Isa 65:17   Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

    

One of the things that Scripture reveals to us is that God has a plan and a purpose and is working towards a specific end. We are given a glimpse of this in this prophetic word from Isaiah. He speaks about creating new heavens and a new earth. Now no doubt many have envisaged the literal creation of a new heaven and a physically new earth, which may of course be possible, but I want to suggest that all the talk in the Bible about new things has been to do with people. The work of Christ is to transform people; it is to create a new people, one people from Jew and Gentile. It is to create a people who now relate to the Father because they have been reconciled to Him. Surely God's intention is not to remove us all to some celestial waiting room while He demolishes everything He previously created – the earth and the heavens and heaven itself? Were those so defective they need to be replaced?

 

No, surely the thrust of the whole work of salvation is to transform people so that the people will transform their environment. The earth and the heavens will be made new because the occupants are all made new. The final end product of God's working is to create an ultimate people who are made anew in His likeness and who live in perfect harmony with Him and with one another. Start seeing the prophetic language of Revelation in these terms and we see a staggeringly wonderful thing – a new community, God's staggeringly wonderful people.