Judgment on the Whole Earth
Isa 24:1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—
Isa 24:2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.
Isa 24:3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.
Isa 24:4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth.
Isa 24:5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
Isa 24:6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.
Isa 24:7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan.
Isa 24:8 The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent.
Isa 24:9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
Isa 24:10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred.
Isa 24:11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
Isa 24:12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
Isa 24:13 So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
Isa 24:14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD’s majesty.
Isa 24:15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
Isa 24:16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
Isa 24:17 Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth.
Isa 24:18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.
Isa 24:19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken.
Isa 24:20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
Isa 24:21 In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
Isa 24:22 They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
Isa 24:23 The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory.
1 The doleful judgments of God upon the land. 13 A remnant shall joyfully praise him. 16 God in his judgments shall advance his kingdom.
Judgment on the Whole Earth
Isa 24:1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—
Like all of Isaiah’s prophetic messages, that of ch. 24 was originally addressed to literal Israel and describes the way God would have laid the earth desolate and vanquished the enemies of Israel had the latter proved faithful.
But in view of Israel’s unfaithfulness, this prophecy, like others originally made with respect to that nation, will be fulfilled to God’s people today. In Rev. 20 John applies the description of the earth, here given, to its desolate state during the millennium.
Isaiah has dealt at length with the judgments of God upon individual nations (chs. 13–23). Now his prophetic vision is lifted to the broad horizon of history, and in chs. 24–28 he describes the great closing scenes, when God’s people are to be delivered and their foes vanquished. In ch. 24 Isaiah presents a graphic picture of this earth after its kings have been subdued (vs. 21, 22) and before the Lord of hosts reigns “in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem” (v. 23).
Ruins its surface. This is a striking description of the terrible convulsions that shake the world at the second coming of Christ (see Ps. 46:1–3, 6, 8; Rev. 6:16; 16:18–20).
Isa 24:2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.
There will be no favored classes at the time of Christ’s return; all will suffer the same calamity. Rich and poor, high and low, men of every class, color, and occupation, will be involved in the same common destruction (see Rev. 6:15; 19:18)
Isa 24:3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.
When Christ returns, all the living wicked will be slain and all the righteous will ascend with Him into heaven (see Jer. 25:30–33; Luke 17:26, 29, 30; 1 Thess. 5:3; Rev. 19:11–21; 20:4–6). The earth will thus be left without inhabitants (see Jer. 4:25).
Isa 24:4 The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish.
Haughty people. Literally, “the high of the people.” The highest of the people, those who have raised themselves to levels above their fellows, are humbled by the Lord (see chs. 2:11, 12, 17; 13:11).
Isa 24:5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
The earth is defiled. God is holy. He gave His law to keep men pure and the world undefiled. By rejecting that law, men defile both themselves and the world in which they live.
The contagion of sin has infected the very ground beneath our feet, the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe (see Gen. 3:17; Num. 35:33; Ps. 107:34). With every passing year the earth becomes more and more corrupt. If God were not to intervene, the time would come when the defilement of sin would so debase humanity as to make life itself utterly impossible (see Gen. 6:5, 11, 12; DA 36, 37).
Isa 24:6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.
The curse devoured the earth. It is not God, but Satan, the instigator of sin, who is responsible for the curse that results from it. Everywhere the forces of evil are at work and everywhere the handiwork of Satan is clearly seen (DA 636; GC 589).
In disease and death, in earthquakes and storms, in fires and floods, the work of the evil one is manifest. Transgression of the laws of God has not brought peace and prosperity, but trouble, pestilence, pain, and ultimately death.
Burned. Probably under the fourth plague (Rev. 16:8, 9).
Few men left. This probably refers to the righteous remnant, who have not fallen under the judgments of God.
Isa 24:7 The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh.
The vineyards are destroyed and the fruits of the earth are consumed in the burning heat of the fourth plague (Rev. 16:8, 9; GC 628). The song of the merryhearted harvesters is hushed, for the land is desolate.
Isa 24:8 The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases.
When men undergo the terrible calamities of the last days they will no longer think of “mirth” or “joy” (see Jer. 7:34; Jer 16:9; 25:10; Rev. 18:22; cf. Eze. 26:13; Hosea 2:11).
Isa 24:9 They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
With a song. Drinking is generally associated with festivity and pleasure. In that day the Lord will turn festivities into mourning and songs into lamentation (Amos 8:10; cf. Dan. 5:1–6).
Isa 24:10 The city of confusion is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
Confusion. Heb. tohu, “chaos,” “emptiness,” “vanity.” In Gen. 1:2 the word is translated “without form.” The world will revert to its primeval chaotic state.
Isa 24:11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
Men seek to escape calamity by resorting to intoxication.
The sun of joy has set, and the shades of eternal night have fallen (see Jer. 8:20). Men at length awake to the fact that by excluding from their lives Him who is the light of life, they have brought unending night upon themselves.
