Isaiah 66

One of the problems is knowing where to stop, isn't it? If you do any public speaking, particularly

! a problem for preachers. Knowing where to stop. I was told once by another preacher that

! my preaching was like a plane circling the airport. That you kept thinking it was going

to land, but no, you went round for another lap. Which, I took it. Knowing where to stop.

It's difficult, isn't it? And I think you get to Isaiah 66, and you think, well, you get

to the end of Isaiah 65, and you think, this is a great place to stop. And then, Isaiah

66 is a puzzling chapter. I remember last week, this magnificent vision of a new heavens and

a new earth. It's described, isn't it? It's one of the mountain peaks of Isaiah, certainly

one of the mountain peaks of the Old Testament. The peaceable kingdom, it's a great place to

end. The wolf and the lamb lying down together. Grazing together. It's a great way to finish.

And then Isaiah goes and adds another chapter. It's a long book, isn't it? 65 chapters. It's

a long book. Now, we know, don't we, that Isaiah wrote under the inspiration of the Holy

Spirit. It's not a mistake that Isaiah 66 is there. It's not him struggling as an aeroplane,

going around the airport for one more lap, struggling whether to land. Isaiah is not a rambler.

But rather, what he does in this chapter is he pulls together a number of strands. And

he presents to his listeners, for one last time, the choice that lies before you. The

book of Isaiah is a tale of two cities. The book begins in the earthly city of Jerusalem.

And God laments, he says, Israel, you become like a prostitute. He says, your city, the city

of Jerusalem is a city full of injustice and unrighteousness. But the book ends in another

city. In the new Jerusalem. In the city that Isaiah calls the new heavens and the new earth.

The perfect world. It ends with things as they're meant to be. And Isaiah is this kind of covenant

enforcement officer. He is God's representative. He is God's lawyer who presents not only the case for the

prosecution, but he also shows the rebellious and the accused. He shows you the way to the new heavens

and the new earth. He shows you the way to freedom. And the question Isaiah is asked all the way through

is how do we get from chapter 1 to chapter 66? How do we get from

the city of Jerusalem to the new Jerusalem?

How will the faithless city

become the faithful city?

And so Isaiah presents his closing arguments, as it were, and he turns

from the question of how

to the question who.

Who will be there?

Who will get to inhabit the new city?

Who will inhabit the new heavens and the new earth?

Or to put it another way, do you want to experience

for eternity perfection and paradise?

In the presence of God.

And if you do want that, what should it mean for the now, in the present, what should your

life look like?

And Isaiah gives us three answers to the question.

He gives us three characteristics of people

who will live in the new heavens and the new earth.

Let's jump right in.

The first characteristic of people who will dwell in the new heavens and the new earth

is that they tremble at God's word.

Look at verse 1.

Thus says the Lord,

Heaven is my throne

and the earth is my footstool.

What or where

is the house that you would build for me?

And what or where

is the place of my rest?

All these things my hand has made.

So all these things came to me, declares the Lord.

But this is the one to whom I will look.

He was humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

So God begins, doesn't he, with a very simple

and profound statement.

He points to his sheer

greatness and his immensity.

And he says,

The earth is

my footstool.

The earth on which you dwell.

It's where I rest my feet.

That's how massive I am.

But in all his greatness,

do you remember what God had promised his people?

God had promised to his people

that he would dwell,

the great majestic creator of the heavens and the earth,

he would dwell in the temple in Jerusalem.

All the way back in 1 Kings chapter 8,

1 Kings 8 · chapter mention

he promises to the King Solomon,

I will dwell in the temple.

And so God here isn't scorning

that the powerful and transcendent God

that he is would dwell

in a human earthly edifice.

What he does here,

what he is really doing,

is he is mocking the idea

that you and I can build structures

that could somehow contain God

and could impress God.

That the people of Israel

could have a temple of the Lord

that they could somehow

put God in their favour.

So translating verse 1

is quite difficult.

