Isaiah Chapter 65 Verses 13 – 15

· I know this sounds harsh and hard but this verse actually begins the hope of hopes for the people of God! Hang in there for a few verses and this “therefore” will turn into what its “for!”

· What’s happening here is God is casting a spotlight onto the final circumstance of this present age. What it will all culminate into. Every life. Every soul. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 25:31-46…

· “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

· God says in Isaiah 65 that there are folks that will eat, drink, rejoice and sing for joy of heart at this time. Who are they? Don’t miss this! “My servants!” That word, I don’t mean to alarm you here, that word literally means absolutely nothing but “slave.” Paul, Timothy, James, Peter and Jude all describe themselves as “bondservants” or “slaves” of Christ… This is no slave out of persecution and capture and bondage, this is completely different…, that you yourself have found such a great King that you volunteer yourself as tribute for the rest of your life…, to serve and to honor…

· This is who is set on the right hand of Jesus on the last day… And check this out…, the best most blessed life any of us can have is to enter as soon as possible and as much as possible into the service and palace and kingdom of Jesus Christ! Isaiah writes that this is one who has learned to bless himself! Look at the next verse!

Isaiah Chapter 65 Verse 16

· Jesus said to His servants in Matthew 25 (and He will say in the last day), “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” why? Because you figured it out and became a servant of the Kingdom, a servant of the King in life…, and Isaiah reveals that the blessed in the God of truth in the last day are those that blessed themselves on earth! So how do you bless yourself!? Serve the Lord, man!!!

· And now the hope of hopes…, where do we end up, the servants of God, those that have volunteered lock, stock and barrel in this life to be filled with the Holy Spirit and slave to the most-worthy King…

Isaiah Chapter 65 Verses 17 - 18

· There is yet to come new heavens, and a new earth! Revelation 21:1-4 says, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth has passed away. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

· No more death, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more crying, why? For many reasons…, but one to note here that Isaiah repeats twice is that even the remembrance of anything and all things that would cause any of that is forgotten…

· Isaiah says, “Former troubles forgotten, hidden from us by God Himself for eternity, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” It’s a sobering thought. What about those that don’t make it? Who reject God…? It’s a simple and yet sobering answer, biblically. They are gone. Completely. Forgotten utterly. Like they never were…

· It’s new… In all ways. New Heavens, New Earth, New Jerusalem…, and you and I must be made new in order to qualify for citizenship. One old thing enters that city and the purity of the new is destroyed. This is why Paul revealed in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation…”

Isaiah Chapter 65 Verses 19

· We jump back to the Millennial Reign here… Isaiah isn’t concerned with just simply narrating a linear progression. He is layering as the Lord gives Him inspiration. Verse 19 is a transitional verse that goes back in time from the New Jerusalem to the Millennial Reign Jerusalem and we know that by what comes next…

Isaiah Chapter 65 Verse 20

· Isaiah is talking about death and age here which points not to the New Jerusalem but to the Millennial Reign. Before God creates the New Heavens and the New Earth, death is finished. It says in Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” So, death is gone…

· But during the Millennial Reign, there will be two kinds of people on the earth. Those that came back with Jesus in Revelation 19 and those that somehow survived the Great Tribulation. So, there will still be birth, birthdays, life, and death…, and even those that sin, during the Millennial Reign of Christ… AND, things will be very different than they are today… Check this out…

Isaiah Chapter 65 Verses 21 – 25

· Before the flood, people lived far longer than they do today. Adam was 930 years old when he died. Seth was 912 years old. Then right before the flood came, we read in Genesis 6:3 God say, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” After the flood we see the lifespan of people greatly decreased…

· But during the Millennial Reign period, apparently lifespans are increased again. 100 years old will be the new 20! And there will be some other sort of monetary system as one will build and there will be no mortgage…, no owing someone else for what one has…

· And Jesus will rule and reign from Jerusalem… Revelation 19:15 says that He will rule them with a rod of iron. Every sin, Jesus will see. Every statement, Jesus will hear. You will simply ask for Him and He is there. Peace will be on the earth and even peace in the animal kingdom…

· And everyone will have what he works for… “They shall not plant and another eat…” I love this one. If a man will not work, in the reign of Christ, neither shall he eat… Everyone will reap entirely and exactly what they sow… And the truth is, the truth is, that’s today too…, it just hasn’t been yet revealed!