Isaiah 27:13

The *Lord calls his people to their home in heaven (see Matthew 24:31; see also 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

• Egypt and Assyria are examples of foreign countries where God’s people spent years as prisoners.

• In the Bible, the city called *Jerusalem has two different meanings. There is the city called *Jerusalem in this world. But there is also the final, perfect home that God is preparing for his people (see Revelation chapter 21).

Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, it means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
vineyard ~ field where vines grow.
vine ~ plant whose fruit makes wine.
wine ~ a drink which people make from the juice of grapes.
grape ~ small sweet fruit of the vine; its juice makes wine.

'thorn-bush ~ bush with sharp points.
altar ~ special table where priests burned animals as gifts to God.
worship ~ to praise God and to pray to him.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah. But the ‘New Jerusalem’ is God’s future, perfect home for his people.
Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah. But the ‘New Jerusalem’ is God’s future, perfect home for his people.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes (large families) of Israel.

Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

The Little *Apocalypse

Isaiah Chapter s 24 to 27

Gordon Churchyard

The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.

Chapter 27

v1 In those days, the *LORD will punish Leviathan (a huge animal). [The *LORD will use] his sword. [His sword is] great, powerful and fierce. [Leviathan is] a snake that moves quickly. [It is] a snake that winds itself [round things]. [The *LORD] will kill the huge animal [that lives] in the sea.

Notes

Verse 1 ‘Leviathan’ is a *Hebrew name that means a very large animal. Isaiah mentions three kinds of animals, which are special descriptions of enemies. Read Isaiah 24:21 again. There, God will punish his enemies in the air and he will punish them on the land. But here, Isaiah adds enemies in the sea also. Notice that Isaiah says three things about God’s sword. It is great. It is powerful, and it is fierce. It is enough to punish his three enemies. Some Bible students say that the enemies are Assyria, Babylon and Egypt. Other Bible students say this:

• The ‘snake that moves quickly’ flies in the air.

• The ‘snake that winds round things’ is on the ground.
• The ‘huge animal in the sea’ swims in the water.

In other words, God will punish his enemies everywhere! These two groups of Bible students have these two different opinions:

• Isaiah wrote about what was happening in his world. That is, the events when Isaiah was alive.

• Isaiah wrote about what would happen in the future. That is, the events when the present world will end.

Probably both meanings are true.

v2 ‘In those days, sing! Sing about a *vineyard that is full of fruit!

v3 I, the *LORD, will guard it. I will continue to water it. I will guard it [all through every] night. And [I will guard it all through every] day. So [then] nobody will damage it.

v4 I am not angry. If there was a *thorn bush or *brier in front of me (in my *vineyard):

• I would march against it for a battle.

• I would make it burn.

v5 Otherwise let it come to me for safety. Let him make peace with me. Peace [is what] he should make with me.

v6 The days will come when Jacob (Jacob’s family) will grow roots. [The nation called] Israel will grow and it will produce flowers. They will fill all the world with fruit.’

Notes

Verse 2 ‘Those days’ are the days that Isaiah mentions in verse 1. It will be when God defeats the enemies of Israel’s and Judah’s people. Also, it will be when the present world ends. Then, he will defeat all his enemies. A vineyard is a place where plants called vines grow. On the vines, fruits called grapes grow. People make wine from the grapes. The *vineyard here is a special description of God’s people. In Isaiah 5:1-7 the *vineyard produces bad *grapes. The wine that people make from them is poor. But here, the opposite is true.

Verse 3 The *LORD says that he will guard his *vineyard. His ‘*vineyard’ means his people. So, he will guard his people all through every night. And he will guard them all through every day.

Verse 4 Here we read ‘I am not angry’. The *Hebrew words for it mean ‘there is no anger in me’. ‘Thorn bushes’ and ‘briers’ are bushes with sharp points (thorns) that grow out of their branches. They are weeds. If God found a weed in his *vineyard, he would destroy it. But there is no weed.

