ISAIAH 66 “The Consummation Of God’s Plans For Mankind”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at in chapter 64 at Isaiah’s intercession to the Lord on behalf of the Lord’s
people of his day, and in chapter 65 at the Lord’s answer to that prayer of
intercession
1.1.1.
Chapter 64.
1.1.1.1.We saw an excellent example of effective intercessory prayer as Isaiah
prayed for his nation and people confessing their sins as being his sins
1.1.2.
Chapter 65.
1.1.2.1.The Lord first told Isaiah why He had departed from His chosen people
and His hand had not delivered them. It
was their sin which has inflamed His anger
1.1.2.2.We saw the Lord promising to bring to salvation a faithful remnant of
His people
1.1.2.3.We saw the Lord’s blessed promise to create a new heavens and a new
earth, and then He began to describe the conditions that will exist on earth
during Christ’s Millennial Kingdom as the curse of sin on the earth from
Genesis chapter 3 is being reversed
1.2.
In our study today, we are
going to conclude the Lord’s answer to Isaiah’s intercessory prayer as well as
the book of Isaiah itself. We will see
that Isaiah is wrapping up his book by giving us a glimpse as far into the
future as any man has seen, even describing a final state of a ‘new heavens and
earth,’ and he makes the point strongly of eternal rewards for God’s faithful
remnant people and eternal punishments for the rebellious and stubborn of heart
towards Him
1.2.1.
In our introduction of the
book of Isaiah we considered several things concerning its importance, which we
have now in our study observed:
1.2.1.1.The book of Isaiah has been compared to the book of Romans in the New
Testament in its breadth of scope and importance. As Romans is a treatise concerning all of the
doctrines of the Christian religion, Isaiah covers prophetically all of God’s
mind and purposes for mankind.
1.2.1.2.The scope of Isaiah’s prophesy reaches from where he stood in time all
of the way to eternity in the new heavens and new earth which will occur after
the Millennial Reign of the Messiah.
1.2.1.3.Next to the Psalms the book of Isaiah is the Old Testament book that is
most quoted in the New Testament.
1.2.1.4.Numerous of the key Messianic prophesies of the Old Testament are
contained in Isaiah.
1.2.2.
We saw also in our
introductory study of the book that there were many themes which ran through
the book, and we have observed all of those, but most importantly:
1.2.2.1.The holiness of God
1.2.2.2.The Lord’s Messiah and His coming kingdom
1.2.2.3.The kingliness of the Lord but also that the Messiah would be the
Servant of Jehovah, even the suffering servant of Isaiah 50, 52, and 53
1.2.2.4.Isaiah emphasizes the future with the Millennial Reign of Christ, as
well as the new heavens and earth
1.2.2.5.Isaiah emphasizes that the Lord is creator and ruler of His creation
1.2.2.6.Isaiah also emphasizes
1.2.2.7.Isaiah emphasizes the importance of inner righteousness and devotion to
God from the heart
1.2.3.
In this study, we will
examine closely the final plans as revealed by Isaiah, that the Lord has for
mankind in the end times
2.
VS 66:1-2 - “1 Thus says the Lord, “Heaven is
My throne, and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? 2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus
all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look, To him who is
humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” - The Lord declares that Heaven
is His throne and the earth His footstool, and then He asks where then is a
house that could be built for Him?
2.1.
This declaration by the Lord resembles Solomon
as he prayed for the dedication of the newly built temple in 1 Kings. 8:27-29, “27 “But will God indeed
dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Thee,
how much less this house which I have built!28 “Yet have regard to the prayer
of Thy servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to listen to the cry and
to the prayer which Thy servant prays before Thee today;29 that Thine eyes may
be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which Thou hast
said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Thy servant shall
pray toward this place.”
2.2.
In Acts 17:23-25,
the apostle Paul told the people of Athens on Mars Hill in his sermon about the
unknown God that He is not a God who dwells in temples made by human hands, “23 “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of
your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’
What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.24 “The God who
made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does
not dwell in temples made with hands;25 neither is He served by human hands, as
though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and
all things;”
2.3.
In this chapter, the Lord is making the point
to us that we as people cannot have a franchise on God. We cannot put Him in a box and have Him as
our God. He is Lord and Master over all,
and mankind can only come to the Lord upon the terms He sets out and as a
result of being drawn directly by Him.
