Does Isaiah 24 prophesy Climate Change at the End of the Age?
Whilst Isaiah spoke to rebellious Judah, in chapter 24 he also speaks to the rebellious nations of the whole earth. When ‘earth’ is referred to in this chapter, it has Hebrew root, ‘erets, meaning the whole world (the same meaning of ‘earth’ in Genesis 1). The context of Isaiah 24 appears to be the broken state of the world just prior to the Lord’s return to earth (verse 23). Leaving aside the prophesied dark end-time political issues, Isaiah sees a world broken through environmental issues, and particularly through “climate change” and “extreme weather”.
To reiterate, Isaiah 24 refers to end-time global events and global judgements. These correlate well with the global judgements on the earth described in Revelation 6-18, and Isaiah 13:6-13. Amazingly, although written about 700 BC, Isaiah 24 highlights the major climate change issues concerning the world today i.e. extreme drought, extreme heat, extreme rainfall and mass migration. Consider:
Verse 1,3,4: Extreme Drought
“The LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste . . . the land shall be entirely emptied . . . The earth mourns and dries up, and the land wastes away and withers” (NLT)
Global warming increases evaporation on land, worsens drought, increases desertification, and creates conditions more prone to wildfires. Currently, about 500 million people live within areas that have experienced desertification since the 1980s, and for a 2-degree warming by 2050, it is estimated that over 30% of earth’s land surface could be affected by aridity and desertification.
Today this environmental problem is top of the UN agenda. In September 2026 a UN Report called “Glogal_Water_Bankruptcy_Report_2026_.pdf”, warned:
“The World is entering an era of ‘global water bankruptcy’. What is now emerging in many regions, is a persistent shortage whereby water systems can no longer realistically return to their historical baselines.”
Some Statistics:
According to the Report, the human toll is already significant. Nearly three-quarters of the world’s population live in countries classified as water-insecure. Groundwater now provides about 50% of global domestic water use and over 40% of irrigation water, tying both drinking water security and food production directly to rapidly depleting aquifers. Around 70% of the world’s major aquifers show long-term declining trends. But groundwater depletion and land subsidence are widespread and often irreversible. Excessive groundwater extraction has already contributed to significant land subsidence over more than 6 million square km—almost 5% of the global land area—including over 200,000 square km of urban and densely populated zones where close to 2 billion people live.
Verse 6: Extreme Heat
“The inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left”
A similar warning of extreme heat is given in Revelation 16:8-9, only this heat appears to be directly from the sun rather than from greenhouse gas emissions. Under the high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, IPCC AR6 models predict a 2.8 – 4.6 degree rise by 2100. Little wonder, according to verse 6, many will die from the extreme heat.
Recent Global Temperatures
In 2025 countries like Sweden and Finland experienced prolonged and extreme heatwaves, and emergency services saw a 400% increase in heat-related emergencies. The highest temperature in 2025 was 54.0°C (in Kuwait). August 2026 was the planet’s hottest August since modern record-keeping began in 1850 [NOAA, NASA]. The intensifying super El Niño, combined with global warming, is favoured to make 2026 the hottest year on record, with 2027 expected to be even hotter [yaleclimateconnections.org]. There is a 75% chance that the 2026-2030 five-year global mean will exceed 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average [metoffice.gov.uk]
Verse 18: Extreme Rain
“For the windows from on high are open”
Here ‘windows’ (Heb, ‘arubbah’) means ‘sluice’ – an opening for water. The same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 7 to describe Noah’s Flood. When rainfall does occur, it is projected to be more intense, raising the risk of flooding and severe storms.
The intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall increase exponentially with global warming because the air can hold 7% more water vapour for every one-degree C rise in temperature. So heavy precipitation events are projected to increase (along with temperatures) throughout the 21st century. Extreme rainfall events could be four times as frequent by 2080 compared to 1980s [metoffice.gov.uk]. In fact, the earth will not only see more extreme rainfall, but also more intense and longer dry spells in the future [Max Planck Institute].
