Remember, a prophecy isn't something that comes true. A prophecy is something that someone SAYS will come true. If you believe there's a God at all, there are only two kinds of prophecy: those that have come true, and those that have not come true yet.
(It says in Is. 53:6 - All we [Israel] like sheep have gone astray; we [Israel] have turned every one to his [each Israelite’s] own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all [all of us Israelites]. Who is left of the nation of Israel to serve as the “him” upon whom the Lord lays the iniquity of Israel?
It's hard to tell, because it's something taken out of the middle of a paragraph. One has to read back to figure out where the paragraph really begins.
When I read back, it looks to me like this area here is a transition of some sort:
11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.
Notice "ye." Ye is the Vous form of you, being either formal or plural. Here it sounds like the prophet is addressing all "good" Jews to go out and set an example of Godliness.
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
This is in future tense, but it's either speaking of Israel itself, or any godly Jew who sets the example.
14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
This is in past tense, and switches from Ye to thee, which is singular. It suggests that something was edited out. So it's hard to know who "thee" is, unless it means the prophet, speaking of himself in third person. Saying that any godly Jew gets this reaction from others.
But then it switches back to "he". Note, whoever it is, it's past tense. It's already happened. Most of the rest of it switches back and forth between future and past tense, suggesting someone or something that is already alive or present, and can be observed by the people is addressing. And if it was translated from a language that had gender, it's hard to know if "he" means "he" or "it." (As in, all ships are "she.") Either way, it still sounds like Israel to me.Especially in that a great deal of it is past tense.
The problem with your exegesis is that you fail to “hear” the shifts in the text, whether they are shifts in time, tone, subject.
No, as I've shown above, these things are very important to me.
This is borne out of a stubbornness of heart (my way must be correct - because, well, because that’s the way I [choose to] see it.
No, my approach is born out of the knowledge that these are very old texts, translated several times.
Next time you read Isaiah in one sitting (which, first of all, indicates a mind which isn’t dwelling on/meditating on/contemplating the word of God very carefully),
No, I'm not contemplating "the word of God." I'm reading old texts from a foreign culture in a foreign language, translated by others from foreign cultures through the ages, until they are as we see them today. It's like trying to figure out Mayan text: hard. But not to be taken as literal (I think the end of the 12th Baktun should be warning enough about thinking ancient cultures had much to say about our future.)
try examining how individual parts of the text fit/don’t fit your own exegesis of the text entire. If and when they don’t, you must either adjust your thinking, or disregard what you’ve read. You’ve chosen the latter. Do you understand what I’m after here? Do you understand my question?
Yes, you want me to believe what you believe.
If, as you believe, Christ is not the messiah Israel was to be waiting for, has he [messiah] appeared yet? The answer would have to be “No,” as we see no evidence of his kingdom having been established. Well, since he has not yet appeared:
No, and never will. The Mayans didn't do so well either, ultimately. Nor the Aztecs. Nor the Maori. Nor the Greeks (I mean, look at them now.) Ireland will probably never be united. Tibet will probably never be free. The Cherokee nation will never hunt buffalo across the plains again. Every fallen civilization hopes it will rise again. But they don't.
Quoting me: “If, as you believe, Christ is not the messiah Israel was to be waiting for, has he [messiah] appeared yet? The answer would have to be “No,” as we see no evidence of his kingdom having been established. Well, since he has not yet appeared...”
You said, “No, and never will.”
This, then should conclude the matter for all. You have been discussing, questioning, examining an ancient text for almost a week that you say you can have no confidence in (”No, I’m not contemplating ‘the word of God.’ I’m reading old texts from a foreign culture in a foreign language, translated by others from foreign cultures through the ages, until they are as we see them today. It’s like trying to figure out Mayan text: hard. But not to be taken as literal”). You have been asking how messiah is to be identified. You’ve repeatedly asked what proof-texts support NT notions of messiah, have been furnished with OT evidences (most of which you’ve ignored or simply indicated your preferred understanding of these - as if these MUST be correct) and now you would say you don’t believe such a person (messiah) did/does/will ever exist! Others have suggested that you have only been playing games here; apparently they are correct. You have shown yourself to be a fraud.