24:1  Lo! The Lord will lay waste the earth and empty it; he will disfigure its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

24:2  And it shall be with priest as with people, with master as with servant, with mistress as with maid, with seller as with buyer, with borrower as with lender, with debtor as with creditor—

These chapters, twenty-four through twenty-seven, comprise what’s called the Isaiah Apocalypse, because this seems to be speaking specifically about the latter days, or the end time of the world, whereas, other parts of Isaiah are not so specific about that. It’s kind of like calling the Revelation of John the Apocalypse of John because it deals specifically with the last days, or the end of the world. And because this part of Isaiah’s prophecy was not fulfilled, before, it’s relegated to that end time. Over in Isaiah’s structure, this unit of chapters, twenty-four through twenty-seven, is in integral part of the rest of the book. What we’ve been reading, so far, ties in with what we’re reading here, that this calamity, or this time of judgment, overtakes the whole world, in all of the nations, and all the people—priests, master, servant, mistress, maid; buyer, seller, lender, borrower, creditor, debtor—everybody, across the board. But not so among the righteous because these judgmental aspects deal only with the wicked. As we get into the passages that deal with the righteous, and what happens to them, we see that there’s a distinction drawn.

Some of the movies we see about these kind of worldwide, destructive events don’t seem to allow much hope for anybody. But Isaiah has built into his prophecies the Deliverance aspect. There’s always a redeeming factor in it all. So it is a worldwide destruction. This worldwide destruction is the same one that we’ve been reading about, hitherto, beginning in chapter thirteen, in fact, including the destruction talked about in the beginning of the book that overtake the people of God. It’s all one of the same destruction, in an end time scenario.

Here, in these chapters, as in this verse, the destruction is more of a cosmic nature. It deals more with cosmic destruction. It’s similar to chapter thirteen, in that respect. The surface of the earth is going to be disfigured and the inhabitants scattered, and the earth will be laid waste and emptied. That’s like what we’ve read in chapter thirteen, which talks about “the day of the Lord coming as a cruel outburst of anger and wrath, to make the earth a desolation, that sinners may be annihilated from it. The stars and constellations of the heavens will not shine. When the sun rises, it shall be obscured; nor will the moon give its light.” There’s going to be disturbance in the heavens when the earth is jolted out of place. All of this is in chapter thirteen. So it kind of carries on from there; it’s part of the same scenario.

24:3  when the earth is sacked, it shall be utterly ravaged. The Lord has given word concerning it.

24:4  The earth shall pine away, the world miserably perish; the elite of the earth shall be made wretched.

In chapter thirteen, verses nine and eleven, the earth and the world were subjects of the destruction of Babylon. It’s just that, here, Isaiah’s just giving another view of the same thing, another dimension, another aspect, of it. Babylon is a type of the world. Here is the world itself. In these chapters, also, the word “city” appears, to epitomize the wicked. There’s a wicked city, or the city of the wicked. And there’s also a city of the righteous, as a counterpoint to the wicked city.

“The earth shall pine away, the world miserably perish,” like people just pining away, eventually perishing, and dying, because there’s no hope for them. So it will be the elite of the earth. The elite is, again, part of the humiliation theme that’s all the way through Isaiah. “The elite of the earth shall be made wretched.”

24:5  The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants: they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, set at nought the ancient covenant.

Now he gives a rationale for all of this. “They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, set at naught the ancient covenant.” And so it brings covenant curses upon the people. The interesting thing is that it is the inhabitants of the world, at large, who are accused of breaking laws, changing the ordinances, and setting at naught the ancient covenant. The ancient covenant is the Lord’s covenant with his people Israel. Why, then, would the inhabitants of the earth be implicated, here? In an end-time scenario, the Lord’s people have been scattered all over the earth. They were exiled, anciently, and in the meantime they have occupied all of the nations of the world. There are inhabitants of Israel all over the world. And, instead of helping the inhabitants of the world, or the nations of the world, among whom they reside, among whom they abide, to convert to the gospel and to keep the laws of the covenant, they haven’t done that. The point is that Israel is now scattered all over the earth, all over the world, and the covenant of God with Israel, with his people Israel, is known by the inhabitants of the earth. In spite of that, they haven’t changed their ways. Those who have entered the covenant have actually transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, so that the laws of the covenant, and the ordinances of the covenant, are no longer pure. By changing things around you set the covenant at naught. It’s no longer what it should be. But the word “covenant” also is a metaphor describing the Lord’s Servant, so that their setting at nought the ancient covenant also means they set the Servant at naught. He personifies the covenant. He is the covenant. He called “a covenant to the people,” in chapters forty-two and forty-nine. In the book of Isaiah you have that phenomenon of where the people choose darkness instead of light. Or they choose the king of Assyria instead of the Lord’s Servant. And there’s kind of a dichotomy among the people, as to which direction they go. So this is part of that scenario. They set one at naught, and uphold the other.

