ISAIAH 66: USE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

We sometimes don't realize how much the ideas and words of the Old Testament permeate the writings in the New Testament. The best resource for seeing these correspondences is a book that I have mentioned in several of my posts: Beale and Carson's Commentary on the NT Use of the OT. It is fairly common to read commentaries on the NT that give references back to the OT where appropriate, but the reverse is not as common. So as an example, I picked the above chapter at random out of Isaiah since that is one of the most quoted books in the NT along with the Psalms. Keep in mind that often the writers relied on the Greek Septuagint (LXX) rather than sticking closely to the Hebrew text. Here are some of the ways in which the NT writers utilized this chapter:

Isaiah 66: Aus proposes “that 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 is the result of a conscious reflection of Isa. 66...in order to create an end-time scenario that will comfort the persecuted readers and counter the false claim concerning the day of the Lord.”

Verse 1 // Matthew 5:34-35 The expression about the earth being God's footstool appears in both these passages.

Verse 1 // Matthew 23:1-2 Similarly, the picture of heaven as God's throne is borrowed from Isaiah.

Verses 1-2 LXX // Acts 7:49-50 Stephen quotes from the Septuagint very closely during his speech to the crowd. See Beale and Carson, p. 569 for a detailed comparison between the two.

Verses 1-3 // Mark 9:48 Mark changes the Isaian wording to the present tense. “Jesus addresses the warning to his newly reconstituted community, still struggling with its own 'idolatrous conceptions of being Israel.” (Watts)  Mark draws on this passage in Isaiah in verses 10-14 and 18-21 as well.

Verse 2 // Luke 18:13 God expects a chastened attitude from us.

Verse 3 LXX // Mark 3:29 The faithless Israelites had slandered God.

Verses 3-5 // Romans 10:21 There is the charge of rebellion, including dismissal of the word of the LORD.

Verses 3-6 // Mark 1:10 “Yahweh's advent also meant judgment on Israel's apostate leaders and temple dignitaries.” (Watts)

Verse 5a // John 9:24, 34 This intolerance is acted out in John's passage.

Verse 5a // John 16:2 The NT context probably refers to Jewish persecution, not Roman.

Verse 5a // Matthew 5:10 This beatitude concerning those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake is reminiscent of Isaiah's “Your own people who hate you and reject you for my name's sake.”

Verse 5b LXX // II Thessalonians 1:12 Glorification of the Lord is the theme of these passages.

Verse 6 // Revelation 16:1 In both cases, loud voices from the temple signal judgment beginning for the unrighteous.

Verses 7-9 // I Corinthians 15:51 God brings about deliverance in a moment, a twinkling of the eye.

Verses 7-9 // Revelation 12:2 Both contain symbolic pictures of a woman in child labor.

Verse 8 // Matthew 4:12-16 The theme of the Messianic child appears here.

Verse 10 // John 15:11 End time rejoicing is referred to in these passages.

Verses 10, 22 // Revelation 12:2 Continuation of the story of the woman in labor.

Verses 10-14 // Galatians 4:26-27 Although the Galatians citation is actually from Isaiah 54:1, the image of a woman singing with joy over her newborn child is also found in Isaiah 66.

Verse 11 LXX // Luke 2:25 Paraklesis in Isaiah “becomes a symbol for the arrival of the eschatological era when God fulfills his promises to Israel.” (Pao and Schnabel)

Verse 14 // John 16:22 This is another NT passage about a woman being joyful over a newborn baby.

Verse 14 LXX // Luke 1:78 “In Isaiah the verb anatello frequently appears in contexts of God's eschatological restoration.” (Pao and Schnabel)

Verse 15 // II Thessalonian 1:8 The presence of fire highlights God's judgment.

Verse 15 // Revelation 7:1 Winds are pictured as agents of divine judgment.

Verses 15-16 // Hebrews 10:27 Fire is a symbol of God's judgment.

Verses 15-16 // Matthew 10:34 “...fire and sword are the harsh aspects of every divine intervention.” (Kidner)

Verses 16, 23-24 // John 1:23 “All humanity will witness Yahweh's triumphant return to his holy people...” (Kostenberger)

Verse 18 // II Timothy 4:16 This describes the universal scope of God's plan of salvation.

Verses 18-21 // Romans 10:14 Both involve those people who have not heard of the Lord.

Verses 18-19 // John 20:27 Similarly, both concern the conversion of those who previously had not seen God's / Christ's glory.

Verses 18-23 // Ephesians 2:13-17 The future peace between Jews and Gentiles is portrayed in these passages.

Verses 18-24 // Mark 13:26-27 God gathers His elect. Kidner says that the “sign” may be the resurrected Christ.”

Verses 19-20 // Mark 1:2  Jerusalem welcomes her returning exiles as the mountains are leveled and trees spring up.

Verses 20-21 // Romans 15:15-16 Paul takes the image in Isaiah concerning the Gentiles' bringing exiled Jews to the temple as an offering and “uses a striking variant of this symbolism.” (Kidner)

Verse 21 // Romans 9:6 Isaiah's prophecy hints of a time when the concept of “Israel” will be re-defined to include the Gentiles as well.

Verse 21 // Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45 Even some Gentiles will serve in the temple as priests and Levites. This contrasts the situation Jesus rebelled against in Mark 11 where the Gentiles were in essence excluded from the temple worship entirely.

Verse 22 // II Peter 3:12-13 The key phrase “new heaven and new earth” appears in both these passages.

Verse 22 // II Corinthians 5:17 Paul includes those redeemed among the new creation.

Verse 22 // Revelation 21:1 In contrast to the present situation, the new heaven and earth will last eternally.

Verses 22-23 // Ephesians 2:13-17 These verses combine the idea of a new heaven and earth with the pilgrimage of all people to Jerusalem in order to worship.

Verse 23 // Colossians 2:16 Worship involving new moons and sabbaths is featured here. In the NT, observation of these special days is no longer binding on believers.

Verses 23 // Revelation 15:4 All nations will come to worship God.

Verse 24 // II Thessalonians 1:7-10 “This is the final divine intervention.” (Kidner)

Verse 24 // Mark 9:48 Jesus quotes directly from Isaiah here.

Verse 24 // Matthew 3:12 The unquenchable nature of the fire of judgment.

Verse 24 // Luke 16:24 Fire as an image of eternal suffering.

Verse 24 // Mark 8:37-38 The ultimate fate of those who rebel against God.

Verse 24 // Mark 3:29 God became Israel's enemy and hardened their heart; they will be put to death.

As you go through these parallels, note that some of the NT passages are direct or near-direct quotations from Isaiah, others contain similar phrases, and still others are related in theme only. For the last two categories, one could probably point equally to other OT passages in addition to Isaiah 66.