An Judgment on the Whole Earth

An Judgment on the Whole Earth

Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. Isa. 24:1

the Lord maketh... The 29th prophecy in Isaiah (Isa. 24:1-27:13, all unfulfilled). Next, Isa. 28:1.

Isaiah 24-27 predict events of the future tribulation and Millennium, and have no parallel in the O.T. except Zech. 9:1-14:21. A number of definite statements prove the latter-day fulfillment of this entire section. These will be emphasized as we list the separate predictions. In some parts it is clear that the language is highly figurative; but following the most fundamental principle of biblical interpretation, we shall take literally all that we possibly can, and then obtain from the rest the literal truths conveyed by the figures of speech.

Fifty-two Predictions—Unfulfilled:

1. Jehovah will make the earth (land, the promised land, Isa. 24:3) empty, waste, upside down; and scatter abroad the inhabitants (Isa. 24:1, 24:3).

2. All classes will suffer (Isa. 24:2).

3. The people of Judah shall be greatly punished (Isa. 24:4; cp. 26:1).

4. The land will be defiled because of the sins of Judah (Isa. 24:5).

5. The curse will devour the land and its inhabitants until few are left (Isa. 24:6).

6. Crops shall fail (Isa. 24:7).

7. The happy people will be sad.

8. Joyfulness will cease (Isa. 24:8).

9. There will be such troubles until wine and song will be forgotten (Isa. 24:9).

10. Strong drink will become hated by those who love it.

11. Jerusalem will be broken down and people will be shut up in their homes (Isa. 24:10).

12. All pleasure will be abandoned (Isa. 24:11).

13. The city will be desolate (Isa. 24:12).

14. The gates will be destroyed.

15. There will be a small remnant of people left (Isa. 24:13).

16. The remnant will sing of deliverance and shout from the sea (Isa. 24:14-15).

17. The remnant shall bewail the calamity befallen them through treachery (Isa. 24:16-18).

18. There will be many kinds of dangers and men may escape one kind but be destroyed by another (Isa. 24:17-18).

19. There will be a great earthquake that will shake the whole land (Isa. 24:18-20).

20. Sin in the land will be exceedingly great in that day (Isa. 24:20).

21. Satan, the angels, demons, and kings of the earth will be defeated at Armageddon and punished (Isa. 24:21).

22. Satan, angels, and demons will be gathered and confined to the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Isa. 24:22; Rev. 20:1-7)

23. After the 1,000 years they will be visited and loosed to deceive the nations again (Isa. 24:22; Rev. 20:7-10).

24. In that day the planets will be confounded and ashamed to shine because the glory of the Lord will outshine them on earth, when He reigns in Mount Zion and before His saints gloriously (Isa. 24:23).

25. After the battle of Armageddon and the defeat of the enemies of Judah the people will praise God and the other nations shall fear Him (Isa. 25:1-4).

26. The enemies of Judah will be brought low (Isa. 25:5).

27. In Mount Zion the Lord will make a great feast to all nations who are left (Isa. 25:6; Mat. 25:34).

28. God will destroy the covering in Mount Zion and the veil of darkness spread over all nations (Isa. 25:7; 24:21-22; Eph. 6:12; Rev. 12:7-12; 20:1-3).

29. He will swallow up death in victory (Isa. 25:8).

30. He will wipe away all tears.

31. He will take away the reproach of and the opposition of His people.

32. Judah will rejoice in salvation in the day God comes to fulfill His word with them (Isa. 25:9).

33. God’s hand will rest upon Mount Zion (Isa. 25:7, 25:10; 24:23).

34. Moab will be subject to Judah (Isa. 25:10).

35. God will stretch forth His hands and lay the enemies of Judah prostrate and bring down their pride in everything He lays His hands upon (Isa. 25:11).

36. God will destroy all fortresses of the enemies of Judah (Isa. 25:12).

37. In that day Judah will sing this song to Jehovah (Isa. 26:1-21).

38. The giants will never be resurrected from the dead (Isa. 26:14).

39. Israel will pray in the dispersion (Isa. 26:16-18).

40. The righteous dead of Judah will be resurrected with Isaiah in the first resurrection (Isa. 26:19).

41. The living people of God in Judah will flee into the wilderness for protection from the Antichrist until the tribulation is over (Isa. 26:20; 16:1-5; Psm. 60:8; Eze. 20:33-44; Dan. 11:40-45; Mat. 24:15-22; Rev. 12:6, 12:14).

