Isaiah 65 - The New World Order
(7 minutes)
Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more.
No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only the cursed will die that young! In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and confiscate their vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken! (Isaiah 65:17-25)
The Holy Spirit wants us to answer a very important question concerning these scriptures: when and where will these things take place? Is this scripture talking about heaven, or heaven coming to earth?
Isaiah is speaking of a time when babies won't die when they're young, and adults won't die until they've lived a full life. Well, death doesn't exist in heaven.
Isaiah is speaking of a time when one hundred year old men and women will be considered young. A time when the life expectancy of humans will be the same as trees. Well, age isn't an issue in heaven.
So this scripture must be talking about what Yahweh intends to bring about on the earth. And like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, just because we haven't seen it doesn't mean it isn't possible. And just because we haven't seen it, doesn't mean we shouldn't believe for it.
The problem with this idea is that it goes against the American Christian theology we inherited that tells us how things are going to end. We've been taught for the longest time that things are supposed to get worse. We were told that things getting worse would actually be a sign that Jesus is coming back. Well, Isaiah is trying to tell us that things will not get progressively worse, but progressively better! What do we do with that? How can we continue to hold on to "things must get worse" when Isaiah is prophesying that things will get better and better as the Kingdom expands like leaven in the earth?
"We believe so infallibly in the absoluteness of Adam's fall, but we do not give Jesus the same benefit with His crucifixion and resurrection. We do not give Him the same power that we've given Adam in his fallenness. What was purchased at the resurrection? What was made available there? And what if I'm right?" (Pastor Tim)
We believe that Adam's fall affected the entire world and plunged it into ruin. Can we believe that Jesus' death and resurrection reversed that curse and has unleashed the ever-expanding Kingdom of God into the cosmos to bring total restoration and healing? Can we believe in the power of Jesus as much as we've believed in the power of Adam?
These are important questions that the Holy Spirit is putting before us as a Kingdom family. We can't carry hope, healing and total restoration into the world while we're secretly believing that things need to get worse in order for Jesus to return.
This scripture is challenging what we've put our hope in. Are we hoping for the destruction of all things or the restoration of all things? Destruction requires us to do nothing and believe for nothing. But the restoration of all things requires Kingdom men and women to be so convinced that they are beloved and made in the image and likeness of Yahweh that they would step into the ruined cities so they could be restored.
Sit with Isaiah 65:17-25, and ask Abba if He's talking about heaven, or if He's talking about heaven on earth. And if He's talking about something He intends to do on the earth, ask Him what opinions and ideas you might need to unlearn in order to be a part of this cosmic restoration of all things.
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