Does God reveal the timing of the rapture in this chapter?
God inspired the prophet Isaiah to write some of the most beautiful words we find in the entire Bible. One of my favorite verses is found in this chapter, it’s verse twenty-six. Perfect peace is promised for those who are able to keep their focus on the Lord. It’s a daily challenge to keep our focus on God. There are so many distractions, both good and bad, but we are promised peace if we can do it.
We have an intriguing verse at the end of the chapter. Many believe it is a very clear reference to the rapture. The rapture is a controversial doctrine that many have disputed while others strongly support. Isaiah wrote an Old Testament passage that adds strong support to those who believe the rapture is a correct biblical doctrine. I support the latter view, you can decide if you think Isaiah does as well.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:1 Walls? We don’t need walls!
“In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; we have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.”
We need walls until we don’t need them anymore.
One could argue that walls are a better invention than the wheel. The wheel allows us to ride through the streets on bicycles or bring our crops to the market in our wagons. But without walls, the invading barbarians would destroy us and steal our bicycles and wagons on their way back home. I jest of course because there is a lot of debate today about walls. This first verse in Isaiah twenty-six gives us a new understanding of walls. God indicates that walls are good and he even proposes to give us the best wall ever. I’ve heard that someone wants to build a great big beautiful wall. That sounds nice.
A beautiful wall.
Never mind the walls we build around our homes, cities, states, or across our borders. Isaiah describes a much better wall.
This wall that the Lord provides will protect us from the worst of enemies and keep out everything that would do us harm. Salvation, leading to eternal life, is the wall that God provides for all those who put their trust in him. I like that kind of wall. It sounds beautiful. 🙂
Isaiah 26:2 Only the righteous will enter
“Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.”
There is a city whose builder and maker is God. Abraham, the great man of faith, looked to a city in heaven as his eventual home. In that city, only righteous people will be allowed to enter. That righteous city won’t be somewhere in space. (I’ll discuss the heavenly Jerusalem some other time.) The city the prophet refers to is down here on solid ground. On earth, in Israel, a peaceful city will be open for righteous people only. We can walk among the great men and women of faith in the city. No ungodly people will step foot inside.
Isaiah 26:3 Keep your focus on God
“Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusts in thee.”
Here’s that great verse I mentioned. Perfect peace is possible. The key is our focus. Don’t let troubled seas take your focus off of God. The Lord is in control; trust Him to bring you across the finish line. During one memorable night, Peter dared to walk on water. He took a few steps that others wouldn’t take. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus he walked on troubled seas. When he looked down at the water he sank. Jesus grabbed his hand and pulled him to safety. Take note: the truth applies to all of us.
Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord; don’t give up
“Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord JEHOVAH is an everlasting strength.”
Don’t trust for a weekend, a week, or even a year. Trust in God all the days of your life. The journey is hard, other times it’s very hard. Jesus was the strongest and bravest man who ever lived. We need to draw our strength from his example. He never cursed the men who mocked and beat him. He had the power to come down from the cross and vaporize the whole crowd of mockers in an instant. That would have been a great story too, but revenge wasn’t part of the cross story. Redemption was. He endured the cross to redeem mankind from evil. Jesus ran the entire race, enduring the shame and pain of the cross, so we would have a reason and the strength to run our race the entire way also.
Run hard, don’t give up.
Isaiah 26:5 The proud city will fall
“For he brings down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he lays it low; he lays it low, even to the ground; he brings it even to the dust.”
The proud city, ruled by the prideful king will fall and crumble into utter ruin. Isaiah wrote about the city for the righteous. Here he mentions the city the Antichrist reigned from. That is mystery Babylon, a true mystery indeed, that many have debated over for centuries. But any city led by and inhabited by proud people will come to ruin in the final days.
Isaiah 26:6 Grounded under the feet of the poor
“The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.”
The poor and downtrodden will be the ones who march into the once proud cities. Jesus preached about this in the Sermon on the Mount. He said the meek will inherit the earth. That’s not just a nice thought to encourage afflicted people. It’s a great truth that will be revealed in the last days.
Isaiah 26:7 Consider God’s path
“The way of the just is uprightness; thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.”
