Introduction

† Isaiah 66 closes the book by showing the final judgment on unbelieving Israel and the full establishment of God's new covenant people, this isn't future, it's fulfilled in the first century (Matthew 23:36)
† The chapter contrasts those who rejected God with those who trembled at His word, showing separation that took place in that generation (John 9:39)
† It points directly to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the old covenant system (Luke 21:20-22)
† It also shows the gathering of the nations into God's kingdom, fulfilling the promise to Abraham (Galatians 3:8)
† Jesus placed all these things in His generation, confirming this fulfillment is not future (Matthew 24:34)

Isaiah 66:1
This is what the Lord says: Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?

† God rejects the idea that He dwells in a physical temple, pointing to the end of the temple system (Acts 7:48-50)
† This directly challenges the first century reliance on the Jerusalem temple (John 4:21-24)
† The temple's destruction in AD 70 confirmed this truth (Matthew 24:2)
† This shows God was never confined to the temple, which is why its destruction did not end His presence (Acts 17:24)

Isaiah 66:2
For My hand made all these things, so all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But I will look to this one, at one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.

† God now looks to the heart, not outward religious structures (Psalm 51:17)
† This defines the true people of God, those who receive Christ (James 1:21)
† The remnant is identified by humility and faith (Romans 11:5)

Isaiah 66:3
But one who kills an ox is like one who kills a person; one who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog's neck; one who offers a grain offering is like one who offers pig's blood; one who burns incense is like one who blesses an idol. As they have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations,

† This shows that old covenant sacrifices became unacceptable because of their rebellion (Hebrews 10:1-6)
† Their worship was corrupted, making it offensive to God (Isaiah 1:11-13)
† By the first century, temple worship without faith was meaningless (Matthew 15:8-9)

Isaiah 66:4
So I will choose their punishments and bring on them what they dread. Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen. Instead, they did what was evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.

† This is the same rejection seen in Christ's ministry (John 1:11)
† Judgment came because they refused to hear (Matthew 22:3-7)
† This was fulfilled in AD 70 when their fears came upon them

Isaiah 66:5
Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word: Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name's sake, have said, Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy. But they will be put to shame.

† This describes persecution of believers by unbelieving Jews (John 16:2)
† The faithful remnant was cast out of the synagogue (John 9:22)
† Their persecutors were later judged and put to shame (Matthew 23:38)

Isaiah 66:6
A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord who is rendering recompense to His enemies.

† This is the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Luke 21:20)
† God Himself is judging through this event (Matthew 22:7)
† The noise and destruction match historical accounts of AD 70 (Josephus, Wars Book 6)
† This "voice from the temple" ends when the temple is destroyed, marking the end of the old system (Hebrews 8:13)

Isaiah 66:7
Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a boy.

† This represents the sudden birth of the new covenant people (Acts 2:41)
† The church was established quickly without the old system (Galatians 4:26)
† It shows God's work happening rapidly in that generation

Isaiah 66:8
Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion was in labor, she also delivered her sons.

† This is fulfilled in the rapid growth of the church (Acts 2:47)
† A new people of God was formed in one generation (1 Peter 2:9)
† This is not future, it already happened in the first century
† This matches Pentecost where thousands were added in one day, showing the nation being born spiritually (Acts 2:41)

Isaiah 66:9
Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery? says the Lord. Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb? says your God.

† God completes what He begins, the new covenant was fully established (Philippians 1:6)
† There is no unfinished plan waiting for fulfillment
† The kingdom was brought to completion in that generation

Isaiah 66:10
Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,

† This refers to the new Jerusalem, not the physical city (Galatians 4:26)
† The faithful rejoice in the new covenant reality (Hebrews 12:22)
† Mourning is replaced with joy in Christ

Isaiah 66:11
So that you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, that you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.

† This symbolizes nourishment and satisfaction in the new covenant (1 Peter 2:2)
† Believers are fed spiritually in Christ
† The church provides life and growth

Isaiah 66:12
For this is what the Lord says: Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and caressed on the knees.

† Peace flows through the gospel to the nations (Ephesians 2:14)
† Gentiles are brought into the blessing (Romans 15:12)
† This fulfills God's promise to include all nations

Isaiah 66:13
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.

† This comfort is fulfilled in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
† The new Jerusalem is the place of that comfort (Hebrews 12:22)
† God's people experience this now

Isaiah 66:14
Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants, but He will be indignant toward His enemies.

† This shows blessing for believers and judgment for enemies (Luke 13:28)
† God's power was revealed in both salvation and judgment
† This division happened in that generation

Isaiah 66:15
For behold, the Lord will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.

