Today’s Text is seldom preached.

“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” Isaiah 66:24

The subject of our verse, “they,” means the throngs who have been worshipping Jesus … as they leave town (Jerusalem) … “go forth and look” at something.

The noun “carcases” (spelled “peger” in Hebrew) means “corpses, dead bodies,” just as one would suspect.

Whose carcases?

“The men that have transgressed against me,” says the Lord. Sinners, who died lost in their iniquities.

And in what state are these rebels found?

“Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.” The very words Jesus used to describe Hell!

In eternity, we will be able to “see” into Hell?

Very possible, I believe.

Listen to Jesus preach: “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into HELL, into the FIRE that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into HELL, into the FIRE that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into HELL FIRE: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Word for word, Mark 9:43-48, King James Version.

But, will that not “spoil” eternity for some? SEEING people they know (or love) burning in those flames?

The last line of Isaiah 66:24 … “and they (those being so punished, by fire) shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” Those in the flames will draw no sympathy, it appears. All earth’s inhabitants, now worshipping Jehovah God (Jesus) … will “abhor” the faithless. A Hebrew word meaning “to hold in contempt.” Or to hold in “aversion,” to spurn!

Wow!

I am so thankful today to be saved.

This verse should impel us all to be better witnesses, soul winners, for Jesus.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

(For those of you who would like a fuller study of this verse, use a search engine and enter “Dr. Mike Bagwell Isaiah 66:24 Hell.” Or visit the “Site Map here on the Website and scour it for that Text.)

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In Isaiah 66:23 … God promises: “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall ALL FLESH come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”

I am sure this verse most fully and literally applies to the Millennium. For at no other time in all of creation, in all of history has this Event been reality.

(Unless perhaps one considers Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, “all flesh worshipping the Lord.” And even that would have had to happen prior to the birth of Cain, with his murderous heart. Or unless one considers the day Noah stepped off the ark, he and his family! The “whole population” of earth at that time. Who indeed worshipped the Lord.)

All the people alive, the earth’s total population!

“ALL FLESH!”

“Coming to worship before Me, saith the Lord!”

The Hebrew verb “worship” here means “to bow down in reverence!”

As in Isaiah 9:11 … “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

As in Philippians 2:10-11 … “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (And even this amazing Text is simply an example of the Apostle Paul quoting Isaiah 45:23!)

Makes me want to sing: “We’re on the winning side!”

Today’s verse again: “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”

What is the significance of these “new moons” and these “sabbaths?” Just this: that this thrilling “worship” of the Lord Jesus will be “regular, systematic, sustained!” Week after week, month after month! For a thousand years … and eventually (in the new heavens and the new earth) forever!

No wonder many Bible teachers call the Millennium the coming “Golden Age.” And no wonder Isaiah has so much to say about those yet future circumstances. Even the animals will be affected! Isaiah 65:25 … “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock (ox).”

I end today as I have several other Lesson in this series: “He (Jesus) which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS.” Revelation 22:20, the next-to-last verse in the Bible, thus the last prayer in the Bible.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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In Isaiah 66:22 God is speaking: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.”

Wow!

The old heavens and the old earth (our current home) will apparently not last forever. God is going to remake them.

Yes, in the future there will be “new heavens and a new earth.”

According to our Text here, and also according to 2 Peter 2:13 and Revelation 21:1.

And these two entities (both “new” places) will never need to be replaced! No sin can taint them, the source of sin (Satan) having been banished to eternal punishment! “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, SHALL REMAIN (existing on and on and on,perpetually) before me.”

But then, God promises Israel (in our verse, Isaiah 66:22) that “so shall your seed and your name remain.” That means remain forever, too!

Never will there be a day when Israel does not exist!

God did not make such a commitment to Germany!

Or the United States!

But to ISRAEL!

No wonder so many scholars call the Old Testament the “Jewish Bible!”

I close with this idea: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Psalm 122:6, a great verse to practice.

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Isaiah chapter 66 has become quite an interesting Text to me, loaded with prophetic information, far beyond my expectations!

I think I see yet another place (in today’s Text) where Paul has perhaps quoted Isaiah, or at least alluded to the Prophet’s words.

A whole Paragraph today, our Bible Study Lesson:

“15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD. 18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.” Isaiah 66:15-18

The Lord (Jesus) … coming again, the Second Time. (His First Coming via the Virgin Birth obviously does NOT fulfill these predictions.) “15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.”

Now the Apostle Paul, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 … “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”

Sound alike, these two? They sure do to me!

Then Isaiah 66:17 graphically depicts some of the sins (egregious in God’s Eyes) a host of heathen, lost, rebellious, Jew-haters will be committing in those coming, dark days. (Even though some of them might racially be Jews!) “They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.”

Here the eating of unclean food symbolizes (I suspect) numerous and abominable acts that have (finally) exhausted God’s Patience. Judgment has come. And as I said in the Lesson title, “Armageddon!”

No doubt “idolatry” in all its lewd forms, provoking God one last time.

All of them “shall be consumed together.” The rare Hebrew verb used here is “suph,” meaning “to be brought to an end!”

But Preacher Bagwell, what makes you so sure this is Armageddon? The last verse of our Text proves it, conclusively. “For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I (the Lord) WILL GATHER ALL NATIONS AND TONGUES; and they shall come, and see my glory.” Isaiah 66:18 … but also read Revelation 16:14-16 for a description of the same event.

Wow!

They shall “see God’s Glory,” His Wrath included! (God’s Glory is often defined as “the Sum Total of all His Attributes,” which would include His Holy Anger, Judgment, hatred of sin.

What a writer, Isaiah.

What a Preacher, too.

These verses today … every bit as informative and uplifting as anything John wrote from Patmos hundreds of years later!

Amen.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Just part of a verse today, as our Bible Study Text …

“And the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.” Isaiah 66:14

What child of God, all of us being His “servants” in some way or another, would not enjoy this status: “The hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants.”

God’s Hand, clearly in a good sense … being made known, being apparent, being “felt” … upon His “servants!”

This is what Nehemiah prayed incessantly. “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.” Nehemiah 2:18

John the Baptist experienced such a Blessing as well … “And the hand of the Lord was with him.” Luke 1:66

The early Church too … “And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.” Acts 11:21

Oh, how I long (as I am sure you do as well) for God’s Hand to be “made known” in my life, in my preaching, in my Ministry!

And some day, currently in the future, God’s Hand is going to be that manifest upon Israel, His Chosen nation!

And equally so, God’s fierce Anger will be poured upon the enemies of the Jews! (Foes, antagonists who also oppose Almighty God.)

That’s the very Essence of our Verse today … “And the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.”

During the Millennium.

Amazing, and thrilling too!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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