Verse 5 ‘It’ is the weed that the writer mentions in verse 4. That is, the ‘brier’ or the ‘thorn bush’ (bushes with sharp points). (Look at the note about verse 4.) God need not destroy the weed. It could come to God for safety instead! That is a special description. It shows this to us. Anybody can come to God for safety. The *Hebrew word here for ‘safety’ means ‘strong city’. But it does not mean Jerusalem. It means God himself, as in Psalms 27:1; Jeremiah 16:19 and Nahum 1:7. Our translation changes the word ‘it’ to ‘him’ for the last two sentences. That is because God is really talking to people. Isaiah used the same *Hebrew words in the last two sentences, but in the second sentence he changed their order. In the first sentence, God was emphasising the word ‘him’. In the second sentence, he was emphasising ‘peace’. Read Isaiah 26:3 again. There Isaiah used that same word for ‘peace’ twice together, to show that God was emphasising it.

Verse 6 The days that ‘will come’ probably mean this. They probably mean ‘those days’ that Isaiah mentions in verses 1 and 2. After a plant has grown roots, it grows upwards. And then it produces flowers and fruit. That is a special description of what will happen to Jacob’s family. Jacob’s family is just called ‘Jacob’ here. ‘Jacob’ often means the nation called Israel, the large northern part of that family. But here we think that it may mean the nation called Judah, the smaller part in the south. So here Isaiah is talking about all God’s people, from both Judah and Israel. God’s people will not only fill the country, but they will fill the whole world! This is God’s great plan! His people will fill the whole world!

v7 [The *LORD] struck [those enemies] that struck [his people]. [But] he did not strike [his people] like that. [The *LORD] killed [those enemies] that killed [his people]. But he did not kill [his people] like that.

v8 [*LORD], you fought [against your people] when he (the *LORD) sent them into *exile. He made them go with a fierce wind. It was like a day when the east wind blows.

v9 [Jacob’s family] is guilty of wrong things that it has done. So this is how Jacob (Jacob’s family) will put right [those wrong things]. And this will be the complete result when he (the *LORD) takes away the *sin [of Jacob’s family]. [The *LORD] will break all the *altar stones to pieces. [He will break them] like stones [that consist of] chalk. The poles [where people *worship the female god] Asherah will not stand up again. And neither will the *altars [where people burn] *incense.

v10 Then the strong city will be empty. Everybody that lived there will leave it. It will be like the desert. Nobody will go there. Young cows will eat the grass and they will lie down there. They will strip bare the branches [of the trees].

v11 When the branches [of the trees] become dry, people will break them off. The women will come and they will make fires from [the branches]. Because those are people that do not understand things. Therefore their Maker (God, who made them) will not pity them. Also, their Creator (God, who created them) will not show any kindness to them.

Notes

Verse 7 Verses 2-6 show to us God’s plan for his people. Verses 7-11 show to us how God will carry it out. The word ‘struck’ appears three times at the start of verse 7. The *Hebrew words mean this. ‘As he struck he who struck him did he strike him?’ We must add extra words to make it mean something! Here Isaiah asks a question, to which the answer is ‘No!’ The *LORD did not strike his people as hard as he struck those enemies. They were the enemies that had struck Israel. Then a similar question appears again, with ‘killed’ instead of ‘struck’. Again, the answer is ‘No!’ God did not punish Israel’s people as much as he punished their enemies. Say the verse without the words in square brackets, […]. Then you will know the effect of the *Hebrew poetry!

Here is a simpler translation of verse 7 that may help. ‘The *LORD has struck the enemies that struck his people. But he did not strike his own people so hard. The *LORD has killed the enemies that killed his people. But he has not killed so many among his own people.’ However, remember that the words ‘*LORD’, ‘enemies’ and ‘people’ are not in the *Hebrew verse! We have to supply them to make Isaiah’s poem mean something for us.

Verse 8 Here Isaiah changes from ‘you’ to ‘he’. But both those words refer to the *LORD. Isaiah also uses that special technique in some other places in his book. The *Hebrew word for ‘sent’ probably means ‘shout at an animal to frighten it away’. The *LORD did something like that to his people. He sent them into exile. ‘Exile’ means this. People are away from their home, because an enemy has taken them away. First God sent his people to Egypt. Then he sent some people to Assyria. And then he sent some people to Babylon. The ‘fierce wind’ was like God when he sent the people into exile. It was like a strong east wind. It was unpleasant, but it did not always blow. Later, the people came home from exile. Instead of ‘he sent them’, the *Greek Bible has this. ‘He made war against them.’

Verse 9 Here are two important words for Christians.

• ‘Sin’ is ‘when people do not obey God’s laws’.

• ‘Atone’ means ‘put right the results of sin’.

