Isaiah 65:17-66

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Future Millennial Kingdom of Christ

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Millennium will merge with eternity.

  2. The Millennium will follow judgment.

  3. The Millennium will favor restored Israel.

  4. The Millennium will distinguish the sheep from the goats.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Don’t confuse interpretation and application.

QUESTIONS

  1. Do the terms New Heavens and New Earth refer to the Millennium or the Eternal State?

  2. What is the point of Isaiah 66:1-3?

  3. When would God judge these followers of ritualistic religion (verse 6)?

  4. How does Matthew 25:31-34 relate to Isaiah 66?

  5. Who will worship the Lord throughout the Millennial kingdom and into eternity?

ANSWERS

  1. According to 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21, these terms refer to the eternal state. Yet here Isaiah seems to use the term for the Millennium. To explain this we need to remember that when the Old Testament prophets looked to the future, many times these future events were fused together from their perspective. The further revelation of the New Testament shows us the distinction between the Millennium and the Eternal State.

  2. The point of these verses is that ritualistic religion apart from true worship of the Lord from the heart is detestable and despicable before the Lord.

  3. This judgment would not only be with the coming destruction of the city and the temple by the Babylonians and then later the Romans, but also in the future when the Lord returns in judgment at the end of the Tribulation Period.

  4. Matthew describes the Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats, when the Lord returns to this earth and gathers together all nations for judgment. Isaiah 66:15-18 also speaks of the return of the Lord and the judgment of the ungodly, not only in Israel but in all the nations.

  5. This will be universal worship of the Lord by both saved Jews and saved Gentiles.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. In the Millennium the effects of the curse will be greatly lifted, but not completely removed as they will be in the Eternal State (see Revelation 21:4). Discuss what life during the millennial period will be like, as described in Isaiah 65.

  2. Isaiah 66:7-8 uses highly figurative language, that once understood, illustrates a beautiful point. Discuss the child (singular) she (Israel) gave birth to before she travailed in labor, and the children (plural) she birthed when she travailed. This is a beautiful promise of the Messiah and restored Israel.

CHALLENGE

  1. Thank the Lord for this study on Isaiah. Review what you have learned and commit to letting the truth of God’s word affect your life.

KEY VERSES

  • “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old.” Isaiah 65:20

  • “Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool.’” Isaiah 66:1

  • “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.” Isaiah 66:15



Isaiah, Old Testament, TalksDeb HarmsIsaiah 65:17-66