Living Long in the New Creation: Isaiah 65:20 and the Fate of the Accursed

Living Long in the New Creation: Isaiah 65:20 and the Fate of the Accursed


“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” — Isaiah 65:20




Jewish apocalyptic literature often used symbolic time, age, and cosmic imagery to describe the transition from one age to another. Isaiah 65 belongs in this tradition. It is not predicting a utopian biology where lifespans stretch unnaturally long. Instead, it points to the endurance of those who belong to God in the New Creation — the covenantal order inaugurated through Christ and revealed fully in the destruction of the old covenant age in 70 AD.


“Living Long” as Enduring Life


When Isaiah says the one who dies at a hundred will be considered a mere child, he is not describing literal birthdays but covenantal durability. In apocalyptic thought, “long life” symbolized a share in God’s enduring reality — a life that surpasses the boundaries of the old covenant’s mortality. To “live long” is to remain in God’s presence, a reality Jesus defined as eternal life: “that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).


The Accursed Are Cut Off


The contrast is sharp: “the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” In Jewish apocalyptic language, this is not about dying young physically, but about being excluded from covenantal life. The “accursed” are those who reject God’s reign; they are cut off from His presence. Their existence does not endure. As Paul later affirmed, only those who seek immortality in Christ receive it (Romans 2:7).


Death vs. Covenant


Apocalyptic writings saw physical death as secondary to covenantal death. To die physically did not mean separation from God — covenantal exile did. That is why Isaiah’s vision, read through Christ, shows that even when believers die, their life endures in God. Paul could therefore say, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). What truly ends life is not mortality but being cut off from the covenant.


Eternal Life and the Curse


Isaiah 65:20 depicts two paths:


Those who live long — the righteous who abide in God’s enduring life.


Those who die early — the accursed who are cut off and whose story ends.



This is not about lifespans but about covenantal endurance. Eternal life is enduring life: life that outlasts the collapse of the old covenant order and continues in God’s unbroken presence.


Conclusion


Isaiah’s vision was never about biology but about covenant. In Jewish apocalyptic imagery, “long life” means enduring life with God in the New Creation. Those who abide in Christ never die — not because their hearts never stop, but because their covenantal union never breaks. The old order passed away in 70 AD, and the new heavens and earth are now the lived reality of God’s people. The choice Isaiah framed still stands: to endure in God’s eternal life, or to be among the accursed who fade into silence.


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