Isaiah 65 Footnotes

65:17-25 Isaiah presented a word picture of the restoration of God’s creation, with some features drawn from the Bible’s description of conditions in Eden and humanity’s early history—long lifetimes, animals living together without being carnivorous (Gn 1:30; see 2:19), the serpent crawling in the dust (Gn 3:14). At the same time, the prophet incorporated terminology from Israel’s covenant structure. He referred to a new heaven and a new earth—the witnesses to the covenant (Dt 4:26; 30:19; 31:28). He described the undoing of the covenant curses—such as building a house but never living in it (Dt 28:30), planting vineyards but not enjoying the fruit (Dt 28:39), begetting children who will be taken as prisoners (Dt 28:41). This renewal of both creation and covenant centers in Jerusalem, to be created anew (Is 65:18), the site of God’s “holy mountain” (v. 25). Elements of Isaiah’s vision for the future are taken up in the NT, especially in the description of the Jerusalem from heaven, as “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rv 21:1-2).