Thursday: So Shall Your Seed and Your Name Remain
Isaiah 66:22-24
Read Isaiah 66:22. What is the text saying to us? What hope can we find there?
One of the most wonderful promises in Isaiah is found in Isaiah 66:22. Read it carefully. In the new heavens and the new earth, our seed and our name shall remain—forever. No more blotting out, cutting off, grafting in, plucking up, or uprooting. We have here a promise of eternal life in a world made new—a world without sin, without death, without suffering, a new heaven and a new earth, the final and complete fulfillment of our Christian faith, the consummation of what Christ had accomplished for us at the Cross.
Why are there new moons along with Sabbaths in the depiction of the new heavens and the new earth as presented in Isaiah 66:23?
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Though there are a number of different ways to look at this difficult text, one approach is this: God created the Sabbath before the sacrificial system existed ( Genesis 2.2-3). So, although Sabbaths were honored by the ritual system, they are not dependent upon it. Thus, they continue uninterrupted throughout the restoration period, on into the new earth. There is no indication in the Bible that new moons were legitimate days of worship apart from the sacrificial system. But perhaps they will be worship days (but not necessarily rest days like weekly Sabbaths) in the new earth, possibly in connection with the monthly cycle of the tree of life (Rev: 22:2).
Whatever the specific meaning of Isaiah 66:23 may be, the crucial point seems to be that God’s people will be worshiping Him throughout all eternity.
Why does Isaiah end with the negative picture of saved people looking at the corpses of rebels destroyed by God (Isa: 66:24)?
As a graphic warning to the people of his day, Isaiah encapsulates the contrast between faithful survivors of the Babylonian destruction and rebels, who would be destroyed. This is not everlasting torment—the rebels are dead, killed by “fire,” a destruction that was not quenched until it did its job so that the re-creation of Jerusalem could begin.
Isaiah’s warning points forward to an ultimate fulfillment prophesied by the book of Revelation: destruction of sinners, Satan, and death in a lake of fire (Revelation 20), after which there will be “a new heaven and a new earth,” a holy “new Jerusalem,” and no more weeping or pain, “for the first things have passed away” (Rev: 21:1-4, NRSV; compare Isa: 65:17-19), a new existence, with eternal life for all who are redeemed from the earth.
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The last few verses of Isaiah don't really give us a nice comfortable conclusion and we typically end up giving a lot of "yes-but" explanations. One must remember that Isaiah is not writing to a bunch of 21st Century Christians with our own explanations and sensitivities. He was writing in a time, when hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield was still within the experience of many of the readers. So, when I read:
I read that as a battle-weary foot soldier, having spent a long time in a bloody fight against the enemy, looking out on the battlefield seeing that the victory has been won and the fight is over. Now, it is time to go home to the family. We don't need to sanitize the picture. Isaiah's audience knew what he was talking about.
Maurice, could this verse be a poetic version of Revelation 20? Going to look is exactly what the judgment of the "dead" is about, and the punishment(which all of us deserve) will be final and complete. Creation will be finally clean of all defilement.
The new moons. We have to remember that they were an agricultural community and fishing etc. This would have some importance to them. Unlike urban city dwellers today.
Good point! Even today there are people who plant and harvest according to the lunar cycle.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of they fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.....Ps 8:1-9.
Qu-'Why are there new moons along with Sabbaths in the depiction of the new heavens and the new earth as presented in Isaiah 66:23?'
The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, “How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?” Exodus 16:28. {DA 283.1}
How does the new moon occurs? When is the sabbath day? When we understand something about nature and see the handy works of Jesus, we have no other confession to make except about the love of our Creator. There were special celebrations for the seventh day sabbath as well as for the time of the new moon which was once per month. No one will say to his brother/sister come and worship the Lord because we will all have him in our knowledge. Ps 86:9-10. Rev
Will the Eternal Creator not renew the creation within the framework of the original months (New Moons) and days ( weekly Sabbath days)? Three Old Testament prophets testify of their validity. See Genesis 1: 14-18, Leviticus 23, Ezekiel 46: 1-3 and again in Isaiah 66: 23-24. Jesus, LORD of the Sabbath, looked to the past to affirm the Law and the Prophets. Our LORD looked forward to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s 66:23 promise.
The name ‘Zion’ describes many different images - the mountain named Zion, the city of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of spiritual Zion, the habitation of God and more. It was God's pleasure to choose ‘Mount Zion’ to there manifest Himself to the World and establish His ‘spiritual dwelling place’ as the God of Israel for a sign to the inhabitants of this world and the world to come – Isa.8:18KJV ”Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.”