We call the first 39 books in the Bible ‘the Old Testament’. In the Old Testament, God’s people (here called ‘Jacob’s family’) suffered for their sin. They did that by means of their *exile. Christians believe that Jesus atoned for all sin. He suffered the punishment for the sin of everybody who trusts him. He did that by means of his death. Isaiah does not say that here, but he does know it (Isaiah chapter 53). We must read all Isaiah’s book to learn his complete message. For Jacob’s family, the ‘complete result’ was that they returned from *exile. For those that trust in Jesus, the ‘complete result’ is this. It is life without an end!

An ‘altar’ is where people worship their god. When people ‘worship’ God (or a false god), it means this. They tell him that they love him. Also, they will serve him and they will obey him. Stones that consist of chalk are soft. So they are easy to break. Asherah was a female god. ‘Incense’ is what people burn to make a nice smell for their god. The *Jews worshipped false gods like that, but after the last *exile they did not do it again.

Verses 10-11 The ‘strong city’ here means the capital of any country whose people God punishes. At the time when Isaiah lived, examples of such countries were Israel, Assyria and Babylon. God destroys the ‘strong city’, with these results:

• Nobody lives there.

• Animals eat the grass and they even eat the leaves on the trees.
• The branches of the trees become dry and then they die.
• People come and they take the dead branches for their fires.

At the time when the world ends, ‘the strong city’ will be any city on Earth! ‘Maker’ and ‘Creator’ are names for God. They show to us that he made everything. He created everything. The word for ‘understand things’ in the *Hebrew Bible is a plural word, ‘understandings’ (knowledge that causes them to understand things). So the *Hebrew words mean ‘people with no understandings’ (people with no knowledge that causes them to understand things). So God did not pity them and he did not give any kindness to them. He punished them.

v12 And in those days, [this] will happen. The *LORD will *thresh [fruit in this area. The area starts] from the ‘River that Flows’ (Euphrates river). [And it reaches] to the Wadi of Egypt. So [the *LORD] will gather you one at a time, [you] sons of Israel (all God’s people).

v13 And in those days, [this] will happen. [Someone] will sound a great *trumpet. And people that are dying in the country called Assyria will come. Also, people in *exile in the country called Egypt [will come]. They will *worship the *LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Notes

Verse 12 Here the ‘River that Flows’ is a name for the Euphrates river. The ‘Wadi of Egypt’ is a stream that was on the border between Judah and Egypt. Those two rivers are the boundaries of the country that God promised to Abraham (Genesis 15:18).

‘Thresh’ is a word that may mean two things:

• either, ‘beat the wheat plants or corn plants so that the grain falls out’

• or, ‘hit the *olive trees or *grape trees so that the fruit falls off’.

This is a special description. God will gather his people, as a farmer harvests his crops. ‘One at a time’ seems to show that the second meaning for ‘thresh’ is more likely. ‘Sons of Israel’ means all God’s people. This verse could also describe events at Jesus’ return to the Earth. It could mean this. God will gather together everybody that believes in him. He will not forget anybody. There is a note about such future meanings before chapter 24 begins. This verse continues the special description about the harvest. That description started in verses 2-6.

Verse 13 A *trumpet is a musical instrument. People blow into it to make a very loud sound. Other verses in the Bible tell us about the ‘great trumpet’. Zechariah 9:14 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 seem to show that God himself makes it sound! This verse shows two things:

• It links back to verse 9. This is because a trumpet sounds on the Day of *Atonement (Leviticus 25:9). The Day of *Atonement was a special day when the *Jews *atoned for their *sins. ‘Atone’ means ‘put right the results of *sin’. They did this by means of special sacrifices. A sacrifice is an animal that people give to God.

• Verse 12 stated boundaries of an area where God will act. But he will also include people that live outside those limits. As well as the *Jews, that may mean also people that are not *Jews.

‘On the holy mountain’ probably means ‘in the temple (God’s house in Jerusalem)’. The temple was on a mountain. All these people will *worship the *LORD in Jerusalem. When people ‘*worship’ God, they tell him these things. They tell him that they love him. They love him enough to obey him and they love him enough to serve him. Notice that ‘the country’ now includes Assyria and Egypt! People have come from these distant places to *worship the *LORD in Jerusalem.

