Isaiah 66:18
And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 66:18-24
We are in the last chapter of Isaiah! It has been quite the journey. Isaiah was blessed by God to be given so many visions of all that God had planned for the nation of Israel. We will celebrate today as we end the book of Isaiah but also as we look to what we have in store for us when Jesus returns.
The book of Isaiah ends with a promise from God. He says to Isaiah:
“[I] am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory” (Isa 66:18).
One of the items on God’s checklist that needs to be accomplished before he sends Jesus back for us is for all nations to hear the gospel. Jesus told his disciples:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt 24:14).
Like most prophecies, the interpretation of this prophecy won’t be fully known until it happens. Does some person in every nation need to hear the gospel before Jesus returns? Some people claim that this prophecy even extends to individual people groups or languages before Jesus returns. There are many missionary groups looking at this prophecy literally and are monitoring every people group and their access to the gospel.
Or is this prophecy merely symbolic in that the gospel will be preached generally speaking around the world and Jesus could actually come back anytime at this point? We likely won’t know the answer until Jesus returns and explains it to us. But it certainly is motivation for the body of Christ to evangelize as many of the lost people groups as possible. After all, this was Jesus final command to his followers:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20).
When Jesus returns, he will bring with him the new heavens and new earth to replace the corrupted ones that we know today. God will select some of His followers to bring all the nations to worship Him. There will be a great procession to worship him on that day:
“‘And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels… From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,’ says the Lord” (Isa 66:20, 23).
This will be a magnificent sight to see all mankind coming to worship the Almighty God. Maybe we will be in the procession and get to see this from amongst all the nations. Or maybe we will already be with God and see this procession from the throne. One thing is for certain, it will happen at the appointed time and we would do well to be ready for Jesus to return. He said he is coming soon. And I have to feel like that time is getting close:
“‘Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End’… Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:12,20).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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