The Advent in Isaiah

Isaiah 65v17-25 New Heavens and New Earth

Who is old enough to remember Tomorrows World? When I was growing up it was one of my favourite TV programs. In the early 70’s under Raymond Baxter I was introduced to the inventions which would transform the future – the pocket calculator, the digital watch, ceefax ... not to mention a few which never actually materialised as anything useful! (even though some wags look back on those days and say Hey! It’s 40 years later! Where’s my flying car?!)

In the main though, overlapping with the inspiring moon missions, it was a time of expectation, of excitement about the future! A chance to talk about great things which were coming our way!

That’s what I’m hoping for from our look at the Bible today. Sometimes the fact that we are looking at a historical document means we spend all our time looking back at the things which happened back then. And in our very reasonable excitement about the wonderful things that God has done, we perhaps don’t cast our thoughts forwards so much to the wonderful things that God will do.
Isaiah is drawing his book to a conclusion by pointing towards a wonderful future. The end point of Gods plan which is progressively revealed through the scriptures.

Where I grew up in Luton there was a concreted over trickle called the river Lea, and in the early 80’s, just this side of town they planted some grass around it, put a bench in and called it “little Venice”. I imagine this story has been repeated in towns up and down the country. How ridiculous! As if it bears any resemblance to the real thing! Yet how often we desire to reach out and picture something beautiful, even if our imagery falls far short of the original

I think it is important to remember that Isaiah is using poetic language and attempting to find a way to describe the potentially indescribable – which is why Isaiah is taking well known situations and circumstances and amplifying them to give a foretaste of Gods plans.

The closing chapters still contain messages of judgement mingled with those of hope, but as I concentrated on the issue of judgement last week I intend to concentrate on the future hope this week. We see here a new creation described, with its centrepiece as a new Jerusalem. Then I’d like to glance forward again to the end of the Bible, to the Revelation, to take some of the ideas raised here by Isaiah to their New Testament conclusion.

A common technique in Hebrew literature is to use one idea to ‘top and tail’ a central idea, to bring additional emphasis to the text you put in the centre. In this passage both v17 and v25 talk about new creation, which act as a frame to the central idea of the new Jerusalem.

New Creation (17, 25)

Behold. There will be a new work of creation, magnificent and wonderful. It will last ‘for ever’ and this time it will not only be God who says “It is good”, but all of his redeemed will be glad and rejoice in it.

The language used in the closing bookend closely reflects the original creation. When the wolf and lamb will feed together, and the lion eat straw like the ox might sound a bit mad to us from a biology point of view, but it is specifically to remind us of the first creation, the time before the fall, when nothing had to be killed to provide food for another (cf Gen 1v29-30). God isn’t just going to be recreating things as they were though – this is to be a new creation. A new heavens and a new earth.

All creation will be redeemed. All but one. We see that dust will still be the serpents food, reminding us of the curse upon the serpent in Gen 3v14 “you will eat dust all the days of your life”. The serpent in this story is Satan, and his judgement is coming. Whatever power he might claim to have now, his future is doomed.

A new heaven and a new earth are mentioned twice in the new testament. Once by Peter in 2 Pet 3v13; following the destruction of everything “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”. The second time is by John in Rev 21v1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away”.

In each case it appears that the new heavens and new earth are after the first earth had passed away.

New Jerusalem (18-24)

The centrepiece of the new creation is a new city, a newly created Jerusalem (18b), a new place for Gods people to be found. It is to be a place of security – neither weeping over emotional pain nor crying over physical pain will be found there.

Jerusalem will be a delight and its people a joy. Moreover, God will delight in his people who live there. Isaiah uses aspects of things that his people knew in order to create impressions of what is to come. Totally provided for (v13). Happy (v19). Secure (v22-23). Close to God (v24).

When talking about ages of people in v20 He is using emotive and somewhat hyperbolic language. He has already spoken about people rejoicing “for ever” (v18) and there being “no more weeping”, so when he says “he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth” he doesn’t anticipate anyone actually dying at a hundred. He is using a figure of speech to highlight how amazing this future will be.

On the London Underground there is an advert by “Save the Children” which says that in Liberia a baby dies every hour. One in six never reaches their fifth birthday. In the new Jerusalem there will be nobody who is cut off suddenly by death.
Again using language and imagery which will be familiar to his hearers, Isaiah describes the new society where nobody will have their things taken away from them. Remember that in his day there was the ever present threat that the Assyrians, the Babylonians or some other power would invade and take their houses, take their vineyards. They were a small nation surrounded by powerful and aggressive nations.

Remember, these words were written before the Babylonian exile which carried the Israelites away into captivity. One can only imagine the degree of comfort they took from these words in the days of their exile. The thought that God had promised a new creation and a new Jerusalem. What a hope for the future they had!

Of course, Moses had warned Israel in Deuteronomy that if Gods people didn’t follow his commands and live rightly that, among other things, “You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit”. Here Isaiah is promising that God is working towards a future when the curses of Deuteronomy will not be in effect. The new heavens and the new earth are pointing towards security and blessing in the new Jerusalem.

Expanded in the New Testament

In the new testament the principles of Gods people living in Gods place under Gods rule find their most perfect fulfilment, and still the Bible writers struggle with finding adequate words to express their visions. In Revelation 21 the apostle John gives us a stirring image of the future.

We see here reprised Isa 25, Isa 35 and Isa 65. A new creation with everything made new! No more death or mourning or crying or pain!

There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.

An angel hears his plea and appears to him. "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you." The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules. The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him.

The angel reappears and informs the man that God had decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.

Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Peter seeing the suitcase says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!" But, the man explains to Peter that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord.

Sure enough, Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through." Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims,

"You brought pavement?!?"

The centrepiece of this new creation will be a new Jerusalem which John sees descending from heaven.

No mere rebuilding of earthly Jerusalem this!

21v11-12 “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel ... clear as crystal.” v18 “The city of pure gold ... foundations were decorated with every kind of precious stone ... the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each made of a single pearl ... the great street of the city was gold”

Just how big is this city? v16 tells us that it is laid out like a square, 1,400 miles long and as wide and high as it is long – a cube, just like the most holy place of the tabernacle but write large beyond imagining. This new Jerusalem would be an astonishing 10.6 billion cubic kilometres in volume. How big is that? Well, when Mount St Helens exploded I remember the scientists said that 2 cubic kilometres of rock was blown off the side of the mountain – and that was 20 times the volume of all the skyscrapers in New York. It doesn’t sound like heaven will be crowded!

And a new society? 22v3-5 says “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

This is the heart of the matter. This is why the first advent happened. This is why the second advent will happen. Because God and Jesus want to dwell with us, and enjoy our company. Because we will see his face, and his name will be on our foreheads.

One of my favourite hymns is the old favourite “The Sands of Time are Sinking”. I’d like to just read a couple of verses from it to you now:

You know what I think? The glories of heaven are going to be insignificant compared to the wonder of seeing Jesus face to face.

And everything this Christmas – the manger, the carols, glittering lights and decorations, can be reminders to us that the Prince of Peace who arrived in a manger is going to return in glory.

The second advent is coming. It's the REAL tomorrows world.

Alex White