Q6. The Eternal Kingdom

[Pastor Ralph]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? Who will be included in this kingdom? Who will be excluded from it?

[RD35]

Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? Who will be included in this kingdom? Who will be excluded from it?

It seems a strange note on which to end the glorious prophecy of Isaiah, but the message is clear. God's word must be listened to, his invitation must be heeded. The blessings are glorious, but punishment of those who rebel against God goes on forever also.   

 

The eternal kingdom is coming, but not all will enjoy its fruits. It is entered by faith and submission to the Lord.

[hanks]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24).

Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah?

Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?

Who will be included in this kingdom?

Who will be excluded from it?

Eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of the book of Isaiah as a serious warning for the unrepentant people to turn to the Lord, and also as a warning to us that sinful rebellion against God will always be with us as long as people have the freedom of choice. We are given a vivid picture of hell where the “worm does not die”, and the “fire is not quenched”. The good news is that if we put our faith in the Saviour, we will escape these eternal fires. All mankind will worship the Lord and bow down before Him. 

 

 

[IvoryEagle]

Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? To bring unto the forefront of all the consequences of disobedience.

 

 

Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?  The pleasure for obedience will be equal pain for disobedience--FOREVER!

 

 

Who will be included in this kingdom? All who recognize Jesus Christ as Lord!  "The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he

will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never

end." (Luke 1:32b-33)

 

Revelation declares:

 

"The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices

in heaven, which said: 'The kingdom of the world has become the

kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever

and ever.'" (Revelation 11:15)

 

 

 

Who will be excluded from it?  Those who reject the invitation of Jesus.

 

[JanMary]

On 8/2/2013 at 8:48 AM, Pastor Ralph said:

 

 

 

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah?

Even during the glorious Millennial reign on earth, the people born during that time will still have free will, as we have. Though hard to fathom, there will be those who "choose not to be chosen" and will instead choose eternal life apart from Him, in hell.

Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?

Because that is the final end for everyone....either in eternity with the Lord, or in eternity in hell with Satan and all who rejected His gift of salvation.

Who will be included in this kingdom?

Every soul who responded to Jesus's gift on the cross for them, Jew and Gentile alike,  and all of the Old Testament saints who looked forward to the Cross.

Who will be excluded from it?

Every soul who chose to reject Jesus....and those Old Testament folks who chose to go their own way apart from God.

[Squirt]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah?
    Not all will believe.  It is necessary to show not only the blessings for those who are obedient, but the punishment for those who are not.  Perhaps the truth of the judgment to those who do not believe will lead them to reconsider and turn from their evil ways.  It seems that there are vast numbers of unbelievers who fail to understand that human beings are eternal creatures, made in the image of God.  The atheists think that you die and that’s it.  Period.  You live, you die, you’re dust and it is all over.  It is necessary to lead them to see that you cannot opt out of eternity:  your choice is between eternity in heaven or eternity in hell.  

Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?
    In the same way that eternal punishment is needful for the sinners to hear, the reassurance of an enduring, eternal kingdom is encouragement to those who are struggling.

Who will be included in this kingdom?
    It is entered by faith and submission to the Lord. 

Who will be excluded from it?
    Those who do not repent of their rebellion and believe in the Lord will be excluded from the eternal kingdom.
 

 

[Jen]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is
mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? Why is
the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? Who will be included in
this kingdom? Who will be excluded from it?

 

As a reminder of God's judgement

We shall all be in eternity, either in glory or in anguish both physically and mentally.  Would that all would listen and believe in the Lord Jesus.

Included will be all who love the Lord Jesus

Excluded will be all who reject the Lord Jesus

 

God Bless!

Jen

Romans 15:13

[Lion of Grace]

Eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of this glorious prophecy of Isaiah because there needs to be a warning as to the consequences of not following Jesus. God's word must be listened to and His invitation must be accepted. Yes, the blessings for those who have done this are glorious, but there will be punishment for those who do not and rebel against God. Both the eternal glories and the eternal punishment are very real. We need to be warned and to warn others! There will be a final judgement. 

 

The enduring eternal Kingdom is mentioned for encouragement and hope for all those that believe and have accepted God's grace and remain faithful to God and His Word.

