Yesterday, we finished our Wednesday night study of Isaiah. It’s a class we began in January of 2022, and other than taking the Summer of ’22 off, we have been studying it ever since. Now, after sixty-six chapters and fifty-one classes, we are done. But I don’t want to leave without one final thought. This is something I shared to the class as we ended last night, but I think it’s worth sharing here, too…
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
(Isaiah 66:24)
The chapter and the book end here with a final word of warning. As Christians go forth about their day, declaring the glory of God, worshipping the Lord and living faithfully, they pass by others who are not doing the same. The faithful of God will always be outnumbered by the sinners of the world.
We pass them every time we walk down the sidewalk.
We drive alongside them on the interstate.
They bag our groceries at the store.
They take our order at the restaurant.
This world is, but for one small remnant, occupied by people that transgress against God with no desire to repent or seek forgiveness. They are doomed to eternal condemnation without Christ and the vast majority of them have no interest in receiving the salvation which Jesus offers. They are dead men walking, carcasses that do not rot and waste away, but walk through life oblivious to the fate that awaits them. And when Judgment comes, they will suffer the fire that is not quenched. They will be dead, consumed by worms and maggots that will never have their fill of them. Perpetual decay, perpetual agony.
The thought of the lost burning forever in hell, Isaiah says, in the final line of the book, should be “abhorring to all flesh.” It is “contemptible,” the word “abhorring” means. It is sickening. It should break our hearts and move us to action. We have a Message that can save them. They may not want to hear us preaching it, they may reject it outright, but we have to try.
There are three circles of people.
In the middle is the remnant, the faithful of God, the saved, the “few” who have “found” the Grace of God. Beyond that are the lost, but there are two kinds of lost people: There are the lost who are seeking to be found, and there are the lost who don’t want to be found. I know who my brethren are. I know who the lost are. What I don’t know is which of the lost are seeking and which are not. I won’t know…until I go. I have to take the message of the Gospel to them. If they reject it, so be it. If they do not, they will be added to the number of the few who have found what God has been offering since Calvary: Salvation for all.
~Matthew