1 Thus says Jehovah:The heavens are my throneand the earth is my footstool.What house would you build me?What would serve me as a place of rest?
2 These are all things my hand has made,and thus all came into being, says Jehovah.And yet I have regard for thosewho are of a humble and contrite spiritand who are vigilant for my word.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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3 But whoever slaughters an oxis as one who kills a man,and whoever sacrifices a lamb,as one who breaks a dog’s neck;whoever presents a grain offeringis as one who offers swine’s blood,and whoever burns incense,as one who venerates idols.Just as they have preferred to go their own ways,their souls delighting in their abominations,
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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4 so will I prescribe intrigues for themand bring upon them the thing they dread.For when I called, no one responded;when I spoke, none gave heed.They did what was evil in my eyes;they chose to do what was not my will.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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5 Hear the word of Jehovah,you who are vigilant for his word:Your brethren who abhor you,and exclude you because of my name, say,Let Jehovah manifest his glory,that we may see cause for your joy!But it is they who shall suffer shame.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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6 Hark, a tumult from the city, a noise from the temple!It is the voice of Jehovahpaying his enemies what is due them.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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7 Before she is in labor, she gives birth;before her ordeal overtakes her, she delivers a son!
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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8 Who has heard the like,or who has seen such things?Can the earth labor but a dayand a nation be born at once?For as soon as she was in labor,Zion gave birth to her children.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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9 Shall I bring to a crisis and not bring on birth?says Jehovah.When it is I who cause the birth,shall I hinder it? says your God.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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10 Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,all who love her;join in her celebration, all who mourn for her.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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11 From now on nurse contentedlyat her consoling breasts;draw at your pleasurefrom the abundance of her bosom.a
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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12 For thus says Jehovah: See,I will extend peace to her like a river,the bountyb of the nations like a stream in flood.Then shall you nurse and be carried upon the hipand dandled on the knees.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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13 As one who is comforted by his motherI will comfort you;for Jerusalem you shall be comforted.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
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14 Your heart shall rejoice to see it,your limbs flourish like sprouting grass,when the hand of Jehovahshall be manifest among his servantsand his rage among his enemies.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
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A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
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A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
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15 See, Jehovah comes with fire,his chariots like a whirlwind,to retaliate in furious anger,to rebuke with conflagrations of fire.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
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16 For with fire and with his sword shall Jehovahexecute judgment on all flesh,and those slain by Jehovah shall be many.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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17 As for the cultists who fornicate in the parks, the devotees of one in the center, who eat the flesh of swine and prawn and rodents—they with [their practices and ideas]c shall be made an end of, says Jehovah.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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18 For I will comed to gather all nations and tongues, that they may approach and behold my glory.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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19 And I will set a mark upon them, sending those of them who survive to the nations that had not heard the news concerning me, nor seen my glory—to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud (the archers), to Tubal and Javan, and to the distant isles. And they shall declare my glory among the nations
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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20 and shall bring back all your brethren from throughout the nations to Jerusalem my holy mountain, says Jehovah, as offerings to Jehovah—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and dromedaries—just as the Israelites brought offerings in pure vessels to the house of Jehovah.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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21 Of them likewise I will accept men to be priests and Levites, says Jehovah.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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22 And as the new heavens and the new earth which I make shall endure before me, says Jehovah, so shall your offspring and name endure.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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23 And New Moon after New Moon, Sabbath after Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says Jehovah.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
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24 And they shall go out and look upon the corpses of the people who transgressed against me, whose worms do not die and whose fire shall not be extinguished. They shall be a horror to all flesh.
