9 August 2026

Isaiah, the prophet,   sets  out God’s vision for a new heaven and a new earth in which his people are described as a delight and harmony will reign  across the earth and  within the animal kingdom!

He sets out four primary characteristics, summarized in Raymond Fung’s  book,   ‘The Isaiah Vision’, subtitled, ‘A Strategy for Congregational Evangelism’. It specifies:

·         that children do not die

·         that old people live in dignity

·         that those who build houses live in them

·         that those who plant vineyards eat the fruit

The strategy is simple. And most people would agree with it. It’s easy to translate into action and everyone can play their part.  But it’s not an exclusively Christian agenda.

It’s one which compassionate and wise people of all faiths and none could and do sign up to as well. And so his Vision encourages us to move out into the world where women and children  are being brutally treated in all the darkest corners of the earth..

Although the Vision leads to a natural engagement with the world, we have to have faith to step out and engage with the world and to seek out fellow visionaries who may not belong to the kirk nor have any belief in God!