Thesis Erin Flippin King

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOTIF OF RE-CREATION
IN THE EIGHTH-CENTURY PROPHETS
A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty
of the
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Masters of Arts
in the Division of Biblical Studies
Erin King
BA, Ouachita Baptist University, 2011
September 14, 2017 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.………………………………………………………………………………. 1
CHAPTER ONE: EXEGESIS……….………………………………………………………..…13
Isaiah 11:1-10…………………………………………………………………………… 13
Isaiah 33:17-24………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Isaiah 65:17-25………………………………………………………………………….. 30
Isaiah 66:18-24………………………………………………………………………….. 41
Micah 4:1-5………………………………………………………………………………56
CHAPTER TWO: THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE RE-CREATION MOTIF IN

THE EIGHTH-CENTURY PROPHETS…………………………………..…………………… 64
Peace……………………………………………………………………………………. 64
Worldwide Worship.……………………………………………………………………..67
Joy………………………………………………………………………………………. 68
Destruction of the Wicked.……………………………………………………..………. 69
Security………………….……………………………………………………………… 71
Familiarity………………………………………………………………………………. 72
CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS OF THE RE-CREATION FOR MODERN BELIEVERS…74
Hope…………………………………………………………………………………….. 75
Alternative Vision………………………………………………………………………. 76
Work.……………………………………………………………………………………. 78
Self-Evaluation…………………………………………………………………………..79
Trust in God’s Faithfulness……………………………………………………………... 80
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………. 83 
ii
INTRODUCTION 
The meta-narrative of Scripture has often been described as one of creation, fall,
redemption, and restoration. This arc is often accepted (even if different terms are used) as the
story of the Bible in its simplest form. Tim Keller expounds on the creation, fall, redemption,
restoration arc thusly:
We once had the world we all wanted—a world of peace and justice, without death,
disease, or conflict. But by turning from God we lost that world. Our sin unleashed forces
of evil and destruction so that now “things fall apart” and everything is characterized by
physical, social, and personal disintegration. Jesus Christ, however, came into the world,
died as a victim of injustice and as our substitute, bearing the penalty of our evil and sin
on himself. This will enable him to some day judge the world and destroy all death and
evil without destroying us.1
One would be hard pressed to find a Christian of orthodox beliefs who did not agree with
the above statement. However, a look at modern Christian churches, sermons, books, and
scholarship reveals an inequity in how these four components are studied and taught. All four are
an indispensable part of God’s story, and yet, most attention in Christian circles is paid to the fall
and redemption, while the creation and restoration of all things are largely under-taught.2 Rolf
Rendtorff laments that the theology of creation is “one of the ‘proverbial step-children’” among
other topics in Old Testament Theology.3 When creation is discussed, the discussion often tends
toward a debate on the age of the earth or the role of evolution in the creation process.
1 Tim Keller, “Tim Keller Explains the Gospel,” Acts29.com, December 12, 2008, http://www.acts29.com/
tim-keller-explains-the-gospel/ (accessed June 28, 2017).
2 Chad Rogers, “Image Bearers,” (Sermon, Fellowship Bible Church, Jonesboro, AR, April 2, 2017), http://
fellowshipjonesboro.com/resources/#sermons.
3 Rolf Rendtorff, “Some Reflections on Creation as a Topic of Old Testament Theology,” in Priests,
Prophets and Scribes. Essays on the Formation and Heritage of Second Temple Judaism in Honour of Joseph
Blenkinsopp, ed. Eugene Ulrich et al. (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992), 205.
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When a holistic theology of the creation is skewed, so too is a holistic theology of the
restoration of creation (hereafter referred to as the “re-creation”). When the re-creation is
discussed among scholars or in modern, Western churches, the discussion often devolves into a
debate on different eschatological theories. In churches in particular, eschatology may be passed
up altogether for a vague discussion of heaven. The popular view of heaven among at least
modern, Western Christians is a strange blend of isolated Scripture references, ideas from pop
culture, and medieval myths. This place is a city of clouds with an eerie serenity, where good
people go to become amorphous orbs and sing and play harps forever. The modern talk of heaven
is vague and ethereal, and if most believers are honest, it does not sound very appealing. More
importantly, however, many of these popular ideas of heaven are completely unscriptural. The
Old and New Testaments both seem to describe the new creation—the new home for believers—
as more tangible and familiar than ethereal and eerie. Second Corinthians 5:1-5 explicitly teaches
that the current physical bodies of believers will be replaced with eternal physical bodies, and
these physical bodies will have a physical home.
With a blurry and unscriptural picture of heaven, believers are left to forget the simple
truth that God created a perfect world of wholeness where people could have a relationship with
Him, and that He will one day restore that world He created. The whole of Scripture paints a
picture of the future that goes beyond simply where people go when they die. It paints a picture
of a heaven and earth which are completely restored to what they were originally created to be.
In the eighth century B.C., a time when the people of YHWH were certainly experiencing
the fall in the form of judgment for sin and attack from other nations, YHWH sent prophets to
spread this vision of the re-creation. Judah had been prosperous through the reign of King
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Uzziah, but Isaiah 1-6 shows that in this prosperity, the people of YHWH had not felt the need to
follow or trust Him. The situation worsened under King Ahaz (Is. 7-12), until Judah was
attacked, heavily taxed, and ultimately taken by Assyria in the late eighth century.4 Gerhard von
Rad explains the importance of this time of uncertainty and destruction in the spiritual life of
Israel, noting, “it is as if Israel and all her religious assets are thrown back to a point of vacuum,
a vacuum which the prophets must first create by preaching judgment and sweeping away all
false security, and then fill with their message of the new thing.”5 This “new thing,” the message
of the re-creation, was preached as a message of hope in a time of despair. In this time of exile
and judgment, YHWH showed His people His plan to renew all creation after sin, destruction,
and judgment.
These three ideas: a perfect world formed by God (creation), the destruction of this
creation (de-creation), and the restoration of the perfect creation (re-creation), are closely tied
together in the eighth-century prophets.6 YHWH is portrayed as the sovereign and wise Creator,
who made the earth, everything and everyone in it, and set apart the nation of Israel. But this
creation was marred by the fall and continues to be marred as the people of YHWH choose idols,
ritualism, and self-righteousness over Him. This sin ultimately leads to destruction, judgment,
and death. However, the prophets teach hope in that “the God who made this world and sustains
it to the present moment is not locked in by anything that has happened up to now. He is not any
4
Gary V. Smith, An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets: The Prophets as Preachers. (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman, 1994), 118-119.
5 Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology: The Theology of Israel’s Prophetic Traditions, vol. 2
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1965), 115.
6 Martin Klingbeil, “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: an Intertextual Approach,”
Journal Of The Adventist Theological Society 20, no. 1-2 (2009): 19-54, accessed January 25, 2017, EBSCOhost.
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part of the system. He is the Creator! And that means that the destructive power of sin can be
broken, beginning now, and forever at the last day.”7 The One who created the world is not
enslaved by its de-creation. He will one day restore the world into what it was originally created
to be.
When this theology is skewed, so too are the practical implications for those who follow
God. This was true for the nation of Israel in the eighth century B.C., and the people of God still
live out these skewed implications today. Jon Tyson and Heather Grizzle note that, “the Bible
begins on earth and ends on earth, but if we are living out half the story, we spend an inordinate
amount of time focused on getting off the planet. However, if we live out of the fullness of God’s
story, we recognize that we are made in God’s image and our purpose is to join God in the
renewal of all things.”8
The present study will examine five key passages in the eighth-century prophets that
address this re-creation of all things: Isaiah 11:1-10, 33:17-24, 65:17-25, 66:12-24, and Micah
4:1-5. Though the passages examined all deal primarily with the re-creation, elements of creation
and de-creation must inevitably be discussed as the re-creation is explored. In short, this study
will establish that the eighth-century prophets present a renewed creation where the
consequences of the fall are reversed, creation is restored to its original purpose, and Yahweh and
His Messiah reign over all. In chapter one, all five of these passages will be translated and
thoroughly studied in order to establish the truth of what the Scripture says about this re-creation.
7 John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 40-66, NICOT (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1998), 656.
8 Jon Tyson and Heather Grizzle, A Creative Minority: Influencing Culture through Redemptive
Participation (New York: Self-Published, 2016), 28-29.
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In chapter two, the major themes of these passages will be synthesized to establish a
comprehensive theology of the re-creation. In the conclusion, the implications for how followers
of YHWH must live in this fallen, but soon to be re-created, world will be discussed. In order to
establish a comprehensive biblical view of the re-creation, a couple of preliminary questions
must first be answered. The ramifications of these answers will be felt in each of the passages
studied.
Will the current heaven and earth be completely destroyed and created ex nihilo, or will they
simply be renewed?
Of course, one of the common questions pertaining to the “newness” of this new heaven
and new earth is whether the current heaven and earth will simply be renewed, purified, and
restored, or completely destroyed and re-created ex nihilo. While that question will not be the
focus of this paper, it is a topic that must be explored in order to develop a comprehensive view
of the topic of the re-creation. Based on the writings of the eighth-century prophets, sufficient
reason exists to believe either, and Christian thinkers throughout the centuries have affirmed both
sides.
Support for the view that the heavens and earth will be completely destroyed and then re-
created is found primarily in the link between Isaiah 66 and 2 Peter 3, described in the Isaiah 66
sub-section below. The references to destruction and judgment by fire (in both passages) and a
whirlwind (in Isaiah 66), lead many to believe that the current heaven and earth will end in total
destruction, and YHWH will bring about a completely new (not just renewed) heaven and earth.9
9 Michael J. Svigel, "Extreme Makeover: Heaven and Earth Edition—Will God Annihilate the World and
Re-create it Ex Nihilo?" Bibliotheca Sacra 171, no. 684 (October 2014): 410-411, accessed April 29, 2017,
EBSCOhost.
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While the view of the complete destruction of creation may find some support in
Scripture, this view does not seem preferable. Exegetically speaking, more support for the view
of the renewal of creation can be found in the eighth-century prophets. As will be discussed
below, one of the striking common threads in the passages examined in this study is that the new
heavens and earth are astoundingly recognizable. The things seen in the new heavens and new
earth—people, children, animals, vines and fig trees, houses, celebrations, and even Jerusalem—
are all objects that were created to be good (Gen. 1:31). They are only seen in a state marred by
sin in the present world, but nonetheless they are easily recognizable objects, from the readers in
Isaiah’s time all the way up until now. So the new creation will at least look very similar to the
current creation, but with all the marks of sin and the fall erased. At the very least, one must
conclude that if the current heaven and earth are destroyed and YHWH makes a completely new
creation, it is perhaps almost identical to the original creation.
The aforementioned Scriptures (Isaiah 66 and 2 Peter 3) do not seem to require a belief
that the current and heaven and earth will be utterly destroyed. They more likely, in fact, refer to
a cleansing fire and a destruction of sin, sinners, and the things that have come about as a result
of the fall. Second Peter 3, one of the main passages used to support annihilation and creation ex
nihilo, actually speaks of cleansing fire in context of the flood, where God did not completely
destroy the earth out of His judgment, but purified it.10 Furthermore, this passage only refers to
“elements” being destroyed by fire, and the earth being laid bare (2 Pet. 3:10).11
10 John Mark Comer, Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2015), 240.
11 Svigel, 411-412.
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The question of whether Scriptures such as these should be taken literally or
metaphorically will be discussed below; however, for the reference to fire, one cannot clearly say
which meaning should be taken. On the one hand, the repeated reference to fire in Isaiah and
then again in 2 Peter could lead one to believe this fire will, in fact, be a literal one. The
connection of this fire to the flood in Noah’s time (which is assumed in this paper to be literal),
could also lend to a literal understanding of a second purification of the earth. On the other hand,
the language of Isaiah 66:12-16 proves quite symbolic, with no fewer than five similes (indicated
by the inseparable preposition ‫)כ‬, so the more symbolic reading is also plausible. One cannot
state with certainty whether this reference is more metaphorical or literal. Either way, the
important truth is that, just like in the days of the flood, YHWH will purify and re-create the
earth.
Logically speaking, the view re-creation as simply a renewal and restoration rather than
complete annihilation and creation ex nihilo once again seems preferable. Wayne Grudem points
out that “it is difficult to think that God would entirely annihilate his original creation, thereby
seeming to give the devil the last word and scrapping the creation that was originally ‘very good’
(Gen. 1:31).”12 Thus, the idea of a renewal or purification of the earth is preferable. Iranaeus of
Lyons teaches that, “neither is the substance nor the essence of the creation annihilated (for
faithful and true is He who has established it), but ‘the fashion of the world passeth away;’ that
is, those things among which transgression has occurred, since man has grown old in them.”13
12 Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994),1160-1161.
13
Iranaeus, Against Heresies 5.36.1, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, ed. Alexander Roberts, James
Donaldson, Philip Schaff, and Henry Wace (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994), 566-567.
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Therefore, a student of Scripture would do well to believe that YHWH will return creation to its
original created form, before sin, death, and corruption entered the world. J. Scott Duvall writes
of this new creation: “Our best guess as to what the new creation will be like is to imagine the
present creation in all its beauty, glory, and power without evil of any sort. That image will fall
short, but it remains the best way to conceive of what is simply too wonderful to grasp.”14
In summary, though the view of restoration and renewal is perhaps preferable to the idea
of complete annihilation and creation ex nihilo, these texts, and all Biblical texts for that matter,
simply do not answer this question clearly. So, an answer to this question is not necessary, and
perhaps could not be understood even if it were explained.15 These passages in the eighth-century
prophets seem primarily meant to teach that: (a) a new creation is in the future, (b) this new
creation will be what the original creation was meant to be, and (c) those seeking and following
YHWH will be a part of this new creation.
Do these passages truly refer to an eschatological time, or could they simply refer to a post-
exilic time?
In studying prophetic passages that speak of a future time, one of the more common
disagreements is whether the passage speaks of an eschatological time or of another future time
(usually post-exilic Israel). For all five of the passages that will be examined in this study, many
believe that they refer only to a time of joy and peace after the people Israel returned from exile
to their homeland. These theories are certainly worth examining when one considers the context
into which the prophets wrote. The future was indeed bleak for Israel and Judah as they
14 J. Scott. Duvall, Revelation, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2014), 283.
15 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 40-66, 657.

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experienced attacks from foreign invaders and eventually exile. Not only did the people of Israel
need a message of hope at this time, but they truly had a right to hope, as history shows that the
people of Israel and Judah did eventually return to their homeland.
However, the argument will be made that the five passages which are examined in this
paper speak of a deeper hope—one that involves deliverance from more than just a foreign
power. This hope involves deliverance from the curse of sin and death, the renewal of all things,
and a permanent place of joy, peace, and rest in the presence of God. The contention of this
thesis is that these passages speak of the re-creation, restoration, and renewal of all things at the
end of time. They speak to the fact that, whatever happens on this earth during the lifetimes of
the people of God, a new world is coming where these “former things will not be remembered or
come into mind” (Is. 65:17).16 Each of these passages will be examined individually to determine
what future time is actually spoken of; however, several interpretive principles will be employed
in this examination, so these principles are helpful to know in advance.
First of all, the assumption for these passages is that the prophetic words of Scripture
have or will come to pass (cf. Deut. 18:22). This principle ends up being a deciding factor in
whether many of the passages examined in this study refer to an eschatological event or to a
post-exilic one. The time of post-exile was certainly one of great joy for the people of Israel, and
this time was initially accompanied by an increased devotion to YHWH (Ezra 6:19-22);
however, if the people of Israel were expecting a fulfillment of these prophecies (whether literal
or symbolic) at the time of post-exile, they would have been sorely disappointed. Nowhere does
one see the kind of peace and joy promised in these passages. Opposition, fear, and fighting were
16 Translation mine.
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still very real, even during the time of rebuilding after the exile (Neh. 4:7-9). Nowhere does one
see an influx of all nations coming to worship God, nor does one see the healing and restoration
of nations to each other. Even the Israelites’ renewed devotion to YHWH proved short-lived
(Mal. 1:6-14).
The time of post-exile was in many ways a wonderful one for the people of Israel; they
returned to their homeland and were in most ways freed from foreign oppression for a time.
However, the post-exile could not in any way be construed as a fulfillment of all that was
promised in the five passages discussed in this study. Von Rad notes that “the return was
obviously not accompanied by miraculous events—indeed, those who took part in it did not in
any way regard it as a saving event. If they had done so, they would never have allowed it to fall
into oblivion as if it were of no particular significance. It was obviously not celebrated as the
fulfillment of a great prophetic prediction.”17 So, if prophetic words will indeed come to pass,
these prophecies are yet to be fulfilled.
Second, while some attention will be paid to text criticism and source criticism, special
care will be taken to avoid a needless subdivision of passages to force them into either a post-
exilic or an eschatological hermeneutic. Of the five passages examined in this study, three
contain explicit eschatological references. Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22 both reference the “new
heaven and new earth,” while Micah 4:1 begins “In the last days.” Those who suggest a post-
exilic reading (e.g., R.N. Whybray and Daniel Wallace), however, argue that these references
have been added at a later date or that these verses belong with other sections. If no other reason
exists to believe these alterations, then this is eisegesis at work—beginning with the assumption
17 von Rad, 278.