Most of the translations in verse 1

with these words,

it's simply where?

Where is the house

that you would build for me?

But the sense,

if you were to put it in colloquial English,

is wherever.

Wherever is this place.

But God adds really a sense of irony

as he so often does in Isaiah

to the question.

It's as if God is saying in verse 1,

to be honest with you,

I'm having trouble locating your temple.

I'm finding it a little hard to find.

Can you tell me where it is?

Can you give me directions?

Can you give me the postcodes?

And I think that's quite humbling

for you and I.

That as humans,

we build, don't we,

these impressive edifices for God.

Churches and cathedrals for God.

And God professes them hard to find.

Westminster Abbey.

I can't quite see it.

St Paul's Cathedral.

Well, where is it?

I.P.C.

Ealing's glorious new building.

No, sorry, you're going to have to give me

the directions again, God says.

It's not that God doesn't know where it is.

Of course he does.

That's not the point.

It's not that he despises buildings.

Like many evangelicals do.

He mustn't do that.

It's not that he rejects the motives

of the building's construction.

Rather he's saying,

your buildings

are not where my eyes

easily and readily focus.

God does not repudiate

houses of worship.

But God does say,

your buildings are not the sharpest focus

in my field of vision.

That's not where he holds in on.

That's not where God looks this morning.

Where does God look?

Where does God look?

Can you see?

Verse 2.

He looks at those.

These are the ones

that I look on with favour.

This is the one to whom I will look.

Those who are humble

and contrite in spirit

and tremble at my Lord.

The Lord's priority is very clear.

It is not the building we construct.

It is not the building

that we seek to improve.

In which we gather.

No, it is ultimately

the man or the woman

or the boy or the girl

who is humble

and contrite in spirit

and trembles at his word.

There is one.

There is one

in the midst of all creation.

In the midst of the sun

and the stars

and all the feasts

and all the parties

and all the feats

of engineering

and all the architecture.

There is one

that secures the gaze

of the great creator

and it is the individual

who is humble.

The people who are humble.

And it's contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

The word contrite

is translated in other places

as lame.

Usually it's about

physical lameness.

But here

and only here

in the Old Testament

it has this sense

of inability spiritually.

It's not just

a sense of our sin

but a sense

of the damage

that sin has done

to you.

That you and I

are helpless

in pleasing God.

Have you come to that point?

That you are

spiritually lame.

The word humble

is a word we use

more often

than the word contrite.

But we're still confused

I think

what it means.

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis

it's not thinking

less of yourself.

Of course it's not.

But it's thinking

of yourself less.

And that's an important

distinction.

And the Bible

directs us

along the path

of humility

by instructing

instructing you

to think of yourself

less

and think of God

more.

So how do you know

if you're living

a life of humility?

How do you know

if you're living

a life of contrition

and spirit

as a citizen

of the new heavens

and the new earth?

And Isaiah

gives us one

clear indication

and it is this

that you tremble

at his word.

And Isaiah

sees that characteristic

as one that sets

true followers

of God off

from those

who are not

actually following.

they have the

appearance of

following

but they're not.

And so in

verses 3 to 4

he describes

those who go

through the motions

of religious

activity.

He says

they turn up

at church.

They make

great show.

They actually

make great

sacrifices.

They do other

things but they

don't tremble

at God's word.

They have

vibrant worship.

Loud worship.

Noisy,

fervent worship

but they don't

tremble at God's word.

And God says

actually you might

look really

super spiritual

this morning

but to me

they are sinful.

Your worship

is meaningless.

It is

unacceptable.

It is apostate.

I have to tell you

that this verse

about trembling

at God's word

has really stuck

in my craw

this week.

And it's a huge

challenge.

Two weeks ago

I was in Poland

I wanted to go

to see the

Polish National

Cathedral that's

just built.

We went in

and they had

a celebration

of the mass.

And I sat

at the back

while I stood

at the back

and watched.

I don't know

whether you've

done that.

