Isaiah 66

Isaiah describes the Lord speaking about Himself and the remnant seed and remnant weed. He says that heaven is His throne and earth His footstool (v. 1). The image is one of involvement with heaven and earth. Since God is not restricted only to heaven where is a place where humans can build a house, temple, synagogue, church for Him? God’s hand has made all the earth and heaven “thus all these things came into being” by creation only, which shelves evolution as an option (v. 2). It is not the building that attracts the Lord or impresses Him, “to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at My Word” (v. 2d) “to this one I will look” (v. 2c). Those who do not have a faithful relationship with God but they like to participate in religion or fulfill religious liturgy or religious motions of praying “he who kills an ox” for a proper offering, because he lacks the inner bond with God is “one who slays a man,” a taboo (v. 3a). It has nothing to do with cruelty against animal right issues here. There is this aspect in the phrase that one can see, killing was never in His design. However, in the sacrificial system it is to represent Christ the Lamb for the sins of the world and that is the role in the Sanctuary Message. “He who sacrifices a lamb [without faith, thus the remnant weed] is “the one who breaks the dog’s neck,” a taboo (v. 3b). He who offers a grain offering [without faith, thus the remnant weed] is like offering “swine’s blood,” a taboo for God (v. 3c). He who offers an incense, which was also an acceptable action in the sacrificial system of the Sanctuary Message, “is the one who blesses an idol,” a taboo (v. 3d). These taboos that are followed by these people sacrificing is done while “they have chosen their ways” (v. 3e) and “their soul delights in their abomination” (v. 3f). God will select their punishments and He will bring them to justice (v. 4a-b). The reason is that God called but no one answered, He spoke and no one listened, and they did evil in His sight and chose that which is not His delight (v. 4c-f). The remnant seed are to hear the Word of the Lord since they are the ones who tremble at His Word (v. 5a). The remnant weed hate the remnant seed and “exclude you for My name’s sake” (v. 5b). The remnant weed said “let the Lord be glorified that we may see your joy” (v. 5c). Justice will be meted out as a “voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple” by the Lord because from Zion or the New Jerusalem God will execute His hell event (v. 6a). God is the One “Who is rendering recompense to His enemies” (v. 6b). Payment for the deeds of the enemies is in full at the Day of the Lord in the eschatological Day of Wrath or the executive judgment. Talking about Adam and Eve as the remnant seed in the Garden of Eden, God said “before she [remnant] travailed, she brought forth, before the pain came, she gave birth to a boy” (v. 7). “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?” Isaiah asks if a land can be born in one day because the Garden of Eden was created in one day (v. 8b). A nation was brought forth all at once (v. 8c). “As soon as Zion travailed she also brought forth her sons” (v. 8d). God asks whether He will bring to the point of birth and not also delivery (v. 9a). He asks the remnant to be joyful with Jerusalem [New Jerusalem in heaven] (v. 10a). All those who mourn over the New Jerusalem “be exceedingly glad” (v. 10b). Isaiah then used a baby image to explain that “you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts” which is the baby remnant that is enjoying the comfort of the New Jerusalem (v. 11a). The Lord says that He will extend peace to her like a river (v. 12a). The glory of nations will be “like an overflowing stream” (v. 12b). The remnant “shall be nursed you shall be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees” (v. 12c). “As one whom his mother comforts, so I [the Lord] will comfort you [remnant]” (v. 13a). The remnant shall be comforted in New Jerusalem (v. 13b). The heart of the remnant shall be glad (v. 14a). The hand of the Lord shall be made known to His servants (v. 14c). However, at the end of the millennium, He shall be indignant to His enemies (v. 14d). At the executive judgment at the end of the millennium, “behold the Lord will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind to render His anger and fury and His rebuke with flames of fire” (v. 15). “For the Lord will execute judgment by fire” (v. 16a) which is the Hell-event. “And by His sword on all flesh and those slain by the Lord will be many” (v. 16b-c). The evil are those who in history has “sanctify and purify themselves to the gardens” (v. 17a). There are people who use nature as a cultic refreshing experience and not only as a refreshing experience. They are following one [Satan] in the center (v. 17b). They “eat swine flesh, detestable things and mice” (v. 17c). They shall come to an end altogether (v. 17d). The Lord knows the remnant seed and their works and thoughts that the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues and they shall come and see His glory (v. 18). The Lord will set a sign among the faithful ones of the earth “and will send survivors from them to the nations” that will join the remnant “that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory” (v. 19). “And they will declare My glory among the nations” (v. 19). The harvest of the Lord is at the Second Coming when angels [compare Joel 2:5] “they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations [goyim which is a term for heathen nations] as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels to My holy mountain [Zion] Jerusalem, says the Lord” in the same way in history when the sons of historical Israel brought their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord (v. 20). Some of them will be priests and Levites “for just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me . . .so your [remnant] offspring and your name will endure” (v. 22). “And it shall be from that which is [Aramaic relative particle] the month in its newness, and from that which is [Aramaic relative particle] the Sabbath in its rest, all flesh will come to worship before Me, says the Lord” (v. 23). The remnant weed’s corpses and those who transgressed against the Lord, whose worms shall not die and their fire not quenched for probably a short time until “they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind” (v. 24d-e). This is not the doctrine of eternal fire for eternal Hell fire. When the new heavens and new earth is created in future, there will be no more evil. This is a period in which saved humanity must realize and come to a full understanding of the end of evil. All flesh or humanity do not need to look at it for eternity. It is until their human system had enough of it. We should not ask how long the fire will burn but how long it will take for humans to be abhorrent of the evil by the results of the event of their extermination. There is no way in which this chapter can be unfolded in the polytheism of Cyrus and the Cyrus inscription speaking how he restored the worship of the Babylonian gods that were neglected by Nabonidus and his son. God and gods have nothing in common and the description of the one cannot be used for the other. After all, Cyrus is too late and there was no new heaven created nor new earth when Cyrus did his reforms more than a century and a half later.

Dear God

The new heaven and new earth captivate also our imagination since it is the hope for hopeless mankind in this hostile environment. Grant that we may be part of this wonderful future. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia