Isaia 66:24 Commento

The scope of this chapter is much the same as that of the foregoing chapter and many expressions of it are the same; it therefore looks the same way, to the different state of the good and bad among the Jews at their return out of captivity, but that typifying the rejection of the Jews in the days of the Messiah, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the setting up of the gospel-kingdom in the world. The first verse of this chapter is applied by Stephen to the dismantling of the temple by the planting of the Christian church (Act 7:49, Act 7:50), which may serve as a key to the whole chapter. We have here, I. The contempt God puts upon ceremonial services in comparison with moral duties, and an intimation therein of his purpose shortly to put an end to the temple, and sacrifice and reject those that adhered to them (Isa 66:1-4). II. The salvation God will in due time work for his people out of the hands of their oppressors (Isa 66:5), speaking terror to the persecutors (Isa 66:6) and comfort to the persecuted, a speedy and complete deliverance (Isa 66:7-9), a joyful settlement (Isa 66:10, Isa 66:11), the accession of the Gentiles to them, and abundance of satisfaction therein (Isa 66:12-14). III. The terrible vengeance which God will bring upon the enemies of his church and people (Isa 66:15-18). IV. The happy establishment of the church upon large and sure foundations, its constant attendance on God and triumph over its enemies (Isa 66:19-24). And we may well expect that this evangelical prophet, here, in the close of his prophecy, should (as he does) look as far forward as to the latter days, to the last day, to the days of eternity.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 66 This chapter treats of the same things as the former, the rejection of the unbelieving Jews, and the regard had to them that did believe; the conversion of that people in the latter day; the calling of the Gentiles, and the happy state of the church in the last times. The causes of the rejection of the Jews were their unworthy notions of God, as if he was confined to the temple of Jerusalem, and to be pleased with external sacrifices, now both at an end under the Gospel dispensation; a better sacrifice being offered, and a more spiritual worship set up everywhere; which notions are considered, Isa 66:1, and because they were set upon their ways and works, and rejected the Gospel of Christ, they are threatened with ruin, Isa 66:3 and the disciples of Christ, whom they excommunicated and persecuted, have a promise of divine appearance for them, while vengeance shall be taken on their enemies, their city and temple, Isa 66:5, nevertheless, in the latter day, there will be a large and sudden conversion of this nation of the Jews, which is signified by the birth of them, which will be matter of great joy to all the true lovers of the interest of Christ, Isa 66:7 and what will add to the prosperity, joy, and comfort of the church of Christ at this time, will be the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles, Isa 66:12 at which time the vials of God's wrath will be poured out upon antichrist and his followers, Isa 66:15 and the chapter is concluded with a fresh account of large conversions of men of all nations, and of the union of Jews and Gentiles in one church state, which shall long remain, and be undisturbed by enemies, who will be all slain, and their carcasses looked upon with contempt, Isa 66:18.

And they shall go forth,.... That is, those constant and spiritual worshippers shall go forth from the holy mountain Jerusalem, the church of God, whither they are brought as an offering to the Lord, and where they worship him; for this is not to be understood of going out of Jerusalem literally, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or of their going out of their graves after the resurrection, as others; but either out of the Christian assemblies, or out of the houses of the saints, and the beloved city, when fire shall come down from heaven, and destroy the wicked, Rev 20:9, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me. The Targum is, "against my Word;'' against Christ, whose person they blasphemed, denying him to be God; whose office, as a Mediator and Saviour, they rejected; whose doctrines they contradicted; and whose ordinances they despised: these are not the carcasses of the camp of Gog and Magog, the Jews so call, as Kimchi interprets it; though it may have reference to the carcasses of Gog's army, the Turks, that will be slain in their attempt to recover Judea, Eze 38:1 or else the carcasses of those that will be slain at the battle at Armageddon, Rev 16:16 or the army of Gog and Magog, at the end of the thousand years, Rev 20:8. The Talmudists (t) observe from hence, that the wicked, even at the gate of hell, return not by repentance; for it is not said, that "have transgressed", but "that transgress"; for they transgress, and go on for ever; and so indeed the word may be rendered, "that transgress", or "are transgressing" (u); for they interpret it of the damned in hell, as many do; and of whom the following clauses may be understood: for their worm shall not die; with which their carcasses shall be covered, they lying rotting above ground; or figuratively their consciences, and the horrors and terrors that shall seize them, which they will never get rid of. The Targum is, "their souls shall not die;'' as they will not, though their bodies may; but will remain to suffer the wrath of God to all eternity: neither shall their fire be quenched; in hell, as Jarchi interprets it; those wicked men, the followers and worshippers of antichrist, will be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; they will for ever suffer the vengeance of eternal fire; and the smoke of their torment shall ascend for ever and ever, Rev 14:10, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh; the true worshippers of God, Isa 66:23 to whom their carcasses will be loathsome, when they look upon them; and their souls abominable, because of their wicked actions; and who cannot but applaud the justice of God in their condemnation; and admire distinguishing grace and mercy, that has preserved them from the like ruin and destruction. The Targum is, "and the ungodly shall be judged in hell, till the righteous shall say concerning them, we have seen enough;'' see Mar 9:44, where our Lord mentions and repeats some of the clauses of this, text, and applies them to the torments of hell. (t) T. Bab. Erubim, fol. 19. 1. R. Hona in Midrash Tillim in Psal. i. 6. (u) "praevaricantium in me", Pagninus, Montanus; "qui transgressi sunt contra me", Piscator; "deficientium a me", Cocceius. Next: Jeremiah Introduction