42. Christ will come (at the second coming) to destroy the ungodly (Isa. 26:21; 63:1-8; Zec. 14:1-5; 2Th. 1:7-10; Jude 1:14-15; Rev. 19:11-21).

43. In that day Satan will be defeated (at Armageddon) and punished in the bottomless pit (Isa. 27:1; 24:21-22; 25:7; Rev. 20:1-10).

44. In that day Judah will sing a song of God’s vineyard—how it has been protected by Jehovah (Isa. 27:2-6. Cp. 5:1-7).

45. Israel, like a vineyard, will take root again and blossom and fill the world with fruit (Isa. 27:6).

46. God will not punish and destroy Judah as He did their enemies (Isa. 27:7).

47. By judgment the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged (Isa. 27:8-9).

48. Babylon, where Judah was taken captive and lived, will be destroyed and left like a wilderness where animals will feed (Isa. 27:10).

49. The limbs of the trees growing in desolate Babylon will be used as firewood (Isa. 27:11).

50. God will yet have mercy on Judah and show them favor.

51. In that day the river Euphrates and the river Nile shall be dried up (Isa. 27:12-13; 11:15-16; 19:5-6).

52. Israel will be gathered one by one to worship God in Jerusalem (Isa. 27:12-13; 11:10-14).

the earth... Hebrew: ’erets, translated earth in Isa. 24:1, 24:4-6, and land in Isa. 24:3, 24:11, 24:13. It could be limited in these verses to the land of Judah (Isa. 26:1).

empty... Twenty-eight Things to Happen to Judah

1. The Lord will make the land of Judah empty, or depopulate Judah (Isa. 24:1, 24:3); but not completely, for in Isa. 24:13-15; 26:1, 26:6, 26:20-21; 27:12-13 we see that a remnant will be left in the land. "Empty" is from the Hebrew: baqaq, to pour; to depopulate; to spread out. Here it means the majority will be destroyed, fulfilling Zec.
2. 13:8-9 (cp. Jer. 51:2; Nah. 2:2). In this same verse (Isa. 24:1), it is explained that men are to be scattered on the earth.

2. He will make it waste (Isa. 24:1). Hebrew: balaq, to make waste; destroy (cp. Nah. 2:10). Again we must understand this in a limited sense, for in the same prophecy Isaiah refers to trees and vegetable life as well as to men immediately following this, in the Millennium (Isa. 35:1-10; 65:20-65).

3. He will turn it upside down (Isa. 24:1). This is the third figurative term and means changing the face of the earth or changing things on the earth (cp. Isa. 29:16; Psm. 146:9; Act 17:6).

4. He will scatter abroad the inhabitants (Isa. 24:1). This explains in what sense He will make the earth empty. Many will be killed and others will be scattered abroad (Rev. 12:6, Rev. 12:14), but a few will be left (Isa. 24:6, 24:13-14).

5. The land will be utterly empty (Isa. 24:3). See point 1, above.

6. It will be utterly spoiled (Isa. 24:3). See point 2, above.

7. The earth will mourn and fade away (Isa. 24:4).

8. The inhabitants will languish and fade away (Isa. 24:4). Both of these ideas (in points 7 and 8) refer to the land failing in production and the people losing heart because of the calamities coming upon them.

9. The proud people in the land will languish.

10. It will be defiled by the inhabitants (Isa. 24:5).

11. It will be devoured (Isa. 24:6).

12. The inhabitants will be desolate.

13. The inhabitants will be burned (literally, destroyed, distressed). If literal, it could only refer to 2Pe. 3:6-13; Rev. 20:7-10.

