Isaiah 41:25 speaks of two men, one from the north and another from the rising of the sun.
I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
Isaiah 41:25
And then, Isaiah 41:27 prophesies that someone is to explain these two to Zion in these last days.
The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
Isaiah 41:27
The Hebrew of Isaiah 41:27 begins with, "Rishon le-Zion Hineh…" Literally, this reads, "First to Zion, behold..." So, the KJV's translation "The first shall say to Zion, Behold..." is accurate.
Now, by "the first", the verse cannot mean the Son of God Jesus Christ, the firstbegotten of God the Father.
For one thing, the verse immediately before would not make sense.
... yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
Isaiah 41:26
Jesus Christ is the Word of God, in other words the Bible, a text inspired by the Holy Spirit. Surely, it cannot be that no one has read or heard the words of the Bible.
For another thing, Isaiah 41:21 explains that the person speaking in Isaiah 41 is "the LORD" and also "the King of Jacob", which means God the Father and Jesus Christ are the ones speaking, or else God the Father is speaking through Jesus Christ. So, it would be odd if "the first" is supposed to mean the firstbegotten, Jesus Christ himself.
Next, by "the first", the verse cannot mean the first of the two men of Isaiah 41:25, because it goes on to read "Behold them" rather than something like Behold us.
Therefore, by "the first", I think, what is meant is, the first of the saints of the ancient kingdom of Israel, which is me, the servant of Isaiah 49. So, I am the one that is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 41:27. I am the one that is to explain the two men of Isaiah 41:25.
Now, verse 29, which elaborates on Isaiah 41:25, points out that these two men have something to do with molten images that are wind and confusion - in other words, a breaking of the first two of the ten commandments.
Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41:29
What comes to mind for the one from the north is "the Assyrian", also known as "the beast", and "the little horn": ie. the Antichrist whose name counts to 666.
In these last days, the false prophet with the help of demons will make a molten image of this beast appear to come to life.
Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jeremiah 10:14-15
He will do this in an attempt to deceive the world into worshipping the Assyrian and the angel Satan.
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Revelation 13:14-15
In Daniel 11:40, the Assyrian is described as "the king of the north".
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south [negev] push at him: and the king of the north [tsaphon] shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Daniel 11:40
In Revelation 6, the Assyrian is also the fourth horseman of the apocalypse, the rider of the pale horse. The fourth seal, like all the other seals, is opened by Jesus Christ.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6:7-8
In Isaiah 10, the Assyrian is even an axe that is to hew down the branches or the trees of Judah that will not bear good fruit.
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath...
Isaiah 10:5-6
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? ...
Isaiah 10:15
And in Job 39, the Assyrian is the unicorn that is to do some godly work. Because of course, if it were left entirely to Satan, I imagine, Satan would rather the status quo be maintained.
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
Job 39:9-12
All this explains why this man from the north is roused up or "raised up" by God. Being part Turkmen, although born in Nineveh Iraq, he is in effect from the north. Turkiye is north of Jerusalem. The Assyrian even has a birth name given to him by God, a name that sums in gematria to 666. This is so that Christians, Jews, and saints can identify him at the time of the end.
So, that covers the one from the north in Isaiah 41:25: the Antichrist in these last days before the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.
I have raised [lit. roused] up one from the north and he shall come...
Isaiah 41:25
Now to the other man of Isaiah 41:25, the one from the rising of the sun.
... from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
Isaiah 41:25
My latest thinking on this is that this person is a saint, one of the 144000 of Jacob.
First of all, this man will call upon the name of the LORD, ie. God the Father, as all saints will do at one point or another. You see, after the reaping, all of the 144000, every one of the saints, will be holy and good, so calling upon the name of the LORD is an attribute of a saint.
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Revelation 14:1
Second, this saint will fight clay-like princes, which probably means rebellious angels or else possessed human leaders. He will do so like a potter that treads clay. This suggests god-like power, "the morning star", which is something that every saint will have.
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star.
Revelation 2:26-27
Remember, a saint cannot be harmed by humans or angels: a saint can only be killed by another saint.
Third, like the other saints of the army of the kingdom of God, this one will be given to Jerusalem when the kingdom of God begins, and he like every other saint will bring the good news, ie. the gospel. This explains the part that goes, "I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings".
The next and most important point is that this saint will come from the rising of the sun. As of now, the year 2024, the sun rises first at Kamchatka Russia or else the East Cape of New Zealand, depending on the time of the year. This fact prompts me to think this saint will be a Russian, someone from the rising of the sun that also comes from the north, since Moscow is geographically north of Jerusalem.
Now, I should remind that the subject matter of Isaiah 41:25 is gods that seek the worship of humanity. Therefore, what these two men have in common is that they will both reject and rival Jesus Christ. They are both "antichrist" in this way. They might even blaspheme God the Father, or else claim he does not exist.
Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Isaiah 41:21-24
So, what I am saying is that this saint from the rising of the sun, meaning Russia, must be Gog of Magog, the prophesied Antichrist after the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.