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who assisted in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning and whom Jehovah empowers to restore his people in the end.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, Jehovah's voice to his people, whom Jehovah appoints to confront their ecclesiastical leaders for their hypocrisy and abuse of power.
blue
A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant, his hand of deliverance, who empowers Jehovah's holy ones who minister in the holy priesthood with the regeneration of their bodies.
blue
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's rage toward his unrepentant people and the nations when Jehovah comes out in judgment against them.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the apostates of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's anger when Jehovah cleanses the earth of the wicked in a worldwide destruction before he comes.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies the fire that destroys the miscreants of Jehovah's people and the nations in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance, who personify the sword that slays the evildoers of Jehovah's people and the nations in Jehovah's Day of Judgment.
red
Apocalyptic Commentary
Isaiah 66
The building of Jehovah’s temple (Isaiah 44:26-28) raises the question of where Jehovah dwells and under what circumstances. He tells us: “I dwell on high in the holy place, and with him who is humble and lowly in spirit—refreshing the spirits of the lowly, reviving the hearts of the humble” (Isaiah 57:15). Jehovah’s having “regard for those who are of a humble and contrite spirit and who are vigilant for my word” thus implies that, although he may appear in his earthly temple as needed to administer the affairs of his kingdom, his righteous people are also the temples of his holy Spirit (Isaiah 59:21).
The role of Jehovah’s hand accords with the major redemptive mission of Jehovah’s end-time servant. As Jehovah’s right hand, he assists in the creation of the heavens and the earth (v 2; Isaiah 45:12; 48:13), gathers Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 11:11-12; 49:22), empowers, delivers, and protects them (Isaiah 41:10, 13; 50:2; 51:16; 59:1), facilitates their new exodus (Isaiah 11:15-16), leads their new conquest (Isaiah 11:14), purifies their establishment (Isaiah 1:25), allots their inheritances (Isaiah 34:17), ministers to Jehovah’s servants (Isaiah 66:14), and prospers Jehovah’s purposes (Isaiah 53:10; 62:3).
Rituals performed under the Mosaic Code such as the slaughter of unblemished beasts and the offering of firstfruits (Exodus 12:5; 20:24; 30:1; Leviticus 2:12-16; 4:32; 27:16) become offensive once the Lamb of God is slaughtered that they foreshadowed (Isaiah 53:7, 10; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23). People who perpetuate such cultic practices come under Jehovah’s condemnation when he fulfills their worst fears. For not responding when Jehovah “called” and “spoke” to them through his servant—instead doing evil and what is contrary to his will—they themselves are slaughtered (Isaiah 65:12).
Jehovah’s servants—“who are of a humble and contrite spirit and who are vigilant for my word” (v 2)—come under censure by ecclesiastical authorities who feel threatened by their zeal for Jehovah. Such self-righteous “brethren” (’ahekem) “abhor” or “hate” (son’ekem) their zealous counterparts and “exclude” or “thrust [them] out” (menaddekem) from among them, humiliating them. In the end, however—after it has served Jehovah’s purpose of refining his servants and testing their loyalties—their momentary shame (Isaiah 61:7) turns into their persecutors’ everlasting shame (Isaiah 41:11; 65:15).
The descent phase of those who are ostracized by abusive authorities thus resembles that of Jehovah’s servant, whom they similarly “abhor” and accuse (Isaiah 49:7; 50:8-9). Both, moreover, follow the pattern of Jehovah himself, whose descent phase includes prosecution by unrighteous authorities (Isaiah 53:7-9). The latter mock Jehovah’s servants by asking them to produce some divine “manifestation” or sign that justifies their joy-filled zeal: “Let him quickly speed up his work so we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel soon come to pass, and we will know!” (Isaiah 5:19; cf. 45:11).
An incident in the temple of his people’s city results in Jehovah’s house being set in order as Jehovah turns the tables on his people’s ecclesiastical leaders (cf. Jeremiah 23:1-2; Ezekiel 34:10; Zechariah 11:15-17). Together with other reprobates among his people, they are numbered among Jehovah’s “enemies” and incur his wrath: “They rebelled and grieved his holy Spirit, till he became their enemy and himself fought against them” (Isaiah 63:10; cf. 1:24; 42:13; 59:18). Jehovah’s voice—his servant whom he empowers (Isaiah 30:30-31; 50:10; 58:1)—pays them their “due” or “just reward” (gemul).
