Making All Things New-As Foretold

The initial fulfillment of Isaiah 65:17-19 involved the ancient Jews who, as Isaiah accurately predicted, did return to their homeland, where they reestablished pure worship.  (Ezra 1:1-4; 3:1-4) You realize, of course, that they returned to a homeland on the same planet, not somewhere else in the universe.  That realization can help us to see what Isaiah  meant by new heavens and a new earth.   We do  not have to speculate, as some do, about vague prophecies of Nostradamus or other human prognosticators.  The Bible itself clarifies what Isaiah meant. 

In the Bible, "earth" doe not always refer to our globe.  For instance, Psalm 96:1 says literally:  'Sing to Jehovah, all the earth.'   We know that our planet-the terra firma and the vast oceans-cannot sing. People sing. Yes, Psalm 96:1 also mentions "new heavens." If the "earth" represents a new society of people int he Jew's homeland, what are the "new heavens?" 

The Cyclopedia of Biblical Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, by M'Clintock and Strong, states:  "Wherever the scene of a prophetic vision is laid, heaven signifies . . .the powers . . .being over and ruling the subjects, as the natural heaven stands over and rules the earth." As to the combination phrase "heaven and earth," the Cyclopedia  explains that 'in prophetic language the phrase signifies the political condition of persons of different ranks.  The heaven is the sovereignty; the earth is the peasantry, men who are ruled by superiors.'

When the Jews returned to their homeland, they gained what might be called a new system of things. There was a new ruling body. Zerubbabel, a descendant of King David, was governor, and Joshua was high priest.  (Haggai  1:1, 12; 2:21; Zechariah 6:11)  These constituted "new heavens." Over what? The "new heavens" were over "a new earth," the cleansed society of people who were back in their land in order to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple for worshiping Jehovah. Hence, in this real sense, there were new heavens and a new earth in the fulfillment involving the Jews at that time. 

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

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000