There Will Be Deliverance For Many In The Nations Some Of Whom Will Become Priests And Levites (Isaiah 66:18-21).
“It comes, and I will gather all nations and tongues,
And they will come and will see my glory,
And I will set a sign among them,
And I will send such as escape of them to the nations,
To Tarshish, Pul and Lud, who draw the bow,
To Tubal and Javan, to the isles far off,
Those who have not heard my fame, nor have seen my glory,
And they will declare my glory among the nations.
But God's mercy is to be made available to all nations. Those who have escaped His wrath among His people will be sent among the nations taking the word of God, and declaring His glory among the nations.
‘It comes.' We could translate ‘the time will come' or ‘the final consummation will come'. The Servant was to be a light to the Gentiles, and now we find here the gathering of those Gentiles that they may see and receive the glory of Yahweh. They will gather to the new Jerusalem (compare Isaiah 2:2) and see the glory of Yahweh. The thought may be of another manifestation of His glory as on Sinai and in the tabernacle, sanctifying the new Jerusalem, but this one permanent (Isaiah 60:19-20; see Exodus 24:16-17; Exodus 29:43; Exodus 40:34; Leviticus 9:23; Revelation 21:11). Or ‘see My glory' may signify that they will appreciate fully what He is, this in contrast with ‘nor have seen my glory'. But what is certain is that He will be declared among the nations. Or indeed it may indicate both manifestation and understanding. They will see Him as He is and declare Him to all.
And Yahweh will ‘set a sign among them'. God regularly gave specific signs to His people. The sign of the rainbow (Genesis 9:13), the sign of circumcision (Genesis 17:11), and so on. So this sign is clearly also significant. It is a token that His purposes will certainly come about, and we are probably to see that it is such a sign as will win the nations. The great sign mentioned in Isaiah is found in Isaiah 7:14. ‘The Lord Himself will give you a sign, behold a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and will call His name Immanuel.' He will be a sure sign and could certainly be described as ‘My glory'. Or the sign may be the very restoration that is taking place at the word of Yahweh, the everlasting sign, as a new world is born (Isaiah 55:13). That too could be seen as ‘His glory'.
Or it is tempting to see here a reference to Pentecost where men from ‘every nation under Heaven' were gathered, and God's glorious fire was revealed, and they received God's sign, the seal of the Holy Spirit, and from there went out to the nations. This would tie in with the everlasting sign of Isaiah 55:13.
The names mentioned are far distant places, and such will be the witness of these whom He has gathered that it will reach these far off places, and they will hear of His glory. These possibly represent Spain, Sardinia or East Africa (Tarshish), North Africa (Pul and Lud), the far north (Tubal) and the coastlands across the sea (Javan), thus north, south and west. East is probably omitted because Babylon was there, and Babylon was everlastingly doomed, or possibly ‘East' was not seen as representing distant places. This Lud is differentiated as ‘drawing the bow and is therefore probably not Lydia (see Genesis 10:13; Jeremiah 46:9 which link it with North Africa).
‘Such as escape.' That is by being converted to Yahweh and leaving the ranks of those for whom He has destined wrath.
It will be noted that we have a similar order of events to Isaiah 2:2-4 where nations would flow to the house of Yahweh and then the word of the Law would go out from Jerusalem.
“And they will bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, and in chariots, and in litter, and on mules, and on swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh.”
As a result of conversion among the Gentiles, refugee and exile Jews will return to Yahweh and will be offered by them to Yahweh as an offering. With the excitement of His work among the Gentiles, Israel will not be forgotten. The work of the Christian church among the Jews still goes on. We can compare here Paul's description of the Gentiles as an oblation which he as an officiating priest offered up to God (Romans 15:16). The idea of the offering would seem to be that the grateful Gentiles consider that their work among the Jews, to restore to Him the elect of His old people, is something especially pleasing to Him. It is pictured in terms of them being brought to Jerusalem (i.e. the new Jerusalem) by every form of transport. Every effort will be made to bring about their redemption.
‘As the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh.' This explains the emphasis on the means of transport. They do not come on foot lest they be rendered unclean by contact with unclean things in Gentile lands. They are to be presented clean to Yahweh. This thus makes the offering even more precious. For they are all coming as those who are sanctified, as those made holy.
‘My holy mountain, Jerusalem'. This is the new Jerusalem, made holy to Yahweh in contrast with the old Jerusalem (see Isaiah 1:21-27). Nothing unclean can enter here.
With Isaiah the idea of Jerusalem is very flexible. It represents a vision. It begins with the old harlot Jerusalem, expands into the restored Jerusalem, and then into the heavenly Jerusalem and finally into the Jerusalem in the new heavens and the new earth. It grows to represent the focal point of God's true people. Without a real awareness of such an idea as Heaven, he sees Jerusalem as growing into something similar, the place where contact between God and His people grows until it is complete.
‘ “And of them also will I take for priests, for Levites,” says Yahweh.'
This may indicate that Gentile converts will also be made priests and Levites, that is, chosen servants of Yahweh. Thus Gentile converts will also be there. Israel is no longer the exclusive kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:5-6). All nations will share the privilege, startling evidence of their full acceptance on equal terms. We may see here the priestly duties of the new Israel. See 1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 13:15; Romans 15:16; Romans 12:1; Philippians 4:18.
Alternately the ‘of them' might refer to the far off people of God who have been brought home. They had stubbornly resisted God, but now He has brought them into His true service.