With bittersweetness today we finish the book of Isaiah; I’m glad you have joined us. Isaiah is a microcosm of the entire Bible. Whereas the Bible has sixty-six books, Isaiah has that many chapters. During our study, we examined Judah’s history, its present (to Isaiah’s time), and near-future endeavors, many of which have since been fulfilled. Today in chapters 64–66, we will read a prophecy of things to come.
The opening verses of Chapter 64 are a continuation of the prayer at the end of our reading yesterday. Sometimes we feel if we go to God, He will immediately do what we ask of Him. It is great to have a strong faith, but we must realize there are three answers to every prayer: yes, no, and wait.
Modern people want instant gratification. We have a microwave, remote control, “give it to me now” mentality. Therefore, when there is a gap between when we ask and when we receive the answer, we can forget it was the answer to an earlier prayer. “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!” (Isaiah 64:1 NIV).
Matthew Henry points out, “They desire that God would manifest himself to them and for them, so that all may see it. This is applicable to the second coming of Christ, when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven” (Henry 1828, 4:477). We had already heard He was coming and would suffer and die for our sins. He did. Now the prophet is saying after we make a mess of things again, which we have, He will come back once more.
Salvation and Judgment
This coming will be with salvation and judgment. No one seeks after Him (Romans 3:11) or does what is right. When He returns, it says He is coming to help those who “gladly do right” (Isaiah 64:5). Then the reality sets in, “But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry” (NIV). This leads to the prophet asking, “How then can we be saved?”
Some may think the good deeds they do will make the difference, but “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Thankfully, God has provided the only answer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31 NIV). Mark 1:15 tells us that the time to do this is now.
When We Don’t Seek Him
Isaiah’s words struck me: “I was found by those who did not seek me” (Isaiah 65:1). When I found God, I was in full rebellion against Him. Not only was I not seeking Him because my wife had faith, I was resisting Him. This experience mirrors those of people like Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell (Strobel, 1998; McDowell, 2025). Evel Knievel’s story of how he read Strobel’s The Case for Christ and became a believer also echoes it. As Calvin points out, dead people don’t seek Christ. And we are all dead in our transgressions (Calvin 1845, 12:56, Commentary on Ephesians 2:1).
As with these men, I felt that only an ignorant fool would believe in some mystical force in the universe. I figured it would be equal to believing in the “Force” from Star Wars (Lucas, quoted in Tauschek, 2024). But when we open our minds to learn the truth of the Gospel, He reveals Himself to us in a way that transforms us. As the prophet described it, they are “an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations” (Isaiah 65:2).
Praise be to God that instead of giving us justice, which would not have favored us, He gave us grace.
New Heavens and New Earth
Then, foretelling what John would write in Revelation 21:1–5, Isaiah tells us, “I will create new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17). This is a glorious promise to the believer, with horrific implications. This recreation will sweep away those not found in Christ. For a non-believer, that is too painful to wrap his or her mind around.
My wife and I recently watched Band of Brothers, and in the last episode, Easy Company visited a town where the people didn’t realize there was a concentration camp right outside their city. When something is that repulsive, our minds choose to ignore what we know. It is easier to pretend it doesn’t exist. (HBO 2001)
For non-believers, that a loving God would wipe out all the remaining people is just too painful to imagine. They create for themselves a god that would not do this. This is because they don’t understand the nature and power of sin, or how easy it is to avoid that moment. They question how you could call it heaven if God had destroyed all our loved ones? But the prophet provides the answer: “The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17 NIV).
It would be devastating to realize we were called to spread the Gospel and failed. Instead, He will allow us to rejoice with those whom we could reach. It is why ministers don’t save people; we can only lead them to Christ, who saves.
The day Isaiah speaks of is still to come, and we don’t know the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). But based on all other prophecies that came to pass, I would say the time could be now. Please don’t assume you have more time than you do. Seek the Lord while you still can.
Tomorrow, we will read Jeremiah 1-3.
Works Cited
Calvin, John. Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians. Translated by William Pringle. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1845.
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. Vol. 4. London: James Duncan, 1828. Originally published 1708–1710.
Lasher, James. “Lee Strobel Shares Evel Knievel’s Remarkable Transformation Testimony.” Charisma Magazine, August 31, 2023. https://mycharisma.com/spiritled-living/lee-strobel-shares-evel-knievels-remarkable-transformation-testimony/.
McDowell, Josh. “Josh D. McDowell.” Josh.org. Accessed July 2025. https://www.josh.org/about/josh-d-mcdowell/.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998.
Tauschek, Breanna. “George Lucas Already Explained True Balance In The Force 14 Years Ago.” Screen Rant, April 5, 2024. https://screenrant.com/star-wars-balance-in-the-force-george-lucas-explained/.
Band of Brothers. Directed by Phil Alden Robinson, Richard Loncraine, Mikael Salomon, David Nutter, Tom Hanks, David Leland, and Tony To. HBO, 2001.
Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope. Directed by George Lucas. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977.