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that these passages refer to post-exilic times, thus arguing that anything that does not fit with that
hermeneutic is an addition or edit. Each specific eschatological reference, then, will be examined
below to determine if such subdivision is exegetically responsible.
Should the passages examined be interpreted literally or metaphorically?
Even the assumption that prophecies will indeed come to pass can cause issues, as the
prophets tend to intertwine metaphorical imagery with concrete and literal prophecy. Naturally,
one does not expect the metaphorical to come to pass literally, but how does a student of
Scripture decipher which prophecies are literal and which are metaphorical? Most scholars seem
to believe that both the literal and symbolic are present in the following passages, but one would
face difficulty in finding a set of principles to make this determination consistently. This paper
will often make the argument for taking some of the prophecies examined more literally;
however, doggedly taking either an extremely literal or an extremely figurative view of these
prophetic passages is exegetically irresponsible. Prophecies must not always be deemed
metaphorical simply because they seem difficult to believe, and they must not always be deemed
literal simply out of a devotion to Scripture (i.e., one can maintain a high view of Scripture and
still see its language as figurative at times). With the absence of an established hermeneutic, the
answer for how to interpret each of these passages, and even the prophecies within them, must be
determined on a case-by-case basis. However, several principles can help make these
determinations.
Initially, grammar, structure, context, and other such textual observations must be taken
into account. When the inseparable preposition ‫ כ‬is used, a simile is likely to follow and the
immediate context will be viewed as figurative. Isaiah 66:12-24 is an example of this. The
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inseparable preposition ‫ כ‬is used five times in 66:12-15, so naturally the surrounding section will
be read as more metaphorical. A distinct break seems to occur between 66:16 and 66:17. In 66:17
and following, ‫שׁׁר‬

ֶ ‫ ַכ ֲא‬is used twice with clear comparisons following, but there are no other hints
of comparisons, similes, or metaphors. Thus, these verses are more likely to be taken literally.
Like Isaiah 66, several of the passages examined in this study have easily identifiable sections.
These sections must be examined to determine whether the tone is more figurative or literal in
nature.
Some other general rules may be helpful in the process of exegesis. First, a prophecy is
more likely to be taken literally if it proves cohesive with the rest of Scripture. If a passage
examined seems to contradict another passage of Scripture, the clearer passage should interpret
the less clear. When this happens, the less clear passage often proves to be metaphorical or
hyperbolic (see discussion on Is. 65:20 below). Second, and similarly, a prophecy is more likely
to be taken literally if there are multiple, clear references to the same thing in other parts of
Scripture. Third, a prophecy is more likely to be taken literally if it clearly replicates facets of the
original Eden. The assumption exists in this paper that the first Eden was a literal place, and so
believers have every reason to trust that the new creation will be literal as well. If God indeed
intends to re-create the first creation, which He deemed “very good” (Gen. 1:31), reason would
dictate that literal parts of the original creation will literally be present in the new creation.
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CHAPTER ONE: EXEGESIS
Isaiah 11:1-10
1. For a shoot will come out of the stem of Jesse, and a bud will sprout from his root.
2. And the LORD’s Spirit will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3. He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see or make
decisions by what His ears hear.
4. And He will judge the poor with righteousness, and make fair decisions for the
downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the
breath of His mouth He will kill the wicked.
5. Righteousness will be a belt on His waist, and faithfulness a belt on His hips.
6. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the
calf, the lion cub, and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them along.
7. A cow and bear will feed together, their young will lie down together, and the lion will
eat straw like the ox.
8. A baby will play over the hole of a cobra, and a young child will put his hand into den of
a viper.
9. They will not harm or destroy on all My Holy Mountain, because the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the LORD, like waters cover the sea.
10. In that day the root of Jesse will stand as a sign to people. The nations will seek Him and
His resting place will be glorious.18
Isaiah 11 must be understood in the context of YHWH’s announcement of His judgment
on Assyria in chapter 10. Though Assyria was a threat to Israel at the time, YHWH promises in
chapter 10 that a remnant of Israelites will return from Assyria (10:21-22), and that He will
devote His rage to Assyria (10:25). Then, starting in 10:33, Isaiah uses the metaphor of a tree to
describe Assyria—their trees, their limbs, their forests will be cut down.
The waw-perfect, then, in 11:1 connects this imagery in 10:33-34 with the tree metaphor
of 11:1, 10.19 Isaiah 11 begins by comparing the Davidic Dynasty to a tree, and a new Davidic
King to a shoot that comes out of what appeared to be a stump. J. Alec Motyer explains, “the
19 John D.W. Watts, Isaiah 1-33, WBC (Waco: Word Books, 1985), 170.
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time will come when all signs of life in the Davidic monarchy will have disappeared, like a tree
cut to the stump, but there remains a secret vitality.”20 Although not explicitly stated, this shoot is
an image of Messianic hope. The coming King will display righteousness, justice, and an
indwelling of God’s Spirit such as not was seen in any other Davidic King. Romans 15:7-12
confirms that this passage was meant to be read with Messianic overtones. This Messiah will
come from what appears to be a dead dynasty like a new, live branch shooting from a stump.
The idea of this Davidic Messianic King is central to the passage. Willem A.
VanGemeren identifies at least five characteristics of this Messianic King: He “(1) descends from
David, (2) has the Spirit of God, (3) enjoys a Father-Son relationship, (4) brings in a new era of
unparalleled peace, prosperity, and righteousness, and (5) establishes a new community.”21 While
these last four characteristics are true, the first one is not as closely in line with what the text
actually says. The fact that 11:1 explicitly states that this Messianic King will come from the
stem of Jesse, and not specifically David, is easily read over. This specific reference to Jesse is
not unusual in the prophets, and may aim to make the point that this King is a new David. The
coming King is not just “another disappointing Davidic descendant.”22
However, the Messiah will have more than just this lineage. “After all,” Ramond C.
Ortlund points out, “Ahaz was a son of David, but he was spiritually bankrupt.”23 The Messiah
20 J. Alec. Motyer, Isaiah, TOTC (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1999), 103.
21 Willem A. VanGemeren, Interpreting the Prophetic Word: An Introduction to the Prophetic Literature of
the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), 261.
22 The Holy Bible, New English Translation (Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 1996), Isaiah 11:1.
23 Ramond C. Ortlund, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books,
2005), 113.
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will have the Spirit of YHWH resting on Him, which will be manifest in three pairs of attributes:
wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, and knowledge and fear of the LORD. Wisdom
and understanding are generally seen as necessary ruling attributes. He will be able to make good
decisions and have insight into what goes into His ruling.24 His rule will be like no other in
history, for He will “not need our mechanisms for power.”25 He will be qualified to rule with no
need to fear corruption, power-grabbing, or despotism.
He will also have counsel and strength. ‫( ֵעצָה‬translated “counsel” here) is used 89 times in
the Old Testament, most often in reference to a strategy or organizational plan. Notably, it is used
of Jethro giving Moses a plan to govern the people in Exodus 18:19. It is often used to describe
the kind of wisdom and counsel that is gained from age or experience. However, God also
thwarts the ‫ ֵעצָה‬of people (Ps. 33:10); even the wisest and most experienced cannot compete with
the wisdom and counsel of God. This verb is used twice to describe the coming Messianic King
—once here in Isaiah 11:2 and once in Isaiah 9:6, which describes the coming Messiah as the
“wonderful counselor (֙‫)יוֹ ֵעץ‬.” This coming King is the “counselor par excellance.”26 His wisdom
and ability to strategize and plan is completed in the fact that He has the strength and power to
carry out those plans.
Finally, He will have knowledge and fear of the YHWH. Knowledge of the YHWH is
described later in 11:9 as the reason that the new creation will be free of harm and destruction.
24 Watts, 171.
25 Ortlund, 114.
26 R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament, vol. 1 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 390-391.
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What will become a hallmark of the new creation is ushered in by its ruler.27 The fear of the
LORD here is awe, reverence, and submission to Him. As with any genitive, one must question
whether the “fear of the LORD” here is subjective or objective. Is this fear that comes from God
or fear that is directed towards God? John D.W. Watts argues that overtones of both are found
here. This awe comes from God and is directed back to Him.28
Verse 3 teaches that His delight will be in that fear—that awe, reverence, and worship of
YHWH. ‫יחוֹ‬
֖ ‫ ַוה ֲִר‬should literally be read “His delighting;” it is not just one thing He delights in, but
“His whole capacity for delight will be absorbed in the Lord.”29 Part of His “wisdom and
understanding” is seen in 11:3 as well since He is able to make just decisions beyond what He
can merely see and hear. “His insight penetrates through appearances.”30
Not all scholars agree that the Messiah is the subject of 11:3-5. Watts, for example,
believes that the subject is YHWH31 and contends throughout that the focus of this passage is not
on the Messianic King, but rather on YHWH and His blessings.32 For such an interpretation,
verse 3 would read something like, “He will delight in the fear of the LORD, who does not judge
by what His eyes see. …” (emphasis added). Watts argues this because 11:3 contains no
expressed subject and because ‫ְהו֑ה‬

ָ ‫ י‬is technically the nearest antecedent, but this explanation
27 Watts, 172.
28 Ibid.
29 Motyer, 104.
30 Ortlund, 114.
31 Watts, 172.
32 Ibid, 174.
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seems unnecessary. The Hebrew often lacks an expressed subject and ‫ְהו֑ה‬
ָ ‫ י‬is part of the genitive
in 11:3, making it a less likely “antecedent” for the following verses. Such an interpretation
would mean a total switch in subject with no warning and no relative pronoun after ‫ְהו֑ה‬
ָ ‫ י‬and
before the rest of the description of the justice He will bring. This passage certainly does focus
on YHWH and His blessings, but the Messianic King is no less a main player in this passage.
Because of the lineage, spiritual indwelling, abilities, and character of the Messiah, He
will be able to judge the poor and the rich, the righteous and the wicked, the downtrodden and
the exalted—all fairly.33 The language here suggests that these verses are about His rule. He can
strike the earth with the rod of His mouth (i.e., His decrees), and the “breath of His mouth” will
kill the wicked. Since this is in the context of His rule, the NET Bible says that He will “order
the wicked to be executed;” His words have the power to bring down those who would interfere
with His perfect Kingdom.34 Verse 5 provides a summary, teaching that righteousness and
faithfulness will be central to His character and to His ruling, like a belt around His waist. The
righteousness (‫ ) ֶ֫צדֶ ק‬and justice (‫שׁפָּט‬

ְ ‫ ִמ‬or ‫שׁפַט‬
ָ ) used to describe the Messiah in this passage are
common themes throughout prophetic literature. As YHWH urges His people to live in
righteousness and justice (Is. 1:17, Amos 5:24, Mic. 6:8), their King is one who models these
attributes in His character and His actions.
While verses 1-5 describe the Messianic King and His qualifications and acts, verse 6
begins to describe the new Kingdom that He will establish. This shift must be addressed, if not,
this new Kingdom can seem full of contradictions. The Kingdom described in the following
33 Motyer, 104.
34 NET Bible, Isaiah 11:4.

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verses is one of peace and safety, and yet 11:4 teaches that it will not be a place of safety for “the
wicked.” However, with the wicked removed in 11:4, the world can finally be a place of safety
and of “the knowledge of the LORD” (11:9). Verses 1-5 must be seen as a precursor to verses
6-10. Because of the Messiah’s acts in the former verses, the Kingdom of the latter verses can be
ushered in.
This shift also addresses the question of whether Isaiah 11:1-10 should be taken more
literally or metaphorically. Both the symbolic and the literal seem to be intertwined in this
passage, perhaps more so than any other passage examined in this study. Verses 1-5 carry a more
metaphorical tone. The Messianic King is described as a “shoot” (11:1). He strikes the earth with
the “rod of His mouth” and kills the wicked with the “breath of His mouth,” (11:4).
Righteousness and faithfulness are a belt for Him (11:5). These are naturally taken as metaphors
and symbols, and the phrases in 11:4 are naturally taken as expressions. The question remains as
to whether the rest of the passage—the verses describing the Kingdom that the Messiah will
usher in, are symbolic as well.
Before determining the metaphorical or literal nature of this passage, one must first
answer the question of whether Isaiah 11 is to be taken eschatologically. The eschatological
interpretation seems to be the most natural conclusion. The Messianic King did not come in the
post-exile, and the return to Israel was not marked by the peace, justice, and knowledge of
YHWH described in Isaiah 11. Neither has such a Kingdom existed up to the present day. If
Isaiah 11 is assumed to be fulfilled, it must either be fulfilled in the future, or have already been
fulfilled in a symbolic sense (i.e., peace and justice through the Messiah’s ushering in of the
Kingdom of God). Given these options, the eschatological view is preferable.

