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1“I am inquired of by those who didn’t ask.

I am found by those who didn’t seek me.

I said, ‘See me, see me,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.

2I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people,

who walk in a way that is not good,

after their own thoughts;

3a people who provoke me to my face continually,

sacrificing in gardens,

and burning incense on bricks;

4who sit among the graves,

and spend nights in secret places;

who eat pig’s meat,

and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

5who say, ‘Stay by yourself,

don’t come near to me,

for I am holier than you.’

These are smoke in my nose,

a fire that burns all day.

6“Behold, it is written before me:

I will not keep silence,

but will repay,

yes, I will repay into their bosom

7your own iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together”, says Yahweh,

“who have burned incense on the mountains,

and blasphemed me on the hills.

Therefore I will first measure their work into their bosom.”

8Yahweh says,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’

so I will do for my servants’ sake,

that I may not destroy them all.

9I will bring offspring out of Jacob,

and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains.

My chosen will inherit it,

and my servants will dwell there.

10Sharon will be a fold of flocks,

and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in,

for my people who have sought me.

11“But you who forsake Yahweh,

who forget my holy mountain,

who prepare a table for Fortune,

and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;

12I will destine you to the sword,

and you will all bow down to the slaughter;

because when I called, you didn’t answer.

When I spoke, you didn’t listen;

but you did that which was evil in my eyes,

and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”

13Therefore the Lord Yahweh says,

“Behold, my servants will eat,

but you will be hungry;

behold, my servants will drink,

but you will be thirsty.

Behold, my servants will rejoice,

but you will be disappointed.

14Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart,

but you will cry for sorrow of heart,

and will wail for anguish of spirit.

15You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen,

and the Lord Yahweh will kill you.

He will call his servants by another name,

16so that he who blesses himself in the earth will bless himself in the God of truth;

and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth;

because the former troubles are forgotten,

and because they are hidden from my eyes.

17“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;

and the former things will not be remembered,

nor come into mind.

18But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create;

for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight,

and her people a joy.

19I will rejoice in Jerusalem,

and delight in my people;

and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying

will be heard in her no more.

20“No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days,

nor an old man who has not filled his days;

for the child will die one hundred years old,

and the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed.

21They will build houses and inhabit them.

They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22They will not build and another inhabit.

They will not plant and another eat;

for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,

and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands.

23They will not labor in vain

nor give birth for calamity;

for they are the offspring of Yahweh’s blessed

and their descendants with them.

24It will happen that before they call, I will answer;

and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25The wolf and the lamb will feed together.

The lion will eat straw like the ox.

Dust will be the serpent’s food.

They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,”

says Yahweh.

More Than Conquerors

More Than Conquerors

Application & Worship | Rev 21:1–4 | Faber McMullen III

A New Heaven and a New Earth

The old heaven and earth will pass away, and a new earth will be made.* In such a place, we will live for eternity with Jesus, the lover of our souls. This is all indescribable, because frankly it’s just indescribable. Our human mind can’t conceive of it. Isaiah describes much of this new earth in chapter 65. He begins, 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. (Isaiah 65:17 NKJV)This kind of makes me think we’ll no longer be able to remember any of the sorrowful or negative things from our time on earth. This idea is reinforced by the Apostle Peter, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:1-13 NKJV)

This is all hard to imagine, but the part that I love is that “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” I am ready for there to be no more pain, death, crying, or sorrow. In our sojourn on earth, we suffer horrendous things. In my premarital counseling, I advise young couples to be aware that tragedy is on the horizon. It is part of the human experience. John continues in the next few verses, telling us that Jesus will make all things new. This sort of sounds to me like an echo of 2 Corinthians 5:17, telling us that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature. Old things have passed away, all things have become new. 

Reader, we can believe these things because He is faithful and true. We can’t understand everything about Jesus because He is God and we are not. Yet, the Bible tells us so much about His character and His faithfulness. I find it kind of interesting that Jesus calls Himself the “beginning and the end.” This is interesting to me because He is not confined to time. With Jesus, there isn’t a beginning or an end. So much of this is a mystery, and that’s okay. Reader, don’t ever take hold of the thought that just because you don’t understand something, it doesn’t mean that it’s not true. In these verses, Jesus promises to give a fountain of flowing water to all who are thirsty. That’s you and me. In the meantime, we are to overcome. That means we’re commanded to keep on keeping on. Don’t give up. Never surrender. This too shall pass. We who know Him are promised a crown of righteousness as part of our reward. We are promised an eternity as everlasting splendors. The contrary position is one of separation, misery, and eternal death. If you don’t know Him, accept Him today. If you do know Him, rest in the assurance of your salvation in Him. He is more than able. In the meantime, He has made us to be more than conquerors. (Romans 8:37)