Solomon wrote that “there is nothing new under the sun.” And in the human system there doesn’t seem to be much of anything that is really new, since the beginning of Creation. However, the apostles Peter and Paul made many references to God creating something new in connection with Christianity.

For example, the Bible speaks about singing a new song; there is also the new covenant, the new personality; being made new in the spirit; a new birth; the New Jerusalem, Jesus spoke of giving the faithful a new name unique to them, and ultimately – the new heavens and new earth.

At Galatians 6:15, Paul referred to anointed Christians who make up the Israel of God as being a new creation, stating that “a new creation is something.”

Indeed, a new creation is something! But what exactly is the new creation?

God’s new creation is made up of those who are called to become like Christ in the fullest sense by receiving a heavenly resurrection as immortal, indestructible beings, with life in themselves. Jehovah’s new creation is more marvelous than any creation that has ever existed since the beginning of all creation. For, before Jesus was resurrected to heaven, none of God’s creation had ever been endowed with immortality; not the angels, nor seraphs, nor cherubs, and not even Michael the archangel before his coming to earth as Jesus, were given the gift of immortality. That is why it is a new creation, because it is something that has never existed before.

Being born again, or given a new birth, is not unlike the mysterious phenomenon known as metamorphosis, which was originally designed into some earthly creations causing the lowly creeping caterpillar to transform itself into a beautiful, new butterfly. Similarly, the spiritual new birth ultimately transforms earthly creatures, literally made from the dust, into an organization composed of 144,000 indestructible, glorious spirit sons of God.

Jehovah has scheduled to unveil his new creation during the conclusion of the system of things. At Romans 8:19 Paul wrote, saying: “For the eager expectation of creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God.”

Interestingly, Jehovah even addresses his pre-metamorphic new creation as a worm. Isaiah 41:14 reads: “Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I myself will help you, is the utterance of Jehovah, even your Repurchaser, the Holy One of Israel.”

The word “repurchased” and references to Jehovah as the “Repurchaser,” occur over 20 times in the prophetic book of Isaiah alone. The Watchtower’s Insight on the Scriptures volume, under the topic of “repurchase,” merely applies Jehovah’s repurchase of his people to Christ’s ransom sacrifice. However, the Christian writers do not use the expression “repurchase” in reference to Christ’s sacrifice. The apostles simply say that Christ bought or purchased us.

What is the difference? Well, obviously, to re-purchase something suggests that it had already once been purchased and for whatever reason was sold or lost, and then, bought again, hence—repurchased.

In the case of Israel, Jehovah owned the nation by virtue of the covenant he made with Israel through Moses. However, because of their rebellion Jehovah sold his possession into captivity and then, later, repurchased them and restored them to their homeland. Isaiah 50:1 reads: “Or which one of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you people? Look! Because of your own errors you have been sold, and because of your own transgressions your mother has been sent away.” 

In the 52nd chapter of Jehovah’s long-running dialogue with his people he states: “For this is what Jehovah has said: ‘It was for nothing that you people were sold, and it will be without money that you will be repurchased.”’

Since repurchasing applies to the redemption of God’s erring servants, the question arises, then, as to when ancient Israel’s modern counterpart is sold and subsequently repurchased?

According to the context of Isaiah it occurs during God’s judgment, in fact, it is God’s judgment to sell his spiritual nation into captivity. Consider these words of God at Isaiah 41:1: “Attend to me in silence, you islands; and let national groups themselves regain power. Let them approach. At that time let them speak. Let us come up close together for the judgment itself.”

The time of judgment upon this system is when the nations become locked in mortal combat, which, as Christ said would be a tribulation that would be cut short, allowing the national groups to “regain power,” as Jehovah words it in the book of Isaiah. And the following verses of the 41st chapter relate how, in the reprieve, the nations fabricate a crude idol. That parallels Revelation, which describes the leading power of Satan’s political wild beast regaining power from a near-fatal blow, only to create an image of itself for mankind to worship. Each one’s everlasting destiny is determined by whether they worship the image or not.

It is in the context of God’s judgment upon the nations that he both sells and repurchases his people. Consider the span of verses from Isaiah 43:25-28: They read: “I—I am the One that is wiping out your transgressions for my own sake, and your sins I shall not remember. Remind me; let us put ourselves on judgment together; tell your own account of it in order that you may be in the right. Your own father, the first one, has sinned, and your own spokesmen have transgressed against me. So I shall profane the princes of the holy place, and I will give Jacob over as a man devoted to destruction and Israel over to words of abuse.”

The above span of verse is Jehovah speaking to his anointed sons during the judgment of them. That is why God invites them to speak in their own defense. But, clearly they have no defense. There is no excuse. Like Job when God spoke to him from the windstorm, they can only put their hand over their mouth. And since Jehovah’s Witnesses recognize the leadership of the Watchtower and the faithful slave as being the spokesmen for all of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jehovah’s Witnesses ought to take God’s judgment seriously when he says—“your own spokesmen have transgressed against me.”

So, God’s judgment is that his sons must be sold into captivity as punishment. Bible students ought to note, too, that the judgment upon “the princes of the holy place” corresponds with the prophecy in the 8th chapter of Daniel that foretells that a king of fierce countenance will trample the holy ones and their sanctuary underfoot, because of their transgressions before God. It seems clear that the trampling occurs as an immediate prelude to when Jesus, as the Prince of princes, destroys the king fierce in countenance.

Much more could be said about the above prophecies, but how does this relate to the new creation?