 

The glories of the New Heaven and the New Earth will last forever and we, as believers will be included in on this.

Those who have refused to believe will be excluded.

[royk]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? Who will be included in this kingdom? Who will be excluded from it?

 

It is like the thief on the cross next to Jesus. We are incapable of judging anyone in this world. 

 

Clearly the bible says, love the Lord your God above all else, love your neighbor neighbor like yourself. So will we need to be on our death bed to mean this deep in our hearts? I hope not.

 

So why shouldn't a beautiful passage in Isaiah also remind us of what is going to happen if we don't honestly seek the Lord. 

 

This message will never change. God loves us so much, gives us good reason to love Him above ll else. Still the world of today beckons with many material objects. It is not easy to always be close to the Lord.

[dmmelo9]

Hello!!!

 

Q1.  Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? 

        Always there are people against God.

 

Q2.  Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? 

       This is the final goal for everyone.

 

Q3.  Who will be included in this kingdom?

       All the people who recognized Jesus as the Lord and savior.

 

Q4.  Who will be excluded from it?

      Those that were not found in the book of life.

 

 

 

[Sank T Monius]

Isaiah 66:22-24
Q. Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah?
A). The blessings are glorious, but punishment of those who rebel against God goes on forever also. Isaiah 66:24 is quoted by Jesus (Mark 9:48) and in the last book of the Bible (Revelation 14:11). It is sad, but true.
#
Q. Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?
A). Isaiah mentions the kingdom as a word of encouragement to those whose hearts have remained faithful to God. The kingdom that "will be born in a day" will be the Kingdom of God which will suddenly reign fully when Christ returns in the Last Days, gathers his people, and brings justice throughout the earth. The Kingdom is here now, but will come in its fullness on the day when "every knee will bow ... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11).
#
Q. Who will be included in this kingdom?
A). Those whose hearts have remained faithful to God will be included in this kingdom.
#
Q. Who will be excluded from it?
A). Those who rebel against God will be excluded:
And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind. (Isaiah 66:24)
 

[wjcargile]

1. Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such glorious prophecy as Isaiah?

- Serves as a warning to those who rejects God.

 

2. Why is enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?

-JESUS CHRIST  will return and preside over the everlasting kingdom.

 

3. Who will be included in this kingdom?

-All who heeded to God's invitation.

 

4. Who will be excluded from it?

-All who rejected God's invitation.

[angelbaby]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah?

At the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah where the first half deals with Gods mercy and Judgement and the second half clearly points to the Deliverer the Messiah Jesus christ ... it was necessary to tell people their destiny if they rebelled against God and he wanted to make it very certain that they understood that at that time nothing could relieve /reverse the punishment of eternal fire and life with torment with Satan....he was emphasising the fact that there was still chance to repent and choose eternal life to eternal punishment.

 

Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?

The choice is theirs still and they have to  make up their minds. for faith in Jesus Christ...which they will never regret ....a life of happiness and joy .... when Jesus Christ will return with glory and reign forever and ever.

 

Who will be included in this kingdom?

All those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

 

Who will be excluded from it?

All those who reject God and refuse to put their faith in Jesus Christ who is the ONLY way, the truth and the life

 

[humblejon]

Although Isaiah's prophecies promise glorious rewards, the invitation to such promises must be taken seriously because the consequences are severe if one continues to sin and rebel. The enduring, eternal kingdom is mentioned since our worshipping of God will be endless on into forever and ever. The faithful and humble will enjoy the kingdom, while the proud and wicked will be shut out!

[Guitar Jim]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah?

 

It's there as a sobering reminder that there are two sides to every coin. In this case, Paradise and hell. Everlasting happiness and everlasting punishment.

 

 

 

Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned?

 

The whole point of the entire Bible is the establishment of God's Kingdom. Read as a huge book from go to whoa, the whole history of how God created the world, sin entered, measures were put in place to work around sin that really didn't work, the rebellion of God's people, Jesus's sacrificial death and resurrection, the spreading of the Gospel, and the final culmination of everything set in the future . . . it's an epic. The enduring eternal kingdom is the end result, the happy ending.

 

 

 

Who will be included in this kingdom?

