“‘For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘So your offspring and your name will endure. 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. Then they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched; and they will be an abhorrence to all mankind” (Isa 66:22-24).
Here we come to the glorious conclusion of Isaiah. Jerusalem has been miraculously redeemed (Isa 66:9–14), and all the nations go up to her to give God the glory (Isa 66:18–19). The ending of Isaiah is not random; rather, it is literarily sophisticated and strategic, filled with allusions to the book’s introduction.
When God promises that all nations will go up to Jerusalem to worship Him in the last days, He means it, because He is the all-powerful God who will bring it to pass.
The final verses of Isaiah speak of the making of a new heaven and earth (Isa 66:22; see 65:17), alluding to the opening verse of the book where God calls the heavens and earth to testify against Israel’s rebellion (Isa 1:2). The book closes with a picture of judgment, of inextinguishable burning for the wicked (Isa 66:24)—an allusion to the final verse of the first chapter, which also speaks of inextinguishable burning for the wicked (Isa 1:31). The final chapter also concludes with the celebration of “new moon and sabbath” to the glory of God (Isa 66:23), an allusion to the first chapter, which opens with “new moon and sabbath” assemblies that thoroughly displease the LORD (Isa 1:13–14).
Why are these obvious parallels so crucial? I can think of at least three reasons.
First, this sophisticated introduction and conclusion demonstrate that the final version of Isaiah is the work of a single author. Although Isaiah contains three major sections (chapters 1–39, 40–55, and 56–66), each has been thoughtfully stitched together into a unified whole. Both the divine and historical authors intend for us to read and interpret Isaiah as a single, coherent book, not as three unrelated literary units written by different Isaiahs.
Second, the transformation of Israel from a sinful and rebellious nation into a forgiven and redeemed people—who become a light to the world—proves that the faithful, all-powerful, and merciful God will never break His promises. It does not matter how unbelievable or unlikely those promises may seem. When God promises that all nations will go up to Jerusalem to worship Him in the last days, He means it, because He is the all-powerful God who will bring it to pass (Isa 2:1–4).
Third, the renewed and redeemed Israel in the final chapter testifies to every reader, Jewish and Gentile alike, that God can do the impossible in our lives too. If God can transform Jerusalem into a faithful and righteous city (Isa 1:26–27), then He can transform us as well. No matter how much we struggle in our spiritual lives, God is not only able to make us instruments for His glory, He is also willing when we, like Isaiah, confess our sin and cry out to Him for help (Isa 6:5).
“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!'” (Isa 6:6-8).