24:6  The curse devours the earth, for those who dwell on it have incurred guilt; because of it the population of the earth shall be diminished and little of mankind remain.

So a covenant curse is upon the people as a result of breaking the covenant, and it large mass of population disappears, as it says in chapter thirteen, verse twelve:”
“Mankind will be as scarce as fine gold.” In fact, according to Isaiah’s proportions, about
ninety-percent of mankind is destroyed in that day of judgment.

24:7  The new wine withers on languishing vines, making all the lighthearted lament.

24:8  The rhythm of drums ceases, the revelers’ din stops; the pulsating of lyres comes to an end.

This indicates that, as in other places, people are reverting to a pleasurable lifestyle, seeking their own pleasures rather than the service of God. Back in chapter five, verse eleven it says: “Woe to those who go after liquor as soon as they arise in the morning, who linger at night parties, inflamed by wine. The harps and lyres, drums and flutes at their banquets. But they regard not what the Lord does, nor perceive his hand at work.” So Israel, and the world in general, are in this state. And the Lord is going to bring those concerts and those parties and all the different ways of entertainment, that people are so caught up with, to an end.

24: 9  Men no longer drink wine amid song; liquor has turned bitter to drinkers.

So there’s lots of drinking going on, and probably alcoholism, but the drinks that they’re able to drink, now, are not exactly what they want. That lifestyle has brought been brought to demise, to these people.

24:10  The towns of disorder are broken up; all houses are shuttered, that none may enter.

24:11  Outside is heard the clamor for wine, though all joy has become gloom: the earth’s vitality is gone.

So the situation of siege, or in wartime, people are afraid to go outdoors, and everything is shuttered up so no one can come and go. The “joy that has become gloom” we’ve seen that earlier, where light becomes darkness, and joy becomes misery, and the Lord takes away his Spirit and then there’s nothing left. The earth’s vitality is gone. There’s no fertility anymore. It’s just like it’s depicted in those movies, as far as the wicked are concerned.

24:12  Havoc remains in the city; the gates lie battered to ruin.

This is where “the city” is mentioned for the first time. And “the city” is that entity of people that epitomizes the wicked, in the book of Isaiah. There are two cities, two women, and two people—the wicked and the righteous. They are epitomized as a city. The city is Babylon, or some equivalent, just we have the other city, the city of Zion, the city of the Lord. There is the harlot, Babylon, and there is the virgin, Zion. There are the Lord’s righteous people, and then the wicked people of God and of the nations. The verse here refers to the wicked; “havoc remains in the city; the gates lie battered to ruin,” by the enemy, the Assyrians who have invaded the land, who have broken in and conquered the people.

24:13  Then shall it happen in the earth among the nations as when an olive tree is beaten, or as grapes are gleaned when the vintage is ended.

So this is a worldwide event, again. This destruction is worldwide. But there is a redeeming factor. There are those who are left who are untouched. “After the vintage has ended” is the destruction, or the harvest. “The vintage” is the day-of-judgment imagery, the great destruction caused by the Assyrians. But there are some people left, who survive, who are called the “gleanings.”

24:14  Then will these lift up their voice and shout for joy, and those from across the sea exult at the Lord’s ingenuity.

