The Beginning Of Eternity

Isaiah 26:19-21---Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

In Isaiah 26, the prophet contrasts the hopelessness of the world with the hope of the people of God. He tells us that the world's great ones come and go, forgotten. Their kingdoms rise and fall. God disciplines them, but they do not learn. He chastens them, but they refuse instruction. The people of God are different. When God deals with them, they learn righteousness. Though they are oppressed and downtrodden by the world, they have the hope of this passage. The day is coming when God will do the treading upon those who do evil. He will come to judge the earth. No murders will be unsolved. No crimes will be hidden. There will be retribution for all evil that is not repented of. The people of God will rise from their graves. They will meet the LORD in the air. The world thinks it will silence the righteous by killing them, but they will return. The wrath of God will be poured upon the earth, and then they will return to rule and reign with Christ. Are you looking forward to the hope that is set before us, or are your eyes set in the earth, on the passing things? Do you think evil will go without justice being met? All sins will be dealt with, either by the redeeming blood of Jesus or the wrath of the Lamb. If you have chosen repentance and redemption, you will one day wake up and shout for joy. Your death here is only the beginning of eternity in God's presence. We have this hope!