50/225 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away all tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it."-- Isaiah 25:6-8. The word "heaven" symbolically means the invisible ruling power; while the "earth" means organized society. The old heaven has been wicked, because Satan, the wicked one, has been ruling. The old earth has been wicked, because the organizations of men have been under the dominion of Satan. St.John, observing the Messianic kingdom and the blessings that would follow, wrote: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea". |