Bible Question:
good morning brothers and sisters.i have been researching isaiah 65:20 and i still remain confused on it.i spoke to a pastor on this becouse it reads in this verse that there will be death at 100 years in heaven at that of course can not be correct for heaven is for eternity (i.e. forever).the pastor said what this chapter and verse is saying is that "there will be no infants or elderly for we all will be the same age in heaven".well that sounded good and i accepted it , however i re-read it and i still dont see that.i have looked in comentary books and looked at the archives on this web site on this verse and im still confused.the person who answered on this verse refered to the verse as "speaking of the melinium" but i dont see that mentioned in scripture either.i know that not one word in the bible is wrong but this one is really hard for me to grasp for some reason.i will accept the pastors advise on this for i have faith in his heart and feel he is blessed with the teaching gift but hopefully one of the many wise , bibliclly knowledgeable brothers and sisters out there can help me on this. thak you all in advance for i know i will get a reply. and God bless each and every one of you :) Dan |
Bible Answer: Hi, Dan. Sorry, I may have inadvertantly prevented others from giving their understanding of this verse by posting my note. Jehovah God disciplined his people by allowing them to be besieged by the Babylonians because as Isaiah 65:2-5, 7, 11, 12, mentions they had become incorrigibly rebellious. Now turn to Lamentations to see what happened during the siege. Jeremiah said God had: "Hurled down the splendour of Israel from heaven to earth." He had "brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor." (Lamentations 2:1-3) Then verse 21 says: "Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets." Further, "With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children." (Lamentations 2:20; 4:10; Deuteronomy 28:53-57) So Isaiah promised in 'newly created Jerusalem' "never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years." (Isaiah 65:20a) Notice Jehovah says: "Be glad and rejoice FOREVER in what I create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight." (Isaiah 65:18) Romans 10:20 and Revelation 21:1-5 show this applies today. (Isaiah 65:1, 17) Jerusalem today is God's kingdom. (Matthew 6:10; Hebrews 12:22, 28; Revelation 21:2) The "new heavens" refer to God's heavenly kingdom government. "Heavens" sometimes refer to governments. (Daniel 4:25, 26; Ephesians 6:12) "The new [righteous] earth" is made up initially of "the great multitude" who survive "the great tribulation." (Revelation 7:9, 14; Psalm 96:1) Revelation 21:1 reveals the timing. It says: "The first heaven and the first earth had passed away." This happens at the day of Jehovah when he destroys "ungodly men" also called "Armageddon" which is "the battle on the great day of God Almighty" against "the kings of the whole world." (2 Peter 3:7, 10, 13; Revelation 16:14, 16) What about "he who dies at a hundred [who] will be thought a mere youth; [and] he who fails to reach ["the sinner who reaches," footnote] a hundred"? Well, as you rightly reasoned, "heaven is for eternity." There are no "infants" or 'old men' in heaven, for they are "raised a spiritual body" "with immortality" no longer subject to old age and death. (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:36, 44, 50, 53) Revelation 21:2-4 focuses on the earth, on "men." Here there will be "no more death." So obedient mankind, forming a further part of "the new earth" together with "the righteous" and the "great multitiude" will not grow old, get sick and die anymore! (Acts 24:15; Revelation 7:9) But what about the "sinner"? (Isaiah 65:20b) Four verses can help us: "Those who have done evil [after their resurrection, see Romans 6:7] will rise to be condemned" because "even in the land of uprightness" the wicked "go on doing evil." (John 5:28, 29; Isaiah 26:9, 10) What happens to these 'resurrected wicked ones'? (Acts 24:15) Isaiah 65:20 says they "will be considered accursed." Or as Revelation 20:11-15 says after "earth and sky ["the heaven," KJV] [have] fled from his presence" "the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books [which are not opened until after Armageddon]." "If anyone's name was not written in the book of life" it would be "the second death." Compared with a 1,000 years and eternity, such ones who die "at a hundred" would "be thought a mere youth." Stokey. |