The Holy Mountain
July 31, 2009The first place in the Bible where the new heavens and new earth are mentioned is in the book of Isaiah, chapter 65. It gives a sweetly glorious picture of what is to come.
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. The ways of this world, with its sin and suffering, will be forgotten. You will never think of the affair you had, the abortion you had, the pornography you saw, the gossip you spread, the drugs you took, the pain you caused. You won’t think of it. The pain of your divorce, the crushing disappointment that your marriage was marred with disease, the unbearable agony of waiting each month wanting to be pregnant, the feeling of non-stop aching in your joints because of arthritis, the unspeakable sadness you felt when you lost a child or watched him walk away from the Lord, the nights you couldn’t sleep because of anxiety, the dark days that seemed to never end–you won’t remember any of it. It won’t come to your mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. In the new heaven and new earth you will never hear a moan or a groan or an ouch. You will hear no weeping, no sighs of exhaustion or desperation. You will only hear gladness–laughter, singing, whistling, music, the sound of a buzzing party with your friends, the high-pitched excitement of a feast that is finally under way. And besides all this, God will rejoice and be glad in his people. God will delight in his finished work of consummation. He will rejoice to his image reflected in millions of his children. He be glad to have you around and will thrill to hear songs sung in his honor without ceasing.
No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. This doesn’t mean there will death in heaven (Isaiah 25:8 says death will be swallowed up forever). Isaiah is simply grasping for some human analogy to describe what this new world will be like. In the new heaven and new earth you will not need to fear old age. There will be no cancer cells, no MS, no car accidents, no SIDS, no miscarriages, no ALS, no Trisomy 18. You won’t have to get blood tests, or chemo, or worry what the CAT-scan will say. Death shall be swallowed up in victory.
The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the Lord. There will be no predators, no thieves, no bullies. Nations will not make threats of nuclear strikes. Children will not be subject to exploitation. Women will not be sold as sex slaves. AIDS will not ravage entire countries. Hunger will not pain any belly. Poverty will not cripple families. Men will not hit women or leave their children fatherless. Women will not belittle men and children will not reject their parents. Their will be no animosity between siblings, no hurt feelings between friends, no awkward moments between those who used to be close, no harsh words, no slanderous accusations, no misunderstandings, no broken hearts, no unfulfilled expectations, no shattered dreams, no disappointment, nothing that hurts shall ever be felt again.
And best of all, Jesus will be there. We will be able to see him, touch him, talk with him, ask him anything, learn from him, and most of all worship him. We will love to praise him and laud him. We will love to sing with brothers and sisters in a thousand different languages. We will love to hear him say “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And we will love to shout as a great multitude, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne , and to the Lamb.” And we will hear a voice from the throne say at the consummation of all things, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
In memory of Don Hageman, who glorified God in his life and in his death. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Ps. 116:15).
This content was originally published on The Gospel Coalition