Something to do

1. Work out how many times ‘the country’ appears in Isaiah chapter 24.

2. Some verses in Isaiah chapter 24 remind people of other verses. Read these other verses, which are in the book called Genesis:

• Genesis 1:1-2 (The land had no structure and it had no shape.)

• Genesis 3:17-19 (God declared a *curse about the ground because Adam did a wrong thing.)

• Genesis 9:18-25 (Noah was a drunk.)

• Genesis 11:1-9 (People made their own rules.)

3. Read Isaiah 25:8 and Isaiah 26:3. Learn to say those verses so that you need not look at the words.

4. Compare Isaiah 26:5-6 with Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55.

5. Read the story about the great flood in Genesis chapter 7. And read about the Passover in Exodus chapter 12. (The ‘Passover’ was when God ‘passed over’ his people’s houses in Egypt. In other words, he did not allow his people to die. He protected them on the night when many other people in Egypt died.)

6. Read in Ephesians 6:10-12 what Paul says about God’s enemies.

7. Read in Revelation Chapter s 17 and 18 how Babylon city will end.

This publication is in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

Heaven ~ the home of God.
Apocalypse ~ another name for the last book in the Bible, called Revelation. The Little Apocalypse (Isaiah Chapter s 24 to 27) is like Revelation. It is about the end of time.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when Isaiah wrote his book.
Jews ~ God’s people that lived in Judah and Israel.
lord ~ someone with authority. With a capital L, it can be a name for God.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God. It probably means ‘always alive’.
covenant ~ people make a covenant when they agree together. God agreed to protect his people called the Jews. They agreed to be his servants.
Jews ~ God’s people that lived in Judah and Israel.
vineyard ~ a field where vines grow.
vine ~ a plant on which grapes grow.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine. People use grapes to make wine.
thorn ~ a bush with sharp points on its branches. The sharp points are called thorns.
briers ~ bushes with sharp points on their branches.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine. People use grapes to make wine.
vine ~ a plant on which grapes grow.
exile ~ a place away from home.
sin ~ the wrong things that we do.
altar ~ a special table where people burn animals for their gods.
worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
incense ~ something that burns with a special smell.
Greek ~ the language that people spoke in Greece.
Jews ~ God’s people that lived in Judah and Israel.
thresh ~ to beat corn to separate the useful parts (the grains) of the plant from the other parts. Then people can throw the other parts away.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument.
olive ~ a fruit.
atonement ~ another word for what happens when God forgives us. After God forgives us, we are ‘at one’ with him. In other words, we are united as friends (or have friendly relations) with him.
atone ~ to put right the results of sin.
sin ~ the wrong things that we do.
curse ~ words that ask for something bad to happen to somebody.

Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

The Little *Apocalypse

Isaiah Chapter s 24 to 27

Gordon Churchyard

The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.

Chapter 27

v1 In those days, the *LORD will punish Leviathan (a huge animal). [The *LORD will use] his sword. [His sword is] great, powerful and fierce. [Leviathan is] a snake that moves quickly. [It is] a snake that winds itself [round things]. [The *LORD] will kill the huge animal [that lives] in the sea.

Notes

Verse 1 ‘Leviathan’ is a *Hebrew name that means a very large animal. Isaiah mentions three kinds of animals, which are special descriptions of enemies. Read Isaiah 24:21 again. There, God will punish his enemies in the air and he will punish them on the land. But here, Isaiah adds enemies in the sea also. Notice that Isaiah says three things about God’s sword. It is great. It is powerful, and it is fierce. It is enough to punish his three enemies. Some Bible students say that the enemies are Assyria, Babylon and Egypt. Other Bible students say this:

• The ‘snake that moves quickly’ flies in the air.

• The ‘snake that winds round things’ is on the ground.
• The ‘huge animal in the sea’ swims in the water.

In other words, God will punish his enemies everywhere! These two groups of Bible students have these two different opinions:

• Isaiah wrote about what was happening in his world. That is, the events when Isaiah was alive.

• Isaiah wrote about what would happen in the future. That is, the events when the present world will end.

Probably both meanings are true.

v2 ‘In those days, sing! Sing about a *vineyard that is full of fruit!

v3 I, the *LORD, will guard it. I will continue to water it. I will guard it [all through every] night. And [I will guard it all through every] day. So [then] nobody will damage it.

v4 I am not angry. If there was a *thorn bush or *brier in front of me (in my *vineyard):

• I would march against it for a battle.

