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“The New Heavens and New Earth” LW Searching Scripture, November 2025: Isaiah 65-66

Nov 5, 2025

Guest

Rev. Carl Roth

Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and monthly contributor to the Lutheran Witness, discusses Isaiah 65-66's vision of the new heavens and earth. He explores the prophetic perspective connecting the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing God's creative act in the new creation. Roth also contrasts comforting promises with warnings of judgment. He ties these themes to Advent and calls for watchfulness, inviting listeners to reflect on their hope and the reality of final redemption through faith and baptism.

28:38

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INSIGHT

Prophetic Both-And Of Isaiah

Isaiah 65–66 blends prophetic perspectives pointing both to the church age and the final resurrection.
The text uses creation language to promise a divine re-creation that echoes Genesis.

insights

INSIGHT

Creation Word Connects To Genesis

The Hebrew verb for 'create' in Isaiah is reserved for God and connects Isaiah's promise to Genesis 1.
That verb signals the new heavens and new earth are a true divine creation, not mere rearrangement.

insights

INSIGHT

New Creation Is Tangible And Divine

Isaiah's new creation is as almighty and mysterious as the original creation, accomplished by God's power.
The prophecy assures the church of tangible, created eternal life, not a purely spiritual existence.

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Overview: Isaiah 65–66 and End Times Themes

00:54 • 2min

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'For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth' Explained

03:12 • 3min

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Interpreting Mixed Images: Heaven and Present Church

05:42 • 4min

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Background: Genesis, Garden Imagery, and New Creation

Isaiah 66: Comfort and Judgment Contrasted

15:40 • 3min

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Jesus' Warning on Hell and Unquenchable Fire

18:14 • 3min

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Invitation and Hope in Revelation and Romans

21:27 • 3min

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Guarantee of New Creation Through Baptism and Faith

24:03 • 3min

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Advent, Watchfulness, and Final Exhortation

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November brings us to the end of another church year, which focuses our attention on the last things, on death and resurrection, on heaven and hell. We confess in the creeds, “I believe in … the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”; “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” It is remarkable that these creedal truths were already as good as accomplished thousands of years ago, with prophecies inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by men such as Job (19:25–27), Daniel (12:2–3) and Isaiah (26:19). Some Christians take Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel and other prophetic books of the Bible to be “guidebooks to the end times.” However, careful study of both the Old and New Testaments shows that their focus is on comforting the church on earth with knowledge of the victory of Jesus Christ over sin, death and the devil and His promise to take us to Himself for eternity. As we open the Old Testament and see our present and future revealed there, we will need to keep in mind the “prophetic perspective” that could be observed in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and Joel 2:28–32, in which some predictions have been fulfilled in the messianic age but others must wait until the end of time.Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the November 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The New Heavens and New Earth” on Isaiah 65-66. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us!Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.

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