A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH

Revelation 21:1-5a, Selected
David Bruce Linn, Pastor-Teacher
3 December, 2000
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1. INTRODUCTION
   
   All who have sorrowed over our damaged earth and the damaged, alienated people who live upon it can take heart at the vision given to the Apostle John at the beginning of Revelation 21: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.' And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new'" (Rev. 21:1-5a). A wondrous transformation of the status quo is in store for this earth and all its inhabitants in God's redemptive plan of the ages!
   
   But what exactly is that plan? The simplest, most certain thing we know is that all who forsake their sins and trust in the blood of Christ to grant forgiveness for their sins will partake of that glorious future. That reality deserves a great hallelujah! But as we get down to the very specific details of Scripture which explain how and when the redemptive plan of God will be worked out, we become crushed by the immensity and complexity of what God is planning to do. At first, that fact can leave us perplexed or even angry. Why did God not tell us in simple terms how it would all unfold? It may even insult our belief in our own intelligence to become aware that God is planning to unroll a plan which is beyond our comprehension.
   
   
2. TRANSFORMATION OF THE UNIVERSE
   
   The very first phrase of our text (which will be the focus of this study) has had that precise effect upon Bible students of all ages: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth..." When does this take place? Who is there to see it? How does the New Jerusalem fit in? The list of possible answers is long. I will present you with my own solution to this exegetical problem based upon what I think are the facts of the text. Many others have done the same with different results So why even try? Many have given up. Others take refuge in a highly symbolic form of interpretation which drains the word of God of its factual content. The reason we study these hard parts of the Bible is a precious promise found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
   
   That means that there is no part of Scripture about which we may say: "That's just a bunch of cold Bible facts which do not affect my life one bit." On the contrary, every fact of Scripture is profitable, working together to lead us into true discipleship. A very wide and deep knowledge of the Bible is necessary to support a serious and effective devotion to God. Remember that the Bible is all about him! The more we know, the more we will love him and worship him. This is, in fact, the main practical application I will offer for studying the timing of when the new heavens and new earth become a reality. We ought to be humbled and beggared for words at the stunning detail, complexity, and immense scope of the redemptive plan of God. Only a God who is truly almighty, all-knowing, and everywhere present could do what he says he is planning to do. If we gain only a whiff of this from our study it will have been worth it, for we shall better love and worship him, and rejoice more greatly in our salvation!
   
   The basic process of Bible interpretation is to gather everything that the Bible says about a subject, categorize it, and then summarize it in a useful way. A concordance and topical Bible can help save a lot of time with this. When we apply this technique to the new heavens and new earth, and also the New Jerusalem, we discover a number of prophetic passages in Old and New Testaments which speak of them. At first they appear to be speaking of the same things, especially where similar wording has been used, but closer examination reveals two sets of differing conditions surrounding the timing of the new heavens and new earth and the establishment of the New Jerusalem. The question of how they can be reconciled is our key interpretive problem.
   
   
3. THE BIBLICAL CONTEXT OF A TRANSFORMED EARTH
   
   2 Peter 3:10, 13 speak of the burning up of the heavens and the earth and their replacement with new ones: "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." The context very specifically refers to the divine judgment of ungodly people who have been staving off the thought of divine judgment with the idea that everything on earth has continued the same from the beginning of creation. That places the time of Peter's new heavens and earth at the beginning of the millennium, since the wrath of God will just have been poured out on the earth at the end of the church age. This tells us that God is planning to begin the righteous millennial reign of Christ with an earth cleansed of sinful defilements which have accrued over thousands of years of world history.
   
   Isaiah also prophesied of a new heavens and earth: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; /And the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. ...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 /Shall be thought accursed" (Isa. 65:17, 20). While there are many clues to the timing in the context, verse twenty gives us the fact that people will consider themselves blessed to live long lives to a hundred years of age. That means that following this new heavens and earth there will still be death. Although the prophets speak of sin being suppressed and wondrous renovation of the plant and animal worlds, the millennium will still have death since it is not thrown into the lake of fire until after the millennium (Rev. 20:14). Therefore Isaiah's new heavens and earth, like Peter's, will happen before the millennium.
   
   What of the New Jerusalem and the temple found therein? The prophet Ezekiel was given a detailed vision of a future Jerusalem with a new temple into which the shekinah glory of God's personal presence would return. Chapters 40-48 describe the mountain, the city, the house of God with its chambers and courts, and the orderly arrangement of the tribes of the nation Israel around the city. Ezekiel describes a physical regathering and a spiritual restoration of Israel which has not yet been seen in history: "'Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' declares the Lord GOD" (Eze. 39:28-29).
   
