Isaiah 65-66 The Grand Finale

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The Grand Finale
Isaiah 65-66
October 4-5, 2025

The last chapters of Isaiah are the grand finale of the gospel according to Isaiah. God has been steadily building toward these chapters throughout this book, but especially since chapter 53. From that mountaintop chapter you have a beautiful view all the way into the New Testament and the gospel of Jesus Christ — that God has made a way for sinners to be reconciled to the holy and righteous Almighty God, by taking their sins upon Himself and paying the penalty of that sin by sending His Son to die in their behalf, that the death that their sins deserved were paid in full by the blood shed on the cross by Jesus, God’s own Son.

Then, Isaiah 55 offers that good news of the gospel of Isaiah 53 as a beckoning call to all sinners. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts. Come to the waters; you who have no money, come, buy and eat, without money and without cost… Delight yourself in abundance.

God reconciles sinners to Himself, He then draws them into a relationship of love such that He delights in them, and they delight in the Almighty God. All who are thirsty and empty can come to the waters and drink from the river of God’s delights! The soul that was once empty and thirsty, longing for love and meaning and purpose can find all that it longs for in a beautiful relationship to God.

Then, in Isaiah 61, God declares that these promises will be fulfilled by the One whom God will send, His anointed One, the Messiah and King of Israel, the redeemer of that which was lost. We know that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61, and the promise God declares because Jesus said so Himself.

In Luke 4, Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. The attendant handed Him the scroll of Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where the words of Isaiah 61 were written. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

After reading the passage, he closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him and He said to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God to preach the gospel, to bring good news to the poor. In other words, this is the heart of God — Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God for this purpose — because God wanted sinners to hear the good news. So much so, that God sent His only Son to find sinners and preach the good news to them.

We are now living in the favorable year of the Lord that Jesus proclaimed. It’s the time of grace. God is proclaiming forgiveness to sinners who would come to Him and receive the free offer of life.

That brings us to the grand finale, Isaiah chapter 65 and 66. The theme throughout the gospel is complex and yet simple; that which God does is beautiful. God redeems sinners and does a beautiful transforming work on their soul. Grace and forgiveness are beautiful aspects of the heart of God. There are even more beautiful aspects of God revealed in the grand finale of chapters 65 and 66.

I. The Beauty of God’s Relentless Pursuit

The grand finale begins with a summary of God’s beautiful, relentless pursuit. That has been the theme of God’s heart from the beginning.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they were ashamed and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God. Then the Lord called to the man, and said, “Where are you?”
That sin of Adam has passed from generation to generation. The sons of Adam still sin, and they still hide themselves from the presence of the Lord because of their shame… And God is still pursuing them… That’s the beauty of God’s relentless pursuit…

A. God is still saying, “Here am I”

Verse 1 – “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation which did not call on My name.”
The word ‘nation’ in Hebrew is commonly used to refer to gentiles. In the grand finale, the summation of the ages, God reveals that His heart has been for all people. Yes, God calls Israel His chosen people, but God sent His Son to be the light for all who are in darkness, Jew or Gentile… “Any who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.,” Paul wrote.

Romans 10:10-12, With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation… For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

On Paul’s first missionary journey, when he had come to Asia Minor, he visited the Jewish synagogue and proclaimed that God raised Jesus from the dead and that through Him, “forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”
The next sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul and were blaspheming.
Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; but since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles…

Acts 13:47-48, “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

It’s one of the most beautiful aspects of the heart of God, that God pursues sinners because of His great love for them. Over, and over, God declares, “Here am I,” as he knocks on the door of their heart and calls out their name.
God is still pursuing. It’s beautiful. Today, whether it be the basements of Tehran or the subways of Tokyo, God’s whispers are still piercing hearts. Muslims are having dreams of Jesus all over the world. God’s word of grace is still reaching the unreached.
If you’re here today, a Gentile by blood or by grace, rest assured, you’re here because God pursued you. That nagging conscience? God was nudging your heart. The words of a sermon that stirred something deep in your soul? It was God’s Spirit gently calling you home. Don’t harden like Israel; respond like the Roman centurion, Cornelius, “What must I do?”
When you hear God’s heart calling your name, saying, “Here am I, here am I,” open your heart and say back to God, “Here I am, God, here I am. You found me. I’m Yours!”

B. All day long, He holds out His hands

Verse 2- 3, “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, a people who continually provoke Me to My face…”
In this cry from the heart of God, we behold a beauty that pierces the soul – there is divine persistence even in the face of human defiance.
Here, in this grand finale, in the summation of the ages, God makes it clear that He has never given up on Israel… And He never will.
Verse 9-10 – “I will bring forth an heir of My mountains from Judah; even My chosen ones shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. And Sharon shall be a pasture land for flocks, and the valley of Achor will be a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.”
There are many voices amongst the enemies of Israel who shout, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.” It’s a call for the annihilation of the people of Israel. It means from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea; Palestine will be free of Jews!
In verses 9 and 10, God reverses those words and declares, from the Plans of Sharon by the Mediterranean Sea, to the valley of Achor in the Jordan Valley — in other words, from the Sea to the River, Israel will be blessed because God said it, and God will never relent in His promises to Israel!
In a world defined by cancel culture and ghosting, God never gives up. He relentlessly pursues; all day long He holds out His hands.
It’s the heart of the father scanning the horizon day after day, looking and longing for his prodigal son to come home. It’s the heart of a shepherd scouring thorn bush after thorn bush, searching for that one lost sheep.
Oh, we should not be too critical of Israel, we’re pretty stubborn ourselves. Yet He holds on, relentless in His pursuit…
“Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me. See on the portals, He’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me… Come home, come home, you who are weary, come home. Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling. Calling, “Oh, sinner, come home.”
All day long He holds out His hands. In Jesus, those hands were pierced, stretched wide on the cross of Calvary, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Such love and such grace should melt any resistance. Respond to those hands – fall into them. Praise God for hands extended in such love, hands that never tire, that draw our hard and stubborn hearts home.

