check where something is mentioned several times. This allows us to see Scripture confirming Scripture.
I encourage you to read the Book of Isaiah while keeping in mind that it is a miniature version of the whole Bible. Isaiah quotes the rest of the Bible over 500 times. Truly, we see the Bible encapsulated in Isaiah, showing us what an amazing book the Bible is and what an amazing God we have.