• I would make it burn.

v5 Otherwise let it come to me for safety. Let him make peace with me. Peace [is what] he should make with me.

v6 The days will come when Jacob (Jacob’s family) will grow roots. [The nation called] Israel will grow and it will produce flowers. They will fill all the world with fruit.’

Notes

Verse 2 ‘Those days’ are the days that Isaiah mentions in verse 1. It will be when God defeats the enemies of Israel’s and Judah’s people. Also, it will be when the present world ends. Then, he will defeat all his enemies. A vineyard is a place where plants called vines grow. On the vines, fruits called grapes grow. People make wine from the grapes. The *vineyard here is a special description of God’s people. In Isaiah 5:1-7 the *vineyard produces bad *grapes. The wine that people make from them is poor. But here, the opposite is true.

Verse 3 The *LORD says that he will guard his *vineyard. His ‘*vineyard’ means his people. So, he will guard his people all through every night. And he will guard them all through every day.

Verse 4 Here we read ‘I am not angry’. The *Hebrew words for it mean ‘there is no anger in me’. ‘Thorn bushes’ and ‘briers’ are bushes with sharp points (thorns) that grow out of their branches. They are weeds. If God found a weed in his *vineyard, he would destroy it. But there is no weed.

Verse 5 ‘It’ is the weed that the writer mentions in verse 4. That is, the ‘brier’ or the ‘thorn bush’ (bushes with sharp points). (Look at the note about verse 4.) God need not destroy the weed. It could come to God for safety instead! That is a special description. It shows this to us. Anybody can come to God for safety. The *Hebrew word here for ‘safety’ means ‘strong city’. But it does not mean Jerusalem. It means God himself, as in Psalms 27:1; Jeremiah 16:19 and Nahum 1:7. Our translation changes the word ‘it’ to ‘him’ for the last two sentences. That is because God is really talking to people. Isaiah used the same *Hebrew words in the last two sentences, but in the second sentence he changed their order. In the first sentence, God was emphasising the word ‘him’. In the second sentence, he was emphasising ‘peace’. Read Isaiah 26:3 again. There Isaiah used that same word for ‘peace’ twice together, to show that God was emphasising it.

Verse 6 The days that ‘will come’ probably mean this. They probably mean ‘those days’ that Isaiah mentions in verses 1 and 2. After a plant has grown roots, it grows upwards. And then it produces flowers and fruit. That is a special description of what will happen to Jacob’s family. Jacob’s family is just called ‘Jacob’ here. ‘Jacob’ often means the nation called Israel, the large northern part of that family. But here we think that it may mean the nation called Judah, the smaller part in the south. So here Isaiah is talking about all God’s people, from both Judah and Israel. God’s people will not only fill the country, but they will fill the whole world! This is God’s great plan! His people will fill the whole world!

v7 [The *LORD] struck [those enemies] that struck [his people]. [But] he did not strike [his people] like that. [The *LORD] killed [those enemies] that killed [his people]. But he did not kill [his people] like that.

v8 [*LORD], you fought [against your people] when he (the *LORD) sent them into *exile. He made them go with a fierce wind. It was like a day when the east wind blows.

v9 [Jacob’s family] is guilty of wrong things that it has done. So this is how Jacob (Jacob’s family) will put right [those wrong things]. And this will be the complete result when he (the *LORD) takes away the *sin [of Jacob’s family]. [The *LORD] will break all the *altar stones to pieces. [He will break them] like stones [that consist of] chalk. The poles [where people *worship the female god] Asherah will not stand up again. And neither will the *altars [where people burn] *incense.

v10 Then the strong city will be empty. Everybody that lived there will leave it. It will be like the desert. Nobody will go there. Young cows will eat the grass and they will lie down there. They will strip bare the branches [of the trees].

v11 When the branches [of the trees] become dry, people will break them off. The women will come and they will make fires from [the branches]. Because those are people that do not understand things. Therefore their Maker (God, who made them) will not pity them. Also, their Creator (God, who created them) will not show any kindness to them.

