The Spirit of the Prophecy
a reflection on Brian Zahnd’s sermon for December 21st
This is the first of two sermon reflections for the 4th Sunday of advent, Sunday, December 21, 2025. In this essay I share my reflections about Brian Zahnd’s sermon, called The Spirit of Prophecy, based on Isaiah 7:10-16
image credit :: Nuttgens, Joseph. Immanuel -- Behold a Virgin Shall Conceive..., from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved December 21, 2025]. Original source: via Flickr
Isaiah 7:10-16
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask a sign of the Lordyour God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. 13 Then Isaiah[d] said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman[e] is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.
“The young woman/virgin shall conceive”
Interpretive key —revelations 19:10 :: Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Read that again. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
It’s 735 BC. Under the rule of Ahaz, Judea facing threats of an invasion from the king of Samaria and the king of Aram. Isaiah goes before Ahaz and says ask G-d for a sign. Ahaz says no, he won’t test the Lord. Isaiah says well, Lord will give you a sign. Then Isaiah says 7:14, 15, 16 —“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.”
Almah, means young woman, referring to Ahaz’s wife being pregnant with Hezekiah. Two years later, Aram and Samaria were invaded by Assyria. It’s an impressive prediction. Does it meet the description “high as heaven and deep as Sheol?” Not really, not yet. Remember the interpretive key. Now we need to mention the Septuagint (LXX), the 2nd century translation into Greek of the Hebrew Bible. The story tells of 70 translators sequestered. They all agreed on the translation. Early Christians used the Septuagint, aka LXX. IN the LXX it says virgin and not young woman.
Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
It’s 6 BC in Nazareth. A young woman named Mary is betrothed to a carpenter named Joseph. Gabriel appears to the young woman and announces her favour in the eyes of the Lord. The angel of the Lord tells Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and she will conceive a son who will be Son of the Most High. Mary leaves Nazareth and goes to the Judea hill country to see Elizabeth stays 3 months. Returns to Nazareth pregnant, Joseph notices. He resolves to quietly dismiss Mary. Joseph has a dream in which an angel of G-d tells him not to fear and urges him to go through with plans to wed Mary. The angel explains the conception by Holy Spirit, and tells Joseph his son will save the world from sin.
Matthew 1:22-23 :: 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
Matthew 1:22-23 refers to the fulfilment of the prophecy made by Isaiah. That’s the spirit of the prophecy. That’s the sign as high as heaven and deep as Sheol. Not Hezekiah, Jesus. Immanuel means G-d is with us, not just G-d is on our side. The Word became flesh. Born of a virgin. Jesus, eternal Logos, came from heaven born through the Virgin Mary, and He became human. Jesus was made mortal—ie was subject to death—died and descended to the dead to bring salvation.
I’ll repeat that. Jesus came from Heaven and descended to Sheol. It’s through the testimony of the incarnation that we receive the full spirit of the prophecy of Isaiah. We can describe the Tree of Life as being high as Heaven and deep as Sheol. The deeper the roots, the higher the tree will grow.
image: The Harrowing of Hades
“Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live,” says Jesus in John 5:25.
‘For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted,” prophesies in Isaiah 7:16.
The lands of those dreaded kings (ie. the kingdoms of the dead—Sheol and Hades) will be deserted. There is light in this darkness. Believe. Love. Have hope.