II. The Beauty of God’s Glorious Renewal

Verse 17-18 – “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing, and her people for gladness. And I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people.”
Here, Isaiah gives a prophetic view all the way to the end of the age. From this distance, he sees one summary view. But we know from the book of Revelation and other prophetic books, that there are distinctions of time in the latter days.
We are now living in the age of grace, the favorable year of the Lord, in which God’s offer of forgiveness and salvation are offered to all who would open their hearts to receive it.
However, as we draw near to the latter days, there will be a day of judgment upon the nations who have rejected and rebelled against God. This is the seven-year tribulation period declared in the book of Daniel and spoken of in Revelation.
The latter days will be days of great trouble, and an Antichrist will arise who will be seen as a great world leader who can solve the world’s problems and will even make a covenant of peace between the nations of the world and Israel.
That covenant of peace will mark the beginning of that seven-year tribulation period. Many believe that a provision of that covenant of peace is the allowance to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. However, three and a half years after he makes that covenant, the Antichrist betrays Israel, takes possession of that newly rebuilt temple and sets an image of himself in the holy of holies. And as you can imagine, all hell breaks loose as Israel is greatly offended, which no doubt was the point, and a great war breaks out upon the world as the armies of the world prepare to march upon Israel.
Before God’s wrath is poured out during that period of tribulation, God’s church will be raptured from the earth since God has declared that we who are believers in Jesus Christ are not destined for God’s wrath.
At the end of that seven-year Tribulation period, Jesus Himself returns to the earth, sets His feet on the Mount of Olives and enters Jerusalem, defeats the enemies of Israel and will rule the nations of the world for 1,000 years. This we know as the millennial reign of Christ.

A. The earth itself will be changed

Verse 20, 22 – The youth will die at the age of a hundred…for as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of my people.
You know this is not heaven because there will be death. But people will not die of cancer, they will die of old age… at 100.
This will be a time of peace as the Prince of Peace rules and reigns the nations of the world. Verse 23 – “They shall not build, and another inhabit…They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, and their descendants with them.”
In fact, Satan himself will be bound and kept in chains awaiting final judgment, so he can longer deceive the nations.

Revelation 20:1-3, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed.

Even the animals will be at peace during the millennial reign of Christ. Verse 25 – “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox. They shall do no evil or harm in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 11:6, 8-9, The wolf will dwell with the lamb… The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand in the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

There will an even more beautiful relationship to God… Verse 24 – “It will come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”

B. There will be a New Heaven and a New Earth

After the Millennial reign of Christ, there will be one final battle, the Battle of Gog and Magog, described in Revelation and then will come the great White Throne judgment as God judges the living and the dead. Those who reject God will be thrown into the lake of fire along with Satan and all his demonic realm.
Those who believed in the offer of salvation, their sins were forgiven, and they were reconciled to God. These will be given the promise of life eternal in the new heaven and the new earth.
The old things passed away. There will no longer be death, only eternal life in the presence of God Himself who will dwell with us in eternity in a New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven as a bride is adorned for her husband.

C. You can dwell with God even now

Verse 66:1-2 – Thus says the Lord, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is the place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being.” Declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
Consider the greatness and majesty of God, enthroned in the infinite expanse of heaven. This is beauty in grandeur, the kind that silences the soul. The vastness and greatness of God cannot be imagined.
Yet with whom will God dwell? With whom does God desire to dwell? The humble, the contrite, those who truly desire God in their hearts.
Moses made a tent of meeting while Israel camped at the base of Mount Sinai. Anyone who had the desire could go to the tent of meeting and meet with God. Moses himself would go to the tent of meeting and God would speak to Moses as a man speaks to a friend. God is inviting you to meet with Him even now.
This is the beautiful dwelling place of God. This is those in whom God delights. God invites you to dwell with Him. He calls the humble.

The Grand Finale
Isaiah 65-66
October 4-5, 2025

I'd like you to take your Bibles if you would, please, and open to Isaiah 65. We are going to finish Isaiah. This is our last message in Isaiah. Then, of course, we're going to go right to Jeremiah because, as many of you know, we're going through the whole Bible. We started some time ago in Genesis, and we're just continuing all the way through. When we finish Revelation, we'll do it again. This is our fourth time through the entire Word of God. On Wednesdays, that's our verse-by-verse. We'll look at the verses around this.

The title of our message is the Grand Finale. Let's pray. Lord, we love you and thank you for your word. We know that you send it in power and that you reveal your heart after us to bless, to show us the way of life and the way of victory, so God, pour out your spirit. Through your word, we pray in Jesus' name. Everyone said amen. The grand finale, He is speaking of here. It's not just the grand finale of Isaiah. He's going to bring us to the grand finale of the ages. This is really quite amazing.

He's going to give us a view all the way to the end. I tell you, it's so encouraging when you have a view all the way to the end because then you know how the story ends, and you know that our God is the victor. You know that God reigns over the nations of the world, and there is a great victory in store for those who are believers in Jesus Christ. Amen. Can we give God praise and glory? Amen.

Now, he's been building up to this really all through Isaiah, but particularly since chapter 53. See, chapter 53 is where we see, you might call it the gospel according to Isaiah. It's really a mountaintop chapter because from that mountaintop, you get a beautiful view, all the way into the New Testament and the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, when you read through all of Paul's writings and letters, you can see Isaiah all through it. He loved Isaiah.

Much of the meat of what Paul wrote came from Isaiah as the Holy Spirit illumined that understanding to his heart. You have this gospel that you see. It's a beautiful gospel that God has made a way for sinners to be reconciled to the Holy and Righteous God. That's glorious. That He took our sins upon Himself and paid the penalty of that sin by sending His Son to die in our behalf.

That the death that our sins deserve were paid for in full by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, God's own Son. All of that is seen in the gospel of Isaiah in chapter 53. Then he builds through Isaiah 55 the next mountaintop that offers a view of the beckoning call of God to sinners. He takes that gospel message, and then He makes it like a beckoning call to sinners. "Ho, everyone who thirsts, everyone who's broken, everyone who is hurting."

He's calling out the sinners because He's made a way for those sinners to be made right with God. He's calling out to them, "Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters." Come by, and it means, in a spiritual sense, delight yourself. In other words, once you've been reconciled, He draws that sinner into a relationship of love, such that God delights in that sinner who has been reconciled to God. That's amazing. God delights in them. Yes, He does. They, sinners now reconciled, delight in God. God's made a way for a beautiful relationship.

All of that is found in Isaiah 55. All who are thirsty and empty can come to the waters and drink from the river of God's delight. It's all there. It's beautiful. The soul that was once empty and thirsty and longing and searching, looking for love, looking for meaning and purpose. All of it is found in the glorious relationship that God has made possible because your soul is now alive. Then He brings us to Isaiah 61, where God declares that all of these promises will be fulfilled by the one whom God would send, the Messiah, the anointed one, the King of Israel, and the redeemer of the world.

