Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
for the Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies defiled
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7 The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The wasted city is broken down;
every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For the traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17 Terror and the pit and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 He who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for the Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders. Isaiah 24 ESV
Isaiah 24 Judgment on the whole earth
1-3. Behold, the Lord will empty the earth - I believe there will be a rapture of the saints followed by a period of Great Tribulation. During this time there will be massive loss of life by way of famine, war and disease. Just like the time of Noah, the people are warned for 120 years while Noah builds the ark, and even now Christ builds His church, and there is this warning of the Day of the Lord. Men will become scarce on the planet.
…21For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. 23At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.… Matthew 24: 21-23
“The connection between these chapters and the preceding ones appear to be as follows: the judgments pronounced upon the various countries and nations in those chapters are drawn together here into a focal point. The specific divine judgments described there become here the general judgment upon the nations, which will take place when the Lord Jesus Christ with His Church will return to this earth.” (Bultema)
As with the people, so with the priest - Clergy, associating yourself with the cloth, will not be a point of escape. Many are Christians solely in name, vainly so, but God is not a respecter of title or person. The as with and so's that follow show that there is no advantage in any of these temporal states.
4-13. The earth mourns and withers - Because it lies defiled under it's inhabitants.
…21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. 23Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.… Romans 8: 21-23
…27For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled. 28So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.29Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.… Leviticus 18: 27-29
14-16. They shall lift up their voice - People in the midst of the Tribulation will come to believe in Christ. He has a remnant even there.
…12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes, he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from? 14“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.… Revelation 7: 12-14
17-20. Pit and the snare - No escape, and seeming escape from one leads to the other. Judgment is certain, sin will find you out and the wages of sin is death.
The earth staggers like a drunken man - There is no hiding, what was once thought as firm, fixed and secure, now reals from destruction. The days of a man's life seem long in his eyes and the days of the earth longer still, but each has a set time.
21-23. The host of heaven -
But Isaiah is probably speaking of something even higher than the exalted ones of this earth. Bultema and Wolf believe that the phrase the host of exalted ones refers to rebellious angels that are judged at the end of the age and imprisoned in the pit until the final rebellion at the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-10). The NIV translates the host of exalted ones as the powers in the heavens above. - Enduring Word
Kings of the earth - They thought much of their wealth and might here, but it is of no avail before God. The rich and powerful here have often made use of wealth and politics to get around the law, but now they stand before the only true law giver.
And the sun ashamed - Before the glorious majesty of Christ, the light once came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, but now in His fullness it puts the lesser lights to shame.
1After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus.… Matthew 17: 1-3
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