It's quite a

heartbreaking thing

to watch really.

But within me

there was

a smug superiority

as the man

rattled through

and he doesn't

believe a word

of this.

These people

don't know

what they're

doing.

When you come

to Isaiah

66 and

verse 2

I think

if you are

spiritually

haughty

or pride

as I am

proud as I

am it cuts

the legs

from under you.

Because God

says here are

the ones that

I delight to

look upon

it is those

who tremble

at my word.

And the

scripture is

read.

Do you have

that sense

of holy

reverence?

When you

get your

Bible open

at home

to read

with your

family

to read

it yourself

that sensitive

reverence

that we

come to

the Lord

God

to hear

him speak

to obey

whatever he

says.

And we

tremble at

God's word

because it

is God's

word.

God's

word.

It is the

word of the

sovereign.

The word of

the almighty

God of the

universe.

It is the

word of the

God who

has revealed

himself.

The God

who has

revealed himself

through Isaiah

as the

only God.

The God

who will

abide no

rivals.

The God

who scorns

our worship

of idols.

And the

only God

who will

forgive our

sin.

The only

God who

has sent a

rescuer for

you and

me in

his

suffering

servant.

The only

God who

renews the

strength of

those who

wait for

him.

Those Isaiah

said who

are the

citizens of

the heaven

and the

new earth

whose future

is guaranteed

are those

who tremble

at God's

word.

And that

might be

very difficult

for you to

get your

head around

because you

say I

don't want

to tremble

before God.

Isn't

God the

God of

love?

Isn't

God the

God of

compassion?

The God

of comfort?

Why do

you

tremble

before

him?

Why would

we have

such an

attitude of

fear?

Let me

give you

an

illustration.

Imagine

you are

exploring

an unknown

glacier on

the north

of Greenland.

I know it's

one of those

ridiculous

illustrations.

But let's

say you're

exploring a

glacier in

the north of

Greenland in

the dead of

winter just

as you reach

the sheer

cliff with

a spectacular

view of miles

and miles

of jagged

ice snow

mountains.

And there

is a terrible

storm arises.

And the

wind is so

strong that

you are

absolutely

scared stiff

that you're

going to be

blown off.

You and

your party

right over

the cliff.

But in

the midst

you discover

one of the

party discovers

there is a

cleft in the

ice where you

can hide and

so you go in

there.

And you

feel secure.

And the

mighty power of

the storm

it rages on

but you

watch it

with a

kind of

trembling.

With a

kind of

trembling

pleasure.

It surges

across the

glacier.

Now the

question is

this.

What's

changed in

your experience

of the

storm?

Initially

you had this

fear that

this terrible

storm could

literally claim

your life.

But then

you found a

refuge.

And so you

gained the

hope that you

would be safe

but not

everything in

the feeling of

fear has

vanished.

does it?

Only the

life-threatening

part has

vanished.

Because there

remains,

doesn't there,

a trembling

awe and

wonder and

fear.

The feeling

that you

would never

want to

tangle with

such a

storm or

be the

adversary of

such a

power.

And so it

is with our

attitude towards

God.

Trusting in

God and

his promises

turns terror

into a

holy and

hopeful and

dare I say

happy

trembling.

Into a

peaceful

trembling.

Into a

trustful

trembling.

God and

Mr.

Beaver,

isn't it,

in the

Lion,

the

Witch and

the

Wardrobe.

You

remember the

scene?

Beaver

describes

Aslan's

might and

majesty.

Aslan,

the

lion,

God as

it were.

And as

he finishes,

Lucy says,

is he

safe?

Mr.

Beaver says,

safe?

Who said

anything about

safe?

Of course he

isn't safe.

But he is

good.

He's a

king, I

tell you.

And you

see, those

who are

citizens of

the new

heavens and

the new

earth are

humble and

contrite.

And they

demonstrate it

by trembling

at God's

word.

Because it

is the

word of

God.