Now, we know that Jesus is the fulfillment of those premises because He said so Himself. It's in Luke 4, and we read it a couple weeks ago. When Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on this Sabbath day and stood up to read. He was invited to read, and they handed Him the scroll of Isaiah. They just so happened to be reading Isaiah.

He opened to the place in chapter 61 where it is written, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me." Jesus is reading, "Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news. Good news to the afflicted. Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to prisoners, and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Then He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant. It says all eyes were fixed upon Him as He said, "Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God to preach the gospel to those who are brokenhearted and to the poor. That's the heart of God.

I. The Beauty of God’s Relentless Pursuit

He's anointed by the Spirit for that very purpose because God wants sinners to hear good news. So much so that He sent His only Son to go and find sinners and preach good news to them. To declare, He said, the favorable year of the Lord. We are living right now in that period of time that could be called the favorable year of the Lord that Jesus proclaimed. It's that time of grace. God is proclaiming forgiveness. He's offering free forgiveness to sinners. All you have to do is come and receive the free offer of life.

Now that brings us to the grand finale, chapter 65 and chapter 66. The theme throughout the gospel is complex and yet simple. Not which God does is beautiful. God redeems sinners. That's beautiful. God then does a beautiful transforming work upon their soul, a beautiful work. Then He draws our heart and our attention to the grand finale. Now, normally, after giving a summary of what we're going to see, then we would read through all the texts, but we're not going to read through two chapters. We did that on Wednesday recently. That's when we do our verse-by-verse study. We're just going to take pieces and parts of it, and again, if you missed Wednesday, then you're welcome to jump in online to it.

Let's start with chapter 65, verse 1, where we see here then the beauty of God's relentless pursuit. This is what the theme is in the grand finale. It begins with a summary of God's relentless pursuit. He wants this theme to be known, that God pursues God has always pursued. It's been the theme of God from the beginning. Let's go to the very beginning. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, it says they were ashamed and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God. Then the Lord came to the garden and called out to them, "Where are you?" He is pursuing them.

He is calling out to them like, "Come and be found." Now, that sin of Adam has been passed from generation to generation, and the sons of Adam still sin. The sons of Adam still hide themselves from the presence of the Lord because of their shame, and God is still pursuing them. That's the beauty of God's relentless pursuit. He begins by speaking of his pursuit of Gentiles, which is very interesting, because you know the theme of much of the Bible is God's pursuit of Israel. He begins the grand finale by highlighting his pursuit of Gentiles, which is very interesting.

A. God is still saying, “Here am I”

Let's just read the first verse. He said, "I permitted myself to be sought by those who did not seek me, did not ask for me. I permitted myself to be found by those who did not seek me. Here am I, I said to them, to that nation, which did not call on my name." Now the word nation here in the Hebrew commonly is referred goyim, to the gentile world. In the grand finale, in the summation of the age, God reveals His heart for Gentile. For sinners.

Yes, He calls Israel His chosen, but God sent His Son to be the light of all who are in darkness. Jew or Gentile, any who would call on the name of the Lord will be saved, he wrote. In fact, he gives us this perspective in Romans chapter 10. Notice in verses 10 to 12, he said, "Look, it's with the heart, a person believes resulting in righteousness, and then with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation, for there's no distinction between Jew and Greek."

The same Lord is Lord of all abounding in riches for all who call upon Him, for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. It is interesting because there in Romans 10, Paul gives this perspective, and he says, "Look, it is not this." You know how sometimes people have this idea that they've got to go on some big journey to find God? He says, "Do not say who will go to heaven and bring him down, or who will go to the abyss and bring him up." Do not say this. No, it is very near to you. In other words, it's so near to you that he's standing at the door. Just go and open the door of your heart. He's standing at the door, and he's calling your name, and he's knocking. He's pursuing you.

That's the good, beautiful pursuit that he speaks of. On Paul's first missionary journey, when he had come to Asia Minor, he visited the Jewish synagogue as was his custom, proclaim Jesus being raised from the dead. He said, "Through Jesus, God's Son, forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you." God's shouting forgiveness, and the offer to you. They said, "We want to hear more of this." The next Sabbath, he came, and the crowds were so great that the Jews were jealous, the leaders were jealous. They began to speak against Paul and blaspheming.

He says that because you have found yourselves unworthy, he says, we are turning to the Gentiles. Notice in Acts 13, verses 47 and 48, "For so the Lord has commanded us, I placed you as a light for Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." Now, when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. "That's amazing." As many as were appointed to eternal life, believe it's one of the most beautiful aspects of the heart of God, that He pursues sinners because of His great love.

All sinners, all over the world, over and over. He says, "Here am I." He stands at the door and he calls out their name. It's such a beautiful understanding because God is relentless in that pursuit. He's still pursuing even today, whether it's basements in Tehran or subways of Tokyo, God's pursuit is still touching the hearts. You know that there are Muslims all over the world today that are having dreams of Jesus Christ. This is an amazing thing. We hear testimony after testimony of Muslims who are coming to faith, and no preacher preached to them. Jesus met them in their dreams. They had dreams.

Why did they have dreams? Because God is pursuing them, God is speaking to them, God is relentless. If you're here today, Gentile by blood or by grace, you're here because God pursued you. That nagging conscience, that was God nudging your heart. A word in the sermon that stirred something. That was the Holy Spirit calling you. God speaks to hearts, even today. Nudging, speaking, calling, pursuing by name. It's between you and God. God loves you. He knows your name. He's pursuing you. Between you and God, it's a great understanding.

What is your relationship to God? God says, "It matters to me. You matter to me." He's nudging you. He's calling you. He's speaking to you. He's stirring you. Ever felt that stirring of the soul? God speaking by His Spirit to nudge you, gently calling you home. God's Spirit. How do you respond if you feel that nudge, the Holy Spirit calling you? Don't harden your heart like Israel hardened their heart. No, respond like the Roman centurion, Cornelius, "What must I do?"

When you hear God's heart calling your name, he says to you, "Here am I." That's what God is saying. When He's speaking to hearts, He says, "I am here. Here am I." When you hear God's heart calling, may I suggest that you would open your heart and that you would say to God, "Here I am, Lord, you found me. I'm yours." "Open your heart." That's what he's saying. Open your heart and then say, "Here I am, Lord, you found me. I'm yours."

