“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.” Isaiah 65:17-19
When God says that “the former things shall not be remembered” in the new heaven and the new earth, it does not mean that we will have no memory of this life. We will know one another in heaven. We will know and remember Christ’s love for us and His grace in our lives.
What God is saying is that what breaks your heart will no longer come to your mind, and what causes you pain and distress will no longer have power over you. You will find joy in the city of God and in the people of God. And your greatest joy will be in the joy that God has over you.
Where Isaiah says, “No more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress” (65:19), John says the same thing another way in Revelation: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17; 21:4).
That is such an intimate picture: A loving Father wipes away the tears of His child. Imagine Almighty God doing this for you.
Can you imagine God wiping away all your tears from your eyes—the source of every sorrow, the effect of every pain—so that with unclouded joy you can savor heaven, the world of love?
