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Isaiah: Book of Good News!

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All right, Tim Chester, who writes a book I've been using as really kind of the basis and foundation for this series in Isaiah, he asks this question.
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He says, what creates a praying church or a praying person? What sustains energy for prayer?
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Well, there certainly can be a lot of answers to that question, but he goes on to say, Isaiah 64 gives a powerful motive to pray with passion.
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And that motive is the recognition that we need God to revive our hearts, our church, our nation.
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And I think we're all well aware of the latter of those three, or the last of those three, right?
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We need God to revive our nation, but we need God to revive our church.
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We need God to revive our own hearts. And coming upon that realization, when that dawns on us, when that hits us and affects us in our heart, that becomes a powerful motive to pray.
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So today we're going to focus on Isaiah 64, and turn there. We're going to look at, we're going to do the bird's eye view of several chapters.
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But notice how Isaiah 64 begins. It begins with an earnest prayer request.
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Oh, that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down. Oh, that you would rend the heavens, that you would tear open the heavens, that you would come down.
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Now, back in chapter 63, look at verse 15. Verse 15, he says, look down from heaven and see from your habitation holy and glorious.
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Look down from heaven. So in this verse, he petitions God to look down from heaven.
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But now at the beginning of chapter 64, he calls on God to come down from heaven.
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Don't just look from afar, come down from heaven. Now, I want to remind you that the prophet
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Isaiah is looking 200 years into the future. He's looking at the time when
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Judah is going to be defeated by the Babylonians. Thousands of the people of Judah are going to be taken into captivity.
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They're going to go into exile. Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. The temple is going to be in ruins, and God's people will be in exile.
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Look at chapter 64, look at verses 10 and 11. He says, your holy cities are a wilderness.
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Zion is a wilderness. Now, he's not talking about the present. He's talking about what he sees 200 years into the future.
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Jerusalem is a desolation. Our holy and beautiful temple where our fathers praised you is burned up with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
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Back in chapter 63, verse 18, he says, your holy people have possessed it but a little while.
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Our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary. So he sees this off into the future.
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And what he sees, what Isaiah sees, breaks his heart. It breaks his heart.
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And that heartbroken vision of what he sees 200 years in the future compels him to pray that the
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Lord would rend the heavens and he would come down. In effect,
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Isaiah is praying for the Lord to come down, to get stuck in, and to set things right in this condition that the nation of the people of God has found itself in.
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So that need creates the motive for prayer, the stimulus for this prayer.
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What stimulates? Okay, that's the motive. What stimulates him to actually pray? And again, look at verse 3, and you can discover that stimulus.
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It's what God has done in the past. He said, when you did awesome things for which we did not look, you came down.
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The mountains shook at your presence. What do you think he's referring to there? You came down and the mountains shook in your presence.
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Mount Sinai, yeah. He's looking back at the first exodus, when
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God brought His people out of captivity in Egypt, and He came down and shook the mountain,
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Mount Sinai, yes. Now chapter 64, verses 1 to 4, is actually the climax of a prayer that began back in chapter 63, verse 11.
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So in verse 11 of chapter 63, it says, then He, the Lord, then the prayer, remembered the days of old,
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Moses and his people, saying, where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock?
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Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make for Himself an everlasting name, who led them through the deep as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble?
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Well, obviously, verses 11 to 13 are looking back at that exodus, Moses leading
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God's people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, through the Red Sea, and so forth.
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And so, when He comes to chapter 64, and He's praying for the Lord to come down again, that the heavens would rend and the
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Lord would come down, and He refers back to, looks back to that original exodus, obviously what
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Isaiah is praying for is for another exodus. So, He's looking forward to the
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Babylonian exile, where God's people are in slavery, praying for another exodus, but remember, even when that aspect of the prayer is answered, and God's people are given the freedom to leave exile, to go back to the land, they are still slaves that are subject to foreign kings.
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It's not as brutal, and it's not as difficult for them for quite a while, at least until the Romans take over, and so forth, but it's not a complete exodus like that first one was, where they were completely delivered from the slavery to foreign kings, and so forth.