B. All day long, He holds out His hands

What does God want? To bless you, to love you, to draw you into that which is beautiful, glorious. God wants glorious things. He's calling you. He's calling you even now. Then it's interesting. He turns then to the Jews, and you see here something beautiful of this. All day long, he says, He holds out his hands. Now, you might know Israel is hard, stubborn, rebellious. Notice verse two and verse three. "I have split up my hands all day long to this rebellious people who walk in a way which is not good, following their own thoughts, and people who provoke me to my face. They provoke me to my face, and yet I hold up my hands." Something beautiful about this.

In this cry from the heart of God, in the summation of the ages, God makes it clear that there is divine persistence even in the face of human defiance is persistent. Oh, He's persistent. Even in the face of defiance, even those who shake their fist at the-- they provoked Him to His face. God will not give up. Something beautiful about this. God makes it clear He's never given up on Israel, and I submit to you that He never will. In fact, look at verses 9-10. Notice, "I will bring forth offspring from Jacob. I will bring forth an heir of my mountains from Judah."

In other words, "Those are my mountains." I love this. "Those are my mountains," God says, "They are the inheritance of my people. I will bring forth an heir to inherit those mountains. Even my chosen ones shall inherit it. My servants will dwell there, and Sharon will be a pasture land for flux, and the valley of Achor will be a resting place for herds, all for my people who seek me." This is beautiful.

You maybe have heard this expression. There are many voices amongst the enemies of Israel today who have a chant. Sometimes you can hear it and see it in the news. They chant. They'll say, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." This is their chant. It rhymes. "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." They chant. What does it mean? That area around Israel, they call it now Palestine. The Romans named it that after the Philistines, the mortal enemies of the Jews, so as to offend Israel.

What does it mean from the river to the sea? From the river Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, Palestine will be free of Jews. It's a call to annihilation. That's what that is. In verses 9 and 10, God reverses that saying. I find it very fascinating. He reverses it. Now, you got to know a little geography. Sharon is the valley right there on the sea. It's right on the Mediterranean. To the valley of Achor. That's the valley on the West Bank of the Jordan, Valley of Achor. It means valley of trouble. Israel encountered great troubles there. Too much time needed for that story.

Interestingly, in Hosea chapter two, He says, "I will turn the valley of Achor into door of hope. The value of trouble will be a doorway of hope, and my people will sing there like when they first came out of Egypt. They will sing as in the days of their youth." What is God saying in these verses? He's saying, from the sea to the river, Israel will be blessed. I said it. I'm going to do it. I love that. He just turns it right around. He says from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free of Jews. No, no. I say this. "From the sea to the river, Israel will be blessed." God will never give up on Israel. Amen. Can we give God praise?

In a world defined by a cancel culture and ghosting, it's so important to understand God never gives up. This is beautiful because it's true. He relentlessly pursues. All day long, he holds out his hands. It's true for Israel, and it's true for you. God is relentless. He'll never give up. It's the heart of the father scanning the horizon, day after day, looking and longing for the prodigal son to come home. It's the heart of the shepherd scouring, thornbush after thornbush, searching for that one lost sheep.

He's relentless in His pursuit. He'll never give up. He loves you that much. He'll never give up. By the way, we should not be too critical of Israel. We're pretty stubborn ourselves. Yet he holds on relentless, calling. There was a hymn that I used to sing in church when I was young, really stuck with me. Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling. Calling for you and for me. See in the portals, He's watching and waiting. Watching for you and for me. "Come home. You who are weary, come home." Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling.

Calling, "Oh sinner, come home. Why are you wandering out there in the wilderness? Why are you lost, alone, empty, and lonely? Why, when I'm calling you to come home?" Such love and such grace. All day long, he holds out his hands. In Jesus, those hands were pierced. Stretched wide on calvary. "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." Such love and such grace should melt any resistance. When you see such love like that, when you see such grace like that, it should melt away any resistance left.

Such hardness should be melted away. Respond to those hands. Fall into those hands. Praise God for those hands, extended in such love. Those hands that never tire, that draw those who are stubborn and hard. He'll melt away the resistance. "Come home," softly and tenderly. Are you distant from the Lord? Are you in the wilderness yourself? He's calling you right now. "Come home. I love you. Why do you wander in places where there are only thorns and thistles? Come and be blessed of your Father." Amen. Sure, let's give the Lord praise. Amen. Exactly right. Amen.

II. The Beauty of God’s Glorious Renewal

Then you see the beauty of God's glorious renewal. Turn to verses 17, those following. "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth." This is what He means. He's going to give us a beautiful view from this mountain. You can see all the way to the end. This is a high mountain. You can see all the way to the end from here. "Former things will not be remembered or come to mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. Behold, I create Jerusalem, for rejoicing. I create my people for gladness."

This is the heart of God. This is what I do. I create my people for gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and I will be glad in my people. There will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping or the sound of crying. Now, interestingly here, Isaiah is giving this prophetic view again, all the way to the end. From this distance, because he looks so far into the distance, he sees one summary view. We know from the Book of Revelation and from Daniel and others that there are distinctions and divisions of time in the latter days.

Let me paint an overview of those distinctions and divisions of the latter days. We are living today in what could be called the favorable year of the Lord. The time of God's grace in which God's offer of forgiveness and salvation are offered to any who would open their hearts to receive it. God is pursuing sinners. This is the age of grace. However, as we draw nearer to the latter days, we know that there will be a tribulation period. A time of judgment of wrath. God's wrath upon the nations.

Will there be a day? Yes, it's coming. A day of judgment is coming. A day of wrath poured out on nations who have rejected and rebelled against God. A seven-year period of time declared in the book of Daniel and spoken of in Revelation. The latter days, as we draw nearer to them, will be days of trouble. Then Christ will arise, who will be seen as a great world leader, who will be able to solve world's problems. He will even do what no man has been able to do, bring peace to the Middle East. He will bring peace to the Middle East.

He will do it. He will sign a covenant of peace between the nations of the world and Israel. That covenant of peace will mark the beginning of that seven-year tribulation period. Many believe that the provision of that covenant of peace is the allowance of rebuilding the Jewish temple there in Jerusalem. However, three and a half years after that covenant, the antichrist then betrays Israel, takes possession of that newly rebuilt temple, sets up an image of himself in the holy of holy place in that temple. As you can imagine, all hell breaks loose because Israel is offended, which was the point, no doubt.

