The New Heavens and Earth

In Isaiah 64, the prophet pleaded for YHVH to come down from the heavens to make His name known to His adversaries.  He said that since the world was made, men hadn’t heard or seen any God besides YHVH.  The prophet acknowledged that YHVH was angry because His people had sinned; in fact, they continued to sin and needed to be delivered.  He admitted their righteousness was worthless.  He said no one calls on YHVH’s name; He had hidden His face from them because of their iniquities.  They acknowledged YHVH is the potter and they are the clay, and the prophet asked YHVH not to be angry with them forever.

YHVH responded in Isaiah 65:  “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name.”  Who is YHVH referring to here?  Paul, in Romans 10:19-21, implies Isaiah was referring to the Gentiles, then, in verse 22, Paul said Isaiah began to address Israel.  YHVH said He had His arms out to the Jews but they were a rebellious people; they wouldn’t listen to Him.  They provoked YHVH to anger by committing idolatry and necromancy (contacting the dead).  They ate pork and drank broth from abominable things.  It is evident here that it is not just the meat of unclean animals that is offensive to YHVH.  They even considered themselves holier than YHVH.  Could it be they felt this way because of their self-righteousness?

YHVH intends to repay them for their evil in proportion to their iniquities but for His servant’s sake He didn’t intend to destroy all of them.  He indicated there would be a remnant from Judah; they are His elect and His servants. 

Many years later, Paul confirmed in Romans 11 that God had not cast His people away.  Paul points out how Elijah pled with God against Israel.  At that time, YHVH told Elijah there were 7000 men who had not bowed their knees to Baal.  Paul explained that even in Elijah’s day, there was a remnant according to the election of grace (favor).  This remnant seeks YHVH today.  This remnant keeps the commands of YHVH and trusts in Yeshua.

If we are part of this remnant, we must be careful not to quit seeking YHVH; we must not forsake Him for other gods.  In Isaiah’s day, there were people who worshiped Gad, a god of fortune; and Meni, a god of luck.  Today we don’t necessarily have physical idols by these names but we certainly see the worship of materialism, and many people hope for luck.  In Revelation, the worship of materialism is a component of the mystery religion, Babylon the Great.  We are told the merchants of the earth will become rich through the abundance of her luxury.  We are called to come out of her before it’s too late.  Is it possible there are non-physical idols in your life that you are worshiping?  If so, repent!

In Isaiah 65, YHVH said that those who were worshiping Gad and Meni would be slaughtered by the sword because they did not answer His call or hear Him speaking to them.  Instead, they did evil in His eyes.  They chose lawlessness instead of righteousness.  These are the same themes present in Revelation 19.  A sharp sword will go out of Yeshua’s mouth with which He will strike the nations.  Only those who keep the commandments and the faith of Yeshua will get to eat of the tree of life and enter through the gates of the new Jerusalem.

As Isaiah 65 continues, YHVH begins to compare His true servants to those who had been committing apostasy.  YHVH’s servants will not be hungry or thirsty; they will rejoice and sing for joy.  We are told YHVH’s servants will be called by another name.  There is mention of this in Revelation 2:17; a new name will be written on a stone and given to those who hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Those who commit apostasy will be hungry and thirsty; they will be ashamed. They will cry, for their hearts will be full of sorrow and their spirits will be full of grief. Their name will be a curse to YHVH’s chosen people; YHVH Elohim will slay them.  Don’t find yourself in the same situation; do not forsake YHVH and His commandments!

You may be wondering why I’m emphasizing that.  Isaiah 65:20 says, “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.”  Why would a child die at one hundred years old?  Why would a sinner even exist much less be one hundred years old?  Has the prophet switched time periods?  Is this a reference to what can take place during Yeshua’s millennial reign and not a reference to the time following the judgment at the white throne?

I tend to believe these references point to the time of the millennial reign of Yeshua.  I’ve noticed that it’s not unusual to see a switching back and forth between time periods in Isaiah.  Sinners who do not die in the Battle of Armageddon will be on the earth during the millennial reign of Yeshua.  They could die during this time.  We can see that Isaiah 25:8 says, “He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.”  Revelation 21:4 says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  Both of these verses show us there will be no more death after the new heaven and earth appear.  Revelation 21:27 says, “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”  The sinners will have been thrown into the lake of fire by that time; this is the second death.

YHVH’s elect will build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.  Since the curse of the law will no longer be in effect, their enemies will not take over and inhabit their dwellings or eat their food.  YHVH’s elect will enjoy the work of their hands for a very long time and their labor will not be in vain.  YHVH will hear and answer them quickly.  Perhaps this is because they heard and heeded His voice while those who committed apostasy did not.  The wild and domesticated animals will eat together and they will not cause hurt or destruction in YHVH’s holy mountain.  This sounds wonderful; it’s how I imagine the Garden of Eden.  

As previously mentioned, 2 Peter 3:13 says, “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”  Do you look forward to this promise?  I do.  In the meantime, as we wait for that time to come, don’t be too discouraged by what’s going on around you; keep obeying YHVH’s commandments and keep the faith of Yeshua.