Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
The latter part of Isaiah relates almost wholly to the days of the Christian dispensation, and is to be read together with Isaiah 31-35. It stands between the promise that the eyes shall see the King in His beauty and the land far extended and the declaration that Jehovah is Judge and Lawgiver and King who shall save. That is the time when Jehovah arises to be exalted, the peoples are burned like lime and thorns, sinners in Zion dread the consuming fire, and the righteous dwell on high with unfailing bread and water.
It belongs to the prophecy of Christ's future kingdom after the ungodly are cut off, pointing to the time when God's people will see the King in His beauty and dwell securely in Jerusalem, which is the New Jerusalem, where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death will be gone. It is a prophetic description of the Lord's coming in judgment and His defense and deliverance of Jerusalem, and because of the chapter's millennial connection its descriptions are not to be taken as a literal account of the final judgment. Hearts meditate terror at unexpected events in the great tribulation of the last days when human plans and offices perish. That terror involves the scoffing words of God's enemies, but those enemies shall soon perish, and then the King comes with gentle words and heavenly comfort to lift weary eyes from the valley of tears and give joy to those who kept the Father's commandments.
The final punishment of the wicked is a devouring fire on this earth, a fiery oven and furnace and lake of unquenchable fire, where the wicked are consumed, devoured, and burned up root and branch and cease to live. It belongs to the prophecy of the time when the righteous will see the reward of the wicked and the wicked will see the reward of the righteous, which will occur when God's city stands on earth and the wicked surround it, where they will see God's glory and know that He told them the truth. The righteous meditate on the terror of the wicked's punishment while safe and protected within the holy city on earth, seeing the King in His beauty and glory inside while witnessing the wicked destroyed by fire outside, just before the new heavens and new earth are made, when the righteous see the reward of the wicked and the wicked see the reward of the righteous.
The fulfillment is at the close of the thousand years after the second resurrection, when the saints are on earth inside the holy beloved city in a place of defense, protected from the fire rained on the wicked just before the new heavens and new earth. At that time they contemplate two things at once, with their eyes seeing the King in His beauty in glory in the city and their heart meditating terror at the world on fire outside. That terror is beholding sinners in Zion afraid and the wicked consumed as burnings of lime and as thorns cut up and burned and as the fat of lambs, which proves the righteous are present on earth in immediate connection with the destruction to fully behold it. The heart may consider terror even in a time of destruction, yet those who dwell with God need not fear, for trust in God's faithful and loving character gives believers confidence to endure the greatest trouble and persecution, even when called to answer for their faith before rulers.
The latter part of Isaiah relates almost wholly to the days of the Christian dispensation, and is to be read together with Isaiah 31-35. It stands between the promise that the eyes shall see the King in His beauty and the land far extended and the declaration that Jehovah is Judge and Lawgiver and King who shall save. That is the time when Jehovah arises to be exalted, the peoples are burned like lime and thorns, sinners in Zion dread the consuming fire, and the righteous dwell on high with unfailing bread and water.
It belongs to the prophecy of Christ's future kingdom after the ungodly are cut off, pointing to the time when God's people will see the King in His beauty and dwell securely in Jerusalem, which is the New Jerusalem, where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death will be gone. It is a prophetic description of the Lord's coming in judgment and His defense and deliverance of Jerusalem, and because of the chapter's millennial connection its descriptions are not to be taken as a literal account of the final judgment. Hearts meditate terror at unexpected events in the great tribulation of the last days when human plans and offices perish. That terror involves the scoffing words of God's enemies, but those enemies shall soon perish, and then the King comes with gentle words and heavenly comfort to lift weary eyes from the valley of tears and give joy to those who kept the Father's commandments.
The final punishment of the wicked is a devouring fire on this earth, a fiery oven and furnace and lake of unquenchable fire, where the wicked are consumed, devoured, and burned up root and branch and cease to live. It belongs to the prophecy of the time when the righteous will see the reward of the wicked and the wicked will see the reward of the righteous, which will occur when God's city stands on earth and the wicked surround it, where they will see God's glory and know that He told them the truth. The righteous meditate on the terror of the wicked's punishment while safe and protected within the holy city on earth, seeing the King in His beauty and glory inside while witnessing the wicked destroyed by fire outside, just before the new heavens and new earth are made, when the righteous see the reward of the wicked and the wicked see the reward of the righteous.
The fulfillment is at the close of the thousand years after the second resurrection, when the saints are on earth inside the holy beloved city in a place of defense, protected from the fire rained on the wicked just before the new heavens and new earth. At that time they contemplate two things at once, with their eyes seeing the King in His beauty in glory in the city and their heart meditating terror at the world on fire outside. That terror is beholding sinners in Zion afraid and the wicked consumed as burnings of lime and as thorns cut up and burned and as the fat of lambs, which proves the righteous are present on earth in immediate connection with the destruction to fully behold it. The heart may consider terror even in a time of destruction, yet those who dwell with God need not fear, for trust in God's faithful and loving character gives believers confidence to endure the greatest trouble and persecution, even when called to answer for their faith before rulers.