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So, what Isaiah is pleading here for, he's pleading for another exodus, but a greater exodus, one that is a permanent, satisfying forever deliverance, satisfying forever exodus.
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We're going to look at that in Isaiah 64. Before we do, let's get an overview of these last several chapters of this book.
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Going back to chapter 61, chapter 61, the
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Servant, and that's in capital S because it's referring forward to Jesus, the
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Servant is anointed by God's Spirit to proclaim good news, and you'll remember this is a familiar -sounding passage from Isaiah because the
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Lord reads it in the synagogue and then says, today that passage is fulfilled, the
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Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.
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He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the
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Lord, and so forth. So, this is fulfilled, of course, in the Lord Jesus.
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In verse 3, the last part of verse 3, look at the end of verse 3, it says, the garment of praise will be given to them for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the
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Lord, that he may be glorified. The first part of verse 10, I will greatly rejoice in the
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Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.
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He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. God is going to take away the shame of His people and He's going to clothe them in the righteousness of Christ, these robes of righteousness.
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In chapter 62, Isaiah promises that God's people are going to be vindicated and restored.
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So verses 1 to 3, let's see, verse 2, the
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Gentiles shall see your righteousness and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the
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Lord will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your
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God. In verses 4 and 5, uses the imagery of marriage.
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He says, you shall no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land anymore be termed desolate, but you shall be called
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Hephzibah and your land Beulah. For the Lord delights in you and your land shall be married.
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For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your
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God rejoice over you. So this prophetic vision is for the
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Lord to marry the land and remove her shame. But that vision of the
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Lord marrying a people is ultimately, of course, fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, who dies for the sake of his bride and to beautify his bride.
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In verses 8 and 9, the Lord commits himself to protect his people.
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He says he's sworn by his right hand, by the arm of his strength, surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies, and so on.
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And then in verses 10 through 12, God will come and dwell in Jerusalem.
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Notice especially verses 11 and 12. Indeed, the Lord is proclaimed to the end of the world. Say to the daughter of Zion, surely your salvation is coming.
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Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. And they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the
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Lord. And you shall be called sought out, a city not forsaken.
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And that, of course, the Lord coming and dwelling with his people, dwelling in Jerusalem is fulfilled in Revelation 21 in the new
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Jerusalem. Chapter 63 and 64, God is once again described as a warrior coming to judge the nations.
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Remember back in chapter 59, you had that section that sounded very familiar to us because of the armor, the spiritual armor that we are to put on.
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But it's describing the Lord coming and bringing judgment.
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He puts on righteousness as a breastplate, a helmet of salvation on his head, garments of vengeance for clothing, clad with zeal as a cloak, and so forth.
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Now in chapter 63, notice particularly verses 3 and 4, where it says,
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I have trodden the winepress alone, this is the Lord speaking, and from the peoples no one was with me.
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For I have trodden them in my anger and trampled them in my fury. Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments and I have stained all my robes.
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For the day of vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redeemed has come.
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So God is described as a warrior who's coming to judge the nations. But then in verses 7 to 14, we've already kind of hinted at this,
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Isaiah remembers the first exodus from Egypt and then makes that the stimulus or the basis for praying for a new liberation.
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We're going to look more into that in chapter 64. And then we come to chapter 65.
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Chapter 65 begins with a description of the people being an obstinate people, refusing to turn to God.
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Notice verse 2. The Lord says, I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good according to their own thoughts, a people who provoke me to anger continually to my face.
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As a result, God is going to give Judah the judgment that they deserve.
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Verses 6 and 7. Behold it is written before me, I will not keep silence but will repay, even repay to their bosom.
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Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, says the Lord, who have burned incense on the mountains and blaspheme me on the hills.
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Therefore, I will measure their former work into their bosom. Notice also verse 12, says, therefore,
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I will number you for the sword and you shall all bow down to the slaughter. Because when I called, you did not answer.
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When I spoke, you did not hear. But did evil before my eyes and chose that in which
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I do not delight. So God says he's going to judge
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Judah with the judgment that they deserve. Nevertheless, nevertheless, look at verses 8 and 9.
