Isaiah 34:1, commentary and pictures

The verse calls all nations and peoples, the whole earth and everything in it, to come near and listen to the Lord's proclamation of judgment and indignation. It announces His fury upon all nations and their armies unto slaughter and utter destruction, with the hosts of heaven dissolved and the heavens rolled together as a scroll, which is the day of His vengeance and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. That day is great and terrible, near and hastening greatly, a day of wrath and not mercy, of darkness, trouble, wasteness and desolation, when the nations will be destroyed and never converted. Its fulfillment comes in worldwide destruction just before and at Christ's second coming and during the seven last plagues, when the Lord punishes the inhabitants of the earth for iniquity while His people hide until the indignation passes and are then delivered. Afterward the righteous reign with Christ in heaven a thousand years while the earth lies desolate with only wild beasts remaining, until the wicked are destroyed by fire from heaven and God makes a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.

Universal Summons to Hear

The verse is a solemn summons for the nations to come near, for the peoples to hearken, for the earth and all that is therein and the world and all things that come forth of it to hear the Lord's announcement of judgment and indignation. It calls all nations, peoples, and the whole earth to hear that His indignation is upon all nations and His fury upon all their armies, whom He delivers to utter destruction and slaughter, with the slain cast out and cosmic upheaval in which the hosts of heaven dissolve and the heavens are rolled together like a scroll and fall like a leaf. It is the day of the Lord's vengeance and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion, great and terrible, near and hastening greatly, a day of wrath and not mercy, of darkness and gloominess and not light, of trouble and distress, wasteness and desolation, clouds and thick darkness, trumpet and alarm, with distress upon sinful men, blood poured out as dust, and silver and gold unable to deliver in the fire of jealousy. The call points to worldwide destruction just before and in connection with Christ's second coming and during the seven last plagues, when the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for iniquity while His people enter their chambers and hide until the indignation passes and then are delivered to take and possess the kingdom forever.

The alarm is universal in scope and not limited to a few people, calling all the earth to hear the sentence upon the wicked. It comes upon all the heathen and all that dwell in the land, falling on the whole world at Christ's second coming when all the living wicked are slain with none exempt. It is never the accepted time or day of salvation wherein God calls to repentance and offers mercy to sinners, for the land is devoured by the fire of His jealousy. After all wicked men are destroyed at the advent the earth lies desolate for a thousand years while the raised and changed immortal righteous ascend to the eternal city and New Jerusalem to reign with Christ in judgment of the wicked, after which the saints descend with Christ and the holy city and the wicked dead are raised and destroyed by fire from heaven so the earth becomes a lake of fire from which God brings a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. The final overthrow applies to all nations, yet beasts and birds are not all destroyed at the second coming but continue to live and multiply amid the ruins during the thousand years, and may provide food for the wicked raised afterward.

The summons is the alarm of Zion's watchmen that the day of the Lord cometh and is nigh at hand, giving universal warning of certain and extensive coming judgments unto utter destruction and slaughter. It proves the nations and kingdoms of earth will be destroyed and will never be converted, against the last-days cry of peace and safety which will instead bring war and a snare and sudden destruction. It includes even those who worship nature, who are to pause before its Author and attend to the lesson revealed through nature, and to hear and heed the divine message of the coming dissolution of the heavens and the final fall of the nations.

The prophecy belongs to a section of Isaiah looking especially forward to the last days and God's judgments upon the earth, and not to a past event. Its features have a twofold application extending beyond its original setting to a later time.

Judgment and Desolation Foretold

The summons opens the announcement of the Lord's indignation upon all nations and His fury upon all their armies, whom He has delivered to utter destruction and slaughter. The slain are cast out, and the judgment is accompanied by cosmic upheaval in which the hosts of heaven are dissolved and the heavens are rolled together as a scroll and fall as a leaf falls. It is the day of the Lord's vengeance and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. That vengeance is the battle of the great day of God Almighty, the day of tumult of the Lord, the day of His wrath and fierce anger, coming with the gathering storm of conflict among the nations.

It is the great and terrible day of the Lord, near and hastening greatly. Its character is wrath and not mercy, darkness and gloominess and not light, trouble and distress, wasteness and desolation, clouds and thick darkness, trumpet and alarm against fenced cities and high towers. Distress comes upon sinful men, with blood poured out as dust, and silver and gold unable to deliver in the fire of His jealousy, when the land is devoured. It is never the accepted time or day of salvation wherein repentance is called for and mercy is offered to sinners. The universal warning proves the nations and kingdoms of earth will be destroyed and will never be converted, contrary to the last-days cry of peace and safety which will instead bring war, a snare and sudden destruction.

Its fulfillment is worldwide destruction just before and in connection with Christ's second coming and during the seven last plagues, not a past event. The Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for iniquity, while His people enter their chambers and hide until the indignation passes, and then are delivered to take and possess the kingdom forever. At that coming the day of the Lord lays the land desolate and destroys the sinners and the living wicked out of it.

After all wicked men are destroyed at the advent, the raised and changed immortal righteous ascend to heaven, the eternal city and New Jerusalem. There they reign with Christ a thousand years in judgment of the wicked while the earth lies desolate, and the chapter describes that desolation during the millennium after the wicked have been destroyed. Afterward the saints descend with Christ and the holy city, the wicked dead are raised and with Satan come up around the holy city and are utterly destroyed by fire rained upon them from heaven, so that this earth becomes one vast lake of fire, from which God brings a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. The earth remains desolate until the New Jerusalem descends and it is renewed, when it will blossom again.

Idumea, Edom, Bozrah, the land of Esau, signifies the earth, or a portion of it, receiving God's judgments when the nations gather for that great day. It serves as a type of the sin-cursed earth, its idolatrous inhabitants, and the world under God's just judgments, picturing absolute desolation. Its closing scene is an earth without human inhabitants. During that millennial desolation animal life remains, with wild beasts and birds of prey roaming amid the ruins while people have been destroyed. They continue to live and multiply amid the ruins, showing the earth is not entirely wrapped in flame until that period ends, and they may provide food for the wicked raised afterward.

Though the land is described as burned and left waste and impassable forever and ever, it is later shown blossoming and inhabited by the ransomed, so that forever lasts only as long as the land remains in that condition and not without end. The same universal call to hear belongs to the warning of divine judgment upon those who engage in false worship, as part of the announcement of their punishment.