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Dr. D.L. Cooper Commentary On Isaiah
Biblical Research Monthly-September and October, 1946
Matters of the End Time--Building of the Tribulation Temple, Inauguration of Jewish Sacrifices, and the Millennium
Chapter 66
ISAIAH, CHAPTER 66, contains the last sermon in this book of prophecy. It deals with matters of the end time--the building of the Tribulation Temple, the inauguration of Jewish sacrifices, and the Millennium.
I. REBUILDING THE JEWISH TEMPLE "66 Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what manner of house will ye build unto me? and what place shall be my rest? 2 For all these things hath my hand made, and so all these things came to be, saith Jehovah: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word. 3 He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as he that offereth swine's blood; he that burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations: 4 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 that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not" (66:1-4).
Isaiah was carried forward to the end of the age and saw his brethren reconstructing the Jewish Temple in the city of Jerusalem. He therefore, speaking for God, asked them what type of house they were proposing to build to Him, seeing that He is the one who created all things. It is impossible for any building constructed by man to house the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Creator.
The futility of the worship that will be rendered there is set forth in verse 3. Here we learn that those who sacrifice oxen under the prevailing conditions will be just as guilty as if they committed murder, and that the sacrifice of a lamb will be no more acceptable to God than a dog whose neck might be broken and offered in sacrifice. Their oblations will not be acceptable any more than if they offered a sacrifice of swine's blood. Their frankincense will not be pleasing to God anymore than it would be if it were offered to an idol. Thus the futility of this future worship is set forth very vividly, graphically, and without any doubt.
When men will not have God's ways and plans and purposes, but choose the things wherein they delight, the Lord likewise chooses their delusions and confirms them in their error. This is seen in the latter part of verse 3 and in verse 4. Truth rejected becomes enigmatical to those who refuse to do the will of God. On the other hand, if any man wills to do the will of God, he will know of the teaching of Messiah--whether from men or from God (John 7:17). The prophets constantly warned people against rejecting the light which God offers to them. On this point study carefully Jeremiah 6:16-21; 13:15-17; Ezekiel 14:1-5.
God will send delusions to Israel, when she rejects the light as set forth in verse 4. He calls to the nation, but it refuses to answer. He speaks to it, but it refuses to hear. How does God speak to people today? The answer is that it is through His messengers who proclaim His Word faithfully. Since this passage assumes that God has taught them and they have rejected the light, it is evident that the prophet foresaw as an accomplished fact the great evangelistic campaign to give Israel the truth. She must be given the opportunity to accept or reject the Word of God as set forth in her own Scriptures and in those of the New Testament. But here it is foretold that she, temporarily, will not heed. The worship therefore which she sets up, centering in the rebuilt Temple at Jerusalem, will not be acceptable. But on account of her having rejected the light given to her in the truth of the gospel, she will be confirmed in error and will do things contrary to the will of God.
That the Temple of Jehovah will be rebuilt in Jerusalem and will be standing in the end time is assumed in Psalm 74, Matthew 24:15f, II Thessalonians, chapter 2, and Revelation, chapter 11. The reader should study these passages in their connection in order to see the full force of these predictions.
II. A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE REMNANT "5 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hate you, that cast you out for my name's sake, have said, Let Jehovah be glorified, that we may see your joy; but it is they that shall be put to shame. 6 A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Jehovah that rendereth recompense to his enemies" (vss. 5, 6).
Israel will be divided into two sections: That portion which hears the Word and receives it, the minority; and the larger part of the nation which rejects the message. Those refusing the message make fun of and ridicule those who, having accepted the Scriptures as the divine revelation, tremble at the Word of Jehovah. The Lord therefore thus encourages those who do accept it: Pay no attention, exhorted the prophet, to those who reject it; for it is they--the ones refusing it--who will be put to shame when there is "a voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Jehovah that rendereth recompense to his enemies." This voice of Jehovah mentioned here is nothing other than the voice of Messiah, when He shouts aloud upon His return as He goes forth against His enemies.
III. THE TRIBULATION"7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah: shall I that cause to bring forth shut the womb? saith thy God" (vss. 7-9).
The prophet compared the troubles and disasters of the Tribulation to the pain connected with child birth. Frequently the psalmists used this comparison. Isaiah clearly employed it with this signification in our passage. Jeremiah likewise used the illustration with the same connotation; and so did Hosea. Our Lord, in speaking of the sign of the end of the age--a world war, accompanied by famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places--compared it to child birth, "But all these things are the beginning of travail" (Matt. 24:8). In the verses under consideration, the prophet stated that: "Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child." Isaiah stood before his intelligent audience and made those bold statements. He put them in this manner in order to attract attention. Then without waiting for any response, he asked the questions found in verses 8 and 9. Thus he called upon his audience to tell whether or not any of them had heard of such a case of childbirth. Had any seen such a thing? Of course these questions demanded a negative answer, for such was never the case. Then he asked this question, "Shall a land be born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once?" These questions also demanded a reply in the negative. No land shall be born in one day, and a nation shall not be brought forth at once. In other words, the prophet denied the thought that the new Israel and her land would be born without any trouble or distress. Unfortunately we have been told that the nation of Israel would be born in a day. That is exactly the opposite of what Isaiah proclaimed on this occasion. The nation must go through the period of travail, the Tribulation Period, seven years during which the judgments of God are being poured out. The Lord has chosen His people in the furnace of affliction and will with it purge from them all dross. In so doing, He purifies them and makes them fit for His service.