Meaning that the Lord’s people are in two, distinct, places: those at home and those abroad. Isaiah identifies them as Zion and Jerusalem, two centers of God’s people. If you look carefully at the way Isaiah uses those terms you will see that they are not one and the same place. Each one has its own rhetorical definition in the book of Isaiah. “Then will these lift up their voice.” “These,” elah, in Hebrew, also means Gods, or Mighty Ones, alluding to the elect. They lift up their voice and shout for joy. When everyone else is going into doom and gloom, there are those who emerge from the doom and gloom, from their oppression, and from their captivity, bondage, and exile, for whom there is joy, in that day, in the great reversal of circumstances that happens between the righteous and the wicked, at that time. The “voice” is also a metaphor for the Lord’s Servant. They lift up their “voice,” or sustain him. They sustain this one who is the voice of the righteous, or the Lord’s mouth to his people, on a metaphorical level.

“Those from across the sea exult at the Lord’s ingenuity.” The Lord was ingenious in causing this destruction of the wicked so that the righteous might be delivered. The way he orchestrated events in history bespeaks his Divinity. Only God can organize human history in such a way that the end result proves to be redeeming for the righteous, and damnatory for the wicked.

24:15  Because of it they will give glory to the Lord in the regions of sunrise, and in the isles of the sea to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

 Regions of sunrise, and the isles of the sea incorporates other parts of the earth than just Palestine. In relation to Palestine we would be in the isles of the sea, or the continents of the sea, and the regions of sunrise. And we would give glory to the Lord at that time, for those of us who survived, or for those whom the Lord has prepared deliverance.

24:16  From a sector of the earth we hear singing: Glorious are the righteous! Whereas I thought, I am wasting away; I am weakening: woe is me; the traitors have been treacherous, the turncoats have deceitfully betrayed!

 So, those who survive begin to hear about each other. They may have supposed that they were the only ones that were left alive, because the destruction is worldwide and so devastating that they probably think, well who else could possibly survive this. “From a sector of the earth we hear singing.” The singing is a constant motif through these chapters which talk about the day of judgment, for the most part, but also speaks about the salvation of the righteous out of the destruction. And what characterizes the righteous is always joy and singing, and exultation. Whereas, among the wicked it’s always silence, gloom, and misery, and weeping and wailing, and so forth.

“Glorious are the righteous” because the Lord has exalted them at the same time he humiliated, or brought the wicked to ignominy. That which is humiliated is now exalted. That which was exalted is now humiliated. So the righteous survive, and not only survive God lends them his glory, as it says, later on, in the book of Isaiah. He glorifies them. “Whereas I thought, I am wasting away; I am weakening: woe is me; the traitors have been treacherous, the turncoats have deceitfully betrayed!” So those enemies of God’s people who thought they were the only ones left who were betrayed by their fellows—probably by some of their own kind—are the wicked of God’s people. They were also betrayed by the Assyrians who launched treacherous military attacks upon the whole world, and conquered it after they had made peace treaties. So all through this time of oppression, first of all, and wickedness which brings upon them the Assyrian destruction, there are these people who seem to be the victims all the way through whom the Lord eventually delivers and saves, so they escape. But while they are in the midst of the oppression they wonder how they can endure this, thinking they are wasting away and weakening, and wonder if they can they be sustained through all this, through so much treachery, deceit, and betrayal? The answer is, yes, they can! All the Lord’s people are going through the same thing. Because they survive, they eventually meet up with each other, and everything is fine again.

24:17  Terrors and pitfalls and traps await you, O inhabitants of the earth:

This is the inhabitants of the earth, in general.

24:18  those who flee at the sound of terror shall fall into a pit, and those who get up from the pit shall be caught in a trap. For when the windows on high are opened, the earth shall shake to its foundations.

This is the lot of those who don’t repent. We saw, earlier, that people fall into the trap. The Lord of Hosts is a rock of stumbling to his people. They stumble over him and they fall into the trap. This is talking about the Lord’s own people. Isaiah says, in chapter eight, verse fourteen and fifteen: “To you he will be a sanctuary,” to the righteous, “but to the two house of Israel, a stumbling block, or obstructing rock, and a snare, catching unawares the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Many shall stumble into them, and when they fall they shall be broken, and when they become ensnared, shall be taken captive.” So those are rhetorical links, here, with the wicked of the earth, in general.