A condition of wickedness among Jehovah’s people marked by cultic practices (vv 3-4, 17; Isaiah 65:2-7) and persecution by ecclesiastical authorities (v 5; Isaiah 61:7) that utterly contravenes Jehovah’s law and word in the end gives rise to a Zion people. Out of an evil milieu, paradoxically exemplified by Jehovah’s people who are of the covenant, emerges a new covenant people among whom Jehovah establishes Zion (cf. Isaiah 54:1, 5-6). Not only does “the restoration of all things” that existed in ancient Israel materialize from these spiritual ashes but a state of blessedness far exceeding the former.
Called the “Birthpangs of the Messiah,” the idea of a woman in labor who gives birth to a deliverer recurs cyclically in Israel’s history—as when Israel’s tribes endured hard bondage in Egypt and Jehovah heard their cries and raised up Moses to deliver them (Exodus 1-3); or when the Philistines were about to wipe Israel off the map and Jehovah raised up King David to deliver them (2 Samuel 3:18); or when Jehovah’s people in Jerusalem were surrounded by an invading Assyrian army and King Hezekiah interceded with Jehovah on their behalf (Isaiah 37:15-20). So he raises up an end-time deliverer.
Before the Woman Zion goes into labor, however—that is, before Jehovah’s Day of Judgment but when many mourn in Zion because wickedness (v 5; Isaiah 61:3, 7)—she gives birth to a “son” or “male child” (zakar). The Woman’s son or deliverer—Jehovah’s servant—thus experiences rebirth or ascent to a higher spiritual level (Isaiah 49:2, 8; 55:4-5) when Jehovah heals and empowers him (Isaiah 52:13; 57:18-19). That empowerment constitutes an inherent part of his ascent phase that follows his descent phase through suffering in which he is “marred beyond human likeness” (Isaiah 52:14).
Jehovah prospers his servant’s ministry (Isaiah 48:14-15; 53:10), and it bears good fruit (Isaiah 4:2; 11:1), when the servant empowers additional servants to labor with him in restoring Jehovah’s people and preparing them for Jehovah’s coming (Isaiah 52:7-10; 61:3-10). The nation that is born in a “day”—Jehovah’s Day of Judgment—thus comprises those of his people who are reborn at the time they are restored and ascend to higher spiritual categories (Isaiah 4:3; 52:1-2). With them, Jehovah covenants to be “your God” and they his people by an everlasting covenant (Isaiah 54:5-10; 55:3-5).
As soon as she was in labor, Zion gave birth to her children. The “children” or “sons” (baneha) to whom the Woman Zion gives birth comprise particularly that category of Jehovah’s people that is reborn or which ascends to the son/servant level. They return in the new exodus to Zion from among all nations: “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth” (Isaiah 43:6); “Lift up your eyes and look about you! They have all assembled to come to you: your sons shall arrive from afar; your daughters shall return to your side” (Isaiah 60:4; cf. 11:10-12; 49:17-18, 22; 60:3).
Who has heard the like, or who has seen such things? Beginning with the mission of the servant, the restoration of Jehovah’s people causes quite a stir among the nations (Isaiah 52:10, 15; 62:1). Many oppose the work of restoring his people, repudiating the fact that it is of God: “Woe to those in conflict with their Maker, mere shards of earthenware pottery! As though the clay were to say to him who molds it, ‘What are you doing? Your hands have no skill for the work!’ Woe to those who say to their Father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to the Woman, ‘What have you borne?’” (Isaiah 45:9-10).
Can the earth labor but a day? As at Israel’s birth as a nation when it came out of Egypt (Exodus 6:7), true deliverance entails victory over enemies (Exodus 14:27-28). When the entire earth goes into labor in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment, Babylon’s children die: “Bereavement and widowhood shall suddenly overtake you, both in one day” (Isaiah 47:9); “They shall be terrified, in throes of agony, seized with trembling like a woman in labor” (Isaiah 13:8); “‘I will rise up against them,’ says Jehovah of Hosts. ‘I will cut off Babylon’s name and remnant, its offspring and descendants’” (Isaiah 14:22).
