This chapter describes the new state of religion inaugurated by the Redeemer. In this chapter, God answers the plea made in Isaiah 64:12. God declared that He had called and had rejected the Jews only because the Jews had first rejected Him, Isaiah 65:1.
Yet those Jews who repent may now be saved on the same terms as the Gentiles. The Gentiles seek God, while rebellious Israel turns away.
They searched for God, but they were searching in the wrong places, John 5:39-40. Like a father pleading with his children, so God pleads with His people even when they are in rebellion, Matthew 11:28-30.
They provoked God by offering sacrifices to gods they had made up in their own minds, Isaiah 65:2. This is most likely a reference to the idolatrous practices common in Judah in the days of Ahaz.
Their gods were supposedly located in gardens, places to which they went to offer sacrifices, Isaiah 65:3 / Isaiah 1:29 / Isaiah 57:5 / Ezekiel 20:38. In seeking to communicate with the dead, they were in places where Jews were not to be, Isaiah 65:4. They did those things that were an abomination to the Lord.
The eating of swine was forbidden in the law of Moses, Isaiah 65:4 / Leviticus 11:7. Some exalted themselves as holier than others, Isaiah 65:5, because they were supposedly more in touch with the spirit world. They were an irritating stench of smoke in the nose of God, Isaiah 65:5. God will punish the evildoers, Isaiah 65:6-7, that is, rebellious Israel, Jeremiah 16:18.
Here we read that not all of Israel is rejected, only those who refuse God’s Word. He needed only a remnant in order to continue the seedline promise that was made to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3.
Therefore, God would preserve the good grapes from which to make new wine, Isaiah 65:8. The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah, Isaiah 65:9. ‘Sharon’ and ‘Anchor’, Isaiah 65:10, are named here as symbols representing the whole land from west to east.
They worship the false gods of Destiny and Fortune, Isaiah 65:10, but they were given over by God to destruction by the sword of the enemies of Judah, Isaiah 65:11-12. God has faithful servants in the midst of an unfaithful nation.
Here we read that the new servants of God, called by a new name, would enjoy superior blessings. God says that the faithful would be spared, but the disloyal apostate would suffer calamity, Isaiah 65:13-14. The new name was ‘Christian’, Isaiah 65:15 / Isaiah 62:2 / Acts 11:26.
The words, ‘you will leave your name for my chosen ones to use in their curses’, Isaiah 65:15, imply that the Jews became a representative example of the penalty of divine wrath, Numbers 5:21 / Jeremiah 29:22 / Zechariah 8:13. God blesses those who are a blessing to Him in this world, Isaiah 65:16.
We’ll discuss the meaning behind the new heavens and earth, Isaiah 65:17, at the end of this chapter. Here we read of the nature of the new Jerusalem, that is, the church is altogether different from the old. Old things will pass away, and all things will become new, Isaiah 65:17, just as he has constantly promised.
‘I create’, Isaiah 65:17-18, is the very word which appears in Genesis 1:21 / Genesis 1:27 to specify the divine act of bringing into existence. A radical change is made in the work.
A peaceful disposition reigns over the church, a sharp contrast with the previous disruption within the kingdom. God is going to rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in His people, and there will be no weeping or crying, Isaiah 65:19 / Isaiah 25:7-8 / Revelation 21:4. His people will have ceaseless cause of praise and thanksgiving.
Motyer, in his commentary, says the following concerning Isaiah 65:20.
‘This verse, as some others, had been easy, had not commentators made it so knotty. There shall be no more thence, that is, from Jerusalem, Isaiah 65:19, an infant of days, or a child for days, that shall so die by an untimely death, for longevity is the blessing here promised.’
God’s people are seen as being freed from the curse of the law, Deuteronomy 28:30-68, because they will build houses and dwell in them, and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit, Isaiah 65:21.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Isaiah 65:22.
‘The reverse of the curse denounced on the disobedient, Deuteronomy 28:30. It is commonly supposed that the oak, one of the most long-lived of the trees, lasts about a thousand years; being five hundred years growing to full perfection, and as many decaying, which seems to be a moderate and probable computation. The prophet’s idea seems to be that they shall live to the age of the antediluvians, which seems to be very justly expressed by the days of a tree, according to our notions.’
God’s people will be so blessed that God give them all they crave for and more than they can desire, Isaiah 65:23-24 / Leviticus 26:14-20 / Deuteronomy 28:15-68 / Haggai 1:6.
Trapp, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The prayers of the saints do sooner pierce from their hearts to heaven, than they can find way from their hearts to their mouths. So David found it, Psalms 32:5, and Daniel, Daniel 10:12, and that prodigal, Luke 15:18 / Luke 15:20. Our Saviour, who came out of the bosom of the Father, gives two reasons: 1. ‘The Father himself loveth you,’ John 16:27, and love is liberal, 2. ‘The Father knoweth before ye ask, that ye have need of all these things,’ Matthew 6:32.’
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning Isaiah 65:25.
‘It is within that sacred fellowship that the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the wolf and the lamb shall lie down together, as stated in Isaiah’s earlier reference to the Messianic Age, Isaiah 11:6-9. Of course, what is meant is that the changes in men’s lives, due to their obedience to the Gospel, will be ‘As great as if,’ the nature of fierce animals should be so changed.’
