Isaiah 65 JUDGMENT AND SALVATION These final chapters of the book of Isaiah brings to a great conclusion the different sections of the prophecy and, in a way, give an overview of the whole book. The cause of coming judgment on the people of Judah, the captivity and exile and then the return of to the promised land has all been prophesied. The remnant and the future including the tribulation, the millennium and the eternal future are all referred to.
He begins with the Gentiles seeking for the Lord who previously had no connection with God as a people, only with occasional individuals such as Naaman, Rahab, Ruth and some others. But now a time is coming when people who are not “called by My name” will seek for, and find the Lord. Because of their response to the Gospel, they will come into the blessings of salvation. The Jews, who as a recognized people who God has chosen, rejected the Savior and the Gospel, and would not accept the fact that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. The consequences of their superior attitude towards other people because they knew they were a chosen people, made them accept the practice of superficial and hypocritical religion. They apparently thought they could do what they want as far as God was concerned, and it would make any difference. After all, God made a covenant with the Jews beginning with Abraham, and surely, He wouldn’t let anything happen to us. They didn’t think other people would seek the Lord and be accepted by Him.
The people of Israel and Judah began to worship idols in defiance of God, and yet thought their hypocrisy would be overlooked. Self-serving practices, manipulation of the truth to suit our own opinions, hypocrisy that meets our desires rather than God’s commands in His word, are an abomination to the Lord. That attitude was why the tribes of Israel were conquered by the Assyrians and the tribe of Judah and those linked with them were carried away captive to Babylon. That same attitude had arisen to the place where, in the time our Lord Jesus Christ was here, full-blown hypocrisy was evident again in the Jews, especially among their leaders. So, captivity came again and the Jews were taken away from Palestine by the Romans after the first century AD.
Israel in Isaiah’s time had become contaminated by the idolatrous people and nations around them. They would not separate from the world and its system, and so became like them. Separation in the lives of God’s people involves personal separation, business separation, cultural separation, political separation and religious separation. When the people of God today try to win other people to Christ by being like them as much as possible, they usually fail in their endeavor. For a person to stand out in a godly way that is unique to consistent Christianity, gives clarity to what it means to be saved from sin and for heaven. To compromise righteousness, modesty, honor, reputation or any other character traits, is to be a loser to the world and in the world. A believer doesn’t not fit in with the practice of sin, even if they think they do. One person said to another in a bar where they were drinking, “What do you think about (and he mentioned a particular sin in which he was involved).” The Christian believer answered, “I don’t do that because I am a Christian.” “Well, what are you doing here then?” was the scoffing and mocking reply.
A marriage between a believer and unbeliever is only able to be 2/3 shared. The spirit of the unbeliever is dead to God. There is nothing in them that responds to the forgiveness of sin and the gratitude the Holy Spirit within puts in the heart of a child of God. Business yokes are difficult if the Christian wants to maintain legal integrity and financial honesty, when the other partner in business is willing to “cut-corners.” In the political life of the world, laws are changed to suit the present practices of an immoral society. The child of God is committed to the unchanging standards of God’s law. In the area of religion, the child of God who wants to please the Lord, will submit to the word of God and to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, rather than change biblical standards to become “seeker friendly” or “more acceptable” to those who don’t care what the Bible says. The reason people try to adapt to the religious world system, is to hopefully get people “to come to church.” Bible-believing Christians want to get people to come to Christ.
In Judah, God’s people had disobeyed God’s word, worshipped idols, got involved with the occultic practices that were around them, and rejected the dietary laws of the Lord. In spite of that rejection of the Lord, they still thought they were superior to other people. Intellectual superiority does not have the same authority and impact as moral superiority. The Lord Jesus made that plain when he was here. He told the people of His day that those who are like children inherit the kingdom of heaven. He also warned of the hypocrisy of those who impose strict laws and rules of their own opinion on those they led in religious matters.
God, through Isaiah, made it clear that He would make sure justice is carried out. We don’t have to make those kinds of judgments when hard questions arise, because we don’t know what is in the hearts of people. We don’t know what an absolutely just decision would be when it comes to punishment for sin. We leave that to God, and thank His for His mercy to us. How gracious it was for the Lord to give to a remnant of true believers in Judah, time to prepare for the future disasters that were coming. Most of the “grapes” were spoiled, shriveled and beyond recovery, but rather than destroy the whole “cluster,” it was to be kept because there were a few individual “grapes” that were good. From that small few, will come a whole new seed of the people of Israel in the future. Those who forsook the Lord; rejected and rebelled against Him; will perish in the terrible times of coming judgment. They did not want God; they wouldn’t listen to His word; they chose evil. They arrogantly practiced evil in defiance of the Lord. So, they will get the result of their choices.
In contrast to those apostate Jews are those who are “spiritual Israel.” The unbelievers will suffer famine and drought, thirst and despair. Then thy will suffer the torments of hell and “howl for vexation of spirit.” Spiritual Israel will find blessing and satisfaction. They will sing for joy. They will even have a new name – “Christians.” When scriptural disciplinary action is to be carried out by God’s people today, clear guidance is given in the New Testament. We are responsible to adhere to those guidelines and leave the results to God. God has preserved a remnant all though the periods of His dealing with mankind. There was a remnant before the exile, and one after. Not all who returned were “servants” of the Lord. That is true today as well. Among all of Christendom and the religions of the world, there are still those who seek to follow the Lord and practice the teachings of scripture. They do what they do as “unto the Lord, and not unto men.”
At the end of the chapter, there is a preview of the millennium on earth. In the past when God called, His people did not answer. In the future when He calls, they will answer even while the call is being made. We seek to have a clear understanding of prophetic messages, but are often limited by our own experiences or lack of them. We may not be able to have a real clear understanding of each event or each analogy, but we can get the big picture when we are guided by the Holy Spirit to “compare scripture with scripture.” What is written in one place, may be clarified by reading in one or more other portions of the word of God. Loyalty to our Lord makes it possible for those who love the Lord, to have hope in Him and in the future, no matter what is happening all around us. There are those today who are part of the believing remnant. It is in the Lord and His promises such people find their joy and hope.
When our Lord returns unbelievers will be purged from the earth. We know that the “new heavens and new earth” will come after the millennium is over, but perhaps as it is used here, it may be a foreshadowing of that eternal future. Our Lord will reign as the Great King and there will be then; the peace, plenty and safety that we long for now. Those who prepared for the coming King in the time of opportunity will experience in reality, what we are now only faintly aware of. The effects of that change will not only be on the earth, but on the creation itself and the creatures of earth.
Looking beyond the promise for the people of Israel, we see the “new heavens and the new earth” referred to in Revelation, in which there will be eternal glory. During the millennium, babies will be born and old people will die. After the millennium and the final battle, we will be ushered into an eternal future that defies explanation in mere human terms. The millennium gives us a glimpse into what God has prepared for those that love Him. But that is beyond what “eye has seen or ears heard, nor has it even entered into the heart of man (imagination) the things that God has prepared for them that love Him!”