That brings

us to the

second characteristic

of people who

live in the

new heavens and

the new

earth.

And that is

that they are

citizens through

a new birth.

Look at

verses 6

to 9.

The sound of

an uproar from

the city,

the sound from

the temple,

the sound of

the Lord,

rendering

recompense to

his enemies.

Before she

was in

labor, she

gave birth.

Before her

pain came upon

her, she

delivered a

son.

Who has

heard such

a thing?

Who has

seen such

things?

Shall a

land be

born in

one day?

Shall a

nation be

brought forth

in one

moment?

For as

soon as

Zion was

in labor,

she brought

forth her

children.

Shall I

bring to

the point

of birth and

not cause

to bring

forth,

says the

Lord?

Shall I

who caused

to bring

forth shut

the womb,

says your

God?

So it's

not an

easy passage,

but it

seems Isaiah

is prophesying

of the

destruction of

Jerusalem,

that God

will judge

those who

have turned

their backs

on him.

Destruction

that will

come at the

hands of

the Babylonians.

In 587

BC,

587 BC,

at which time

the temple

would be

destroyed.

If you

read on in

the New

Testament,

you come

to the

point where

the temple

is rebuilt.

It's rebuilt

after the

return of

the exiles,

in the time

of Ezra

and Nehemiah.

But the

temple is a

shadow of

the first

one.

The old

people,

they cry

because the

second temple

is not a

patch on

the first

one.

And that

temple would

be destroyed,

wouldn't it,

in AD

70.

AD 70,

just a few

years after

Jesus'

death and

resurrection.

So there

are many

Christians who

read this

section of

Isaiah

differently.

But my

sense is

Isaiah is

looking forward

to that

later destruction

of the

temple,

the one in

AD 70.

And he

says something

miraculous is

going to

happen before

that destruction.

That before

Israel goes

into labour,

she will give

birth.

Before the

pains come upon

her, she

will deliver a

son.

Who's

heard of

such a

thing?

Who's

ever seen

such a

thing?

And the

answer is

no one.

And in

Isaiah at

the same

time,

Isaiah is

already told

us of

this great

event.

Earlier in

his book,

he's prophesied

to the

miraculous

birth of

a son sometime

in the

future.

So do you

remember Isaiah

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7?

Words that

we're so

familiar with

at Christmas,

isn't it?

She will give

birth, she

will give you

a sign the

virgin will

conceive and

give birth to

a son and you

will call his

name Emmanuel.

And Isaiah is

covered a lot of

ground from

chapter 7.

And in

hindsight, we

know a lot

more, even

though, even

through the

book of

Isaiah as

to who this

son will

be, this

Emmanuel.

So just a

couple of

chapters later,

chapter 9,

the son is the

one who will

be given.

The son is the

one who is

born and will

be called

wonderful

counsellor,

mighty God,

everlasting

father, prince

of peace, and

upon his

shoulders, the

increase of his

government will be

no end.

Because this

Emmanuel, this

son, will be

the king.

And as we read

through the book

of Isaiah, we

find that the

king will come

as a servant.

And he will be

a servant who

will suffer and

will die in our

place and he

will be pierced

for our

transgressions and

crushed for our

iniquities and by

his wounds we

will be healed.

And when you

realise that our

citizenship is in

the new heavens and

the new earth, it

is completely and

entirely and

totally dependent on

this son whom God

will send.

This son who was

miraculously born

will come as the

servant king.

But Isaiah says

that is not all.

He says from his

birth will come your

rebirth.

Zion gives birth not

only to a son but

she gives birth,

verse 8, to her

children.

So that from the

birth of this one

son comes

instantaneously a

country, a

people, a

nation.

That's exactly what

you discover when

you come to the

New Testament.

The birth of a

son gives birth to

a movement.

A movement that

cannot be contained

within ethnical,

political or

territorial boundaries.

It's a movement

that creates a

people without

borders that

encompasses every

tribe and tongue

nation.

