Isaiah 65

Order of Service

• Sunday School Lesson — Isaiah 65
• Sermon
• Closing Prayer

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Sermon Title: The New Heavens and New Earth in Isaiah and Revelation

Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-25

I. Points of Continuity Between Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21–22

A. Both Isaiah and John describe a new heavens and a new earth

1. Isaiah 65:17 — "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth"
2. Revelation 21:1 — "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away"

B. Both envision a New City

1. Isaiah 65:18 — "I create Jerusalem to be a joy and her people to be a gladness"
2. Revelation 21:2 — the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God
3. New Jerusalem is called the Bride — a picture of God's one people, the Church, united across both Testaments
4. Heaven and Earth, separated by the Fall, are brought together as one

C. Both envision a New Society

1. Isaiah 65:20-23 — earthy pictures suited to the Old Testament people: building houses, planting vineyards, long life
2. Revelation 21:4 — death shall be no more; no mourning, crying, or pain; former things have passed away
3. Isaiah hints at the end of premature death; John declares death is fully and finally abolished

D. Both present two peoples — the Remnant and the Rebel

1. Isaiah 65:13-14 — servants shall eat and drink; rebels shall be hungry and thirsty
2. Revelation 21:6-8 — the thirsty receive the water of life freely; the cowardly and faithless receive the lake of fire

II. The Nature of This Newness — Renewal, Not Replacement

A. The resurrection body as a model for understanding new creation

1. 1 Corinthians 15 — the body sown is the body raised; organic continuity between old and new
2. The resurrected body is not discarded but transformed — earthy made heavenly

B. 2 Peter 3:4-13 — judgment by fire as purification, not annihilation

1. Peter draws a parallel between the flood and final judgment by fire
2. Fire exposes and burns away what belongs to the Fall; what remains is pure
3. Result: new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13)

C. Romans 8:19-23 — creation groans and waits for renewal

1. Creation awaits its own redemption; it would not groan if it were simply to be discarded
2. God renews what he has already made

III. Practical Application — Living Now in Light of This Hope

A. The central promise is the dwelling of God with his people

1. Revelation 21:3 — "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man"
2. Eden restored — believers will walk with God face to face (coram Deo)
3. The Lord's Table is a present picture of that future fellowship

B. This hope is meant to produce holiness now

1. 2 Peter 3:11-12 — as we wait, we are to live godly lives and pursue holiness
2. The vision of new heavens and new earth spurs believers to godliness in present trials and sufferings

C. The hope is concrete and physical, not abstract

1. Not a disembodied, sterile, cloud-and-harp existence
2. Real life in a real new earth with real bodies, in real society, before the face of God