Chapter Forty-Two -A New Heaven and a New Earth

"At that time," says Isaiah, "the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped."  Yes, "at that time, the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness."  (Isaiah 35:5, 6)  At that time, too, "they will certainly build houses and have occupancy, and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage.  They will not build and someone have occupancy; They will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be, and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full." (Isaiah 65:21, 22) So they will  not be uprooted from the earth. 

What magnificent foregleams fill our minds as we meditate on these promises!  Wondrous provisions are in store for  faithful mankind under heaven's loving government. Are such promises too good to be true?  Are they just the dreams of an old man exiled on the island of Patmos?  Jehovah himself answers:  "And the One seated on the throne said:  'Look! I am making all things new.'  Also, he says:  'Write, because these words are faithful and true.'  And he said to me:  "They have come to pass!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and  the end.' " -Revelation 21:5, 6a.

It is as though Jehovah himself were signing for faithful mankind a guarantee, or title deed, to these future blessings. Who would dare question such Guarantor?  Why, so certain are these promises of Jehovah that he speaks  as though they were already fulfilled:  "They have come to pass! "  Is not Jehovah "the Alpha and the Omega . . . . The One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty"?  (Revelation 1:8) Indeed he is!  He himself declares I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God."  (Isaiah 44:6)  As such, he can inspire prophecies and fulfill them in every detail. How faith strengthening!  So he promises: "Look! I am making all things new"!  Rather then questioning whether these marvels will really happen, surely we should be wondering 'What do I personally have to do to inherit such blessings?'  

Next time: Chapter Forty-Two -A New Heaven and a New Earth - "Water" for the Thirsty Ones

From the book of Revelation