Introduction:
The New Heaven and Earth in Eternity
In the Book of Revelation Chapter 21 we are told that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. (Vs.21:1) We are also told that this will be the final and eternal state after the 1,000 years Messianic Kingdom has finished and the final overthrow of Satan and those following him has occurred. (Revelation 20:9-10) Everything in the universe including the earth will be completely new. In this eternal state of all things death and sickness and old age will have been completely eliminated. (Vs.2-4) the first heaven and earth will have passed away and there will no longer be any sea because all will be perfect and new and territorial boundaries will no longer exist. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things (the original heavens and earth) will have passed away. Also death and hades will have already been thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14)
A Heavenly City
The New Jerusalem we are told is a heavenly one made up of all the saints of all the ages both Jews and Gentiles that descends again to inhabit the new earth. This is Jerusalem that is free and is above in the heavenly realms. As Paul writes; “But the Jerusalem above is free.” (Galatians 4:23) It also is a physical city with boundaries. (Vs.2, 15-21) Outside of this city will be the lake of fire. (Vs.8) There will be no more need for the sun or the moon. The glory and light of God and of the Lord Jesus will be its perpetual light. Darkness and night will no longer exist. The kings and the nations that inhabit this new heaven and earth will only be those who names are written in the book of life. These will have a right to enter into the eternal city. Nothing impure will exist in this city. (Vs.27)
The unquenchable fire
As for those who have gone into the lake of fire they too will be confined in an eternal state of torment and the redeemed will go out and look upon their bodies burning in the lake of fire but will not be moved by it. As Isaiah the prophet writes; “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord, “So your offspring and your name will endure. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord. “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66:22-24)
The New heaven and earth in the Messianic Kingdom
According to the prophet Isaiah he also speaks about the new heaven and the new earth. However, in this heaven and earth people age and die but live for a long time as they did in the days before the flood. There is no doubt that the earth itself is renewed and the people blessed and especially the Jewish people who had survived the Time of Jacob’s trouble and were now the redeemed people of God. The City of Jerusalem will have been established as the capital of the world and the Mountain of the Lord’s millennial temple lifted up higher than all of the other mountains or kingdoms on earth at that time.
The New Jerusalem on earth
As the prophet Isaiah writes; “The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD (Mount Zion in Jerusalem) Will be established as the chief of the mountains (earthly kingdoms), And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the Torah will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:1-3)
A harbinger or foreshadow
The new heaven and earth that Isaiah speaks about is a renewed heaven and earth but the same one that exists now. However, the Messianic Kingdom will be a harbinger or foreshadow of the final and perfect state of all things to come in the future. So we have Isaiah speaking about the Messianic Kingdom and telescoping ahead to the future and seeing it as a picture, or a type of the new a heaven and earth to come in the future after the close of the Millennium.
Satan will be bound
Also according to revelation Chapter 20 Satan is bound for that thousand years at the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom and no longer has any contact with humans. After the thousand years has finished at the end of it he is released to gather together all those in the Messianic Kingdom who have submitted to the Messiah’s rod of iron outwardly but in their hearts have remained rebels. (Revelation 20:7-9a) They will all be destroyed and Satan cast into the lake of fire where the Antichrist, his Beast Empire and the false prophet have already been thrown prior to the Messianic Kingdom being established. (Revelation 19: 19-21; 20:1-3)
The Great White throne
After the Messianic Kingdom has come to an end the great white throne judgement occurs for unbelievers who will be resurrected, not to be judged but for sentencing, because they have been already judged in their previous life on earth before the Millennium commenced for not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. As the Lord Jesus Himself said; ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18) So then unbelievers also have a bodily resurrection and appear in God’s law court for sentencing.
