The End: Two Peoples, Two Destinies

And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.

Isaiah 66:24

There are only two groups of people in this world: the blessed and the cursed. In this last chapter of Isaiah, the prophet describes the eternal destiny of each.

Chapters 1 and 66 of Isaiah are in balance with each other. Chapter 1 speaks about the rebellion of God’s people against their covenant Lord: “Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: ‘I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.’ Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him” (vv. 2-4). And because of this rebellion, God declares in the last verse of Isaiah 66 that his true people “will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind” (v. 24).

Isaiah is speaking about the eternal judgment of all disobedient Israelites who refused to be regulated by God’s word. Do not think this message is for unchurched pagans; Isaiah is speaking about those who call themselves people of God, yet rebel against his holy word. Judgment begins with the family of God (1 Peter 4:17).

What we do in this life matters for eternity. Our lives here will soon end, and then we will enter into an eternity of life or death, based on relationship, or lack thereof, with the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we may live seventy years, or by reason of strength, eighty, but compared to eternity, our time on earth is nothing. The question is, will we spend our eternity in heaven or in hell? The answer depends on whether we are blessed or cursed. I pray that we will strive to belong to the company of the blessed-those servants of God who tremble at his word (65:13; 66:2, 5).

The Blessed People

In Isaiah 66:2 the Lord himself identifies who his blessed people are: “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” The word esteem means “to look upon with favor.” God looks upon us as his treasure and loves us as his bride. His desire is to dwell in the hearts of his people, but he does so only in those who are humble and contrite in spirit. So before God can dwell with us, we must realize who God is and who we are.

The Jewish people of Isaiah’s time were impressed by the temple they had built for God and thought God would also be impressed. But in verse 1 the Lord says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” We must understand that the immense God not only fills creation, he is also beyond it.

Solomon understood this. After completing the temple, he declared, “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you” (1 Kings 8:27). And once we know something about the attributes of God-his infinity, his immensity, his holiness, and so on-we will tremble, as Isaiah did, and condemn ourselves, saying, “Woe to me; I am finished! I deserve only to be destroyed by God’s wrath!” (cf. Isaiah 6:5).

God is not impressed with our buildings. Yes, he promised to dwell in the temple, and he did. But his desire has always been to dwell in the hearts of human beings. So Isaiah 57:15 tells us, “For this is what the high and lofty One says-he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'” And in 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul exclaims, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”

God opposes the arrogant, but he dwells with the contrite in spirit. “Contrite in spirit” means “crippled in spirit.” It speaks about one who acknowledges his sin and cries out to God to have mercy on him. Such a person mourns before God, hungering and thirsting for God’s righteousness. He is like Jacob, who, being crippled by the angel, had to lean on God. Jacob cried out to God with tears, and God blessed him, renaming him Israel (Genesis 32:24-29). He is like the publican, who prayed, “Have mercy on me, a sinner!” and he was justified (Luke 18:13-14). He is like David, who wrote that the sacrifice that God accepts is a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).

Isaiah 66:2 says that God esteems one who “trembles at his word.” Do you tremble at God’s word? Are you anxious to hear and do God’s will? Is obedience to God’s word your chief interest and delight? Or are you like King Saul, who disobeyed the Lord’s command, bringing about this rebuke from Samuel: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

In 2 Kings 22 and 23 we find the story of the godly King Josiah. When the word of God was read to him, he humbled himself and tore his clothes. He trembled, for he knew God’s wrath was about to descend on Israel. But the response of his son Jehoiakim was very different. When God’s word was read to him, he cut it in pieces and threw it in the fire (Jeremiah 36:23).

What is your attitude toward the word of God? Are you like Josiah or Jehoiakim? Do you tremble? Are you contrite in heart and broken in spirit? Do you repent regularly of your sins?

Repentance is necessary for salvation. Isaiah 1:27 says, “Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness,” and in Isaiah 59:20 we read, “‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,’ declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:6-7 tells us, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” We must forsake all our evil and rebellion before we can come to God.

