Isaiah 66:13-24
Isa 66:13
As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you;
and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
This verse has a double teaching.
When Judah returns from the Babylonian captivity, God will nurture them
as a mother comforts her child because they will not have to worry about empires
like Assyria or Babylon invading their land and taking them captive and
destroying their cities. The second
teaching is that the true believer will be comforted in Jerusalem.
This is speaking of the New Jerusalem where no enemy can ever remove the
true believer from like they could the old Jerusalem.
The Christian will have the Holy Spirit indwelling them who will be their
comforter.
But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom
the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)
Isa 66:14
And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice,
and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be
known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
Then Judah will see the protection of the LORD when they
return from Babylon and they will have a sense of rejoicing and they will have a
renewed vigor in their bodies just as a herb flourishes in the springtime when
it starts to flower and ready to give off its fragrances.
Then the people of God will know that it is the LORD once again who is
bringing about their security and defense because they will know that the LORD
will defend them against any potential or real enemies.
This verse also teaches that the true believer will rejoice at the
understanding that the Holy Spirit indwells them and they will be able to grow
in the LORD as an herb grows from the ground.
The people of God will know the hand of the LORD toward his servants
because salvation is of the LORD and while the true believer comes to know God
throughout his life, they will also know that the enemies of God will be dealt
with and his anger toward the wicked.
God judgeth the righteous, and God
is angry with the wicked every
day. (Psalm 7:11)
Isa 66:15
For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his
chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with
flames of fire.
The warning to God’s enemies continues in this verse that
though they may persecute the people of God, he will come with a mighty judgment
of them especially on the last day.
Fire in the Bible represents judgment.
Then the LORD rained upon Sodom
and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; (Genesis
19:24) There will be no place
for the unbeliever to hide when the LORD comes in judgment.
This verse teaches that God will come with full fury in judgment.
We must remember that the wrath of God was upon Christ when he was on
Calvary paying for the sins of the Elect and now the full wrath of God will be
levied against unbelievers who will pay for their own sins.
Isa 66:16
For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all
flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
Then not only will there be judgment by fire, there shall
also be the judgment of the sword.
The LORD pleading means that before he brings full judgment, he will always
attempt to plead or reason with sinners but because of their spiritual deadness,
it is normally futile. Then the
verse states that those who are slain of the LORD will be many.
This verse would also refer to the time when Isaiah prophesies when
Babylon will destroy the land and take the people captive and destroy the
temple. God will destroy Babylon by
means of Cyrus and the Medes and Persians.
This verse also teaches about our present day where God is reasoning or
pleading with people through the outreach of the body of Christ who warns the
unbelievers of the judgment to come.
One day that will all end and the judgment of God will fall upon them.
Isa 66:17
They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in
the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the
abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
Then these will be the focus of the judgment of God when
it comes. They sanctify themselves
which means they set themselves apart and purify themselves according to pagan
rituals so they are purely dedicated to whatever false god they are serving.
They will do this behind a tree or they will do it openly in the midst of
the people without any shame.
Eating swine’s flesh went along with one of the rituals but was strictly
forbidden under the law of God.
And the swine, though he divide the hoof,
and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he
is unclean to you. (Leviticus
11:7) The abomination here may
be pointing to the weasel which is connected in the law with the mouse.
These also
shall be unclean unto you among
the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and
the tortoise after his kind, (Leviticus 11:29)
It states that they were consuming both together.
Isa 66:18
For I know their works and their thoughts: it
shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and
see my glory.
The LORD is well aware of their works as well as their
thoughts and how they are so determined to continue to break the law of God
without conscience. Then in the
second half of this verse God is pointing to the fact that the true gospel will
go out among the entire world and every nation and tongue, which is a
legitimate, established language and not gibberish like modern tongues, will
come into the kingdom of God and will see the glory of God which will be found
in all the people that he saved and their focused praises to him and from that
his glory will be made known to all the nations.
Isa 66:19
And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those
that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that
draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that
have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my
glory among the Gentiles.
Here we see a worldwide missionary effort being performed
by the body of Christ. The sign
which will be set among them will be the LORD Jesus Christ.
And Simeon blessed them, and said
unto Mary his mother, Behold, this
child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a
sign which shall be spoken against; (Luke 2:34)
Then there shall come a great escape of the true believers and this may
be connected with Acts 8:1 where the church was being persecuted and they fled
in all directions.
And Saul was consenting unto his death.
And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at
Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea
and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)
Then some of the nations named where the true believers went, and this
may include the true believers at the time of Isaiah.
Tarshish where Jonah fled was somewhere in Spain.
Pul was Libya.
Lud was Lydia in western Asia minor.
Javan was the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor.
Tubal was by the Black and Caspian Seas which dealt in copper and in
brass. The isles afar off could
mean the islands all over the world in the western hemisphere who never heard of
the name of God nor have they seen the glory of God.
The true believers will be dispatched to all those places to bring the
gospel to every nation of the world.
Isa 66:20
And they shall bring all your brethren for an
offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in
litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,
saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel
into the house of the LORD.
This verse speaks about the many converts to Christianity
that will occur from ancient times who will come upon horses because of distance
and in chariots which may refer to the upper class who were able to afford a
chariot. Then there were
litters which is a covered sedan for the rich which could be carried by four men
or drawn by horses. Then the people
will come upon mules and swift beasts like a camel.
The called Elect of God will come by any means they can, from the poor to
the wealthy, to the holy mountain Jerusalem which is the kingdom of God.
They will have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and are made clean
just like when the children of Israel under the law will bring an offering in a
clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
And the voice
spake unto him again the second
time, What God hath cleansed, that
call not thou common. (Acts 10:15)
Isa 66:21
And I will also take of them for priests and for
Levites, saith the LORD.
The Levites were to be the ones who taught the people the
law of God and all things pertaining to being obedient to the law of God.
They shall teach Jacob thy
judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole
burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. (Deuteronomy 33:10)
Then just like the Levites, the true believers will also be teachers of
the Scriptures.
And he gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (Ephesians
4:11) Every true believer will
have a spiritual gift to empower them to perform certain functions in the body
of Christ. Then the true believer is like the priests of old who ministered in
the house of God performing certain functions before the LORD.
The true believers will not be performing sacrifices like they did under
the old covenant but will perform spiritual sacrifices such as praise and
thanksgiving and helping to teach other Christians who will take over in
subsequent generations.
But ye are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2:9)
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his
Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation
1:6)
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we
shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:10)
Isa 66:22
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will
make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name
remain.
The New Heavens and the New Earth will be created by the
LORD in righteousness and will remain forever as there will be no threats to it
since the LORD himself is the everlasting protector of them.
Then connected with that guarantee is the fact that the true believer
having received everlasting life will also remain forever and the LORD will even
preserve our names.
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep
hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
(John 10:3) Our names are not
just for this earth but will go on into eternity.
Isa 66:23
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon
to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship
before me, saith the LORD.
This verse is not teaching a return to the Mosaic law but
is speaking about perpetuity.
New Testament worship is sometimes spoken of in terms of the Mosaic law.
Here the phrases speak about from one new moon to another and one sabbath
to another which is speaking about a continual worship of the LORD.
This is speaking about the New Heavens and New Earth which we read about
in the previous verse and its eternal continuing nature.
Isa 66:24
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of
the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither
shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.