Isaiah 66:18 says, For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. God said He knew not only their works but their thoughts. We may fool people, but we will never fool God. God also said that all nations would come before Him to see His glory. This referred to the remnant who had remained faithful to God, but for too many, this will be a time when they see His glory too late since they will be sent away to everlasting punishment.
Verse nineteen adds, And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. God said that those who remained faithful and had escaped persecution would have His sign set among them and they would be dispersed to those who had not heard His name. Matthew Henry says there is not a clear understanding of where these countries mentioned here were located, but to me, it just means the rest of the world who had not heard of God's saving grace. It was always God's plan to save everyone who would put their faith in Him and He was going to carry out His plan when the time was right. This happened after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ when He was born and lived in total obedience to God.
Verse twenty continues, And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. God said that those sent to other countries would bring all those who accepted His gift of salvation to Him. They would come as clean vessels to Him, and our bodies are made spiritually clean vessels by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Verse twenty-one states, And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. God said He was going to take these Gentiles as priests and Levites. The priests and Levites were set aside to perform the work in the Temple and were God’s representatives on earth. When the Gentiles became a part of God’s people, they needed people to do the same thing. Of course, we know that as Christians we become a part of the priesthood of believers and are set apart from the world to do the work of God, and some are set aside even more to be preachers and teachers.
Verse twenty-two adds, For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. God said that just as surely as He was going to create a new heaven and earth, those that put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord would remain with Him forever. This didn’t just apply to them then, but it applied to their descendants as well. This applies to Christians today and their descendants as well if they accept God’s gift of salvation.
Verse twenty-three continues, And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. God said there was coming a day when everyone would worship Him. I believe this refers to the time after the second coming of Christ, though we are to share the gospel so that as many as will come to worship Him today. We are under the new covenant of grace, and this verse seems to say that we should worship God continually, and not just on the Sabbath as it refers to here or the Lord's Day that we worship on as followers of Christ.
Verse twenty-four concludes, And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. God then stated the future of those who did not believe in Him, and that was everlasting punishment. We can either accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, or we will one day go away to everlasting destruction. Those are the only two choices.
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