The Messiah and the New Creation

“Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end.” (Psalms 102:25-27)

These words form part of a prayer to God. “A Prayer of the afflicted,” the Psalm says in a unique title, “when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before Yahweh.” Yet the writer to the Hebrews quotes it as part of the evidence for the superiority of Jesus over the angels.1 And what is more, it is given there without any explanation—which means that it carried with it implications immediately apparent to any Jewish Christian.

This article represents an attempt at a reconsideration of the words. In this endeavour, what will be stipulated above all is that the most natural interpretation in relation to the Psalm’s context must be striven for. Without this, any interpretation must labour under the very heavy difficulty of being at variance with the absence of explanation. It is believed that if this, and the powerful picture built up by the analogies, be taken into account, they will be convincing that (at least generally) the thesis maintained here gives the passage its most rational significance, and best preserves the Psalm’s harmony and unity.

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Author: James White

Keywords: New creation, new heaven, new earth, New heaven new earth

Bible reference(s): Psa 102:25-27, Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, Hebrews 1:10-12, Hebrews 2:5, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1

Source: “The Messiah and the New Creation,” The Testimony, Vol. 19, No. 219, March 1949, pp. 77-82.

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