No. 52. >> Chapters 58 through 66 bring Isaiah to a close. Can these chapters be outlined to show their interrelatedness? >>DR. DANIEL L. GARD: That's a very important question. Because these final chapters, as you've just noted, actually conclude the book of Isaiah. Now, there's a number of assumptions that I've made throughout this. And that included a distinct and intentional structure on the part of the prophet in this final edition of the book that he had. We know his lengthy public ministry covered some six decades and had begun around about 739-740 BC during the year in which King Uzziah died. The last king to be mentioned is Hezekiah. And that's important kind of dating the rest of the text. So what we have before us in these final chapters is in all likelihood the final writings of Isaiah. They could have been written some time between say 700, 701 and perhaps 680 BC. And they provide for us Isaiah's final visions. And indeed, they are glorious visions. And as a unit, these particular chapters provide this tremendous picture of God's future. This is in effect the seventh major section of Isaiah if you were to take the three major sections and further subdivide them. And in itself this final section, these final chapters provide a great unity. Overall, the theme of these final chapters might be termed the Lord's gift of a blessed future to his people. And this can be divided into three major sections. The first major section is Chapters 58 through 60. And those chapters focus upon the repentance of Israel. In Chapter 58 the prophet speaks about the nature of that repentance, how it is to be distinct from a kind of empty formalism. The second section is its indispensability to living a godly life. And thirdly, its distinction from self indulgence. Now, the second part of this first section, 58 through 60, is neatly beginning at Chapter 59. And that chapter divided into really subsections itself. Chapter 59 deals with the necessity of repentance. It's shown first by Isaiah's accusations. And second by corporate confession. And third is shown by the Lord's response. A third section of this first part of Chapters 58 through 60 is Chapter 60. And it deals with the blessedness of repentance. And in fact, it speaks very much to us as a church that the first -- first in terms of the church's extension throughout the world. Second, the security of the church. And third, the enlightenment of the church. Now, the second major section of this final section of Isaiah is Chapter 61 through Chapter 63 Verse 6. In which Isaiah focuses upon the Lord's gift of a blessed future to his people through the Word of Messiah. And it, too, finds it self neatly divided into three sections. In Chapter 61 Isaiah focuses upon that future that's given through the Word of Messiah in his proclamation of the Gospel. And secondly, Isaiah focuses upon the zeal of the Messiah to save his people in Chapter 62. And finally, in Chapter 63, Isaiah focuses upon the Messiah's vengeance on his enemies. In other words, an eschatological reading. And finally, the third section of this rather large section of Isaiah is Chapter 63 through the end of the book. That is Chapter 63 Verse 7 through the end of the book. In which Isaiah now focuses upon, again, the repentance of Israel. First in terms of its necessity concerning Israel's sinfulness in Chapters 63 Verse 7 through 64:12. Second, it's alternative. That is repentance is alternative. That is condemnation in Chapter 65. And then finally in Chapter 66, the circumstances of that repentance. So what we see is a very neat outlining on the part of Isaiah of all of these significant aspects of the future.