The imagery of new birth or re-creation (cf. Isaiah 65:18) evokes the idea of an entire life cycle of Jehovah’s people and individuals, consisting of birth (vv 8-10), lactation (v 11), infancy (v 12), childhood (v 13), youth (v 14ab), and manhood as “servants” of God (v 14c). Ascending spiritual categories, in other words, parallel successive phases of physical development, identifying persons who attain the seraph level as those who reach spiritual maturity. The latter typify those who have care for Jehovah’s people and mourn for them, but who ultimately rejoice at their redemption (Isaiah 62:5-7).
Jehovah’s servants “mourn” as an intrinsic part of their descent phase while serving as proxy saviors of Jehovah’s people under the terms of the Davidic Covenant (Isaiah 61:2-3). Their doing so reflects their “love” for his people, a term that connotes a covenant relationship. In other words, they love his repentant people by answering for their disloyalties in the interim before they are reborn as his sons and daughters. At the latter’s restoration, those in lower spiritual categories suckle at the breasts of those higher: “Kings shall be your foster fathers, queens your nursing mothers” (Isaiah 49:23; cf. v 12; 60:16).
Following the tests of loyalty Jehovah orchestrates for his people and individuals that characterize their descent phase through trials and afflictions, the blessings of an unconditional collective covenant finally rest upon them: an unending “peace” (salom) and the “bounty” or “glory” (kabod) of the “nations” or “Gentiles” (goyim). While many in the Jacob/Israel category fail to attain “peace like a river” (Isaiah 48:18-19, Isaiah 48:18-19, 22), many who ascend and are reborn on higher spiritual levels attain it by an everlasting “covenant of peace” (Isaiah 54:10, 13-14; cf. 9:6-7; 26:3; 32:16-18; 33:20; 57:1-2, 18-19).
Jehovah’s comforting his people forms a consistent pattern in his dealings with them: “‘Comfort and give solace to my people,’ says your God; ‘speak kindly to Jerusalem’” (Isaiah 40:1-2); “Jehovah is comforting his people, showing compassion for his afflicted” (Isaiah 49:13). He purposefully brings them through the most difficult trials—through times when all supports seem to fail—leaving them one recourse: to turn to him for help. Their exercise of faith in him in the midst of their descent phase is the very thing that occasions their deliverance and personal experience of him (Isaiah 35:3-4).
The key role played by Jehovah’s hand—his servant—in the end-time redemption of Jehovah’s people ultimately brings about (1) the rebirth and ascent to the seraph level of additional servants of Jehovah—the spiritual kings and queens of the Gentiles or Zion’s watchmen (Isaiah 52:8; 61:3, 10; 62:6-7)—those who minister to Jehovah’s people who are scattered among the nations; and (2) the rebirth and ascent to the son/servant level of those to whom they minister, whom they gather from dispersion and prepare for Jehovah’s coming to reign on the earth (Isaiah 49:22-23; 60:3-4, 9-11; 62:10-12).
While all who thus participate in Jehovah’s redemption of his people regenerate physically and rejoice (Isaiah 61:10; 65:18), Jehovah’s rage—the king of Assyria/Babylon—metes out punishment on Jehovah’s enemies (Isaiah 34:2; 63:3-6). For the most part, therefore, it is the wicked who destroy the wicked (Isaiah 13:4-11; 14:5-6), and it is only toward the end of Jehovah’s Day of Judgment that the archtyrant and his alliance of nations perish (Isaiah 10:12-19; 14:4, 12, 24-27). The final absence of all wicked entities from the earth (Isaiah 41:11-12) brings rejoicing indeed (Isaiah 9:3-4; 14:7-8).