† This is judgment language, not a literal future coming (Matthew 16:27-28)
† God came in judgment on Jerusalem (Luke 21:22)
† Fire represents destruction and wrath
† Jesus used the same coming in judgment language and said it would happen in the lifetime of His disciples (Matthew 16:27-28)

Isaiah 66:16
For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many.

† This describes the massive destruction in AD 70 (Luke 21:24)
† Many were slain during the siege (Josephus, Wars Book 6)
† This fulfills covenant judgment warnings

Isaiah 66:17
Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, following one in the center, who eat swine's flesh, detestable things, and mice, will come to an end altogether, declares the Lord.

† This describes apostate Israel continuing in unclean practices (Isaiah 65:3-4)
† Their false purity led to destruction
† Judgment fell on those rejecting God's truth

Isaiah 66:18
For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they will come and see My glory.

† This is the inclusion of the Gentiles (Acts 15:14)
† God's glory is revealed through the gospel
† This was fulfilled in the spread of the church

Isaiah 66:19
I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.

† The survivors are the remnant who carry the gospel (Acts 8:4)
† The message goes to the nations after Jerusalem's fall
† This fulfills the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19)

Isaiah 66:20
Then they shall bring all your countrymen from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.

† This is the gathering of believers from all nations (Romans 12:1)
† People themselves become the offering
† This is spiritual, not physical relocation

Isaiah 66:21
I will also take some of them as priests and Levites, says the Lord.

† This shows all believers serve as priests (1 Peter 2:9)
† The old priesthood is replaced
† Access to God is now open to all in Christ

Isaiah 66:22
For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I make, will endure before Me, declares the Lord, so your descendants and your name will endure.

† This confirms the new covenant continues (Hebrews 12:28)
† The new creation is already established
† God's people remain forever
† This matches the already established unshakable kingdom believers received in the first century (Hebrews 12:28)

Isaiah 66:23
And it shall be from new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me, says the Lord.

† This shows continual worship, not literal calendar observance (Colossians 2:16-17)
† All nations now worship God (Philippians 2:10-11)
† This is fulfilled in the global church

Isaiah 66:24
Then they will go out and look at the corpses of the people who have rebelled against Me. For their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched; and they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.

† This is the judgment on that generation (Mark 9:48)
† It refers to the shame and destruction of Jerusalem
† This is not eternal torment but covenant judgment imagery
† This imagery comes from Gehenna, the valley outside Jerusalem, showing physical judgment, not a future eternal scene (Jeremiah 7:31-33)

Historical References

† Josephus records the destruction, famine, and slaughter in Jerusalem in AD 70 (Wars of the Jews Book 6)
† Eusebius confirms the Christians fled before the destruction (Ecclesiastical History 3.5)
† Tacitus also records the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (Histories 5.13)
† The Roman siege fulfilled the covenant curses exactly as warned in the Law (Deuteronomy 28:49-57)

How it applies to us today

† We're not waiting for God's kingdom, we're living in it now (Luke 17:20-21)
† We are the temple of God, not a physical building (1 Corinthians 3:16)
† We are part of the priesthood, with direct access to God (1 Peter 2:9)
† The old covenant system is gone, and we live in the completed work of Christ (Hebrews 8:13)
† The gospel continues to go to all nations through us (Matthew 28:19)
† We don't look for another temple, Christ is the fulfillment and we are His dwelling (Ephesians 2:21-22)
† The separation Isaiah describes already happened, so we stand in the fulfilled kingdom, not waiting for it (John 5:24)

Q & A Appendix

Q: Is Isaiah 66 about the end of the world?
A: No, it describes the judgment of Jerusalem and the establishment of the new covenant in the first century (Matthew 24:34)

Q: What is the fire in this chapter?
A: It's symbolic of God's judgment, fulfilled in AD 70 (Luke 21:22)

Q: Who are the priests in verse 21?
A: All believers in Christ, not a physical priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)

Q: What are the new heavens and new earth here?
A: The new covenant reality already established in Christ (Hebrews 12:28)

Q: Are we still waiting for any of this?
A: No, everything has been fulfilled, we're living in it now (Luke 21:22)

Q: What is the coming in fire referring to?
A: It's covenant judgment language fulfilled in AD 70, not a future second coming event (Luke 21:22, Matthew 16:27-28)

Q: What are the corpses in verse 24?
A: They represent the physical judgment of Jerusalem, where bodies were left unburied during the siege (Josephus, Wars Book 6)

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† Isaiah 66
† Matthew 24:34, Luke 21:20-22, Hebrews 12:28, 1 Peter 2:9
† Josephus Wars Book 6, Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 3.5, Tacitus Histories 5.13