A great war then breaks out upon the world as armies of the world prepare to march against Israel. Before God's wrath is poured out during that period of tribulation, God's wrath that period of time, before that God's church is raptured from the earth. Since God has declared that we who are believers in Jesus Christ are not destined for God's wrath. Now, at the end of that seven-year period of tribulation, Jesus Himself returns at the end.

To the earth, He sets foot on the Mount of Olives, He enters Jerusalem, defeats the enemies of Israel, and will rule the nations of the world for a thousand years. This we know as the millennial, as the thousand reign of Christ. What's interesting, He describes here and in other places that the earth itself will be changed during that thousand-year reign, where Christ is upon the earth reigning over the nations. The earth itself will be changed. Notice, for example, verses 20 and verse 22, "The youth will die at the age of 100. For as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of my people."

A. The earth itself will be changed

Now, you know this is not heaven because people are dying. There's death, but they're not dying of cancer. They're dying of old age at 100. There will be a time of peace. The Prince of Peace will rule the nations of the world. Notice verse 23, "They will not build and then another inhabit. They will not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord and their descendants with him." In fact, during this period of time, interestingly, Satan himself is bound during this period of time so that he cannot deceive the nations.

Let me draw you to Revelation 20:1-3. "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil in Satan, and downed him for a thousand years and threw him into the abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations in longer until the thousand years were completed." Oh, what a glorious day that will be, because the nations are being deceived today. There is so much deception in this world, it's eye-watering. Interestingly, also, he describes that even the animals will be at peace during the millennial reign of Christ.

Notice verse 25, "The wolf and the lamb will graze together. The lion will eat straw like an ox. They shall do no evil or harm on all my holy mountain." Now, what's interesting is this is also described in Isaiah 11. Many chapters back, he described also this period of time when the earth would be changed, and animals even would be at peace. He says, "The wolf will dwell with the lamb." I love this part here, "And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand in the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth will be full in the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

I love that there. I love imagining some kid in those days, where he says, "Mama, I'm taking off. I'm going to go play with the cobras." She says, "Okay, honey, have fun. Be home for dinner." I love that part because I can't stand snakes. There's just something about snakes.

The serpent of old is like a snake. I can't stand snakes. I'm debating if I have time to tell my favorite story about snakes. Yes, I do. Some of you heard this story, but it's my favorite. It's like this. One day, it was a hot summer day. We lived pretty close to the church. My wife and one of our daughters were walking to the church, and they happened upon a garden snake. My wife picks it up from its tail, and she says, "I know what let's do. Let's take this snake to the office, to the church. Let's sneak up on dad and put this snake down the back of his shirt." This is a great idea. This is a great thing to teach your children.

They came to the church, and they came up the stairs in my office. Those days, my office was in a different place and my computer's that way, and the door is behind me. I was in my office studying the Word of God. Doing something righteous. She comes in and starts to put it down the back of my neck, and I freak out. [screams] The snake freaks out, whips around, bites her in the hand. She freaks out and throws the snake across the room. I say, "Ha, serves you right. What goes around comes around." Then of course, I had to go find the snake, which wasn't very happy anymore, and bring it outside and fling it out into the weeds. That poor snake has been in counseling ever since.

There's just something about snakes, but in those days, said even the earth will be changed. The weaned child, "Oh, go play. Put your hand in the viper's den." "Come out and let's play." I just love that part of the story. Then it says in those days that there will be an even more beautiful relationship to God. Notice verse 24. "It will come to pass that before they call, I answer. And while they're still speaking, I hear." Then it says, notice, I read it first, but I want to mention it next. "There will be a new heaven and a new earth."

B. There will be a New Heaven and a New Earth

See, after the millennial reign of Christ, there will be one final battle called the battle of Gog and Magog, described in Revelation, and then will come the great white throne judgment as God judges the living and the dead. Those who reject God will be thrown into the lake of fire along with Satan and all his demonic realm, but those who believed in the offer of salvation, those in whom sins were forgiven, reconciled to God, they opened their hearts, these are the ones whose names are written in the lamb's book of life. These will be given then the promise of life eternal in the new heaven and the new earth.

Behold, the old things passed away. The old, there will no longer be any death, only eternal life in the presence of God Himself, who will dwell with us in eternity in the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband, but here's the grand finale for us today that you can dwell with God even now. In chapter 66, notice verses 1-2, it says this, "Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you would build for me? Where is the place that I may rest? My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But to this one I look, to him who is humble and contrite to fault, who trembles up my word."

C. You can dwell with God even now

Consider the greatness in the majesty of God enthroned in the infinite expansive heaven. This is beauty and grandeur of a kind that silences the soul. The vastness and the greatness of God cannot be imagined. Yet with whom would God dwell? With whom does God desire to dwell? Enthroned in majesty, enshrined in the expanse of heaven, you would build a house for me? There is this. I desire to dwell with the humble contrite. I do long and desire relationship with you.

When Moses was leading Israel there at the base of Mount Sinai when Israel had sinned, later he set up a tent outside the camp, and he called it a tent of meeting. Anyone who wanted can go and meet God. There's no law, there's no obligation, there's no you must, thus. No. Just, "There it is, Tent of Meeting, anybody who wants to meet with God." It says that whenever Moses would go, the people would stand on their feet and watch, because when Moses would go to the tent of meeting, that the glory of God would descend on that place. It says that God would speak to Moses like a man would speak to a friend.

[silence] Though God is enshrined in majesty, He longs to dwell with you. You. Me? Who am I? Who am I amongst all that God has done? Who am I? You're His child, you're made in His image, and He loves you. "I long to dwell with you, my child. You." Me? You. He's pursuing you. He's relentless. "Come home. Let's have supper. Come home. It'll be glorious. It'll be beautiful. Why do you wander in places where there are thorn bushes and thistles? Come to a place where there's glory and beauty. Come home."

Let's pray. Lord, what can we say? So beautiful, so wonderful to know your heart. To see love like that, to see grace like that, that melts all resistance. [silence] Church, God is pursuing. Even now, He's pursuing because he treasures you. Oh, He says, "Yes, I'm enshrined in infinite expanse of majesty, but I want relationship with you." Would you say to the Lord today, "Here I am, Lord, you found me. I'm yours, Lord. Here I am. You found me"?