Consider well the path you choose. Choose the wrong path and you may not return, or if you do, you may not recover from the things you’ve encountered on that errant path. God knows the way we will walk before we take our first step, but he doesn’t stop us from making out choices. We like that freedom, and wouldn’t have it any other way. We shouldn’t be surprised though at the end of our walk on the wild paths. He knows where we walked and what we did on the walk. Watch your steps!
Isaiah 26:8 We have waited for God
“Yes, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.”
The judgments of God have served as a fearful reminder to many. It’s far better to consider what happens when we die than to live foolishly in our time here on earth. The ‘judgments’ have served as warnings to many to stay on the path God prefers we walk. It also serves as a reminder to the ungodly that consequences await those who lived selfishly and foolish instead.
Isaiah 26:9 Look for God early–before it’s too late
“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yes, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early; for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”
Seek God early. Early in the morning, in the week, the year, and as early in your life as possible. Time is wasted on too many other pursuits. Look for God early because when the judgments come everyone will learn the path of righteousness. But it will be too late for those who have not yet begun the walk. Choose now to follow God. Later might be too late.
Isaiah 26:10 Blinded by the obvious
“Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.”
It’s right in front of your face! Why can’t you see it? You can put the goodness of God right in front of people and they won’t see it. They are repulsed by it more often than not. It’s not a choice they want to consider. It confirms what the Bible says in many places and in different ways. You can show it to them but they won’t see it. It’s an eye problem, they can’t see what’s clearly visible to others. It will haunt their soul when they realize their terrible mistake.
Isaiah 26:11 Blinded, shamed, and devoured
“Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yes, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.”
They refuse to see, but in the end, they won’t be able to escape the truth. Those who rebelled and rejected God’s path will be devoured and shamed for their hard-headed resistance to God’s gracious offer of peace and eternal life. In the last days, there will be many enraged by envy and hatred toward Israel. They will think they are about to devour and destroy every Jew on the planet. That hatred will trap them and they will be devoured by the raging fire of envy.
Isaiah 26:12 God has done the work for us
“Lord, you will ordain peace for us: for you also hast wrought all our works in us.”
“You didn’t build that.” Some will remember the words of a well-known ex-president who famously scolded small business owners who claimed responsibility for their own hard work. I’ll leave the politics aside but use the quote to make a point. Only one can make such a claim when it comes to our eternal salvation. When we all stand before the Lord, only the Lord himself can claim responsibility for the accomplished work. You or I will not be able to claim we did enough good works to get our way into heaven. There is none that is truly righteous. We can’t work our way to heaven. Jesus did the work that no one else could do. The work of God is to believe in him.
Isaiah 26:13 Lord of all lords
“O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.”
There is One God among false gods and One Lord among lesser lords. God Almighty stands alone among the myths and legends as a God who can create life out of nothing. He alone can bring life back from the dead, and He alone will restore the earth from the ruin that wayward humanity and Satan’s devious efforts have caused.
Isaiah 26:14 Dead! Never to rise again
“They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore have you visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.”
The tormentors of the Jewish Nation and God’s people, Christians and rebellious Jews included, will give way to death. Their death will be final. For Christians and believing Jews who die, God will raise them to new life again. Those who refuse to walk in God’s path of righteousness, whether Jewish or not, will never experience the second resurrection. It will be the end of a great folly when the nations surround Israel with an enormous military force. Only to face defeat at the hands of the lowly carpenter from Nazareth.
Isaiah 26:15 Israel expands
“Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased; thou art glorified; you have removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.”
Israel will continue as a nation. Much to the chagrin of their enemies, they will actually expand beyond their current borders. The original promise to father Abraham included a lot more territory than what the modern nation of Israel includes. Instead of being pushed into the sea as many Arab countries hope for, Israel’s borders will expand.
Isaiah 26:16 Trials draw us to prayer
“Lord, in trouble, have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.”
Nobody wants trials or tough times. When we are living through them, we can’t wait to be relieved of them. But, those trials we hate often result in tremendous fruit in the lives of faithful believers. Often the first sign of a “good trial.” is the inclination to pray for God’s guidance. I call it a “good trial” in the likely event that the person who endures it will eventually see a benefit or personal strength and maturity on the other side of the difficult season. God calls us to regular prayer, but it’s often not the case that we listen to that call. The trials are used by the Lord for good. One of the best things that result is the believer remembers once again how important prayer is for his or her spiritual growth.
