Isaiah 66:1

In the first part of Isaiah chapter 66 we are being told the fact that the external things of religion are not what are important to God. The Bible says in Isaiah 66:1-2, “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? For all those things hath mine hand made, and 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 speaks of “the house that ye build unto me.” In other words God is talking about the temple. A great temple had been built, but people had come to place too much emphasis on the temple as if it was a holy place or as if it was the place where God dwelt. The temple was made to teach truth by way of symbolism. It may have symbolized the presence of God, but it was not the true presence of God. God is everywhere. A great mistake has been made by anyone who thinks that they are going to go to such-and-such a building or such-and-such a geographical location to be in the presence of God. Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

During the time of Christ many people evidently made the same mistake in regards to their attitude about the temple that Herod had built. The disciples were definitely too much impressed with the temple. All material things in this world are temporary, including religious buildings. The Bible says in Matthew 24:1-2, “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

God said in Isaiah 66:1, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” This image of God being high above the earth and looking down upon the earth shows the truth that He is in control of all the events that take place upon the earth. Something very similar is shown in Revelation 14:14-15, “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Jesus is in control of the earth, and the future of the world is on His time-table. Everything and everyone on his earth is heading towards the day when the King of kings shall decide to thrust in His sharp sickle into the earth and fill up the winepress of the wrath of God. It will be the great day of judgment that will fall upon the earth in which the enemies of God will all be slain.

The Bible says in Isaiah 66:3, “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.” Religious ceremonies have absolutely no spiritual value unless the individual involved is rightly related to Christ. As important as the animal sacrifices were in the Old Testament because they symbolize the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, this verse in Isaiah 66:3 makes it very clear that the sacrifices were of no spiritual benefit if they were not accompanied by the true worship of God in one’s heart. One of the most important principles of the true worship of God is being surrendered to God and to God’s will. That is why it says in Isaiah 66:3, “they have chosen their own ways.” You will either surrender to Christ’s way for your life, or you will choose your own way. If you choose your own way and reject God’s way, you have made yourself into a wicked person. You have made yourself the same as a person who has “offered swine's blood.” If you are not rightly-related to Christ, repent quickly and ask Him for forgiveness before it is too late.

The Bible says in Isaiah 66:4, “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 evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.” When a human being chooses to reject Jesus and to go one’s one way, there will be negative consequences. There will be negative consequences because the Lord is Judge of every person on this earth. Notice the two consequences that are given in this verse: “delusions” and “fears.” The word translated “delusion” in this verse comes from a word that refers to childish actions. A person can be wise and mature only if the Lord gives wisdom. Every person is completely dependent upon God and what God allows or disallows. This includes everything that happens to a particular person. The Lord is God, and there is none else. He rules over all. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” If the Lord does not bless my thoughts and my plans and my ideas, then I am doomed to act like a foolish child and to think like a foolish child. The consequences will be disastrous.

It is interesting that some people will reject the calling of the Lord to their heart because they are afraid of what might happen to them should they become a Christian. They know that their life will change, but they do not want to change. They know that they might lose some worldly friends, but they want to keep the worldly friends. In short, they think their life will be worse if they start serving Jesus Christ. In fact the opposite happens. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Those who reject Jesus will not have life the way it should be, and therefore they will suffer for it. It will happen just like it says in Isaiah 66:4, God “will bring their fears upon them.”

The final victory, which is the most important one of all, will be given to those who believe in Jesus. The Bible says in Isaiah 66:5-6, “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. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies.” Every person on this earth wants to be loved and needs to be loved. Therefore, few things hurt as much as being hated or being an outcast. But being hated and being an outcast is exactly what will happen to those who believe in Jesus. Notice that we will be outcast for Jesus’ “name’s sake.” The name of Jesus is a wonderful name for those who have been saved. Before Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, the angel announced in Matthew 1:21, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” The fact that so many unsaved people are afraid of the name of Jesus and hate it so much, is actually a proof of the power and goodness of His name. It is proof of the spiritual war that is taking place in this world. But with this war the final outcome has long ago been established: according to Isaiah 66:5 in His own time the Lord “rendereth recompence to his enemies.”

It says in Isaiah 66:5 that many of the enemies of the believers will say, “Let the Lord be glorified.” In other words many of the enemies will claim to be servants of God. They can learn the language that believers use, and talk as if they are believers. But they are not true believers: they are false believers. This truth about false believers is exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 66:7-9, “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 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. 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.” Of course, one of the main themes of the book of Isaiah is the impending destruction of the nation of Israel. Israel was in decline, and its enemies were closing in. The end was coming. Anyone could see that. And of course, the pain and the sorrow was great among the people. All of these sorrows were the chastisements that God had brought upon them because of their sins. But God had made great promises about Israel that He was going to keep.

Even though the nation of Israel failed miserably in the times of the Old Testament, God still had plans for that nation. People failed, but God does not fail. Israel will become the greatest nation on the earth, but it will not happen by means of a gradual development as we see countries grow and develop in the age in which we live. You have probably heard the phrase, “Rome was not built in a day.” But when God makes the new Jerusalem and the new Israel, it will be built in a day. It will be built instantly. When Jesus returns to the earth at His Second Coming, He will sit upon the throne of David, and that very day Israel will become the greatest nation on the earth. In Isaiah 66:7-9 the Lord uses the example of child-birth to explain this. Normally, a woman carries a child for nine months, and then the child is born. But what Jesus is going to do will be done instantly. It says in Isaiah 66:8, “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?” It also says in First Thessalonians 4:16-18, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” And it says in First Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” You can become a part of this great event if you repent of your sins and turn to Jesus for forgiveness.

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