"For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." The phrase translated "as soon as" also means "when." One is to judge from the facts of the context which of these renderings is preferable. Since the prophet has shown that the nation must go through a period of travail before the new Israel is born, it is better to translate the phrase by the adverb "when"; for the expression, as soon as, contradicts the idea that the nation is to pass through this period of travail and distress. Thus the better translation of the sentence under consideration is: "When Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." According to verse 9 God will bring the period of travail upon Zion. When He does, He will let nature take its course and will bring to the birth. In other words, the new Israel, the faithful remnant, will be brought safely to the birth. This occurs at the end of the period of travail, at the end of the Tribulation, when the nation acknowledges its offense and seeks His face earnestly (Hosea 5:15). At that time--after the period of travail of seven years--the iniquity of that land will be removed in one day (Zech. 3:9).
IV. A VISION OF JERUSALEM GLORIFIED,
THE CHANNEL OF WORLD-BLESSING "10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; 11 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. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof: ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies" (vss. 10-14).
In verses 10 and 11 Jerusalem is thought of as the mother who nourishes all those who love her, and who rejoice with her. These who thus love her are the faithful remnant who know the plan and purpose of God for Israel and Jerusalem, and who turn to and accept the long-rejected Messiah. They will have the privilege of being nourished and sustained by "Mother" Jerusalem and will be satisfied with the abundance of her glory.
Of what type is the glory referred to here? This question is answered in verse 12, where it is stated, "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream." When the Messiah came nineteen hundred years ago, Israel did not hearken unto His commandments. Had she done so, Messiah would have extended this peace to her as a river and her righteousness would have been as the waves of the sea (Isa. 48:18). In rejecting Him, she pushed from her the rivers of peace and the ocean of righteousness, love, and joy. But when the time foreseen in Isaiah, chapter 66, arrives, she will accept her long-rejected Messiah and peace will be extended to her like a river. Then the glory of all the nations will likewise be given to her as an overflowing stream. Then those of the remnant will be nourished, according to the figure, and will be dandled upon the knee, so to speak, of "Mother" Jerusalem.
At that time the Lord himself promised to comfort this faithful remnant as a mother comforts her child. The place of the consolation will be Jerusalem. The prophet gave assurance that the faithful remnant of Israel will see this, and their hearts will rejoice. They "shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants," the faithful of Israel; but "he will have indignation against his enemies" and those of Israel. Hence when He comes, a new day will dawn for the Chosen People.
V. THE COMING OF MESSIAH "15 For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire will Jehovah execute judgment, and by his sword, upon all flesh; and the slain of Jehovah shall be many. 17 They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go unto the gardens, behind one in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together, saith Jehovah" (vss. 15-17).
In these verses we find the reason why the servants of God in Israel will be blessed and the enemies will be destroyed. Jehovah, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, will come "with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire." In Psalm 97:3,4 David foretold the coming of Messiah in flaming fire: "A fire goeth before him, And burneth up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lightened the world: The earth saw, and trembled."
The Apostle Paul, in II Thessalonians, chapters 1 and 2, foretold that, when Jesus returns, He will come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on all who know not God, and all who obey not the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus there is perfect agreement with reference to Messiah's coming in flaming fire as seen in the testimony of David, Isaiah, and Paul.
The Lord will enter into judgment with His enemies by fire and by sword. These judgments will be upon all flesh, "and the slain of Jehovah shall be many" at that time. "The slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground" (Jer. 25:33).
The end of all idolaters and workers of iniquity is set forth in verse 17 of our passage. Even the enemies of Messiah and of Israel will hold to a form of godliness, to a form of religion, but it will not be the worship of the true God. From verse 17 it is clear that the Jews, who are included in this prophecy, will have given up the dietary rules set forth in the law of Moses with regard to their eating pork. They will act in this respect just as the Gentiles do. Yet they will go into gardens and places of worship to purify themselves and to commit gross abominations in God's sight. All of these, however, will come to an end by the personal appearance of the Lord Messiah, when He comes in glory and power.
VI. THE COMPLETION OF THE REGATHERING OF ISRAEL
"18 For I know their works and their thoughts: the time cometh, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and shall see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as 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 nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an oblation unto Jehovah, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of Israel bring their oblation in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah. 21 And of them also will I take for priests and for Levites, saith Jehovah" (vss. 18-21).
