Isaiah 65:20Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This is affirmed by experience: there is no despair within the Christian community, which is abundant in the hope of everlasting life and unassailable glory, shining with splendor even in this present age. God expresses His intention to fill Jerusalem with joy for His own sake and to rejoice over His people, providing reasons for this joy by proclaiming that no sound of lamentation will be found there, nor any outcry. From the correction of past iniquities, God's praise for the Church emerges. Previously, the leaders of the Jewish synagogue made judgments based on material gifts and ignored the plight of the orphan and widow. Their love of dishonest gain led them to accuse the innocent and the just, resulting in tears shed by the wronged. In Jeremiah's words, Jerusalem is described as "O deceitful city, all violence in it! As a hen stores its water cold, so its wickedness cools it: wickedness and outrage shall be heard throughout it always" (Jeremiah 6:6-7). Another prophet declared, "They trample the heads of the needy into the dust, and twist the paths of the humble" (Amos 2:7). Thus, God declares His delight in His people, recognizing within them the workers of genuine truth; there will be no one weeping as a victim or feeling wronged. No child or elder will fall short of their days; the young will have the longevity of a hundred years, but the one who dies as a sinner at a hundred will face judgment.

In my view, this prophecy implies that the child refers to the youth among the Gentiles, to whom David mentions that "the people of the city will praise the Lord" (Psalm 101:19). The apostle writes to these, saying, "Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk" (1 Peter 2:2). Here, the child symbolizes the young converts, while the old man signifies those from the covenant of circumcision, called into the spiritual Church. However, in this new calling, through Christ and at His coming, there will be no distinction in worth between the child and the elder; all will attain to perfection, fulfilling their time, reaching maturity as embodied in Christ (Ephesians 4:13). The youth among the Gentiles shall signify completeness, reaching the pinnacle of spiritual age, with a hundred years denoting fullness. When it states that a sinner will die at a hundred years, it illustrates that mere adherence to the law is futile without the faith in Christ and redemption through holy baptism, which cleanse us from sinful thoughts. Therefore, even if someone possesses a century's worth of moral perfection yet dies without faith, they will face condemnation rather than share in liberation from the law. Indeed, every Jew has stumbled; all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified by His grace (Romans 3:23-24). This truth points out that striving for perfection through the law is rendered fruitless without receiving Christ's grace, as Paul famously expressed, regarding all his accomplishments under the law as trash to gain Christ and be found in Him, not seeking his own righteousness but that which comes through faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:8-9). He admonishes the Jews for their lack of wisdom, stating, "They do not understand the righteousness of God and seek to establish their own righteousness; they do not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:3-4). In another instance, he mentions, "We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:15-16). Therefore, Christ underwent the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13) to free those bound by it, as it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law" (Deuteronomy 27:26).

Joy and gladness, which arise from the Holy Spirit, cannot coexist with mourning and lamentation, typically characteristic of those who sorrow. The Apostle Paul admonishes the Church against this, warning against weeping as the Israelites did before judgment (Eph. 4). In that blessed city, there will be no variation in age: young and old, minor and major, all as children of the resurrection will reach perfect maturity, fulfilling Christ's image. None will find themselves lacking or enduring the loss of years; while one may still lack vigor, another will not tire from age. All will experience a fullness akin to Abraham, who received the promise of his son Isaac at a hundred (Gen. 21). We shouldn't delve excessively into the significance of this number to avoid unnecessary elaboration. What we will note is that the ten decades have balanced proportions and that square figures are strong. Furthermore, regarding what we have given or withheld, the Lord promises a hundredfold return, as the seed on good soil yields abundant fruit in that same measure. Therefore, Isaac, by sowing a single seed of faith, experienced the bountiful results of that measure.

At a time when all will share an equal age, both the righteous and the unrighteous will be perfected by the same resurrection, differing only in their eternal outcomes—one receiving rewards and the other facing punishment. The curse of the sinner is that he will endure eternal suffering in an imperishable body. In the Revelation of John (Rev. 20), the small and the great stand before the Judgment, which signifies differences not of age but of merit, since the humble may be deserving of mercy as recorded by Solomon. However, the powerful will experience greater torment (Prem. 6:7). The Lord’s words reflect this understanding: “The servant who knows his master's will and does not do it will be beaten much. But he who does not know and does what deserves punishment will be beaten lightly” (Luke 12:47-48). The blessed Apostle Paul, through Christ’s revelation, assures us that Abraham is the father of both the circumcised and uncircumcised (Romans 4), indicating that two nations were born from him. The one born in the flesh, condemned to eternal damnation at a hundred years, points to Christ, who descended from Abraham’s lineage and bore the burden of that nation’s transgressions. This pattern is illustrated in the Gospels (Mk. 5; Mt. 9; Lk. 8), wherein it is noted that the bleeding woman emerged when the ruler's daughter was born and upon her healing, that girl immediately died—showing the new nation's vitality versus the old nation's decay and condemnation.

This context is noted with reference to the Seventy Commentaries, which have been widely disseminated, ensuring clarity beyond mere reliance on Hebrew texts. Whether this relates to the Savior's second coming post-resurrection or to the initial resurrection through baptism, both interpretations align with the Church’s faith. The Hebrews assert that this will unfold on earth within a millennial reign, positing that such longevity will be marked by a hundred years being considered a youth; thus, the sinner's premature death serves not to allow enjoyment of earthly gains, but to affirm their condemnation. If this is the case, where is the perfect joy disrupted by sin? Wherein lies the peace of eternal bliss when sin incurs the penalty of untimely death?