14. Few men will be left in it.

15. The new wine will mourn because there will be no people left to drink it (Isa. 24:7).

16. The vine will languish because there will be no men to cultivate and prune it.

17. The merry hearted will sigh.

18. Mirth of music will cease (Isa. 24:8).

19. The noise of merrymakers will come to an end.

20. The joy of the harp will come to an end.

21. There will be no more drinking and singing (Isa. 24:9).

22. Even the few that are left to drink strong drink will hate it.

23. Jerusalem will be in confusion and be broken down by the enemy (Isa. 24:10).

24. All houses will be shut up for fear of the enemy in the streets.

25. There will be crying for wine to give relief in misery (Isa. 24:11).

26. All joy will be gone.

27. There will be no more merrymaking in the streets or land.

28. Jerusalem will be left desolate and the gates broken down (Isa. 24:12).

And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. Isa. 24:2

as with the... Twelve classes to be judged:

1. People

2. Priest

3. Servant

4. Master

5. Maid

6. Mistress

7. Buyer

8. Seller

9. Lender

10. Borrower

11. A taker of usury

12. A giver of usury

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. Isa. 24:3

land shall be... God’s judgment on the nations through the Assyrian invasions (chaps. 13-23) forms a backdrop for the Lord’s eventual judgment on the whole world (Isa. 24:1, 24:4). Known as “Isaiah’s apocalypse,” chapters 24-27 describe the earth’s devastation and people’s intense suffering during the coming Tribulation and the blessings to follow in the millennial kingdom.

And utterly... The coming desolation and ruin of the whole earth (“earth” is mentioned 16 times in this chap.) will be by the direct intervention of the Lord, and will level all of society. No advantage will come from having a high rather than a low position, for all will come under God’s hand of judgment (Isa. 24:2).

for the... The world will be laid waste and totally plundered (Isa. 24:3; cf. Rev. 6:1-17; 8-9; 15-16). This is certain because the Lord said so.

The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. Isa. 24:4

the earth... In this worldwide judgment, the earth will wither (dry up). Even important people (the exalted) will languish. No one will be spared from this eschatological judgment.

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Isa. 24:5

earth also is... Three causes of judgment on Judah:

1. They have transgressed the laws.

2. Changed the ordinance.

3. Broken the everlasting covenant.

Because they have... The reason such devastation will come is that the people, not living as they should, will have defiled the earth. In creating the world God said it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). But people in their sin defiled the good earth, by disobeying God’s laws, violating His statutes, and breaking His everlasting covenant. “The everlasting covenant” probably refers not to the Abrahamic or Mosaic Covenants but to the covenant people implicitly had with God to obey His Word. Right from the very beginning mankind refused to live according to God’s Word (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-6; cf. Hos. 6:7). And throughout history people have refused to obey God’s revelation.

Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. Isa. 24:6

hath the curse... Because people have “defiled” the earth by their sins (Isa. 24:5), judgment will come. They must bear the consequences of their guilt. God’s judgment is likened to a burning fire that consumes all but a few on the earth (Isa. 24:6).

The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. Isa. 24:7

In the earth’s devastation vineyards will wither and music (with tambourines and harps) and parties (Isa. 24:7-9, 24:11) will stop.

The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. Isa. 24:8, 9

The fruit of the vine is often associated in the Bible with joy (e.g., Isa. 16:9; Zec. 10:7).

The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction. Isa. 24:10, 11, 12

The city... (Isa. 24:10; cf. 25:2), representative of the whole earth (Isa. 24:13), will be in ruins with all its houses uninhabited. When God pours out His wrath on the unbelieving world in the Tribulation, all will be desolate and gloomy.

When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the

shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. Isa. 24:13

Little will be left, as after the harvesting of olives (cf. Isa. 17:6) or grapes.

They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Isa. 24:14

They shall lift... This (the remnant left) shall turn to God and sing praise and cry aloud from the sea coasts where they have fled to find refuge. The word they probably refers to the righteous who will be left after God’s judgment on the earth. Though few in number (Isa. 24:6) they will delight in the fact that the earth is cleansed from people’s sin.

Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. Isa. 24:15

wherefore... Here is a command to the remnant to glorify God in the fires of tribulation, and to all who are in the coastlands to glorify the name of the Lord.

They will raise their voices and shout to proclaim glory to the Lord… the God of Israel. Everywhere — in the west (Isa. 24:14), the east (Isa. 24:15), the islands of the sea (Isa. 24:15), and the ends of the earth (Isa. 24:16; cf. 5:26) — the same song is proclaimed: Glory to God, the Righteous One.