Telescoping
In the Messianic Kingdom of the Lord Jesus, the new heaven and earth will be the old ones renewed after He has come back to earth in His Second Coming. Satan will not be around and the earth will be renewed and people will live very long lives but still get old and die. In the new heaven and earth to come in eternity people do not die and death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. The conditions on earth during the millennial reign of the Messiah will be a harbinger or foreshadow of the final and eternal state to come. In the Spirit Isaiah sees a renewed heaven and earth in the Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom but also telescopes into the future to see the complete new heaven and earth to come in that final and eternal state after the close of the Millennium. With these things in view let’s now look at what Isaiah tells us about the coming Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah. This prophecy centres on the City of Jerusalem and the people of Israel. The Messianic Kingdom primarily revolves around Israel. Abraham’s descendants will be living in all of the territory God allotted to Abraham from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River. (Genesis 15:17-19)
Isaiah Chapter 66: 17-25
Exposition:
(Vs.17) “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”
In the book of revelation we read that in the final and eternal state concerning those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. The remembrance of the wicked will no longer exist. (Psalm 9:4b-6) (Psalm 34:16) Likewise, in the Messianic Kingdom the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
When a woman goes into labour she experiences contractions and the pain of childbirth. As the birth of the baby gets closer the contractions become for frequent and more intense but you also know that the birth of the baby is imminent. Once she has had the baby the labour pains are quickly forgotten in the joy of the new birth. In this life as believers in the Lord Jesus we will experience all kinds of difficulties and trials and losses and sometimes our troubles will seem to multiply without let up. We lose loved ones and suffer many disappointments and grieve over those whom we loved that have died without knowing salvation.
We may have experienced wars, famines , disease or earthquakes, been afflicted by spiritual deception and persecution but in the Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom all will be forgotten and remembered no more and this will include the memory of those we knew and loved in this world who were never saved. Once the physical kingdom of God has been born on the earth the former things will have passed away and will not even be remembered and this includes the memories of the wicked that have perished without salvation.
(Vs.18-19) “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.”
In the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah our Lord Jesus Jerusalem will be the centre of the renewed earth. (Isaiah 2:2) The prophet Zechariah tells us that the nations that have survived the Great Tribulation will have to go up year by year to worship the LORD at Jerusalem and if they refuse they will be punished because the Lord Jesus will be ruling the nations with His rod of iron. (Zechariah 14:16-19) As for Jerusalem it will be free from idolatry and the Messiah will be worshipped there. God loves Jerusalem. He has engraved His people on the palms of His hands. They are ever before His face. As God Himself has said; “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. “Behold, I have inscribed (engraved) you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” (Isaiah 49:15-16)
In this present age Israel as a nation are still away from the LORD and idolatry, immorality and even sodomy is tolerated but all this will change when the Time of Jacob’s Trouble comes upon Israel. Because of their sin two thirds will perish in the land of Israel during this brief three and a half year period of Great Tribulation but a third will be spared as through fire and come into their everlasting possession in the Land of Israel. (Jeremiah 30:1-9) (Zechariah 13:8-9)
God will restore the nation of Israel at the end of this age, not because they have deserved it or earned it but because of His name’s sake and because of the New Covenant made with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah that was cut in the blood of the Messiah. (Ezekiel 36:22-38) (Jeremiah 31:31) In the Messianic Kingdom God will once again delight and rejoice over Jerusalem and it will be a city that is holy and pure and undefiled by idolatry and the ways of the former pagan nations in the previous age. (Zechariah 14:20-21)
Even in the millennial age before the final and eternal state weeping and loud crying will no longer be heard in the houses and in the streets of Jerusalem. What we will see in the Jerusalem of the Messianic Kingdom will foreshadow the New Jerusalem that will come down out of heaven to merge with the Jerusalem on earth. We need to keep in mind that the Land of Israel was given to the Jewish people to be for them “an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:7-8) which means that the city of Jerusalem will be transformed into and merge with that eternal Jerusalem in the heavens which will descend to earth at the end of the Messianic Kingdom. (Revelation 21:2, 10) It will be the city of the redeemed of all the ages. (Revelation 21:9)
(Vs.20) “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed.”
In the Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom people will live very long lives as they did before the flood. Living to be a hundred years of age will be the normal life span and to die under that age will be seen as a curse. In the Messianic Kingdom people will still die. These will be those who have survived the Great Tribulation and their offspring who will not have glorified immortal bodies as the saints will have that intermingle with them. Some might say; “well how could those with glorified bodies live among those who do not have glorified bodies?” But they can and will.
After He had been resurrected the Lord Jesus had a glorified body yet He was able to eat with and converse with those who did not have glorified bodies and He could walk through closed doors. (John 20:19) The glorified saints will have the same kind of immortal body as the one He has. (1 John 3:2) (Philippians 3:21) It will be that way in the Messianic Kingdom. In the final and eternal state of course death will have been completely eliminated and cast into the lake of fire forever. (Revelation 20:14)
(21-24) “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labour in vain, Or bear children for calamity. For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, And their descendants with them.”
