What is the meaning of Isaiah 65:17? For behold • This opening “behold” signals that God Himself is speaking and wants our full attention. It is an invitation to look beyond present circumstances and fix our eyes on His promise, just as Isaiah 43:19 says, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it springs forth—do you not perceive it?” • The phrase underscores certainty. What follows is not hypothetical; it is as sure as the One who declares it (compare Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new”). I will create new heavens and a new earth • The same creative power that spoke the universe into existence in Genesis 1 is pledged to act again. This is not mere symbolism but a literal re-creation of the cosmos (see 2 Peter 3:13, “in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells”). • “Create” points to a fresh act, not merely a renovation. Revelation 21:1 confirms, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away.” • The promise assures believers that the final chapter of history is written by God, not by human effort or decay. The former things will not be remembered • All that belongs to the fallen order—pain, sin, loss—will be so thoroughly dealt with that it will no longer register in our memory banks (compare Isaiah 43:18, “Do not remember the former things; do not dwell on the past”). • God’s forgiveness is complete; the guilt and shame that now haunt us will be erased (Psalm 103:12). • This is not selective amnesia but the fruit of perfect redemption: nothing unholy remains to cloud eternal joy. Nor will they come to mind • Even unintended recollections will be gone. The new creation will be so filled with God’s glory that the old cannot intrude (Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain”). • Our sanctified minds will be wholly aligned with God’s goodness, incapable of being shadowed by former griefs (Jeremiah 31:34 affirms, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more”). • The emphasis is on unbroken, unspoiled fellowship with God, where everything that once separated us is forever gone. summary Isaiah 65:17 assures us that the God who created all things will one day create anew, bringing a literal new heavens and new earth where the scars of the old order vanish completely. Because He promises, we can live today with confident hope, knowing that every sorrow, sin, and suffering will be forever eclipsed by His final, flawless renewal. |
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