Isaiah 60:10-16
Heaven will be an eternal celebration of God’s victory over evil.
I will admit that Heaven is a difficult thought to process. As proof of that proposition, let’s take a quick look at the different mistaken ideas people have about Heaven.
People who go to Heaven become angels. Wrong - angels are an entirely different race of beings God created.
Heaven is lounging around on puffy clouds, being idle. Wrong - there will be rest in heaven but our waking hours will be busy with worship, serving God and one another, learning, conversing, and exploring the new creation. With an unlimited lifetime, even exploring other planets may be possible!
Heaven is a spiritual, formless, immaterial existence. Wrong - we will be given immortal bodies that will be immune to injury or illness. Our heavenly bodies will be recognizable but without the limitations we experience in this life.
Heaven will be unlike Earth. Partly True - every biblical description tells us all of the New Creation will be like this creation, only perfected, harmless, and peaceful. The natural beauty of this world will be improved upon but very much recognizable as a better version of the world we inhabit.
As believers, we need to study about Heaven, preparing ourselves to give a good answer when asked about it. There is so many falsehoods out there about Heaven, much of it trivializing it or making Heaven seem boring. This has the effect of making people have no hope about heaven. Why should they make sacrifices to go to a dull place?
Some folks choose to disbelieve in any kind of afterlife or accept erroneous views. Heaven is an integral part of what we believe, some of the best news that is part of the Good News. We must know the truth to help others understand the truth.
1. The enemies of God and His people will be utterly defeated. (vs. 10, 12, 14)
God’s victory will reverse the earlier defeat of His people. (10) Isaiah’s vision describes a defeat so severe that their defeated enemies will be required to serve them, to REBUILD their nation. Even their KINGS will lower themselves to SERVE commoners. Historically, the kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes fulfilled this prophecy by aiding the returning Jews in rebuilding their city.
In the Old Creation was God allowed their enemies to defeat His people as a means of discipline. However, in the New Creation that will be entirely reversed, and God will show them MERCY and GRACE. It is an essential thing about God to declare that His GRACE has triumphed over His ANGER. His MERCY moderates His wrath.
Nations that refuse to serve God’s people will be DESTROYED. (12) One of the things we look forward to about Heaven is the complete absence of evil and evildoers. As John did in Revelation, Isaiah used the defeat of evil people to show how God will exalt His faithful people.
In the original language, v. 13 is written in such a way as to convey the certainty and inevitability of Judgment Day. This is Isaiah’s way of portraying the utter defeat of everyone who opposes God and persecutes His people. There is only one choice to be made in this life: serve God and live or refuse and be destroyed. One of the things that makes heaven heavenly is the complete peace and perfect security of that place. Such a thing is only possible if all evil is eternally put away.
Ask yourself: How important is justice? Can there be peace without justice? How can God be said to be loving if He does not execute justice?
Even the descendants of their enemies will be made to serve God’s people. (14) The children of their former TORMENTORS will BOW down to them in respect. Those who had been raised to despise and despoil the things of God will find themselves disarmed and dismayed. Those who had formerly DESPISED God’s people will KISS their FEET to show their intense desire to be spared the fate of their elders.
Those who grew up being taught to mock God will then speak reverently of the city, correctly understanding it is the Lord’s. V. 14 is a demonstration of repentance, a figure of speech describing the reversal of attitude necessary to be saved.
2. The glory of the defeated nations will be used to glorify God. (vs. 11, 13, 15-16)
The gates of the New Jerusalem shall never be shut. (11) The reason for this unearthly practice is to facilitate bringing offerings to the Lord. Open gates are also a symbol of perfect security. As their enemies will be destroyed, there will be no reason to shut the gates. (See Revelation 21:25-26.) What’s being depicted here is the ancient custom of taking many captives from a defeated nation, bringing them back to the conqueror’s capitol, parading them before the home crowd as a demonstration of their defeat.
Wood from the greatest forests will make God’s Temple more glorious. (13) Solomon used woods from the forests of Lebanon to build the temple. In the same way, the house of God in the New Jerusalem will be beautiful and glorious. We’ve seen how human creations like civilization and wealth can be used to glorify God. In v. 13 we take a slightly different tack and see how nature can glorify God. The trees lend their beauty to God’s sanctuary.
To be fair, John’s vision in Revelation states clearly there will be no temple in the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:22 states, I SAW NO TEMPLE IN THE CITY, FOR THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY AND THE LAMB ARE ITS TEMPLE.
This seeming discrepancy can be resolved if we remember the historical context of these authors. For Isaiah, the temple still existed. By the time John wrote the Revelation, it had been destroyed. Both authors are describing the glory of the place where God particularly resides. For Isaiah, that was one place in Jerusalem, for John, that was the entire city of New Jerusalem.
The formerly despised city will now bring joy to everyone. (15) The enemy nations used to show their scorn for Jerusalem by avoiding it. Now God will make His city a thing of beauty, bringing joy to the hearts of all who see it.
Everyone will know that God is the only Savior. (16) Their former enemies will serve the people of God to their complete satisfaction. The ultimate purpose of all this is to give evidence that God is the SAVIOR AND REDEEMER, the MIGHTY ONE who has saved His people. God’s complete victory over evil supplies the last and greatest evidence that God is who He has been proclaimed to be all along - Lord, Savior, and Redeemer!
Heaven will be an eternal celebration of God’s victory over evil.
I learned recently about a Greek Christian tradition that I believe we should adopt. Since the third century Greek churches have observed the Sunday after Easter as a continuation of Jesus’ Resurrection, with a particular emphasis on the joy of knowing we have eternal life. The Greeks call it “Bright Sunday.” The emphasis, as you might expect from the name, is on being light-hearted. It is a service that purposely deviates from the usual solemnity of Sunday worship.
Let me give you some examples:
A church in Florida celebrated its 19th consecutive Bright Sunday service by decorating the church inside and out with butterflies, symbols of the Resurrection. The choir’s anthem was “When You’re Smiling.” During the children’s sermon, the pastor taught the kids how to whistle and talked about how music makes life better.
Another church, a Lutheran congregation, began their Bright Sunday service by popping a big black balloon that represented death. This was a surprising way to symbolize Jesus’ victory over death. They also took familiar children’s songs and rewrote the lyrics to make them more church appropriate.
Finally, there was a Baptist church that held a Bright Sunday service with a baseball theme. Everyone received a box of Cracker Jacks, sang “Take Me Out to God’s Ball Game,” and heard a sermon about the theology of baseball.
On a practical level, we know that the Sunday after Easter is always a letdown because attendance is bound to be less. It makes sense to do something special to try to make the Easter momentum last at least one more week. On a personal level, it’s good to be reminded of our many reasons to celebrate what God has done for us. A good way to do that is to have fun in worship. Laughter and smiles can be worshipful, if God is the object of our fun.
Let’s take a cue from Isaiah and from the Apostle John in Revelation 19: part of our eternal life will be a celebration of God’s ultimate victory over evil. Heaven will be a never-ending party, a fun and joyous place to be. The more we want to be there, the more we will want to help others be there as well. As Helen Keller said, “Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow.
RESOURCES:
Bright Sunday information and Keller quote were borrowed from the March-April 2018 Joyful Noiseletter.
C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 7, Isaiah, 1982, pp. 416-419.
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