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Under the New Covenant many things will come
to pass differently than was expected by the
prophets in the Old Covenant. The Old
Covenant prophets did not see the full
extent of the New Covenant or the church’s
existence. God will fulfill his promises and
his purposes will be carried out - but in
light of what the New Covenant says, not the
Old.
The Seventh-day Adventist Commentary
Volume 4; “The Book of Isaiah” says this
about Isaiah 65:17.
Isaiah 65:17
says, “For behold, I create new heavens and
a new earth, and the former things shall not
be remembered or come into mind.”
“Isaiah
describes new heavens and a new earth
that
would have been brought about should Israel
heed the messages of the prophets and
fulfill the divine purpose following the
restoration from captivity. Israel failed;
hence, in secondary application, these
verses point forward to the new heavens and
the new earth to be ushered in at the close
of the millennium. However,
the description
should be understood first in terms of its
local setting,
and secondary application be
made only in the light of what the NT
writers and the Spirit of prophecy
have to
say regarding the future life.”
Isaiah 65 and Isaiah 66 are a unit.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is
correct when they say these prophecies would
have been fulfilled if Israel was faithful.
The Old Covenant made between God and Israel
was conditional on Israel’s faithful
response. They are correct when they say
these chapters need to be “understood in
terms of its local setting, and secondary
application be made only in the light of
what the NT writers . . . have to say
regarding the future life.”
The Seventh-day Adventist Commentary
continues,
“unless the
language is to be understood in a highly
metaphorical sense, death is still present
(see on Isaiah 65:20), whereas in the heaven
and earth of which John speaks there will be
no death (Revelation 21:4). (2) According to
Isaiah 65:23 (see comments there) children
are still being born. In the heavens and
earth to which we look forward those who are
“accounted worthy to obtain that world …
neither marry, nor are given in marriage”
(Luke 20:35). The comment on this passage is
too clear to be misapplied, “There are men
today who express their belief that there
will be marriages and births in the new
earth, but those who believe the Scriptures
cannot accept such doctrines” (MM 99). (3)
According to Isaiah 66:23, 24 worshipers on
the way to Jerusalem view the carcasses of
those who have transgressed against God,
whereas according to Revelation 20-22 the
fires of the last day completely renovate
the earth before it becomes the home of the
redeemed. . .”
“The failure of Israel
made impossible the fulfillment of these
prophecies according to the original intent.
Nevertheless, the purposes of Jehovah will
move forward to their complete fulfillment
(see PK 705, 706).
There will be new
heavens and a new earth,
but the manner in
which they will be ushered in is somewhat
different now that the purposes of God,
instead of being
accomplished through Israel,
the chosen nation,
will be
accomplished through the Christian church
(see PK 713, 714).”
Now,
regarding Isaiah 66:23, The Seventh-day
Adventist Commentary says this,
Isaiah 66:23 says, “From new moon to new
moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh
shall come to worship before me, declares
the LORD.”
“One sabbath to another.
The Sabbath is an eternal institution. It
would have been rightly honored in the
restored Jewish state, and in the new earth
to come it will be observed by all (see DA
283). All will observe the Sabbath in
eternal recognition of Christ as the Creator
of the world in its Edenic bliss, and as the
re-Creator of the new heavens and the new
earth of righteousness and holiness.”
Up to this point, the Seventh-day
Adventist Commentary has been fairly correct
in its understanding of Isaiah’s prophecies
(excluding of course, the comments of Ellen
G. White). They have shown that the
particulars of the prophecy will not be
fulfilled just as Isaiah said (Lev. 26; Deut. 28-29). Yet, they have
chosen to ignore everything the New Testament says
about the new moons and Sabbaths in the
new heavens and the new earth.
Remember, Isaiah was telling us what
could have been, not what will be.
This is very important. We cannot take
these chapters out of context and say they
teach Sabbath-keeping in the new heavens and
the new earth. Had Israel been faithful to
the covenant, God would have fulfilled his
purposes in a very different way through the
nation of Israel. But because of Israel’s
unfaithfulness, God gave us the New Covenant
in its place, intended for all the nations
on earth that does not include the
ceremonial requirements given specifically
to Israel under the Old Covenant Law.
Under the New Covenant, the Levitical
priesthood, sacrifices, Holy days, new moon
celebrations, and the Sabbaths were all said
to be “shadows” pointing forward to Christ
and were not carried over into the New
Covenant (Col. 2:14-17; Heb. 8:5; 10:1; cf.
Acts 15:1-19; 15:28-29; Eph. 2:15;
Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-13).
Christians
are not under the Mosaic Law and never
have been. To be under the Law means that
person is under the power and authority of
the Law to judge and condemn them.
The Book
of Isaiah pictures a very different future
than what the New Testament says will
happen.
