In my last post, we explored Adonai’s Judgement and Salvation in Yesha’yahu 65:1-16. In this post, we learn about The New Heavens and A New Earth in Yesha’yahu 65:17-25.

¹⁷ “For, look! I create New Heavens and a New Earth; past things will not be remembered; they will no more come to mind.

The Hebrew word translated create is bara and means to create from nothing. When we read in Genesis 1:1 that Adonai created the heavens and the earth, the term used is also bara. In other words, Adonai did not use preexisting materials to create the universe. He simply spoke the word, and it became. I must admit that when I first learned the definition of bara, I was stunned. We all know that Adonai gave us the ability to create things. But we don’t have the power to create something out of nothing. We need existing materials to create.

The use of bara here in Yesha’yahu means that Adonai is going to create something entirely new. It won’t be a matter of merely remodeling the earth and the heavens, for, in 2 Kefa, we read that this earth and heavens will be done away with entirely. However, the Day of the Lord will come “like a thief.” On that Day, the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up. ~ 2 Peter 3:10 (CJB)

¹⁸ So be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for look! I am making Yerushalayim a joy, and her people a delight. ¹⁹ I will rejoice in Yerushalayim and take joy in My people. The sound of weeping will no longer be heard in it, no longer the sound of crying.

What a message of hope for the people of Yerushalayim today, where there is so much weeping and crying seemingly without a solution or an end. But in the day of the New Heaven and the New Earth, weeping and wailing will be replaced by joy and rejoicing.

²⁰ No more will babies die in infancy; no more will an old man die short of his days – he who dies at a hundred will be thought young, and at less than a hundred thought cursed. ²¹ They will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

The future blessing of Yerushalayim includes long life for its inhabitants. Infant mortality rates will disappear, and older people will survive even longer. If someone dies at age 100, it will be considered tragic because he was just a youth compared to others. A further blessing will come in the form of shelter and agricultural abundance.

As we have seen in earlier posts in the Book of Revelation, some believe that in the Kingdom Age, there will be health, peace, and rightness to such a degree that most people will live through the Millennium. We who are Believers won’t have physical bodies at that time. We’ll be ruling and reigning with Yeshua in the Millennial Kingdom. But we’ll have already been caught up to heaven and will have received our glorified bodies. Therefore, this doesn’t apply to us, but rather to those who come to the Lord during the Tribulation.

²² They will not build, and others live there; they will not plant, and others eat; for the days of My people will be like the days of a tree, and My chosen will themselves enjoy the use of what they make.

Jon Courson’s opines:

“In the kingdom age, the houses and vineyards people build and plant will be for their own blessing. This solves the problem of the corruption of capitalism. Communism and Socialism came to answer the corruption of capitalism—only for man to discover that they were even more corrupt systems. In the Kingdom, however, there will be a perfect blend of capitalism and communism in the best sense of the word.” [1]

²³ They will not toil in vain or raise children to be destroyed, for they are the seed blessed by Adonai; and their offspring with them.

In the past, the labor of Adonai’s people had been enjoyed by others as He allowed foreign nations to take them over. Their children had been born to disaster since the enemy would either kill them or deport them. But this will change in Adonai’s New Heaven and New Earth. The blessing of work and childbearing was first troubled at the time of the fall into sin. The language of this verse suggests a reversal of these curses in Genesis 3:16-19.

²⁴ Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear.

The presence of the Lord will be so real in the Kingdom Age that there will be no need for fasting, praying through, or pleading with Adonai – for before we even call, He’ll answer.

²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion eats straw like an ox (but the serpent – its food will be dust). They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on My holy mountain,” says Adonai. ~ Isaiah 65:17-25 (CJB)

In the Kingdom, harmony will replace ferocity, and humility will be the order of the day.

In my next post, we begin to examine the last chapter in the prophecy of Yesha’yahu, learning about The Humble and Contrite Spirit in Yesha’yahu 66:1-6.

Click here for the PDF version.

[1] Jon Courson’s Application Commentary Old Testament Volume 2