“For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart.Isaiah 65:17
When I was in college, I had a biology professor for two semesters in a row. This man, Dr. Nolan, was not a Christian. He seemed to very much believe in science and what he could see and make sense of in his mind. Well, Dr. Nolan, at the beginning of my first semester with him, asked our 300-student class this question: Is nature teleological? Honestly, I had no idea what he meant by this at first. To my memory, he gave us a chance to respond a week or two later to present what we believed to be true. His question about nature, I discovered, was not simply a question of science, but one of theology and philosophy. What he was really asking was “Is nature heading toward something? What is its purpose?” Braver people than me attempted to stand up before Dr. Nolan and the hundreds of other students and present why they believed all of nature is heading toward something—some of them were Christians, attempting to defend the stance that all things are created by a personal God and exist to worship Him. Dr. Nolan would debate with them, shut them down, and invite the next person up to try again. In order to find out his full beliefs regarding his question, we had to sign up for his second biology class, which I did. In the final weeks of the class, he revealed what we already predicted—that he saw nature and the universe as completely random and heading toward no particular end. I remember thinking: what a sad, hopeless conclusion. To him, and many others like him, the world is simply one chaotic thing colliding with other chaotic things until… who knows?
What, then, for the Christian? What do we know to be true? Isaiah 65:17 says, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” Is nature (or all of creation) heading to bleak, hopeless nothingness? No, God has told us in Isaiah what the end of all things will be. He will create new heavens and a new earth.
Dr. Nolan, in all his atheistic thinking, was on to one thing: He could tell that the world wasn’t working right. He could tell something was off. Can you feel it too? What he believed to be a result of animals, plants, people, atoms, electrons, and cells competing for a higher place in the animal kingdom is actually a result of the fall that took place at the beginning of creation when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit. Their mistake plunged the world into disorder, causing sin to enter into what had been a perfect world. God and man had previously walked together in a perfect relationship. They had been in the Garden of Eden, where they lived with God and interacted with Him. But their desire to be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5), seemed good to them. Since then, the world has never been the same. We can still feel the effects of the fall, can’t we? Disease affects us, famine makes growing food challenging, floods and earthquakes cause devastation, and wars break out among fellow men, both made in God’s likeness. However, God gives us hope in Genesis 3:15, saying, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Everything hinges on Christ
This is the hope in Christ that God gives us from the very beginning of the Bible. And all throughout the Old Testament, we see that all of human history is leading to Christ. As leaders come and go such as judges, kings, and prophets, we learn that all of them are insufficient to deal with our brokenness and sin. This fallen world needs a savior. Benefiting from living on this side of the cross, we know that all of history hinges on Jesus’ work on the cross. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). Isaiah prophesied about our future with Christ in our passage. Without Christ, how can there be new heavens and a new earth? If there isn’t going to be new heavens and a new earth, then what is all of creation heading toward? Continued death, pain, suffering—forever? Without a sufficient Savior, what gives us hope for resurrection one day? Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection gives us hope that, if we are in Christ, we will one day be with Him once again face to face. He bore our sins and God’s wrath that we rightly deserved. Because of Jesus, we no longer need to fear the coming judgment. We are justified by Christ, not because of our own merits, but because of His finished work on the cross.
So, the world that God created at the beginning of time—where God and man dwelt together, where there was no pain or sin or death—is going to happen once again. Isaiah writes this at a time when the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah are surrounded by other nations seeking to invade and cause them harm. They are experiencing the painful result of the fall at this time, just as we still are. God gives them hope that one day, God Himself will make everything right again. An all-powerful, all-loving, and good Savior will defeat the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve at the beginning of time.
Not only will there be new heavens and a new earth, but all of the pain and suffering from our past will not be remembered or come to mind. Can you imagine? Not only will our current suffering be no more, but we won’t even remember the pain. Every tear that was shed, every ache of our aging or imperfect bodies, every death of a child or loved one—all of it will not be remembered. Replacing those painful memories will be the goodness and radiance of our gracious God, who gave everything to bring us to Himself.
What to do till then?
As we await the day when all things are made new, here are a few exhortations or questions to consider from this passage:
Take heart that our suffering as strangers in a foreign land will come to an end.
There is an expiration date on our pain. Even as we continue to experience the brokenness of our fallen world, we persevere knowing that our reunion with God will make the difficult journey worth it. All of us have already experienced deep pain. But one day there shall be no more deaths. No more shall there be the struggle to provide for our families. No more shall there be pains in childbirth or children who die young. No more shall there be wars that lead to the death of thousands of people. No more shall we experience loneliness or heartache. No more shall we deal with our bodies getting sick or aging or getting in car accidents. No more—for God will make everything new and we will no longer remember these things.
Where is your hope found?
Is it in this world or in eternity with Christ? Think about how easily we tend to search for hope in this world. We work hard and pray for things that the world offers us: money, success, notoriety, health. It’s difficult to combat the impulse to seek after such things because we think that in them we find salvation. Our world throws everything it can at us to try to convince us that these things are worth pursuing. But all of those things leave us wanting more. Are we ever satisfied with how much money we can make, the exposure we have to the masses through social media, or how healthy our bodies are? No, never. Even as Christians, we can fall into these traps, believing that comfort and success are worthwhile pursuits as ends in themselves. But when difficult times come, where is our hope? In our money and health?
May we remember that our only hope is in eternity with Christ. We are not promised a comfortable life. On the contrary, we are told that in the world we will have tribulation. But, Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). When hard times come, may we hold fast to our hope in Christ. By His grace, we will one day live in a world that has no more tribulation.
How should we spend our days?
Because of the great hope that we have in Christ, we should spend our days telling others about the hope they may have as well. Surely others can see that our world is in shambles. It doesn’t take much scrutiny to realize that things just aren’t right. We can share with others the creation of the world, the fall of man, the work of Jesus, and our future hope in Him. Even though faith in Jesus does not mean that pain and suffering end in this life, it is great hope that it one day will end. This may mean investing in other people’s lives for the long haul and sharing with them over a period of time. It also means that we should share with others as we go about our daily lives. Countless people are living their lives with no hope. Let’s tell them about our Savior who does give hope.
We also should spend our days encouraging one another. Hebrews 10:23-25 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” If one of us is going through a difficult time, may we take the opportunity to encourage them. Remind them of the gospel and that God will make the former things forgotten.
As people who live in the nation of Kenya, may we not seek our ultimate hope in the government and its many departments. No nation is without a great deal of brokenness and Kenya is no exception to that. That does not mean, however, that we should not seek the good of others. Even as we recognize that God will make new heavens and a new earth one day, it is still worthwhile to work to be faithful citizens and help make our country efficient, beautiful, and just. God intended His world to work in those ways, and striving to see our world as it should be, helps others understand a little bit more about our God.
Conclusion:
Although our world is broken and full of suffering, do not think as my old biology professor does. The universe is not simply a result of random chance but has been created by a loving God. Even from Genesis 3, we see the hope of Christ, and one day soon He will come again and all of the pain from this world will be forgotten as we dwell with God for eternity.