Two New Jerusalems

Abstract

God’s promise in Isaiah 65:17–25 begins with the statement, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind” (KJV). The promise is repeated in Isaiah 66:22–24. For some conservative evangelicals, this passage has been applied to the eschatological new heavens and new earth, especially because it is echoed by Revelation 21.1 For some other Christians, Isaiah 66:23 has become a favorite biblical text in defense of the Sabbath, often used in evangelistic sermons to highlight the perpetuity of the Sabbath, as it states, “from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD” (KJV). There is, however, a problem in applying these texts to the eschatological new heavens and new earth. Paul warned the Colossians, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come” (Col. 2:16, 17, NKJV).2 Paul clearly implies that ceremonial laws are not binding anymore after the death of Jesus. So why observe a “new moon” now and thereafter? What kind of “new heavens and new earth” does the prophet Isaiah describe, and how should we reconcile them with the “new heaven and new earth” of Revelation 21:1–5?