In the Messianic Kingdom the redeemed Jews living in the Land of Israel who were saved out of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble will plant vineyards and enjoy its fruit and be abundantly satisfied in this land of milk and honey. They will no longer fear others stealing and ransacking their homes as occurred in the previous age times without number. Their inheritance will not be torn away from them and trodden under the feet of their enemies. Their days on earth will be prolonged as the enduring age of a tree. For a thousand years Israel will be the head and not the tail and the whole earth will be renewed. Men will work in the vineyards in Israel and work will not be a burden. They will be rewarded for their labours and bear children knowing that their posterity will endure for a long time and that they will be the blessed of the LORD. At this time people all over the planet will have access to the Word of God which will be going out from Mt Zion in Jerusalem into the nations.(Isaiah 2:3)
Today in Israel with their reclaimed swamplands with fertile vineyards and orchards and with the way the desert has blossomed and the green pastures are producing an abundance of fruit it is all foreshadowing the Messianic Kingdom to come. When you consider the state of the land of Israel in 1948 and compare it with the situation today it is a modern miracle to say the least but yet far short of what things will be like in the millennial age to come. As the prophet writes; “The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, The majesty of our God.” (Isaiah 35:1-2)
(Vs.24) “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”
In the Messianic Kingdom, our Lord Jesus will be totally accessible to his people and God Himself in heaven will be rejoicing and delighting in His people. The prophet Zephaniah declares what God says; “In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:16-18) When they call He will already have answered in anticipation of their requests. While sin will not have been completely eradicated it will be repressed because there will be nothing in the Messianic Kingdom to excite the passions of the fallen nature and Satan will have been removed from human contact.
It is only at the end of the Millennium when Satan is loosed from his prison in the earth that he will come against Jerusalem with all those who are still rebels in their hearts accompanying him. All those following Satan will be physically devoured by fire and be consigned to the lake of fire at the Great White Throne judgement when they will be physically resurrected for sentencing at the Great White Throne. (Revelation 20:7-15) In that day God’s people in Israel will not even have to call out because even before they do God will answer them and speedily avenge His elect.
(Vs.25) “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.”
In the Messianic Kingdom of our Lord Jesus, animals will not kill each other. Men will not be at war with men. Nations will be at peace with each other. Love and truth and justice will circumnavigate the globe. The saints will be co-reigning with Him and co-ruling the nations with a rod of iron. (Revelation 2:26-29) The saints will be the Messiah’s police force as it were. The Torah of God will be known and upheld in the nations.
As the prophet Isaiah also writes; “Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD (the Torah) from Jerusalem. And He (the Messiah on earth) will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.” (Isaiah 2:1-4) Also see (Micah 4:1-3) As the prophet Habakkuk also writes; “For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
As for the serpent who is Satan he will just eat dust in that prison under the earth to which he has been confined. He will no longer be able to deceive the nations until the thousand years has ended but when he is loosed from his prison his end will be swift and final. His lot will be eternal and conscious torment in the lake of fire for ever and ever. In that place he will join the Antichrist along with those of his beast empire and the false prophet and with all those who have rejected the Lord Jesus and rebelled against His lawful authority. Once they are all down in that place they will never be released but burn for all eternity and then beyond that. In the Messianic Kingdom and especially on His Holy Mountain, Mount Zion in Jerusalem, no one will do evil or harm others. This is the ultimate plan for planet earth once our Lord Jesus has come back.
Postscript:
There are those today who are telling us that God is finished with Israel and that He is now working through the Church. They are saying that all of the promises made to Israel as a nation are now applied to the Church. The problem they have is that there are so many passages of scripture that most definitely teach a spiritual and national restoration of Israel in the last days and that the Messiah will reign from Jerusalem in His Millennial kingdom and glory along with His redeemed saints. Those into replacement theology have no real revelation of the Millennium in its Jewish context. On the Day of Pentecost David’s fallen tabernacle was restored spiritually (Acts 15:16-18) (Amos 9:11-12) and the first Church was a Jewish one which later included Gentiles who by faith would be grafted into the Olive Tree being Israel. (Romans 11:17-18)
Now in heaven at His Father’s right hand the Lord Jesus reigns in eternity as the Messiah of Israel and reigns over the Body of the Messiah, the faithful Church, which by extension and incorporation is now part of the Commonwealth of Israel. In the Messianic Kingdom the Lord Jesus will sit on David’s throne in Jerusalem to fulfil the Messianic promises to restore the Land of Israel to the Jewish people.
As the prophet Ezekiel writes; “Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. “They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. “I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore.”(Ezekiel 34:27-29)
As Micah the prophet also prophesies; “Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” (Micah 4:4) As Ezekiel also writes “They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God. “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. “They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.” (Ezekiel 37:23-25)
