I have a question about Isaiah 65:17-25. I know that Isaiah 65:1-16 is about Israel and their rebellion against God, but a friend told me that verses 17-25 are not about Israel, but about the people who will inhabit the earth after the Tribulation, not necessarily Israel. We are having a discussion about who exactly will inhabit the earth at that time.
The question also arises that the raptured Church won’t actually live in heaven, in mansions, but will live on the earth. So, in a nutshell: (1)who lives on the earth after the Tribulation, but before satan is released for 1,000 years, (2) who will live in heaven and will there be mansions, and (3) who will populate the earth after Satan is released?
Isaiah 65:17-25 clearly mentions Jerusalem and its people. There’s no justification for thinking of this as anything other than a passage pertaining to Israel in the Millennium. Remember, for Israel the Millennium is the promised Kingdom Age, so it doesn’t make any sense to have a Millennium without them in their land.
Jewish believers who survive the Great Tribulation will live in Israel during the Millennium while believing Gentile survivors will populate the nations. They and their children will live on Earth during the Millennium.
The Church will inhabit the New Jerusalem, and that’s where the mansions are that Jesus spoke of in John 14:1-2. It’s seen coming down from Heaven in Rev. 21 but is never described as actually landing here. Truth be told, it wouldn’t really fit anywhere. Far bigger than all of Israel it will have a foot print as big as western Europe, or all of the Eastern US from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River and Maine to Florida. Besides that it’s 1400 miles tall. Compare that to the tallest building on earth today at 1800 feet. In volume it’s 1/6th the size of Earth.
The Bible doesn’t say anything about what happens after the Millennium following Satan’s release. Its chronological end is in Rev. 20:7-15. Rev. 21-22 take us back to the beginning of the Millennium to show us the New Jerusalem and the restored Israel.