He will swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:6-8)

Isaiah 25:6-8 New International Version (NIV)

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

Isaiah’s apocalypse

According to the scholars Isaiah chapters 24-27 are called as Isaiah’ apocalypse. Apocalypse is a specular form of Israel literature. It is similar to music and art which has different expressing style such as the classical school, the romantic school, the impressionist and so for as well as in literature which has its own genre like poem, novel essay.

There is a historical background of Apocalypse author’s appearance. Israel was conquered by Babylon in B.C. 587. In ancient times, war was just like zero sum game. If they won and got everything otherwise lose everything. David’s palace and Jerusalem temple had destroyed and all national treasures were plundered by Babylon. Many were dead, wounded and lost their livelihood. Would women be harmed in the middle of such misery? After destruction of Jerusalem temple, the city of God, Jew’s leader were captured.

The prophets began to think the reason of Israel’s destruction. What kind of country Israel would be? They called themselves as the people of God. The God is the Creator. He led Abraham from Chaldean Ur and settled him in Canaan and made covenant with him to give descendant and land. He is the one who buried Pharaoh’s army, the most powerful army in those days, in the sea. God did the things no one could do. He gave the law at the Mount Sinai through Moses and promised to be God of Israel. However, they were now completely destroyed by Babylon. It shouldn't be happened. Did God tell lie? Does God is sleeping? Have God abandoned them? What was problem?

The answer Prophets found was that God didn't forsake Israel but Israel beforehand forsook God and God’s word. Israel broke God’s covenant. (Jer. 31:32) The problem was with Israel. They were not satisfied with God only. God’s covenant didn't come to them in real. They need a stronger excitement.  So they couldn't but worship idol. It was the very reason of Israel’s suffering and destruction. The prophets proclaimed to Israel people to come back to God. If they throw away idols and follow God’s word then God would renew his covenant and keep them. Such interpretation of history is rightly called as Deuteronomy view of history. Mostly prophets proclaimed God’s word base on this view of history.

There are other prophets who interpreted Israel’s history differently. There are rightly the authors of Apocalypse. They have two characteristics. One is historical category that their proclamation contains.  They were not limited in Israel’s history but foresaw the entire history of humankind. They interpreted history with universal view. There are some words like the Lord Almighty,all peoples, all nationsin In Isaiah 25:6,7 and it rightly point out universal level. The other is that they see this world and history much more pessimistically than other prophets. The Bible authors belonged to Apocalypse line thought they didn’t’ have any hope in this world and this world would be destroyed soon.

Isaiah chapter 24 says the Lord will destroy the earth. Verse 6 says, “Therefore a curse consumes the earth;its people must bear their guilt.Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,and very few are left.” The beginning of chapter 25 also such destruction. Verse 2 says, “You have made the city a heap of rubble,the fortified town a ruin,the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;it will never be rebuilt.” They thought this world was a completely ruined one and there was no way to be saved. Such world should be destroyed as earlier as possible.

At their view who watched Jerusalem’s destruction in B.C 587, it was natural to see the world in this way. A few years ago, the people of Afghanistan and Iraq attacked by America or Palestine people attacked by Israel might see the world in this point of view. The world a suicide farmer in Haryana due to debt experienced also might be the same. Paul’s account in his letter, “Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.”(Rom.  3:9) also a trace of Apocalypse. In here Paul quoted Psalm and said all were not afraid of God. Such pessimistic history interpretation of the author of Apocalypse makes sense.

If the author of Apocalypse ended with interpreting and describing this word pessimistically only then they were nothing but nihilist, a skeptic and pessimist. It has no relationship with God’s salvation history at all. The spirituality of the author of Apocalypse was different form it. They proclaimed much fundamental salvation. They foresaw much higher salvation in the deep pain and desperation. As Jesus’ saying, “Blessed are poor in spirit” pointing, those who fall into bottomless pit of life can experience totally different world of salvation which is completely different in its quality. The author of Isaiah proclaimed such salvation in 25:6-8.

The world without death

We can find out the author’s spiritual imagination power. “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will preparea feast of rich food for all peoples,a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.” The Lord Almighty prepares a feast. There are two eatable materials, the best of meats and the finest of wines. Those who like wines can look forward to a banquet the Lord prepares. I read again. “…the Lord Almighty will prepare feast of rich food for all peoples,a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.” To them whose life was completely destroyed due to war it can be imagined how much they missed such eatable stuffs. It contains their desperate heart for God’s salvation.

Verse 7 progress a step further. “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,the sheet that covers all nations.” When people dies a sheet covers face of the demised. The meaning God destroys the sheet that covers all nations is to overcome grief of death. How can he do? Does it mean simply give a life to the dead? Though the dead alive the joy is temporal. In Greek myth, there is a river ‘Lethe’, a river of forgetfulness. Grief can be forgotten but it cannot be solved fundamentally. It is a pious fraud. The author of Isaiah suggests another answer.

