The wicked will be burned up at the coming of Christ!
Many prophecies in the Old Testament have a dual application. They were first given to the nation of Israel and applied to the land in which they lived. God designed that the Jews would be the center of influence for His kingdom to all the world. The words of the prophets described local enemies and literal places. But the Hebrews failed to fulfill their obligations in these conditional prophecies. Yet the words do not fall into the dust, but rather they are raised up and applied to spiritual Israel in a universal sense.
In the poetic language of Isaiah, we listen to a victorious description of Israel looking upon the destruction of their enemies. Using hyperbole, he visualizes their annihilation. But does this passage mean dead bodies will forever be lying around on the new earth? Like other Bible teachings, we must look at the whole of Scripture on a topic.
God’s Word clearly states, “‘Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that will leave them neither root nor branch. … You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 4:1, 3).
In Isaiah 66:24, the tense of the Hebrew verb “does not die” means that the worm doesn’t live forever, but will do its complete work before it ceases to exist. The same is true of the fire that is “not quenched.” The same verb tense suggests that once this fire begins its work, it cannot be stopped until it has completely burned up what it is consuming.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Isaiah 66:24
Many prophecies in the Old Testament have a dual application. They were first given to the nation of Israel and applied to the land in which they lived. God designed that the Jews would be the center of influence for His kingdom to all the world. The words of the prophets described local enemies and literal places. But the Hebrews failed to fulfill their obligations in these conditional prophecies. Yet the words do not fall into the dust, but rather they are raised up and applied to spiritual Israel in a universal sense.
In the poetic language of Isaiah, we listen to a victorious description of Israel looking upon the destruction of their enemies. Using hyperbole, he visualizes their annihilation. But does this passage mean dead bodies will forever be lying around on the new earth? Like other Bible teachings, we must look at the whole of Scripture on a topic.
God’s Word clearly states, “‘Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that will leave them neither root nor branch. … You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 4:1, 3).
In Isaiah 66:24, the tense of the Hebrew verb “does not die” means that the worm doesn’t live forever, but will do its complete work before it ceases to exist. The same is true of the fire that is “not quenched.” The same verb tense suggests that once this fire begins its work, it cannot be stopped until it has completely burned up what it is consuming.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Isaiah 66:24
The wicked will be burned up at the coming of Christ!
Many prophecies in the Old Testament have a dual application. They were first given to the nation of Israel and applied to the land in which they lived. God designed that the Jews would be the center of influence for His kingdom to all the world. The words of the prophets described local enemies and literal places. But the Hebrews failed to fulfill their obligations in these conditional prophecies. Yet the words do not fall into the dust, but rather they are raised up and applied to spiritual Israel in a universal sense.
In the poetic language of Isaiah, we listen to a victorious description of Israel looking upon the destruction of their enemies. Using hyperbole, he visualizes their annihilation. But does this passage mean dead bodies will forever be lying around on the new earth? Like other Bible teachings, we must look at the whole of Scripture on a topic.
God’s Word clearly states, “‘Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that will leave them neither root nor branch. … You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 4:1, 3).
In Isaiah 66:24, the tense of the Hebrew verb “does not die” means that the worm doesn’t live forever, but will do its complete work before it ceases to exist. The same is true of the fire that is “not quenched.” The same verb tense suggests that once this fire begins its work, it cannot be stopped until it has completely burned up what it is consuming.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Isaiah 66:24
0 Comments
0 Shares
748 Views
Arabic
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Deutsch
Turkish
Dutch
Italiano
Russian
Romaian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Greek