Isaiah Lesson 21 - Chapters 64-66 Our study of Isaiah - Chapters 64 through 66 Tips to understanding our scriptures. As usual, all those passages dealing with the first or second advents are printed in bold italics. Our study of Isaiah - Chapter 64 Tips to understanding this chapter. Isaiah 64 continues the theme of Isaiah 63:7-19, in which Isaiah hopes for the fulfillment of the LORD's covenant to Israel, namely, His return in righteous anger as He promised in the first six verses of Isaiah 63. Then verses 3 -ff. look back on Israel's experience of God. It then poses the dilemma - God is gracious to those who trust in him and wait on him, but only to those, not to those who turn their back on Him. Israel as a nation has forsaken God. How then can God save them? Isaiah - Chapter 64 Isaiah 64:1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens [a] and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! [b] 64:2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies [c] and cause the nations to quake before you! 1 / 17
64:3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. [d] 64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. 64:5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? [e] 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 64:7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. 64:8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. 64:9 Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people. 64:10 Your sacred cities have become a desert; even Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a desolation. 64:11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our fathers praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins. [f] 64:12 After all this, O LORD, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure? Our study of Isaiah - Chapter 65:1-65:16 Tips to understanding this section. The voice of the passage returns to being the voice of the LORD (not Isaiah as in the previous passage). The LORD answers the plea of Isaiah, and 2 / 17
answers why He is doing what He is doing. He demonstrates the failure of Israel as a nation. Although God sent His Word to Israel, most of them rejected Him (He became a stumbling stone - Isaiah 8:14), while to the Gentiles, He became a light of Revelation (Isaiah 42:6, Luke 2:32). For those who reject God, God can do nothing. However, for the remnant of Israel who do believe, the promises will stand (verses 8-10). Isaiah - Chapter 65:1-65:16 Isaiah 65:1 "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; [g] I was found by those who did not seek me. [h] To a nation [i] that did not call on my name, I said, Here am I, here am I.' 65:2 All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations-- [j] 65:3 a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick; 65:4 who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; [k] who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat; 65:5 who say, Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!' [l] Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day. 65:6 "See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps-- 65:7 both your sins and the sins of your fathers," says the LORD. "Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains and defied me on the hills, I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds." 65:8 This is what the LORD says: "As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and 3 / 17
men say, Don't destroy it, there is yet some good in it,' so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all. 65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains; my chosen people will inherit them, and there will my servants live. 65:10 Sharon [m] will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor [n] a resting place for herds, for my people who seek me. 65:11 "But as for you who forsake the LORD and forget my holy mountain, who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, [o] 65:12 I will destine you [p] for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter; for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me." 65:13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; my servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; my servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. 65:14 My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. 65:15 You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse; the Sovereign LORD will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. [q] 65:16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. Our study of Isaiah - Chapter 65:17-65:25 4 / 17
Tips to understanding this section. This section is devoted to a detailed description of the Millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth. Isaiah - Chapter 65:17-65:25 Israel 65:17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. [r] The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. [s] 65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 65:19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; [t] the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 65:20 "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, [u] or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; [v] he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 65:21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 65:22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, [w] so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. 65:23 They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 65:24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 65:25 5 / 17
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, [x] but dust will be the serpent's food. [y] They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. Our study of Isaiah - Chapter 66:1-66:14a Tips to understanding this section. This section subtly changes focus to the First Advent of Christ. It asks about the house of the Lord and its construction. There is only one true Tabernacle or Temple of the LORD. It is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 2:19-22 "Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.' The Jews replied, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?' But the temple he had spoken of was his body." Then this section closes with the assurance that God's plan will surely be accomplished. Isaiah - Chapter 66:1-66:14a Isaiah 66:1 This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house [z] you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? 66:2 Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" [aa] declares the LORD. "This is the one 6 / 17