Born of God

Why do the blessed people repent, believe, and eagerly obey? God does a supernatural work in their lives, causing them to become children of Zion (vv. 7-14

We read of Zion as a mother in Isaiah 54: “‘Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,’ says the Lord. ‘Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities” (vv. 1-3). ). Mother Zion gave birth to these children suddenly, supernaturally, and without pain.

Zion was once barren like Sarah. But now she has produced a nation of people who love God. Isaiah 66:8 asks, “Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?” Humanly, it is impossible, but God does it. By his supernatural activity he brings forth a multitude of people through Zion, which stands for the church of God. Such people are chosen from all eternity to be saved. They belong to God, worship him, tremble at his word, obey him, repent and believe. They are the blessed ones who will dwell with God forever.

In Isaiah 53:1 the prophet asked, “To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” The answer is, the blessed people of God. “Arm of the Lord” symbolizes God’s power, now been revealed in Jesus Christ. By his death and resurrection he defeated sin and vanquished death forever. He established his church into which we are born.

Isaiah 66:10 uses three different Hebrew words to express the great joy of a newborn child of God: “rejoice,” “be joyful,” and “be exceedingly glad.” And in verse 14 God’s people are told, “When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants.”

Are you a servant of the Lord, or are you his enemy? I pray that you will be among the joyful people who have been supernaturally born into the kingdom of God. I pray that you will be like the lame man who was healed by Peter in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and followed Peter to the temple, walking and leaping and praising God (Acts 3:8).

God has done miraculous things for those who are his blessed people! In Christ we are healed, justified, forgiven, and adopted into God’s family. We are sons of God, and now commune with him. We are heirs of God, and our citizenship is in heavenly Zion. Those who are born of God through the church have entered into the kingdom of God, which is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). That is why Isaiah says, “Be joyful! Rejoice! Be exceedingly glad!”

In Romans 5:3 Paul declares that, as God’s blessed people, we can even rejoice in sufferings. No doubt he was speaking in part about his own experience in Philippi where he was stripped, severely flogged, and thrust into the innermost prison where his feet were put in stocks. Yet at midnight he was praying and singing hymns. This is the joy of the Lord! If we are born of God, we will rejoice and be exceedingly glad, even in the midst of tribulations.

The Blessed Are Comforted

Isaiah 66 tells us that God’s blessed people are born into his kingdom through Zion, that is, the church. Continuing to use the beautiful imagery of motherhood, he describes how those born to Zion receive comfort from her: “For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance” (v. 11), and “You will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees” (v. 12). We are loved, caressed, fed, provided for, and protected by God through the church. It is there that we hear the everlasting promises of God’s word and receive total comfort for our every need. There we enjoy the sacraments and fellowship with God and his people. There we pray, and God answers us. There we receive grace abundant and love amazing.

In verse 13 the text should read: “And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” Jerusalem also stands for the church. Such comfort was promised earlier in Isaiah’s prophecy. In 12:1 we are told, “In that day you will say: ‘I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.'” Isaiah 40:1 says, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” And in Isaiah 61:1 the Messiah says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Jesus Christ comforts us on the basis of his own substitutionary suffering.

Paul speaks of this great comfort in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” In the same epistle he later says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (9:8). What an abundance of comforting milk comes to us from the breast of Zion! Drink deeply, O blessed people of God!

Isaiah 66:12 echoes a promise made in Isaiah 48:18: “For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will extend peace to her like a river.'” In Zion, God extends to us the blessing of abundant peace. Having been justified by faith, we are reconciled to God in Jesus Christ and have peace with God. This peace of God now rules our hearts and minds, even in the midst of storms. In fact, we find out who we really are when the hurricanes and earthquakes come. If we are founded and rooted in God, we will stand firm.

An International Body

Verses 19 through 21 reveal that the blessed people of Zion will be an international body of believers consisting of both Jews and Gentiles. Saved Jews will be sent throughout the world to proclaim the fame and glory of God, and many Gentiles will be converted and brought to Zion to worship the true and living God. Such people will be on equal footing with Jewish believers, as God revealed especially to the apostle Paul. This will be the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). So the church is an international body in which there are no ethnic, geographic, or national distinctions, no male or female, master or slave. “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, italics added).

