Ecclesiastes 1:11
There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
The book containing this verse means the preacher and was written by Solomon, the son of David who was king in Jerusalem, about 977. He wrote after tasting all the pleasures the world could give and yielding to all the desires of the heart and flesh, in an unsatisfying experience of wealth, luxury, and idolatry in which his many wives led his heart away. In context the verse belongs to his record of the pleasure he in wisdom sought but did not find, showing that following all the luxuries the human mind can invent produces only vanity and vexation of spirit. It thus presents the vanity of human life and the folly, uselessness, and nothingness of earthly pursuits apart from God and without hope in Him, with practical instruction interwoven that concludes in fearing God and keeping His commandments as the whole duty of man.
The verse describes forgetfulness in this present world, where people, especially the careless and selfish, forget what came before. It shows that people fail to remember and learn from past events even though the past offers a rich guide to the present. The experiences of faithful people in earlier generations reveal the same Christian character and conduct needed now, while history also displays God's providence and the contrasting fruits of humility and self-sacrifice versus pride and selfishness. It shows that human greatness and fame do not last, so that even celebrated people fade from memory and leave their monuments and names forgotten.
It does not teach that the saved will fail to recognize their children and friends in the new earth.