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He is going to save a remnant. He says, as the new wine is found in the cluster and one says, do not destroy it for a blessing is in it, so I will do for my servants' sake that I may not destroy them all.
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I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and from Judah an heir of my mountains. My elect shall inherit it.
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My servants shall dwell there. So God's going to save a remnant. But he's also going to save Gentiles who were never looking for him.
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Look back at verse 1 of 65. The Lord says, I was sought by those who did not ask for me.
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I was found by those who did not seek me. I said, here I am, here I am, to a nation that was not called by my name.
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God is going to bring salvation. And then in chapter 65, verse 17, and then really through the rest of the chapter, he describes the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.
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He says, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
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And then chapter 66, the book of Isaiah ends with Isaiah condemning those who think that they can contain
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God in a box, in a building, in a religious building, and manipulate him with their religious rituals in verses 1 to 3.
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And they do this instead of humbly trembling before his word.
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Look at verse 2. He says, for all those things my hand has made and all those things exist, says the
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Lord, but on this one I will look, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word.
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Verse 5, hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word. So God is looking for those kinds of responses.
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False worshipers, Isaiah says, are going to be judged, verses 4 through 6.
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Verses 15 to 17, verse 24, we're going to look at that later on in our study.
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But a new nation is going to be born in a day, verses 7 to 9.
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Before she was in labor, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a male child.
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Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such a thing? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day, or shall a nation be born at once?
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And the answer is yes, it's going to. It's going to happen when Christ returns.
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And in that situation, God is going to bring joy and satisfaction, peace and comfort to true worshipers.
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Read of that in verses 10 to 14. Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her, all you who love her.
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Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her, that you may feed and be satisfied.
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And then verses 18 to 23, people from every nation will come to worship
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God. We'll again look at that passage in just a little bit. So Isaiah petitions in chapter 64, he petitions
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God for another exodus, a greater exodus, an exodus that will be truly satisfying.
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But there's a bigger picture and a bigger problem. And the problem is that we are at war with God.
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The problem is described in verse 5, first part of verse 5, beginning in verse 5.
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God promises to help. Isaiah says, you meet Him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers you in your ways.
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Isaiah says, God, you meet with a person who rejoices and does righteousness, you meet the person who remembers you in your ways.
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But look at the last part of the verse, man continues in sin.
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He says, you are indeed angry for we have sinned. In these ways we continue and we need to be saved.
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Now there's an interesting connection between verses 4 and 5 with the word that in verse 5 is translated continue.
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Let me show you what it is. Back in verse 4, you read at the beginning of the verse, at least the way the
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New King James translates it, says, for since the beginning of the world, the beginning of the world.
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That phrase translated, that's translated the beginning of the world, is exactly the same word that is translated in verse 5, continue.
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So what is Isaiah doing here? What Isaiah is doing is linking these two verses to create a contrast.
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And here's the contrast. From ancient times, like from the beginning of the world, from ancient times, no one has seen a
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God who is so faithful to His people. That faithfulness is described in verse 4.
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The beginning of the world, from the continuation of the past, men have not heard nor perceived by ear nor has the eye seen any
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God besides you who acts for the one who waits for Him. Never has a
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God been seen who is so faithful to His people. But, here's verse 5, from ancient times,
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God's people have been unfaithful. God has been absolutely faithful, but God's people have been unfaithful.
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Back in chapter 63, look at verse 10. They rebelled and grieved
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His Holy Spirit, so He turned Himself against them as an enemy. He fought against them.
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So, God promises to help, but man continues in sin. Chester explains the problem this way.
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He says, the battle that really matters is not Israel versus the nations.
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Because remember, Isaiah is looking ahead 200 years, the Babylonian captivity. It would seem that the real problem that really matters is the battle that Israel has with the nations.
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But that's not the battle that really matters. The battle that really matters is
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Israel versus God, or humanity versus God.
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The enemy that matters to us as human beings is God Himself.
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Now that problem is compounded in verse 6, and you know this verse, you've probably memorized it and may use it in witnessing to someone else.
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This problem is compounded in verse 6, where the prophet writes, We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.