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In light of all this, 11:6-10 could be taken symbolically or literally. Given the fact that
verses 11:1-5 describe the character and actions of the Messiah in a very symbolic way, the
argument could be made that the entire passage should be read symbolically. In this reading, the
passage symbolizes the type of peace and harmony that will exist in the Kingdom of God—the
non-visible Kingdom that comes as a result of the Messiah’s work. However, the view that
11:6-10 could be taken as literal is also plausible. To begin, the shift that occurs between verses
5-6 could also account for a shift from more metaphorical to more concrete language. The peace
and harmony among creation described in these verses also echo, in many ways, the original
Eden. The repetition of these themes (and in many cases, the exact images) in Isaiah 65:17-25,
which seems to contain far less metaphoric imagery, also contributes to the idea that these verses
may best be taken to describe the literal re-creation. Though one cannot know with certainty
what the prophet intended in his writing, for the reasons listed above, 11:6-10 will be interpreted
with a more literal tone throughout the rest of this section.
This Kingdom that is ushered in by the Messiah causes changes throughout creation and
in the very natures of animals. Predator and prey now live together and eat the same food. The
fact that their offspring are mentioned here shows that this change is hereditary.35 Creation is
restored to what it was meant to be in the beginning. Ancient readers would have understood that
being a shepherd or any sort of herder was a dangerous job, so for a child to be able to lead along
these animals would mean a world completely without danger.36 This lack of danger comes about
as the result of completely renewed natures and a completely restored creation.
35 Motyer, 104-105.
36 Watts, 173.
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Another difficult question arises from 11:6-8 regarding whether children will be present
in the new creation. This question comes up again in a study of 65:20, 23. At least three
possibilities exist as to the reference to children in the new creation. The first is that Isaiah 11 is
not meant to be taken eschatologically and that Isaiah 11 describes a literal time in the current
creation where peace will be established and children will be able to live, play, and roam around
without any fear. For reasons already discussed, this non-eschatological view is not preferable. A
second option is that these verses are to be taken as hyperbole, prophesying that the Messianic
Kingdom, will be so safe that a child could theoretically play near a snake den and lead along
wild animals. This interpretation is plausible and a similar explanation is used to interpret 65:20.
However, this explanation further convolutes the question of whether this passage is more literal
or symbolic in nature. A final option is that 11:6-8 (as well as other passages dealing with the
subject) teaches the literal existence of children in the re-creation. This does seem to fit in with
the concept of the re-creation being a restored Eden; however, at the surface it seems that it could
possibly contradict New Testament teaching (cf. Matt 22:30). None of these answers by
themselves seem satisfactory, but this question and the ramifications of the answer could easily
be the topic of an entirely different study. The text simply does not provide a clear answer, and
given the space it would take to provide a nuanced discussion, the question must remain explored
but unanswered.
Whatever the case, the point of these verses is to communicate the safety of this new
creation. Indeed, toddlers are described as able to roam and play without any restriction or fear.
This world is so free of threat that little children are even able to stick their hand in a snake den
and have no fear of being harmed. Motyer sees this verse as confirmation that the curse of
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Genesis 3:15 has been lifted; there is no longer strife and enmity between humans and serpents.37
However, the thought that Isaiah 11 would purposefully reference the serpent of Genesis 3 and
yet use two different words for snake which are not found in Genesis 3 seems strange. ‫ נָחָש‬is
used in Genesis 3, whereas ‫ ָפּּתֶ ן‬and ‫ ֶ֫צפַע‬are used in Isaiah 11. This is not the only time that the
topic of snakes or serpents comes up in the study of re-creation in the eighth-century prophets
(see the discussion on snakes in Isaiah 65:25 below).
Verse 9 teaches that this kind of peace and safety can only flow from the knowledge of
YHWH.38 No one—animal or person—will harm or destroy on God’s Holy Mountain, because
the knowledge of YHWH will fill the whole earth. With this knowledge, death, destruction, and
harm are unfathomable. The Holy Mountain of YHWH is vague here, likely meaning to bring to
mind images of worship and service.39 Most believe that this reference is metonymic,
representing God’s universal Kingdom;40 as Ortlund explains, “every square inch of the world
will be the ‘Holy Mountain’ of the LORD.”41 In every part of the world, the knowledge of
YHWH will be ubiquitous.
As mentioned above, the “knowledge” here in 11:9 connects back to the “knowledge”
that the Messianic King will demonstrate in 11:2. Because of His character and the work that He
starts, His creation can live in those characteristics. VanGemeren summarizes, “The Messiah is
37 Motyer, 105.
38 Watts, 174.
39 Motyer, 105.
41 Ortlund, 115.
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God’s instrument of bringing the light of deliverance, glory, holiness, and rest.”42
Finally, the prophet explains that the Messianic King, who was a shoot in 11:1, is the root
in 11:10. Luke 1:32 describes how this is possible: when this Messianic King is the Son of God
who comes to earth and occupies the throne of His physical ancestor David, He is both the
source and the result, the root and the shoot.43 Verse 10 also must have spoken into Israel’s
context at the time. As Israel was facing threats from Assyria, 11:10 provided assurance that the
Davidic dynasty would survive past this current crisis.
Isaiah 33:17-24
17. Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty; you will see a land from far away.
18. Your hearts will ponder on the terror: “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who
weighed the money? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
19. You will not see these arrogant people anymore, these people of obscure speech, who
mock, whose language you cannot understand.
20. Look at Zion, the city of our festivals, your eyes will see Jerusalem as an undisturbed
dwelling place, a tent that will not be taken down. Your stakes will never be pulled up,
and none of its ropes will be broken.
21. Instead, the LORD will be our Mighty One there. It will be a place of rivers and wide
streams. No galley with oars will go there and mighty ships will not cross over them.
22. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King, He will
save us.
23. Now, your ropes are loose, their mast is not held firm and their sail is not spread out.
Then, plunder will be divided up in abundance, even the lame person will plunder the
spoil.
24. And an inhabitant will not say to his neighbors “I am sick;” the people who dwell there
will be forgiven of sin.44
The entire chapter of Isaiah 33 is meant to be read as a whole. The chapter builds upon
itself, and its themes and intertwining of judgment and hope are consistent throughout. Dividing
42 VanGemeren, 262.
43 Motyer, 105.
!23
the chapter in order to study parts of it more intently is not done without some difficulty;
however, for the sake of brevity in this study, only verses 17-24 are examined. This break occurs
between 33:16 and 33:17 as 33:17 begins the unbroken look into the future for the people of
YHWH. Also, in the immediate literary context, a shift occurs in 33:17 from addressing the
people of YHWH in the third-person to the second-person point of view.
In studying 33:17-24, however, an understanding of the whole context of Isaiah 33 is
crucial. The passage begins by announcing judgment on those who destroy and betray; these are
generally considered to be the Assyrians.45 Throughout 33:1-14, their wickedness and frailty, as
well as the sin of Israel, is contrasted with the power and majesty of YHWH. In 33:15-16, those
who follow YHWH and live righteously are told that they will be spared this judgment and will
be provided for by YHWH. Out of this context, the beautiful vision of Isaiah 33:17-24 speaks of
future joy and security for those who have continued to follow YHWH.
These people are promised that they will see YHWH in all His beauty and glory, and they
will also see “a land from far away.” This phrase is of course ambiguous and could refer to a few
possible “lands,” depending on how this passage is interpreted. As with many passages in the
eighth-century prophets, scholars debate as to whether this passage refers to a post-exilic time or
to an eschatological time. Depending on one’s interpretation, the land they will see from far
away could refer to the land of Israel, which the people of Israel will see upon returning from
exile. From an eschatological viewpoint, however, this land might be seen as the new heaven and
new earth that the people of YHWH look forward to because of His promise.
As this passage is examined below, the argument will be made that this passage should be
45 Watts, 420-421.
!24
interpreted in the eschatological, rather than post-exilic sense. The first hint that this should be
the preferred interpretation is found at the beginning of this passage—that the people of Israel
will see the King in His beauty. The post-exile may have been a brief time of peace and joy for
the people of Israel, but it certainly was not a time where they beheld and gazed on YHWH in all
His beauty. Following the exile, the people of YHWH still fell into sin and the worship of other
gods. The kind of personal presence described here is only seen elsewhere in the new creation.46
Reflecting on the beauty of their King and the newness of this creation, the people of
YHWH will look back in surprise at the fact that their time of difficulty and oppression is already
over.47 Scholars have reached no consensus on who the various officials described in 33:18 are or
why their speech is obscure and incomprehensible. One line of thought imagines these scribes,
treasurers, and officials as Assyrians in charge of the taxation and deportation of the Hebrews. In
this view, the scribes were Assyrian officers listing prisoners for deportation,48 the one who
weighed money was some sort of tax collector,49 and the officer in charge of the towers was the
one who made inventory of buildings for demolition50 or another sort of Assyrian official who
46 The book of Malachi, generally considered to have been written post-exile, is a long list of YHWH’s
grievances against His people. Among these grievances: they present blemished sacrifices, defile the temple, marry
wives who worship foreign gods, are unfaithful to their wives, and withhold tithes. These grievances prove that even
shortly after Israel returned from exile, they quickly fell back into their old sin patterns and did not experience the
kind of restored relationship with God that is in view here.
47 John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 1-39, NICOT (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1986), 603.
48 Motyer, 212.
49 Watts, 428.
50 Motyer, 212.
!25
determined what taxes and tributes Israel had to pay.51 The whole idea of this line of thinking is
that the Assyrians intended to humiliate and disgrace the people of Israel and to keep “a watchful
eye to see that Judah’s forces were able to join Assyrian expeditions when ordered to do so but
were not so strong as to encourage dreams of rebellion.”52 So the obscure speech and unknown
language in this view would naturally be a language literally unknown to the Hebrews—the
language of the Assyrians.53
An alternate view is that those who sought to disgrace Isaiah’s audience were not some
foreign threat, but their countrymen in their midst. In this view, these officials should be seen as
tax collectors and temple officials who rejoiced in humiliating their countrymen and watching
them pay taxes, and whom Isaiah condemns throughout his prophecies. So, the obscure speech
and unknown language is seen as the chattering and obscure vernacular of these officials.54 The
passage does not clarify which group of “arrogant people” is in view here, but this knowledge is
not really necessary. The point of this passage is not to have the people relive their humiliation
and terror but to promise them that in their new habitation, these things would be only distant
memories.
Verse 20 disrupts even the mention of these memories to remind the people of YHWH of
their joyful future. This is not the first glimmer of hope in Isaiah 33, as the entire chapter shifts
back and forth, contrasting the desperate state of the people of Israel with reminders of the hope
52 Watts, 428.
53 Ibid.

!26
that they have in YHWH. This particular reminder in 33:20 centers upon Jerusalem, for
“Jerusalem was the scene of everything that was vital and concrete in Israel, whether hopeful or
despairing. If the prophets wanted to speak at all relevantly to the men of their time—ad
hominem—it had to be within the frame of reference of this restricted area; and they had to
declare that, in spite of everything, this was not too narrow a basis for Jahweh to begin his saving
work.”55
The mention of festivals here is crucial. Israel’s festivals were times of celebrating
redemption, and Zion was a redemption-centered city.56 In Isaiah 1:10-15, YHWH found these
festivals to be repugnant because they were celebrated while the people still lived in sin.
However, Isaiah 33 envisions a future where these festivals will again be celebrated rightly and
joyfully. While the most prominent celebration of redemption in Israel’s past was the Passover, a
new festival of redemption may be alluded to here. Elsewhere in Isaiah, YHWH declares that He
is ready to do something new and that old saving events of the past (i.e., the Exodus) should not
even be called to mind (Is. 43:14-19).
Thus a theme of the “new exodus” is developed in the book of Isaiah, where YHWH once
again rescues and delivers His people to a new land.57 While some view this new exodus as
Israel’s return from exile to the Promised Land, this return did not bring about the joyful,
peaceful, worshipful era promised in these prophecies. Von Rad points out that “the period after
55 von Rad, 292-293.
56 Motyer, 212.
57 Mark D. Owens, As It Was in the Beginning (Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015), 24-25.
!27
the return [from exile] was neither clear nor great.”58 So these promises are best viewed
eschatologically. The picture painted in 33:20, therefore, may very well be of Zion, the city of
festivals, celebrating a new festival—the new Exodus, where YHWH delivers His people from
the fallen creation and into the renewed one.
Verse 20 also paints an unusual picture of a tent that will never be moved. Tents played a
major role in Israel’s history as the people journeyed after the Exodus event into the Promised
Land. So the tent in this verse, especially given the reference to the worshipful festivals, is likely
meant to remind the original readers of the tabernacle in the wilderness.59 But the visual in 33:20
of the unmoved tent is odd indeed since tents, by nature, are meant to be moved around and not
permanently fixed in one place. This may allude to the idea of a journey coming to an end. Just
as the journey in the wilderness eventually ended and the people’s tents were not moved again,
so the journey will finally be over one day for all the people of YHWH.60 Zion will finally be an
established, peaceful, and permanent city.
YHWH will be the ruler of this new Zion, and with YHWH as their “Mighty One,” the
city will be a place of peace with no more threat of war. Rivers are a natural source of defense;
with rivers surrounding a city, invading armies can only attack by boat. Jerusalem at the time had
no rivers, making it more susceptible to foreign attack. 61 Verse 21 promises that invading armies
will not even be seen in boats on these rivers surrounding the new Jerusalem; Israel is safe with
58 von Rad, 279.
59 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 1-39, 603-604.
60 Motyer, 213.

!28
YHWH. He is stronger than the Assyrians or anyone who would attempt to attack Israel.62
The reference to rivers here is puzzling indeed since Jerusalem at this time had no rivers.
However, Isaiah 33 is not the only passage where rivers appear in prophetic literature. Ezekiel
47:1-12 details a vision of a life-giving river that flows out of the temple. Similarly, Revelation
22:1-3 describes a river of life that provides healing for the nations. Joel 3:18 prophesies that in
the future, water will fill the stream beds in Jerusalem.
How should one interpret, then, the “place of rivers” in Isaiah 33, especially when
compared with the references to rivers in these other passages? If this passage is taken
eschatologically and the setting is the new creation, the rivers must not necessarily be taken
metaphorically. YHWH could certainly re-create this new Jerusalem to be “a place of rivers;” He
could bring about through these rivers the protection, life and healing, and abundance that is
promised in the prophetic passages of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Revelation, and Joel. However, with the
theme of YHWH as the protector of Israel being so prominent in Isaiah 33 (as well as the other
themes of life, healing, and abundance being so prominent in the passages described above) this
reference could also be understood as metaphorical, with YHWH Himself as the river of
protection. This is even taken into account in some translations; the ESV translates 33:21 “the
LORD in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams.”63 Both the literal and the
symbolic are likely in view here. The protection these rivers symbolize will certainly be present,
through YHWH, in the new creation. However, the references to rivers in prophetic and
eschatological literature are too many to deny that rivers will likely be present in the new
62 Ibid.
63 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001).
!29
creation.
YHWH is not only the protector of this new creation; He is the judge, lawgiver, King,
and Savior. He is able to champion and defend justice64 and provide day-to-day guidance. He is a
good and fair ruler, who is permanent in office.65 John N. Oswalt notes the importance of this
verse, pointing out that the question of Isaiah 7-35 is whether Israel will allow God to be their
king or whether they will seek security in other nations.66 Here is Isaiah 33, YHWH is described
as everything His people need. The people of Israel throughout history often turned their backs
on YHWH to follow other nations and their gods, but in the future this will not be the case. Israel
will turn to only one King, one Savior, and one Defender.
Verse 23 is a bit of an enigma, seeming to interrupt a description of Zion’s joy with an
oracle of destruction. Some have suggested that this oracle was inserted in 33:23 because of the
mention of ships in 33:21. Oswalt agrees with the difficulty of this phrase here but disagrees that
it was a later insertion, arguing that it “seems to ask too much to believe that a redactor not only
took a verse out of a meaningful context and put in in a meaningless one, but also that he put it in
the wrong place (after v. 22 rather than v. 21) when he did.”67
The possibility also exists that this verse contains a subject change and references
Assyria, which is soon to be plundered. This explanation would fit in with the context of Israel
65 Motyer, 213.
67 Ibid, 605.
!30
being safe, secure, and victorious. Most probably, however, no change in subject is intended
here, and this verse still refers to the Hebrew people. At the time Isaiah 33 was written, the
people were in disgrace and disarray and were not secure; however, in the future, they would be
the plunderers and the victorious ones. The ‫ אָז‬in the middle of the verse gives the clue that this
might be the case and that 33:23 should be seen as a now/then contrast for Israel.68
Verse 24 provides the answer for how all of this is possible: the forgiveness of sins. The
people of Israel are described as sinners before a holy God in 33:13-16, but in 33:17 this same
group is told that they will see the King in all His beauty. This is only possible because this holy
God has forgiven all their sins.69 Watts views this as a “general amnesty for past crimes” as they
celebrate their return from exile,70 but this cannot be the best interpretation of this text. With the
statement that this forgiveness precludes someone complaining of being sick, a more complete
physical and spiritual healing must be in view here.71 The King, Judge, and Savior will forgive
His people for their sins; their relationship with Him will be restored; and wholeness and renewal
will be brought about in the new creation.
Isaiah 65:17-25
17. “For look, I am creating new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be
remembered or come into mind.
18. But be glad and rejoice forever over what I am creating. For look, I am creating
Jerusalem to be a joy and its people, a source of happiness.
19. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and be happy in My people. The sound of weeping and
68 Ibid.
69 Motyer, 213.
70 Watts, 429.
71 Motyer, 213.
!31
crying will not be heard in it anymore.