Those who would know the Lord and be His people are those who will
humble themselves before God, turn from their sin, and submit themselves to the
terms He has established by which we may know Him. God established an Old Testament covenant by
which the children of
2.3.1.
The Israelites of Isaiah’s day were very
religious people. Their temple was bustling
with activity. They celebrated their
festivals. They offered their sacrifices
and prayed their prayers, etc. However,
the hearts of the people were very far from the Lord. They had turned their ear from the word of
God and were committing pagan idolatry and every other sin imaginable, and yet
they thought that the Lord was their God and that they had His favor and
blessing because they were religious.
They were sadly mistaken
2.3.2.
Many of those today who profess to be
Christians have what I call the “Gene In A Bottle God.” When they need God and want to cry out to Him
for His help they uncork the bottle and rub it and ask God in prayer to help
them. However, they don’t really want to
have God mess too much with their life and priorities, when their crisis is
over they put Him back in the bottle and put the cork on until another crisis
arises.
2.4.
The Lord tells us that those who would be His
people are those who are ‘humble and contrite of spirit’ and tremble at His
word.
2.4.1.
Those who are God’s people of all eras are
those who attune their ear to His word.
They are those who read and study His word so that they can be sure to
know what it is that He requires, and those things that both please and
displease Him.
2.4.2.
In our nation and world today, there are many
churches and denominations who have placed the study and teaching of the word
of God on the back burner in their ministry.
They may do a little teaching here or there from the Bible, perhaps
teach popular topics from the scripture such as “the love of God,” however they
have no desire or commitment to teach the full counsel of God from His
word. Many of these people are even
aware that there are many unbiblical and even heretical things being taught in
their churches, and yet they are unconcerned about this. Meanwhile, they assume, pray, and hope to
have the Lord’s blessing upon them.
However, it cannot be.
2.4.2.1.Prov. 28:9 says, “9 He who
turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.”
3.
VS 66:3-4 - “3 “But he who kills an ox is
like one who slays a man; He who
sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck; He who offers a grain offering is like one
who offers swine’s blood; He who burns
incense is like the one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their
abominations, 4 So I will choose their punishments, And I will bring on them
what they dread. Because I called, but
no one answered; I spoke, but they did
not listen. And they did evil in My
sight, And chose that in which I did not delight.”” - The Lord tells His people that the various
aspects of their sacrifices performed as part of their worship are, in effect,
detestable in His sight because they did not heed His voice and did that which
was evil in His sight
3.1.
We already saw in the first chapter of
Isaiah, Isaiah 1:10-17,
that the Lord told His people that He hated their worship services, which He
called their “solemn assembly,” because the people’s hearts were so far away
from Him and because they were letting sin reign in their lives, “10 Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You
people of Gomorrah. 11 “What are your
multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the
Lord. “I have had enough of burnt
offerings of rams, And the fat of fed cattle.
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. 12 “When you come to appear before Me, Who
requires of you this trampling of My courts?
13 “Bring your worthless offerings
no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of
assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your
appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them. 15 “So when you spread out your hands in
prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I
will not listen. Your hands are covered
with blood. 16 “Wash yourselves, make
yourselves clean; Remove the evil of
your deeds from My sight. Cease to do
evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless; Defend the
orphan, Plead for the widow.”
3.2.
In Jer. 7:4-11,
Jeremiah rebukes the people for trusting in the fact of their having the temple
as being insurance that God was with them and for them meanwhile their hearts
were far away from God and their works were sinful, “4 “Do not
trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple
of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’5 “For if you truly amend your ways and
your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor,6 if
you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed
innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin,7 then
I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers
forever and ever. 8 “Behold, you are
trusting in deceptive words to no avail.9 “Will you steal, murder, and commit
adultery, and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal, and walk after other
gods that you have not known,10 then come and stand before Me in this house,
which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all
these abominations?11 “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den
of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.”
3.3.
Notice the graphic descriptions here of how
the Lord detests the worship of His people:
3.3.1.
The Lord says that the one ‘who kills an ox
is like one who slays a man.’ That is to
say that the killing of an animal for sacrifice to the Lord is as detestable
before Him as if someone committed murder.
3.3.2.