The Lord knows the works and the thoughts of the apostates in Israel, as is set forth in verse 18; He therefore destroys them as announced in verse 17. The Lord has a plan and a purpose regarding Jerusalem and its being the metropolitan city of the world. It is His intention that all nations and tongues shall come and see His glory. In order that they might see Him in all of His splendor, He first will purge out all of the apostates and wicked ones.
In verse 19 we see a prediction concerning the regathering of Israel to her own land. There were, according to Isaiah 11:12, to be only two regatherings. The first occurred in the days of Zerubbabel after the Babylonian captivity. There can therefore be but one more: that which has already begun and which will be consummated after the kingdom is established upon the earth. That this second restoration is a gradual one may be seen from Ezekiel, chapter 37, which sets forth the vision of the valley of dry bones. An examination of this passage shows that this regathering transpires gradually. The bones scattered over the a valley first begin to move, each taking it place with relation to others to form skeletons. Then sinews bind them together. Upon the skeletons thus formed, flesh appears; then skin. Finally, the breath of life is breathed into them and they become alive, a mighty host for God. Since these bones and their coming back to life represent the whole house of Israel (Ezek. 37:11), we know that her restoration to life and fellowship with God is a gradual process.
It has already begun, as everyone who is familiar with the situation in Palestine today knows. There are over 600,000 Jews who have returned under the present movement. There were approximate 50,000 who returned under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah after the Babylonian captivity. Thus more than ten times that number have returned under the present Zionistic movement than came back after the Exile.
It is not the plan and the will of God that all the Jews should gather out from among the nations into Palestine now. He has shown that there is to be a representative number in the Holy Land, but a reading of Isaiah, chapters 19 and 27, shows that the Jews will be gathered out from among the nations and will be settled also in Egypt and in Assyria and Syria as well as in Palestine. In other words, they will be gathered out from among the nations and brought into "the wilderness of the peoples" (Ezek. 20:35), the "fertile crescent," where the Lord will enter into judgment with them and cause them to pass under the rod, allowing only the good ones to enter into the land in order to enjoy the glory of that future age.
According to Isaiah 66:20 the Gentile nations will assist Israel in the final return to the "holy mountain Jerusalem." The prophet thinks of them as oblations unto the Lord which are thus brought back into their own land as an offering to the God of Israel. Of the faithful remnant God will take priests and Levites to conduct His worship. On this point see Isaiah 61:5,6. Israel's golden era is yet in the future.
VII. THE MILLENNIAL JERUSALEM AND THE MINIATURE HELL "22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 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 Jehovah. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies 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" (vss. 22-24).
The new heavens and the new earth mentioned in verse 22 are none other than those described in 65:17. We have already seen that, during the Tribulation Period, the judgments of God will wreck the heavens above and the earth beneath. It will therefore be necessary for Him to create these anew so that there may be a millennial reign of our Lord. Just as the new heavens and the new earth remain before God, so will the seed of Israel, the faithful remnant, remain.
Jerusalem will be the center of attraction for the entire world. All nations will go there to worship Jehovah of hosts and be taught of Him (Isa. 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-8). The Temple at Jerusalem will be known at that time as the "house of prayer for all nations."
According to 66:24 there will be a place somewhere in the vicinity of Jerusalem which might properly be called a miniature hell. The people who go up from all over the earth to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah of hosts, the Great King, will be sent forth, after their visit, to see this place and to look "upon the dead bodies 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." There is no other name that seems as suitable for this place as the term, "a miniature hell." Will it be close to Jerusalem? One cannot say. But when Isaiah, chapter 34, is studied carefully, it seems obvious that there will be streams of liquid fire in the land of Edom. It is to be the place of God's curse. Also upon Babylon the curse will remain throughout the Millennium. These two lands will thus suffer under the curse of God whereas all other lands of the world will be delivered from it and millennial conditions will prevail in them.
What is the purpose of such an institution as this place where the wicked and transgressors will be incarcerated? Why will the people of the Millennial Age be required to go by that place and see them as they writhe in pain? One cannot afford to be dogmatic. It is quite plausible that they will be sent to view this sight in order that they might realize more graphically the price of their redemption and the blessedness of their estate since they have accepted salvation, which comes through Jesus Christ our Lord alone.
This miniature hell, which will be located upon this earth, is not to be confounded with the hell mentioned in other portions of the Scripture, and which is described in Revelation 20:10,14. In this latter place the lost of all the ages will be incarcerated forever.
But all who make their peace with God by accepting the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ will be blessed, not only through the Kingdom Age, but also throughout all eternity. May the priestly blessing of the Trinity come to all who have read these expositions of the Book of Isaiah through our Lord Jesus Christ: "24 Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee: 25 Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace" (Num. 6:24-26).
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