20. It will never again happen that an infant lives only days, or that an old person will not
complete their days. A child will be one hundred years old, and the sinner who dies at one
hundred years will be cursed.
21. And they will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22. They will not build for another to live in, they will not plant for another to eat, because
the days of my people will be like the days of a tree. And my chosen ones will enjoy to
the fullest the work of their hands.
23. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children to disaster, for they are the
descendants of those blessed by the LORD, and their offspring with them.
24. Before they call me, I will answer. While they are still speaking, I will listen.
25. A wolf and a lamb will graze together, a lion will eat straw like a cow, and a serpent will
have dust for its food. They will not harm or destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the
LORD.72
Of all the passages on the re-creation in the eighth-century prophets, Isaiah 65:17-25
perhaps offers the student of Scripture the clearest picture of what this new creation will look
like. At a quick glance, one can see that the new creation entails rejoicing and an end to grief, an
end to untimely deaths, fulfilling work and its rewards, communion with God, and harmony
among creation.
First, the question of whether this passage indeed refers to the new creation or to a time
of post-exilic joy and peace in Israel must be answered. R.N. Whybray, for instance, holds that
this passage does indeed refer to a post-exilic time of joy in Jerusalem and that 65:17 is simply a
later eschatological addition.73 John Calvin also believes that this passage is at least not strictly
eschatological, arguing that “the Prophet speaks of the restoration…after the return from
Babylon. This is undoubtedly true; but that restoration is imperfect, if it be not extended as far as
to Christ; and even now we are in progress and accomplishment of it, and those things will not
73 R.N. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66, NCBC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 275.
!32
be fulfilled till the last resurrection.”74 Daniel Wallace writes that “this hyperbolic statement
likens the coming transformation of Jerusalem (see vv. 18-19) to a new creation of the
cosmos.”75
Though 65:18 does indeed refer specifically to Jerusalem (discussed below), the theory
that this passage refers to a post-exilic time rather than an eschatological one still seems
unnecessary and difficult to believe. To begin with, the themes of rejoicing, long life, lack of
weeping, and peace among animals are connected to other eschatological passages in Isaiah
(4:2-6, 11:6-9, 25:8, 30:19, 35:10). In addition to this, the promises of Isaiah 65 did not occur in
Israel in post-exilic times, so one must assume that this passage was always meant to be read
eschatologically.76 Finally, the argument that 65:17 is a later addition appears to be eisegetical.
No reason exists to believe that 65:17 was added later unless one comes into a study of this text
with the view that it must not be eschatological. No textual issues or variants can be found, and
the verse appears to fit perfectly in its context.
The tendency to believe this passage as a more symbolic representation of post-exilic
times reflects what seems to be the larger theme of hesitancy among modern believers and
students of Scripture to subscribe to a literal re-creation of heaven and earth. This hesitancy,
wherever its origins lie, can lead to questionable exegetical tendencies. With this hermeneutic,
Isaiah 65 is seen as a passage describing a peaceful post-exilic world with metaphorical peace
among animals, metaphorical long life, and the metaphorical building of houses. This type of
74 John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, in The Eleventh Annual Report of the
Calvin Society: New English Translations of Calvin’s Works, vol. 3 (Edinburgh: T. Constable, 1854), 398.
76 Gary V. Smith, Isaiah 40-66, NAC (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2009), 717.
!33
reading is unnecessary when the alternative envisions a literal renewal of the original creation
where natures are renewed, life is abundant, and work is fulfilling and rewarding. As discussed in
the introduction, a default to an exclusively literal reading can be exegetically irresponsible as
well. As with each of the passages discussed in this study, consistent exegesis must be done to
determine which prophecies to take as literal and which to take as metaphorical. For the reasons
detailed above, Isaiah 65 is a best believed to be an eschatological, rather than a post-exilic,
prophecy.
Isaiah 65 is a chapter wherein, much like the entire book of Isaiah itself, judgment and
hope are juxtaposed. This passage continues with the contrast found throughout the rest of the
book of Isaiah between the wicked who have chosen to abandon God and follow other customs
and gods, and the righteous who have chosen to follow God even in the midst of uncertainty and
trouble. Gary V. Smith argues that 65:1-66:14 may have been written to persuade those forsaking
God to reconsider and follow Him, since He will reward His servants but punish those who
rebel.77 Because of this context, Motyer argues that keeping “for” at the beginning of 65:17 is of
high importance. Verses 13-16 discuss the judgment on the wicked who have abandoned YHWH,
so Motyer believes that 17-25 is a response and comparison to that.78 Oswalt believes that
‫ ִכּּי־ ִהנְ ִנ֥י‬is a summary of this entire division (chapters 56-66) of the book of Isaiah, arguing that
chapters 56-66 “have apparently been written in such a way that their conclusion, serving as the
final point in the book’s series of points, will stand as a climax to what the book has said.” 79
77 Ibid.
78 Motyer, 298.

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The climactic promise, of course, is of the “new heavens and new earth” that YHWH is
creating. This mention of the new creation is the beginning of an inclusio which finds its
conclusion in 66:22.80 The reference to the new heavens and new earth is clearly meant to remind
readers of the first heaven and first earth. As will be shown throughout the rest of this section,
Isaiah 65 contains several references reminiscent of the creation story of Genesis 1-2, giving
credit to the idea of re-creation.81 YHWH is re-creating what He originally created, which was
marred by sin and judgment. So, as Oswalt argues, “The one who created the heavens and the
earth in the first place certainly has the ability to do something new.”82 In this new creation, the
“former things” will not be remembered. This includes “not only its sorrows but everything in
the old order, dimmed and diminished as it was by the infection of human sin, will undergo this
great renewal.”83
The verb used in 65:17-18 is ‫ בּ ָָרא‬, which is used repeatedly in Genesis as the main verb
for God’s act of creating.84 This is the first link between Isaiah 65 and the original creation
account. This re-creation is first seen in 65:18 in Jerusalem. However, Jerusalem should not be
seen as the only location on earth that will be re-created but instead as a sort of a microcosm of
what will happen over the whole earth. Isaiah 65 focuses on Jerusalem because it was written to
the Hebrew people, but Jerusalem and its people are not the only ones who need renewal from
80 Ibid.
81 Gary V. Smith, NAC, 718.
83 Motyer, 398.
84 Owens, 37.
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God.85 The focus on “Jerusalem” and the “Holy Mountain” also implies that the language here is
meant to be especially cultic. The language confirms what this and many other passages on the
re-creation suggest—that the new heaven and new earth will be a place of worship.86
The use of Jerusalem is especially significant here given the historical context. In a time
when Jerusalem was a place of turmoil, YHWH promises that the future Jerusalem in the new
creation will be a place of great joy. YHWH has provided sufficient reason for this rejoicing:
“wrath and rebellion are gone, a salvation more permanent than even they are has come ([Is.]
51:6), the Savior has done his work, and the Creator’s original purpose in creation may be
realized.”87 This rejoicing is true not only for the inhabitants of the renewed Jerusalem, but for
YHWH Himself. He will rejoice in Jerusalem and be happy in His people. The world which He
created and the people He created to inhabit it are finally free from the curse of sin and death. No
more do His children experience the results of the fall, of judgment, and of pain. They rejoice
and He rejoices in them.88
Verse 20 has caused much confusion and discussion for students of Isaiah 65. Does this
mean that death will be a part of this new Kingdom? Will sinners roam this new creation and be
found out only by their deaths at a young age? The majority of scholars agree that this verse is
best taken hypothetically.89 In other words “the category ‘child’ will be redefined in light of the
86 Owens, 36.
88 Ibid, 658.

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expanded life spans that will characterize this new era.”90 The new creation will be so full of new
life that if “sinners” were to manage their way in, even they would die at a ripe old age. No one
will ever mourn the untimely death of a loved one,91 which must have been an even more
outstanding promise in this context where infants often died because of complications in
childbirth or disease and infection.92 The promise in verse 20 is that childhood deaths will be
eradicated—stillbirth, infant death, and miscarriage will be no more (see section on Isaiah 11
above for a further discussion on the existence of children in the re-creation).
But why is this verse to be taken as hyperbole or metaphor when much of the rest of the
passage is taken literally? The answer lies in the fact that many of the prophecies of 65:20, if
taken literally, would contradict other portions of Scripture. To begin, other passages teach a
“sinner” has no place in the renewed creation (Isaiah 11:4, 66:24). In addition, Isaiah 66:22
seems to teach that existence in this new creation will be one of permanence, and New Testament
passages teach that life in the new creation will be eternal (Rev. 21:1-4). With the weight of
evidence found against a teaching that sinners will exist and will die earlier in the new creation,
this verse is best read as hyperbolic.
In this renewed creation, work will once again be fulfilling and the rewards of one’s work
will be enjoyed. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, to build and not inhabit was a curse and the
fate of the disobedient93 (Lev. 26:16, Deut. 28;15-46, Amos 5:11, Mic. 6:15, Zeph. 1:13, Is.
93 Motyer, 399.
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17:11).94 Here, one sees the opposite—to work and enjoy the fruits of labor is a blessing of God.
God’s people will build and plant, and yet their work will not be touched by the frustrating
results of the fall. They will live long enough to enjoy their work, and their rewards will not be
taken over or exploited by another. “What a promise,” Oswalt observes, “to have the time to do
something right and then the opportunity to enjoy it to the full!”95
Smith looks beyond the general promise here and observes that these verses may also
have spoken to two contextual situations in Israel during this time. To begin, invading enemies
and armies would not steal, plunder, and destroy the results of their victims’ labors. Second, the
poor would no longer be exploited by the rich—forced to work and have parts of their property
or crops taken away by the oppressive rich as payment.96 Neither natural frustrations nor unjust
systems will keep the people of YHWH from enjoying the fruits of their labor in the new
creation.
Again in verse 23 the people of God receive a promise that their labor will not be in vain.
The frustrating parts of work as it is now on earth will be gone and all that will be left is the joy
of peaceful, unhurried, fulfilling work, and knowing the full joy of its fruit. Again, they are
promised that their children will not be born destined for disaster, disease, or death. The people
of God and their children will be blessed by the LORD; His people and their relationships will be
whole and complete. “The only effect of a man’s or a woman’s life that they will pass on to their
95 Ibid, 660.

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grandchildren will be blessing.”97
Verse 24 is perhaps the most wonderful promise of this passage, one for which the people
of God have ached while here on this earth: a renewed, personal relationship with God.
Communication and connection with Him will be restored, and the sin that once separated
YHWH from His people will be eradicated.98 Harmony will exist again, as it did in the
beginning, between God and His people.99 While the people of Israel during Isaiah’s time waited
on God to answer, deliver, and rescue, the people of God in the new creation will not have to
wait on a word from God. Before they even speak, YHWH will answer.
Verse 25 ends this passage with one final reference to Edenic peace. In addition to
harmony between YHWH and His people, harmony will now exist among all of His creation.
The natures of the animals themselves will be changed; “predators” will become herbivores and
“prey” will no longer have an innate fear.100 Most scholars agree that 65:25 here is a
condensation of 11:6-9, which is set in context of the Messiah’s reign. This new world with its
joy, peace, and wholeness in creation is only possible because of the work of the Messiah
promised in Isaiah 11.101
Oswalt argues that this verse, as well as 65:21, are not necessarily to be taken literally.102
99 Motyer, 399.
100 Ibid.
102 Ibid.
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While this may be true, the question remains: why not? Whereas verse 20 is taken as
hypothetical in this passage because it seems to contradict other passages which speak of an end
to death and sin in the new creation, no other Biblical passages seem to rule out the possibility of
the literal building of houses or literal wolves eating literal grass with literal lambs. Is the
building of metaphorical houses somehow superior to the physical building of houses? If animals
literally exist in this new creation (as they did in the Garden), why is one better off imagining
that they would metaphorically graze next to each other and not physically graze next to each
other?103
Certainly more important issues must be examined in the passage of Isaiah 65. This issue
seems worth discussing, though, as the growing movement in contemporary Christian culture
seems to make the new creation more ethereal, more symbolic, and more metaphorical than
necessary. Isaiah 65 seems to describe the new creation as a literal, physical place, and thus
special care must be taken in separating its elements into the categories of physical and symbolic.
Finally, the mention of the serpent in verse 25 is certainly worth examining, especially
given the importance of the serpent in the early chapters of Genesis. Many scholars take this
verse to represent the remaining curse on sin. The curse is lifted from creation, but sin, and the
serpent who played such a part in its introduction to the world, will still retain its original
curse.104 This view, of course, is not unanimous. Wallace argues that 65:25 primarily alludes to
103 This argument is adapted from an argument found in Grudem, 1161. Grudem here argues against the
idea of symbolic banquets and wine in New Testament passages concerning the new heaven and earth. Grudem
argues that the symbolic versions of these things are no more spiritually superior than their physical counterparts,
and no reason exists not to take these prophesied elements of the new creation as literal.

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Isaiah 11:8 and not Genesis 3:14-15. In this view, the reference to the snake eating dust simply
means that it will not be a harmful animal anymore. It will crawl on its belly and no longer seek
prey or seek to harm. Just like in Isaiah 11:8, a child will be able to play near a snake den and not
fear any harm.105
While this view has its merits, it ultimately does not seem to be the most responsible
interpretation. Isaiah 11:8 uses two different words for “snake” ( ‫ ָפּּתֶ ן‬and ‫—) ֶ֫צפַע‬neither of which
are found in Genesis 3 or Isaiah 65. On the other hand, Genesis 3 and Isaiah 65 both use the
word ‫ נָחָש‬as “serpent,” and so it seems safe to say that if any passage alludes to another, Isaiah 65
must allude to Genesis 3. Regardless of whether this allusion was intended, the references to
snakes (literally “vipers” and “cobras”) in Isaiah 11:8 must be seen as a separate matter.
The idea that 65:25 references the serpent in Genesis 3 seems perfectly reasonable,
however, given the many other allusions to Genesis 1-3 in this passage. Whereas work is now
fulfilling again and difficulty is removed from childbirth (Is. 65:20-23, cf. Gen. 3:16-19), the
serpent still eats dust. This is most likely an expression to indicate that His head has finally been
crushed into the ground (Gen. 3:15), and thus he is forced to eat the dirt forever. The curse on
creation has finally been lifted and the serpent who played such a role in that curse is finally
destroyed.106 With sin and the serpent defeated, and peace among all of creation, nothing else is
left to cause harm or destruction in God’s new creation.
In summary, Smith muses on “feelings of joy and gladness, the end of sorrow; people
will live long, there will be peace among men, and there will be clear communion between God

!41
and his people and a period of peace among the animals. This sounds almost like a return to the
paradise of the garden of Eden before sin entered the world”107 This passage almost undoubtably
intends to refer to a return to Eden. While much of Isaiah is focused on the de-creation brought about
by sin and rebellion, Isaiah offers hope for the renewed creation in this penultimate chapter of his
prophetic book.
Isaiah 66:12-24
12. “For this is what the LORD says “Look, I will extend peace like a river to it, and the
glory of nations like a stream. You will nurse and be carried at her side. You will be
bounced on her knees.
13. As one is comforted with their mother, I myself will comfort you. You will be comforted
in Jerusalem.
14. You will see this and your heart will rejoice; your bones will flourish like grass and the
hand of the LORD will be known by His servants, as well as His indignation by His
enemies.
15. For look, the Lord is coming with fire, and His chariots are like a whirlwind, to bring
down His anger, and His rebuke with its flames of fire.
16. For the LORD will judge with fire and His sword, and many people will certainly be
slain by the LORD.
17. The ones who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in
their midst, eating pig flesh, and detestable things, and mice—they will be destroyed
together.” declares the LORD.
18. “But I know their works and thoughts, and the time is coming to gather every nation and
tongue, and they will come and see my glory.
19. And I will establish a sign for them, then I will send the survivors of the nations to them
—to Tarshish, Pul, Lud (known for their archers), Tubal, and Javan, to the distant islands
that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory, and they will make my glory known to
the nations.
20. And they will bring back all your people, from all the nations, as an offering to the
LORD. They will bring them on horses, on chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels
to the Holy Mountain, Jerusalem.” says the LORD “Just as the people of Israel bring an
offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.
21. And like this I will also choose the priests of the Levites,” says the LORD.
22. For just like the new heavens and the new earth, that I am making will remain before
Me,” declares the LORD “so your offspring and your name will remain.
23. And from New Moon to New Moon—from Sabbath to Sabbath, all humanity will come

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and worship me.” says the LORD

24. “And they will go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me, because
their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be an
abhorrence to all humanity.”108
Isaiah 66 is certainly one of the more complicated passages dealing with the re-creation
in all the Old Testament. Like many of the other passages, questions are raised as to whether
portions of this passage refer to the post-exilic state of Israel or rather to the new creation, and as
to which portions should be taken symbolically and metaphorically and which should be taken
literally. All these questions and textual issues will be discussed as the passage is examined.
Verse 12 leaves no doubt as to the state of God’s people in this future time. The context
makes obvious that these beginning verses refer to God’s people, who have followed Him, and to
Jerusalem, which He will restore. The final verses of this final chapter of Isaiah describe a future
time when “all that was lost by sin will be recovered, and the long story of peace will reach its
conclusion.”109
Two important things come to the people of YHWH at this time. One is the peace that
YHWH extends like a river. This peace is ‫שָׁלוֹם‬, and in this passage it must go beyond the idea of
prosperity, an end of war, or well-being. It is wholeness and completion, and YHWH’s people
being restored and in a right relationship with Him again.110 YHWH also extends to His people
the “glory of nations.” This is especially significant given that YHWH had warned His people
not to be seduced by the glory of nations (Is. 2:6-22). Of course, history proves that they were
109 Motyer, 403.

