Isaiah 66:15

Isaiah 66:15 says, For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.  I believe this refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ which is usually referred to as the Day of the Lord. He will be coming in power to defeat all His enemies for all time.  We are just to be ready for that day. 

Verse sixteen adds, For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.  Isaiah said that God would try people by fire and many would be slain of the Lord that day.  Still, the responsibility for their destruction would be theirs.  If we put our faith in Jesus Christ, just like the three Hebrew children thrown into the fiery furnace, we will stand the test and be brought safely to the other side, our home in Heaven.  

Verse seventeen continues, They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.  God said that those who attempted to sanctify themselves by worldly means would be consumed together with the mice   We either accept God's gift of salvation and have everlasting peace with God, or we reject His gift and have everlasting torment separated from Him. 

Isaiah 66:7

Isaiah 66:7 says, Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.  Matthew Henry says this refers to the deliverance of the people of Israel out of Babylon, which happened very quickly and easily. Isaiah compared it to a woman given birth without ever experiencing any labor pains.  The nation of Israel didn’t have to struggle to find deliverance, but God delivered them suddenly and without their having to do anything. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, it is not something that we have to fight to achieve, but it happens just as soon as we accept Him and does not happen because of anything we have done.  Salvation is a free gift of God.

Verse eight adds, Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.  Isaiah asked who had heard of or seen such a thing.  He asked if the earth would bring forth such a thing in one day when a nation was born all at once.  They had been a captive people and now they would be a nation once more.  Matthew Henry points out that God did create many things in just one day, but He had pronounced His creative work to be done, so even though He could have just created a nation in one day, He chose to work through those He had already created.  God could have just given up on mankind and destroyed them and created a new people, but He chose to work through mankind to bring them back to Him, and we should rejoice that He did.

Verse nine continues, Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.  God asked if He would bring forth a nation and not continue to grow it.  God didn’t just redeem Israel so that they alone would be His people, but He redeemed them so that they could reach out to all the world with the gospel.  This is still our task today as followers of Jesus Christ.

Verse ten states, Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:  Isaiah said that it was time for the people of the world to rejoice with Jerusalem after it was rebuilt.  He called for those who had mourned for her condition to rejoice now. When God restores us to a right relationship with Him through our accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, not only should we rejoice,  but we should mourn for all those who haven't done so. 

Verse eleven adds, That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.  Still comparing Israel to a baby, Isaiah said that they could be satisfied with the milk of God’s glory.  We will always be dependent on God’s mercy to keep us fed spiritually and we should always be satisfied with what He provides for us.  We should delight in the abundance of His glory, no matter what is going on in our life.

Verse twelve continues, For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.  Isaiah said God was going to extend peace like a river to the Gentiles who would then be like a stream flowing with His glory.  God said He would care for the people of Israel and the Gentiles who accepted His gift of salvation like a mother protects her young children.  I believe that the church under the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit would represent the mother, but she would do everything under God’s power.  This is our call as the church today. We are to reach out to the world with the compassion that a mother has, and then we are nurture those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord as we would young children.

Verse thirteen says, As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.  God said just as a mother comforted her children, He would comfort the people who put their faith in Him in Jerusalem.  I believe this means wherever you are, but at this time was being written to comfort those people of Israel who had been in captivity for so long and were now returning.  We were held captive by sin until we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and since we have, we should be at ease wherever we are because we rest in the grace of God.

Verse fourteen adds, And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his  servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.  God said when He restored them and defeated their enemies that their hearts would rejoice. This was but a temporary restoration, but it was said that the people would rejoice.   We as followers of Christ have an everlasting victory, so how much more we should rejoice. 

Thanksgiving

As we as a nation celebrate Thanksgiving, I just want to pause to acknowledge that the reason I celebrate Thanksgiving is because of the fat that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I accepted His gift of salvation.  He has blessed me far more than i deserve to be blessed, and I would pray that if you haven't accepted Him as your personal Savior and Lord that you will do so and then you will have a real reason to celebrate Thanksgiving.  May God bless you today and everyday.

isaiah 66:1

Isaiah 66:1 says, Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?  God said He was the Creator of everything and asked what the people thought a temple was to Him.  This was a reference to the coming Messiah doing away with the physical temple where people thought God resided and changing it to the Holy Spirit indwelling the heart of each believer.  God will never be confined to any place, but He will freely indwell all who put their faith in Jesus Christ spiritually by the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us to a right relationship with God. 

Verse two adds, For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.  God said everything already belonged to Him, except for people who had the choice to either be His by faith or be forever separated from Him by a lack of faith.  God said He would look to the poor and contrite and those who trembled at His word.  The only way we can come to God is with a humble and contrite heart and with trembling at His word, because we know that without His providing a way to salvation, we would be forever doomed. 

Verse three continues, He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. Isaiah then said that God was not delighted in their sacrifices of oxen and lambs, because they weren't being offered for the right reasons.   We can go through the rituals of worshipping God today, but if we don’t do so out of being obedient to Him and seeking His way, it will do us no good.  Some people who profess to be Christians are still burning incense to or worshipping the things of this world and expecting to be blessed by it. 

Verse four states, I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.  God said that He would bring the fears of the unbeliever upon them.  He said this was because when He called, they did not answer.  I believe that this would imply that they heard His call but simply chose not to answer Him.  Their fate would be a result of their own delusion in putting their faith in something other than God. 

Verse five adds, Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.  God said that those who had hated the Christians and said that God couldn’t deliver them would go away in shame at the appearance of Jesus Christ.  No matter how we may be treated in this lifetime, when Jesus Christ returns, we who have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord will celebrate in joy while those who haven’t will learn just how wrong they have been. 

Verse six continues, A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies.  God said the voice of the Lord would come from the city and pronounce doom to those who were His enemies.  God doesn't need an army to bring about His will, but He can accomplish it with just His words.