The Bible teaches us about a highway in God’s future kingdom.
The prophet Isaiah says, “A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness…” (Isaiah 35:8, NASB) This is not a literal highway – Isaiah is using picture language. We can imagine the highway as a path of learning. Everyone who will be awakened on earth from the grave will be able to travel on this symbolic highway, learning to live righteously by following God’s ways.
Isaiah continues, “The unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those.” (Isaiah 35:8, NASB) Mankind inherited Adam’s sin, so when they are first raised from the grave, they START OUT being unclean – meaning, sinful. The purpose of the highway is to gradually remove all traces of sin through the learning process. Eventually, those who successfully reach the end of this symbolic highway will no longer be unclean – they will be righteous and reconciled to God. To be “reconciled” means living in harmony with God’s ways. Therefore, they will have the opportunity to live forever on a beautiful, perfect earth!
Isaiah (35:9) also says, “No lion will be there, nor will any vicious animal go up on it; they will not be found there.” More picture language! These lions and vicious animals represent Satan’s temptations, false teachings, and other negative, harmful things that can lead us away from God.
We know from 2 Corinthians (see 4:4) that right now, Satan is the “god of this world,” influencing mankind to do bad things. But while those raised from the dead travel this highway, once having chosen to follow God's righteous principles, Satan and all of his evil influences will be bound or completely restrained. This will make it easier for everyone to understand that following God's ways brings peace and blessings!
Finally, Isaiah says, “But the redeemed will walk there, those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return…Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.” (35:9 NASB, 10 NLT) Everyone will be given lots of help to learn how to live righteously. Those who will have successfully traveled this highway and learned God’s ways will then be filled with joy because they will have gradually come back into a full, proper and loving relationship with God.
What a beautiful picture of the fair and effective learning process we can expect in God’s future kingdom. He has wonderful things in store for ALL of us!
So, what is the Highway of Holiness? It’s picture language to describe the learning process in God’s future kingdom. Mankind will eventually be reconciled back into a relationship with God – by learning how to obey His commandments and live righteously!
This video is from Christian Questions Podcast. For more information please go to https://christianquestions.com