!43
and that they did chase after these nations, their wealth, their gods, and their customs. The sad
irony for Israel is that YHWH would have given them the glory of nations in His time. What they
tried to gain sinfully, He would have rightfully given them.
Verses 12 and 13 explain the nurturing and comfort that will come from Jerusalem and
ultimately from YHWH. The reference to YHWH is emphatic, with the use of a 1cs verb and a
first person personal pronoun.111 The comfort from Jerusalem is connected with comfort from
YHWH; Jerusalem is only able to nurture and comfort her children (YHWH’s people), because
YHWH works to provide these needs through Jerusalem.112 The thought of Jerusalem being able
to nurture its people may have been a comfort in and of itself to the original readers of Isaiah,
since the hope of this passage revolves around the restored Jerusalem.113 YunGab Choi sees the
“comfort” referred to in 66:13 as a continuation of this major theme throughout the book of
Isaiah. The “comfort motif,” Choi argues, is an often overlooked yet central theme throughout
the book (12:1-6, 40:1-11, 49, 61, 62, and 66:7-14).114 These passages explain the need for
comfort, God’s plan to comfort His people, and finally the vision of God’s people being
comforted at a future time.
Verse 14 serves, much like other passages in the book of Isaiah, to contrast the destinies
of those who follow God and experience His blessing in the new creation, and those who rebel
113 Owens, 38.
114 YunGab Choi, “To Comfort All Who Mourn: The Theological and Hermeneutical Function of Isa 61-62
in the Book of Isaiah,” Trinity Journal 37, no. 2 (September 2016): 251-252, accessed April 29, 2017, EBSCOhost.
!44
and experience destruction.115 This is the day when the distinction between YHWH’s servants
and His enemies will be made absolutely clear. Those who follow Him will flourish physically
and emotionally,116 and those who rebel will experience His righteous wrath. In the current
creation, the people of YHWH live among His enemies who rebel against Him and abandon
Him, and this can make it difficult for the people of YHWH to live out their calling and identity.
Motyer notes, “While the Lord’s servants live in a spiritually divided community, joy is ever
under threat, and therefore never enjoyed for long or to the full. But divine action will at one and
the same time secure eternal joy and remove every threat.”117
Oswalt argues that ‫ ִכּּי־ ִהנֵּּה‬in 66:15 begins a new section, set up naturally by verse 14.118
This section continues the theme of differentiating the rebels from the servants, going into more
detail about the judgment and destruction of the rebels. Verses 15-16 use the images of fire,
whirlwind, and sword to describe this judgment. These could be taken together simply as general
comparisons to demonstrate the all-consuming nature of this destruction; however, Motyer
believes these three images individually have a special meaning. For Motyer, fire is “the active
holiness of God, roused against sin;” the whirlwind is his sweeping judgment that leaves nothing
behind; and the sword is His specific judgment against individuals.119
The use of ‫ שׁוּב‬in the hiphil stem here is interesting, and English translators have not
115 Gary V. Smith, “Isaiah 65-66: The Destiny of God's Servants in a New Creation,” Bibliotheca Sacra
171, no. 681 (January 2014): 46, accessed April 29, 2017, EBSCOhost.
116 Gary V. Smith, NAC, 742-743.
117 Motyer, 404.
119 Motyer, 404.

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reached a consensus on how best to capture its meaning. Options include: “render” (ESV,
NASB), 120 “execute” (HCSB), 121 “reveal” (NET), and “bring down” (NIV), 122 among others.
The most literal translation of the word, “turn or return,” or in the causative hiphil “cause to
return,” raises some questions. How is YHWH “turning” His anger here? The idea is that He is
returning, or paying back these rebellious people what they deserve.123 Thus the better English
translation is one that attempts to convey this idea; “bring down” in the NIV or “execute” in the
HCSB seem to communicate this idea the best. This judgment will be widespread; “many
people” will be slain by YHWH— including Israelites who have decided to rebel.124 Oswalt
notes, “corpses fill the streets of the city not because God in some arbitrary and tyrannical
fashion decides to obliterate his enemies but because to live in defiance of God’s creation
ordinances is to fill the world with cruelty and violence.”125
Verse 17 is a puzzling one, especially without an in-depth knowledge of Israel’s worship
or the pagan cultic practice in those days. A basic knowledge of Old Testament laws and customs
will reveal that the practice of eating pigs and mice was a detestable practice. What is less certain
is whether the people of Israel were actually doing these things or whether this passage was
120 The Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).
121 The Holy Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009).
122 The Holy Bible, New International Version (Colorado Springs: Biblica Inc., 2011).
124 Ibid.

!46
meant to shock them into the reality that their sin and rebellion was just as detestable.126 Another
point to consider is why the Israelites were doing these things in the first place. The verse
suggests that many people just followed others who were involved in this kind of sin,127 but how
and why did this start? The context suggests that this verse must describe some
sort of pagan cultic activity—perhaps the pagan worship in the Temple described in Ezekiel
8:6-18.128
The reference to the one “in their midst” is also a complicated phrase that raises many
questions. Motyer claims, and rightly so, that this passage in many ways seems related to Ezekiel
8:7-11.129 If this is the case, then the one “in their midst” is, sadly but perhaps not surprisingly, a
leader of Israel. Oswalt proposes, based on the Kethib, that the congregation is following a leader
who stands in the center of a circle and gives directions, lending credibility to the idea that this
may be a one of Israel’s leaders. However, he points out that this could also refer to a statue of
Asherah or something similar.130
Whereas 66:17 may be puzzling thematically, 66:18 is certainly confusing grammatically.
The first phrase contains a first-person pronoun, but is lacking a verb. The second phrase is
lacking an antecedent for the verb ‫בּוֹא‬. Therefore, students and translators of this passage must
attempt to fill in the gaps to put together a meaningful understanding of the verse. To do this,
126 Ibid, 686.
127 Motyer, 405.
129 Motyer, 405.

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however, interpretation of the text is necessary. If 66:18a is displaced from 66:17, as some
believe, then the verb connected with YHWH must be one of disdain and abhorrence; thus the
NET’s “I hate their deeds and thoughts” fits.131 But many see 66:18 as the beginning of a new
section: 66:17 has ended a negative announcement and YHWH is now announcing good news
for the nations. The LXX leads most translators to believe that some form of the word “know”
should be supplied in the first phrase (the LXX reads κἀγὼ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν καὶ τὸν λογισµὸν
αὐτῶν ἐπίσταµα). So, because YHWH “knows” that the hearts of the nations are open to Him,
He will gather them together to display His glory.132 Because of the context of 66:18b and
following, a more positive verb should be supplied in 66:18a. This is solidified by the use of
ἐπίσταµα in the LXX.
The second phrase, with its lack of expressed antecedent, is further muddied. The verb in
this phrase occurs in the 3fs, making the literal translation “it is coming” or “it will come.”
However, the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate render this in the 1cs, “I am coming.” The ESV and
NASB stay in line with the MT on this and supply their own subject, making the phrase, in both
translations, “the time is coming,” (emphasis added). However, the NIV, NET, and HCSB
notably follow the LXX in this instance. Following the text critical principle that the more
difficult reading is generally to be preferred,133 66:18 should be translated from the MT here and
a subject should be supplied (“the time” is likely the best one, since this phrase is common
throughout the OT) for translation purposes.
132 Gary V Smith, NAC, 748.
133Ellis R. Brotzman, Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 1994), 128.
!48
Aside from the grammatical issues, 66:18 contains important truths about the future days,
and about the judgment and the blessing of YHWH. First of all, this judgment will not be
arbitrary; YHWH knows the thoughts and the works of the people on earth. He knows who has
faithfully followed Him and who has rebelled, even if they put on a show of religious ritualism.
This is not just true for the people of Israel; it is true for “every nation.” Oswalt notes that “the
message of God is not for the descendants of Jacob but for the world, and those of the world who
respond to it are the true children of Jacob.”134
Verse 19, like 15-16, is open to interpretation and could be taken on the spectrum
anywhere from extremely literal to solely figurative. To further confuse the matter, 66:19 names
many ancient locations whose modern names are not certain. Javan is almost certainly a
Mediterranean location, modern Greece or Turkey, and Tarshish is probably Spain.135 Pul is often
taken to be “Put,” a location in Africa, while Lud could refer to Lydia in Asia Minor,136 and
Tubal to the Caucasus area in the northeast. The “distant islands” are generally seen in OT
literature as the “ends of the earth.”137 These locations may be literal locations where the
“survivors” go, but figurative language may possibly be employed here to teach that the glory of
God will be proclaimed to the entire world—from the North, South, East, and West, and even as
far as the “distant islands.”138
135 Ibid, 689.
138 Ibid.
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Questions also abound as to what the “sign” is that YHWH will establish, and who the
“survivors” are who will go out. Motyer interprets this verse as describing the church age and,
based on the many allusions to missionaries, this explanation may be true for some of the
references in these verses. “The sign,” then would be the cross, and the “survivors” are those
who receive salvation and thus are untouched by the judgment of God. These “survivors” are
then sent out as missionaries to the world.139 Wallace interprets this “sign,” with many other
similar references in the Old Testament, as a miraculous occurrence.140 The survivors themselves
could be considered the “sign,” as they go throughout the nations to make YHWH’s glory
known. Oswalt is less specific about what this sign may be. He acknowledges that several
theories exist, including miraculous signs or perhaps the signs surrounding the formation of the
church, but believes that these theories are too narrow. “In sum,” he concludes, “it seems best to
leave the answer to the question as broad as possible, and to say that Isaiah, with other prophets,
understood that at the end of the age God would make his power clear in certain miraculous
ways, and in so doing call to himself all who are willing to hear.”141 Indeed, a general
interpretation seems the best option.
As for the “survivors” (‫) ָפּלִיט‬, Oswalt also agrees that these are missionaries of some kind.
Immediate context favors the Gentiles as the “them” at the beginning of 66:19. So, the Gentiles
are the ones who hear of YHWH’s glory, but who are the “survivors” who proclaim it? Mark D.
139 Motyer, 406.
140 NET, Isaiah 66:19.

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Owens believes that these are Jews who are sent out as missionaries to the Gentiles.142 The Jews
are those who have “survived” YHWH’s judgment, which seems to fit with the context of the
entire book and the interplay between salvation and judgment for the people of YHWH. This
interpretation also accords with Isaiah 4:2, which mentions the “survivors” (ָ‫ )ה ְפּלֵיט‬of Israel.143
With the lack of expressed subjects in 66:19 continuing in verse 20, this verse can be
especially difficult to translate. Following the interpretation that the “survivors” in 66:19 who
“make [YHWH’s] glory known to the nations,” are the people of Israel, the subject “they” at the
beginning of 66:20 must also be the people of Israel. In this case, the people of Israel are the
ones: (a) making YHWH’s glory known to the nations, and (b) bringing back all people from the
nations. Oswalt seems to believe that a shift in subject has occurred here, and interprets the
subject of this verse instead to be the Gentiles, who bring back the scattered Jews from all the
other nations.144 This interpretation seems unlikely as it would require those making YHWH’s
glory known to the nations at the end of 66:19 to be a different group of people from those
bringing back all people at the beginning of 66:20. With this in mind, the people of Israel seem to
be the most likely subject of 66:20.
But what about the object of this sentence—the ones being brought back? The two
obvious potential answers would either be Jews scattered throughout all the nations or the
Gentiles, who themselves are the nations. Some have suggested here that since there is a
142 Owens, 38.
144 Ibid, 689.

!51
reference to “your people” being brought back, this verse refers to the Jews bringing other Jews
back, but this seems unlikely. Motyer calls this “anti-climactic;” after the announcement that
YHWH’s glory will be proclaimed to the nations and to the ends of the earth, why would 66:20
only discuss the end results for the people of Israel?145
Based on the interpretation of the previous verse, Gentiles seem the preferable answer.
The people of Israel have gone to the nations, proclaimed the glory of YHWH, and now bring
Gentiles back with them to the Holy Mountain, where YHWH dwells. Those who have been
“brought back” are offerings to YHWH, presented by the missionaries who have proclaimed
salvation to them and brought them to the presence of the LORD. This fulfills Genesis 12:3,
where all nations are drawn to YHWH because of the people of YHWH. It also connects with
Isaiah 11 and Micah 4, where the nations are drawn to YHWH and stream to Zion.146
The word ‫ ְוגַם‬at the beginning of 66:21 confirms and builds upon this thought.147 Even
beyond Jews and Gentiles both being in the presence of YHWH together, verse 21 says that He
will choose from among them the priests of the Levites. All people will be a priestly people148
and a purified offering (66:20). To a nation that had been warned to stay away from Gentile
nations, and that was being judged for dabbling in foreign practices, this statement would have
been truly shocking indeed. The foreign nations—now purified, fit to be offerings (66:20) and
145 Motyer, 406.
148 Motyer, 406.

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priests (66:21)—are no longer unclean.149
Verse 22 promises that this salvation will be forever, tying the re-creation in with the
sustained creation of His people. One must first look at the beginning of this comparison—the
promise that the new heaven and new earth that YHWH is making will remain before Him. “The
new heavens and the new earth” here is somewhat of a loaded phrase. It first of all provides
ample evidence that this passage refers to a future time and a new creation rather than simply a
post-exilic time of joy and peace. Of course, this passage could be sub-divided, with some parts
referring to the post-exile and some functioning eschatologically. However, due to the inclusio
with Isaiah 65:17 (see below), the consistent use of the imperfect in this passage, and the many
references to events that did not happen in post-exilic times (prolonged peace in Jerusalem, the
extensive judgment of the wicked, Gentile priests), 66:12-24 is better interpreted as referring to a
future time.
Additionally, the phrase “The new heavens and the new earth” provides a link back to
Isaiah 65:17, forming an inclusio150 and causing the reader to think of all 65:17-66:22 as
connected. This leads to even further connections throughout the Scripture for, as Owens argues,
“If Isa 66:18-24 is integrally related to the initial portrait of the ‘new heavens and new earth’ in
Isa 65:17-25, the presence of allusions to Gen 1-3 in the latter text should probably influence our
understanding of Isa 66:18-24.”151
In addition, New Testament writers also used this phrase to substantiate their teachings
149 Gary V Smith, NAC, 751.
151 Owens, 40.