Look at verse 8. It is a wonderful proclamation. “He will swallow up death forever.The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.”The Lord the author of Apocalypse says is the one who swallow up death forever. When death is swallowed up the tears from all faces will be wiped away and shame of God’s people also will be removed. As death swallow up, sheet that covers face is no more necessary. The entire solution of human life is lied here.

If we understand Isaiah’s saying, “God will swallow up death forever” more correctly we need a question‘What is death?’ Nobody knows what death is. Death can be known only after death but a dead cannot be return and how can we say about death. Some says they went to the heaven after death and return to the world again but it is nonsense. We don’t know death itself. The clear fact is that death open its mouth widely before us. No one can escape from this. We have to lay down everything before death. We have to give up all our achievement. We have to depart from our relative and close friends. Then we can be freed from all laws.

The authors also don’t say about death directly. Instead they say why death began The Bible author thought death is a result of sin that man committed. Man didn't commit sin because of fundamental evil nature. Man were created in good even more any creature. According to Genesis’ fallen story there is an evil power to entice man. The fallen story described with the method of ancient myth exactly point out human existence, vulnerable to the temptation of evil. Man cannot overcome sin with personal and moral effort. There is no power to overcome sin to man. Eventually man cannot escape from death, the result of sin. This is man’s destiny and dilemma.

Dear brothers and sisters. Don’t be uncomfortable. I don’t say to you to be wrapped by sin consciousness. The Bible says man cannot overcome sin and death it is not the core of it. There is something more important than this. God is struggling with the power of death. We even would like to do it but cannot do. Rather as we can see the tale Adam and Cain there will be high possibility to be used by evil power. The ontological war against evilness and death is God’s part. Isaiah says it with the word of “God will swallow up death forever.

How do you accept this Apocalypse? The death the author said to be swallowed up hasn't yet. Tears and anger due to death still make human life despair. Even at this time of advanced medical science we are exposed to death helplessly. It is not merely a matter of death. All human desires and inhuman incidents caused by such desires hold the entire human life at the point of manifestation of unconsciousness for death. If the power of death become not weaker, Isaiah’s apocalypse was a daydream? Was it a psychological projection of Judean? Was it nothing but Utopian dream?

Jesus has risen

We know spiritual imagination that Isaiah saw has been realized in practical human history. It is Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus crucified on the cross and buried in the tomb of Joseph from Arimathea. The life of Judean young man who proclaimed the kingdom of God would be ended in that way. May be many people said, “He was good man but so sorry to say but he die.” His followers all went back to their hometown. After sometime his disciple began to experience strange thing. Jesus appeared to them. It was unreasonable and illogical thing. To bury into tomb meant a confirmation of death. Dead man cannot meet a lived. Suppose a man is out while we have worship service and appears again though we locked door. Such thing cannot be happened unless it is magic. Magic is not reality but tricks.

Jesus’ disciples also clearly knew their experience is not general. They doubted they could see illusion. Thomas’ doubtful saying he couldn't believe unless and until he touch Jesus’ body in real is pointless words. Then it happened not even one disciple but to other disciples too. Sometimes individual and sometimes collectively. The disciples were in serious agony before such experiences. They began to read the Old Testament again. From there, they realized the Old Testament already prophesied Messiah’s resurrection and began to believe their experience is the very one. They stuck to this very fact only. The fact is that Jesus whom people crucified on the cross is the very Messiah the Old Testament prophesied.

Paul who didn't meet Jesus in Jesus’ public life also experienced the risen Jesus. Different from the authors of gospel he explained this fact logically. According to his testimony, Jesus who buried and raised after three days according to the scriptures appeared to Peter, the Twelve, 500 hundred at the same time and to him also. He says, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”(1 Cor. 15:14) It means all of Christianity belief lied on Jesus’ resurrection. It is because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very God’s salvation incident to destroy the power of death.

Don’t seem death destroy today as power of death mightily work even after Isaiah proclaimed the fact of swallowing up of death. The eyes of faith recognizes and penetrates resurrection life in this reality. I don’t urge you forcefully and unconditionally to believe unreasonable thing. Neither to make mystery of it or deal it in psychological way. It mean to enter into Christian faith’ unique life experience. It is neither fanaticism nor superstition. Moreover it neither self-intoxication. It is to open spiritual eyes on life incident God raised.

For this a necessary religious attitude to you is not to be tamed by typical life form. The reason we cannot enter into a spirituality of resurrection is that we accept the life we experience now as an absolute one. Resurrection is total different one. It is the incident to change into new life completely. It is a unique change into life that humankind never experienced. It is not the thing to produce or prove repeatedly in a lab. Though the bioethicists make a man with handsome feature with intelligence and health it is merely coarse life. Such thing is, though it may produce nicely, eventually it is limited. Other life cannot be contained in it. It is nothing but a life in an egg. The outside and inside is totally different world. Resurrection will come beyond our prejudice.

The proclamation of the author of Isaiah Apocalypse has fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection. We who know it and believe it are the people to participate to the victory of life though we live in this world where a shadow of death roaming around. Dears, remember Jesus has risen and the power of death swallowed up forever.