New Heavens and a New Earth (Isa. 65:17–25)
Read Isaiah 65:17–25. What kind of restoration does the Lord promise here?
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God promises a new creation, beginning with the words: “For I am
about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall
not be remembered or come to mind” (Isa. 65:17, NRSV). In this
remarkable prophecy, the Lord promises to “create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight” (Isa. 65:18, NRSV). In the city there will
be no more weeping (Isa. 65:19). People normally will live considerably
longer than a century before they die (Isa. 65:20). Their work and
children will remain for them to enjoy (Isa. 65:21–23). God will answer
them even before they call (Isa. 65:24).
Nice as it is, why is this not a picture of our final restoration, our final hope?
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Thus far we have a picture of tranquil long lives in the Promised
Land. But even though people live longer, they still die. Where is the
radical transformation of nature we expect with the creation of “new
heavens” and a “new earth”? The next verse tells us: “The wolf and the
lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the
serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord” (Isa. 65:25, NRSV).
For carnivores such as lions to become vegetarian requires far more
than a vegetarian cooking class. It requires a re-creation to restore the
world to its ideal state, as it was before sin in Eden introduced death.
Here in Isaiah 65, God presents the creation of “new heavens” and
a “new earth” as a process, a series of steps, that begins with the re-creation of Jerusalem. Compare Isaiah 11, where the Messiah would
bring justice (Isa. 11:1–5). Then, eventually, there will be peace on
God’s worldwide “holy mountain”; the imagery used in Isaiah 11 is
similar to what’s found in Isaiah 65: “The wolf shall live with the
lamb . . . and the lion shall eat straw like the ox” (Isa. 11:6, 7, NRSV).
Although the Lord’s “holy mountain” would begin with Mount Zion at
Jerusalem, it was only a precursor, a symbol, of what God promises to
do, ultimately, in a new world with His redeemed people.
Suppose instead of living 60, 70, 90, or even 100 years, most
people lived a million years or more. Why, still, would the fundamental problem of humanity not be solved? Why is eternal life the only answer to our deepest human needs?