THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Isaiah: Jahweh Is Salvation

Part LXXVII: God's Fulfillment Of His Future Promises

C. Christ's Worldwide Reversal Of Idol Worship For The Worship Of Himself At His Return

(Isaiah 66:15-24)

I. Introduction

A. The time will finally come when the Lord institutes the Millennial Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ!

B. Isaiah 66:15-24 presents God's reversal of worldwide idol worship to the worship of Himself at Christ's Coming to establish His Kingdom, and we view the passage for our insight and application today (as follows):

II. Christ's Worldwide Reverse Of Idol Worship For The Worship Of Himself At His Return, Isa. 66:15-24.

A. When Jesus Christ returns to judge the world, what is also described in Revelation 19:11-21, He will arrive to administer destruction as if by fire and by chariots of a whirlwind, expressing His fury to destroy many wicked men by the sword of His spoken word, Isaiah 66:15-16 with Revelation 19:13-16, 19-21.

B. The judgment will primarily be against idolaters as suggested by the Isaiah 66:17 reference to idolatrous practices of Isaiah's era, but in Revelation 19:11-21, the idolatry will be centered in the antichrist in place of the Creator God of heaven, cf. Revelation 13:11-18; 19:20.

C. God claimed He knew the deeds and thoughts of idolaters (Isa. 66:18a), so in response to them, He would come to counter their idolatry not only by judging them, but by also glorifying Himself, Isaiah 66:18b-24:

1. God promised at Christ's Second Coming to gather all the world's nations to Himself at Jerusalem so that they would come and see His glory in implied opposition to the false glory of idols, Isaiah 66:18b.

2. To accomplish this, Christ would perform an authenticating miracle before believing Gentiles who survive God's judgment at His coming to motivate them to heed His call to go out into the world to declare His glory unto the Gentile nations, Isaiah 66:19. (J. A. Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah, 1974, p. 474-475)

3. These Millennial Kingdom missionaries will bring those converted to Christ by their word back to Jerusalem as an offering of worship unto the Lord Jesus, using horses, chariots, wagons, mules and camels to do so, and they will bring these new converts much as Hebrews would bring an offering in a ceremonially clean vessel into the Lord's temple, Isaiah 66:20. The picture is of Gentiles sanctified by faith in Christ arriving to worship the Lord, bringing their sanctified converts to Christ with them as an offering that is as pleasing to God as sanctified Hebrews who bring material offerings to His temple!

4. The Lord will take some of these Gentile believers and make them priests and Levites right along with Hebrew priests and Levites in a demonstration of His purifying grace, Isaiah 66:21. This is a remarkable prediction, for in the dispensation of the Law, only those who were descendants of Levi could serve as Levites, and only those who were Aaron's descendants could be priests, Numbers 3:5-10. Nevertheless, God will so sanctify Gentiles that they will be priests unto Him and Levites to offer up Gentile converts as holy offerings acceptable to the Lord much as Hebrew priests will offer up their material offerings and much as we in the Church era today are believer-priests unto the Lord, cf. 1 Peter 2:5; Ibid., p. 478-479.

5. Even as Christ's thousand-year Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6) is followed by His defeat of His final enemies in Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:7-9), and God creates a new heavens and a new earth in the eternal state (Revelation 21:1-22:5), the righteous will eternally dwell with the Lord, Isaiah 66:22.

6. From new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all saved peoples of the nations will come to Jerusalem to worship before the Lord Jesus, the One True God, Isaiah 66:23.

7. However, the upright will go out of the city and [temporarily] see the bodies of Christ's slain foes, for like the city dump in the Hinnom Valley south of Jerusalem, their worm will not die nor their fire be quenched, and they will be abhorred, Isaiah 66:24. (Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, 1974, v. III, p. 537)

8. The destruction of these physical bodies will be temporary (The Wycliffe Bib. Com., 1971, p. 654), but Jesus in Mark 9:48 said hell is a place where their worm dies not nor is their fire quenched, so this Isaiah 66:24 temporal plight for the bodies of the wicked pictures the eternal plight of their souls in hell, Ibid.

Lesson: Christ at His coming will administer fierce, eternal judgment on idolaters and great grace on believers worldwide, finally reversing forever the evil of idolatry in the world for the true worship of Himself.

Application: Since Christ at His coming will so powerfully judge idolatry while richly rewarding true worship in Him, may we today keep ourselves from idols, from every entity that is a substitute for God Himself in our lives.