what [bb] I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. [cc] 66:3 But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig's blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. [dd] They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; 66:4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. [ee] They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me." 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: [ff] "Your brothers who hate you, and exclude you because of my name, [gg] have said, Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy!' [hh] Yet they will be put to shame. [ii] 66:6 Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! [jj] It is the sound of the LORD repaying his enemies all they deserve. [kk] 66:7 "Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. [ll] 66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children. [mm] 66:9 Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?" says the LORD. "Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?" says your God. 66:10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her. 66:11 For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and 7 / 17
delight in her overflowing abundance." 66:12 For this is what the LORD says: "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. 66:13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem." 66:14a When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants, Our study of Isaiah - Chapter 66:14b - 66:24 Tips to understanding this section. This section now changes focus to the coming of the Lord at the Second Advent of Christ. Isaiah - Chapter 66:14b - 66:24 Isaiah 66:14b but his fury will be shown to his foes. 66:15 See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his chariots [nn] are like a 8 / 17
whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 66:16 For with fire and with his sword the LORD will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the LORD. 66:17 "Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, [oo] following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats [pp] and other abominable things--they will meet their end together," declares the LORD. 66:18 "And I, because of their actions and their imaginations, am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory. 66:19 "I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive [qq] to the nations--to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 66:20 And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD--on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels," says the LORD. "They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels. 66:21 And I will select some of them [rr] also to be priests and Levites," says the LORD. 66:22 "As the new heavens and the new earth [ss] that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure. 66:23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, [tt] all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. 66:24 "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, [uu] and they will be loathsome to all mankind." 9 / 17
Questions: 1. Although Isaiah 64:6 is usually quoted as applied to all mankind, does that seem like the context in the passage? 2. What historical event does Isaiah 64:11? When did that occur? When was Isaiah written? 3. Isaiah 64:12 asks a question and Isaiah 65:1 answers it. What is the question and what is the answer? 4. What does Isaiah 65:8-9 promise about Israel? 5. How and when do you envision Isaiah 65:17 being fulfilled? 6. What does Isaiah 65:20 tell us about the likely level of population explosion? 7. Isaiah 66:17 tell us about the fate of all unbelievers at the end of the Tribulation? 8. What are the possible interpretations of "new heaven and new earth." 10 / 17
[a] The curtain of the Holy of Holies was the color of the heavens embroidered with angels. When Christ died, God rended this curtain. Perhaps this verse is calling up that image, which was connected to the First Advent. [b] When Christ returns the second time, the mountains will tremble according to Habakkuk 3:6. [c] Isaiah 63:2-3 has just related this passage to the winepress of God's anger (Armageddon). The similar passage in Revelation tells us about the name Jesus will reveal at that time. Revelation 19:15b-16 "He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." [d] When the LORD came down during the Exodus at Mt. Sinai the mountain trembled. Exodus 19:18 "Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently." [e] This is the ancient dilemma! God is waiting to good to the righteous, but who among us is righteous? Only one. We can only be blessed because we are "in Him." [f] This passage, along with all the passages in Isaiah that talk of the Babylonians and the deliverance by Cyrus are obviously prophetic and are written to assure the people, not of Isaiah's time, but of Jeremiah's time. This was written about 150 years before the events described. [g] This answers the question of the previous verse. [h] Quoted by Paul in reverse order in Romans 10 where he says this was prophesying that the Gentiles would accept the Gospel of Christ. Romans 10:19-21 "Again I ask: Did Israel 11 / 17