And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. [Isaiah 66:24] For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

As people who have cut your souls off from this hope, it is necessary that you know how to obtain pardon of your sins and a hope of sharing in the promised blessings. There is no other way than this, that you come to know our Christ, be baptized with the baptism that cleanses you from sin (as Isaiah testified) and thus live a life free of sin.

If heaven and earth are renewed, how can we doubt the possibility of our renewal, for whom heaven and earth were made? If the transgressor is kept for punishment, why should not the just person be preserved for glory? If the worm of sinners does not die, how shall the flesh of the just perish? For the resurrection, as the very form of the word indicates, is this: What has fallen shall rise again, what has died shall live again.

If … we have any sense of our own salvation, let us, while we still have time, abandon evil ways, concern ourselves with virtue and despise vainglory.

But the worm that will not die and the fire that will not be extinguished are understood by many to be the conscience of sinners, which tortures those who are in supplications. Therefore, due to their vice and sin, they are deprived of the good of the elect, in accordance with which it is said, “I was turned to misery, as thorns pierced me,” and in the Proverbs, “the worm of the bones is the envious heart.” … The Lord also says in the Gospel, “Depart into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels,” and in another place, “Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into outer darkness.” If we hear “hands” and “feet” and “outer darkness,” which is punishment for the eyes that are deprived of seeing the light of God, and “weeping,” which belongs to those very eyes, and “gnashing of teeth,” I marvel that this bronze body is to be dissolved gradually into an ethereal body, given that the Lord in the power of his majesty entered to the apostles when the door was closed. … The fire, like the worm, must also be understood to burn as long as it has material with which the voracious flame is fed. If, therefore, anyone has weeds in his conscience, which the enemy sowed while the head of the family was asleep, this fire will burn them up, and this conflagration devour them.

(Verse 24.) And they shall go forth, and see the bodies of the men who have transgressed against me. Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be extinguished. And they shall be a vision to all flesh, even to the point of satiety. LXX likewise. All flesh that is to worship before the Lord, whether in heavenly Jerusalem or in any place where clean hands are raised, shall go forth to see the bodies of the dead men who have transgressed against God. What can be understood about the Jews, of whom it is said: I have begotten sons and exalted them, but they have rejected me; or about all those who, having knowledge of God in their hearts, have turned to vanity, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. However, they will depart not from their place, but from their understanding. For the bodies of the dead cannot be in the presence of the Lord. But if all flesh is to worship the Lord, then, on the contrary, the bodies of men who have transgressed against the Lord will be delivered to eternal burnings. In this way, the resurrection of true flesh will occur on both sides. But the worm that does not die, and the fire that is not extinguished, is understood by many as the conscience of sins, which torments those set in punishments: why they have been deprived of the good of the elect by their own fault and sin, according to what is said: I am tormented in misery, while the thorn is fastened to me (Psalm XXXI, 4). And in Proverbs: The moth of the bones is the intelligent heart (Prov. XXV, 20). And again, under a disguise: Just as a moth to clothing, and a worm to wood, so grief tortures the heart of a man (Ibid.). Thus, while they do not deny the eternal punishments of the evildoers and those denying the Lord, as the Lord says in the Gospel: Go into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). And in another place: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13). If we understand by hands and feet the outer darkness, which is the punishment of the eyes that do not see the light of God; and weeping, which certainly also pertains to the eyes; and gnashing of teeth: I wonder why some introduce an airy body, gradually dissolving into thin air after the resurrection; for the Lord, by the power of His majesty, entered through closed doors to the Apostles (John 20). Certainly, he walked on the sea before the resurrection with a suspended step; and he even demonstrated this to the apostle Peter: that he who walked with faith, afterwards was submerged by disbelief; to whom it was said: Why did you doubt, you of little faith (Matt. XIV, 31)? The fire also must be understood in the same way as the worm, which is burnt for as long as it has matter with which the voracious flame can be nourished. Therefore, if anyone has in their conscience the weeds that the enemy sowed while the master of the house was sleeping, these will be burned by fire, these will be devoured by the flame (Matt. XIII). And in the eyes of all the Saints, the punishments of those who built upon the foundation of the Lord with gold, and silver, and precious stones will be revealed as hay, wood, straw, and the eternal fuel of fire. Moreover, those who desire that the punishments will eventually end, and although after many ages, they will have an end to their torments, use these testimonies: 'When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved' (Rom. 11:25). And again: God concluded all under sin, that he might have mercy on all (Galatians 3:22). And in another place the holy one speaks: I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him; until he pleads my case and takes away my judgement, and brings me into the light (Micah 7:9). And again: I will bless you, O Lord, for you were angry with me. You turned your face away from me, and had mercy on me (Isaiah 12:1). The Lord also speaks to the sinner: When the fury of my anger has passed, I will heal again (Psalm 30:20). And this is what is said elsewhere: How great is the multitude of your goodness, Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you. All these things they repeat, seeking to affirm, after pains and torments, the future refreshments which must now be hidden from those for whom fear is useful, so that while they dread the punishments, they may cease from sinning. This we God alone must leave to knowledge, whose torments are not less in weight than his mercies; and he knows whom, how, and how long he ought to judge. And let us only say what is suitable to human frailty: O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath (Psalm 6:1, 38:1) . And just as we believe in eternal torments for the devil and all deniers and impious ones, who have said in their heart: There is no God (Psalm 14:1) , so we consider that the punishment of sinners and impious ones, even of Christians, whose works are to be tested and purified by fire, is a moderated and mixed sentence of the judge's mercy (1 Corinthians 3:13) .

These misfortunes piled on the Jews are meant to be the things we say happened to them at the hands of the Romans, when the temple was destroyed and all were subjected to cruel slaughter. For suffering such things they became a spectacle for all, but their suffering was not prolonged indefinitely. Yet this is what perhaps is meant when it says, “Their worm will not die nor the fire go out.” Some, however, want to refer these words concerning them to the time of the end of the age.… In any case, Christ will deliver us from all such things, through whom and with whom may glory be to God the Father and the Holy Spirit forever.

Just as I will transform all that is seen and will produce a new creation, so I will guard your memory forever—and not yours alone but all those who have believed through you.… He mentions a description of the city and the various dwellings of which the Lord said, “With my father there are many mansions,” that is, levels of worthiness. He means those continually rejoicing and singing in choirs … he has displayed by that the everlastingness of the chastisement, for the fire is inextinguishable and the worm immortal. With this chastisement he has threatened them, and not them alone but also those who infringe on his divine laws. Finally, therefore, so as not to partake of this chastisement with them, let us avoid partaking of their iniquity; for thus we will join the chorus of those who are in joy.

And they shall go out. Here he sets out the following judgment as to the wicked. And first, the manifestation of the punishment: and they shall go out, coming to Jerusalem, and see, in the ancient sepulchers, and in the fields, the bones of their dead fathers, above: their slain shall be cast forth, and out of their carcasses shall rise a stink (Isa 34:3); or the saints will see the damned falling into damnation. Second, he sets out the duration of the punishment: their worm, of conscience, by which they will be tortured even when they are dead, and their fire, of hell: he will give fire, and worms into their flesh (Jdt 16:21[17]). Third, the delight from the punishments, as to those who see it: and they shall be a satisfying sight to all flesh, that is, to the saints: the just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge (Ps 57:11[58:10]).

