Under the section "Old Testament Prophecies of Apostasy after the Apostolic Age," Scott R. Petersen noted the following about Isa 24:5-6:
Isaiah may have foretold
the apostasy of Christ’s Church when he wrote: “The earth also is defiled under
the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed
the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse
devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the
inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left” (Isaiah 24:5-6; emphasis
added). This chapter is sometimes referred to as the Apocalypse of Isaiah. The
word apocalypse, meaning “from hiding,” is synonymous with eschatology,
a word originating in Greek and denoting “teachings about last things.” A clue
regarding the time of the events prophesied in verses 5-6 is the image of a harvest
symbolized by the “shaking of the olive tree, and as the gleanings grapes
when the vintage is done” (Isaiah 24:13). The language of verse 6 describes the
future event of desolation and destruction of the wicked associated with Christ’s
second coming. It seems Isaiah was describing apostasy after the Lord’s
ascension.
The term everlasting
covenant is first used by God with Noah after the Flood (Genesis 9:16). The
ancient writings of the Dead Sea Scrolls occasionally also refer to the everlasting
covenant between God and Adam, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. The Israelites
were subjected to the law of Moses as a schoolmaster until the law should be
fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Although the term everlasting covenant is
mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, it is never used in the same sense as
with Noah and Abraham (Leviticus 24:7-8 refers to a specific rite within the
law of Moses, not the everlasting covenant; Leviticus 16:34 refers to the
annual day of atonement; 2 Samuel 23:5 refers to God’s covenant with David,
evidently that Jesus would be born through the Davidic line; 2 Chronicles 13:5
and 21:7 refer to this same covenant; 1 Chronicles 16:17 does refer to the “everlasting
covenant” made with Abraham and Israel; however, a covenant is a two-way
agreement that Israel often broke with God. Clearly, this covenant was already
severed at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy through the likes of Ahaz and, while
later reestablished briefly with a portion of Judah through righteous King
Hezekiah, others during his reign “laughed them to scorn, and mocked them” [2
Chronicles 30:10]. Gross wickedness quickly returned with Manasseh, Hezekiah’s
son, ultimately resulting in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that Israel would
be scattered and slain). The Mosaic covenant was understood to be a temporary
(not everlasting) law that would ultimately be superseded by the New Covenant
introduced by Jesus Christ. Isaiah was likely speaking of the everlasting
covenant that God had made with the ancient Patriarchs, to be renewed in
Jesus Christ, and not the law of Moses. This everlasting covenant was
probably not on the earth during all or large portions of the Mosaic
dispensation. In his instructions to the Hebrews, Paul reminds believers that
only through the “blood of the everlasting covenant” would they be “perfect in
every good work to do his will” (Hebrews 13:20-21). Since Isaiah’s language
points toward the last days (see v. 23) and the Old Testament supports
prevailing apostasy during this period, Isaiah’s prophecy appears to refer to a
period after the apostolic ministry. (Scott R. Petersen, Where Have All the
Prophets Gone? Revelation and-Rebellion in the Old Testament and the Christian
World [Springville, Utah: CFI, 2005], 70-71)
