Isaiah 66 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 66 Short Summary:

The final chapter of Isaiah is a difficult one to understand. God begins by encouraging people to be humble and contrite in spirit. He follows this up with an allegory about a woman giving birth suddenly, which may be intended to represent the rapid spread of Jesus’ Church. The final section speaks of a day of God’s judgement followed by God calling the nations of the world to worship Him as the recipients of Judah’s blessing.

Isaiah 66 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• Isaiah’s ministry is thought to span from 739-681 BC.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• God – God was going to create a new heaven and a new earth for His people. It would be a place of security, joy, and worship.

OUTLINE:

• THE WICKED VS THE HUMBLE IN SPIRIT (66:1-6):

  • The people of Judah prided themselves in the Temple and in their external ceremonies of religion (sacrifices, holy day observances, etc), but God valued those things a lot less than they assumed.

  • God didn’t need the Temple as a home. He said, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me?” (66:2).

  • Rather than being pleased by their sacrifices, their hypocrisy made them detestable in God’s eyes, He said, “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol” (66:3).

  • Wicked men mistreated God’s faithful people and claimed they did it for God’s glory.

  • What God really wanted from men was a “humble and contrite” spirit that honored His words.

  • God promised to “render recompense” to all His enemies and to bring their fears upon them (65:4, 6).

• ZION GIVES BIRTH TO A NATION (66:7-14):

  • A picture is put forward by the prophet of a woman giving birth suddenly, before her labor pains even begin.

  • God asked, “Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?” (66:8).

  • The woman giving birth was a picture of Zion and God prophesied that He would bless her delivery.

  • Though interpreters are divided, to me it seems the best explanation of this passage is to understand it as a reference to the nation of Jesus, His Church, His Kingdom.

  • Nations are not usually created and populated quickly, but the Church was an exception. It is a spiritual nation whose doors opened on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and people rushed into it, 3,000 people the first day (Acts 2:41) and 5,000 not long after (Acts 4:4).

  • Later, when the Gentiles were welcomed, they joined rapidly, and within one generation God’s kingdom had citizens from all around the world.

  • They looked to Jerusalem as a child looks to its mother. Jerusalem was the origin point, the place of Jesus’ resurrection, and the place from which the Apostles guided the infant Church.

  • All nations of the earth celebrated what happened in Jerusalem and God’s blessing on the city through Jesus, a son of Judah.  

• JUDGEMENT AND THE GATHERING OF ALL NATIONS (66:15-24):

  • In this final section, Isaiah prophesied of a coming day of judgement.

  • Those who worshipped idols, participated in immoral pagan abominations, and ate pig’s flesh would be met by the Lord, who would ride His chariot like a whirlwind to direct His anger and fury against them, and rebuke them with flames of fire (66:15-16).

  • Many have suspected this language to be a reference to the final judgement day, but the following verses seem to indicate this judgement was to occur prior to the end of time.

  • Around the time of this judgement, God was going to gather the nations to see His glory and to observe a “sign” He would set amongst them.

  • God would send the “survivors” of His wrath to other countries to preach about the glory of the God of Judah, saying, “They shall declare my glory among the nations” (66:19).

  • They would gather Judah’s brothers from these foreign countries and bring them to Jerusalem.

  • God would make some of the Gentiles into priests, a job previously reserved for Israelites from the Tribe of Levi.

  • It is my understanding that these promises pertain to Jesus’ Church. God would bring nations together in Jerusalem, they would spread across the world preaching about Jesus, and bringing the Jews and Gentiles back to Jerusalem in these sense that they were unified around the resurrection of Jesus. Gentiles and Jews from all tribes would be made into a nation of priests (Rev 1:6).

  • “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain” (66:22).

  • Those stemming from Judah and Judah’s Messiah would never cease to exist.

  • When these things came to pass, people from all countries would worship before God perpetually and regularly, “From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath.”

APPLICATION:

• Prophecy can be hard to interpret, especially when the fulfilment isn’t spelled out in plain language to us.

• Many people are dogmatic and confident about how they see prophecy being fulfilled, but few people have actually done the hard work to harmonize the text with the rest of the Scriptures.

• It’s easy to be confident until you’re forced to deal with every verse!

• Be patient with people who hold views other than the ones you’ve traditionally held.

• I’ve studied from some very reputable Bible scholars in preparation for this study and their interpretations have varied significantly on a number of points throughout Isaiah and especially in chapter 66, so extend some patients before you’re quick to blast someone as a false teacher.

• Be humble in your studies!