Would you raise your hand as a way of saying that to the Lord today? "Here I am, Lord. You found me. I want relationship to you. I want to open my heart to you. I want it. I want you, God. I want you in my life. Fill my soul with Your glory. Transform me by Your beauty. I want more of You, God." Lord, we thank you and honor you for everyone who said, "More, God. I desire you." We honor you and thank you for it all. In Jesus' name, and everyone said--

Isaiah 65-66 NASB

65 ¹“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which did not call on My name.
²“I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,
³A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;
⁴Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
⁵“Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
⁶“Behold, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
⁷Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have burned incense on the mountains
And scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

⁸Thus says the Lord,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order not to destroy all of them.
⁹“I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will dwell there.
¹⁰“Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me.
¹¹“But you who forsake the Lord,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who set a table for Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,
¹²I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter.
Because I called, but you did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

¹³Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry.
Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.
Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
¹⁴“Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will cry out with a heavy heart,
And you will wail with a broken spirit.
¹⁵“You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord God will slay you.
But My servants will be called by another name.
¹⁶“Because he who is blessed in the earth
Will be blessed by the God of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Will swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!

¹⁷“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
¹⁸“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
¹⁹“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
²⁰“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
²¹“They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²²“They will not build and another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
²³“They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.

²⁴It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. ²⁵The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.

66 ¹Thus says the Lord,

“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
²“For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

³“But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
⁴So I will choose their punishments
And will bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
And they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
⁵Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word:
“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake,
Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’
But they will be put to shame.
⁶“A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the Lord who is rendering recompense to His enemies.

⁷“Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
⁸“Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Can a nation be brought forth all at once?
As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
⁹“Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

¹⁰“Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her;
Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
¹¹That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.”
¹²For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.
¹³“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
¹⁴Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad,
And your bones will flourish like the new grass;
And the hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,
But He will be indignant toward His enemies.
¹⁵For behold, the Lord will come in fire
And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,
Following one in the center,
Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸“For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. ²⁰Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. ²¹I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So your offspring and your name will endure.
²³“And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
²⁴“Then they will go forth and look
On the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm will not die
And their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

El gran final
Isaías 65-66
4-5 de octubre de 2025

Los últimos capítulos de Isaías son el gran final del evangelio según Isaías. Dios ha estado construyendo constantemente hacia estos capítulos a lo largo del libro de Isaías, pero especialmente desde el capítulo 53. Desde ese capítulo tenemos una vista como estando en la cima de la montaña, teniendo una hermosa vista hacia el Nuevo Testamento y el evangelio de Jesucristo. Dios ha abierto un camino para que los pecadores se reconcilien con el Santo y Justo Dios Todopoderoso, al tomar sus pecados sobre sí mismo y pagar el castigo de ese pecado al enviar a su Hijo a morir por ellos. La muerte que merecían sus pecados fue pagada en su totalidad por la sangre derramada en la cruz por Jesús, el propio Hijo de Dios.

Luego, Isaías 55 ofrece las buenas nuevas del evangelio de Isaías 53 como un llamado a todos los pecadores. “¡Vengan! Todo el que tenga sed. Ven a las aguas; Tú que no tienes dinero, ven, compra y come, sin dinero y sin costo… Deléitate con la abundancia”.

Dios reconcilia a los pecadores consigo mismo, luego los trae a una relación de amor tal que Él se deleita en ellos, y ellos se deleitan en el Dios Todopoderoso. ¡Todos los que están sedientos y vacíos pueden venir a las aguas y beber del río de las delicias de Dios! El alma que una vez estuvo vacía y sedienta, anhelando amor, significado y propósito, puede encontrar todo lo que anhela en una hermosa relación con Dios.

Luego, en Isaías 61, Dios declara que estas promesas serán cumplidas por Aquel a quien Dios enviará, Su ungido, el Mesías y Rey de Israel, el redentor de lo que se perdió. Sabemos que Jesús es el cumplimiento de Isaías 61, y la promesa que Dios declara porque Jesús mismo lo dijo.

En Lucas 4, Jesús llegó a Nazaret, donde se había criado, y como era su costumbre, entró en la sinagoga el sábado y se levantó para leer. El asistente le entregó el rollo de Isaías. Jesus abrió el libro y encontró el lugar donde estaban escritas las palabras de Isaías 61.

La Biblia de las Américas:

“El Espíritu del Señor está sobre mí, porque me ha ungido para anunciar el evangelio a los pobres.Me ha enviado para proclamar libertad a los cautivos,y la recuperación de la vista a los ciegos; para poner en libertad a los oprimidos; para proclamar el año favorable del Señor.

Después de leer el pasaje, cerró el libro, se lo devolvió al asistente y se sentó. Los ojos de todos los que estaban en la sinagoga estaban fijos en él, y él les dijo: “Hoy se ha cumplido esta Escritura que oyeron”.

Jesús fue ungido por el Espíritu de Dios para predicar el evangelio, para llevar buenas nuevas a los pobres. En otras palabras, este es el corazón de Dios: Jesús fue ungido por el Espíritu de Dios para este propósito, porque Dios quería que los pecadores escucharan las buenas nuevas. Tanto es así, que Dios envió a su único Hijo a encontrar a los pecadores y predicarles las buenas nuevas.

Ahora estamos viviendo en el año favorable del Señor que Jesús proclamó. Es el tiempo de la gracia. Dios está proclamando el perdón a los pecadores que vendrán a Él y recibirán la oferta gratuita de la vida.

Eso nos lleva al gran final, Isaías capítulo 65 y 66. El tema a lo largo del evangelio es complejo y, sin embargo, simple; lo que Dios hace es hermoso. Dios redime a los pecadores y hace una hermosa obra transformadora en su alma. La gracia y el perdón son aspectos hermosos del corazón de Dios. Hay aspectos aún más hermosos de Dios revelados en el gran final de los capítulos 65 y 66.

