NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH 

Isaiah 65:1-25 / Keywords 65:17

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

 

Judgment and Salvation

65:1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;

    I was found by those who did not seek me.

To a nation that did not call on my name,

    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

2 All day long I have held out my hands

    to an obstinate people,

who walk in ways not good,

    pursuing their own imaginations—

3 a people who continually provoke me

    to my very face,

offering sacrifices in gardens

    and burning incense on altars of brick;

4 who sit among the graves

    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;

who eat the flesh of pigs,

    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;

5 who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,

    for I am too sacred for you!’

Such people are smoke in my nostrils,

    a fire that keeps burning all day.

6 “See, it stands written before me:

    I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;

    I will pay it back into their laps—

7 both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”

    says the Lord.

“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains

    and defied me on the hills,

I will measure into their laps

    the full payment for their former deeds.”

8 This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes

    and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,

    there is still a blessing in it,’

so will I do in behalf of my servants;

    I will not destroy them all.

9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

    and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;

my chosen people will inherit them,

    and there will my servants live.

10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,

    and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

    for my people who seek me.

11 “But as for you who forsake the Lord

    and forget my holy mountain,

who spread a table for Fortune

    and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

12 I will destine you for the sword,

    and all of you will fall in the slaughter;

for I called but you did not answer,

    I spoke but you did not listen.

You did evil in my sight

    and chose what displeases me.”

13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,

    but you will go hungry;

my servants will drink,

    but you will go thirsty;

my servants will rejoice,

    but you will be put to shame.

14 My servants will sing

    out of the joy of their hearts,

but you will cry out

    from anguish of heart

    and wail in brokenness of spirit.

15 You will leave your name

    for my chosen ones to use in their curses;

the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,

    but to his servants he will give another name.

16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land

    will do so by the one true God;

whoever takes an oath in the land

    will swear by the one true God.

For the past troubles will be forgotten

    and hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “See, I will create

    new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered,

    nor will they come to mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever

    in what I will create,

for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight

    and its people a joy.

19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem

    and take delight in my people;

the sound of weeping and of crying

    will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it

    an infant who lives but a few days,

    or an old man who does not live out his years;

the one who dies at a hundred

    will be thought a mere child;

the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred

    will be considered accursed.

21 They will build houses and dwell in them;

    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,

    or plant and others eat.

For as the days of a tree,

    so will be the days of my people;

my chosen ones will long enjoy

    the work of their hands.

23 They will not labor in vain,

    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;

for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,

    they and their descendants with them.

24 Before they call I will answer;

    while they are still speaking I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,

    and dust will be the serpent’s food.

They will neither harm nor destroy

    on all my holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches

1. God had not been silent, as the people thought. He revealed himself through his prophets, but they didn’t seek him nor listen to him. He extended his hands many times to his people, but they remained stubbornly rebellious. They were idolatrous, sought help from demons, and deposed God’s word. They will not escape God’s judgment. However, God will show mercy on the remnant who seek him (8-11). Destruction waits for those who forsake the Lord. They will go hungry, thirsty, experience shame, wail in anguish, and be destroyed, but God’s servants - those who obey him and do his work - will eat, drink, rejoice, and sing joyful songs.

 

2. God promises to his remnant, his remaining people, new heavens and a new earth: the new Jerusalem, a place where they will forever have unutterable joy without earth’s tragedies ever repeating again. The old order of things will pass away at the time of renewal. The Lord’s protection will ensure complete security and satisfaction for his people, and God’s people and their descendants will be blessed. The wolf and the lamb will lie down together and on God’s holy mountain there will be a perfect peace. This vision will become a reality only when our Lord Jesus comes again. His people will reign forever with Christ in glory (Rev 21).

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for your promise of new heavens and a new earth. Help me hold your vision in my heart and do your work by faith.

One Word Seek God and hope in him