Lesson 6 (Jan 30-Feb 5, 2020), Playing God

 Doom on the Nations

1. Why was Babylon one of the worst enemies of God and Judah?
2. Are there any faithful people in Babylon?
3. Can the remnant church every become Babylon? How could that happen?

The Late Great City of Babylon

1. Does God cause nations to rise and fall, or does he merely allow it?
2. Could Babylon ever be rebuilt? Would that prove Bible prophecy which says it will not be inhabited again, wrong?
3. What do we mean by the term "Babylon is Fallen?"

Fall of the Mountain King

1. Why do some people deify kings? Do such kings believe actually that they are God?
2. What are things that feed a leader's ego?
3. What made Satan imagine that he could be like God? Why didn't he realize that such an attempt was foolish and doomed?

Heaven's Gate

1. Why is Babylon a fitting symbol for Satan?
2. Why would God use a mythical creature which has no real existence (like a dragon) to symbolize anything? Would it contribute to the idea that Satan might not really exist, or not?
3. Was Jacob's ladder leading to heaven, a dream or a vision?

Final Triumph of Zion

1. How many times will Babylon fall?
2. When is the "Day of the Lord?" Is there more than one?
3. Why does God burn the wicked in hellfire? Why not destroy them painlessly?

Lesson 5 (Jan 23-29, 2020), Noble Prince of Peace

 End of Gloom for Galilee

1. Why do so many people consult spirit mediums? How accurate are they? Is consulting weekly horoscopes evil?
2. How much difference does it make as to which place Jesus began his ministry? Why was it in the Galilee area? Was it by chance or by design?
3. How do people get possessed by the devil?

A Child for Us

1. Is the child of Isa 9:6, 7 the same one as Immanuel or a different one?
2. What are the indications that this one upon whose shoulders is placed the government, is not a human king?
3. Can this prophecy have more than one fulfillment, and if so what are the options? If not, why not?

The Rod of God's Anger

1. Why did God persist with Israel for so long, enduring their repeated failures and punishing them again and again?
2. What were the most serious sins of Israel?
3. Does God punish people today for sin? Is suffering an indication of sin in a person's life?

Root and Branch in One

1. Why do we use the term "Family Tree?"
2. What is the difference, if any between "shoot," and "branch?"
3. How is David as the "root of Jesse" also the ancestor of Jesus?
4. Why does Isaiah combine elements of the first advent with that of the second and third advents?

You Comforted Me

1. How truly was the Lord "our Salvation" before Jesus's incarnation?
2. When is "that day" which is mentioned several times Isaiah 12 when the Lord becomes our salvation?
3. What is the meaning of the term "Holy One of Israel?"

Lesson 4 (Jan 16-22, 2020), The Hard Way

 Prophecy Fulfilled

1. Why do you think didn't Isaiah say plainly that the two kings would die within two years instead of mentioning a child being old enough to choose between right and wrong?
2. What kind of diet is curd and honey? What does it say of the conditions?
3. Is the prophecy of the end of Israel, the northern kingdom, merely predicting the future or is it showing punishment from God?

Foreseen Consequences

1. Why is it more difficult to trust God than a political power?
2. Is it always wrong to ally with another nation?
3. What makes a king trust false gods more than the living God, to the point where he could sacrifice his own son in the fire?

What's in a Name

1. How important is the meaning of a name when choosing one for a newborn baby?
2. Why are some children given two names?
3. Would the prophet really give his sons weird names or were they just for illustration?

Nothing to Fear When We Fear God Himself

1. What if any any useful purpose does fear have? What happens to be people who have no fear?
2. What is the difference between "Fear of the Lord," and being afraid of God like Adam in the Garden of Eden?
3. In what sense does love cast out fear?

Gloom of the Ungrateful Living Dead

1. How important is it what happens to our dead body, whether buried, or cremated, and where it might be carried out?
2. Why does the devil usually bring those who surrender to him, to a tragic end? Wouldn't it be better for him to attract people by giving them a happy life and peaceful death?
3. What are ways in which one can be careless in giving the devil power to take over our lives?

Lesson 3 (Jan 9-15, 2020), When Your World is Falling Apart

 Danger From the North

1. Why do neighboring countries often of related ethnicity, fight instead of being natural allies? What caused divisions between Israel and Judah?
2. When in political trouble why do nations prefer to ally with a superior political power rather than just trust in God?
3. What are the expected negative results of taking help from another country?

Attempted Interception

1. Why would God talk about a return from captivity before the exile even began?
2. Did prophets ever speak respectfully to their kings like to foreign kings? How could the prophets speak to kings with out the normal respect that would be expected?
3. On what basis could one have belief in the word of a prophet about what would take place after two or three years?

Another Chance

1. What was wrong in Ahaz telling the prophet Isaiah that he did not wish to ask for a sign?
2. Would God have really given Ahaz whatever he asked for, even unexpected victories or sudden wealth?
3. Why did some kings of Israel or Judah have a hard time trusting God?

Sign of a Son

1. How old is a child when he or she learns the difference between wrong and right?
2. If the birth of Jesus hundreds of years later was the only fulfillment of the prophecy of "Immanuel" in Isa 7:14 how could it have been a sign to Ahaz that he would be delivered from his enemies?
3. What impact did this prophecy have on Ahaz or his people? On what basis can we say that this was a prophecy of the birth of the messiah when it probably had a literal fulfillment in a few years?

God is With Us

1. Why would God wish to come down and take the risk to be with humans? Could God have saved humans remotely from heaven itself?
2. In what ways was God with humans before Jesus was incarnated? In what important ways was he present through Jesus?
3. How can humans know God is with us?

Lesson 2 (Jan 2-8, 2020), Crisis of Leadership

 The King is Dead

1. How likely is it that Uzziah repented of his sin? Would God have restored the king from his leprosy if requested? How could a leprous king continue to rule?
2. Why does the Bible record take pains to mention a king's mother? 
3. What are the advantages of overlapping reigns of fathers and sons? 

Holy, Holy, Holy

1. Why do you think angels with six wings are not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible? What could be the significance of covering faces and covering feet?
2. How would Isaiah have known that it was the Lord whom he saw in a vision? How could the train of his robe fill the temple? What could that mean?
3. What could be the purpose of God revealing Himself to a prophet in such majesty and power that the prophet felt poor and unclean?

New Personality

1. Why did Isaiah confess to being himself and also belonging to a people all of "unclean lips?" What could that mean?
2. How good does a person need to be in order to be called as a prophet?
3. How could a live coal take away the sin of Isaiah?

Royal Commission

1. Why do you think Isaiah gets his commission in chapter 6 rather than in chapter 1?
2. How much difference does it make whether one gets a vision in public such as the temple/church or at in private at home?
3. Why do you think priests were not usually called to be prophets?

Appalling Appeal

1. What could prevent a people who heard from understanding what they heard?
2. Why did Jesus teach in parables? Why did prophets often speak in parables, such as Nathan to David?
3. How much is a pastor expected to condemn the sins of his congregation?