At Isaiah 43:18-19, Jehovah says: “Do not remember the first things, and to the former things do not turn your consideration. Look! I am doing something new. Now it will spring up. You people will know it, will you not?”

From a future standpoint, the “first things” and the “former things” apparently have to do with much of what is presently practiced and considered to be God’s truth. However, at the revelation of Jehovah’s glory, with which Christ will be cloaked, Jehovah’s Witnesses will discard the old wine of truth and the old organizational wineskins that held those truths, in order to receive what is new.

Out with our dogmatic, overhasty, reckless interpretations of prophecy relegating Christ’s glorious parousia to the distant past! Isaiah says: “And the eyes of those seeing will not be pasted together, and the very ears of those hearing will pay attention. And the heart itself of those who are overhasty will consider knowledge, and even the tongue of the stammerers will be quick in speaking clear things.”

Out with boring meetings, where Jehovah’s command is taught like a child’s repetitive nursery rhyme:“command upon command, command upon command, measuring line upon measuring line, measuring line upon measuring line, here a little, there a little.” (Isaiah 28:13)

Out with the idolatry of Jehovah’s visible organization! God illustrates our revulsion at Isaiah 30:22, where it says: “Like a menstruating woman, you will say to it: ‘Mere dirt!’”

Out with harsh pharisaic, judgmental, legalism!

At the time when Christ actually becomes king, during a global storm initiated by his very presence, Isaiah writes: “Look! A king will reign for righteousness itself; and as respects princes, they will rule as princes for justice itself. And each one must prove to be like a hiding place from the wind and a place of concealment from the rainstorm, like streams of water in a waterless country, like the shadow of a heavy crag in an exhausted land.”

Out with unclean pedophiles and faithless spiritual predators in the Watchtower Society’s supposed spiritual paradise!

Isaiah relates of the repurchased ones: “And there will certainly come to be a highway there, even a way; and the Way of Holiness it will be called. The unclean one will not pass over it. And it will be for the one walking on the way, and no foolish ones will wander about on it. No lion will prove to be there, and the rapacious sort of wild beasts will not come up on it. None will be found there; and the repurchased ones must walk there. And the very ones redeemed by Jehovah will return and certainly come to Zion with a joyful cry; and rejoicing to time indefinite will be upon their head.”

Out with the evil slaves and their faithless followers lurking in Christ’s kingdom! Isaiah relates their judgment this way: “In Zion the sinners have come to be in dread; shivering has grabbed hold of the apostates: ‘Who of us can reside for any time with a devouring fire? Who of us can reside for any time with long-lasting conflagrations?'”

Out with all hard-heartedness and the hypocritical boasting of the supposed righteousness and purity of Jehovah’s Witnesses!

Ezekiel foretells a final outpouring of spirit that will result in creating a new heart and new spirit. Ezekiel 36: 26-29a reads: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I shall put inside you, and I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And my spirit I shall put inside you and I will act so that in my regulations you will walk, and my judicial decisions you will keep and actually carry out. And you will certainly dwell in the land that I gave to your forefathers, and you must become my people and I myself shall become your God. And I will save you from all your impurities.”

Out with the old formalistic way of worshipping and preaching! Out with merely lip-syncing songs of devotion! Isaiah promises that a new song will be sung. “The first things—here they have come, but new things I am telling out. Before they begin to spring up, I cause you people to hear them.” Sing to Jehovah a new song, his praise from the extremity of the earth, you men that are going down to the sea and to that which fills it, you islands and you inhabiting them.”

The Psalms confirm for us that the new song is not learned or sung until such time as God’s people are rescued from dire straits. Psalms 144:5-9 reads: “O Jehovah, bend down your heavens that you may descend; touch the mountains that they may smoke. Lighten with lightning that you may scatter them; send out your arrows that you may throw them into confusion. Thrust your hands out from the height; set me free and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of the foreigners, whose mouth has spoken what is untrue and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. O God, a new song I will sing to you.”

After Jehovah repurchases his woman-like organization and installs the kings of his new heavens, Isaiah foretells: “And the nations will certainly see your righteousness, O woman, and all kings your glory. And you will actually be called by a new name, which the very mouth of Jehovah will designate.”

It may be that in connection with the revealing of the sons of God that God will then reveal the exact pronunciation of his own name. And even the name “Jehovah’s Witness” may be discarded when God renames his chastened “woman”: “And the nations will certainly see your righteousness, O woman, and all kings your glory. And you will actually be called by a new name, which the very mouth of Jehovah will designate.” – Isaiah 62:2

In short, Jehovah will indeed be “making all things new!” 

Now, the question: So what?

Well, tens of thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses have already been stumbled by the very things that God says he is going to do away with. Some are trying to correct the Watchtower’s 1914 doctrine and all the related erroneous interpretations of prophecy. Other groups of disaffected Jehovah’s Witnesses are trying to bring about some sort of reform of the Watchtower’s policies on blood transfusions and child abuse. All such reform efforts are doomed to failure. Such would-be reformers ought to remind themselves of Jesus’ advice that you shouldn’t put new wine into old wineskins.  The new wine of Jehovah’s future revelation is the preferred libation.

In that connection, Isaiah’s second to last chapter, the 8th verseThis is what Jehovah has said: “In the same way that the new wine is found in the cluster and someone has to say, ‘Do not ruin it, because there is a blessing in it,’ so I shall do for the sake of my servants in order not to bring everybody to ruin.”

The only realistic hope for real and lasting reform is summed up in the old saying: “Out with the old, in with the new.”

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