So Isaiah 66:19-21 speaks about world missions. Based on this passage, Jesus told his Jewish disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you . . . .You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth . . . . This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Matthew 24:14). Thus, Paul understood that he was sent by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, speaking of “the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:15-16). May God help us to bring more than money as an offering to him! May we, like Paul, also bring converts to our God.

Isaiah 66:20 says, “And they will bring all your brothers,”-meaning Gentile brothers-“from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord.” This verse is speaking not only about physical Jerusalem but also about spiritual Jerusalem. Paul understood this, writing in Galatians 4:25-26, “Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.” Likewise, in Hebrews 12:22 we read, “But you have come to Mount Zion”-again, not the literal, physical mountain, but “to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.” No matter what part of the world they are in, whenever two or three believers come together in Jesus’ name, they have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the city of the living God, to worship God in spirit and in truth.

In Revelation 21:2 John says, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” There is a new Jerusalem in heaven, and even now God’s people from all over the world are going there to worship him. The proximate purpose of world missions is the conversion of the Gentiles, but the ultimate purpose is that God’s people may see his glory. God wants us to see him in all his transcendence, immanence, and holiness, so that all may hear of his fame, see his glory, tremble at his word, and do what he says.

When we see God’s glory in his word, and experience his work in our hearts, we will be blessed. If you have been born again, if you have repented of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ alone, if you tremble at God’s word and find your true delight, not in the things of the world, but in God, the Creator and Redeemer of the world, then you are one of God’s blessed ones.

The Cursed People

In marked contrast to God’s blessed ones are those who are under his curse. Isaiah 1 began with a description of the rebellious people of God. A rebel is not someone who unknowingly does something wrong. Rather, he is one who knows God’s word but deliberately violates it. When the word of God declares, “This is the way to live,” the rebel says, “I refuse to live that way. In fact, I am going to do the exact opposite.”

The rebellious are those who do not tremble at the word of God. They refuse to repent and believe in the Messiah. Because they do not acknowledge their sin, they see no need for a Redeemer. They are ritualists who are very careful about externalities, “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). They may appear to be very pious, but inside they are ruthless and faithless. They may even bring large offerings to the church. Verse 3 tells us they bring bulls, lambs, grain, and incense for sin offerings, guilt offerings, and trespass offerings. But God considers their sacrifice of an ox as though they had killed a man. (PGM) God looks upon their worship and considers it as a violation of his law. Such people actually commit sin by coming to church, because their hearts are not right with God.

As the Lord once said in irony to the rebellious Israelites, “Go to Bethel and sin” (Amos 4:4) so he could say to the rebellious today, “Go to church and sin.” These people are liars like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). Paul says of such people, “Your meetings do more harm than good” (1 Corinthians 11:17); they come together for the worse. Such people may even arrogantly take Holy Communion without prior repentance, because they do not want others to suspect that they are living in sin.

The rebellious are like Cain, who wanted to worship in his own way, not God’s (Genesis 4). He did not tremble at the word that prescribed the right way to worship and would not bring a blood sacrifice because he did not acknowledge sin or the Fall. When God told him, “Do what is right, and your face will be lifted up,” Cain refused, and substituted his will for God’s word. Such is the arrogance and autonomy of the cursed!

In the same way, the arrogant Israelites of Isaiah’s time deliberately chose their own ways rather than the stipulations of God’s word. The latter part of verse 3 says, “They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations.” And verse 4 concludes, “They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.”

These hypocrites came to the temple to worship, but then they went to the pagan places to worship the devil. In verse 17 God describes them as “those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things.” Such things were forbidden by the Scripture. But they said, “We want to eat pigs and rats. The Bible forbids it, therefore it must be good.” But notice the consequences of such thinking: “‘they will meet their end together,’ declares the Lord.”

Isaiah 8:19 describes such people who deliberately oppose the light of the word of God and choose to walk in darkness: “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God?” They were supposed to listen to the prophets and consult the Scriptures; instead, they became fascinated with the occult and turned their backs on God.

