Chapter 24

1 The doleful judgments of God upon the land. 13 A remnant shall joyfully praise him. 16 God in his judgments shall advance his kingdom.

1. Maketh the earth empty. Like all of Isaiah’s prophetic messages, that of ch. 24 was originally addressed to literal Israel and describes the manner in which God would have laid the earth desolate and vanquished the enemies of Israel had the latter proved faithful. But in view of Israel’s unfaithfulness, this prophecy, like others originally made with respect to that nation, will be fulfilled to God’s people today (see pp. 30–36). In Rev. 20 John applies the description of the earth, here given, to its desolate state during the millennium.

Isaiah has dealt at length with the judgments of God upon individual nations (chs. 13–23). Now his prophetic vision is lifted to the broad horizon of history as a whole, and in chs. 24–28 he describes the great closing scenes, when God’s people are to be delivered and their foes vanquished. In ch. 24 Isaiah presents a graphic picture of this earth after its kings have been subdued (vs. 21, 22) and before the Lord of hosts reigns “in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem” (v. 23).

Turneth it upside down. Literally, “disconcerts its face.” This is a striking description of the terrible convulsions that shake the world at the second coming of Christ (see Ps. 46:1–3, 6, 8; Rev. 6:16; 16:18–20).

2. As with the people. There will be no favored classes at the time of Christ’s return; all will suffer the same calamity. Rich and poor, high and low, men of every class, color, and occupation, will be involved in the same common destruction (see Rev. 6:15; 19:18).

3. Utterly emptied. When Christ returns, all the living wicked will be slain and all the righteous will ascend with Him into heaven (see Jer. 25:30–33; Luke 17:26, 29, 30; 1 Thess. 5:3; Rev. 19:11–21; 20:4–6). The earth will thus be left without inhabitants (see Jer. 4:25).

4. Haughty people. Literally, “the high of the people.” The highest of the people, those who have raised themselves to levels above their fellows, are humbled by the Lord (see chs. 2:11, 12, 17; 13:11).

5. The earth also is defiled. God is holy. He gave His law to keep men pure and the world undefiled. By rejecting that law, men defile both themselves and the world in which they live. The contagion of sin has infected the very ground beneath our feet, the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe (see Gen. 3:17; Num. 35:33; Ps. 107:34). With every passing year the earth becomes more and more corrupt. If God were not to intervene, the time would come when the defilement of sin would so debase the human race as to make life itself utterly impossible (see Gen. 6:5, 11, 12; DA 36, 37).

Everlasting covenant. See on Jer. 31:31–33; Eze. 16:60.

6. The curse devoured. It is not God, but Satan, the instigator of sin, who is responsible for the curse that results from it. Everywhere the forces of evil are at work and everywhere the handiwork of Satan is clearly seen (DA 636; GC 589). In disease and death, in earthquakes and storms, in fires and floods, the work of the evil one is manifest. Transgression of the laws of God has not brought peace and prosperity, but trouble, pestilence, pain, and ultimately death.

Burned. Probably under the fourth plague (Rev. 16:8, 9).

Few men left. This probably refers to the righteous remnant, who have not fallen under the judgments of God.

7. The new wine mourneth. The vineyards are destroyed and the fruits of the earth are consumed in the burning heat of the fourth plague (Rev. 16:8, 9; GC 628). The song of the merryhearted harvesters is hushed, for the land is desolate.

8. Tabrets. See Vol. III, pp. 30, 31.

Harp. Lyre; see Vol. III, pp. 33, 34. When men undergo the terrible calamities of the last days they will no longer think of “mirth” or “joy” (see Jer. 7:34; Jer 16:9; 25:10; Rev. 18:22; cf. Eze. 26:13; Hosea 2:11).

9. With a song. Drinking is generally associated with festivity and pleasure. In that day the Lord will turn festivities into mourning and songs into lamentation (Amos 8:10; cf. Dan. 5:1–6).

10. Confusion. Heb. tohu, “chaos,” “emptiness,” “vanity.” In Gen. 1:2 the word is translated “without form.” Whether “the city” here represents Babylon (see Jer. 51:8), and the word “chaos” stands for its corrupt moral condition (see 1 Sam. 12:21; Isa. 41:29), or whether both “the city” and its chaotic state are symbolic of the entire world, is not clear. Either would be appropriate to the context and to the tenor of Scripture. The world will revert to its primeval chaotic state.

11. A crying for wine. Men seek to escape calamity by resorting to intoxication.

All joy is darkened. The sun of joy has set and the shades of eternal night have fallen (see Jer. 8:20). Men at length awake to the fact that by excluding from their lives Him who is the light of life, they have brought unending night upon themselves.

12. Desolation. “The city” (v. 10) is left a crumbling ruin. The whole world has been reduced to a desolate wilderness, without light or life.

13. Olive tree. See on ch. 17:6. In the midst of Isaiah’s view of the destruction of the earth he catches a glimpse of the salvation of the remnant (see chs. 1:9; 10:20–22; 11:11). They will be like the few olives that remain on a tree that has been “shaken of a mighty wind” (Rev. 6:13), or like the few grapes that remain when the harvest is over.

14. They shall sing. When everywhere there is weeping and gnashing of teeth because of the horrors that have come upon the world, the righteous will find that their sorrow has turned into joy and that the glad morning of eternity has dawned (see ch. 25:8, 9).

15. Glorify ye the Lord. There is every reason for the righteous to give glory to God. Except for His redeeming grace they would have perished with the world.