La belleza de la búsqueda incesante de Dios

El gran final comienza con un resumen de la hermosa e implacable búsqueda de Dios. Ese ha sido el tema del corazón de Dios desde el principio.
Cuando Adán y Eva pecaron en el jardín, se avergonzaron y se escondieron de la presencia del Señor Dios. Entonces el Señor llamó al hombre y le dijo: “¿Dónde estás?”
Ese pecado de Adán ha pasado de generación en generación. Los hijos de Adán todavía pecan, y todavía se esconden de la presencia del Señor a causa de su vergüenza… Y Dios todavía los está persiguiendo… Esa es la belleza de la búsqueda implacable de Dios…

Dios sigue diciendo: “Aquí estoy”

Versículo 1 – “Me dejé buscar por los que no me pidieron; Me dejé encontrar por aquellos que no me buscaban, dije: ‘Aquí estoy, aquí estoy’, a una nación que no invocó Mi nombre”.
La palabra “nación” en hebreo se usa comúnmente para referirse a los gentiles. En el gran final, el resumen de las edades, Dios revela que Su corazón ha sido para todas las personas. Sí, Dios llama a Israel su pueblo elegido, pero Dios envió a su Hijo para ser la luz de todos los que están en tinieblas, judíos o gentiles… “Cualquiera que invoque el nombre del Señor será salvo”, escribió Pablo.

Romanos 10:10-12: La Biblia de las Américas:

“porque con el corazón se cree para justicia, y con la boca se confiesa para salvación. 11 Pues la Escritura dice: Todo el que cree en Él no será avergonzado. 12 Porque no hay distinción entre judío y griego, pues el mismo Señor es Señor de todos, abundando en riquezas para todos los que le invocan; porque “Todo el que invoque el nombre del Señor será salvo”.

En el primer viaje misionero de Pablo, cuando llegó a Asia Menor, visitó la sinagoga judía y proclamó que Dios resucitó a Jesús de entre los muertos y que a través de Él “se nos anuncia el perdón de pecados”.
El sábado siguiente, casi toda la ciudad se reunió para escuchar la palabra del Señor. Pero cuando los judíos vieron a la multitud, se llenaron de celos y comenzaron a contradecir las cosas que Pablo decía y blasfemaban.
Pablo y Bernabé hablaron con valentía y dijeron: “Era necesario que la palabra de Dios nos fuera hablada primero; pero ya que la repudias y nos juzgas indignos de la vida eterna, he aquí, nos volvemos a los gentiles”…

Hechos 13:47-48, 47: La Biblia de las Américas:

“Porque así nos lo ha mandado el Señor:Te he puesto como luz para los gentiles, a fin de que lleves la salvación hasta los confines de la tierra.

48 Oyendo esto los gentiles, se regocijaban y glorificaban la palabra del Señor ; y creyeron cuantos estaban ordenados a vida eterna.

Es uno de los aspectos más hermosos del corazón de Dios, que Dios persigue a los pecadores debido a Su gran amor por ellos. Una y otra vez, Dios declara: “Heme aquí”, mientras llama a la puerta de su corazón y grita su nombre.
Dios todavía está buscando. Es hermoso. Hoy, ya sea en los sótanos de Teherán o en el metro de Tokio, los susurros de Dios todavía perforan los corazones. Los musulmanes están soñando con Jesús en todo el mundo. La palabra de gracia de Dios todavía está alcanzando a los no alcanzados.
Si estás aquí hoy, un gentil de sangre o por gracia, ten la seguridad de que estás aquí porque Dios te persiguió. ¿Esa conciencia molesta? Dios estaba moviendo tu corazón. ¿Las palabras de un sermón, conmovieron algo profundo en tu alma? Era el Espíritu de Dios llamándote suavemente a casa. No te endurezcas como Israel; responde como el centurión romano, Cornelio: “¿Qué debo hacer?”
Cuando escuches el corazón de Dios llamando tu nombre, y diciendo: “Aquí estoy, aquí estoy”, abre tu corazón y dile a Dios: “Aquí estoy, Dios, aquí estoy. Me encontraste. ¡Soy tuyo!”

Durante todo el día, extiende sus manos

Versículo 2-3: “He extendido mis manos todo el día a un pueblo rebelde, que anda por camino malo, siguiendo sus propios pensamientos, pueblo que continuamente me provoca en mi cara…”
En este grito del corazón de Dios, contemplamos una belleza que atraviesa el alma: hay persistencia divina incluso frente al desafío humano.
Aquí, en este gran final, en el resumen de las edades, Dios deja en claro que nunca se ha dado por vencido con Israel… Y nunca lo hará.
Versículos 9-10 – “Sacaré de Judá un heredero de mis montes; aun Mis escogidos la heredarán, y Mis siervos habitarán allí. Y Sarón será un pastizal para los rebaños, y el valle de Acor será un lugar de descanso para las vacas, para mi pueblo, que me busca”.
Hay muchas voces entre los enemigos de Israel que gritan: “Desde el río hasta el mar, Palestina será libre”. Es un llamado a la aniquilación del pueblo de Israel. Significa desde el río Jordán hasta el mar Mediterráneo; ¡Palestina estará libre de judíos!
En los versículos 9 y 10, Dios invierte esas palabras y declara, que desde los Planos de Sarón junto al Mar Mediterráneo, hasta el valle de Acor en el Valle del Jordán. En otras palabras, desde el Mar hasta el Río, Israel será bendecido porque Dios lo dijo, ¡y Dios nunca cederá en Sus promesas a Israel!
En un mundo definido por la cultura de la cancelación y el ‘ghosting’, Dios nunca se rinde. Él persigue implacablemente; todo el día extiende sus manos.
Es el corazón del padre que escudriña el horizonte día tras día, mirando y anhelando que su hijo pródigo regrese a casa. Es el corazón de un pastor que recorre arbusto espinoso tras arbusto espinoso, buscando esa oveja perdida.
Oh, no deberíamos ser demasiado críticos con Israel, nosotros mismos somos bastante tercos. Sin embargo, Él se aferra, implacable en Su búsqueda…
“Suave y tiernamente, Jesús está llamando, llamando por ti y por mí. Mira en los portales, Él está esperando y observando, velando por ti y por mí… Ven a casa, ven a casa, tú que estás cansado, vuelve a casa. Sinceramente, con ternura, Jesús está llamando. Llamando: “Oh, pecador, ven a casa”.
Todo el día extiende sus manos. En Jesús, esas manos fueron traspasadas, extendidas de par en par en la cruz del Calvario, “Padre, perdónalos, no saben lo que hacen”.
Tal amor y tal gracia deberían derretir cualquier resistencia. Responde a esas manos, cae en ellas. Alabado sea Dios por las manos extendidas con tanto amor, manos que nunca se cansan, que atraen nuestros corazones duros y obstinados a casa.

La belleza de la gloriosa renovación de Dios

Versículos 17-18 – “He aquí, yo creo cielos nuevos y tierra nueva; y las cosas anteriores no serán recordadas ni vendrán a la mente. Alégrense y regocíjense para siempre en lo que creo; porque he aquí, yo creo a Jerusalén para regocijo, y a su pueblo para alegría. Y yo también me regocijaré en Jerusalén y me alegraré en mi pueblo”.