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We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
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The compounding of this problem of God promising to help and man continuing in sin is that we are fundamentally an unclean people.
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And at our very best, we practice unclean acts. Our righteousnesses, our best behavior, is tainted nevertheless with sin.
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Chester writes this, he says, Even the good things we do are signs of our proud self -reliance.
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No matter how respectable we may seem, we are all enemies of God, and therefore we can't clean up ourselves.
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We can't do it. Verse 7 points out that in the depths of our being, we are biased against God.
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He says, There is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you. But you have hidden your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities.
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So, the end of verse 5, look at the end of verse 5 again, we need to be saved.
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But how can we? How can we be saved? Well, there's a gracious answer.
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And we can be saved because of three things. We can be saved, first of all, because of the
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Father's mercy. Look at verses 8 and 9. So you know, when you get done reading verse 7, the situation looks really hopeless.
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No one calls on your name, you, God, have hidden your face from us, you consumed us because of our iniquities, the situation looks hopeless.
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But look at how verse 8 begins. The New King James translates it, But now.
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Another way of translating it is, Yet. Even in the face of this, in the face of this hopeless situation, nevertheless, but now,
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O Lord, you are our Father. The story isn't over.
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The hopelessness of verse 7 is not a permanent thing, it's not a settled deal. Because why?
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The God who made the mountains tremble and the God who is angry at sin is our
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Father. He is our Father. And you go back to chapter 63, verses 8 and 9,
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God, notice, expressed His fatherly mercy in the past. He said,
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Surely they are my people, children who will not lie. So He became their
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Savior. In all their affliction, He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them.
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In His love and in His pity, He redeemed them, and He bore them and carried them all the days of old.
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So here are the people of God, the children of God, the
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Father, in captivity in Egypt, and God, in His love and in His pity, as a
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Father, He redeemed them. So we, therefore, in chapter 64, verses 8 and 9, can come to the
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God who makes the mountains tremble, and we can appeal to His fatherly mercy in the present, as Isaiah does.
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He says, But now, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, and You are our potter, and all we are the work of Your hand.
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Do not be furious, O Lord, nor remember iniquity forever. Indeed, please look, we are all
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Your people. So we can appeal to His fatherly mercy. And then
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He promises, God does, His fatherly mercy in the future. In chapter 65, verses 8 to 10, we looked at this a few minutes ago,
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God promises to save a remnant, particularly in verse 9,
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I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and from Judah, and heir of My mountains. My elect shall inherit it,
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My servants shall dwell there. Speaking of the remnant that He is going to save from His people, and in verse 16 of chapter 65, look at the very end of the verse.
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He says, Because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My eyes.
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God promises to forget the past, the past sins and wickednesses of His people.
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He promises fatherly mercy in the future. So how can we be saved in this terrible plight in which we find ourselves as enemies of God, as those deserving of His wrath?
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How can we be saved? We can be saved because of His fatherly mercy. You might pause and say, well, wait a minute, because in my unconverted state,
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I am not, He's not my father. An unconverted person cannot legitimately say,
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Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Only those who are converted can actually pray that and look to God as their father.
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How in the world can we look at this as salvation coming to His people from His fatherly mercy?
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Well, remember this, that those who are redeemed, those who do come to faith in Christ and are converted, are chosen in Him from before the foundation of the world.
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I mean, that's a biblical truth as well. So in the mind of God, if you will, and the reality of God and who
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He is, time doesn't mean anything, right? With Him, a thousand years is a day, a day is a thousand years.
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Time is essentially, to Him, meaningless. And He looks at the future as already completed.
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Before He ever created the universe, He saw you and me sitting here as redeemed children of His.
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He is in eternity past the father of His people who are yet to be born and yet to be redeemed and yet to be converted.
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It is His fatherly mercy that brings you and me to faith in Jesus Christ.
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So the Father's mercy. The second reason that we can be saved is because of the
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Son's rescue. God, the Son's rescue. Now here,
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I want you to keep your finger, a bookmark, a bulletin or something in Isaiah 64 and turn with me to Mark chapter 1.
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Mark chapter 1. And remember,
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Mark quotes Isaiah 40 here at the beginning, the very beginning of his gospel record.