Zion is the most special place in all the earth designated by God to meet His physical and spiritual children at that time; it is His 'dwelling place' and He loves and protects it at all cost– Joel 3:17-21KJV v.17:”So shall ye know that I am the LORD, your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. v.20) But Judah shall dwell (abide) forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. v.(21) For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion."
I believe that Zion represents all the manifestations of the Presence of God!
The physical Zion - Jerusalem, it’s temple, the dwelling place of God to gather His children for worship -, has experienced its physical destruction as will the old earth, but His spiritual dwelling place from which to worship remains in the hearts of His Children.
There will again be a physical *Dwelling Place*, His New Jerusalem, His Presence, beautiful to look at like an adorned bride. There will His children be in His earthly Presence forever – Rev.21:1-3,22KJV. No more need for a physical temple –”…for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”
For us who live in this New Jerusalem, His Presence will be in us and all around us. God and His children will be united in the Spirit of God and the Lamb, worshipping Him with their lives lived in His Spirit and Truth. This is the Promise of God and the Hope of Zion.
The more I learn about the Son of God Jesus Christ, the more I find Him to be our spiritual hand with which to reach out and touch the Father. It is so very important for the bible student to know that our Salvation, in essence, is the Holy Spirit’s work to inspire us to want to change our heart and mind; He shows us the Way, we need to follow it by faith and so reflect the Light of God.
It is the Lived Faith in the inspired Word of God which builds the spiritual bridge to span this otherwise unbridgeable chasm between the creature and his Maker.
Our Love of the Father and Faith in His Word need to become our focus, the works will follow! Love of the Father and Faith manifested the works which sprang forth from the relationship between the Father and His Son – ‘in whom He was well pleased’.
Most of us know all we can know about what our Savior has done, now we want to learn to apply the how He was able to live His Live of dedication to do the Will of His Father. We want to be among His Children who live in the New Jerusalem, the new Zion, the Presence of our God - “So shall your seed and your name remain.”
I appreciate much of what you say.
I'd just like to suggest that, in Scripture, Zion refers to the seat of government of the people of God. It is another name for the city of Jerusalem, which is also a symbol of the heavenly Jerusalem, which will come down to this earth to be the seat of government for the people of God. See Rev. 22.
I don't think this sentence of yours
holds up to Scriptural scrutiny. For example, the appearance of Jehovah to Moses at the burning bush doesn't seem to be represented by "Zion." God is manifested to various people in personal ways that are not "Zion."
I am also troubled by this sentence, which appears to make Christ merely a "spiritual hand":
Christ is not our "spiritual hand." He IS GOD Himself! (See Isa 9:6, John 8:48) He also said, "I and the Father are One." Thus, as we touch Christ, we touch the Father. It is admittedly a mystery, but your phrasing does not appear to be in harmony with Scripture. (I realize that you may not mean what your words look like to me.)
Hello Inge - thank you for your comments. I do believe that, ultimately, God's beloved Zion, in its essence, is representative of His spiritual as well as His chosen geographical center of/for the manifestation of His nature - His Glory - in/for/among all His Children - at/in/as the New Jerusalem!
Michael Angelo's depiction of man's and God's finger touching each other has brought to mind: who initiated man's creation and ensuing relationship between God and man?
It was God reaching - sharing Himself, His Image - which created His children. The, in God/Christ's nature, re-created man is made new, touched, and reached again by his God and Father in Himself - Christ.
We probably need to understand that Mt Zion was the highest point in Jerusalem and that the name was of Jebusite origin. The use of the name in a spiritual sense is metaphorical. It is like us using Everest to describe something important.
Without citing every passage of scripture here, I have found Zion to be where God dwells among His people, as the Sanctuary type teaches, in my heart. Those who are found in Zion will be found saying: "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law [is] within my heart."
So Zion is not a place, it is an experience of being one with God through Jesus, who is the "door" to this experience. So I would agree with Brigitte's symbolizing that Jesus is the "hand" by which we reach to the Father. Jesus did teach that no one comes to the Father except through Him.
The study of Daniel and the Revelation reveal this relationship to be the main focus of those two books, while also showing the workings of Satan through the powers of the earth by which he seeks to overthrow the faith of those in "Zion", but these "Zionists" are shown to have gotten the victory "by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony".