 

People who accept the invitation to come in, whose lives are lived in accordance with God's requirements of faith in Christ and obedience to the Word of God.

 

 

 

Who will be excluded from it?

 

All those who continue to rebel against God and rely on their own righteousness and worse, who don't want to know about righteousness.

 

 

[Delivered]

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah?

 Isaiah 66:7 before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Out of Zion came Salvation, God's Lamb, the promised King of the Jews, the Messiah, what a wonderful promise for Zion and for all those who overcome and believe in God's Passover Lamb, however, Zion was in labor and I believe God's intention was that Israel would be born in a day (1948) as prophesied, so the world would understand, it had to be by the hand of God, who has ever heard of such a thing, who has ever seen such a thing, it is impossible for a country to be born in a day, (Isaiah 26:16-18)  As a woman with child, that draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and cries out in her pangs; Israel, the bride of the LORD, because of her unfaithfulness, were dispersed and in labor, under the judgment of God.

                       

The Ottoman Turks held control in the Holy Land for 400 years until they were defeated by  Britain's General Allenby in World War 1. The British Mandate given by the League of nations lasted until 1948 when in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust, the Jews, feeling the pains of labor, moved the world, and with a 2/3 vote permitted the State of Israel to be established, however, within HOURS of her independence "FIVE ARAB" countries, full of hatred for the Jewish people, and declaring their god said, the LAND was given to them  attacked Israel while the world stood silently by,  it was now impossible for Israel to be born in a day, and yet, in one day the world saw that the God of Israel is LORD, He is a God that keeps His promises and Israel became a nation as promised, in a day.  

This was just the beginning of her birth pangs, she was still a woman without child, she did not have the Capital, Jerusalem, where God's Name is, or the Temple site, as it was occupied by Jordan until the world witnessed the hand of God again, and out of her labor pains came the "Six Day War" on June 8, 1967 delivering for her the liberation of Jerusalem, allowing other promises of God to come true, for God said, she will shoot forth branches and will yield fruit, Israel took a desolate land, and with much labor and death, turned it into a land that produces fruit and the most beautiful flowers, and yet, ISRAEL is still in the pains of labor, and the world is watching, will God do what He said he will do for Israel, as Israel struggles for peace and to keep the land God promised to them, before we see the end of the prophecy of Isaiah, the world will feel the pains of labor, as God brings judgment against sin and those who come against His bride Israel, and against the land of Israel, therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: "I do not do this for your sake, O House of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, with the reason being, "You will know that "I AM THE LORD"

 

Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? It is our hope.

 

Who will be included in this kingdom? Those who are faithful and true will be included.

 

Who will be excluded from it? Those who transgress against God, those who are lukewarm, apostatizing from the faith, and those who  call black white, and white black, those who live by not following the love laws of God.

 

The remnant of true believers are today “watching” and “praying” for the "Peace of Jerusalem", we know that their return to their land is just a preparation for the fulfillment, when the Messiah comes.

 

 

 

 

 

[WinstonY]

Question 11.6

This seems rather difficult to respond for in the book Isaiah there seems to be a frequent alternating back and forth between assurance and punishment.  Did Isaiah just stop here at verse 24 or was there an additional ending at the end of the scroll that has been lost?

Verse 24 , however, does seem to exclude those opponents of Isaiah who does not think like him.  It is almost like they are excommunicated for they are not even given the gift of dying but like in a fire that is not quenched.   Westermann suggests that this is probably the first idea of hell as a state of perdition (W. Bruggemann -260).

Throughout Isaiah there is the same tension between punishment and assurance.  Often the switch from one to the other is quite dramatic, just as it is here between 66.23 and 66:24.  The tension between assurance to punishment is quite effective and attention catching and as well somewhat disturbing.   It wants one to ensure that one is on the assurance side of the tension.  But Paul writes, “The hour has already come ... Put on the armor of light”. (Romans 13: 11 -12)

 

The eternal kingdom, the new heaven and the new earth which Yahweh will make is introduced yet again because it is a major theme in Isaiah and it does create the tension between those who have not rebelled against Yahweh and who belong to the new heaven and the new earth and those who rebel against the new regime and for them there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

As one replays Isaiah in ones mind it seems that those who are excluded will be those who do not support the cause of the Lord Yahweh and his son Jesus.  Those who do not love the Lord their God with all their heart and their neighbor as themselves.  It will be those who do not give justice to the poor and the oppressed , those who do not bring good news to the poor , those who do not proclaim release to the captives and those who do not give recovery of sight to the blind and do not let the oppressed go free.  These are the ones to whom Isaiah refers to in Chapter 66:23.