This chapter treats of the same subject with the foregoing. God, by his prophet, tells the Jews, who valued themselves much on their temple and pompous worship, that the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; and that no outward rites of worship, while the worshippers are idolatrous and impure, can please him who looketh at the heart, Isa 66:1-3. This leads to a threatening of vengeance for their guilt, alluding to their making void the law of God by their abominable traditions, their rejection of Christ, persecution of his followers, and consequent destruction by the Romans. But as the Jewish ritual and people shadow forth the system of Christianity and its professors; so, in the prophetical writings, the idolatries of the Jews are frequently put for the idolatries afterwards practiced by those bearing the Christian name. Consequently, if we would have the plenitude of meaning in this section of prophecy, which the very content requires, we must look through the type into the antitype, viz., the very gross idolatries practiced by the members of Antichrist, the pompous heap of human intentions and traditions with which they have encumbered the Christian system, their most dreadful persecution of Christ's spiritual and true worshippers, and the awful judgments which shall overtake them in the great and terrible day of the Lord, Isa 66:4-6. The mighty and sudden increase of the Church of Jesus Christ at the period of Antichrist's fall represented by the very strong figure of Sion being delivered of a man-child before the time of her travail, the meaning of which symbol the prophet immediately subjoins in a series of interrogations for the sake of greater force and emphasis, Isa 66:7-9. Wonderful prosperity and unspeakable blessedness of the world when the posterity of Jacob, with the fullness of the Gentiles, shall be assembled to Messiah's standard, Isa 66:10-14. All the wicked of the earth shall be gathered together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, and the slain of Jehovah shall be many, Isa 66:15-18. Manner of the future restoration of the Israelites from their several dispersions throughout the habitable globe, Isa 66:19-21. Perpetuity of this new economy of grace to the house of Israel, Isa 66:22. Righteousness shall be universally diffused in the earth; and the memory of those who have transgressed against the Lord shall be had in continual abhorrence, Isa 66:23, Isa 66:24. Thus this great prophet, after tracing the principal events of time, seems at length to have terminated his views in eternity, where all revolutions cease, where the blessedness of the righteous shall be unchangeable as the new heavens, and the misery of the wicked as the fire that shall not be quenched. This chapter is a continuation of the subject of the foregoing. The Jews valued themselves much upon their temple, and the pompous system of services performed in it, which they supposed were to be of perpetual duration; and they assumed great confidence and merit to themselves for their strict observance of all the externals of their religion. And at the very time when the judgments denounced in Isa 65:6 and Isa 65:12 of the preceding chapter were hanging over their heads, they were rebuilding, by Herod's munificence, the temple in a most magnificent manner. God admonishes them, that "the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" and that a mere external worship, how diligently soever attended, when accompanied with wicked and idolatrous practices in the worshippers, would never be accepted by him. This their hypocrisy is set forth in strong colors, which brings the prophet again to the subject of the former chapter; and he pursues it in a different manner, with more express declaration of the new economy, and of the flourishing state of the Church under it. The increase of the Church is to be sudden and astonishing. They that escape of the Jews, that is, that become converts to the Christian faith, are to be employed in the Divine mission to the Gentiles, and are to act as priests in presenting the Gentiles as an offering to God; see Rom 15:16. And both, now collected into one body, shall be witnesses of the final perdition of the obstinate and irreclaimable. These two chapters manifestly relate to the calling of the Gentiles, the establishment of the Christian dispensation, and the reprobation of the apostate Jews, and their destruction executed by the Romans. - L.