Isa 24:12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
The whole world has been reduced to a desolate wilderness, without light or life.
Isa 24:13 So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
During Isaiah’s view of the destruction of the earth he catches a glimpse of the salvation of the remnant (see chs. 1:9; 10:20–22; 11:11). They will be like the few olives that remain on a tree that has been “shaken of a mighty wind” (Rev. 6:13), or like the few grapes that remain when the harvest is over.
Isa 24:14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD’s majesty.
When everywhere there is weeping and gnashing of teeth because of the horrors that have come upon the world, the righteous will find that their sorrow has turned into joy and that the glad morning of eternity has dawned (see ch. 25:8, 9).
Isa 24:15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
There is every reason for the righteous to give glory to God. Except for His redeeming grace they would have perished with the world.
Isa 24:16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
Songs are heard ascending to Christ, the Righteous One (see v. 15). At a time, such as this it would hardly appear appropriate to ascribe “glory” to men, however “righteous” they might be. Compare the universal song of praise to God, recorded in Rev. 19:1–6, at this very time.
Waste away. The prophet here seems to turn momentarily from the glory of the future to the shame and misery of the present. After a brief view of the joys of God’s people at the hour of their deliverance, Isaiah turns to the troubles and disappointments of the lost and continues with a description of the terrible judgment to come.
Treacherous. When it is too late, men realize that they owe their plight to their own treacherous dealings with God. The same word is translated “deceitfully” in Ex. 21:8. It implies a course of action directly contrary to one’s knowledge of right.
Isa 24:17 Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth.
The pit, and the snare. Here, in rapid succession, are pictured the terrors and calamities that are to befall the wicked. Jer. 48:44 gives this same succession of inevitable judgments. None of the wicked will escape (Isa. 24:18) the effects of the seven last plagues. He who es
Isa 24:18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.
Doom, sooner or later, is altogether certain, for death and destruction come from every direction. All nature is turned out of its course (GC 636; cf. Gen. 7:11; 8:2). Now, the heavens will rain down fire instead of water (Ps. 50:3; 2 Peter 3:7, 10, 12).
The earth will be shaken as if by the voice of God (Ps. 46:2, 3; Isa. 2:19; Heb. 12:26, 27; Rev. 16:18).
Isa 24:19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken.
Isa 24:20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
The description here given refers to the earthquake at the return of Christ, which will no doubt be the most terrible convulsion the earth has ever known (see Rev. 16:18–20). The entire contour of the earth’s surface will then be changed. Mountains will be shaken from their foundations, islands will be moved out of their places, and the surface of the earth will heave and swell like the waves on a storm-tossed sea (see Ps. 46:2, 3, 6).
The apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:7, 10–13) provides another vivid picture of the complete destruction that will overwhelm this present world, and out of the ruins of which the Lord will create “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Isa 24:21 In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
A reference to Satan and the evil angels.
Paul refers to Satan as “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and to the unseen leaders of evil as “the rulers of the darkness of this world” that abide “in high places” (Eph. 6:12). In 1 Cor. 15:24, 25 Paul refers to their subjugation by Christ. Isaiah foresees the time when evil angels and evil men will all suffer punishment (see Matt. 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4, 9; Rev. 20:10–15).
Isa 24:22 They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
As prisoners. Satan and his legions of evil angels, “the high ones” of v. 21, and “the kings of the earth” are now “gathered together, as prisoners.” The former are confined to this earth, which, in its chaotic state (vs. 1, 3, 19, 20), becomes their prison for 1,000 years (see on Rev. 20:1, 2, 7), and the latter are confined in the prison house of the grave (see on Rev. 20:5).
The dungeon Heb. bor, a “cistern” hollowed out of the ground for storing water. During the dry season, or when not in use as a “cistern,” such a “pit” provided a suitable place for detaining prisoners (see Gen. 37:20; Jer. 38:6–13; Zech. 9:11; etc.). The “pit” is also used as a synonym for “grave” (Ps. 30:3; Ps. 88:4, 5; Isa. 14:15; 38:18; etc.).
After many days. That is, after the 1,000 years (see Rev. 20:2–7; GC 661). Upon the expiration of this period Satan is released from his prison for a short time and the wicked dead are raised, soon to prepare for taking the New Jerusalem (see on Rev. 20:7–9).
Isa 24:23 The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory.
The sun ashamed. The most glorious source of light now known pales into insignificance when compared with the glory of Christ (see Isa. 60:19, 20; Rev. 21:23; 22:5).
Lord Almighty will reign. This refers to the glorious day of triumph when the saints will reign with Christ in eternal joy and glory. The New Jerusalem then becomes the capital of the earth, and here Christ will reign forever (Jer. 3:17; Dan. 2:44; 7:14; Zech. 14:4, 9; Rev. 11:15; 21:2–5; 7:15–17).