The Book of Isaiah, Part 10: Apocalypse of Isaiah, Part B (Isaiah 24-27)

Intro

Review

Why Isaiah’s apocalypse

it deals with the last things as ordained by God

Part 1

God’s judgment of the earth

God’s everlasting covenant with the nations of the earth (Genesis 9)

Exalting God in His judgment

God wants to be exalted for His righteous judgments, whether it is to the wicked or the the saints

God’s victory banquet

the millennial reign of Christ is a thousand year-long celebration of God’s victory over sin and evil

This part (2)

we will cover chapters 26 and 27

covers

a song of trust in God

a lament awaiting salvation

a new song of the vineyard

Israel’s atonement and gathering

4. God hears the lament of His people

Isaiah 26 contains a song of trust in God and a song of lament

The song of trust is a reminder that God is the everlasting Rock - Isaiah 26.1-4

Isaiah 26:1–4 NASB 2020

1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security. 2 “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful. 3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. 4 “Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

God’s protection is described as a “strong city”

a strong city is a refuge for people in times of trouble

walls and ramparts are built to secure lives and properties

protects the righteous nation/people

guarantees perfect peace

humbles the “unassailable city” (lofty, proud)

Isaiah 26:5–6 NIV

5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. 6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.

God is not a refuge for those who sin against him

God is the enemy of the wicked

God is a refuge of the righteous when they are attacked by their enemies.

God provides perfect peace in the midst of tragic circumstances

Psalm 56:1–3 NASB 2020

1 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. 2 My enemies have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me. 3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.

Psalm 91:1–13 NASB 2020

1 One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” 3 For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper And from the deadly plague. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may take refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and wall. 5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the plague that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that devastates at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes And see the retaliation against the wicked. 9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, The Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will happen to you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels orders concerning you, To protect you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will lift you up, So that you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will walk upon the lion and cobra, You will trample the young lion and the serpent.

Psalm 32:6–7 NASB 2020

6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Certainly in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; You keep me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

The song of lament (Isaiah 26.7-19) expresses the distress and petitions of the people of God for intervention

it is also called a “community lament”

lament - a crying out of grief; to mourn aloud; groaning;

Elements of a lamentation that God listens to -

waiting for God - Isa 26.7-9

Isaiah 26:7–9 NASB 2020

7 The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level. 8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, Lord, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, and remembering You, is the desire of our souls. 9 At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

lamenting the rise of the wicked - Isa 26.10-12

Isaiah 26:10–12 NASB 2020

10 Though the wicked person is shown compassion, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord. 11 Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies. 12 Lord, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works.

acknowledging God’s Lordship - Isaiah 26.13-15

Isaiah 26:13–15 NASB 2020

13 Lord, our God, other masters besides You have ruled us; But through You alone we confess Your name. 14 The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise; Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And You have eliminated all remembrance of them. 15 You have increased the nation, Lord, You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land.

v. 14 in NIV - Isa 26.14

Isaiah 26:14 NIV

14 They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them.

seeking God in a time of discipline - Isa 26.16-19

Isaiah 26:16–19 NASB 2020

16 Lord, they sought You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer, Your discipline was upon them. 17 As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth, She writhes and cries out in her labor pains; This is how we were before You, Lord. 18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor, We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth, Nor were inhabitants of the world born. 19 Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

God hears the groaning of His people

Israel groaned in Egypt - Exodus 2.23-24

Exodus 2:23–24 NASB 2020

23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. 24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

God marks those who groan for the evil around them - Ezekiel 9.4-6

Ezekiel 9:4–6 NASB 2020

4 And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and make a mark on the foreheads of the people who groan and sigh over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” 5 But to the others He said in my presence, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. 6 Utterly kill old men, young men, female virgins, little children, and women, but do not touch any person on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple.

5. a Message of Hope

Isaiah brings a message of hope from God - Isaiah 26.20-27.1

Isaiah 26:20–27:1 NASB 2020

20 Come, my people, enter your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course. 21 For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain. 1 On that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

First - God will hide them at the time of God’s indignation against the nations

this foreshadows the great day of the Lord

Second - God will judge the real enemy behind all the evils in this world - Satan, represented by the infamous leviathan monster

this foreshadows the capture of Satan and his subsequent destruction in the lake of fire

Third - Israel will be restored, like a vineyard that will be fruitful

this foreshadows the millennial kingdom

Isaiah 27:2–6 NASB 2020

2 On that day, “A vineyard of beauty, sing of it! 3 “I, the Lord, am its keeper; I water it every moment. So that no one will damage it, I guard it night and day. 4 “I have no wrath. Should someone give Me briars and thorns in battle, Then I would step on them, I would burn them completely. 5 “Or let him rely on My protection, Let him make peace with Me, Let him make peace with Me.” 6 In the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and sprout, And they will fill the whole world with fruit.

Previously, Israel was a worthless vineyard - Isaiah 5.1-7

Isaiah 5:1–7 NASB 2020

1 Let me sing now for my beloved A song of my beloved about His vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. 2 He dug it all around, cleared it of stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, And also carved out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. 3 “And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. 4 “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? 5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. 6 “I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned nor hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel, And the people of Judah are His delightful plant. So He waited for justice, but behold, there was bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

In the last days, Israel’s fruitfulness is NOT the fruit of the own labors, BUT the work of God alone!

Israel’s present atonement and final gathering

In concluding this epic apocalypse of Isaiah, the prophet returns to his present time before describing the final gathering of the people of God

Israel must pay the price of her idolatrous offenses - Isaiah 27.7-11

Isaiah 27:7–11 NASB 2020

7 Like the striking of Him who has struck them, has He struck them? Or like the slaughter of His slain, have they been slain? 8 You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away. With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore through this Jacob’s wrongdoing will be forgiven; And this will be the full price of the pardoning of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones like pulverized chalk stones; When Asherim and incense altars will not stand. 10 For the fortified city is isolated, A homestead deserted and abandoned like the desert; There the calf will graze, And there it will lie down and feed on its branches. 11 When its limbs are dry, they are broken off; Women come and make a fire with them, For they are not a people of discernment, Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them. And their Creator will not be gracious to them.

Under the Law covenant, Israel must be penalized for her moral sins against God

this judgment comes in the form of exile and the subsequent hardening of their heart which resulted in the gospel being sent to the Gentiles.

Israel will be gathered for the final time - Isaiah 27.12-13

Isaiah 27:12–13 NASB 2020

12 On that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, you sons of Israel. 13 It will come about also on that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

threshing signifies harvest - the LORD will gather His people from the nations

blowing of a great trumpet signifies a religious gathering

the blowing of the trumpets announces the commencement of a holy convocation/assembly

Israel will be gathered not only as a nation, but as a holy people for God! - Matthew 24.30-31

Matthew 24:30–31 NASB 2020

30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Conclusion

God has already set the events that will come about in the Lasts days

the last days belong to God, not to the enemy!

God is the one who is in control of endtime events!

not the devil; not AI; not man;

God reveal to us in the gospel what He did not show clearly to the porphet Isaiah -

That it is Jesus Christ who will fulfill God’s plan for the endtime

Ephesians 1:9–10 NASB 2020

9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him, 10 regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

Colossians 1:19–20 NASB 2020

19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

Song