The Lord says that the one who ‘who
sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck.’ That is to say that the sacrificing of a lamb
to the Lord in worship is as detestable before Him as if they had sacrificed a
dog, an unclean animal which symbolized that which is detestable.
3.3.3.
The Lord says that the one who ‘offers a
grain offering is like one who offers swine’s blood.’ That is to say that the offering of the grain
before the Lord is as detestable before Him as if they had sacrificed a
‘swine’s blood’ to Him.
3.3.4.
The Lord says that the one who offers incense
is as detestable before Him as him who blesses an idol.
3.4.
The Lord promises to judge His people. The Lord tells His people that He will choose
their punishments because they didn’t listen when He spoke and they did what
was evil in His sight and not pleasing to Him.
4.
VS 66:5-6 - “5 Hear the word of the Lord, you
who tremble at His word: “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My
name’s sake, Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your
joy.’ But they will be put to shame. 6
“A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of the Lord
who is rendering recompense to His enemies.” - The Lord tells His faithful remnant that
those of His people who have excluded and taunted them shall be put to shame
4.1.
There always have been those who are a
faithful remnant of God’s people, even though at times it has been a small
group. The Lord has a promise for that
faithful remnant who tremble at His word that those who exclude and taunt them
will be put to shame.
4.2.
The Lord is establishing in this chapter that
on the day of the Lord there will be incredible eternal rewards for the
faithful remnant of His people, as well as incredible eternal punishment for
everyone else.
5.
VS 66:7-9 - “7 “Before she travailed, she
brought forth; Before her pain came, she
gave birth to a boy. 8 “Who has heard
such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as
5.1.
When we come to these verses, and to this
chapter as a whole, one has to come to the conclusion of to what period of time
it is that Isaiah is speaking, and to whom is he addressing.
5.1.1.
There are some who think that Isaiah has in
these verses reverted back to his theme of chapters 42-48 and that he is giving
further encouragement to a generation of yet unborn Judeans who will be
captives in
5.1.1.1.I
think that Isaiah is done with that topic, and that he is in this chapter
actually trying to look as far forward as he can to give us the full picture of
God’s plans for mankind.
5.1.2.
There are some who see in these verses that
Isaiah is prophetically picturing the birth of the church by seeing Christ as
being the child born of the woman.
5.1.2.1.Certainly
the parallels between this passage and Rev. 12:1-6 are
too obvious to ignore, and the child that is born must be Christ, “1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;2 and
she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give
birth. 3 And another sign appeared in
heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on
his heads were seven diadems.4 And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of
heaven, and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who
was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her
child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a
male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child
was caught up to God and to His throne.6 And the woman fled into the wilderness
where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished
for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”
5.1.2.2.Isaiah
has already told us a few times that the nation would have a son born to it who
would be Messiah:
5.1.2.2.1.Isaiah 9:6: “6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His
shoulders; And His name will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His
government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To
establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and
forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of
hosts will accomplish this.”
5.1.2.2.2.Isaiah 7:14: “14 “Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a
son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
5.1.2.3.The
problem with this interpretation though is that I do think that the nation
being born in a single day can refer to anything but the restoration of the
people of Israel to God and Jesus Christ their Messiah during the 7 Year
Tribulation of the book of Revelation.
The revival that happens at that time among the descendants of Jacob
will be sudden, or overnight.
5.1.2.3.1.Rom. 11:26: “26 and thus all
5.1.2.3.2.Zech. 12:10: “10 “And I will
pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit
of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have
pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they
will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.”
5.1.3.
I believe then that these verses refer to the
birth of Christ coming through Israel, the woman, but also that the reference
to the nation being born in a single day refers to the restoration of the
nation of Israel during the 7 Year Tribulation.
This only makes sense also because the context of the rest of the
chapter consists of the consummation of all of God’s dealings with His people
and mankind, as far into the future as any man has seen.
5.2.
The Lord asks the question in verse 9 of
whether or not He could bring the nation all of the way to the point of
delivery only to close up the womb? This
verse indicates clearly that the Lord is not finished yet with
5.3.
You may think that with
5.3.1.
