Continue with Making All Things New-As Foretold

You may wonder, "Since men cannot foretell what our future holds, should we not just ignore the future?' The answer is no!  Granted, men cannot accurately foretell what lies ahead, but we should not think that  no one can. Well, who can, and why should we be optimistic about the future?  You can find satisfying answers in four specific predictions.   They are recorded in the most widely owned and read book, which is also widely  misunderstood and ignored-the Bible.  Whatever you think of the Bible, and no matter how well acquainted with it you may be, you owe it to yourself to consider these four fundamental texts.  They actually foretell a future that is very bright. Moreover, these four key prophecies outline what your future and that of your loved ones can be. 

The first found in Isaiah chapter 65.  Before reading it, fix in mind the setting-when this material was written and what situation it dealt with.  God's prophet Isaiah, who penned these words, lived over a century before the kingdom of Judah ended.  The end came when Jehovah withdrew protection from the unfaithful Jews, letting the Babylonians devastate Jerusalem and take its people into exile.  That occurred more than a hundred years after Isaiah predicted it. -2 Corinthians 36:15-21.

As to historical background of the fulfillment, recall that with God's guidance Isaiah foretold the name of the yet unborn Persian, Cyrus, who finally overthrew Babylon.  (Isaiah 45:1)  Cyrus set the stage for the Jew's return to their homeland in 537 B.C.E. Amazingly, Isaiah foretold that restoration, as we read in chapter 65. He focused on the situation that the Israelites could enjoy  back in their homeland.

We read at Isaiah 65:17-19:  "Here I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up  into the heart.  But exult, you people, and be joyful forever in what I am creating. For here I am creating in Jerusalem and exult in my people; and no more will there be heard in her the sound of weeping  or the sound of a plaintive cry."  Certainly, Isaiah  described conditions that were far better than those of the Jews had lived under in Babylon. He foretold joyfulness and rejoicing. Now look at the expression "new heavens and a new earth."  This is the first of four occurrences of that phrase in the Bible, and these four passages can have a direct bearing on our future, even foretelling it.  

Next time: Continue with Making All Things New-As Foretold

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000