Bible Synapse
Will all flesh see the glory of the Lord, or will the wicked not behold his majesty?
Hard question · Psalms, wisdom and the prophets · raised by 1 of the lists sceptics circulate
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Prepare the way of the Lord: “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together”.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Though favour is shown him, the wicked “will not behold the majesty of the Lord”; “they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed”.
Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
The objection
Isaiah says that when God’s glory is revealed “all flesh shall see it together”. But earlier in the book he says that the wicked “will not behold the majesty of the Lord”. Will everyone see God’s glory, or not?
The answer
Isaiah himself answers the question in the very next verse. Isaiah 26:10 describes the wicked man in times of God’s kindness: shown favour, he still does not learn righteousness, and he “will not behold the majesty of the Lord”. He has eyes but does not take it in; he refuses to see God’s hand in his life. Verse 11 goes on: “Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed”. So the wicked will not see God’s majesty now, by choice, but they will see it when he acts in judgement, and they will see it to their shame.
Isaiah 40:5 looks to that same day of revelation, when God comes to deliver his people and “all flesh shall see it together”. The Gospels apply it to the coming of Christ (Luke 3:4-6), and Revelation speaks of its final fulfilment: “every eye shall see him”, and “all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Revelation 1:7). Everyone will see the glory of the Lord. For some the sight will be salvation, and for those who would not look before, it will be shame. ‘Seeing’ in 26:10 means recognising and honouring God; in 40:5 it means witnessing his glory when it is revealed.
From the classic commentators
They will not see - They are blind to all the exhibitions of power, mercy, and goodness. But they shall see - They shall yet be brought to recognize thy hand. They shall see thy favor toward thy children, and thy judgment on thy foes.Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible, on Isaiah 26