At first and perhaps for a while, he will be one of the 144000, a soldier of the kingdom of God, good and holy like everyone else. But then at some point during or after the Millennial Reign, he will be corrupted and he will turn against God.
From Genesis 10, we know that Magog and even Meschech and Tubal all descend from Japheth.
The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Genesis 10:2
This means, Gog is Caucasian or to put it another way, white. Tarshish, as in the English, is a grandson of Japheth.
From Ezekiel 39, we know that Gog will come with his followers to attack the kingdom of God from "the north parts".
Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel
Ezekiel 39:1-2
It is also clear that is it God who will cause him or provoke him to come. A hook in his jaw!
And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army...
Ezekiel 38:3-4
Notice there is a symmetry with him and the Assyrian, another Antichrist that is roused up from the north.
Now, consider Ezekiel 39:3, where it is mentioned that Gog will wield a "bow".
And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Ezekiel 39:3
At this time of the end, before Armageddon, a bow means nuclear weapons. Having said that, the bow of Ezekiel 39:3 cannot be nuclear weapons because during the Millennial Reign, Jesus will compel every nation to disarm, which of course must include nuclear weapons know-how. This is why Jesus is described as "the Prince of Peace" (ref. Isaiah 9:6). The prophecy in Isaiah 2:4 is that the nations shall not war against each other during the 1000 years, and neither shall they learn war any more.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah 2:4
Further to this, in Psalms 46:9, it is prophesied that God will, among other things, break "the bow", in order to make wars to cease.
Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalms 46:8-10
So, I think, the word "bow" in Ezekiel 39:3 must mean something like Gog's ability to command the saints that are subordinate to him and that have allied with him. You see, every saint is technically an "arrow" in the quiver of God (ref. Isaiah 49:2, Psalms 64:7), and it is Jesus Christ who is supposed to command the entire 144000, in other words, it is Jesus Christ that aims and draws the string of the bow. But in the event of a rebellion of some portion of the army, the leader of that rebellion will now also wield a similar bow although with fewer arrows.
The prophecy of Ezekiel 39:3 is that God will smite the bow in Gog's left hand, and cause the arrows in Gog's right hand to fall.
Now, if you look at the nations that side with Gog, you will notice that today these nations are all Islamic. Persia is Iran. Cush is North Sudan. Put is Libya. Gomer and Togarmah are probably parts of Turkiye.
Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
Ezekiel 38:5-6
This means, over 1000 years from now, these parts of the world will somehow become antichrist again.
This goes to show, a saint that is assigned to a country must change that country, or else that country will change him!
Keep in mind also that Russia has Chechnya and Dagestan and places like that which are largely Muslim right now, and have birth rates that surpass the average of the Russian Federation.
Now, from Isaiah 41:21-24 combined with Isaiah 41:28-29, I get the picture that at some point in the future, out of vanity and a desire to rule the world, Gog positions himself as a rival to Jesus Christ. In so doing, Gog's followers become an "abomination" much like Satanists that serve the angel Satan.
Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Isaiah 41:24
For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41:28-29
When Gog takes this path, he will pull a number of saints over to his side. Most likely all of his subordinates, but also others in certain countries. Exactly how many will rebel against God, I don't know. It might be that the parable of the ten virgins (ref. Matthew 25) is applicable here: five wise versus five foolish.
So, this is the civil war over 1000 years from now, a second rebellion of an army of heaven.
It will take all of the saints that are still loyal to God at that time, not just me, to defeat them.
And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel
Ezekiel 38:16-19
And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains [loyal saints], saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother [civil war of the saints].
Ezekiel 38:21
Through this war, the Bible prophesies that God the Father will reveal to the world his power.
Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 38:23
Much will be at stake, because Zion must not be taken plus the entire world has agreed to disarm. For this reason, this civil war among the 144000 will also mean real and significant glory for all of the saints on the correct side - every saint that remains "pious" and loyal to God.
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains [other saints], and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:14-16
I too, the servant of Isaiah 49, will enjoy glory at this time. 光 meaning "light" and "glory" is a part of my name.
And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Isaiah 49:3
... I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isaiah 49:6
We will try to kill all of the rebels, but some might escape to outer space to become wandering stars, as the Bible prophesies, due to the sheer number of them.
Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars [rebellious saints], to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Jude 1:13
He [God] poureth contempt upon princes [rebellious saints], and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
Psalms 107:40
Certainly, Gog himself will be killed. He will fall in the land of Zion. This is prophesied in Ezekiel 39:11.
After the war, I will likely be placed among the heathen, presumably in the land that was controlled by Gog, to make sure that that area is corrected, at least to some extent if not entirely.
And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
Ezekiel 39:21
At this time, Zion, the kingdom of God, will be governed by the twelve apostles. And God the Father will also be there, invisible, reigning over it all.
And then some years after all of this, the planet earth will be burnt up by the sun, and there will be a new heavenly Jerusalem with Jesus Christ making all things new.
When this happens, Zion will be the kingdom of heaven, where all of the saved across all time - Jews, Christians, angels and saints alike - will be citizens, and living in peace.