From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. Isa. 24:16

the uttermost part... Here is the first place in this chapter where "earth" seems to have the usual meaning instead of being limited to Israel, as in Isa. 24:1-15. Isaiah pictured himself with the remnant in Israel and wrote as though he heard songs of glory to the righteous from distant lands. When he heard them, he cried about Judah’s leanness and lamented the treacherous dealers who had spoiled them (Isa. 24:16). The mention of priest (Isa. 24:2), Jewish laws and covenants (Isa. 24:5), the city of Jerusalem (Isa. 24:10-12), and the remnant (Isa. 24:13-15) all indicate that the land of Judah is the reference in Isa_24:1-15, whereas such statements as those about songs from the uttermost part of the earth (Isa. 24:16), the foundations of the earth shaking (Isa. 24:18), and the angelic rulers and kings of the earth (Isa. 24:21-22) indicate a broader meaning of "earth" in Isa. 24:16, etc.

the treacherous... Treacherous dealers refers to foreign nations and rulers that break covenants, particularly to the future Antichrist who will break his covenant with the Jews, drive them out of their land, and rule from Jerusalem most of the last three and a half years of this age (Dan. 9:27; Mat. 24:15-22; 2Th. 2:1-8). The ten kings of the last two world kingdoms before the second coming of Christ will also deal treacherously with Israel (Dan. :23-24; Rev. 12:6-17; 13:1-18; 17:12-17).

Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. Isa. 24:17, 18, 19

are upon thee... This means that no place will be safe, and if danger is escaped at one place it will be faced in another place. The fear refers to the means of scaring animals into a net, snare, or pit (Isa. 24:17-18).

The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. Isa. 24:20

the earth shall... Many places on the earth will no doubt be literally thrown down, as the Mount of Olives (Zec. 14:4), the cities of the nations (Rev. 17:16-21), and other places which will never rise again. God’s judgment will be like a great rainstorm and earthquake.

reel to and... The earthquake will cause great crevices to open in the earth and swallow up people. In the earthquake the earth will reel like a drunkard and will sway like a temporary unsturdy hut in a field, blowing in the wind. (This Heb. word for “hut” is used in the OT only here and in Isa. 1:8.)

and the... Judgment will come because of guilt (cf. Isa. 24:6), the guilt of the whole world in rebelling against God.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. Isa. 24:21

in that day... The day of the battle of Armageddon and Millennium—Satan, fallen angels, and demons that are on high or now rule the air (Eph. 2:2), and the kings of the earth will be defeated (Zec. 14:1-5; 2Th. 2:8; Rev. 19:19-21; 20:1-10). The kings on the earth below undoubtedly refer to political forces that will be banished.

And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Isa. 24:22

they shall be... Satan, fallen angels, and demons will be put into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:1-7) and the Antichrist and false prophet will be sent to the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). The kings of the earth will be sent to Sheol like prisoners being gathered into a pit. Those powers in the heavens and on the earth will become like cattle when the Lord herds them together and places them like prisoners… in a dungeon.

and after many... After 1,000 years, Satan and his spirit forces will be liberated from the bottomless pit to deceive the nations during a short season. They will then be cast into the lake of fire prepared for them (Mat. 25:41; Rev. 20:7-10). The beast and false prophet will remain in the lake of fire during the 1,000 years; they will still be there when Satan is put into that eternal hell. The second resurrection will take place at that time and Sheol/Hades will deliver up the dead who will be judged and cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).

Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. Isa. 24:23

Then the moon... Then—after the future tribulation, the battle of Armageddon, and the second coming of Christ, the planets will be ashamed of their limited light in comparison with the glory of God shining over Mount Zion and Jerusalem during the Millennium and New Earth (Isa. 4:5-6; 60:19-20). In other parts of the earth, the light of the sun will be increased sevenfold and that of the moon will be like the present light of the sun; and yet they will be ashamed (Isa. 30:26). The glory of God will also shine forth in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:23-22:5).

and before... His ancients will consist of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, O.T. worthies, the apostles, and others of N.T. times who will reign as kings and priests with Christ (Isa. 2:2-4; 9:6-7; Jer. 30:9; Eze. 34:24; 37:24-28; Dan. 2:44-45; 7:13-14, 7:18, 7:27; Hos. 3:4-5; Zec. 14:9; Mat. 8:11-12; Luke 1:32-33; 22:29-30; Rev. 5:10; 11:15; 20:4-6; 22:4-5).