Notes

Verse 7 Verses 2-6 show to us God’s plan for his people. Verses 7-11 show to us how God will carry it out. The word ‘struck’ appears three times at the start of verse 7. The *Hebrew words mean this. ‘As he struck he who struck him did he strike him?’ We must add extra words to make it mean something! Here Isaiah asks a question, to which the answer is ‘No!’ The *LORD did not strike his people as hard as he struck those enemies. They were the enemies that had struck Israel. Then a similar question appears again, with ‘killed’ instead of ‘struck’. Again, the answer is ‘No!’ God did not punish Israel’s people as much as he punished their enemies. Say the verse without the words in square brackets, […]. Then you will know the effect of the *Hebrew poetry!

Here is a simpler translation of verse 7 that may help. ‘The *LORD has struck the enemies that struck his people. But he did not strike his own people so hard. The *LORD has killed the enemies that killed his people. But he has not killed so many among his own people.’ However, remember that the words ‘*LORD’, ‘enemies’ and ‘people’ are not in the *Hebrew verse! We have to supply them to make Isaiah’s poem mean something for us.

Verse 8 Here Isaiah changes from ‘you’ to ‘he’. But both those words refer to the *LORD. Isaiah also uses that special technique in some other places in his book. The *Hebrew word for ‘sent’ probably means ‘shout at an animal to frighten it away’. The *LORD did something like that to his people. He sent them into exile. ‘Exile’ means this. People are away from their home, because an enemy has taken them away. First God sent his people to Egypt. Then he sent some people to Assyria. And then he sent some people to Babylon. The ‘fierce wind’ was like God when he sent the people into exile. It was like a strong east wind. It was unpleasant, but it did not always blow. Later, the people came home from exile. Instead of ‘he sent them’, the *Greek Bible has this. ‘He made war against them.’

Verse 9 Here are two important words for Christians.

• ‘Sin’ is ‘when people do not obey God’s laws’.

• ‘Atone’ means ‘put right the results of sin’.

We call the first 39 books in the Bible ‘the Old Testament’. In the Old Testament, God’s people (here called ‘Jacob’s family’) suffered for their sin. They did that by means of their *exile. Christians believe that Jesus atoned for all sin. He suffered the punishment for the sin of everybody who trusts him. He did that by means of his death. Isaiah does not say that here, but he does know it (Isaiah chapter 53). We must read all Isaiah’s book to learn his complete message. For Jacob’s family, the ‘complete result’ was that they returned from *exile. For those that trust in Jesus, the ‘complete result’ is this. It is life without an end!

An ‘altar’ is where people worship their god. When people ‘worship’ God (or a false god), it means this. They tell him that they love him. Also, they will serve him and they will obey him. Stones that consist of chalk are soft. So they are easy to break. Asherah was a female god. ‘Incense’ is what people burn to make a nice smell for their god. The *Jews worshipped false gods like that, but after the last *exile they did not do it again.

Verses 10-11 The ‘strong city’ here means the capital of any country whose people God punishes. At the time when Isaiah lived, examples of such countries were Israel, Assyria and Babylon. God destroys the ‘strong city’, with these results:

• Nobody lives there.

• Animals eat the grass and they even eat the leaves on the trees.
• The branches of the trees become dry and then they die.
• People come and they take the dead branches for their fires.

At the time when the world ends, ‘the strong city’ will be any city on Earth! ‘Maker’ and ‘Creator’ are names for God. They show to us that he made everything. He created everything. The word for ‘understand things’ in the *Hebrew Bible is a plural word, ‘understandings’ (knowledge that causes them to understand things). So the *Hebrew words mean ‘people with no understandings’ (people with no knowledge that causes them to understand things). So God did not pity them and he did not give any kindness to them. He punished them.

v12 And in those days, [this] will happen. The *LORD will *thresh [fruit in this area. The area starts] from the ‘River that Flows’ (Euphrates river). [And it reaches] to the Wadi of Egypt. So [the *LORD] will gather you one at a time, [you] sons of Israel (all God’s people).

v13 And in those days, [this] will happen. [Someone] will sound a great *trumpet. And people that are dying in the country called Assyria will come. Also, people in *exile in the country called Egypt [will come]. They will *worship the *LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Notes

Verse 12 Here the ‘River that Flows’ is a name for the Euphrates river. The ‘Wadi of Egypt’ is a stream that was on the border between Judah and Egypt. Those two rivers are the boundaries of the country that God promised to Abraham (Genesis 15:18).

‘Thresh’ is a word that may mean two things:

• either, ‘beat the wheat plants or corn plants so that the grain falls out’

• or, ‘hit the *olive trees or *grape trees so that the fruit falls off’.