It's the church

of Jesus Christ.

It's the people of

the new creation.

It's the citizens of

the new heavens and

the new earth.

And so you see this

citizenship is not

based on where you

were born, is it?

It's not based on

your postcode.

And it's not based on

your family heritage.

It's not based on the

amount of income that

you report on your

tax return.

Our citizenship of

the new heavens and

the new earth comes

through a rebirth.

Because without being

born again, Jesus

says, you cannot see

the kingdom of

heaven.

The words of the

apostle Peter, 1

Peter 3 and 4 says,

praise be to the

God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ.

In his great mercy,

he has given us new

birth, rebirth,

regeneration,

into a living hope

through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from

the dead, into an

inheritance that will

never spoil, never

perish, never spoil,

never fade.

You see, citizenship in

the new heavens and the

new earth depends

completely on being

reborn, receiving a new

birth that comes

through faith.

faith in the one who

was miraculously born,

but who died and

raised again and he

reigns forever.

Just briefly before we

look at the last

characteristic, can you

notice in verse 10 to

13, he moves,

doesn't he, from the

prenatal room to the

nursery.

And these are

remarkable verses.

It gives you and I an

astounding image of the

church as a mother who

nurses or feeds her

children.

And then it plays with

the image a little bit

and extends the image to

the comforting mother to

God himself.

God is portrayed as a

mother.

In verses 12 and 13.

But 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 nurse, you

shall be carried upon her

hip and bounced upon her

knees.

And as one whom his

mother comforts, so I

will comfort you.

You shall be comforted in

Jerusalem.

Do you remember those

days back when, when you

were little, when you were

weak?

For some of us that's

difficult.

We can barely remember what

we had for breakfast, but

try and remember what it was

like when we were little.

There are certain

particular scenes out there

that are etched into our

memories of our mothers.

From our earliest

memories.

Sitting on our mothers'

knees, being bounced up

and down, up and down,

up and down.

Giggling and smiling.

Mothers singing nursery rhymes

and lullabies, kissing us in

delight, hugging and

caressing you when there

were tears.

I am in awe of mothers.

The patience of the mothers

of this church with their

little children.

It's, it's an amazing thing.

The softness and the beauty.

It comes more innately.

Not so in awe of the dads.

I don't find that that

patience comes as

naturally.

I might be wrong.

I might be terribly

successful in this.

Who cares?

But God says that is who I

am.

That is who I am.

That is who I am to my

children.

He is like a gentle

mother.

Mouncing.

His children on their

knees.

God is not an ogre.

God is not an ogre.

God is not standing over

his people this morning

with a stick ready to

beat you.

This is a God who wants

to be like a mother to

you.

It's an astounding

picture.

Lastly, the third

characteristic of the new

heavens and the new

earth is that they are

sent into the world to

proclaim God's glory.

They are sent into the

world to proclaim God's

glory.

In verses 18 to 20.

For I know their works

and their thoughts.

And the time is coming to

gather all nations and

tongues.

And they will come and see

my glory.

Do you see the direction

they are coming?

Verse 19.

And I will set aside among

them and from them I will

send.

That is going.

I will send survivors to

the nations.

Tarshish,

Paul and Lod.

Who draw the bow to

Tubal and Jabin to the

coastlands far away.

And have not heard my

fame or seen my glory.

And they shall declare my

glory.

And they shall bring

forth all your brothers

and sisters from all the

nations as an offering

to the Lord on horses

and in chariots and in

litters and on mules and

on dromedaries.

To my holy mountain

Jerusalem says the Lord.

God's plan throughout the

scripture has always been

to go global.

It has always been to go

global.

You see that with Adam.

You see that with Noah.

You see that with Abraham.

To go global with this gift

of grace and salvation.

He is gathering his

rescuing activity.

Here it is.

He's gathering his

rescuing activity was a

season restricted to those

who'd been dispersed into

exile from Israel.

But the bigger plan was

always, always to extend

that rescue to all people.

