What He Has Promised

Revelation 21:4 tells us of some things that will not exist in the coming new system.  However, what will exist then? What will life be like?  Can we get any reliable hints?  Yes, Isaiah chapter 65 prophetically describes conditions that we will enjoy if we have Jehovah's approval to live  when he, in the final sense, creates these new heavens and new earth.  Those blessed with a lasting place in the new earth will not grow old and inevitably die.   Isaiah 65:20 assures us:  "No more will there come to be a suckling a few days old from that place, neither will an old man that does not fulfill  his days; for one will die as a mere boy, although a hundred years of age; and as for the sinner, although a hundred years of age he will have evil called upon him." 

When this was first fulfilled on Isaiah's people, it meant that the babes in the land were safe. No enemies coming in, as the Babylonians once did, to carry off sucklings or to cut down men who were in the prime of their life. (2 Chronicles 36:17, 20) In the coming new world, people will be safe, secure, able to enjoy life. If a person chooses  to rebel against God, he will not be allowed  to continue living.  God will remove him.  What if the rebellious sinner is a hundred years old?    He will  die "as a mere boy" compared to having endless life.-1 Timothy 1:19, 20; 2 Timothy 2:16-19. 

Instead of concentrating on how a willful sinner might be removed, Isaiah describes the living conditions that will prevail in the new world.  Try to picture yourself in the scene. What might first come to your mind's eye are things close to home. Isaiah treats that in verses 21 and 22:  "They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage.  They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days be of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chose ones will use to the full." 

If you have not yet gained building experience or done gardening, Isaiah's prophecy suggests that an education awaits you. Would you, though,m be willing to learn with the help of capable instructions, perhaps kind neighbors who happily lend you a hand?   Isaiah did not say whether your house will have  large paneless windows with blinds, so that you can enjoy tropical breezes or closed glass windows through which you can observe changing seasons. Will you design a house with a slanted roof to shed rain and snow?  Or will the local climate suggest a flat roof-like those in the Middle East-a roof where you can gather with your family for delightful meals and conversation? -Deuteronomy 22:8; Nehemiah 8:16. 

Next time: Continue with What He Has Promised

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000