Verse 15
"For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will Jehovah execute judgment, and by his sword, upon all flesh; and the slain of Jehovah shall be many. They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go unto the gardens, behind one in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abominations, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together, saith Jehovah."
"Jehovah will come with fire ..." (Isaiah 66:15). This is a reference to the final judgment of God upon the rebellious race of Adam. The prophet Zephaniah devoted his prophecy largely to this event; and Paul and Peter both stressed the "fire" of that Great Day.
"You that are afflicted rest with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction, from the face of the Lord and form the glory of his might" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
The heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:7ff).
The Adamic race is on a collision course with disaster, due to their rejection of God and their preference for wickedness; and in these verses, we have the inspired account of how Almighty God will deal with the situation. His promises are certain to be fulfilled.
"That sanctify themselves ... to go unto the gardens, behind one in the midst ..." (Isaiah 66:17). This refers to the people who rebelled against God's Word and worshipped after the pagan rites of the old Canaanite fertility cults, "behind one in the midst." On these words, Wardle noted that, "This means that they followed the actions of `one in the midst,' probably a leader of the ceremonies (Ezekiel 8:11); and in the mystic meals, they ate food regarded by the Law as unclean."[20]
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