The Old Gives Way to the New (Isaiah 66:1-24)

• 66:1-6 – Misplaced trust
  • The fallacy of trusting ancestry (Matthew 3:9) and location (1 Kings 8:27)
  • Offering in the wrong spirit (Acts 5:1ff; 8:9-13; 1 Corinthians 10:11; John 4:24)
  • Righteousness vs. wickedness (John 3:18-21; 9:35-40; 15:18-27)
• 66:7-14 – Blessings in New Zion
  • The exaltation of the Son, the establishment of the new nation, the multiplication of children (Acts 2; 4:4)
  • Joy and mourning (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Colossians 3:15)
• 66:15-17 – Rejection of God’s plea
  • Fire as a symbol of divine punishment (Psalm 97;3; Jeremiah 4:4; Ezekiel 22:21; Nahum 1:6; Isaiah 29:5-6; 30:27-31; 42:25)
  • Attempt to sanctify and purify themselves
• 66:18-21 – Worldwide spread of the gospel
  • The sign: Christ’s resurrection? Destruction of Jerusalem? Establishment of the church?
  • Gentiles are brethren (Galatians 3:26-28) and priests (1 Peter 2:9)
• 66:22-24 – The promise of perpetuity
  • Daniel 2:44; Matthew 16:18
  • “New heavens and new earth” different than Peter and John’s (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 20:15; 21:4, 8, 27; 22:4, 15, 19)
  • “It is only in the church where one ceases to fall short of the glory of God (Eph. 3:10-21; Isa. 66:18)!” (Keith A. Mosher, Sr.)

Discussion Questions

1. Do we trust in the God we worship or the way we worship? What’s the difference?

2. What is often the result of worshiping God as He has prescribed?

3. How can one mourn and be joyful at the same time?

4. What is the difference between a Jew and a Gentile in the church?

5. Contrast Isaiah’s “new heavens and the new earth” with Peter and John usage in the New Testament.