We continue with the subject of,

The Millennium and the End of Sin

The New Earth? And who Adventist believe will dwell there

We continue with our examination of Isaiah Chapter 35

VERSE 6 “Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.”

“Then the lame (both those physically lame as well as those lame in character) shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing (sing the praises of God as revealed by the truth they now know and understand).”

 The Kingdom will be a time of reclamation and opportunity for mankind, even though there will be stripes. Notice how water will burst out of the earth. Man will be able to accomplish great reclamation projects like the Jordan Valley Authority’s digging a canal through the plain of Esdraelon and boring a tunnel through a relatively short mountain range. This will allow (1) water from the Mediterranean to turn a turbine (as with Niagara Falls) to produce electricity and (2) water to be diverted for irrigation purposes. The Lord is also indicating that He will miraculously open up new natural sources of water in the desert. For instance, it is known that a tremendous reservoir of water lies under Sinai. An earthquake could open up some of the water, and drills and pumps would do the rest. In other words, the Lord will lend a helping hand in the Kingdom, and men themselves will also be productive.

VERSE 7 “The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals (Error and vice), where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes (Rapid and healthy growth of virtue).”

VERSE 8 “A highway shall be there (The established New covenant), and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness (A way in which the human family as a whole will be invited to return to harmony with God through the Great Mediator under the terms of the New covenant). The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.”

There shall be a “highway” in the Kingdom in contradistinction to the narrow way now, but it will be slightly uphill. Effort will have to be exercised to walk up the highway, but that effort will be different from the effort required to walk uphill in the present age. Now stones, wild beasts, and other obstacles make the way narrow, but in the next age the obstacles will be removed. The highway will not be an escalator, however; the individual will have to bestir himself and make the effort to walk up the highway.

There are a lot of translations of this last verse (Verse 8), which tend to give the wrong impression as to who will be able to traverse this highway including the one above as taken from the NKJV, which states:

“The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others.”

Who are these others? The clean?

There are no clean amongst mankind at this time (at the beginning when the highway is open) save the Ancients and possibly some of the “Holy Remnant” of Israel. The remainder of Israel as well as mankind are the “unclean” of the world and in need of the restoration and restitution work in which traversing the highway of holiness will provide. This is not something that they receive immediately upon the establishment of the kingdom, but is a progressive work, a resurrection (rising up) of (or through) judgement, (by trial, testings) which is intended to bring them into this “clean” or righteous condition.

In this instance the original King James states it better, viz.

“And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”

Notice, the highway will be called “The way of holiness,” for “the unclean shall not pass over it; BUT IT SHALL BE FOR THOSE.”

The unclean will not be permitted to travel this highway, but it will be for them. Only those who separate themselves from uncleanness will be able to walk up the highway. Stated another way, the highway will be for the unclean, but they cannot walk upon it in their uncleanness. In other words, there must be progress.

A good translation of this verse is found in the Emphasized Bible or Rotherham edition, viz.

“And there shall be there, a raised way—even a high road, And the Highroad of Holiness, shall it be called, there shall not pass over it one who is unclean; But He Himself, shall be one of them traveling the road, And the perverse, shall not stray [thereinto].”

The unclean will travel the road but will not “pass over it” in the sense of reaching its glorious conclusion, a full resurrection to that original perfection Adam had prior to the fall, not only in physical form, but in character likeness to his creator, an earthly image of God.  All who refuse to go up on the highway shall “be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23) Those who refuse to make progress along the highway shall die at one hundred years of age. (Isa. 65:20)

“Whoever walks the road, although a fool (although “unacquainted therewith”, Lesser), shall not go astray.”

“Wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” A fool will not err in the way to holiness at that time.

The requirements for walking up the highway will not be misinterpreted. There will be no language barrier, no generation gap, no difficulty in understanding between Eastern and Western minds, no misunderstanding of what truth is. Full explanations will be given. A voice behind the people will say which way to walk: “This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21).

In the Kingdom the Lord will walk behind; in this age he walks in front. Now Jesus is ahead and we follow him. When he walked with his disciples, he was always in the lead and they followed him. The Gospels say he “turned” and said so-and-so (Matt. 16:23). Consecration is VOLUNTARY in this age. Consecration will be COMPULSORY in the Kingdom; then every knee must bow and every tongue must confess that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10, 11). Refusal will mean Second Death.

As taken from the Pulpit Commentary

“It is that right course of life, which “the unclean” do not follow, though they might do so if they chose, but which the righteous follow to their great gain an advantage. But it shall be for those; rather, as in the margin, but he shall be with them; God, i.e., shall be with those who seek to walk in the way, and not to err from it. He shall direct them, support them, sustain their footsteps. The wayfaring men; rather, they that walk in the way – that make up their minds to try to walk in it. Though fools; i.e., however simple and unlearned they may be – Shall not err therein; shall not wander from the way through mere simplicity. It shall be easy to find, difficult to miss.

We move on to Verse 9 in our next post.