Think on this idea, that the stone that breaks the image(Dan 2) in it's feet is Zion, which then becomes a great mountain. This mountain is the whole kingdom of God which includes all the unfallen worlds, the angels, and God(all 3 persons).
p.s. Zion is "the secret place of the Most High"(Ps 91:1, compare with Isa 4).
Robert - thank you for commenting. Yes, I listed what I believe are the many different metaphorical uses of the name *Zion* to mean His Presence. These included the physical sites of Zion - Jerusalem, His Bride's Temple - and Mt.Zion.
This same geographical area is foretold to be again His dwelling place, but whithout the temple - it is in the new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven as it is in the hearts of those which are allowed to enter through the gates and make the new Jerusalem their home.
I believe we again live in the Father's Presence, His spiritual Presence, manifested in the New Jerusalem, which He is sharing with those who have been translated to dwell with Him in/at Zion - is the purpose for our Salvation.
Rev.21:10,22-23KJV - "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. (22) And I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. (23) And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the Glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
Just to clarify my comment above, that when saying "Zion is not a place", I meant a physical destination in this present world. There will be a Zion in the everlasting kingdom, and as in the verse you quoted, "...the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it". I believe that is also the reality here/now, by faith. It is a living connection and fellowship with God Himself through yoking with Jesus(Matt 11:28-30), and we must become citizens in this life if we are to enter it's gates.
Those who do this are "mount Zion"(Rev 14:1), and in symbolic language, mountain = kingdom. This view is presented before the plagues(Rev 15,16), and I believe is describing the character of God's people in that hour, who must stand without a Mediator when Jesus says "It is finished" and casts the censer into the earth(Rev 8:5), just before He returns in glory.
Robert, I'm sorry, but it still troubles me to see Christ represented as a "hand" of humanity. A hand acts according to the will of the human owner. Yet Christ IS GOD Himself.
Yes, He is represented as the Door to His fold, the Light, the Way, the Sun of Righteousness and many other metaphors, but those are not metaphors of being under the control of humanity.
As for Zion, I would really like to encourage you and our other readers to look up every one of the 176 mentions of "Zion" in the Bible to understand how the word is used. (It doesn't take that long to skim through them.) As I see it, it is not used in place of "sanctuary," but as the city of God and of God's people - both literally and metaphorically. But judge for yourself by checking out the usage. (Just click on the link.)
Inge, wouldn't that depend on how literally you are considering the idea of the "hand", or "door", or whatever allegory/symbol Jesus often used to describe His role in our salvation and restoration to God. I'm sure you have come across the "quote" that describes Jesus reaching out to humanity, and then reaching out to God, thus uniting them. Didn't Jesus refer to Himself as Jacob's ladder to Nathaniel(John 1:51)? Very similar concept along with others Jesus used as illustrations of close fellowship and entire dependence.
Over the past several years I have been doing what you prescribed concerning "Zion", and have reached the conclusion which I shared as far as how it relates to this present life. President Trump initiated the program of having those seeking asylum in the United States to remain in Mexico until cleared. This is what is happening now in "the hour of His judgment"(Rev 14:7) isn't it? We must live like citizens of Zion here if we would dwell in the City of God. The 144,000 described in Rev 14:1-5 are shown as being "on the mount Sion" with the "Lamb" before the falling of the plagues, and this is why I believe it is an experience we must have before probation closes. The promised reward is for "him that overcomes". No one will be admitted into Zion who still works iniquity(Matt 7:23; 25:41-46).
New Moons(months) to New Moons(months) and from Sabbaths(within the new month) to Sabbaths( within the new month) are a creation pattern of timing within the established time of the fourth day of creation. Genesis 1:14-18. Was this for all time or just for farmers, ranchers and fishermen? Did the Creator set the universal clock in the heavens or leave it to agricultural community and fishing community?
I will stick with the authors explanation of new moons. "Perhaps they will be worship days apart from the Seventh-day Sabbath of rest each week." I love the way the author words his answer. Perhaps. Perhaps we are talking about things of God that we don't know the answer specifically and our answers maybe speculation. I was in a large Sabbath School class of a large SDA church 8-13 years ago almost every Sabbath. One Christian gentleman would be asked the question, or simular questions, and his answer would be: my answer would be speculation, and I don't speculate. I do believe he was right.
I agree John, and would also add that the answer to this question will be found in the unrolling of the scroll after the 7th seal is opened(Rev 8:1).
We are told why the moon was made, but not the exact meaning of "signs and wonders". Soon we'll know.