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and then further expand on the topic.152 One notable example of this is 2 Peter 3:3-13. Because
of the use of the phrase “new heavens and new earth,” the references to destruction by fire and
the tone of judgment, this passage is thought to refer back to Isaiah 66, and thus further expand
on its teachings.153 Isaiah 66, then, provides an important link between several Old and New
Testament passages.
YHWH makes the unusual promise that just as the heavens and earth that He has begun
creating and will complete in the future will remain, so too will the offspring and name of His
people. This is unusual simply because YHWH is using a future event as a reason to trust His
promise on another future event. YHWH is faithful and trustworthy; His people can consider
what He has promised already done. They can likewise trust that they will remain forever, in the
same way that this new heaven and earth will remain.
No clear antecedent can be found for the 2ms pronoun here, and this has caused some to
re-imagine who the subject of 66:22 may be. Motyer, for instance, believes that this is promised
to the “Covenant Mediator,”154 elsewhere seen in Isaiah as the Messianic King or Servant. This
would mean that the Mediator, who brings salvation, receives the promise that those to whom He
has given life will always remain. This idea, however, seems highly unlikely. All of this passage
seems to speak directly to the people of Israel who have continued to follow YHWH (66:5). No
shift seems to occur in addressing or referencing a Covenant Mediator. Therefore, while this idea
might fit theologically, it does not seem to fit exegetically. This passage is best read as a promise
152 Svigel, 409.
153 Ibid, 411.
154 Motyer, 406.

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that the people of YHWH will last forever, along with their “offspring.”
The “offspring” in 66:22 are never explicitly identified. Is this addressed to Israelites of
the diaspora who wondered about their legacy because of their dispersion and the influx of
foreigners? Does this reference the descendants of the foreigners? Either of these explanations by
itself is insufficient considering this passage is about the unity of the two groups. Most likely,
these descendants are the spiritual descendants of those who follow YHWH, whether Jew or
Gentile.155 This interpretation could include both literal descendants of these groups who follow
their ancestors’ worship of YHWH, as well as metaphorical descendants, who come to know
YHWH because of another person’s testimony.
Verse 23 provides a wonderful note of hope at the end of the book, which echoes back to
the hopelessness and judgment at the beginning. The New Moon celebrations and Sabbaths that
distressed Isaiah so much at the beginning of the book (1:13), are now seen as positive and joyful
occasions.156 These will be worshipful events and worship will be universal. God’s people will
consistently come to worship Him. Throughout their history, they have been unfaithful time and
time again, but in the new creation they will finally be the faithful and consistent people they
have always been called to be and always wanted to be.157
This verse speaks of unification in two areas: among humankind and between God and
humankind. The barrier between Jews and Gentiles is broken down as “all humanity” comes to
worship YHWH together. The emphasis on the Gentiles in new creation can seem strange since
156 Motyer, 406.

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the people of Israel were warned throughout the Old Testament to stay away from other nations
and were judged when they did not. This commanded division, of course, was not arbitrary and
was meant to keep Israel’s devotion to YHWH pure and unpolluted from worship of other gods.
Oswalt notes, however, that “when separation becomes an end in itself, it has become just a more
arcane form of idolatry.”158 From the beginning of His covenant with Abraham, YHWH had it in
His heart to bless all humanity through the people of Israel (Gen. 12:3), and Isaiah 66 shows this
vision rightfully carried out. All people have access to YHWH and all people worship Him. This
means that the division between YHWH and humanity is also gone. Whereas before, sin caused a
barrier (59:1-2), YHWH has now removed that barrier. Whereas before, worship occurred in
Jerusalem, and particularly in the temple, that barrier has been removed as well; now “every
heart is Jerusalem.”159
This passage, however, must always be understood as an interplay between judgment and
hope. As several consecutive verses discuss the joy and hope of the new creation, 66:24 reminds
the reader that this joy and hope are not promised for everyone, and that this promise does not
mean that those rebelling against YHWH can continue in their rebellion. This is, in fact, one of
the main points of the entire book of Isaiah, and its last verse is a final reminder.160 Those who
have consistently rebelled against YHWH have no place in this new creation, and this only
makes sense. The book of Isaiah consistently teaches that YHWH is the only creator, thus only
two options exist: worship Him or rebel. The natural consequence of following the former is life
159 Ibid, 692.
160 Ibid, 691.

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forever, and the natural consequence of following the latter is death forever.161 Furthermore,
since YHWH’s presence fills this new creation, only those who long for His presence (i.e., by
following Him and not rebelling against Him) would enjoy the new heaven and new earth.162
However, the reader should not read a morbid tone into this verse. Nowhere is there an
implication of viewing these corpses repeatedly, or of a mocking fascination with this horrible
judgment.163 This verse is, however, a sober reminder to those who have followed YHWH of the
consequences of sin and the fate from which they have been saved. Judgment is an assurance to
all who have followed YHWH that He “has dealt with finally and fully anything that could
threaten their eternal security and joy.”164
Micah 4:1-5
1. In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s house will be established as the most
prominent of the mountains, and it will be raised up above the hills; people will stream to
it.
2. And many nations will come and say “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the LORD,
the House of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so we can walk in His paths.”
The law will go out from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3. He will judge between many people, and arbitrate between strong nations far away. Then
they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning knives. Nation
will not lift up a sword against another nation, and they will not train for war anymore.
4. Every person will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree and no one will
cause them fear, for the mouth of the LORD of armies has spoken.
5. All the people walk in the name of their own god, but we will walk in the name of the
LORD our God forever and ever.
161 Ibid.
162 Timothy J. Keller, “Heaven,” (Sermon, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York, NY, June 8, 1997),
http://www.gospelinlife.com/heaven-5935.
164 Motyer, 407.

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One of the most-debated topics within the study of Micah 4:1-5 is its authorship and its
relationship to Isaiah 2:2-4. These two passages are almost identical, and a scholarly study on
either of these passages will almost undoubtedly include an in-depth look at its relation to the
other. Micah 4:1-5 was chosen for this study because, although its first three verses are almost
identical to Isaiah 2:2-4, its last two verses provide further teaching and explanation. Although
this study does not center around matters of text or source criticism, insofar as a brief study of
the textual issue brings light to the meaning of a text, it should be studied. That is the case with
Micah 4.
To begin, most scholars are in agreement that Micah 4:1-3 is not original to Micah;
however, Walter Brueggemann quickly points out that this should not negate its place within the
Micah tradition.165 The main reason for believing that this text is not original to Micah is that
Micah 4:4-5 expands on what is said more succinctly in Micah 4:1-3/Isaiah 2:2-4. Rick W.
Byargeon believes that Micah borrowed from Isaiah and added to his prophecy, reasoning that
Micah either “heard Isaiah and made oral adjustments to the prophecy, or Isaiah's prophecy was
written quite early, and Micah had access to it.”166 Brueggemann, however, believes that both
Isaiah and Micah borrowed this text from an even earlier source and then used it for their own
purposes.167
165 Walter Brueggemann, “‘Vine and Fig Tree’: A Case Study in Imagination and Criticism,” The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly 43, no. 2 (April 1981): 189, accessed January 28, 2017, EBSCOhost.
166 Rick W. Byargeon, “The relationship of Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:2-4: Implications for Understanding
the Prophetic Message,” Southwestern Journal Of Theology 46, no. 1 (September 2003): 25-26, accessed January
28, 2017, EBSCOhost.
167Renee Rodgers Jensen, “Micah 4:1-5,” Interpretation: A Journal Of Bible & Theology 52, no. 4
(October 1998): 418, accessed January 28, 2017, EBSCOhost.
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Regardless of who borrowed from whom, the student of Scripture need not defend
inspiration by arguing that the Spirit separately inspired both of the prophets to pen these two
similar passages. Oswalt argues, “Such a strained position as that the two prophets were inspired
independently is unnecessary. It is enough to believe that inspiration can involve guidance in the
utilization of existing materials.”168 To be sure, the Spirit could have inspired both of these men
separately to write the same thing, but the Spirit could just as well have led the two prophets to
utilize existing literature to confirm their respective prophecies.
Wherever 4:1-3 came from, the general consensus is that it is intentionally juxtaposed
with 3:9-12.169 Micah 3:9-12 looks at the imminent future, and it is most certainly bleak. In
chapter 3, Zion is a city of blood (3:10), a plowed field (3:12), and its temple is utterly destroyed
(3:12). In chapter 4, Micah looks into the remote future, where Zion will become a raised city
(4:1), a place of peace (4:3-4), and the temple will be restored—not just for Jerusalem, but for all
people.170 This juxtaposition teaches a couple of important and converse truths. First, it teaches
that God’s plan for the future does not negate His judgment on Israel’s sin in the present.171 On
the other hand, it teaches that Israel’s sin in the present is powerless to stop God’s plan for the
future.
Most agree that Micah 4:1-5 is not meant to describe the immediate future. In general,
169 Brueggemann, 189.
170 Ralph P. Smith, Micah-Malachi, WBC (Waco: Word Books, 1984), 36-37.
171 Jensen, 418.

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scholars tend to agree with Brueggemann that Micah 4:1-5 “is a radical assertion of a poetic
promise, designed to lead Israel to an alternative reality. …Those who heard this oracle (as well
as those who spoke it) were called to realities they could not see or identify nor could they
discern how such an anticipation could become a reality.”172 No consensus can be found,
however, on the precise future time to which this passage points, or on whether it points to a
specific future time at all.
Renee Rodgers Jensen seems to stop with the idea that this passage is simply an
alternative reality for Israel, arguing that its point is to invite readers to work with YHWH for the
ideal set forth in the passage.173 While this is certainly an important component of the prophecy,
this theory seems incomplete by itself. First, it implies a certain bit of deceit on YHWH’s part—
that He would promise a future that He knew would never happen, just to inspire His people to
make the world a bit better and more peaceful. Second, why not assume that this passage refers
to a time in the future that simply has not occurred between Micah’s time and the current day?
This passage does say that this vision for the future will occur ‫ ַהיּ ָ ִ֗מים ְבּאַח ִ ֲ֣רית‬.
Ralph P. Smith, on the other hand, views Micah 4:1-5 as a “salvation oracle…freighted
with eschatological overtones.”174 This seems to be the best interpretation given the phrase
‫ ַהיּ ָ ִ֗מים ְבּאַח ִ ֲ֣רית‬and the fact that none of these prophecies have come true yet. As with most
passages dealing with re-creation, Smith’s theory is best seen in conjunction with Jensen’s: this is
a passage about the re-creation of heaven and earth with the expectation that a view of the future
173 Jensen, 417-418.
174 Ralph P. Smith, 36.

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will cause the people of YHWH to work towards that ideal in the present.
As already discussed, the mention of “the mountain of the LORD’s house” in 4:1 is
meant to contrast the dismal vision of 3:12. What was leveled will be raised—and not just raised,
but raised as the most prominent and the highest of all the mountains. People will stream to this
mountain. The mention of the mountain is not just important in its contrast with 3:12, but also in
connection with the context of the ancient culture to which Micah wrote. Mountains and high
places in this time were equated with worship, so people streaming to the mountain of the house
of YHWH, the highest of all mountains, draws to mind the idea of people streaming to worship
YHWH.175 The verb ‫ נָהַר‬, translated “stream,” is used only 6 times in the Old Testament, though
the related noun ‫ נָהָר‬, which refers to a literal stream or river, occurs 119 times. Four of the times
the verb ‫ נָהַר‬is found, it occurs in the Qal stem (Is. 2:2, Jer. 31:12, Jer. 51:44, Mic. 4:1),176 each
time in the context of other nations and of worship. Though this verb is not used in any of the
other passages explored in this study, the theme of people from all nations coming to Zion, and
thus to YHWH, is certainly a common motif in eighth-century prophetic literature concerning the
re-creation.
This idea of worship is made explicit in 4:2, where other nations express the desire to go
up this mountain to learn the ways of YHWH. Brueggemann points out that this coming of other
nations means that they have surrendered their gods to worship YHWH.177 The worship of other
gods, which so plagued Old Testament Israel, has finally been cast aside in favor of worship of
176 R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament, vol. 2 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 560.
177 Brueggemann, 190-191.

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the one, true God. The nations that were coming during the time of Micah to plunder and destroy
will one day come to worship.178 During this time in history, when foreigners were either feared
and despised or fawned over and followed after, Micah promises that Gentiles will be included in
the Kingdom, but only those who submit themselves to YHWH.179
In what must have been a much desired promise to Israel, this passage prophesies that
YHWH in this time will mediate disputes and judge fairly between the nations. An end of war
will come and instruments of war will not even be needed anymore. The end of war is a multi-
faceted promise; an end of war entails an end of covetousness, an end of greed for political gain,
an end of provocation, an end of need, and an end of evil. Brueggemann argues that the end of
war is just part of what is envisioned here; the full picture is “the end of such public policy, such
propaganda, such education and psychology. What is envisioned is both a transformed public
policy and a transformed human consciousness.”180 The end of war here entails peace, plenty,
and respect for all. The beautiful vision of these items of war being transformed into plowshares
and pruning knives demonstrates that a fruitful and peaceful age will be ushered in.181
Verse 4 shows that the hope in this new creation is not simply for an end of war, but for
personal peace and freedom. This freedom would allow individuals to work peacefully and enjoy
the fruits of their work peacefully, without fear that their work could be ransacked or confiscated.
Brueggemann views confiscation of goods by the state to be the main threat in view here,
179 VanGemeren, 156.

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believing that 4:4 is meant to be a mildly subversive criticism of the state.182
To understand this, one must first notice that two of the main phrases in this verse are
found elsewhere in the Scriptures and other Hebrew literature. First Kings 4:25 states that in the
days of Solomon “Judah and Israel lived in safety, every person under their own vine and under
their own fig tree.”183 This phrase shows up again in 1 Maccabees 14:12, describing the peace
after Israel was freed from Greek oppression.184 The repetition of this phrase over several
centuries and in several different works of literature leads Brueggemann to believe that everyone
living under their own vine and fig tree was an old and familiar saying that pre-dated
Solomon.185 “No one will cause them fear” is another phrase that Brueggemann believes is a
reference to older Hebrew literature. Leviticus 26:6 promises that no one would cause fear for
those who followed YHWH,186 and the idea of safety is also included in 1 Kings 4:25 and 1
Maccabees 14:12. In short, the idea of people living in peace, under their own vines and fig trees,
in safety and without fear, seems to be a common thread in Hebrew thought and literature.
Because of this, Brueggemann believes that this “vine and fig tree” reference is perhaps
meant to prophesy a future time of actual peace, while simultaneously providing a sarcastic
critique of government propaganda that falsely promised this peace. The relationship between the
end of war and this idyllic lifestyle in Micah 4:3-4 certainly supports this theory. Most likely,
185 Ibid, 198.
186 Ibid, 193.

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Brueggemann’s view of “vine and fig tree” as an old phrase is correct, and the idea that Micah
may have used this familiar phrase to criticize a destructive and unjust government is plausible.
Finally, verse 5 is a two-fold statement. It states that Micah’s countrymen will continue to
walk in the ways of YHWH,187 and it prophesies that only those who walk in the ways of YHWH
will have a part in His new Kingdom.188 This verse gives a future feel to the Micah 4 passage and
hints to the reader that this prophecy still refers to a future time.189 Worship of YHWH is still
imperfect now, but Micah 4 points to a time when people of all nations will flock to Him, and
Micah 4:5 teaches that they will follow Him forever.
188 Ibid, 238.