This reference to the lion and the wolf, along with its counterpart, has several utilities.
1. Again, we have an instance of ‘here a little and there a little’, so often seen in Isaiah.
2. It identifies this passage as pertaining to the age of the Messiah, as is the case in Isaiah 11:6-9.
3. And it serves to illustrate the unity of the prophecy and its authorship by Isaiah.
There are many theories about the phrase, ‘new heavens and a new earth’ but probably the most common theory is that the phrase means that the present Earth is going to undergo some kind of renovation, some kind of cleaning process using fire, so that it becomes like it was in the beginning when God created it and so, it will become our new heaven.
The problem is that this theory doesn’t correspond with what the Scriptures actually teach. This present earth is to pass away. Notice the following Scriptures: Matthew 24:35 / Hebrews 1:10-12 / 2 Peter 3:10-12. Our eternal dwelling place is heaven, 1 Peter 1:3-4.
When it comes to understanding any Scripture, we must always keep the text in its context. With this in mind, let’s go to the Scriptures where we first find the phrase, ‘new heavens and a new earth,’ Isaiah 65:17.
The apostle Peter declared by inspiration that all the Old Testament prophecies pertaining to Christ are fulfilled in the present age, Acts 3:19-26, which is the last days, Acts 2:16-17, or last age, 1 Corinthians 10:11, that is the age when God speaks through His Son, Hebrews 1:1-2.
Some people object to these truths by pointing to Isaiah’s prophecy of ‘new heavens and a new earth’ and arguing that these prophecies haven’t been fulfilled.
I guess we need to ask the question, what is this ‘new heavens and a new earth’? Has this prophecy of Isaiah been fulfilled or not? Notice that Isaiah twice foretold the ‘new heavens and a new earth’, Isaiah 65:17 / Isaiah 66:22, the apostle Peter did so too, 2 Peter 3:13, and so did the apostle John, Revelation 21:1.
But what do they mean when they use this phrase? Let’s take a moment to go through each one whilst keeping each one in its context, Isaiah 65:1-2. The apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 65:1-2, the beginning of the context and applies them to the present age, Romans 10:20-21. Notice how Isaiah’s prophecy ends, Isaiah 65:25.
The words, ‘my holy mountain’ Isaiah 65:25, are a clue that identifies the time and nature of the fulfilment. The prophecy of the Lord’s ‘holy mountain’ relates to the first coming of Christ, Isaiah 11:1-2 / Isaiah 11:9 / Isaiah 61:1-2 / Luke 4:16-21, and is a figurative term for the rule of Christ in His church, His kingdom, Isaiah 2:1-4 / Hebrews 12:22-23 / Hebrews 12:28.
The nature of this kingdom is spiritual rather than material, John 18:36 / Romans 14:17. In other words, ‘the new heavens and a new earth’ of Isaiah 65:17 is the present divine order under the rule of Christ and the spiritual dwelling place for the people of God, the church.
In this chapter, Isaiah refers to this same ‘new heavens and the new earth’ Isaiah 65:22. The context of Isaiah 66:22 is a prophecy of Christ coming into the world and establishing His church, Isaiah 66:7-9 / Micah 5:2-3 / Revelation 12:1-11. In other words, Isaiah 66:22 is a continuation of the promise of Isaiah 65:17, and likewise relates to the present rule of Christ over His kingdom, the church.
2 Peter 3:13 is in a totally different context; Peter is warning against scoffers who deny that Christ will come again, 2 Peter 3:1-4. And so, he assures us that the promise of the Lord’s return will be fulfilled, 2 Peter 3:5-9, at which time ‘the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up,’ 2 Peter 3:10.
Notice there is nothing in the passage or even the context, for that matter, which indicates Peter is speaking figuratively; we should take the warning literally. This present universe is destined for sudden, fiery, divine destruction.
This shouldn’t worry the Christians because Peter says, ‘we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells’, 2 Peter 3:13. In other words, in harmony with the meaning of the phrase ‘new heavens and a new earth,’ we await a new order of things and a new dwelling place.
This is a home in heaven, 1 Peter 1:3-5, in which we will have glorious, immortal, spiritual bodies like that of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 / 1 John 3:2.
John likewise saw in a vision this new order of things, Revelation 21:1, after the return of the Lord, in which the death, sickness, pain, suffering, and sorrow of this present age shall have passed away and God once more dwells with His people and this for all eternity, Revelation 21:2-5.
Common sense tells us that if the Christian is promised ‘heaven’, which is our final dwelling place, and yet we’re also promised a ‘new heavens and a new earth,’ this tells us that the ‘new heavens and new earth’ represent the same state as heaven.
All the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ, most of which were both figurative and spiritual, are indeed fulfilled in the New Testament age. The ‘new heavens and a new earth’ of Isaiah are the rule of Christ over His spiritual kingdom, His church.
So, what does the phrase mean in the New Testament? It simply means it’s symbolic of heaven itself, nothing more, nothing less. There are yet ‘new heavens and a new earth’ in store for Christians at the Lord’s return; it will be a wonderful home in heaven where everlasting joy awaits. No wonder John writes, ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus,’ Revelation 22:20.