John Stott points to three

things here that Isaiah

says about the global

mission program of God.

First of all he tells us

the occasion of this

global mission program.

Verse 18 God is saying

mission activity will be

precipitated.

The thing that will come

before this great mission

activity is the rejection

of Israel.

By God's word.

Now the ESV, the ESV, I

love the ESV.

I wouldn't want to go back

to the NIV but sometimes

it is so literal it's

incomprehensible.

And so look at, look at

your, the service sheet on

page seven.

The NIV is a little bit

better here.

And more helpful.

And so verse 18 says

for I know their works and

their thoughts and the time

is coming to gather all

nations and tongues and

they shall come and see my

glory.

The they there is referring

to Israel because of what

they done or not done.

Because of their works.

Because I know their

works and their thoughts.

Because of what they done

or not done.

God says I'm going to come

and gather the people of

all nations.

Now because of Israel's

rejection we see this

pattern again and again in

the New Testament.

Israel, the Jews, they

reject the Lord Jesus.

And what happens is the

gospel goes out to the

nations.

So four times the Jews

reject the preaching of the

word in Acts by Paul and

he turns and evangelizes the

Gentiles.

It happens in Pisidian,

Antioch, in Corinth, in

Ephesus and then in Rome.

Now of course there's a

remnant of Jews who believe,

praise God.

Many Jews did put their

trust and faith in the

Messiah but there were many

more who rejected God's

word.

And that led to the spread of

the message to the Gentiles

to us.

So the occasion was the

rejection of God's word by

Israel.

Secondly, the scope of God's

mission program.

Can you see that?

I will gather people from all

nations and tongues.

And Isaiah signals out five

places that represent the

four points in the compass.

You have Tarshish which is a

city in Spain at the western

end of the empire.

You have Pul and Lud which are

in the southern part.

You have Tubal which is in

the far north.

And you have Java and

Greece which is in the

eastern end of the empire.

And then the distant lands

beyond that.

And these are the places

aren't they?

Isaiah looks around.

He's at the Atlas.

He looks around the world

at the furthest outposts.

And he says,

this proclamation of God's

glory will grow up to them.

But this mission was to go

from Cameroon to Kazakhstan.

From Leeds to Liberia.

From Ealing to Estonia.

To go all over the world.

But this movement was to have

no ethnic or geographical

or national boundaries.

And that squares exactly

with what happened in the

book of Acts.

Doesn't it?

Acts 1 verse 8.

Acts 1:8

He says to the apostles,

the disciples,

you will receive power when

the Holy Spirit comes upon

you.

And you will be my witnesses

where?

Jerusalem.

And Judea.

And Samaria.

And the ends of the earth.

And so at the end of the

book of Acts,

it can be said that the

gospels go to the end of

the world.

Just as Isaiah prophesied.

And then thirdly,

there's the goal of mission.

And it's nothing short of

the glory of God.

That is that God would be

known and honoured for who

he is.

And that shouldn't surprise us.

All of life is intended to

be for the glory of God.

Why were you created?

What is your chief end?

The chief end of man is to

glorify God and enjoy him

forever.

What's particularly striking

in this passage is God is

sending out messages to the

nations to proclaim the glory

of God.

Through the rest of the Old

Testament, God promises the

nations will come to Zion.

There will be this pilgrimage

of the nations, like rivers

flowing towards Jerusalem.

It's only when you come to the

end of the New Testament.

To the New Testament, this

movement goes from the

nations to Jerusalem.

It's replaced by God sending

out from Jerusalem to the

nations.

But the one exception is in

the Old Testament, Isaiah 66,

19.

Where God says, I will send

out to proclaim my glory to

the nations.

And as the story of God's

people continues, we discover

that those who are brought in

are brought in to be sent

out again.

Those who are citizens of the

new heavens and the new

earth.

They are brought in and sent

out as missionaries to proclaim

the glory of God.

And that includes you and that

includes me.