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The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophets, and then verse 3, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the
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Lord, make His paths straight. So Mark is quoting Isaiah verse 43.
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All right. Then notice verses 9 through 11.
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It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the
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Jordan. And immediately coming up from the water, He saw the heavens literally here torn open and the
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Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, you are my beloved
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Son in whom I am well pleased. So Mark not only quotes
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Isaiah 43, pointing forward to Jesus, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make, prepare the way of the
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Lord, but he also records the rending of the heavens. How did
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Isaiah begin his prayer in chapter 64? Oh, that you would tear the heavens and that you would come down, that you would rend the heavens and you would come down.
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What's the point? Well, Tim Chester explains. He says Mark is saying that the baptism of Jesus was the moment when
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God responded to Isaiah's plea, as God tore the heavens open and came down to anoint
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His Son. Now in chapter 63, keep your hand here in Mark, okay?
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Keep your hand here in Mark. Back in Isaiah in chapter 63, in verse 11, notice,
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God sent His Spirit among His people during the exodus. It says,
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He remembered the days of old, Moses and his people saying, Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock?
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Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, who led them by the right hand of Moses?
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Okay? Now go back to chapter 1 of Mark. Go back to Mark 1. What happens in verse 10?
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You saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove.
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So the Holy Spirit, just as God sent His Spirit among His people in the exodus to guide them,
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He sends His Spirit, the Spirit of God descends upon Jesus here in verse 10, and then immediately the
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Holy Spirit sends Jesus in verses 12 to 13 out into the wilderness to be tested, put to the test for 40 days, 40 nights, corresponding to the 40 years of testing of God's people in the wilderness.
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What's the point of all this? Chester explains. He says, The rent heaven and the descending
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Spirit are signs that God Himself has come in person, in the person of His Son, to deliver
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His people. What did Isaiah pray? Oh, that you would rent the heavens, that you would come down.
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And so He has come down. But remember, another mere exodus is not enough.
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The people of God, they don't need to be delivered in an exodus from the
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Roman occupation. We need a bigger exodus, an exodus from sin and judgment.
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And what Isaiah promised is what Jesus delivered. Again, let me quote
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Chester. As Jesus rose from the waters of the Jordan, the new exodus was just beginning.
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It was at the cross and the resurrection that Jesus passed through judgment and came out the other side to set us free, just like Israel through the
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Red Sea. The new exodus has begun. How can we be saved?
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We can be saved because of the Father's mercy. We can be saved because of God the
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Son and the Son's rescue. And we can be saved, thirdly, because of the
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Church's mission. The Church's mission. Now back in Isaiah, chapter 64, verse 1.
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Look at Isaiah's prayer request again. Oh, that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down.
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That prayer is answered by God in chapter 65, verse 1.
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I was sought by those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek me.
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I said, here I am, here I am to a nation that was not called by my name.
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Let's work through this. The apparent plight, remember the apparent plight in verse 7 of chapter 64?
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There is no one who calls on your name. There is no one who stirs himself up to take hold of you.
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There's no one. No one calls on God. That's the apparent plight.
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What's the divine solution? I was sought by those who did not seek me, or did not ask for me.
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I was found by those who did not seek me. How is this happening?
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We weren't looking for God, and we found him. God, I should say it this way, we weren't looking for God, and we found him.
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How so? Because God found us. Left to ourselves, left to ourselves, none of us would call on his name.
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But God didn't leave us to ourselves. How did it come to pass, then, that those who did not seek him found him?
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How did that come to pass? Well, there's a divine method. Turn with me to Romans 10.
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Romans 10, and we see that divine method.
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Romans 10, verse 20, Paul quotes Isaiah 65, 1.
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Look at verse 20, Romans 10, 20. He says, but Isaiah is very bold and says,
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I was found by those who did not seek me. I was made manifest to those who did not ask for me.
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Well, again, Paul points out an apparent problem in verse 14. Romans 10, look at verse 14.
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Here's the problem. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
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And how shall they hear without a preacher? There's a problem that people can't hear, that people won't hear.
