Isaiah 66:12-24

Isaiah 66:12-24 NIV

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. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” 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, but his fury will be shown to his foes.

See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment on all people, and many will be those slain by the Lord. “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.

“And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive 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. And they will bring all your people, 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.

And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord. “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

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The latter half of Isaiah 66 promises restoration for Jerusalem, the return of her children scattered among the nations, and the inclusion of the gentiles amongst God's holy people. This good news includes further prophecies of judgement against God's enemies. Judgement is terrifying news for the rebellious whose sin catches up with them, but comforting to those who love the Lord and trust in His mercy. The ultimate victory of God is marked by the appearance of new heavens and a new earth, with the good reputation of God's people enduring forever.

The renewal of Jerusalem will see peace and wealth flowing like a river into the city. The people will be comforted like a mother comforts her baby. They will rejoice and flourish under the nurturing care of the Lord. But God's enemies will suffer His fury. Instead of a refreshing river of peace, they will be consumed by the fires of judgement. All people will be judged, the righteous and the wicked. Many will perish, especially the idolaters who follow pagan ways, eating unclean animals and practicing detestable sexual rites.

Because of the idolatry among the Israelites, God will gather a new community of people. God will send out emissaries from Jerusalem to foreign lands, to people who have never heard of the name of the Lord. In those foreign lands are exiled Israelites. These messengers will claim the good news about God and the children of Israel, and many Gentiles, will come to Jerusalem to worship and serve the Lord.

Remarkably some of those Gentiles will be appointed as priests and Levites! This is unheard of because only sons of Aaron are allowed to be priests. Only those belonging to the Israelite tribe of Levi may serve at the temple. Now God is breaking His own law! Could this be a prophecy about the church of Jesus Christ, the people of the new covenant? For in Christ there is no Jew or gentile, slave or free, man or woman, rich or poor. All are one in Jesus.

The fame and good reputation of this new community will reach the ends of the earth and last forever. All mankind will eventually come to worship the Lord, the God of Israel and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And these blessed holy ones will look out beyond the walls of the New Jerusalem and see the dead bodies of the Lord's enemies piled up and decaying. The worms will never die and the fire will never go out, for there will be a great amount of human refuse to devour outside of God's new community.

It's not a pleasant way to end a prophecy, much less the book of Isaiah's collected oracles. Yet this horrid picture is meant to be good news for those who long for the righteousness of God to prevail, unimpeded by evil. The rotting corpses of the wicked is a stark symbol of God's final victory over sin and evil. In the new creation there will be no evildoers, or even causes to do evil. Can you imagine living in such a time? Not one person will have even the first inclination to do evil. There will be utter purity and innocence, everlasting peace and plenty. That's something I can celebrate, even if I loathe the sight of the burning bodies of God's enemies.

The one verse that caused me to think of the church of Jesus Christ in this chapter was Isaiah 66:19.

“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive 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.
What sign will God set among His messengers who go to the far away lands to seek the lost children of Israel and attract the pagan nations to the Lord? God is gathering people of all nations and languages to come and see His glory. Did not Jesus use the same invitation, "Come and see", to His first disciples? (John 1:39) The sign is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man. The sign is the perfect sinless life of Jesus, His teachings and example, His sacrificial death and resurrection. This is the good news, the gospel which God's sent ones will proclaim.

Did you know one interpretation of the word apostle means "sent ones"? The apostle Paul was sent by the Lord to Lydia to proclaim the gospel, which makes the lost of nations mentioned in Isaiah 66:19. Others were sent north, south, east and west to spread the word about Jesus. To the ends of the earth God sends His messengers until the whole world is filled with the knowledge of God. In the fullness of time God will bring this new community to completion and life will seem like it is brand new. Life will be brand new, for we will be transformed by grace from the inside out. Righteousness will last forever and evil will never be heard of again.

Search your heart. Is this picture of the future not your deepest desire? Don't you long for this new creation to come? It has already begun in the resurrection of Jesus. Those who believe receive the Holy Spirit and are made new within. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in you. Death defying, evil denying power is yours in limitless supply when you lean on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. With your inner life transformed, your outer life will reflect the change. All your relationships will be blessed with His peace and love, and the world will grow that much closer to what God has planned.

So let it be!