Isaiah 30:26—Will the light of the sun and moon be increased or decreased in the future kingdom?

Problem: Isaiah has two apparently contradictory predictions. One is that the light to the heavenly bodies will be increased sevenfold (Isa. 30:26). The other is that it will be “ashamed” in the light of the Lord Himself (Isa. 24:23).

Solution: Some scholars believe these are mutually compatible poetic predictions that even though the light of the sun and moon is increased manifold (perhaps, figuratively), nevertheless, the light of the Lord will outshine them.

Others take these as literal predictions about two different future times. They hold that the natural light of the heavenly bodies will be increased during the reign of Christ for “a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4–6). But after that, when the “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) are created, there will be “no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it” (Rev. 21:23).

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.