Introduction
To what does the expression ‘new heavens and a new earth’ refer in Isa 65:17? This is not a difficult question both in the terms of Isaiah’s day or in relation to the future kingdom of God. This article shows that it implies apostasy and renewal in both cases. So, if we are looking for a proof that there will be religious apostasy about the things concerning the name of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God before the Return, then Isa 65:17 is such a text. Obviously, there would be no need for a ‘new heavens’ if the old heavens were sound. As we look around the world today then, we should see expect to see evidence that both Judaism and Christianity is in an apostate state. This is a different view on things to the one that says that those who hold fast to the faith left behind by the apostles are basically the same as those who profess either the Jewish or orthodox Christian faith in synagogue and church.
Arbela[1]
The Assyrian empire had four principal cities (regional capitals), of which Arbela was one. Associated with each city there were particular gods and the god of Arbela was Ištar. The city in the Near East was the dwelling place of the god or gods which gave protection and succor to the people; the city contained the temples of the principal god and other gods. It was here that the divine world and the human world intersected. This theology is illustrated in the Hymn to the City of Arbela.
Arbela, O Arbela!
Heaven without equal, Arbela! City of merry-making, Arbela!
City of festivals, Arbela! City of the temple of jubilation, Arbela!
Shrine of Arbela, lofty hostel, broad temple, sanctuary of delights!
Gate of Arbela, the pinnacle of holy to[wns]!
City of exultation, Arbela! Abode of jubilation, Arbela!
Arbela, temple of reason and counsel! Bond of the lands, Arbela!
Establisher of profound rites, Arbela!
Arbela is as lofty as heaven. Its foundations are as firm as the heavens.
The pinnacles of Arbela are lofty, it vies with […]
Its likeness is Babylon, it compares with Assur.
O lofty sanctuary, shrine of fates, gate of heaven!
Tribute from the lands enters into it.
Ištar dwells there, Nanaya, the […] daughter of Sin.
Irnina, the foremost of the gods, the first-born goddess […][2]
There are a number of points of interest in this hymn. The text dates from the seventh century, Neo-Assyrian Empire and the reign of Esarhaddon. It reflects Assyrian theology in the times of Isaiah regarding cites, gods and heaven.
(1) Our first note of comparison is that the city of Arbela is ‘heaven’ because it has the dwelling place of the god Ištar. This is contemporary evidence of the use of ‘heaven(s)’ for a city viewed as a space where a god dwells. It is a religious understanding, but the religious and the political were closely intertwined. The idea of a modern secular state was unknown.
Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem as ‘heaven(s)’ and it is the religious aspect that he has in view. Here are three examples,
| Text | Comment |
|---|---|
| Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing… Isa 49:13 | The choirs and singers attached to the temple in Jerusalem are exhorted to sing along with those who have come as pilgrims from the cities and villages (the ‘earth’/land). |
| Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Isa 51:6 | The heavens (the Jerusalem religious establishment) will be replaced like the smoke of a sacrifice; the corrupt governors in the land will ‘wax old’ like their official garments. |
| And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. Isa 51:16 | There is a ‘new heavens’ to be planted like the garden of Eden; a new Jerusalem – a cleansing of the temple. Such heavens are a foundation[3] for the ‘earth’ because such heavens administer the ‘earth’ (the land). |
Once we have made the equation between a capital city and ‘heaven’ other texts become illuminated. The often wrested text, Isa 14:13, becomes clear,
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north… Isa 14:13 (KJV)
This is an address to the Assyrian king of Babylon (vv. 4, 25) who had thought he could ascend to the Jerusalem ‘heaven’. However, the only point we are making is that a ‘new heavens’ implies a cleansing of the Jerusalem religious establishment and this happened in a partial way after 701 –
For, behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. Isa 65:17 (KJV revised); cf. 66:22
This text uses a participle and a command to ‘look’ at that time: ‘For, look, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth’ (KJV revised). This means that God was creating new heavens in Isaiah’s day in the aftermath of the Assyrian invasion. However, even with Hezekiah on the throne, the conversion of the people and the religious reform needed was not fully realised.
(2) Our second note of comparison is with the idea of ‘lofty’—Arbela was a ‘lofty sanctuary’ and as ‘lofty as heaven’, a ‘gate of heaven’. Mountains were viewed as ‘high and lofty’ not just because of their height but because they were associated with altars, sacrifice to the gods and ‘heaven’ (2 Kgs 17:10; Isa 57:7).
For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. Isa 26:5 (KJV)
Cities were deemed ‘lofty’ if they were associated with a god and possessed his/her principal temple.
(3) The city of Arbela is described in language similar to that of Jerusalem: its foundations were as firm as the heavens; Jerusalem would have foundations (Isa 54:11). Arbela as a whole was a temple of reason and counsel and counsel was a principal function of the temple in Jerusalem (Isa 28:29; 30:1; cf. Ps 107:11). Tribute from the lands flowed into Arbela and this would be the future for Jerusalem (Isa 60:11; 61:6).
Modern Times
The application of the ‘new heavens’ prophecies in the first century are to the removal of the Jerusalem temple and the destruction of the city (Heb 1:11; 8:13). Hence Peter says, using the ‘look’ of Isa 65:17,
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Pet 3:13 (KJV)
In the first century this is an expression of hope for Jerusalem, that they would be a ‘new heavens’. The aspect of the ‘dwelling’ of righteousness is picking up on the dwelling of Yahweh in the temple, the One who is Righteousness. This is a typological application of prophecy so that readers see in the expression of hope for Isaiah’s day a new application for such hope in the Jewish War of AD66-73.
If we now roll the clock forwards, we can see that Jerusalem needs a similar cleansing. The city is a ‘heaven’, but it is a ‘heaven’ like Arbela; there is established religion (and counsel) in the form of apostate Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The people look to those heavens and are unaware of the need for a ‘new heavens’. We can make a similar typological application of Isa 65:17 in our own day guided now also by that of Peter in his day.
Conclusion
That there would be apostasy in the last days is shown by the prophecy about the need for a new heavens and a new earth, but this is not a general remark about worldwide Christendom or Jewry but about the presence of apostasy in the various temples and churches of Jerusalem.
[1] M. Nissinen, “City as lofty heaven: Arbela and other Cities in Neo-Assyrian Prophecy” in Every City shall be Forsaken (JSOTSup 330; eds. L. L. Grabbe and R. D. Haak, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 172-209.
[2] SAA 3 8:1-18; (Helsinki: Helsinki University Press).
[3] Note the inversion: we might expect foundations to be under the earth, but it is that which is above the earth which constitutes its foundations.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One