Aquí, Isaías da una visión profética hasta el final de los tiempos. Desde esta distancia, ve una vista resumida. Pero sabemos por el libro de Apocalipsis y otros libros proféticos, que hay distinciones de tiempo en los últimos días.
Ahora estamos viviendo en la era de la gracia, el año favorable del Señor, en el que la oferta de perdón y salvación de Dios se ofrece a todos los que abran sus corazones para recibirla.
Sin embargo, a medida que nos acercamos a los últimos días, habrá un día de juicio sobre las naciones que han rechazado y se han rebelado contra Dios. Este es el período de tribulación de siete años declarado en el libro de Daniel y del que se habla en Apocalipsis.
Los últimos días serán días de grandes problemas, y surgirá un Anticristo que será visto como un gran líder mundial que puede resolver los problemas del mundo e incluso hará un pacto de paz entre las naciones del mundo e Israel.
Ese pacto de paz marcará el comienzo de ese período de tribulación de siete años. Muchos creen que una disposición de ese pacto de paz es la concesión para reconstruir el Templo judío en Jerusalén. Sin embargo, tres años y medio después de hacer ese pacto, el Anticristo traiciona a Israel, toma posesión de ese templo recién construido y coloca una imagen de sí mismo en el lugar santísimo. Y como puedes imaginar, todo el infierno se desata cuando Israel se ofende grandemente, lo que sin duda era el punto, y estalla una gran guerra sobre el mundo mientras los ejércitos del mundo se preparan para marchar sobre Israel.
Antes de que la ira de Dios se derrame durante ese período de tribulación, la iglesia de Dios será arrebatada de la tierra, ya que Dios ha declarado que nosotros que somos creyentes en Jesucristo no estamos destinados a la ira de Dios.
Al final de ese período de siete años de Tribulación, Jesús mismo regresa a la tierra, pone Sus pies en el Monte de los Olivos y entra en Jerusalén, derrota a los enemigos de Israel y gobernará a las naciones del mundo durante 1,000 años. Esto lo conocemos como el reinado milenario de Cristo.
1. La tierra misma será cambiada

Versículo 20, 22 – “El joven morirá a la edad de cien años… porque como la vida de un árbol, así serán los días de mi pueblo.
Sabes que esto no es el cielo porque habrá muerte. Pero la gente no morirá de cáncer, morirá de vejez… a los 100 años.
Este será un tiempo de paz ya que el Príncipe de Paz gobierna y reina a las naciones del mundo. Versículo 23 – “No edificarán, y otro habitará… No trabajarán en vano, ni darán a luz hijos para calamidad; porque son descendientes de los bendecidos por el Señor, y sus descendientes con ellos”.
De hecho, Satanás mismo será atado y mantenido en cadenas en espera del juicio final, para que no pueda engañar a las naciones por más tiempo.

Apocalipsis 20:1-3: “Y vi a un ángel que descendía del cielo, con la llave del abismo y una gran cadena en su mano. 2 Prendió al dragón, la serpiente antigua, que es el Diablo y Satanás, y lo ató por mil años; 3 y lo arrojó al abismo, y lo cerró y lo selló sobre él, para que no engañara más a las naciones, hasta que se cumplieran los mil años; después de esto debe ser desatado por un poco de tiempo.

Incluso los animales estarán en paz durante el reinado milenario de Cristo. Versículo 25 – “El lobo y el cordero pastarán juntos, y el león comerá paja como un buey. No harán mal ni mal en todo mi Santo Monte”, dice el Señor”.

Isaías 11:6, 8-9, “El lobo morará con el cordero… El niño lactante jugará junto al agujero de la cobra, y el niño destetado pondrá su mano en la guarida de la víbora. No dañarán ni destruirán en todo Mi Santo Monte, porque la tierra estará llena del conocimiento del Señor como las aguas cubren el mar”.

Habrá una relación aún más hermosa con Dios… Versículo 24 – “Y acontecerá que antes que llamen, yo responderé; y mientras todavía hablan, yo oiré”.

Habrá un Nuevo Cielo y una Nueva Tierra

Después del reinado milenario de Cristo, habrá una batalla final, la batalla de Gog y Magog, descrita en Apocalipsis, y luego vendrá el gran juicio del Trono Blanco cuando Dios juzgue a los vivos y a los muertos. Aquellos que rechazan a Dios serán arrojados al lago de fuego junto con Satanás y todo su reino demoníaco.

Aquellos que creyeron en la oferta de salvación, sus pecados fueron perdonados y se reconciliaron con Dios. A estos se les dará la promesa de vida eterna en el cielo nuevo y la tierra nueva.
Las cosas viejas pasaron. Ya no habrá muerte, solo vida eterna en la presencia de Dios mismo, quien morará con nosotros en la eternidad en una Nueva Jerusalén que desciende del cielo como una novia se adorna para su esposo.

Puedes morar con Dios incluso ahora

Así dice el Señor: “El cielo es mi trono, y la tierra es el estrado de mis pies. ¿Dónde está, pues, una casa que puedas edificarme para Mí? ¿Y dónde está el lugar donde puedo descansar? Porque mi mano hizo todas estas cosas, y así todas estas cosas fueron hechas”. Afirma el Señor. “Pero a éste miraré, al humilde y contrito de espíritu, y al que tiembla ante mi palabra”.
Considere la grandeza y majestad de Dios, entronizado en la expansión infinita del cielo. Esta es la belleza en grandeza, del tipo que silencia el alma. La inmensidad y la grandeza de Dios no se pueden imaginar.
Sin embargo, ¿con quién morará Dios? ¿Con quién desea morar Dios? Los humildes, los contritos, los que realmente desean a Dios en sus corazones.
Moisés hizo una tienda de reunión mientras Israel acampaba al pie del monte Sinaí. Cualquiera que tuviera el deseo podía ir a la tienda de reunión y encontrarse con Dios. Moisés mismo iba a la tienda de reunión y Dios le hablaba a Moisés como un hombre habla a un amigo. Dios te está invitando a encontrarte con Él incluso ahora.
Esta es la hermosa morada de Dios. Estos son aquellos en quienes Dios se deleita. Dios te invita a morar con Él. Él llama a los humildes.

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