As Jehovah’s instrument of punishment, the king of Assyria/Babylon—Jehovah’s anger, fire, and sword—constitutes an essential part of Jehovah’s coming to the earth: “Behold, Jehovah Omnipotent coming from afar! His wrath is kindled, heavy is his grievance; his lips flow with indignation, his tongue is like a devouring fire” (Isaiah 30:27; emphasis added). The twofold nature of Jehovah’s Day of Judgment thus means that the righteous are being delivered even as the wicked are being destroyed from the earth. To the very fire and sword that destroy the wicked, moreover, the righteous are immune:
“Wickedness shall be set ablaze like a fire, and briars and thorns shall it consume; it shall ignite the jungle forests, and they shall billow upward in mushrooming clouds of smoke. At the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts the earth is scorched, and people are but fuel for the fire” (Isaiah 9:18-19; cf. 1:7; 5:24; 47:14); “Who among us can live through the devouring fire? Who among us can abide eternal burning? They who conduct themselves righteously and are honest in word” (Isaiah 33:14-15); “Though you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; its flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2);
“Your men shall be felled by the sword, your might [overthrown] in war” (Isaiah 3:25); “I will destine you to the sword; all of you shall succumb to the slaughter. For when I called, you did not respond; when I spoke, you would not give heed. You did what was evil in my eyes; you chose to do what was not my will” (Isaiah 65:12; cf. 1:20; 34:5); “Whatever weapon is devised against you, it shall not succeed; every tongue that rises to accuse you, you shall refute. ‘This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and such is their vindication by me,’ says Jehovah” (Isaiah 54:17; cf. 41:11-12).
At the apex on the scale of evil, the satanic cult with its perverse rituals seeks to desecrate all that is sacred. As “slayers of children” who “burn with lust” in a counterfeit paradise (Isaiah 1:29; 57:5), these Perdition types are not only made an end of physically in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment but also spiritually. In that day, their particular Covenant with Death—their sacrilegious contract with the powers of darkness—becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: “They are dead, to live no more, spirits who will not rise up; you appoint them to destruction, wiping out all recollection of them” (Isaiah 26:14; cf. v 24).
For many survivors of Jehovah’s Day of Judgment, “all nations and tongues” coming to behold his glory when Jehovah institutes his reign on the earth compensates for their former lack of knowledge of him (Isaiah 1:3; 5:13; 29:14, 24; 44:17-20). While the seraph and son/servant categories of Jehovah’s people come to know him personally through their experience of him in the course of serving him (Isaiah 19:18-21; 26:8-9; 52:6-10; 60:16), lower spiritual categories—who didn’t participate in his people’s end-time exodus to Zion but who ascended later—may yet receive a knowledge of him.
Jehovah’s gathering of all nations thus occurs in two stages: (1) that of his sons and daughters in the new exodus to Zion: “I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give up!’ to the south, ‘Withhold not!’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth” (Isaiah 43:5-6; cf. 11:11-12, 15-16); and (2) that of additional peoples that continues even after Jehovah has instituted his reign of peace on the earth: “Thus says my Lord Jehovah, who gathers up the outcasts of Israel: ‘I will gather others to those already gathered’” (Isaiah 56:8).
God’s purpose in gathering his children is to invite them into his covenant: “Gather yourselves and come; draw near, all you fugitives of the nations. . . . Turn to me and save yourselves, all you ends of the earth” (Isaiah 45:20, 22). Although the primary task of Jehovah’s servants is to gather the righteous descendants of his ancient covenant people scattered among all nations, non-Israelite lineages among them aren’t excluded (Isaiah 14:1). Jehovah’s “glory” over the assemblies of his people (Isaiah 4:5) attests to his presence among them: “Surely God is in you; no other gods exists!” (Isaiah 45:14).
The first and second gatherings of peoples to “my holy mountain” parallel each other in several respects. The first group—persons in the son/servant category or Jehovah’s elect (Isaiah 43:5-7; cf. Matthew 24:31)—gathers in a new exodus led by Jehovah’s servant and others on the seraph level when protected by Jehovah’s presence (Isaiah 27:13; 41:8-13; 48:20-21; 49:9-12, 22-23; 52:11-12; 58:8). The second group—those who “survive” Jehovah’s Day of Judgment without his direct divine intervention—gathers to Jehovah’s “house” or rebuilt temple after he has come to reign on the earth.
