Good weekend to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
You’ve probably been asked this question, maybe more than once: “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” Or maybe you’ve been at a funeral and heard this question: “Why would God allow such a wonderful person to die at such a young age?” Would you believe God spoke to those issues centuries ago?
As we continue with Isaiah, listen to this in Isaiah 57:1,2 “The righteous die, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.”
Now those are remarkable statements, aren’t they, my friends? Isaiah was writing 700 years before Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, 730 years before Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to be our Savior! So, for the people in Isaiah’s day, of course they had no idea about what we call “the Gospel of Jesus Christ“! They couldn’t imagine that God Himself would come to earth in the person of Jesus and give His life to pay for our sin so we could have eternal life with Him in heaven!
But one of the wonderful advantages we have today of reading the prophets of years ago is that we read Isaiah through the lenses of what we know God has accomplished in 2700 years since Isaiah received this message from God.
My friends, do you see several very powerful truths in this Isaiah 57:1,2 declaration from God? What did it mean for them in Isaiah’s day, and what should it mean for us in 2024?
First, “The righteous die, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil…” What does it mean? Do you see the phrase ‘taken away’ is twice repeated as an explanation of death in this verse? It means human death is NOT the end, but rather is a transition. In death a person’s body remains here & decays on earth, but our ‘soul & spirit’ is ‘taken away’ from life on this planet earth, to some other place! What and where is this ‘other place’?
Well, the rest of the Bible teaches us that for any person who has trusted Jesus Christ to save them from their sin condemnation, at death that person’s soul & spirit is ‘taken away’ to be with Jesus! Do you remember at His crucifixion a criminal, being crucified next to Jesus, begged Jesus for mercy and Jesus replied, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) “Paradise” is the place those who have trusted in God, are ‘taken away’ to, where they will be with God at the time of death. Is this “paradise” a certain part of heaven, or is it another name for heaven, or is it a temporary heaven which will eventually be replaced by the ‘new heaven’ of Rev. 21:1, I’m not exactly sure. But one thing I know, Jesus is there, as are all others who have preceded me in death having believed in Jesus or in Old Testament times, trusted in God as Abraham did. (Romans 4:18-25)
For those in Isaiah’s day, of course they knew nothing about Jesus, but they did now about Paradise and they had great faith and hope that if God found them to a person of faith in God like Noah (Gen. 6:9) or Abraham (Gen. 15:6) or if they held fast to the law of Moses and the covenant (Ex. 24:7,8), God would credit righteousness to them and they would go to Paradise at their death!
But what about all the other human beings who die but have NOT trusted in Jesus Christ to be their Savior, or all those who died prior to Jesus but had not trusted in God as Abraham or Noah did? Of course, my friends, in every generation since the beginning of our human race, there are FAR MORE people who end their life NOT believing in God than those who die in a relationship with God!
So, what does the Bible tell us about this huge amount of disbelieving humanity? At death their bodies remain here on earth decaying, but their soul and spirit go to a place called Sheol in the Old Testament or Hades in the New Testament. God the Father and the resurrected Jesus Christ and the holy angels are NOT in this place. This is a place of separation from God, for all those who have chosen to NOT believe in God! Eventually all those in this place will go, for all eternity, to the place called Hell or the lake of burning sulfur. (Rev. 20:11-15)
Now friends, it is vital to understand that each and every person ends up in the destiny of their CHOICE! At birth each person has their entire lifetime on earth to decide how they want to live their one lifetime here, and where and how they want to spend all eternity. God gives to each person the full freedom to think, reason and choose for themselves their lifestyle here and their eternal destination. No person can make that choice for another person. Parents cannot make that choice for their children, nor can children make that choice for their parents, nor can a person make that choice for their spouse.
Romans 3:23, 6:23, John 3:16, 1 John 1:8,9 are all verses which make this abundantly clear. Satan will do everything in his power to draw people to choose eternity with him in Hades and later hell. God has done everything possible, by sending His Son Jesus to pay our sin death price, so we can be forgiven of our sin and enter a holy relationship with God now and spend eternity with Him, first in Paradise and then in heaven.
And now the choice is yours and every living person has that same choice, but the window of opportunity is ONLY while we are alive and breathing. Once death occurs the soul & spirit of every person will in that instant be ‘taken away’ either to Paradise or to Hades. Which will it be for you, my “Walking with Jesus” friends? Are you sure? And what about your parents, your children, your grandchildren, your siblings and friends?
May we look at one more very important truth in God’s statement to Isaiah in Is. 57:1,2 “and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.” What we call ‘death’, for every person who has trusted in Jesus Christ to save them from their sin condemnation, is an escape from the evil and horrors of this world.
No matter how wonderful their family, or how pleasant their life experience, or how famous or popular, or what great things they are accomplishing, still we all live in a wicked world filled with pain and suffering. As we age, our bodies become more and more susceptible to disease and the normal aging decaying of our bodies. Our minds are also vulnerable to decay and words like ‘dementia’ or ‘Alzheimer’s become very significant. And of course, each day brings heartbreaking news from all around our world.
So God was saying to Isaiah that no matter how a person’s earthly journey concludes, no matter at what age or in what condition they are, for God’s people who are righteous, because of our trust in Jesus for redemption, we are being ‘taken away’ from the evil, pain and suffering HERE to PARADISE with Jesus, where it will ONLY be joyful, pain free, glorious and perfect in every way!
Finally, please take note of these last words of Isaiah 57:2 as a great promise from God: “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.” For those redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection, this is a great and wonderful promise. This is why the apostle Paul used the word “departure” rather than death when he wrote to his friend Timothy as his death was approaching: “The time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the LORD Himself, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me but to ALL who have longed for His appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:7,8) So the obvious question is this: Is Paul describing you and me?
Isn’t it amazing my friends how something written 2700 years ago is so vital and absolutely relevant to your life and mine, and every living person, today!? So… what are you and I going to do about what we’ve considered in God’s Word today? One of the best gifts you can give those who love you is to assure them, in writing, of your total confidence in where you will be going when you are “taken away” from this earth at your death!
Now here’s a very powerful song that you’ll want to listen to very carefully, you may even want to play it twice!
Today’s Scripture: Is. 57:1,2.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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