Sadly, this goes on in the church world today. Many would rather listen to whispering and muttering than to the clear exposition of the word of God. They will not tolerate the preaching of the gospel and refuse to tremble at the word of God. But God declares in Isaiah 8:19, “Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” That is speaking about ministers who will not preach the gospel. “Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” That is speaking about hell.

These people worshiped both God and Baal. Their thinking was that if the God of Israel did not come through, the demons would. But God does not tolerate such both/and worship; it is an abomination to him. Both/and worship is like trying to serve two masters; it is impossible, and, in truth, it is worship of the devil.

God continues to state his case against the rebellious in Isaiah 66:4: “For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened.” The same idea is found in Isaiah 65:12: “I will destine you to the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter; for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” This is the very heart of rebellion. It is saying to God, “Not only will I not listen to you, but I will deliberately choose what displeases you.” God calls us through his agents, whether parents or ministers, or others. Do we tremble when they call and eagerly run to do God’s will?

In verse 5 the Lord addresses the blessed ones, those who tremble at his word, and then refers to the cursed ones as “your brothers who hate you and exclude you.” You see, these rebels are not pagans; they are also called God’s people. The greatest hatred true Christians experience does not always come from unbelieving pagans; it comes from false brothers. Jesus Christ experienced such hatred, telling his disciples, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). When such false Christians hate us and persecute us, we can conclude that we belong to God, that we are the light of the world, that we are good trees bearing good fruit, and that we are children of God, but they are children of the devil.

Isaiah 65:5 demonstrates how false brothers exclude those who are truly blessed, saying, “Keep away; don’t come near me, for I am too sacred for you!'” These idolaters and rebels, considering themselves holier than the true people of God. Throughout the history of the church, such false brothers have persecuted true believers. John 16:2 says, “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” In Isaiah 66:5 God says they do these things “because of my name.” True people of God stand for God’s name, God’s reputation, God’s word, God’s way-and the cursed ones hate this.

False brothers also mock true believers, saying, “Let the Lord be glorified that we may see your joy!” (Isaiah 66:5). What they are saying is, “There is no Lord, no God, no Savior, no Judge. We can do what we want.” And in Isaiah 5:18-19 we read: “Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes, to those who say, ‘Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it.” Such people do not really believe in judgment against sin, for they do not believe in a moral God.

The Lord Jesus Christ himself was mocked by the elders and teachers of the law, who said, “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” (Matthew 27:43; cf. Psalm 22:8). All true children of Jesus Christ should expect to be mocked and hated, not only by the world, but also by false brothers in the church.

The End of the Blessed People

There are only two types of people-the blessed and the cursed-and our eternal destiny is determined by which group we are in. If we are among the blessed people, our end shall be glorious.

1. God will dwell with us and give us eternal life. In Isaiah 57:15 God tells us, “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” The first blessing is eternal life with our God.
2. We are loved by God. The Lord says in Isaiah 66:2, “This is the one I esteem . . . .” God is saying, “This is the one I care for, I provide for, I protect. This is the one who is my portion.” The world may hate us, but God is for us and with us. We do not need self-esteem or the adulation of the world if we have the esteem of our God.
3. We will dwell with God in the new heaven and on the new earth. In Isaiah 65 the Lord tells us, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. . . . But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy . . . the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more” (vv. 17-19).In 2 Peter 3:13 the apostle says, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” And in Revelation 21 we read, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (vv. 1-4).
4. We will enjoy the security of eternal life. Isaiah 59:21 tells us, “As for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord. ‘My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,’ says the Lord.” This guarantee is not only for us, but also for our descendants who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 66:22 says, “‘As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so will your name and descendants endure.'”
5. We will worship God. Isaiah 2:2-3 and 4:5-6 spoke about God’s people coming to worship him. Now Isaiah 66:23 tells us, “‘From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,’ says the Lord.” We see such worship throughout the book of Revelation.
6. We will see God’s glory. Verse 18 says, “I . . . am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory.” Eternal life is to see God and be fascinated by his glory.
7. We will be eternally blessed. There will be no more pain, no more death, no more sin, no more corruption, no more persecution, no more hatred, no more exclusion, no more mocking (cf. Revelation 21:1-4).

