Inhabitants of the new earth – Part 5

Isaiah 54:1-5 “Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not laboured with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman," says the Lord. (2) "Enlarge the place of your tent and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. (3) For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited. (4) "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. (5) For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.”

In the above passage of scripture, the children of the desolate, refers to the children of God, while the children of the married woman refers to the children of the flesh. And so, in this passage the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah, confirms the truth to us, that the nations are the inheritance of the saints and that “their children”, will be more than those of the unbelievers that have rejected the gospel of salvation. It is estimated that from the time of Adam, that over eighty billion people have rejected God as their creator and Saviour, and will thus be destined to partake of the second death. So how is it possible, that a church of approximately three hundred million will exceed in number, the eighty billion children of the married woman? She will do so, for as the bride of Christ; she will inherit with her bridegroom the Lord Jesus Christ, the nations in God’s new earth. And as we head into the new age, the population on God’s new earth, will grow to exceed the number of eighty billion, many times over. As an aside, the inhabiting of the desolate cities mentioned in this passage refers to the period when the church will reign with the Lord Jesus during His millennial reign on this current earth.

Michael E.B. Maher