The fires. Heb. Хurim, from Хor, “light.” Possibly, Хurim may refer to “the east” as the region of light at daybreak. “The isles of the sea” may refer to the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and be a poetic designation for the “west.” The word yam, “sea,” is often used for “west,” and is so translated in Gen. 28:14; Num. 34:6; etc. If this be the meaning of Isa. 24:15, men are heard everywhere singing praise to God (see v. 16).

16. Glory to the righteous. Songs are heard ascending to Christ, the Righteous One (see v. 15). At a time such as this it would hardly appear appropriate to ascribe “glory” to men, however “righteous” they might be. Compare the universal song of praise to God, recorded in Rev. 19:1–6, at this very time.

My leanness. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. It may mean, literally, “leanness to me.” The prophet here seems to turn momentarily from the glory of the future to the shame and misery of the present. “Leanness” is used as a symbol of wasting and sorrow, a result of the judgments of God (Ps. 106:15; see Isa. 10:16; cf. 17:4). After a brief view of the joys of God’s people at the hour of their deliverance, Isaiah turns to the troubles and disappointments of the lost, and continues with a description of the terrible judgment to come.

Treacherous. When it is too late, men realize that they owe their plight to their own treacherous dealings with God. The same word is translated “deceitfully” in Ex. 21:8. It implies a course of action directly contrary to one’s knowledge of right.

17. The pit, and the snare. Here, in rapid succession, are pictured the terrors and calamities that are to befall the wicked. Jer. 48:44 gives this same succession of inevitable judgments. None of the wicked will escape (Isa. 24:18) the effects of the seven last plagues. He who escapes from one will be taken by another, and he who escapes from that will be taken by a third.

18. The windows from on high. Doom, sooner or later, is altogether certain, for death and destruction come from every direction. All nature is turned out of its course (GC 636; cf. Gen. 7:11; 8:2). Now, the heavens will rain down fire instead of water (Ps. 50:3; 2 Peter 3:7, 10, 12).

The foundations. The earth will be shaken as if by the voice of God (Ps. 46:2, 3; Isa. 2:19; Heb. 12:26, 27; Rev. 16:18).

19. Clean dissolved. Heb. parar, literally, in the form here used, “causes itself to be tossed to and fro.” Parar is translated “shaken” in Job 16:12.

Moved exceedingly. Heb. mut, literally, in the form here used, “causes itself to totter.”

20. Removed like a cottage. Literally, “shaken to and fro like a booth.” The “cottage” was a temporary structure where one might spend the night while watching the ripening grapes in a vineyard (see ch. 1:8). The Hebrew of ch. 24:19, 20 provides no basis for the conjecture that the earth will be moved out of its orbit during the great day of the Lord. The description here given refers to the earthquake at the return of Christ, which will no doubt be the most terrible convulsion the earth has ever known (see Rev. 16:18–20). The entire contour of the earth’s surface will then be changed. Mountains will be shaken from their foundations, islands will be moved out of their places, and the surface of the earth will heave and swell like the waves on a storm-tossed sea (see Ps. 46:2, 3, 6). The apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:7, 10–13) provides another vivid picture of the complete destruction that will overwhelm this present world, and out of the ruins of which the Lord will create “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

21. The high ones. Heb. marom, rendered “haughty people” in v. 4, who are “of the earth.” In v. 18, however, the same word appears again as “high,” apparently referring to “heaven” (Gen. 7:11). In Isa. 24:21 the phrase “the kings of the earth upon the earth” implies that “the high ones that are on high” refers to Satan and the evil angels. Paul refers to Satan as “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and to the unseen leaders of evil as “the rulers of the darkness of this world” that abide “in high places” (Eph. 6:12). In 1 Cor. 15:24, 25 Paul refers to their subjugation by Christ. Isaiah foresees the time when evil angels and evil men will all suffer punishment (see Matt. 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4, 9; Rev. 20:10–15).

22. As prisoners. Satan and his legions of evil angels, “the high ones” of v. 21, and “the kings of the earth” are now “gathered together, as prisoners.” The former are confined to this earth, which, in its chaotic state (vs. 1, 3, 19, 20), becomes their prison for 1,000 years (see on Rev. 20:1, 2, 7), and the latter are confined in the prison house of the grave (see on Rev. 20:5).

The pit. Heb. bor, a “cistern” hollowed out of the ground for storing water. During the dry season, or when not in use as a “cistern,” such a “pit” provided a suitable place for detaining prisoners (see Gen. 37:20; Jer. 38:6–13; Zech. 9:11; etc.). The “pit” is also used as a synonym for “grave” (Ps. 30:3; Ps. 88:4, 5; Isa. 14:15; 38:18; etc.).

After many days. That is, after the 1,000 years (see Rev. 20:2–7; GC 661). Upon the expiration of this period of time Satan is released from his prison for a short time and the wicked dead are raised, soon to make preparations for taking the New Jerusalem (see on Rev. 20:7–9).

23. The sun ashamed. The most glorious source of light now known pales into insignificance when compared with the glory of Christ (see Isa. 60:19, 20; Rev. 21:23; 22:5).

Lord of hosts shall reign. This refers to the glorious day of triumph when the saints will reign with Christ in eternal joy and glory. The New Jerusalem then becomes the capital of the earth, and here Christ will reign forever (Jer. 3:17; Dan. 2:44; 7:14; Zech. 14:4, 9; Rev. 11:15; 21:2–5; 7:15–17).

Ellen G. White comments

1    GC 657; PK 537, 726

1–8Ed 180; 9T 14

3     GC 657

4, 5 CH 461; GC 590

5     5T 144; 9T 267

5, 6 GC 657; PK 537, 726

8     PK 726

14   Ed 307; PK 730

16   2T 198, 234

20   DA 780; PP 340

22   GC 661

23   DA 458