That we are to live and to

proclaim the glory of God.

In your home.

In the way that you treat your

children.

In the way that you work.

In the way that you use your

leisure time.

In your school.

And in your social circle.

And in your neighbourhood.

So that those around you will

come and know how great God

is.

And you might say, that sounds

great.

How do I exactly proclaim the

glory of God?

Listen to these words from Paul

from 2 Corinthians 4.

For God who said, let light

shine out of darkness, made his

light shine in our hearts.

To give us the light of the

knowledge of God's glory

displayed in the face of

Christ.

The glory of God is most

clearly demonstrated and

proclaimed the person and work

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To proclaim the glory of God,

you need to love Jesus.

Live for Jesus.

And talk about Jesus.

It's really simple, isn't it?

I'm really hard.

And that's what we're talking

about.

That if we are citizens of the

new heavens and the new earth,

which is another way of saying,

are you a Christian?

You understand that it's part and

parcel of your life.

To live for, to love, and to

speak about Jesus.

So the book of Isaiah moves from

the earthly city of Jerusalem to

the new heavens and the new earth.

It's in some ways the summary of

the Bible, isn't it?

Genesis 1 begins in the

beginning, God created the

heavens and the earth.

And the Bible ends with God

created the new heavens and the

new earth.

And Isaiah encapsulates the

movement of the Bible.

For those who are citizens of

this new world, three

characteristics.

You tremble at his word.

You realize you can only be a

citizen through rebirth, through

being born again.

And thirdly, you understand that

you've been sent out with a

mandate, a commission to

proclaim God's glory.

The end.

It's not, is it?

Let's circle the airport one more

time.

Look at the last verse.

And they shall grow out and they

shall look on the dead bodies of

the men who've rebelled against

me for their worms shall not die,

their fire shall not be quenched,

and they shall be an abhorrence to

all flesh.

What a beautiful ending to the

book.

You know when Isaiah 66 is read in

the Jewish synagogue today, they read

verse 24, and then they go back and

read verse 23 again because they

cannot believe that it should end in

such a book, such a verse.

They don't want to finish it with

such a horrid ending.

But we have to figure out that Isaiah

knew what he's doing, that he

finishes this book in the way that he

intends to finish.

He wants you and I to sit bold

upright and to listen up.

Because what he does at the end of

verse 24 is he says, if you will not

tremble at God's word.

If you will not be born again, if you

will not proclaim the glory of God in

the person of the Lord Jesus Christ,

verse 24 awaits.

And you might be tempted to say, oh

that's so Old Testament isn't it?

We are New Testament people, in fact

let's go even better.

I'm a red letter Christian, I just

believe in the words that Jesus says,

you know the ones in the red words.

Jesus will rescue us out of this, right?

Jesus says in Mark 8, 12, the subjects of

the kingdom will be thrown into outer

darkness and in that place there will be

weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It's an indirect quote of Isaiah 66, 24.

There is no one other than Jesus who talks about

this outer darkness.

What is he talking about?

He's talking about Isaiah 66, 24.

Where Isaiah says, people who have heard me,

who have heard this prophecy,

and yet they don't tremble,

and they're not born again,

and they don't proclaim the glory of God,

they will go to this outer darkness.

And in Mark 9, 9, 47,

Jesus says, if your right hand causes you to sin,

tear it out, because it's better for you

to enter the kingdom of God with one eye

than with two eyes to be thrown into hell

where the worm does not die.

Isaiah 66, 24.

Because this is real.

Now you could finish the servant series here

with a little light-hearted story

that breaks the tension.

But for me to do that would be

a great disservice to the book of Isaiah.

Because that is not how Isaiah

wants to finish his book.

He says, this is reality.

And if you rebel against the living God,

who is the loving God

who came to rescue you,

who is the living God,

who is the God

who sent his son in this world

to suffer in your place,

who is the living God

who wants to comfort you

like a mother,

if you refuse that,

the only thing left for you

is justice.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.