God’s promises will be fulfilled
When you see these things, your heart will rejoice.
You will flourish like the grass!
Everyone will see the Lord’s hand of blessing on his servants—
and his anger against his enemies.
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
The Lord will punish the world by fire
and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
and many will be killed by him. Isaiah 66:14-16 NLT
God will be true to His promises. This is what Isaiah is emphasizing from the text. His promise to the ones who responded to His offer of salvation as referred to as “his servants” will rejoice for they will flourish and be blessed by God. They will experience God’s presence that provides full comfort and will see God’s marvelous acts on their behalf. Surely, they will be filled with praise for all God’s promise of abundant life that will be realized for eternity. This experience of His servants will be in contrast to those that ignored and rejected His offer of salvation. The rejection points to the fact that there are those who will not really submit to His lordship and will insist on self sanctification and self-purification. Their reliance is on their abilities to make for themselves their own kingdom. They failed to understand that when the Lord Jesus Christ offered a pattern for prayer,
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10 NIV),
He is teaching His disciples that when they pray this prayer, they are expressing total reliance upon God. It expresses dependence upon God, His reign over one’s life and not on religion. Words of judgment in Isaiah should serve as a warning. We should not ignore and take for granted God’s word for He will keep His promise. “And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). The fact that there will be those who will die by fire and sword does not indicate the Lord’s thirst for revenge. “The Lord will punish the world by fire and by his sword” (Isaiah 66:16). The judgment is the result of humanity’s unwillingness to define meaning of life in terms of God’s purposes.
Blessings,
