New Heavens, New Earth: A Fresh Perspective

Isaiah 65:17-25

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 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. 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. “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 hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 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. 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. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 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.”

“So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven… (Matt 6:9-10)”, thus says the LORD. God promised through the visions of the Apostle John: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then He said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And He also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children (Rev 21:1–7).” This indeed is something to eagerly look forward to, after all the strife and suffering we experience in this fallen, broken earth of humankind. If “the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard no more (v. 19),” it is because He had wiped all tears of sorrow from our eyes. In His Kingdom on earth, the innocent will live long and prosper, no more death out of time, we will no longer lament ‘gone too soon’ and we will gladly welcome our entrance into the Eternal Kingdom when the time comes, a hundred years or so from the earthly one (v. 20), and then death will be the one gone forever, as with “the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind (v. 17).” A complete reversal of the curse of Eden will occur and in no time, we’ll be back in God’s holy garden. We’ll live on its cornucopia, quality produce that never ends, and we will celebrate in the presence of Jesus. Before He went to complete our redemption, before He conquered death, He said to His disciples, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s Kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matt 26:28–30).” As for today, we live thankful for redemption, filled with love everlasting, and with hope kindled by this eternal perspective!