Isaiah 66 A GLORIOUS REVIEW This final chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah is like an overview, or a review, of the important subjects written about in the whole book. We are reminded of who God is: high and lofty beyond our comprehension; so supreme to anything that we can conceive in our finite minds, that we are stuck for words. No description can be made of God, so when we speak of Him in an effort to explain Him and His work, we have to speak in terms of the negative: not limited, no comparison etc. He is greater than the greatest person in mortal human history. He is mightier than all the combined powers in heaven and earth. His love and mercy surpass that of any loving parent or just judge. So, we speak of Him as “greater than…;” “higher than….” “Earth is His “footstool;” “heaven” is merely the throne He sits on. Since heaven is His throne, what must hell be like? He “inhabits eternity.” No wonder every believer in Him, is in awe when we speak to Him and call Him, “Abba Father!” But thankfully, we can approach Him, “in our Savior’s precious name. We Thy children here assembling, access to Thy presence claim.”
He knows who we are and He knows our limitations, and yet He cares for us. In His grace, in this concluding message of Isaiah, He sums up what is important to Him, and why it should be important to us. The holiness of God and His glory are really the overriding theme of this book. In grace He reaches out to those who are true believers of the remnant of Israel in time past, and also to believers in this present age who know Him and love Him. In His holiness He warns those who ignore, despise and reject Him, of what is ahead of them, and every Christ-rejector.
We are then given some brief glimpses of His glory revealed to the world after the tribulation and the battle of Armageddon are passed. Then at the conclusion, we are given a look forward to the wonders of the new heavens and new earth that are beyond the ability to describe. Briefly then, the subjects of this chapter are to lift up the humble; judge all the people; destroy the wicked; gather the believers together; and then establish the new heavens and the new earth.
The omnipresence of God in the universe, and yet the fact that he dwells in the hearts of the humble and contrite people who reverence and respect Him, defies our natural understanding. However, it brings a joyful response from those who tremble at His word, and are committed to keeping it. We know, when it is real to us, and practiced in our lives, it becomes a living word to our hearts from our gracious Father. It is not just a book to be studied and discussed. Religious rituals and mere external responses to the Lord in worship and obedience is condemned by Him and abhorrent to Him. To counterfeit what God intends to be real worship from the hearts and minds of His people, is insulting to the will of God. It is the same as saying my way is better than God’s way. The sacrifices of external compliance as a form of religious service, is an abomination to the Lord. When something is done in the name of the Lord, but to please people; that must be detestable to the One who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Those who try to manipulate divine order to suit themselves, will fail.
On the other side of things, is the fact that the believing remnant of Jews will be delivered from the bondage which has kept Jews separated for centuries. All that will change quickly when the national restoration of Israel is completed under the Messiah. That will take place in a short time like the birth of a child. A nation will be born in a day. There will yet be a lot of pain for them during the tribulation. Since the last exile in 150 AD or thereabouts, during the last part of the Roman occupation, Jews have been scattered everywhere. Around one hundred years ago, a movement started that has gradually developed to where it is today. Israel has become a recognized nation by most people in the world for the last seventy plus years. However, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth, that coming will bring rejoicing in Jerusalem and to all who look for the coming of the kingdom of peace.
During that time, there will be plenty to satisfy the need of all the people on earth. From the ground there will come all that is needed as great areas of earth that haven’t produced food, will release its abundance. There will also be peace when the anxious souls of those who have suffered for so long, will find their rest in the Lord. There will be control in the kingdom as the servants of the Lord will be at rest spiritually and will have the joy of the Lord filling their spirits. The hand of the Lord will give guidance and direction because of the blessings of communion that will be shared by the Lord with His people.
For those who reject the Lord and want everything on their own terms: the conduct of their lives, the practice of religion to suit themselves and their lifestyle; they will be righteously judged by the Lord. The judgment of the nations will result in those who had rejected the Lord, persecuted His people, and gone their own way – in being sent away into everlasting punishment. They will be consigned to hell.
The glory of God will be seen by the world. Those who will escape the judgment of the tribulation and the battle of Armageddon, and survive the terrible times of righteous judgment on a Christ-rejecting world system, will be sent out to the nations. They will declare to the nations what has happened and there will come peace on earth. Jews are presently returning to Israel gradually, and others will go there in times to come. When the nation has finally gathered to the Lord Jesus Christ, not just to their nationalistic hopes and pride; everything will be brought in the focus of the will of God, not the will of the people. There will be no need of sacrifices as types, because the Lord will be there Himself. Offerings they will bring will be of gratitude and thanksgiving.
The whole drama as it unfolds will conclude with the final times of terrible judgment. Then a glorious kingdom will be established for one thousand years. The battle of Gog and Magog will be the final rebellion of Satan and his hosts, who will be cast into the lake of fire. The end of the millennium will usher in the new heavens and new earth that has long been looked for, and righteousness and holiness will be the normal way of life. That will be a final, permanent and unchanging condition and state of those who are redeemed. Those who will be damned, are those who insisted on their own ways and rejected God and His way. The choices they make condemns them to face and experience the eternal consequences of those choices.