Isaiah 24

Isaiah 24:1–6

- The Lord will be completely destroyed the earth (laid to waste, dried up, withered, languished, consumed by curse) and scatter all people all over the earth. Many of these people will be burned up, leaving very few behind.

- The people who have defiled the earth, those who have disobeyed the laws of the Lord and broken the everlasting covenant established with the Lord.

- This certain because it is said, “The Lord has spoken this Word.”

- The earth would be consumed by the curse because the people have sinned; sinned in the sense that they have turned away from God, their Father who has given them everything.

Isaiah 24:7–13

- The condition of the people that remain will be extreme sadness (no more wine, no joyful music, no singing), as it has been said, “All joy turns to gloom, all gaiety is banished from the earth.”

- There will be a people who will be spared the desolation in the last days. As it has been said, “… very few are left,” or “… as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.”

Isaiah 24:14–16

- The people mentioned are those who have been saved from God’s destruction of the earth. They are God’s people, who joyfully express the glory of the Lord’s majesty.

- These people praise God like how children who are loved by their parents would praise their parents. I am very lucky to have a set of very loving parents who have given me everything I could ever dream of and more. They aren’t just there to give me shelter and food, but they encouraged me when I fail, and they help me stand up after I have fallen. And they are always there to help me dress my wound, to make sure I get well and that I learn my mistakes. Hence, it is very easy for me to understand why “they” would praise God. Because as God’s people, we are all His children. He is our Father, who provides us with not only food and shelter but also everlasting love and support. He teaches us the Way and disciplines us like any good Father would. But always, always, always, at the end of the day, all He wants us to do is come Home to Him safely.

See also Isaiah 2:1–5 and 11:1–11

- These verses describe peace amongst the people and all those who are able to live in joy and harmony under the glory of God.

Isaiah 24:16–23; Revelation 20:1–15

- Those who sin and turn away from God will be met with “terror and pit and snare.” These people will be punished by the Lord and will be “herded together… shut up in prison and be punished for many days.”

- It has been said, “… the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below,” showing God is the Ruler of them all. God is the ultimate authority.

Isaiah 24:21–22; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 12:7–9; 20:1–3

- The powers in the heavens above are not those of “flesh and blood” but those of “this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). That is, these are the powers of Satan (the dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil) and his league of angles who side with Satan to betray God (Revelation 12:7-9; 20:1-3). God will banish Satan and his betraying angels down to earth, causing them to lose their place in Heaven. God will then bound Satan (and those angels) for a thousand years, locked up in the Abyss to prevent him from preying on the nations during this period of time.

Isaiah 24:22; Revelation 20:1–15

- The “many days” (Isaiah 24:22) refer to the “thousand years” (Revelation 20:1). The immediate punishment is the banishment of Satan and his followers to the Abyss for a thousand years (Revelation 20:3). After that, Satan will be “thrown into the lake of burning sulfer” and be “tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). Each person will be “judged according to what he had done” (Revelation 20:13), and those whose names are not in the Book of Life will also be thrown in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

See also Revelation 20:4–10

- The Lord reigns in Heaven, and his power extends to the earth.

- Read Revelation 20:4-6 for a vivid example of how God defeats death, as quoted here: 

“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

Christians never fear death, because what is death when we have God on our side? Physical Death is merely the end of the use of our bodies as the vessels of our souls. We were born once of flesh and blood, but our bodies are mere vessels to help us get through this phase of time. Flesh and blood deteriorates over time, and so, the organs within our bodies will wear out with use. Our bodies will die.

But when we CHOOSE to live as Christians, we are born a second time (i.e., the phrase “born again”), and our souls live FOREVER.

We must thus REFUSE and NEVER RECEIVE the mark of the beast. (This occurs during Tribulation. Let us hope we aren’t here for that. We should all be Raptured away by Jesus and reside in great joy and peace in Heaven and not have to face this.) If we were to ever side with Satan or the beast, we will die an eternal death, the death of our SOUL. And it is this Spiritual Death that we all should fear, because it is the eternal torment that lasts “day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10). Some people view it as punishment. I view it as a matter of the consequence of a person's freedom of choice. Whether we end up in Heaven or Hell, we have all been given the free will to choose. Those who choose to turn away from God choose Hell (because Hell = a place without God) and, in turn, to side with Satan. And the lake of burning sulfer and fire is where Satan will go, and that is where his followers will go as well.