The End of the Cursed People

But the cursed people have quite a different end.

1. They will be treated harshly. Because they have chosen their own ways, God says, “So I also will choose harsh treatment for them” (v. 4).
2. They will be put to shame (v. 5). Everlasting shame awaits rebels who will not listen, repent, believe, or tremble.
3. They will get what they deserve. The last line of verse 6 tells us the Lord from the temple is “repaying his enemies all they deserve.” There is a day of judgment in which God will give every man what he deserves. Galatians 6:7-8 warns, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
4. They will experience God’s wrath. Verse 14 says, “But his fury will be shown to his foes.” We need to adjust our view of Jesus. He is a loving Savior to those who fear him, but to the rebellious he is a furious, angry, and wrathful Judge.
5. The Lord will come to them with fire. Verses 15 and 16 speak about the second coming: “See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord.” The word “fire” is used three times in these verses; it is speaking about the manifestation of divine holiness destroying God’s enemies. Look at the language: “Fire . . . chariots. . . anger. . . fury. . . sword . . . and many will be those slain by the Lord.” Jesus Christ is the mighty Judge coming to slay his enemies.You may have heard the expression, “God loves sinners but hates the sin.” If that were true, then God must send sin to hell, not sinners. But the Bible tells us that God is angry at sinners every day and sends sinners to hell. Sin has no existence apart from sentient beings-angels and humans. And the last part of verse 17 says of the rebellious, “‘They will meet their end together,’ declares the Lord.”
6. They will go to hell. What is the end of the cursed people? Hell. A depiction of it is found in Isaiah 1:31: “The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire” and again in Isaiah 8:22: “They will be thrust into utter darkness.” And here in Isaiah 66:24 we read, “Their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Hell is unquenchable fire, undying worm, utter darkness.Jesus Christ spoke more about hell than anyone else in the New Testament (cf. Luke 12:5; Luke 13:27-28; Luke 16:19-31; Matthew 25:46, among others). In Mark 9:43-48 Jesus even cites Isaiah 66: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell [Gehenna], where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'” Gehenna means “Valley of Hinnom,” referring to the valley south of Jerusalem where the refuse was burned, including the bodies of human beings.
7. They will see heaven. It seems that people in hell will be able to see heaven and vice versa. Luke 13:28 says, “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” And Luke 16:23 says, “In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.”Isaiah 66:24 describes how the people of God will view those experiencing their eternal conscious punishment in hell: “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me.” What will be the consequences of such a vision? First, the people of God will be impressed by God’s holiness manifesting itself in his justice. Second, they will fully appreciate the grace that they received in being saved from this hell. Third, they will worship God, having a greater understanding of his mercy.

What about You?

In light of these things, I hope you will carefully consider the following:

1. Do you tremble at God’s word, even when it comes through God’s agents? Do you agree with God’s view of reality and repent of your sins? Do you believe in the God-sent Savior, Jesus Christ, and obey him?
2. The wages of sin is death. Either we will die in Christ or die personally for our sins. The wrath of God either falls on his Son in behalf of those who trust in him, or it falls on those who do not repent. God is just in his saving as well as in his judging.
3. Our own end is coming soon, either through death or Christ’s second coming. Do not be fooled by the things of this world.
4. Jesus said, “Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell” (Luke 12:5). No idols can protect us from Christ’s judgment.
5. Do not presume that you are in the group of God’s elect. We must all make our calling and election sure by examining our faith and life. Judgment begins in the house of God (Ezekiel 9:6; 1 Peter 4:17).
6. Jesus is coming again, not in humiliation but in all his glory to mete out the final judgment. (Matthew 25:31-33, 46). Are we ready to meet him?
7. In his first coming, Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many and to seek and to save the lost. He came to take us to heaven; he does not want anyone to perish. It was he who spoke more about hell than anyone else in the entire Bible, to warn us so that we would not go there.

There are only two peoples and two destinies. What then should you do? You must choose, not your own way, but the way of God as revealed in the Scriptures. Choose eternal life today by repenting and believing in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.