189. Present Age Not Remembered
Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
The former shall not be remembered. Former what? The old heaven and earth in we now live, as opposed to the new heavens and a new earth. We know this is coming after Jesus returns and after Judgment Day. We look forward to what lies ahead and we can’t wait for the New Creation, for which we have already been given a new life in Christ.
Does this really mean we will have no memory of this whole lifetime of history on this earth? How can this be? In what way is this true? We don’t really know for sure, but we can guess that we have no memory of sin, evil, and all the bad things that have happened to us during our lifetime. It seems, though, that we will have a strong memory of the good things God has done for us and even through us. We will certainly remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and so we we shall remember all that God has done throughout history, for we will praise Him forever for who He is and for what He has done. But all sin and guilt will surely be gone forever and we will never be reminded of our sins ever again. Repentance will not be necessary, for we will have no sin to be repented of. In the new heaven and new earth we will know only God and good. We will never again know good and evil (which came from that forbidden tree).
When we think more deeply about what life will be like in eternity we can only speculate, but we do have hints. And when we think about it, of course there would be no remembrance of former things, the temporal things, the transitory things, the things that are presently seen by sight, or any of the bad things that bring sadness. The only things we have are eternal things. The only memory we will have is of God and all the good things He has done for us. This kind of memory will be a strong motivation for us to never sin again, for we shall only enjoy the good God and His great blessings. All of this is a part of “his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire [2 Peter 1:4].“
By faith we forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. This thought and this hope and this faith enter into our hearts today every time we hear the Gospel afresh. Eternal life is in the heart and no one can take it away. Imagine what life will be when we no longer remember the former things. Take hold of this promise, and, while you wait in faith, forget what God forgets and remember what God remembers.