In Ezek. 20:33-38,
we read about how the nation of Israel in the last days will be gathered to the
land of Israel before being restored to the Lord and how that He will re-gather
her in order to enter into judgment with her before restoring a faithful
remnant, “33 “As I live,” declares the Lord God,
“surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured
out, I shall be king over you.34 “And I shall bring you out from the peoples
and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and
with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out;35 and I shall bring you
into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with
you face to face.36 “As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the
wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,”
declares the Lord God.37 “And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall
bring you into the bond of the covenant;38 and I shall purge from you the
rebels and those who transgress against Me; I shall bring them out of the land
where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will
know that I am the Lord.”
5.3.1.1.See
also Zeph. 2:1-2.
5.3.2.
In the book of Revelation, we read that
during the 7 Year Tribulation that of the nation of
5.3.2.1.The
Second Coming of Christ will end the Tribulation and it will come about as a
result of restored
6.
VS 66:10-14 - “10 “Be joyful with Jerusalem and
rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be
exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her, 11 That you may nurse
and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be
delighted with her bountiful bosom.” 12
For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the
glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you shall be nursed, you shall be carried
on the hip and fondled on the knees. 13
“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in
6.1.
Again we notice that it is
6.1.1.
Those who are of the “replacement theology”
camp believe erroneously that since the Jews rejected Jesus that the church now
inherits all of the promises made to Israel, however this type of allegorical
interpretation of the scriptures is ludicrous when you look at what the
scriptures actually say concerning Jerusalem.
6.1.2.
In Matt. 19:28,
Jesus told His disciples that when He was sitting upon His throne in His
kingdom that they would be on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, “28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have
followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious
throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.”
6.2.
In Christ’s
6.2.1.
In Isaiah 9:7 we saw that of the Messiah that
there would be no end to His government or of peace.
6.3.
The Lord not only is our Father, but He also
acts like a mother to His people. Notice
here that the Lord paints an interesting picture of Himself in these verses as
being like a mother to the nations, comforting them, nursing them, and carrying
and fondling them on the hip.
6.4.
There will be eternal blessings for some and
eternal judgment for others in the end times.
See here in verse 14 that the Lord’s hand will be on His people, but His
indignation shall be upon His enemies.
7.
VS 66:15-17 - “15 For behold, the Lord will
come in fire And His chariots like the whirlwind, To render His anger with
fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the Lord will be many. 17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves
to go to the gardens, Following one in the center, Who eat swine’s flesh,
detestable things, and mice, Shall come to an end altogether,” declares the
Lord.” -
Isaiah tells us of the anger of the Lord which will be rendered in fury
and flames of fire on all flesh of those who are rebellious and idolaters
7.1.
There could be no heaven without justice
being carried out upon the wicked upon the earth. There could be no just retribution for those
who have done evil and injustice on the land if the Lord did not judge the
nations in the end times. Thus, while
the Lord is in process of establishing His kingdom and the blessings for His
people, He must also come first and execute judgment upon the nations.
7.2.
For much of the book of Isaiah we saw the
Lord again and again revealed how that He was planning to judge all of the
nations that have exalted themselves above Him.
We saw that He had to do this as part of the establishing of His kingdom
to reign upon the earth.
7.3.
The Lord tells us that the slain will be many
on that day, for many rebel against the Lord and enter all of the many types of
pagan gardens to worship.
7.3.1.
Jesus told us that the gate to heaven was
narrow and few were on that path, but wide was the gate to eternal destruction
and many were upon that path (Matt. 7:13-14).
7.4.
The fury of the wrath of God is seen in the
book of Revelation with the description of the Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl
Judgments of the 7 Year Tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth. In Zech. 14:1-9,
we read about the events also described in the book of Revelation that will
occur at Christ’s Second Coming at the conclusion of the 7 Year Tribulation,
when God’s Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl judgments have been poured out and then the
nations come together against the Lord at the battle of Armageddon, “1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from
you will be divided among you.2 For I will gather all the nations against
Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the
women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will
not be cut off from the city.3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against
those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.4 And in that day His feet
will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east;
and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very
large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the
other half toward the south.5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains,
for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as
you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the
Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!6 And it will come
about in that day that there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle.7
For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night,
but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.8 And it will
come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of
them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will
be in summer as well as in winter. 9 And
the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only
one, and His name the only one.”
7.5.
For those who were in this life enemies of
God who never yielded their lives to God and bent the knee, Revelation chapter
20 tells us that after Christ’s Millennial Kingdom there is awaiting for them a
resurrection from the dead to face the Great White Throne Judgment of eternal
damnation into the Lake of Fire.