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So how will they recall? God provides a solution, verse 15. How shall they preach unless they are sent?
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As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.
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Again, another quote from Isaiah, Isaiah 52, and verse 7.
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What's the solution? What's the divine solution to this apparent problem that people aren't going to call, that they've never heard of him?
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What's the solution? God sends people to preach the gospel. And what is the divine conclusion?
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Verse 20. I was found by those who did not seek me. I was made manifest to those who did not ask for me.
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God found those who did not seek him by sending us with the gospel to them.
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So when does God rend the heavens? When does he rend the heavens? God rends the heavens first when
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Jesus came to earth. The Spirit descended upon him. He died and rose again to accomplish that new exodus from sin and slavery.
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That's one time, one way which God rends the heavens. But another occasion when
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God rends the heavens is when Jesus is proclaimed. Here in verse 17 of Romans 10.
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So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
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The heavens are rent, if you will, this is, of course, figuratively speaking, when God's people proclaim
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God's word. And then when are the heavens rent?
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Let's look at one more occasion. Turn back to Isaiah. And now chapter 66.
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The third occasion when God rends the heavens is when Jesus returns. When Jesus returns.
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And in that rending of the heavens when Jesus returns, there will be a new creation.
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Chapter 65 that begins that whole discussion of this new creation begins in verse 17 of chapter 65.
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It says, Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth. The former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
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And this event of Jesus' return and the new creation and so forth takes us from Isaiah 65, 17 to the end of the book.
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And in this new creation, it will be a world in which, and let me just give you a list of things here.
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I don't know, I can't remember if I put this on your handout or not. But it will be a world of joy emanating from God himself.
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Look at verses 18 and 19, chapter 65. But be glad and rejoice forever in what
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I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people a joy.
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I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people. The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
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Secondly, it will be a world of safety in which illness is eradicated.
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It's expressed in this way. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days.
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For the child shall die a hundred years old, but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.
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There will be safety. Illness is eradicated. No illness taking the life of an infant.
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In verses 21 to 23, it'll be a world of abundance where people enjoy the fruit of their labors.
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They shall build houses and actually inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit.
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They shall not build and another inhabit. They shall not plant and another eat. For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people, and my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
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We'll be talking in the morning service about the difference between fruitfulness and productivity.
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It takes us back to last week, and remember Solomon's lamentation in Ecclesiastes 2.
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He does all this building, he does all this work, he creates all this productivity and this fruit, or I should say product from his hands, but who gets it?
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He has to leave it to somebody else. Not going to be true in that new creation.
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In verse 24, it'll be a world of divine assistance where prayers are answered before they're even offered.
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It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer. And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
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It'll be a world of peace throughout the creation. Verse 25, the wolf and the lamb shall feed together.
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The lion shall eat straw like the ox, and so forth. It'll be a world of true worshipers of God.
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Chapter 66, the last part of verse 2, he will look on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit who trembles at his word.
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Let me just read this summary from Tester. He says, while God will come in judgment against some, you see this in chapter 66, to his people
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God will come to bring satisfaction, peace, comfort, and joy.
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And those people, chapter 66, verses 19 and 20, they will come from every nation.
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He says, I will set a sign among them, and those among them who escape
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I will send to the nations, and they shall declare my glory among the
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Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord. Out of all nations they will come from every nation.
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The book of Isaiah ends with two endings. It concludes with two endings.
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Look at verses 22 and 23, chapter 66. There is a new heavens and a new earth with all the inhabitants worshiping
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God. For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, says the
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Lord, so shall your descendants in your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another and from one
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Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before me. That's one ending. The second ending is seen in verse 24.
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They shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me, for their worm does not die and their fire is not quenched.
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Sound familiar? They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh. So one ending is one of unending worship of God, the one true
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God in this new heavens and the new earth, but the other ending is an unending fire consuming people who are loathsome to God.
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The question is, which is your ending? Which is our ending? Are you one of God's people who will enjoy that unending worship or one who's still shaking the fist at God who will face an unquenchable fire?
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Our Father and our God, with that sobering ending to this glorious book of Isaiah, I pray that our calling and election would be made sure.