“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
“They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
“They will not build and another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
“They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD,
And their descendants with them.
It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD. Isaiah 65.17-25

It is the day after Christmas and I want you to know that because of Christ's first advent there is hope. When all seems lost and everything is grumbling around you, remember there is hope. The writing of Isaiah opens with an emphasis on judgment, yet it closes with an emphasis on hope. Amid judgment, Israel could have great hope.

We can have hope because new heavens and a new earth are coming at Christ's second advent. This is the destiny of the people of God. God will create a restored and renovated universe. Better days are coming and so much so that people will not even think of things as they used to be. This should cause us to have ceaseless hope and rejoicing. God contrasts this to the present troubles of this world. Better days are coming. God also will rejoice in the new city and in the new people when He creates new heavens and a new earth.

Everything will be different. Death will no longer be present. There will be an abundance. Life will not be futile or frustrating. There will be perfect communion with God. Nature will also no longer be man’s enemy. We will not face the tragic storms that took lives, injured others and displaced so many. Through Jesus we experience some of these features of the kingdom of God today, but when the fullness of the kingdom of God comes in the second advent of Jesus we will experience these fully, perfectly and forever.

So, be waiting for new heavens and a new earth and live as those who are waiting for such.

Weekly Memory Verse: He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3.30