“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17 ESV).
Isaiah spoke to a people acquainted with the brokenness of a fallen world. Yet God gave him a vision that reached far beyond the repair of present circumstances. He promised, “I create new heavens and a new earth.” The Hebrew word for “create” is the same word used in Genesis 1:1. God was not merely patching up the old order. He was promising a new creation.
In Isaiah 65:17–25, the prophet seems to telescope together the coming messianic kingdom and the ultimate eternal state. Looking down the prophetic horizon, Isaiah saw Messiah’s reign restoring the effects of the curse, while his vision also reached forward to the final “new heavens and new earth.”
The New Testament makes this trajectory unmistakable. Peter wrote, “According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). John later saw “a new heaven and a new earth” and heard that “the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1, 4).
God’s promise is greater than a renovation of this broken world. He will create a new world so completely transformed by His presence that the sorrows of His former creation will be eclipsed forever.
Because God has promised a new heaven and a new earth, let us live today in light of the world that is coming. We can pursue holiness, hold this present world loosely, endure suffering patiently, labor faithfully, proclaim the gospel urgently, and eagerly await Christ’s return.
We do not live this way to earn entrance into the new creation. We live this way because through Christ we already belong to it. Jesus died for our sins, rose bodily from the grave, and gave us His Spirit as the guarantee of our inheritance.
The risen Christ who has made us new will one day declare, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for promising a new heaven and a new earth. Help us live faithfully in this present age while eagerly awaiting the return of Christ. Keep our hope fixed on Him and make our lives reflect the righteousness of Your Son. In Jesus’ name, amen.