Question:

I have a question about Isaiah 65.  Isaiah 65 : 20 talks about how it will be in heaven (new heaven and new earth). Yet, it suggests there will be deaths (since it says he who dies at hundred will be considered young). I am not sure what it means since the Bible indicates that post-resurrection life is eternal. (Jesus said ” He who – – —  will never die or will live forever”).  Doesn’t the Christian faith imply belief in eternal life in heaven?  How do you see it ? Let me know. I appreciate you have been out there to clarify so many things. Thanks !

Answer:

I believe you are misunderstanding Isaiah 65:20 somewhat.   This is not necessarily a prophecy about heaven.  It is what I would call a “kingdom prophecy.”  Such prophecies occasionally have multiple fulfillments.  There are dozens of prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel which are God’s promise of restoration which can have more than one fulfillment.  They are fulfilled when God’s people come back from captivity in Babylon.  They are fulfilled in the renewed Kingdom of God which is the church.  And they are fulfilled in the ultimate expression of the Kingdom of God–heaven.   Other examples of multiple fulfillments include Ezekiel 36:16-38.  Some aspects of this prophecy very clearly apply to the restoration under Zerubbabel in 536 and 520 BC (v. 33-35  I will resettle your towns and the ruins will be rebuilt) but part clearly applies to the church/kingdom (v. 24-27  I will sprinkle clean water on you…  I will put my Spirit in you…)    The same thing can be said of Ezekiel 37:11-28.  There are clear aspects of the restoration of Judah (v. 22-24) and things which only make sense if we are talking about the work of Jesus and the church (v. 11-14).  At times the imagery of prophecy is about heaven and the church or about heaven and the restoration of Judah.  Ezekiel 43:3-9 is about the restoration but also about heaven. The same can be said about Ezekiel 47:3-12.  Another “double prophecy” is found in Jeremiah 23:1-8 which has elements which clearly apply to the restoration (23:7-8) and which apply to the messianic age (23:5-6)  I could give other examples from Jeremiah and Isaiah as well.

Back to Isaiah 65.  The prophecies in Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Isaiah can be about all three.  This is true of Isaiah 65 as well.  Clearly Isaiah 65:17 is principally about the final kingdom–heaven, yet Isaiah 65:21 is fairly obviously about the restored Judah after the Babylonian exile.  Then Isaiah 65:25 seems to be more about the church as an aspect of the kingdom.  The long life in the kingdom such as in Isaiah 65:20 are fairly clearly about Judah restored to the Promised Land, not about heaven, and thus the description of people living for a long time, but not eternally.

I believe this will answer your question.

John Oakes