Isaiah 65:17-20
says, “For behold, I create new heavens and
a new earth, and the former things shall not
be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be
glad and rejoice forever in that which I
create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be
a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I
will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my
people; no more shall be heard in it the
sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20
No more shall there be in it an infant who
lives but a few days, or an old man who does
not fill out his days, for the young man
shall die a hundred years old, and the
sinner a hundred years old shall be
accursed.”
And Isaiah 66:22-24 says,
“For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make shall remain before me, says the
LORD, so shall your offspring and your name
remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and
from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall
come to worship before me, declares the
LORD. 24 “And they shall go out and look on
the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled
against me. For their worm shall not die,
their fire shall not be quenched, and they
shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Now, notice the way the New
Testament speaks about the New Heavens and
the New Earth:
1) There is
no more death or sorrow in the new heavens
and the new earth. Isaiah 65:20 says that
death is possible, but in Revelation 21:4
death is no longer present in the new
heavens and the earth. John assures us that
God “will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things
has passed away.”
2) The celestial bodies
appear to be gone from the new heavens and the
new earth and there will be no more nights
(2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 20:11; 21:22-26; 22:5;
Matt. 24:35-36).
3) There is no
Sanctuary or Levitical priesthood in the New Heavens and the New
Earth (Rev. 21:22-26).
4) What some
people refer to as heaven in Isaiah, Jesus
used as an allusion to hell, “where their
worm does not die and the fire is not
quenched” (Isa. 66:24; Mark 9:42-48).
There will be no seventh days in Heaven:
Revelation 21:23-25 says, “the city has
no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for
the glory of God gives it light, and its
lamp is the Lamb. . .” It even says there
will be no need for a sun or a moon.
Revelation 22:5 also says, “And night will
be no more. They will need no light of lamp
or sun …” Without days and nights, there can
be no seventh day. There is eternal light. There cannot
be a seventh day Sabbath in heaven if there
are no days or nights to set the days apart
from one another.
Some people say
that because of what Isaiah 66:23 says we
will all be keeping the Sabbath in the new
heavens and new earth, but Isaiah 66:23
doesn’t say “from one Sabbath to another”
like the King James Version of the Bible
says; the text literally says, “From new moon to
new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all
flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the LORD.” The prophet Isaiah was
looking forward to the day when God’s people
will worship him continually, and without
end.
Even if the Sabbath was going
to be kept in heaven (which it is not),
it doesn't mean we are expected to keep it
today. Each covenant determines what laws
are required in that covenant and the New
Covenant has stated clearly that
Sabbath-keeping along with all of the other
ceremonial requirements of the Old Covenant
Law are not required under the terms of the
New Covenant (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-28;
Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18;
Heb. 3:7-4:13; 10:23-25).
Christ freed us from the
bondage to the hundreds of commands in the
Old Testament Law and instead calls upon us to
love. 1 John 4:7-8 declares, “Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is from
God, and whoever loves has been born of God
and knows God. Anyone who does not love does
not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 5:3
continues, “This is love for God:
to obey His commands. And His commands are
not burdensome.
Under the Old
Covenant God promised blessings to Israel if
they were faithful and curses if they were
unfaithful (Exod. 19:5; Lev. 26; Deut. 28-30).
The ultimate curse was a return to
captivity. Isaiah 65 and Isaiah 66 are
talking about what could have been had
Israel returned to covenant faithfulness
after they returned from captivity.
God would have restored the blessings to
Israel and in fact blessed them even more
than he had first promised (Deut. 30:1-10).
Sadly, Israel was unfaithful to the covenant
after they returned from captivity so God
brought the Old Covenant
to an end and gave us the New Covenant in its
place.
Jeremiah 12:7 says, “I
have forsaken My house, I have abandoned My
inheritance; I have given the beloved of My
soul Into the hand of her enemies.”
Jeremiah 22:5 says, “But if you will not obey
these words, I swear by Myself," declares
the LORD, "that this house will become a
desolation.’”
Matthew 21:42-44 says,
“Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in
the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the
builders rejected has become the
cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and
it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I
tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a people
producing its fruits. 44 And the one who
falls on this stone will be broken to
pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will
crush him.”
And Matthew 23:36-39 says, “Truly,
I say to you, all these things will come
upon this generation. 37 “O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to it! How
often would I have gathered your children
together as a hen gathers her brood under
her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See,
your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I
tell you, you will not see me again, until
you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord.’”
Christians need
to understand that the Old Covenant has come
to an end! We live under the promises and
blessings of the New Covenant that Christ
made with his church. If you want to know
what the new heavens and the new earth will
be like you have to look at what the New
Testament has to say to get your answer.
See Also:
Colossians 2:14-17 and the Sabbath
The Sabbath In the Old and New Covenants
The
Law of God vs. the Law of Moses
The Law Placed beside the Ark
The Old Covenant Law has Come to an End!
Christians are Told to Live by the New
Covenant Law of Christ
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