Understanding Isaiah (Lesson 8: The New Creation: Christ’s Ultimate Work of Restoration – Part 2)

Introduction:

The interplay between the worldwide judgment pronounced in Isaiah chapters thirteen through twenty-four and the world-restoration promised in chapters twenty-five through twenty-seven comes again to the forefront in the next cycle of prophecies, recorded in chapters twenty-eight through thirty-five. In this cycle of prophecies, we see God’s judgment announced upon his people in the direst terms; but interwoven throughout, we encounter many encouraging glimpses of the coming King, and the restoration he will effect for his remnant of grace – a restoration that will grow until it encompasses the entire created order of things. This prophetic contrast appears in sharpest relief in the picture of the utter devastation of the earth in chapter thirty-four, set off against the picture of glorious worldwide restoration in chapter thirty-five.

Another Cycle of Judgment, Another Glimpse of Restoration [Chapters 28-34]

Chapters twenty-eight through thirty-four are roughly parallel to chapters thirteen through twenty-four, which we have already examined. This passage emphasizes the fact that God is indeed active in world history, bringing judgment upon his people because they do not fear him; however, all hope is not cut off; for the promise of a restoration – one that will turn the hearts of the wicked to God in sincerity – is again brought to the forefront. Chapter twenty-eight begins with an oracle of judgment against Israel; verse sixteen and following speak of Christ as a cornerstone who will be the strong and sure foundation for all who believe in him. A portion of this prophecy is quoted by both Peter and Paul (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6, Acts 4:11), who use it to explain why Israel has largely been rejected, whereas the Gentiles, in large part, have been accepted as the dwelling place of God. Christ also alludes to this truth in Matthew 21:42. Chapter twenty-nine contains a message of judgment for the City of David, because her inhabitants are insincere and deny God’s sovereign rule over them. Therefore, they will be destroyed – nevertheless, hope is once again given on the basis of a coming restoration, which will change rebellious hearts to hearts of faith (verses twenty-two through twenty-four). Chapter thirty brings Judah into condemnation for trusting in Egypt, but once again gives hope in the promise of a restoration. Chapter thirty-one announces a woe upon all those who trust in Egypt, but looks ahead to the time when everyone will cast away his sinful idols. Chapter thirty-two exults in the King who will reign in righteousness as a shelter for those who trust in him, but a terror to the complacent and godless. This chapter ends with a promise of the outpouring of the Spirit, which will bring eternal peace and prosperity to the people of God. Chapter thirty-three begins with a cry for mercy when God comes to judge the world; in his appearance, the sinners will be terrified, but those who love him will “see the king in his beauty,” and will be delivered from all effects of sin and the curse. Chapter thirty-four promises utter destruction for all the nations; and finally, chapter thirty-five looks ahead to a glorious restoration and recreation of this condemned world.

The Final Restoration [Chapter 35]

In this final restoration, everything barren, hurtful, and evil will be turned into fruitfulness, prosperity, righteousness and joy: at that time, “the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10). We are living in the days of the real fulfillment of these gospel-truths, but not their final consummation. Christ has fully accomplished every reality promised in these verses. He has given us many glimpses and tastes of the wilderness turned into a place of fruitfulness – is not this prophecy fulfilled every time a barren heart springs up with the gospel-fruits wrought by the Spirit as he applies the work of Jesus? He has set in motion the turning-of-the-barren-place-to-a-garden work of restoration that will grow until there is nothing left of the curse. But for that final effect of his great victory, we are still waiting. We are in the days of the already/not yet – Christ has already accomplished the fulfillment of the prophesied realities, but he has not yet seen the full effects of his completed work.

Excursus: New Heavens and New Earth in Isaiah 65:17-25

Isaiah’s final word on the future world-restoration of Christ comes, appropriately enough, at the end of his book. Before we conclude the lesson, therefore, it would be of benefit to examine this later prophecy. The world-restoration theme finds its clearest essential formulation in chapter sixty-five, verses seventeen through twenty-five. In this distillation of the restoration message, we find that (1) this restoration is extensive enough to be called an entirely new creation; (2) this new creation demands, as its correlative, the utter dissolution of the old, so that it will no longer even come to remembrance; (3) this new creation is to be inseparable from joy – to be a part of it is to be one who rejoices; (4) this new creation includes a newly created Jerusalem; (5) in this new Jerusalem, God will not only dwell among his people, but rejoice in them – there will be no more cause for him to be angry, or to hide his presence from them; (6) this people will be newly created so that they will never sorrow, nor be subject to death; (7) and finally, this blessed state of God’s new people will be consonant with the earth as a whole – the wolf will be at peace with the lamb, and in fact nothing will harm or destroy life on God’s (restored) Holy Mountain.

Conclusion:

In many places, Isaiah’s prophecy gives us a glimpse of the final goal of world history. That final goal is the eternal display of the redeeming grace of the Son. Because his grace is great, the redemption that it effects must be great; hence, every part of creation and history find their ultimate meaning in the redemptive work of Christ. God’s people, God’s city, and God’s creation itself can only be understood when viewed in the light of their final form – a redeemed people dwelling in New Jerusalem in the new earth. There, sin, death, the devil, and the curse are all utterly overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Let us be as Abraham, walking upon this earth as pilgrims, whose citizenship exists elsewhere. Let us be looking for that city which has foundations, of which the Builder and Maker is God himself (Hebrews 11:10,13-16).

Hallelujah, we are on our way!
Hallelujah, we are on our way to God!

From Egypt lately come,
Where death and darkness reign,
To seek our new, our better home
Where we our rest shall gain.

There sin and sorrow cease
And every conflict’s o’er.
There we shall dwell in endless peace
And never hunger more.

Jerusalem, our happy home,
Would God I were in thee!
Would God my woes were at an end,
Thy joy that I might see!

We soon shall join the throng;
Their pleasures we shall share,
And sing the everlasting song
With all the ransomed there.

There in celestial strains
Enraptured myriads sing.
There love in every bosom reigns,
For God himself is King!

Jerusalem, our happy home,
Would God I were in thee!
Would God my woes were at an end,
Thy joy that I might see!

Anonymous Folk Hymn, from 1616

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