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CHAPTER TWO: THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE RE-CREATION MOTIF IN
THE EIGHTH-CENTURY PROPHETS
As these five passages concerning the re-creation in the eighth-century prophets have
been examined, several themes have emerged. A few of these that stand out and find their place
in several passages are: peace, worldwide worship, joy, destruction of the wicked, security, and
familiarity. These themes can help guide a student of Scripture looking to form a comprehensive
theology of the re-creation as discussed in the eighth-century prophets.
Peace
Keller rightly says that “when the Bible speaks of the new heaven and the new earth, it is
not speaking of an alternative to this world; it is speaking of the healing and restoration of this
world.”190 This healing and restoration is evident in all five passages examined in this study;
Eden is restored, fears are removed, and natures are changed.191 Peace, harmony, and wholeness
exist again among humankind, among all creation, and between God and humans.
Among Humankind
One way this peace is made evident is in the numerous references to wars and fighting
coming to an end. Micah promises that in the last days “they will beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning knives” (4:3). Not only will they not go to war
anymore, they will not even train for it. Weapons of war will be re-formed to cultivate and to
grow—to produce fruit that will bring gladness and nourishment. Isaiah 33:19 assures readers
that they will no longer see the people who brought them such terror (possibly Assyrian
190 Keller, “Heaven.”
191 Motyer, 399.

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invaders), and that the new Jerusalem will not be attacked; YHWH will protect and defend His
people. In the days of fear, uncertainty, and imminent attack in eighth-century Israel, one need
not wonder why the prophets would write about a future day when YHWH would cause war to
cease.
Not only do these passages envision a lack of war, but also relational wholeness among
humankind. The divisions that humans have erected to divide themselves will come down. Jews
and Gentiles will no longer be divided—the people of Israel will in fact go throughout the
nations to proclaim the glory of YHWH to foreigners, who are now one people with them (Is.
66:20). What divided nations from each other will be no match for what now unifies them—the
worship of YHWH (discussed below). In short, “The human family will finally be one, the very
environment will breathe with the peace of God, and we will never hurt one another again.”192
Among Creation
More broadly, peace and harmony will be present among all creation, for creation will
finally be restored to what it once was and was always meant to be. Predator/prey relationships
will be non-existent. People will have no need to fear animal attack or snake bite; nature will be
so tame that a baby will be able to play by a snake den and a little toddler will be at ease leading
along all types of former predators (Is. 11:6, 8). Speaking of the connection between this
wonderful promise in Isaiah 11 and the promised Messiah in the same chapter, Ortlund writes,
“The one anointed with the Spirit is the only one able to renew nature. He made this world. He
loves it. He will transform it, so that ‘nature, red in tooth and claw’ will be restful, secure,
192 Ortlund, 115.

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innocent.”193 YHWH promises that “they will not harm or destroy” on all His Holy Mountain (Is.
11:9), and as Ortlund goes on to say, “every square inch of the world will be the ‘Holy Mountain’
of the LORD.”194
Beyond the restoration which will occur among the more physical aspects of creation, the
curse will also be lifted off creation. The very elements of creation will no longer be bent on self-
destruction. God’s people will enjoy the fruit of their labor, with nothing from the curse to take
that joy and satisfaction from them (Is. 65:21-22; Mic. 4:4). Even more importantly, sickness,
death, and destruction will no longer be a part of this creation. The people of YHWH will be
forgiven of their sins and will not be sick anymore (Is. 33:24). No one will ever mourn the
untimely death of a loved one; and infant death, stillbirth, and miscarriage will be unheard of (Is.
65:20). The days of mourning will come to an end and creation will begin operating again the
way it was intended to in the beginning.
Between God and Humans
The idea of peace among humankind and among all creation is certainly wonderful, but it
does not cut to the heart of the problem for the people of YHWH. The people of YHWH, both
past and present, need more than deliverance from oppression, cessation of war, and life within a
renewed and restored creation—the people of YHWH need restoration in their relationship with
Him.195 This need is addressed in each of the five passages of this study. The knowledge of Him
will fill the earth (Is. 11:9); He will be their judge, lawgiver, king, and savior (Is. 33:22); He will
193 Ibid.
194 Ibid.

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answer them even before they call (Is. 65:24); He will gather all people to Him (Is. 66:18); and
He will teach His people His ways (Mic. 4:2). The sins that once separated God’s people from
Him will no longer be a barrier. He will remove their sins from them (Is. 33:24), and the
relationship between God and humans will finally be restored to what it was meant to be. In fact,
all other aspects of the new creation discussed below will flow from this presence of YHWH and
the knowledge of Him.
Worldwide Worship
The theme of a worship of YHWH and Him alone by His people is no doubt an important
one throughout the Old Testament. The five passages examined in this study carry that theme
while broadening the idea of who His people are. In the last days, Israel becomes a sign “of
which the Gentiles are to become aware, and to which, in the course of the eschatological events,
they will resort of their own accord. They will come to Israel and confess that ‘God is with you
only, and nowhere else, no god besides him.’”196 Despite all the warnings elsewhere in the Old
Testament to separate themselves from the nations, and despite the fact that Israel was judged
repeatedly for failing to do so, YHWH reveals His heart for the nations here. Salvation of the
Gentiles is central to these texts; the new creation will not be inhabited solely by the Israelites.197
The nations gather here, not for judgment as one might have expected, but for salvation.198
These texts make it clear that the nations are not drawn to YHWH and to His renewed
city by themselves. They are drawn by the Messianic King (Is. 11:10), by the signs of YHWH
196 von Rad, 249.
197 Owens, 40.
198 von Rad, 294.

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and the people of Israel (Is. 66:19-20), and by the house of YHWH (Mic. 4:1-2). However, they
do come of their own volition and they do so with eagerness. Micah says that they “flow” or
“stream” to it, eager to learn His ways and walk in His paths (4:1-2). The nations see these things
—the Messiah, the missionaries sent by YHWH, the rule of YHWH, and His Kingdom and
“immediately set out and stream to it from every side because they can no longer endure the
desperate condition in which they live.”199
The vision of the nations coming together peacefully like this is beautiful, but these
passages make clear the fact that their coming together is not an end to itself. The purpose of this
global convergence is to know and worship YHWH. They come to seek out the Messiah (Is.
11:10), to see the glory of YHWH (Is. 66:18), to serve, worship, and celebrate Him (Is.
66:21-23), and to seek out His ways and walk in His paths (Mic. 4:2). At last, false worship will
be no more and no one will face confusion over whom to worship. The exclusiveness of the one,
true God will be self-evident, and people from all nations will worship Him.
Joy
A sense of joy is unmistakable in many of the passages studied here. The festivals and
joyful holidays of Israel are mentioned twice (Is. 33:20, 66:23). The people of YHWH are told
that they will rejoice when they see what He is doing (Is. 66:14) and instructed to rejoice in
advance, as they know what is coming (Is. 65:18). Most profoundly, YHWH is creating His
people to be a source of joy, and He Himself will rejoice over the renewed Jerusalem and the
renewed people who will inhabit it (Is. 65:19). Creation is once again as He intended and His
people are once again in a right relationship with Him. Just as any human creator rejoices to see
199 Ibid.
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his or her work completed and beautiful, so the original Creator rejoices to see His “very
good” (Gen. 1:31) creation restored and renewed.
One reason for this sense of joy will be the obliteration of suffering and the causes of fear
(Is. 33:18-19, 65:17, Mic. 4:4). The former things, Isaiah 65:17 says, will not even be
remembered anymore. Gary V. Smith reflects that “this new world with its transformed people
will be so completely different that God’s servants will not remember the ‘former world’ (48:13)
of sin, suffering, hunger, death, and destruction. In fact, this new world will be so different that
even the more positive aspects of the former things will probably fade from memory.”200 Von
Rad notes that in the end “lawlessness and social oppression will cease. Peace will be the
overseers, and righteousness the governors in the city of God; the days of her mourning will be at
an end.”201 In the absence of fear and suffering, all that will be left is joy and celebration in the
presence of YHWH. This new creation will be enjoyed by fresh minds, undisturbed by painful
memories of the former things.202
Destruction of the Wicked
Judgment and hope are in constant tension in the eighth-century prophetic books. While
the message for those who follow YHWH is nothing but hope and restoration, the message for
those who continue to resist and rebel against Him is nothing but judgment.203 The Messiah will
judge fairly and kill the wicked by the breath of His mouth (i.e. His decrees) (Is. 11:5); YHWH
201 von Rad, 296.
202 Motyer, 389.

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will do away with those who have caused His people terror (Is. 33:19); YHWH will judge with
fire and whirlwind (Is. 66:15-16); and He will do away with all those who lived in rebellion
against Him (Is. 66:24).
This judgment takes place as a precursor to the renewal of creation. The idea of these
passages seems to be that as YHWH is re-creating the world and setting all things right, part of
this rectification is the judgment and destruction of the wicked. Isaiah 11, 33, and 66 all describe
the destruction of the wicked and then the renewed creation. Even though Isaiah 66 ends with a
description of the wicked in verse 24, their judgment apparently has already taken place. This
judgment and destruction does not imply a renewed creation that is still full of wickedness and
death. YHWH deals with these marks of the fall as He renews creation.
The judgment of the wicked does not just entail those generally thought of as “bad
people.” YHWH will judge and destroy all the self-righteous and all those who seek to sanctify
themselves.204 In Isaiah 66:17, He judges religious ritualism and syncretistic worship.205 The rest
of the book of Isaiah shows that the people of YHWH had turned away from the purity to which
He had called them. While they kept the religious ceremonies and the outward shell of their
religious life, they had become corrupt—neglecting justice, following other gods, and trusting in
themselves and their own brand of religion to save them (Is. 1:2-20). These charges are brought
against Israel over and over again by the prophets and, in passages dealing with the re-creation,
YHWH carries out the judgment that He had promised against those who continued to rebel in
this way.
204 Ortlund, 454.

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Security
With the wicked destroyed at the re-creation of the world, followers of YHWH can enjoy
security in the new creation. One cannot ascertain with certainty whether the eighth-century
prophets viewed life in this new creation as eternal. The claims here are certainly less explicit
than they are in the New Testament. Isaiah does prophesy that both the new creation and the
people of YHWH will remain before Him (Is. 66:22), and that a person of 100 years will be
considered a child (Is. 65:20). Furthermore, a systematic study of the Old Testament would lead
the student of Scripture to believe that since death came as a result of the fall and had no place in
the original creation (Gen. 2:16-17), so it will have no place in the new creation, where all other
results of the fall are reversed. The New Testament confirms that death will have no place in this
new creation (Rev. 21:4). At the very least, in looking only at the eighth-century prophets, one
can be certain that the prophets viewed the new creation as a place of security and long life (Is.
65:22-23). The people of YHWH can still look to the restored creation with this assurance.
For one thing, natural dangers seem to no longer have a place in the new creation.
“They,” meaning all predators, “will not harm or destroy on all [YHWH’s] Holy Mountain,” (Is.
11:9). Even a little child will be able to shepherd a wolf and a lion, and play near a den of snakes
and not be harmed (Is. 11:6-8). The sin that brought sickness and death into the world will be
forgiven and eradicated, so no one will ever again complain of sickness (Is. 33:24). Infant loss
will be no more, and no one’s life will be cut short (Is. 65:20). Motyer summarizes, “just as death
will have no more power, so sin too will have no more place.”206 Finally, enemies will be
destroyed and there will no longer be any threat of war. For those never forced to live in the
206 Ibid, 399.

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terror of war or attack, this promise could seem remote and abstract; but what a promise this
must have been for eighth-century Israel, living in the midst of a foreign invasion and the
constant threat of war. These passages promise that the threat of invaders taking over their
property will be gone (Is. 65:22), and that nations will not train for war anymore—their weapons
of war will be turned into something more useful (Mic. 4:3).
Most importantly this new creation will be secure because YHWH Himself will be judge,
lawgiver, king, and savior (Is. 33:22). He will be the protector (Is. 33:21), and His Messiah will
rule His people with righteousness (Is. 11:3-5). No longer will His people need to fear the rule of
corrupt government or religious leaders (Is. 33:18, 66:17). These truths must certainly offer
assurance and security about the future to those who follow YHWH. The days of His people
“will be like the days of a tree” (Is. 65:22), they will remain “just like the new heavens and the
new earth” will remain (Is. 66:22), and Jerusalem’s “stakes will never be pulled up” (Is. 33:20).
Familiarity
One of the striking things about the description of the new creation in all these passages
is how recognizable it seems. This is especially true for those accustomed to the skewed view of
heaven that both the church and secular culture have painted. In these passages, readers see
animals, mountains, rivers, trees and vineyards, babies and children, houses, and celebrations,
among many other things. Ortlund notes that “the prophet uses images from life as we know it
now to communicate life as we’ll know it then.”207 A study of these passages will lead readers to
see this new creation as the creation they have always longed for: where one can enjoy nature
without fear of predators or danger, where one can enjoy fellowship with others without fear of
207 Ortlund, 444.

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tension and war, where one can enjoy fulfilling work without fear of its fruits being taken away.
This view of the new creation as utterly recognizable and familiar is of extreme
importance in Christian theology, as the view of heaven presented in churches is so often eerie,
bizarre, unrecognizable, and regrettably, unbiblical. In his discussion on Isaiah 11, Ortlund notes,
that the re-creation “is not the rise of religion, there is no need to imagine harps and clouds and
choirs. The victory of Jesus will be the awakening and purifying and restoring and gladdening of
all things human.”208 Everything that God has considered “good” on earth: relationships, work,
rest, worship, and celebration, will be perfected and enjoyed in the new creation as well.
Isaiah 11 and 65 (and some would add Isaiah 66 by extension) unquestionably allude to
the restoration of Eden as it once was (discussed in their respective studies above). This is where
one sees the creation-fall-redemption-restoration Gospel arc in full. The world was created to be
a place of peace, joy, worship, and the presence of God. When humankind fell, this creation was
marred, but not destroyed—one can still see areas where creation was originally pronounced
“good.” The Messianic King, Jesus, has redeemed this world to Himself. And one day, He will
finish the work of restoring it to what it was meant to be. Followers of YHWH will finally see
the world for which they have always longed, and of which they have only seen imperfect
glimpses. The hope for followers of YHWH, then, is not for another place, but for another
time.209 In short, as Oswalt notes, “God is the sole Creator. He stretched out the first heavens and
founded the first earth (Is. 40:21-23), and he will remake them in the end.”210
208 Ibid, 116.
209 Comer, 248.
210 Oswalt, 690.

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CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS OF THE RE-CREATION FOR MODERN
BELIEVERS
The passages examined in this study certainly had much to say to the nation of Israel
during a time of uncertainty and despair. They gave the people hope beyond their circumstances,
reminded them of the result of following YHWH, and gave them a glimpse into God’s vision for
the world He created. This vision went beyond what they may have expected or hoped. His
vision was not to save Israel, judge all the nations, and set up Jerusalem as an earthly Kingdom.
Instead His plan was to save everyone—from all nations—who would come to Him, to judge all
those who rebelled against Him, and to make the entire world His holy place and His eternal
Kingdom.
These passages have continued to speak to God’s people throughout the centuries since,
and continue to have much to say to His people who live in the reality of the de-creation every
day. The fact of de-creation (whether it is called that or not) does not come as a shock to anyone,
except perhaps the extremely delusional. Violence, war, death, suffering, need, natural disasters,
sickness—creation is working against itself. Nature works against humanity, humanity works
against nature, and humanity works against itself. Attempt after attempt has been made to
eradicate these effects of the fall, but no man-made utopia has lasted long before succumbing to
the effects of the fall that it sought to avoid.211
Yet when one looks around creation, glimpses of what was meant to be in the beginning
can easily be seen. These glimpses are seen anytime wholeness exists in a relationship, joy is
experienced, nature is enjoyed, justice is done, or a person has communion with God. For God’s
211 Ortlund, 115.