8.
VS 66:18-21 - “18 “For I know their works and
their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they
shall come and see My glory. 19 “And I
will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations:
Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands
that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My
glory among the nations. 20 “Then they
shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the
Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy
mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their
grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 “I will also take some of them for priests
and for Levites,” says the Lord.” - The Lord tells us that those who survive His
end times judgment will be sent to the nations to bring them to the house of
the Lord in
8.1.
As we have seen in the last few chapters of
Isaiah, when Christ’s
8.2.
Here we see people using any and all means of
transportation to come to
8.3.
The Lord even declares that of some of the
people who come up to worship that the Lord will take them for priests and
Levites to serve in the Millennial temple.
8.4.
These verses show again that there will be
sacrificial offerings made to the Lord in the Millennial temple in
9.
VS 66:22-23 - “22 “For just as the new heavens
and the new earth which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord, “So
your offspring and your name will endure.
23 “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to
sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.” - The Lord tells us that year
around all mankind will come up to
9.1.
Isaiah had already told us in Isaiah 65:17
that the Lord would create a new heavens and earth and that the former things
would not come to mind. This is an
indication that the new heavens and earth will be a permanent fixture in the
day in which the Lord creates them.
9.2.
The Lord tells us that the sacrifices will
endure all throughout the year and from year to year during Christ’s
9.3.
Again, we see that
10.
VS 66:24 - “24 “Then they shall go forth and
look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm shall not die, and their fire
shall not be quenched; And they shall be
an abhorrence to all mankind.”” - The Lord tells us that when people go up to
worship in Jerusalem that they shall see the corpses of the men who rebelled
against the Lord and were destroyed by Him
10.1.
This is a very interesting verse because it
speaks of a graveyard on the outskirts of
10.2.
The Hebrew word ‘peh’gher’ which is translated
‘corpses’ is the word used in the Hebrew culture for “carcass” or “corpse.” Therefore, it is dead and perhaps decaying
bodies that are being looked at by those going back and forth to
10.3.
In Matt. 9:43-48,
Jesus quoted this verse in reference to the punishment of hell which those who
reject Christ as their Lord and Savior will go after this life, “43 “And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is
better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into
hell, into the unquenchable fire,44 [where their worm does not die, and the
fire is not quenched.]45 “And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off;
it is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast
into hell,46 [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]47
“And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out; it is better for you to
enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into
hell,48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
10.4.
In 2 Thess.
1:6-10, Paul wrote about how that at Jesus’ Second Coming
that He will judge the wicked upon the earth, “6 For
after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict
you,7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,8
dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not
obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.9 And these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His
power,10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be
marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.”
10.5.
The Old Testament is for the most part silent
concerning a clear definition of what will happen after death for men, however
the prophet Daniel, in Dan. 12:2,
wrote about the fact that there would be both a resurrection for the righteous
to eternal life as well as a resurrection for the unrighteous to disgrace and
everlasting contempt, “2 “And many of those who
sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the
others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”
10.6.
In Rev. 20:10-15,
we read about how that after the Millennial Reign of Christ that all of the
dead who were not God’s people in this life will be resurrected to life and
come to judgment before the Great White Throne of Judgment and be cast into the
Lake of Fire that burns for eternity, “10 And the
devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where
the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and
night forever and ever.11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon
it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for
them.12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book
of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the
books, according to their deeds.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were
judged, every one of them according to their deeds.14 And death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.15 And
if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into
the lake of fire.”
10.7.
Rev. 21:1-27
tells us about what the new heavens and earth will be like for the faithful
remnant of God’s people of all time, “1 And I
saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
passed away, and there is no longer any sea.2 And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned
for her husband.3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold,
the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they
shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,4 and He shall wipe
away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there
shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have
passed away.”5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things
new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”6 And He
said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life
without cost.7 “He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his
God and he will be My son.8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and
abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and
all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death.” 9 And one of
the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came
and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of
the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in
the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city,
11.
CONCLUSION:
11.1.
In conclusion, lets be
people who tremble at every word of God and thus be counted among those who are
written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, those who will enter into the blessings of
His covenant of eternal salvation through Christ!