“The windows on high are opened” is an interesting term, like the wise men, in chapter nineteen, that’s been put into modern usage. Today we talk about a window up in the sky, or atmosphere, to let missiles in or out. We talk about a window that’s going to be open at such and such a time, so that’s the time when the rocket has to be launched to take a satellite up there. Or there’s a certain window for an endeavor to come through and land back down on earth. “When the window on high are opened, the earth shall shake to its foundation,” means that’s when the attack is launched, when there’s that window of opportunity, and the earth shakes to its foundation at the time of that terrible worldwide destruction. The earth is jolted out of place, by “the anger of the Lord of Hosts in the day of his blazing wrath,” as mentioned in chapter thirteen.

24:19  The earth shall be crushed and rent; the earth shall break up and cave in; the earth shall convulse and lurch.

24:20  The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, sway back and forth like a shanty; its transgressions weigh it down, and when it collapses it shall rise no more.

What falls and collapses, in the book of Isaiah? It’s Babylon. Babylon goes into the dust, no more to arise. So it’s talking about the wicked, in general, and is also manifested physically, in a physical destruction. The drunkard imagery indicates addiction, a general state of wickedness and drunkenness among the people. They’re not savvy to what’s really going on. They’ve chosen their course in life. They’ve broken the Lord’s covenant, and now the consequences are upon them. There’s really nothing that anybody can do about it when destruction is that horrendous and that universal.

24:21  In that day will the Lord deal on high with the hosts on high and on earth with the rulers of the earth.

24:22  They shall be herded together like prisoners to a dungeon and shut in confinement many days, as punishment.

So all these people, including those who come under condemnation, are the inhabitants of the earth talked about who also constitute greater, or arch-Babylon, which includes “hosts on high,” and also, especially rulers of the earth. Who would be the hosts on high? They would be evil spirits, or angels, who are aiding and abetting the wicked. And the Lord brings them to task, as well, and binds them, binding Satan’s armies and Satan’s hosts who are working behind the scenes to induce people to greater and greater wickedness. And also, the rulers of the earth who, in many instances, lead the people astray and abolish their traditional ways and who misrule and bring upon people these very judgments. So they are especially dealt with, and put in a dungeon, or a spirit prison, as in chapter fourteen, because this happens, by and large, in the next world.
In chapter fourteen, which is about the king of Babylon when he goes down into the spirit prison, or into Sheol-- the underworld-- Isaiah’s says, “Sheol below is in commotion because of you, anticipating your arrival.” That’s when the Assyrian king dies. “On your account she aroused all the spirits of the world leaders, causing all who ruled nations to rise up from their thrones. All alike were moved to say to you, Even you have become powerless as we are! You have become like us!” So those prisoners in the dungeons where they’re shut in confinement many days, as punishment, refers to their spiritual demise, after their deaths.

24:23  The moon will blush and the sun be put to shame, when the Lord of Hosts manifests his reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory in the presence of his elders.

His elders are the counterpart of these rulers. The lord abolishes wicked rule and replaces it with the righteous rule of his servants, which he calls elders, here. And these elders dwell in the Lord’s presence, very much like Moses and the seventy elders went up on Mt. Sinai, and they “ate bread in the presence of the Lord.” Here it is, upon Mt. Zion and in Jerusalem, where the Lord manifests his reign when he comes to rule upon the earth. And at that time, it says, the sun will be put to shame because of the brightness of his coming, because of the glory of the Lord’s presence. Now, that also alludes to the Lord’s coming as a general event, not only as a literal instance of his actual presence.

This also alludes to when the sun is darkened, as it says in chapter thirteen, verse ten. When the sun rises it shall be obscured. Nor will the moon give its light. Stars and constellations of heaven shall not shine, at that time when the earth is destroyed. And that destruction of the earth and of the wicked is the prelude to the actual coming of the Lord himself. The wicked are destroyed and the earth is cleansed so that the Lord may then come to the righteous and manifest his glory among them. He doesn’t manifest his glory among the wicked. They never see the Lord’s coming. They never see him, at all. All they know is that there is war and destruction, and that they themselves are [ word cut off]