Isaiah 66 is the final chapter of the book of Isaiah to which we read midway through this chapter the following: "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind,
to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." This chapter concerns the righteousness of the true faith of those that rightly fear and tremble at God's power and word, as compared to those that ridicule them for that faith, and are themselves hypocrites in their hearts as well as in their actions, that at best, take on the semblance of the faith, and at worse, work at cross purposes to that faith. The passage makes it very clear, however, that God is not one to be mocked, and that the choices that people make here on earth, have consequences now and in the future, to which His great power sends the message that the earth is the Lord's footstool and He is on the heavenly throne.
Today, it is infrequent to hear preached tales of rebuke, or even to be taught to fear the Lord, as people are only too willing to believe that either that there is no God, or that there is a God but He isn't going to do much about anything, or that God is a God of love, and so there isn't any point in fearing Him. Yet, fire properly controlled is a great cleanser, as it clears out the old underbrush so as to replace it with a new growth, not destroying the good soil necessary for renewed growth, nor harming trees of solid character and of deep roots.
It isn't really necessary to see Isaiah 66:15 as a passage to be taken literally, although it can be, it is important though to understand that this passage invokes the message that those that suffer horribly for their good faith while here on this earth, whereas others with insincere hearts and foolish desires gain over them, without apparently any real harm to themselves, that this cannot now, nor never will, fool our Lord.
Too many men spend inordinate amounts of time creating castles that they feel can withstand not only the ravages of time, but stand up against anything that man can throw against it in the present. This though is a grave mistake, for these castles are castles of sand, and those that turn their backs on God, that believe that man is the measure of all things, and that in particular, they are the ones that are doing the measuring, are only stoking the fires of the great flames that they will have to face in the whirlwind of God's righteous justice.
How is it that so many believe that the actions that they take are something other than pathetic imitations of real faith? Unfortunately, for those living this lie, this façade, cannot last and will be exposed for all to see. How long before man finally recognizes that God cannot be mocked, and that once unleashed, that there will be no escape from the sterling Light that will expose the darkness and evil of those who dare to believe that they are His worthy rivals. In truth, God's fire will burn completely away the dross of ignorance, hypocrisy, and the hubris of fallen man, leaving him naked, defeated, and completely exposed yet now at least unfettered from the chains of his own doing; while those that are saved will lie down peacefully with the lion and the lamb.