Isaiah 26:17 Deliverance is drawing near
“Like as a woman with child, that draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and cries out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.”
In this verse, we see another reference to the nation of Israel as a woman who gives birth to a child. Jesus was the most important child the Jewish nation ever birthed. He was the Messiah the Jews hoped for, though they rejected Him, and the Savior the world didn’t realize it needed. This verse seems to imply some other ‘child.’ The woman is in pain during her hours of increasing birth pangs. She longs for the bringing forth of the child, so the pains will stop. This passage is specifically applicable to the last days. Jesus told the disciples the last days will increase in trouble like the birth pangs of a woman in labor. The pain and contractions will increase until the child is born. Jesus is already born. The child that is revealed in the last days is different. I have a suggestion as to who that child is.
Israel, the reborn nation:
Israel, from a spiritual point of view, is dead to God. They rejected their Messiah, they voted to put him on the cross. Rome was happy to oblige. Another group of people, the church, received the Messiah as their Savior. The Church was born at Pentecost. They taught the truth about Jesus for the next two thousand years. The church failed miserably in many areas, but its core message was Jesus and salvation through him. Israel is destined for rebirth in the final days. The scriptures predict it. The child that comes forth from the birth pangs is the new Nation of Israel that finally receives her Messiah.
Isaiah 26:18 All this pain for nothing
“We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.”
The nation of Israel was the voice of God to the nations, but they failed to speak the truth or lead others toward God’s path. Instead, they modeled rebellion, disobedience, and pride that led to their downfall. God called them to reveal righteous living so the nations would follow. God designated Jerusalem as the city that would shine His glory. They brought forth wind instead of a beautiful child. They passed a noxious cloud of deadly gas. It’s a sad Irony that a deadly gas took the lives of millions of Jews in the gas chambers of Hitler. That wasn’t God’s work, it was the work of Satan, urging soulless men to do his deeds. But after nearly three thousand years of passing gas, in the future, Israel will fulfill its destiny. Israel will be reborn to a life of obedience to their Lord. Jesus will rule from the seat of David.
Isaiah 26:19 The dead shall live!
“Your dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”
That destiny for Israel begins with a new life. Unlike the ungodly who will never see new life, the Jewish people will get a second chance. I cannot explain God’s mercy which He shows for them. I just comment on what the Bible says. He has a purpose in reviving them and giving them another chance to fulfill their purpose in God’s story. Jewish scholars through the centuries have expected a resurrection in the last days. This is one of many passages that give them a reason to expect it.
Isaiah 26:20 Hide! Punishment is coming
“Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast.”
This is that well-known rapture verse I referred to in the opening. Many who believe in the doctrine of the rapture, that includes me, see this passage as an Old Testament reference to the rapture event. It looks like the Lord calls to his people to come to “thy chambers,” in order to escape the punishment while God begins pouring out his wrath on the world.
Will the Lord gather his people to heaven before he pours out his wrath upon the earth? I believe the answer is a resounding yes! But when? I’ll leave that for another article. Paul taught the Thessalonians about the time Jesus would gather his people up. That’s the rapture. It occurs after the revealing of the Antichrist.
Isaiah 26:21 The Lord comes to punish
“For, behold, the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
When the believers are safe in their chambers, the Lord Jesus will bring the judgment of God to an unbelieving world. Time’s up! The appointed time has arrived and God’s patience is over. The final carnage of those last days will be shocking, brutal, and bloody. Those who lived by the sword will die by the same. The ones who heartlessly take the lives of innocents and mocked them as they died, will see a worse fate come upon them with sudden finality. The Book of Revelation has a stunning account of some of the carnage that attracts flocks of vultures. Revelation describes a scene where the blood flow reaches several feet high. It’s hard to fathom that, but the scriptures say the armies of all the nations converge to surround Jerusalem. They won’t just fight the Jews. They will fight each other in a massive battle to see which nation is the last one standing.
The blood will flow, and the Lord will finally have his day to clean house and stop the madness that humanity has inflicted upon itself.
Finally, justice will prevail, and peace, lasting peace will settle in upon weary souls.
Are we living in the last days? Maybe, look here.
Let me know what you think.