A New Earth

Isaiah 34:1-35:10

“Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.” (Isaiah 34:1-2)

At the end of the Tribulation period, Christ will set up his earthly kingdom and rule for a thousand years.  At the end of that time people will be given another chance to choose whether to serve God or Satan.  Revelation 20:7-9 describes what will happen.   “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”  After a thousand years of peace, without crime or disease, people will again choose to follow Satan.    At the battle of Armageddon, most of the armies are slain in a battle with Christ, but people remain.  This time there is no battle.  God sends fire from heaven and destroys all the people.  They will not get any more chances to decide who they want to worship. 

“Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.  For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.” (Isaiah 34:3-5)

The armies of the world will make their attack in the area known as Idumea, sometimes referred to as the Levant including Israel Syria, part of Egypt and parts of Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  Revelation 6:12-14 describes some of these events.  “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” 

The mountains will be shaken down, stars fall out of heaven like figs falling from a tree when the wind blows and millions will be killed, the heavens we know will disappear like the writhn on a scroll being rolled up.  II Peter 3:10 gives additional details.  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”  Even the very elements of which the world is composed will melt and everything man has done will be burned away. 

“The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.  And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.” (Isaiah 34:6-7)

The wages of sin is death as Romans 6:23 tells us, and much of the world’s population will be sacrificed as a result to f their rebellion against God.  Those who survive will sacrifice lambs and goats instead.  The Land people inhabited will once again return to nature, with herds  of wild antelope and cape buffalo.  The land will once again be very productive.    

“For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.  And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.  It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.” (Isaiah 34:8-10)

The land will be like it was before man’s sin, with tar pits and burning oil pits that never stop burning.  Much of the land will never again be occupied by humans.  Isa 34:11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.

“They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.  And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.  The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.  There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.” (Isaiah 34:12-25)

The land will be once again occupied by wildlife instead of human beings.  There will be no people to live in the cities which will be occupied by bats and other animals.  Eagles, owls and vultures will not hesitate to occupy the land. 

“Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.  And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.  The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.  It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. ” (Isaiah 34:16-35:2))

The wild animals will live in safety and the land benefit from their presence, producing abundantly like a rich forested area.  Everyone will see the glory and power of God in what he produces, as they look at the nature he has created.  The effect will be somewhat like what we experience when we go out into a national park or wildlife refuge. 

“Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.  Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.   Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.  And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.” (Isaiah 35:3-7)

In that day, see God’s power and be encouraged and disease and injuries will disappear.  God’s people will be saved in a mighty way, and the land will become a rich and verdant area rather than desert. 

“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.  No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:8-10)

God will open up the land with a highway or road for easy access for those who love God, but only those who choose to serve God will find or follow the highway.  There won’t be any casual tourists or criminals entering in.  The entire area is reserved for God’s people.  Revelation 21:3-8 describes the new city God will create.   “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”