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people in the modern day, this means that the final hope is not an evacuation into heaven, but a
renewal of heaven and earth. John Mark Comer writes, “Contrary to the popular saying, heaven
is not our home. Earth is. Not Earth as it is now, but Earth as it will be in the future.”212 This flies
in the face of much modern Christian theology and teaching, and must cause followers of
YHWH to reconsider what their response must be as they live in this beautiful, fallen world
whose restored state will be their forever home.
Hope
Believers looking forward to this renewed creation must live in hope that the re-creation
is a reality. Hope here is not wishful thinking, but an expectant assurance. God’s people are
commanded to “be glad and rejoice” (Is. 65:18) in what YHWH is creating. Even though this re-
creation is not finished yet, believers can rejoice now because it is promised and it is
imminent.213 Ortlund notes, “Even now, the fullness of his kingdom is only an inch away. All that
stands between the present moment and the promised future is the command of God. He is not
waiting for favorable conditions in human social evolution. All he has to do is give the order, and
Christ will come and judge and save and rule, because he is himself our peace.”214
Hope is the natural response to the theological truth of the re-creation. As believers live in
a world marred by sin and the fall, a reminder of the restoration of creation, relationships, and
communion with God cannot help but bring an expectant and joyful look forward. Often in the
New Testament, when this future state is taught, the application to the recipients is to “encourage
212 Comer, 248.
214 Ortlund, 116.

!76
one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18, ESV), or to “be steadfast, immovable,” (1 Cor.
15:58, ESV). Believers, looking with hope into the future, can take on the characteristics now
that that they will have then.215
This hope must come with the admission that all is not known about the new creation that
YHWH has planned for those who follow Him. The five passages examined in this study
describe facets of the new heaven and the new earth, but they do not serve as an exhaustive
reference book, answering every question that one could have about the re-creation. Believers in
YHWH can trust, however, that they will take part in this peaceful, joyful, and secure new
heaven and new earth, and that their futures can be trusted to the God who is bringing about the
re-creation.
Alternative Vision
This hope produces a vision in the hearts of those who have it—a vision to create the
world and the community that is described in these prophetic passages. This implication for
modern believers is more abstract than the others (hope, work, etc.), but it is also what drives
those other effects. Brueggemann reasons that “criticism must begin in imagination.”216 The
imagination that YHWH stirs up through these prophetic passages certainly gives believers the
ability to critique rightly the world around them and form a vision for what it could and should
be.
Some have gone so far as to say that these prophetic passages on the re-creation were
written primarily to encourage the people of YHWH to change the way they inhabited the
215 Oswalt, The book of Isaiah 40-66, 658.

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present creation. Christopher M. Jones even seems to doubt the future reality of these passages,
seeing them only as encouragement to create that kind of society in the present.217 While this
view is unnecessary, some of these prophetic passages on the re-creation do serve at least
secondarily to encourage this vision for the present while they looked forward to it in the future.
Gary V. Smith, speaking of the prophet Micah, notes that “he externalized a new vision of
Jerusalem inspired by insight from God’s plan. This constructed a new ‘utopian’ picture of
religious and social order. It justified the people’s faith in God and encouraged them to endure
their suffering under the Assyrian siege.”218
The truth is that these prophetic messages do encourage believers to change how they
occupy their present space; they encourage hope, trust in God, and work toward the future vision.
Jensen, talking about the effects of the fall and their reversal through the re-creation, reasons that
the prophetic task is to remind listeners that “the way things are is not the way they are supposed
to be, nor even the way they have to be.”219 Also speaking of Micah, she reasons that “the
alternative reality of Micah’s vision reassures us that working for peace, freedom, justice, and
human dignity will bear fruit in the end. Thus Micah’s words call us both to a radical critique of
present realities and a radical response to the invitation to participate in God’s alternative
reality.”220
217 Christopher M. Jones, “‘The Wealth of Nations Shall Come to You’: Light, Tribute, and Implacement
in Isaiah 60,” Vetus Testamentum 64, no. 4 (October 2014): 611-622, accessed April 26, 2017. EBSCOhost.
218
Gary V. Smith, An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets: The Prophets as Preachers (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman, 1994), 110-111.
219 Jensen, 417.
220 Ibid, 418.

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Work
After a study of these passages on re-creation, one can clearly see that work is a part of
the future for inhabitants of the restored world. Of course, as seen in Isaiah 65:21-23, this will be
rewarding, fulfilling work, without the frustrations of futility that came with the fall and without
the threat of this work being taken away. The people of YHWH will work and fully enjoy the
fruit of their work. Comer notes, regarding this passage, that “when Isaiah sees the future, he
sees us building and farming and eating and drinking and bursting with joy. This is a far cry from
how a lot of us think about the future. Most people I know see the future in ‘heaven’ as nothing
more than leisure, a combination eternal church service and eternal vacation. This is a reflection
of American culture, not the Scriptures.”221
Moreover, in looking forward with hope to the re-creation and beginning to take on its
characteristics now, believers must begin to work to see the vision they have been given carried
out. This work is a priority for someone who takes seriously the vision of the re-creation—when
believers consider the restored creation, how could they not make every aim to begin seeing
glimpses of it in the current creation? YHWH has already begun the work of re-creating and
restoring His people; He has already brought the Kingdom into their lives. So, the Kingdom in
the lives of believers is one and the same with the new Kingdom that He is re-creating, which
will one day be revealed.222 As His people join Him in this work, the desires of non-believers
will inevitably be stirred to be a part of the world that God is re-creating.
After a discussion on the last days, Paul encourages his congregation to be “always
221 Comer, 242-243.
222 Oswalt, 656.

!79
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor.
15:58, ESV). Jensen writes in her discussion on Micah 4, “with every nail in a Habitat for
Humanity house, with every child that [sic.] goes to bed free of fear, with every handclasp across
the divisions of race and nationality and class, Micah’s vision of the coming reign of God is
made real.”223
Self-Examination
This look into the future, particularly into the destinies of those who follow YHWH
versus those who rebel against Him, is an opportunity for reflection and examination for all who
read these prophetic messages. YHWH does not announce judgment only to “bad people,” but
instead to all who live in rebellion against Him, or have trusted religion, ritualism, and their own
self-sanctifying efforts instead of simply following Him. This must give pause to all those who
consider themselves religious and cause them to examine whether they are trusting in their own
efforts or in God completely. Every person shapes his or her destiny for the re-creation while
they are here in the current creation. Every person is heading down a path of either true worship
of the one, true God, or false worship of some other god.224 The identity of that other god does
not matter if it is not YHWH. This should cause all who claim to know God to rethink their
worship.
If this self-examination leads to the conclusion that one is not truly worshiping, walking
with, and living in communion with the one, true God, the course correction is not a difficult
223 Jensen, 419.
224 Ortlund, 453.

!80
one. The call of the prophets is a call back to a simple trust and worship of YHWH. It is a call
back to the things He considers important and a call to abandon the things He does not. To give
up one’s own efforts at self-righteousness and to trust YHWH and His Messiah, Jesus—this is all
that is needed to be re-created and to be a part of the re-creation.
The book of Isaiah conspicuously ends in 66:24 on a note of judgment. All those who are
part of the re-creation will see the judgment and destruction of those who rebelled against
YHWH. However, Oswalt explains that even this rings a note of hope. “The hope that the final
chapters affirm is on the other side of judgment…since the Holy One of Israel is the Creator and
the only God, even judgment can be turned to hope if we will let him do it for us.”225
Trust in God’s Faithfulness
No doubt one of the reasons that Israel found itself in its far from ideal setting in the
eighth century was a failure to trust in God’s faithfulness. This same lack of trust can cause His
people today to doubt, if not vocally then in practice, the coming restoration of all things. Trust
in God brings hope and encouragement to believers, and this hope brings a sense of necessity to
work with Him to bring His vision about. This trust also brings a sense of urgency to warn others
that how they choose to relate to God in this fallen creation will decide their destiny in the
creation to come. The climax of the biblical prophets’, and the modern believers’, message is an
attempt “to warn [their] contemporaries and make them see that Jahweh’s transfiguration of his
city by his coming, despite its delay, is a genuine and world-shaking event.”226
In the very beginning, God’s faithfulness was questioned (Gen. 3:1-6), and it has
226 von Rad, 281.

!81
continued to be questioned through the present time. However, the re-creation is the final answer
to the question of whether He is faithful.227 In ushering in the new creation, He eradicates sin,
death, and suffering. He restores creation to the way it was intended to be, and then rules over the
renewed creation in righteousness. When death, violence, war, and suffering seem to reign, in the
eighth century B.C. or in the modern day, and people question what God intends to do about it,
the re-creation is the answer. YHWH will re-create the world into what He created in the
beginning, and all He asks of His followers is a simple, unswerving trust in His faithfulness.
Perhaps the best words to use in summing up what this re-creation means to modern
believers are those of the Apostle Peter, who was likely meditating on the re-creation described
in Isaiah 65-66228 when he penned that:
Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They
will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all
things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately
overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of
water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that
then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and
earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and
destruction of the ungodly.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as
some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but
that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then
the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and
dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives
of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies
228 Svigel, 411.

!82
will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and
a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
- 2 Peter 3:3-13 (ESV)

!83
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Journal Articles
Brueggemann, Walter. “‘Vine and fig tree’: A Case Study in Imagination and Criticism.” The
Catholic Biblical Quarterly 43, no. 2 (April 1981): 188-204. Accessed January 28, 2017.
EBSCOhost.
Byargeon, Rick W. “The relationship of Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:2-4: Implications for
Understanding the Prophetic Message.” Southwestern Journal Of Theology 46, no. 1
(September 2003): 6-26. Accessed January 28, 2017. ATLA Religion Database with
ATLASerials, EBSCOhost.
Choi, YunGab. “To Comfort All Who Mourn: The Theological and Hermeneutical Function of
Isa 61-62 in the Book of Isaiah.” Trinity Journal 37, no. 2 (September 2016): 251-252.
Accessed April 29, 2017. EBSCOhost.
Jensen, Renee Rodgers. “Micah 4:1-5.” Interpretation: A Journal Of Bible & Theology 52, no. 4
(October 1998): 417-420. Accessed January 28, 2017. Academic Search Complete,
EBSCOhost.
Jones, Christopher M. “‘The Wealth of Nations Shall Come to You’: Light, Tribute, and
Implacement in Isaiah 60.” Vetus Testamentum 64, no. 4: (October 2014): 611-622.
Accessed April 26, 2017. EBSCOhost.
Klingbeil, Martin. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual
Approach.” Journal Of The Adventist Theological Society 20, no. 1-2 (2009): 19-54.
Accessed January 25, 2017.
Smith, Gary V. “Isaiah 65-66: The Destiny of God's Servants in a New Creation.” Bibliotheca
Sacra 171, no. 681 (January 2014): 42-51. Accessed April 29, 2017. EBSCOhost.
Svigel, Michael J. “Extreme Makeover: Heaven and Earth Edition—Will God Annihilate the
World and Re-create it Ex Nihilo?” Bibliotheca Sacra 171, no. 684 (October 2014):
401-417. Accessed April 29, 2017. EBSCOhost.
Books
Brotzman, Ellis R. Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction. Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 1994.
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Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. In The Eleventh Annual Report of
the Calvin Society: New English Translations of Calvin’s Works, vol. 3. Edinburgh: T.
Constable, 1854.
Comer, John Mark. Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2015.
Duvall, J. Scott. Revelation. Teach the Text Commentary Series. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2014.
 
Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke. Theological Wordbook of
the Old Testament, vol 1. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980.
_____. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol 2. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001.
The Holy Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009.
The Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
The Holy Bible, New English Translation. Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 1996.
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Colorado Springs: Biblica Inc., 2011.
Iranaeus. Against Heresies 5.36.1. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1. Ed. Roberts, Alexander, James
Donaldson, Philip Schaff, and Henry Wace. Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson, 1994.
Motyer, J. Alec. Isaiah. TOTC. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1999.
Ortlund, Ramond C. Isaiah: God Saves Sinners. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Books, 2005.
Oswalt, John N. The Book of Isaiah 1-39. NICOT. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1986.
_____. The Book of Isaiah 40-66. NICOT. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1998.
Owens, Mark D. As It Was in the Beginning. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015.
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Rendtorff, Rolf. “Some Reflections on Creation as a Topic of Old Testament Theology.” In

Priests, Prophets and Scribes. Essays on the Formation and Heritage of Second Temple
Judaism in Honour of Joseph Blenkinsopp. Ed. Eugene Ulrich et al., 204-212. Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.
Smith, Gary V. An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets: The Prophets as Preachers. Nashville:
Broadman & Holman, 1994.
_____. Isaiah 40-66. NAC. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2009.
Smith, Ralph P. Micah-Malachi. WBC. Waco: Word Books, 1984.
Tyson, Jon and Heather Grizzle. A Creative Minority: Influencing Culture through Redemptive
Participation. New York: Self-Published, 2016.
VanGemeren, Willem A. Interpreting the Prophetic Word: An Introduction to the Prophetic

Literature of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.
von Rad, Gerhard. Old Testament Theology: The Theology of Israel’s Prophetic Traditions, vol.
2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1965.
Watts, John D.W. Isaiah 1-33. WBC. Waco: Word Books, 1985.
Whybray, R.N. Isaiah 40-66. NCBC. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981.
Internet Sources
Keller, Tim “Tim Keller Explains the Gospel.” Acts29.com, December 12, 2008. Accessed June
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AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOTIF OF RE-CREATION

IN THE EIGHTH-CENTURY PROPHETS

Submitted to the Faculty

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

of the Requirements for the Degree

in the Division of Biblical Studies

BA, Ouachita Baptist University, 2011

September 14, 2017

CHAPTER ONE: EXEGESIS……….………………………………………………………..…13

CHAPTER TWO: THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE RE-CREATION MOTIF IN

Destruction of the Wicked.……………………………………………………..………. 69

CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS OF THE RE-CREATION FOR MODERN BELIEVERS…74

Trust in God’s Faithfulness……………………………………………………………... 80

restoration arc thusly:

restoration of creation (hereafter referred to as the “re-creation”). When the re-creation is

debate on different eschatological theories. In churches in particular, eschatology may be passed

these physical bodies will have a physical home.

renewal of all things.”8

establish a comprehensive biblical view of the re-creation, a couple of preliminary questions

creation, it is perhaps almost identical to the original creation.

The question of whether Scriptures such as these should be taken literally or

12 Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994),1160-1161.

YHWH will be a part of this new creation.

15 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 40-66, 657.

people of Israel and Judah did eventually return to their homeland.

in this examination, so these principles are helpful to know in advance.

these prophecies are yet to be fulfilled.

17 von Rad, 278.

below to determine if such subdivision is exegetically responsible.

Should the passages examined be interpreted literally or metaphorically?

prophetic passages is exegetically irresponsible. Prophecies must not always be deemed

and following, ‫שׁׁר‬

CHAPTER ONE: EXEGESIS

Isaiah 11 must be understood in the context of YHWH’s announcement of His judgment

coming King is not just “another disappointing Davidic descendant.”22

need to fear corruption, power-grabbing, or despotism.

carry out those plans.

expressed subject and because ‫ְהו֑ה‬

righteousness (‫ ) ֶ֫צדֶ ק‬and justice (‫שׁפָּט‬

attributes in His character and His actions.

34 NET Bible, Isaiah 11:4.

usher in, are symbolic as well.

answer the question of whether Isaiah 11 is to be taken eschatologically. The eschatological

Kingdom of God). Given these options, the eschatological view is preferable.

with a more literal tone throughout the rest of this section.

as the result of completely renewed natures and a completely restored creation.

(see the discussion on snakes in Isaiah 65:25 below).

YHWH.38 No one—animal or person—will harm or destroy on God’s Holy Mountain, because

YHWH will be ubiquitous.

40 NET Bible, Isaiah 11:9.

Davidic dynasty would survive past this current crisis.

people of YHWH in the third-person to the second-person point of view.

In studying 33:17-24, however, an understanding of the whole context of Isaiah 33 is

language of the Assyrians.53

51 NET Bible, Isaiah 33:18.

54 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 1-39, 603.

even be called to mind (Is. 43:14-19).

55 von Rad, 292-293.

the fallen creation and into the renewed one.

established, peaceful, and permanent city.

58 von Rad, 279.

59 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 1-39, 603-604.

61 Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 1-39, 604.

the future, water will fill the stream beds in Jerusalem.

September 14, 2017 