This is a special description. God will gather his people, as a farmer harvests his crops. ‘One at a time’ seems to show that the second meaning for ‘thresh’ is more likely. ‘Sons of Israel’ means all God’s people. This verse could also describe events at Jesus’ return to the Earth. It could mean this. God will gather together everybody that believes in him. He will not forget anybody. There is a note about such future meanings before chapter 24 begins. This verse continues the special description about the harvest. That description started in verses 2-6.

Verse 13 A *trumpet is a musical instrument. People blow into it to make a very loud sound. Other verses in the Bible tell us about the ‘great trumpet’. Zechariah 9:14 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 seem to show that God himself makes it sound! This verse shows two things:

• It links back to verse 9. This is because a trumpet sounds on the Day of *Atonement (Leviticus 25:9). The Day of *Atonement was a special day when the *Jews *atoned for their *sins. ‘Atone’ means ‘put right the results of *sin’. They did this by means of special sacrifices. A sacrifice is an animal that people give to God.

• Verse 12 stated boundaries of an area where God will act. But he will also include people that live outside those limits. As well as the *Jews, that may mean also people that are not *Jews.

‘On the holy mountain’ probably means ‘in the temple (God’s house in Jerusalem)’. The temple was on a mountain. All these people will *worship the *LORD in Jerusalem. When people ‘*worship’ God, they tell him these things. They tell him that they love him. They love him enough to obey him and they love him enough to serve him. Notice that ‘the country’ now includes Assyria and Egypt! People have come from these distant places to *worship the *LORD in Jerusalem.

Something to do

1. Work out how many times ‘the country’ appears in Isaiah chapter 24.

2. Some verses in Isaiah chapter 24 remind people of other verses. Read these other verses, which are in the book called Genesis:

• Genesis 1:1-2 (The land had no structure and it had no shape.)

• Genesis 3:17-19 (God declared a *curse about the ground because Adam did a wrong thing.)

• Genesis 9:18-25 (Noah was a drunk.)

• Genesis 11:1-9 (People made their own rules.)

3. Read Isaiah 25:8 and Isaiah 26:3. Learn to say those verses so that you need not look at the words.

4. Compare Isaiah 26:5-6 with Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55.

5. Read the story about the great flood in Genesis chapter 7. And read about the Passover in Exodus chapter 12. (The ‘Passover’ was when God ‘passed over’ his people’s houses in Egypt. In other words, he did not allow his people to die. He protected them on the night when many other people in Egypt died.)

6. Read in Ephesians 6:10-12 what Paul says about God’s enemies.

7. Read in Revelation Chapter s 17 and 18 how Babylon city will end.

This publication is in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

Heaven ~ the home of God.
Apocalypse ~ another name for the last book in the Bible, called Revelation. The Little Apocalypse (Isaiah Chapter s 24 to 27) is like Revelation. It is about the end of time.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when Isaiah wrote his book.
Jews ~ God’s people that lived in Judah and Israel.
lord ~ someone with authority. With a capital L, it can be a name for God.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God. It probably means ‘always alive’.
covenant ~ people make a covenant when they agree together. God agreed to protect his people called the Jews. They agreed to be his servants.
Jews ~ God’s people that lived in Judah and Israel.
vineyard ~ a field where vines grow.
vine ~ a plant on which grapes grow.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine. People use grapes to make wine.
thorn ~ a bush with sharp points on its branches. The sharp points are called thorns.
briers ~ bushes with sharp points on their branches.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine. People use grapes to make wine.
vine ~ a plant on which grapes grow.
exile ~ a place away from home.
sin ~ the wrong things that we do.
altar ~ a special table where people burn animals for their gods.
worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
incense ~ something that burns with a special smell.
Greek ~ the language that people spoke in Greece.
Jews ~ God’s people that lived in Judah and Israel.
thresh ~ to beat corn to separate the useful parts (the grains) of the plant from the other parts. Then people can throw the other parts away.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument.
olive ~ a fruit.
atonement ~ another word for what happens when God forgives us. After God forgives us, we are ‘at one’ with him. In other words, we are united as friends (or have friendly relations) with him.
atone ~ to put right the results of sin.
sin ~ the wrong things that we do.
curse ~ words that ask for something bad to happen to somebody.