For their worm shall not die - These words of the prophet are applied by our blessed Savior, Mar 9:44, to express the everlasting punishment of the wicked in Gehenna, or in hell. Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, was very near to Jerusalem to the south-east: it was the place where the idolatrous Jews celebrated that horrible rite of making their children pass through the fire, that is, of burning them in sacrifice to Moloch. To put a stop to this abominable practice, Josiah defiled, or desecrated, the place, by filling it with human bones, Kg2 23:10, Kg2 23:14; and probably it was the custom afterwards to throw out the carcasses of animals there, when it also became the common burying place for the poorer people of Jerusalem. Our Savior expressed the state of the blessed by sensible images; such as paradise, Abraham's bosom, or, which is the same thing, a place to recline next to Abraham at table in the kingdom of heaven. See Mat 8:11. Coenabat Nerva cum paucis. Veiento proxies, atque etiam in sinu recumbebat. "The Emperor Nerva supped with few. Veiento was the first in his estimation, and even reclined in his bosom." Plin. Epist. 4:22. Compare Joh 13:23; for we could not possibly have any conception of it but by analogy from worldly objects. In like manner he expressed the place of torment under the image of Gehenna; and the punishment of the wicked by the worm which there preyed on the carcasses, and the fire that consumed the wretched victims. Marking however, in the strongest manner, the difference between Gehenna and the invisible place of torment; namely, that in the former the suffering is transient: - the worm itself which preys upon the body, dies; and the fire which totally consumes it, is soon extinguished: - whereas in the figurative Gehenna the instruments of punishment shall be everlasting, and the suffering without end; "for there the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." These emblematical images, expressing heaven and hell, were in use among the Jews before our Savior's time; and in using them he complied with their notions. "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God," says the Jew to our Savior, Luk 14:15. And in regard to Gehenna, the Chaldee paraphrase as I observed before on Isa 30:33, renders everlasting or continual burnings by "the Gehenna of everlasting fire." And before his time the son of Sirach, 7:17, had said, "The vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms." So likewise the author of the book of Judith, chap. 16:17: "Wo to the nations rising up against my kindred: the Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgment, in putting fire and worms in their flesh;" manifestly referring to the same emblem. - L. Kimchi's conclusion of his notes on this book is remarkable: - "Blessed be God who hath created the mountains and the hills, And hath endued me with strength to finish the book of salvation: He shall rejoice us with good tidings and reports; He shall show us a token for good: - And the end of his miracles he shall cause to approach us." Several of the Versions have a peculiarity in their terminations: - And they shall be to a satiety of sight to all flesh. Vulgate. And thei schul ben into fyllyng of sigt to all fleshe. Old MS. Bible. And they shall be as a vision to all flesh. Septuagint. And the wicked shall be punished in hell till the righteous shall say, - It is enough. Chaldee. They shall be an astonishment to all flesh; So that they shall be a spectacle to all beings. Syriac. The end of the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet. Praise to God who is truly praiseworthy. Arabic. One of my old Hebrew MSS. after the twenty-first verse repeats the twenty-third: "And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord."

THE HUMBLE COMFORTED, THE UNGODLY CONDEMNED, AT THE LORD'S APPEARING: JERUSALEM MADE A JOY ON EARTH. (Isa. 66:1-24) heaven . . . throne . . . where is . . . house . . . ye build--The same sentiment is expressed, as a precautionary proviso for the majesty of God in deigning to own any earthly temple as His, as if He could be circumscribed by space (Kg1 8:27) in inaugurating the temple of stone; next, as to the temple of the Holy Ghost (Act 7:48-49); lastly here, as to "the tabernacle of God with men" (Isa 2:2-3; Eze 43:4, Eze 43:7; Rev 21:3). where--rather, "what is this house that ye are building, &c.--what place is this for My rest?" [VITRINGA].

go forth, and look--as the Israelites looked at the carcasses of the Egyptians destroyed at the Red Sea (Exo 14:30; compare Isa 26:14-19; Psa 58:10; Psa 49:14; Mal 4:1-3). carcasses, &c.-- (Isa 66:16), those slain by the Lord in the last great battle near Jerusalem (Zac 12:2-9; Zac 14:2-4); type of the final destruction of all sinners. worm . . . not die-- (Mar 9:44, Mar 9:46, Mar 9:48). Image of hell, from bodies left unburied in the valley of Hinnom (whence comes Gehenna, or "hell"), south of Jerusalem, where a perpetual fire was kept to consume the refuse thrown there (Isa 30:33). It shall not be inconsistent with true love for the godly to look with satisfaction on God's vengeance on the wicked (Rev 14:10). May God bless this Commentary, and especially its solemn close, to His glory, and to the edification of the writer and the readers of it, for Jesus' sake! Next: Jeremiah Introduction