not understand? First, Moses says, I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.' And Isaiah boldly says, I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.' But concerning Israel he says, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.'" [i] Israel. [j] See Jesus' remark in Mark 7:8-9 " You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.' And he said to them: You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!.'" [k] The practice of necromancy and appealing to the departed for wisdom. This is an abomination to God that some Christians today get sucked in by. [l] Where it says "I am to sacred for you" I prefer the RSV translation " I am set apart from you." It perfectly describes the Holier than thou attitude of the Pharisees that Jesus encountered. [m] The coastal plain on the Mediterranean west of Judah and Benjamin. It was never controlled by the Israelites for long, because it was populated and usually controlled by the Philistines. Since it was the location of the major trade and invasion route between Egypt and the rest of the Fertile Crescent, it was jealously coveted by Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia and every other world empire and power of the age. Being a plain, it was easily dominated by chariots and horses, of which Israel had few. [n] Achor = "trouble," a valley near Jericho, so called in consequence of the trouble which the sin of Achan caused Israel (Joshua 7:24,26). The expression "valley of Achor" probably became proverbial for that which caused trouble. Easton Bible Dictionary. 12 / 17
[o] The New Living Translation gives the sense of this phrase well - "who worship the gods of Fate and Destiny." [p] This is clearly an irony that those who worshipped a god of destiny will be destined to the slaughter by the only God who truly controls destiny. [q] Revelation 3:12 "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." [r] See 2 Peter 3:11-13 "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." [s] The trophies and monuments of this world will not survive. [t] Remember, all the Gentiles in Christ will be grafted in to Israel and will be called His People. Romans 9:23-25 "What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory-- even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As he says in Hosea: "I will call them my people' who are not my people ; and I will call her my loved one' who is not my loved one," [u] Another of the verses that indicate there will be children born in the Millennium. Some will 13 / 17
believe, and some will not. [v] It sounds like the life expectancies (800 years plus) of the Antediluvian Age (pre flood) will return. [w] Yet another comparison of believers to a tree. Jesus is the root, and His people are the tree. [x] See also Isaiah 11:6-7. [y] Refers to Genesis 3:14 "So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life." In other words, although the curse on the earth in Genesis 3:17 is lifted, the curse on Satan is not. We know that he will be in the Abyss for the thousand years (Revelation 20:2-3). Genesis 3:17-18 "To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field." [z] The true House of the Lord is not of stone, it is Jesus Christ. Like in the Garden, in the Millenium we will be able to see God face to face. [aa] A man made temple of wood, stone, brass, silver and gold cannot begin to express to glory of God. Only one thing can. [bb] The true Temple of the Lord is the one He will build which is the person of Jesus Christ (the humble in Spirit). It is no coincidence that the Temple that replaced the one destroyed by the Babylonians was dedicated on the birthday of Jesus Christ who was born about 500 years later. 14 / 17
[cc] The true Temple of the Lord is the one He will build which is the person of Jesus Christ (the humble in Spirit). It is no coincidence that the Temple that replaced the one destroyed by the Babylonians was dedicated on the birthday of Jesus Christ who was born about 500 years later. [dd] The Temple worship In Isaiah's day was supposed to symbolize God's promised grace. For this there was to be an inner gratitude and rejoicing. Instead the Temple worship had degenerated into an outward show of personal sacrifice to a hungry, even a greedy God. In this way the Jews were blasphemous and were no better than those who worshipped idols. In the Millennium, such sacrifices would deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice and be even worse. [ee] This was unfortunately the response of Israel through most of History. [ff] In other words believers. [gg] Luke 21:12 "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name." Luke 6:22 "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man." [hh] The taunt here seems to be that the unbelieving Jews ask for the coming of the Lord in Glory (Second Advent), so that they can see the joy of those who have believed in His First Advent. Of course they really hope those who have believed in Jesus will be humiliated and judged for having believed in a false messiah. Instead, they will be the ones put to shame. [ii] For an application see John 9:24. 15 / 17
[jj] Remember, the Temple in the second Advent is Jesus Christ who returns to Jerusalem and puts His feet on the Mount of Olives. [kk] I believe the picture being painted here is the day in Jerusalem when darkness covered the earth. That day in the temple when the veil was rent in two. That day when the Lord defeated Satan forever. [ll] Before the LORD accomplished salvation, and returned in vengeance, she (that is the descendant of Eve) delivered His Son (the seed of the Woman). [mm] The labor was the death on Mt. Zion of the Lord on the Cross. At the moment He said "It is finished!" All of His children were born "in Him." [nn] Psalms 68:17 "The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands." [oo] Referring to the practice in Isaiah's day of worshipping false gods in "gardens" dedicated to idols. Here it refers to any kind of false religion. [pp] This "eating" is symbolical, just as "eating" in the Communion is symbolical. These are those who "eat" the evil of the world. [qq] This seems to indicate that some of those from the destroyed armies of the nations had responded to the gospel and were returned to their nations to bring their brothers to worship the LORD at the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles). [rr] The Gentile survivors. 16 / 17
[ss] 2 Peter 3:7-10 "By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." [tt] That is, every day of the week and every day of the month. Every day will be a day of worship. [uu] Quoted by Jesus in Mark 9:48. 17 / 17