Many people like to predict what will happen to them in the future. Many more will make plans and resolutions that they promise to carry out with great certainty. Yet most of the predictions and resolutions will not come to pass and will be forgotten. Here Isaiah makes a prediction that in 150 years a king will arise by the name of Cyrus. He will defeat Babylon and restore God’s people to Judah. 2500 years later we know the prophecy came to pass as written.
Because the prophecy is so specific, many so called Biblical scholars maintain that the prophecy was not written by Isaiah but by an unnamed person writing at the time of Cyrus’ reign. Such an allegation is an affront to the Lord God because it not only calls Him a liar but also denies His sovereignty, omniscience and omnipotence. In addition, some question the authority of the passage for it refers to Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia as “anointed”, a term which refers to the Messiah. How can the Lord elevate a pagan to such a place as His chosen one? But the fact is, God is sovereign. He alone has the authority and wisdom to choose to use any one He wants to accomplish His will and purpose. We created beings are in no position to question how and why God does what He does.
Finally of we compare 45:23 with Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10 we will note that these words that refer to Almighty God are used in the New Testament to refer to Jesus. That fact can help us to counter the lies of cultists and agnostics who claim Jesus was not God. The word says it so it must be true.