Verse 7-12: Abandoned Cities
“The city of confusion is broken down; every house is shut up . . . In the city desolation is left ”
In the context of Isaiah 24, this prophecy could refer more to the effect of Climate Change at the end of the age (rather than to the breakdown of economic Babylon described in Revelation 18). Around 40% of the world’s population now lives within 100km of a coast, so sea level rise has become a pressing issue for many coastal communities [https://sealevel.nasa.gov/].
Rising sea levels are accelerating, putting millions of people and trillions in assets at risk across coastal megacities. Scientists predict entire cities will be affected, including major urban hubs like New York City, Mumbai, Lagos, Shanghai, Miami, Dhaka and Tokyo. So rising seas will likely spark mass migration and eventually force whole cities to be abandoned [https://thehill.com/]. In addition, many urban centers already experience subsidence, worsening the impact of rising oceans [sciencetimes.com/]. In some locations, land is sinking by up to 25 cm per year, permanently increasing flood risk.
Verse 1: The Effect of Climate Change – Mass Migration
“The LORD . . . scatters abroad its inhabitants”
Verse 1 sees people moving from empty, useless wasteland areas; peoples are “scattered”, implying mass migration. Verse 2 says this will affect everyone, small or great, rich or poor. No one will be exempt.
Some Statistics:
Mass migration is observed today. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expect that the greatest single impact of climate change could be on human migration. It estimates that over 680 million people are at risk of displacement by 2050 because they live in low-lying coastal regions. And, worldwide, some 700 million people are at-risk of being displaced through drought by 2030.
Verse 14-16: Remnant Faith
“glorify the Lord in the dawning light . . . in the coastlands of the sea, from the ends of the earth”
Despite traumatic world events, it seems many parts of the globe will still be proclaiming the glory of the Lord God of Israel. A parallel verse is in Revelation 7:9. Sadly, both Isaiah 24 and Revelation 7 imply these believers will suffer persecution from a godless world. They could be the tribulation saints of Revelation 7.
Verse 20: Earth Staggers
“The earth shall stagger to and fro like a drunkard”
Earth’s spin axis naturally wobbles due to gravitational pulls from the sun and the moon on its bulging equator. But, according to NASA, global warming is also shifting the way the earth wobbles. Massive Greenland and Antarctic ice loss, plus the deficit of water in Eurasia (drought and the depletion of aquifers) is changing the distribution of weight on the earth (like a weight added to a spinning top). Currently this “polar motion” is small, but large enough to affect GPS. Also, is this a pre-cursor to last-days judgement in Isaiah 13, where God causes the earth to “move out of its place”?
Verse 21: Punishment of Godless Nations
“the Lord will punish . . . the kings of the earth”
This is probably a brief reference to the sudden fall of economic Babylon described in Revelation 18:9. As in Isaiah 24:7-12, Revelation 18 sees the lack of productivity and mirth in abandoned cities.
Why these Judgments?
Many suffering from extreme climate change today, as in world-wide destructive floods, fire and drought will ask “how can a loving God let these things happen?” That’s a fair question! Nevertheless, Bible history shows that those nations who rebel against God are judged. Verse 5 explains:
“The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.” (Isaiah 24:5, NLT)
Modern man has transgressed God’s laws for living – God’s ordinances. For example, marriage in England and Wales has been re-defined as between any two people, rather than strictly between one man and one woman. Man’s abortion law has little recognition for how God sees the unborn. The law sees the unborn as an embryo or foetus, whereas God sees the unborn as a person. Globally, there is legal pressure on schools to teach evolution rather than the biblical picture of creation. The law maintains that god-less evolution is the only true science.
Man has also broken or ignored everlasting covenants found in the Bible. He treats as myth God’s covenant with Man never to again destroy the earth by water – despite abundant evidence for Noah’s Flood! And the nations reject and ignore God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham to give his descendants all the land of Canaan (1 Chron 16:16). Instead, emphasis is upon an unbiblical two-state solution which divides the land. Hence the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most importantly, Man ignores the New Covenant between God and Man which offers free salvation through Christ. To quote Isaiah again:
“When Your judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9)
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