Continuing the prophecy about the pagan nations, the prophet is commanded to walk naked and barefoot as a sign of the coming conquest of Egypt and Ethiopia by the Assyrians. Walking naked was shameful, wild, but that's exactly what Isaiah had to do. After all, his contemporaries had more hope for allied Egypt than for God. This symbolic action was supposed to bring them to their senses. "And the inhabitants of this country shall say in that day, 'These are those in whom we trusted, and to whom we had recourse for help, to save ourselves from the king of Assyria. and how would we be saved?" (Isaiah 20:6).

Then the prophet vividly describes how Jerusalem and its inhabitants will be besieged, in vain attempts to gather weapons, to repair the breaches in the walls and to gather at least a little water to quench their thirst, they do not lift up their eyes to heaven, they do not call on "Him who has long ordained these things" (Isaiah 22:11).

"And the Lord, the Lord of hosts, calls you on this day to weep and mourn, and to cut your hair, and gird yourself with sackcloth. But behold, merriment and joy! They kill oxen, and slaughter sheep; They eat meat and drink wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" And the Lord of hosts opened in my ears, "This wickedness shall not be forgiven you until you die, said the Lord, the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 22:12-14).

26.9. Eschatological prophecies:

Isaiah's "great apocalypse"

Further, we are again talking about judgment (chapters 24-27). The universal scope of the sermon is again manifested in the fact that the prophet proclaims judgment not only against Samaria, not only against Jerusalem, but against all nations. Thus, Isaiah speaks of Damascus, of the Moabites, of the Philistines, of Tyre – God's action extends to all nations and to all kingdoms. This section is sometimes called the Apocalypse of Isaiah, since the prophecy of the judgment of the nations moves on to the depiction of victory over death and the devil and a universal resurrection.

Let's see in what features this court is presented. "Behold, the Lord destroys the earth and makes it barren; He changes its appearance and scatters those who dwell in it.<... >Terror and pit and noose for you, inhabitant of the earth! Then the one who flees from the cry of terror will fall into the pit; and whoever comes out of the pit will fall into the snare; for the windows from the heavenly heights will be dissolved, and the foundations of the earth will be shaken. The earth is crushed, the earth is disintegrated, the earth is greatly shaken; the earth shakes like a drunken man, and shakes like a cradle, and its iniquity weighs upon it; it will fall, and it will not get up again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall visit a host on high high, and the kings of the earth on earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners in a pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days they shall be punished. And the moon shall be red, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and glory shall be before his elders" (Isaiah 24:1, 17-23). Let us pay attention to this: many times the prophets speak of the Lord's impending enthronement in Zion. But see what events precede this: the earth shakes like a cradle, disintegrates, the exalted ones gather together, that is, the heavenly hosts and the kings of the earth in one pit, for judgment. It is clear that this enthronement, of course, is not just the coming of such a messiah-king, of whom the Jews dreamed, who will rule in the city of Jerusalem, and the pagans will bring gifts, as the prophet Isaiah further says: dust is under the feet of the Jews, etc. (Isaiah 49:23). Everything looks much scarier.

The result of all these upheavals will be as follows: "And the Lord of hosts will make on this mountain for all the nations – note: for all the nations – a meal of fat viands, a meal of pure wines... And he will destroy on this mountain the veil that covers all nations, the veil that lies upon all nations" (Isaiah 25:6-7) (perhaps this is the veil of which the Apostle Paul speaks: "But their minds are blinded: for the same veil remains unremoved to this day in the reading of the Old Testament, because it is removed by Christ" (2 Corinthians 3:14).

"Death will be swallowed up forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and will take away the reproach from his people in all the earth; for thus saith the Lord" (Isaiah 25:8). Death will be consumed, destroyed forever as a result of this judgment of God, as a result of His appearance.

The following text is used during divine services as the fifth biblical canon at matins. I will quote individual poems.

"In that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah: 'We have a strong city; He gave salvation instead of wall and rampart. Open the gates; Let the righteous people come in, keeping the truth.<... >He overthrew those who dwelt on high, the city that stood high; threw him down, threw him to the ground, threw him into the dust<... >With my soul I have sought Thee by night, and with my spirit I will seek Thee within me from the early morning: for when Thy judgments are done on earth, then shall those who dwell in the world learn righteousness<... >Lord! Thou givest us peace; for Thou hast also arranged all our works for us.<... >As a pregnant woman, at the onset of childbirth, is tormented, crying out from her pains, so were we before Thee, O Lord. They were pregnant, they suffered – and gave birth as it were to the wind; salvation was not brought to the earth, and the rest of the inhabitants of the universe did not fall. Thy dead shall live, dead bodies shall arise! Arise and rejoice, you who are cast down in the dust: for Thy dew is the dew of plants, and the earth shall vomit up the dead" (Isaiah 26: 1-2, 5, 9, 12, 17-19).

This song says that the result of all God's providential actions will be what people themselves could not achieve: the correction of sinners and resurrection. The righteous will arise and rejoice with God.

I would like to draw your attention to the verses we hear at Matins of Great Lent on "Hallelujah" after the Litany of Peace. "From the morning my spirit comes to Thee, O God, for the light of Thy command is upon the earth: / learn righteousness, ye who dwell on the earth;/ envy[18] shall come upon unpunished men, / add evil to them, O Lord, add evil to the glorious of the earth" (Isaiah 26:9, 11, 15). St. Isidore Pelusiot, explaining this passage, says that it refers to those "who openly express themselves majestically and magnify the Divine, and secretly do the opposite, as those who are wise in word and not in deed.< >With prophetic eyes he saw the coming of the Saviour in the flesh, surpassing all words, which acquired for the human race innumerable blessings that surpass all wonder, and made the tormentor powerless. And he cried out: "Learn to do righteousness; The torturer ceased to attack every husband and every wife. All are safe now, except those who voluntarily betray themselves and subject themselves to its delusions; because he can deceive, and not take possession by force" [35, vol. 2, pp. 435-436].

Explaining these lines of Scripture, St. Cyril of Alexandria says that night is the time preceding the coming of the Savior. People must learn the truth through the preaching of the Gospel of the Light, Christ that enlightens all. But those who exalt themselves, do not seek glory from God, and resist Christ, will be ashamed and will be punished. Thus, it is evident that the speech in these verses, as in the verses "God the Lord", is about the coming of the Savior, only here it is given not in a solemn, but in a penitential way.