 

winstony

[Old Jerry]

I think that eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of the prophecy of Isaiah because Isaiah wanted it to be known that no matter what God does for us there will still be those who will not believe and that this nonbeliever is going to suffer the consequences. The enduring eternal kingdom is mentioned so that those who do not believe will see what they will be missing.

Everybody that accepts Jesus Christ as their savior will be included in this kingdom. The non-believers will be excluded.

[RebeccaL]

On 8/2/2013 at 4:48 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q6. (Isaiah 66:22-24). Why do you think eternal punishment is mentioned at the end of such a glorious prophecy as Isaiah? Why is the enduring, eternal kingdom mentioned? Who will be included in this kingdom? Who will be excluded from it?

 

I really struggle with this duality, us versus them, believers versus non-believers. I really struggle with how Love (God=Love) can also utterly abandon its own creation when that who God created to have a will of their own exercizes their will and chooses not to believe - yet they are good and loving humans. I don’t understand why belief is the tipping point. Why isn’t it simply loving others? God dwells in each of us and when we love another we love God. Like Jesus said, when we show kindness to the weakest of us, we’re showing kindness to Jesus himself. 
 

I think it’s more plausible that God will abandon the truly evil humans, but this, too, is simple human duality thinking. We could never know the sad and unfortunate circumstances around some people’s upbringings which lend themselves to the evil inside a human, but God can and does, so here, too, even truly evil humans, when themselves victims of evil in their own lives have caused them to become evil, shouldn’t God even give them a break? 
 

Christ is all about unity - the constant renewal of life all around us, and how we are a part of it - this is Love. 
 

I think I need to spend a lot more time studying Revelation, and perhaps Isaiah 65-67. I just want to understand why the duality (repentant vs non-repentant, believers vs non-believers) and I want to understand how Jesus could say the meek shall inherit the earth, when the meek could also be people who were never taught the Word of God, or shown the love of God ever in their lives.

[Krissi]

Seculars/unbelievers will be with us until the very end. That's both comforting (for they still have a chance to repent, believe and be saved) and frightening (the pain they cause Christians will persist.) 

Because a tension between seculars and Christians persists to the end, God promises Christians that they'll be saved at some point, and that their victory will be eternal. There will be a reckoning, in other words. A settling of scores. For those of us who spend most of our time with secular people, these are strangely comforting words for justice really does prevail and righteousness really is rewarded.

I have associated closely with Jews and have been surprised at how they believe these prophecies apply to them only. It's a bit jarring to move from Christian circles, where God's salvation is universally proclaimed, to a Jewish culture in which salvation is limited to the Jews (and includes even secular Jews.) This is particularly true among certain subgroups in Israel who expect God to exclude everyone but themselves.

This just gives me pause, because again, the truths of scripture seem to be interpreted differently by people in different eras and faiths. A passage may have many truths, not just one.

Isaiah did have a meaning specific to the Jews at the time it was written, to those  eager to be sprung from slavery. Today, Jews are still waiting for their savior -- they don't believe that these passages apply to Jesus. Christians add another layer of meaning to these verses by believing that they apply to Jesus, and by extension, all Christians. Furthermore, I've met individuals who believe these passages rightly apply to specific circumstances in their own lives.

The question of who will be included/excluded from the Kingdom, therefore, is contingent on identifying the people or individuals for whom the prophecies are intended. Jews says it's just for them. Christians believe that these prophecies apply to all who believe in Jesus and in some cases, Jesus Himself. And some charismatic individuals believe these prophecies include themselves.

---

Thank you for this study, Pastor Ralph. It was one of the best ones I've done yet!

[crissy464]

A reminder of God’s Judgement

For encouragement

Those who are faithful to God

Those who rebel against God