Isaiah 26:19-21 – 19 But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. 20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21 See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.
Here is a very interesting verse in the Old Testament from the prophet Isaiah.
Is it on the rapture? Let’s read it more carefully and break it down.
In verse nineteen it certainly sounds like a rapture verse. Your dead will live and their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. The earth will give birth to their dead.
That reminds me of another verse we have went over a couple of times from Paul.
1 Corinthians 15:52-54 – 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
There seems to be a pretty good parallel there. Also in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 it talks about the dead rising first, concerning the rapture.
To me verse nineteen fits with others. Let’s move onto verse twenty.
In Isaiah 26:20 it talks about enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you. This could mean the Jewish people he is talking to could be hiding, possibly sealed, when the Lord displays His wrath. However, a verse that also comes to mind is this one.
John 14:2-3 – 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Does this indicate that we will go to be in our rooms, or mansions, as the KJV states? Then after the wrath, we come down with God at the end of the Tribulation? At the rapture you receive your resurrected body, so one could enjoy his new heavenly dwelling with a new body.
One other important thing I want to hit on concerning verses 19 and 20 before moving on. In nineteen we start with the rising of the dead. Why would God raise the dead for a new life in which they are shouting for joy and then have to shield or protect them during His wrath? Wouldn’t it be easier to wait afterwards if they were not going to a place of safety? So if the dead have risen and they shouting for joy, but this is not the rapture, they better hurry and find a door to go behind before God spills down His wrath. They also better find a door to get behind because the Antichrist is trying to kill them too. But, wait, weren’t they already dead? How can they be killed again? After they have been resurrected? We know that can’t happen and it wouldn’t make sense that way.
What makes verses 19-21 appear to be an event that takes place during the end times? Well, one is dead people rising, but they did that when Jesus resurrected also. Two the Bible speaks about a time when God will pour out His wrath on all on mankind that lives on Earth. Verse twenty-one hits on that very thing.
Isaiah 26:21 – 21 See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.
The flood had already passed and the next judgment in which God pours down His wrath on man concerning the whole earth is in the last days.
I believe Isaiah 26:19-21 fits right in line with the Pre-Tribulation rapture theory.
There is a crown for those who love His appearing. Why? Because if you love the idea of Jesus coming back right now, you are probably trying to live for Him and are excited to see Him. Worth Rewarding? From what I read about my King and Savior, I would say yes.
If you’re not excited about the Lord returning at any second and you’re not looking for Him at all, you’re probably not living for Him. Start today making it your goal to live for Him every day so you can be rewarded and excited about standing in front of Him.