Both gatherings follow the same pattern. On those who gather their “brethren” from dispersion Jehovah sets a “mark” that empowers them to protect those whom they gather. The type of such a mark occurs in an earlier Day of Judgment, when Jehovah put a mark on the foreheads of those who mourned for the wickedness of his people, which mark protected them from the Babylonians who slew them (Ezekiel 9:4-6). The angel from the east in John’s vision of Jehovah’s Day of Judgment similarly seals 144,000 servants of God on their foreheads, assuring their divine protection (Revelation 7:3-8; 9:4; 14:1).
While John’s angel from the east appears identical with Jehovah’s servant from the east (Isaiah 41:2, 25; 46:11), John’s 144,000 servants appear identical with Jehovah’s servants or watchmen on Isaiah’s seraph level (v 14; Isaiah 61:3, 6-10; 63:17; 65:8). Those who gather the second group, on the other hand—after Jehovah has instituted his reign on the earth—appear to originate with the first group, the “survivors” or “escapees” (peletim) of Jehovah’s Day of Judgment. They go forth and gather those who remain. The people whom they bring are their “offerings” to Jehovah (Isaiah 56:7; 60:7).
Those who gather others and present them as offerings to Jehovah (v 20) are ordained his priests as were his servants (Isaiah 61:3, 6, 10). Under the terms of the Davidic Covenant, however, they additionally assume the role of kings who serve as proxy saviors of their peoples (cf. Isaiah 49:22-23; 55:3; 65:8-9). In the “consummation of the earth” that constitutes Jehovah’s “glory,” therefore (Isaiah 6:3), those who attain the highest spiritual levels serve as kings and priests, inheriting the blessings of both the Davidic and Levitical Covenants (Jeremiah 33:20-22; Revelation 20:6; cf. Genesis 14:18).
The new heavens and new earth Jehovah makes that characterize his millennial age of peace transform the earth’s surface that is reduced to chaos in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment (Isaiah 10:23; 24:1, 19-20; 28:22) and alter its configuration of stars (Isaiah 13:13; 34:4; 51:13, 16). Jehovah re-creates the heavens and the earth at the same time that he re-creates his elect: “See, I create new heavens and a new earth; former events shall not be remembered or recalled to mind. Rejoice, then, and be glad forever in what I create. See, I create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy” (Isaiah 65:17-18).
Under the terms of the Abrahamic Covenant, Jehovah blesses unconditionally with descendants as many as the stars in the heavens and sands of the sea all who ascend to the spiritual level of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. Genesis 22:17; 26:4, 24; 32:12; Exodus 32:13; Isaiah 40:26; 48:19). Persons who attain their stature, Jehovah gives “a handclasp and a name,” endowing them with “an everlasting name that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56:5; cf. 8:11; 62:2; 65:15; Genesis 17:5-7, Genesis 17:5-7, 15; 32:28; 32:28). Jehovah’s covenants thus point to his people’s ultimately inheriting the blessings of their righteous progenitors.
Appointed times to worship Jehovah continue into the millennial age. From the time he institutes his reign of peace on the earth, an endless stream of pilgrimages of the nations flows to Jehovah’s temple to honor him: “Your gates shall always remain open; they shall not be shut day or night, that a host of nations may be brought to you and their kings escorted in” (Isaiah 60:11); “These I will bring to my holy mountain and gladden in my house of prayer. Their offerings and sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be known as a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7);
“In the latter days the mountain of Jehovah’s house shall become established as the head of the mountains; it shall be preeminent among the hills, and all nations will flow to it. Many peoples shall go, saying, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, that we may follow in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and from Jerusalem the word of Jehovah. He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:2-4).
When Jehovah removes the veil of mortality in the millennial age (Isaiah 25:7-8), people’s vision extends to things beyond their current experience. The spirits of persons in the Perdition category will be visible in the Pit of Dissolution: “Tophet has been prepared of old, [a hearth] indeed, made ready for rulers; broad and deep is its fire pit and ample its pyre; Jehovah’s breath burns within it like a river of lava” (Isaiah 30:33; cf. 14:15; 38:18). Their de-creation—as the “worms” and “fire” consume those who die this second death (Revelation 21:8)—remains a solemn warning to all humanity.