Jump Start # 355

Revelation 21:1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” 

  In our Jump Start yesterday we looked at the verses that follow this, where John shows that in Heaven there will be no crying, mourning or death. One of our Jump Start readers asked me to explain the “new heaven and the new earth.”

  This expression is found in 2 Peter where Peter is describing the coming of the Lord and what will happen. Peter states, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up…but according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (3:10,13)

  Both John and Peter understood that a new heaven and a new earth were to come. Now our question before us is what did they mean by that? Here are some ideas:

1. A new literal heaven and earth. Some hold this thought. They think God is going to do it all over again in some way. There are different twists to this. Some feel that the righteous or a part of the righteous will dwell in the new heaven and the rest will dwell on the new earth. I don’t see this fitting in with the rest of what God says about Heaven. There is not a separation in Heaven. There will not be some in one place and some in another place. The image, especially from Revelation is that the righteous are around the throne (Rev 7:9).

2. Another thought that some have is that the new Heaven will be for the righteous and the new earth for the wicked. That takes care of the separation problem. However, the wicked are never said to spend eternity “on earth.” It is the lake of fire, the second death, Hell where the wicked are assigned to.

3. Instead of a literal heaven and earth, both Peter and John may be describing a new order of things. In Revelation, John is describing Heaven. He is telling us what it will be like. As we saw yesterday in our Jump Start, there will be none of the things that causes us sorrow, especially spiritually. Satan will be dealt with, temptation will not be a problem. That is different than now. The word “New” in the Bible is used two ways. One, as we often use it, to describe something new. A new tie means you did not have that before, it is new. The other way is to define a different order of things. This is how John is using that word. Heaven will not be like earth. This morning the sky turned from dark to light. It won’t do that in Heaven. I was asleep and I woke up. Soon, I plan to eat breakfast. As the day progresses, we will get out life. By night fall, we will be weary and ready for bed. That’s not happening in Heaven. There is no night there. We won’t be weary. Heaven is not just living forever, it’s living differently. It is a new way, a different way, a new heaven and earth. Here we age. Just look in the mirror. Here things break, fall apart and have to be replaced. Here we are very material. Heaven is not like that. It is different.

   Peter uses the expression, “new heaven and new earth” in the context of the coming judgment. Peter identifies three heavens and earth. The first was what God made at creation. It was different than what we have today. When you read Genesis 1 God says the water was gathered in one place and land was in one place. It’s not that way today. We have the “seven seas.” Land is separated by water. Also, in the first world, animals didn’t eat each other, not at first. Peter says in verse 6, “the world at that time was destroyed.” He is referring to the flood. We are living on the earth after the flood. Life expectancy was shortened after the flood. The continents have been formed as we know them now. God allows man to eat animals. That came after the flood. In many ways we are living in the “second heaven and earth.” Peter tells us that this “second” heaven and earth will be destroyed, not by water but by fire. After that, comes the new heaven and earth—the eternal one.

  I see both Peter and John using the expression “new heaven and new earth” to illustrate to us that life will be different in the eternal. So many folks have a worldly and material concept of Heaven. They think they will go fishing in Heaven, eat chocolate in Heaven and just have all the fun that they want. No, it’s a new heaven and a new earth. We are not taking the things of this world up there. There’s no fishing in Heaven. And to my regret, no chocolate. Heaven is about God, not us. It’s not an amusement park for us to have all the fun we want—you don’t get that from the Bible. It’s being with God. It’s a perfect world. We will be done with pills, bills, worry, conflict, tornados, old age, time, temptation, sin, guilt and Satan. It’s a new heaven and a new earth.

  I look forward to the new way. I look forward to being with God. I’m ready to part with much of the stuff of this life that bogs us down and hurts our hearts. I’m ready to see God. How about you?

Roger