Comforting Little Thoughts

"And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."  Isaiah 11:6-9


"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness. I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed."  Isaiah 65:17-20

I don't know when these things will be or exactly what implications they have for me, but I know that they are true and wonderful.

"Because Isaiah's words about the Messiah's first coming [ch. 52-53] were so meticulously fulfilled, down to specific physical details, shouldn't we assume that His prophecies in subsequent chapters concerning life on the New Earth will likewise be literally and specifically fulfilled?"  Randy Alcorn, Heaven, p. 96

"We learn, in the fourth place, that children are never too young to receive the grace of God.  Zacharias is informed that his son "shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."  There is no greater mistake than to suppose that infants, by reason of their tender age, are incapable of being operated upon by the Holy Spirit.  The manner of His work upon a little child's heart, is undoubtedly mysterious and incomprehensible.  But so also are all His works upon the sons of men.  Let us beware of limiting God's power and compassion.  He is a merciful God.  With Him nothing is impossible."  J.C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on Luke, Vol. 1, p. 15 (emphasis in original)