Read Isaiah 26:14 and 19. What is the contrast between those who will perish forever (Isa. 26:14; see also Mal. 4:1) and those who will receive eternal life (Isa. 26:19)?

 The book of Isaiah presents a major contrast between the majesty of God and our human fragility (see Isaiah 40). Though we are like the grass that withers and the flower that fades, the word of God remains forever (Isa. 40:6-8). Despite our human sinfulness, however, God’s saving grace is available to all human beings and becomes effective even to the Gentiles who embrace His covenant and keep the Sabbath (Isaiah 56).

 In the book of Isaiah, the hope of the resurrection is broadened significantly. While previous biblical allusions to the resurrection were expressed more from personal perspectives (Job 19:25-27, Ps. 49:15, Ps. 71:20), the prophet Isaiah speaks of it as including both himself and the covenantal community of believers (Isa. 26:19).

 Isaiah 26 contrasts the distinct destinies of the wicked and the righteous. On one side, the wicked will remain dead, without ever being brought to life again, at least after the “second death” (Rev. 21:8). They will be completely destroyed, and all their memory will perish forever (Isa. 26:14). This passage underscores the teaching that there are no surviving souls or spirits that remain alive after death. Speaking about the final destruction of the wicked, which comes later, the Lord stated elsewhere that the wicked will be completely burned up, leaving them “neither root nor branch” (Mal. 4:1, NKJV).

 On the other side, the righteous dead will be raised from death to receive their blessed reward. Isaiah 25 highlights that the Lord God “will swallow up death forever” and “will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isa. 25:8, NKJV). In Isaiah 26 we find the following words: “Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead” (Isa. 26:19, NKJV). All the resurrected righteous will participate in the joyful feast that the Lord will prepare for all people (Isa. 25:6). The final resurrection will bring together all the righteous from all ages, including your beloved ones who already died in Christ.