They who go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem every new moon and Sabbath, see there with their own eyes the terrible punishment of the rebellious. "And they go out and look at the corpses of the men that have rebelled against me, for their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched, and they become an abomination to all flesh." They perfects are perf. cons. regulated by the foregoing יבוא. ויצאוּ (accented with pashta in our editions, but more correctly with munach) refers to their going out of the holy city. The prophet had predicted in Isa 66:18, that in the last times the whole multitude of the enemies of Jerusalem would be crowded together against it, in the hope of getting possession of it. This accounts for the fact that the neighbourhood of Jerusalem becomes such a scene of divine judgment. בּ ראה always denotes a fixed, lingering look directed to any object; here it is connected with the grateful feeling of satisfaction at the righteous acts of God and their own gracious deliverance. דראון, which only occurs again in Dan 12:2, is the strongest word for "abomination." It is very difficult to imagine the picture which floated before the prophet's mind. How is it possible that all flesh, i.e., all men of all nations, should find room in Jerusalem and the temple? Even if the city and temple should be enlarged, as Ezekiel and Zechariah predict, the thing itself still remains inconceivable. And again, how can corpses be eaten by worms at the same time as they are being burned, or how can they be the endless prey of worms and fire without disappearing altogether from the sight of man? It is perfectly obvious, that the thing itself, as here described, must appear monstrous and inconceivable, however we may suppose it to be realized. The prophet, by the very mode of description adopted by him, precludes the possibility of our conceiving of the thing here set forth as realized in any material form in this present state. He is speaking of the future state, but in figures drawn from the present world. The object of his prediction is no other than the new Jerusalem of the world to come, and the eternal torment of the damned; but the way in which he pictures it, forces us to translate it out of the figures drawn from this life into the realities of the life to come; as has already been done in the apocryphal books of Judith (16:17) and Wisdom (7:17), as well as in the New Testament, e.g., Mar 9:43., with evident reference to this passage. This is just the distinction between the Old Testament and the New, that the Old Testament brings down the life to come to the level of this life, whilst the New Testament lifts up this life to the level of the life to come; that the Old Testament depicts both this life and the life to come as an endless extension of this life, whilst the New Testament depicts is as a continuous line in two halves, the last point in this finite state being the first point of the infinite state beyond; that the Old Testament preserves the continuity of this life and the life to come by transferring the outer side, the form, the appearance of this life to the life to come, the New Testament by making the inner side, the nature, the reality of the life to come, the δυνάμεις με λλοντος αἰῶνος, immanent in this life. The new Jerusalem of our prophet has indeed a new heaven above it and a new earth under it, but it is only the old Jerusalem of earth lifted up to its highest glory and happiness; whereas the new Jerusalem of the Apocalypse comes down from heaven, and is therefore of heavenly nature. In the former dwells the Israel that has been brought back from captivity; in the latter, the risen church of those who are written in the book of life. And whilst our prophet transfers the place in which the rebellious are judged to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem itself; in the Apocalypse, the lake of fire in which the life of the ungodly is consumed, and the abode of God with men, are for ever separated. The Hinnom-valley outside Jerusalem has become Gehenna, and this is no longer within the precincts of the new Jerusalem, because there is no need of any such example to the righteous who are for ever perfect. In the lessons prepared for the synagogue Isa 66:23 is repeated after Isa 66:24, on account of the terrible character of the latter, "so as to close with words of consolation." (Note: Isaiah is therefore regarded as an exception to the rule, that the prophets close their orations ותנחומים שבח בדברי (b. Berachoth 31a), although, on the other hand, this exception is denied by some, on the ground that the words "they shall be an abhorring" apply to the Gentiles (j. Berachoth c. V. Anf. Midras Tillim on Psa 4:8).) But the prophet, who has sealed the first two sections of these prophetic orations with the words, "there is no peace to the wicked," intentionally closes the third section with this terrible picture of their want of peace. The promises have gradually soared into the clear light of the eternal glory, to the new creation in eternity; and the threatenings have sunk down to the depth of eternal torment, which is the eternal foil of the eternal light. More than this we could not expect from our prophet. His threefold book is now concluded. It consists of twenty-seven orations. The central one of the whole, i.e., the fourteenth, is Isaiah 52:13-53:12; so that the cross forms the centre of this prophetic trilogy. Per crucem ad lucem is its watchword. The self-sacrifice of the Servant of Jehovah lays the foundation for a new Israel, a new human race, a new heaven and a new earth.