Biblical Logos Blog

Have you ever heard a sermon on Heaven and the pastor quotes these verses?

Rev 21:4-6 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 

No more tears, or morning or crying…. Heaven will not have the problems we have on Earth today. Let’s look at a parallel passage from Isaiah and see what additional insights we can glean.

Isa 65:18-25  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.  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.  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. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them.  Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.  The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. 

How do we know these are parallel passages? Context! Let’s look at the immediately proceeding verses for each reference.

Rev 21:1-3  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 

AND

Isa 65:17  “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 

The context for both passages is related to a future time. This is when a “New Heaven and a New Earth” are created. Many Bible commentaries and preachers try to separate the timing of the Isaiah 65 verses and the Revelation 21 + 22 verses. They say the Isaiah verses are during Christ’s Millennial Reign. They then place the Revelation passages in a time-frame after the Millennial Reign called the Eternal State. In my very first post, Revelation 21 and 22 in the Millennium, I made a compelling Biblical argument. I explained why the Revelation passages are tied to the Millennial Reign of Christ. They are not in the Eternal State. For this discussion, I assume both sets of verses apply to Christ’s return. They relate to when he sets up his 1,000 year reign in Israel. Both verses illustrate a New Heavens and New Earth. Revelation 21 also mentions a “holy city new Jerusalem” coming down out of Heaven.

Why does it matter when it happens? And why is this article’s title about both Heaven and Earth? We want to solve the scriptural inconsistency that these passages demonstrate. Look closely at these two verses in the passages we are studying:

Isa 65:20  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.

Rev 21:4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

Can you spot the problem? In Isaiah, we see life spans increase greatly in this 1,000 year (Millennial) Reign of Christ, yet, people are still dying. In the Revelation 21 passage, says “and death shall be no more…”. How can both verses refer to the same time-frame then? That is in part why I believe many commentaries try to separate these passages into different time periods. They both can’t be true at the same time or scripture has a error!

Let’s resolve this issue. I noted above that Revelation 21 includes a statement about New Jerusalem. It states: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”. In Isaiah, we don’t see new Jerusalem. Instead, we see “I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people”. Subtle difference to be sure. In the case of the Revelation 21 passage, we see new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. In Isaiah, we see the existing Jerusalem being made new.

The Revelation 21 verses are speaking to the Heavenly New Jerusalem. It is the home of the redeemed Church (Revelation 3:12). The Isaiah 65 verses are speaking about the existing Jerusalem we have today on Earth being made new! The picture in Revelation 21 (in context) shows the time-frame as the Millennial Reign of Christ. “Heaven / New Jerusalem” comes down out of heaven as the home of the redeemed Church. Isaiah, on the other hand, also shows the time-frame of the Millennial Reign of Christ. It depicts the Earthly Jerusalem as the home to the Israelite’s, God’s chosen people.

This distinction is important! When Revelation says death is no more.. it is a promise to the Redeemed Church (in our eternal bodies, 1 Corinthians 15:35-49) given in Revelation 21:7, 3:12. And when Isaiah says “a young man shall die 100 years old..” he is talking specifically to Earthly Israelite’s in their mortal bodies during the Millennial Reign. The time frames are the same, but the location they are referencing are different. The Redeemed Church will inhabit New Jerusalem which comes down from Heaven. The chosen / mortal people Israel, will enter into Christ’s Millennial Reign and inhabit Earthly Jerusalem.