Isaiah · Old Testament · Isaiah 65:17–25
New Heavens and the New Earth
The Story
God himself speaks in this passage, opening with a declaration that he is about to do something entirely new — he is creating new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. Jerusalem will be recreated as a place of joy and its people as a source of gladness, and God declares that he himself will rejoice over the city and take delight in his people, with the sound of weeping and crying heard there no more. The life of that new creation will be radically different from anything the old world has known — there will be no more infants who live only a few days, no more elderly people who do not live out their full years, and those who build houses will live in them and those who plant vineyards will eat their fruit rather than having them taken away by others. Isaiah paints a picture of a world in which labor is not frustrated, families are not broken, and prayers are answered before they are even fully spoken — "I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers." The passage closes with a breathtaking echo of the earlier vision from Isaiah 11 — the wolf and the lamb will feed together, the lion will eat hay like an ox, and the serpent's food will be dust — a picture of creation's ancient hostilities finally and fully reconciled under the reign of God.
The Message
God's vision for the new creation is not a vague spiritual existence but a richly physical and relational world — a world where work is meaningful, families flourish, prayers are answered, and the brokenness woven into the fabric of the old creation is completely undone. The new heavens and new earth are not an escape from the material world but a transformation of it, with joy, fruitfulness, and the immediate presence of God replacing every form of loss, frustration, and grief.