   Ezekiel also describes the restoration of animal sacrifices in the temple in great detail, beginning with the instruction: "And He said to me, 'Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it''" (Eze. 43:18). When all the features are gathered, Ezekiel's vision seems clearly to be a spiritually restored Israel in a millennial New Jerusalem with a temple in which regular sacrifices will be conducted. Some have said that this is proof that this prophecy will never literally be fulfilled because animal sacrifices are no longer necessary due to the sacrifice of Christ. It seems like the progress of redemptive history would have to be reversed. This is not necessarily the case, since the church was instructed to practice the Lord's Supper as a memorial of Christ's once-for-all atonement for sins on the cross. The observance does not take away sin, but reminds us of the Christ who has already done so. This will be the purpose of animal sacrifices in the millennial temple as well.
   
   
4. THE TIMING OF REVELATION 21-22
   
   This severely truncated survey of prophecies about a new heaven and earth upon which is a New Jerusalem can now be used to compare with the description found in John's vision in Revelation 21-22. The context just preceding the new heavens and earth in Revelation 21:1 speaks of the Great White Throne judgment at the end of the millennium. This same judgment is mentioned again in Revelation 21:8 to contrast the destinies of those who will be blessed by the new earth and those who will not. At first blush it seems that this new heavens and earth arrive not at the beginning of the millennium, but the end.
   
   Further study shows that on this new earth there will no longer be any death (cf. 20:4). The time of death's destruction is clearly stated to be the end of the millennium in Revelation 20:14. This definitively dates Isaiah's new heavens and earth as the beginning of the millennium since people will live to about a hundred years of age on that new earth. That means that at least ten generations will be required to span the thousand year reign of Christ, with many deaths occurring along the way. And while I would not wish to stretch a point, it seems that the statement that there will be no more death would preclude the temple sacrifices described in Ezekiel's vision. Those animals will surely die! A further distinction between Ezekiel's vision of a New Jerusalem and the one in our text is that the city seen by John has no temple at all: "And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple" (Rev. 21:22). This is a dramatic contrast since Ezekiel was given room by room dimensions of the temple in his vision!
   
   This means that there are at least two complete renovations of heaven and earth, one at the beginning of the millennium and one at the end. It also means that there are two New Jerusalems, an earthly one during the millennium and an eternal one. This leaves one last problem, which is the question of how saints in their glorified bodies can rule people with normal bodies during the millennium. It has been customary in recent years to view the two Jerusalems as beginning at the start of the millennium, with the heavenly one hovering over the earthly one. Walvoord, Pentecost and Van Kampen, for example, take this view. The heavenly saints would then rule the earthly people from the hovering Jerusalem. Van Kampen goes a step further and sees the two Jerusalems as interlocking, with the earthly temple protruding up into the heavenly one.
   
   While not wanting to take these accepted problem solutions too lightly, I would say that there are some conflicts with the text. Van Kampen's interlocking Jerusalems idea seems to fall on the verse quoted earlier which states flatly that there will be no temple at all in the heavenly Jerusalem, not that the millennial temple will do for both. As for the entire hovering Jerusalem concept, I am concerned about the saints who will be in danger of falling out, since "its gates shall never be closed" (21:25b). Why would God build gates that do not lead anywhere? Actually, those gates are there so that "the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it" (20:24b). Unless the kings are hovering also, they are traveling to the eternal New Jerusalem on the surface of the new earth which was created at the end of the millennium. I am loathe to say that the Lord of Glory sends down a new Jerusalem and it never quite lands on the new earth.
   
   It has long been wondered how Christ can be with the saints in heaven and rule the earth during the millennium at the same time. This is the source of the concept of the heavenly Jerusalem hovering over the earthly one, with Christ ruling both in near proximity. On the other hand, here is no reason why the infinite Christ could not be with his saints in heaven while also ruling the earthly millennium. His resurrected, glorified body is not bound by the normal rules of time and space. Furthermore, he would not have to be in both places at the same time, but could move wisely from one realm to the other to reign with perfection. This is precisely what he did in between his resurrection and his ascension. Have you ever wondered where Christ was when he was not walking through doors and appearing to the disciples? He was no doubt in heaven, perfectly administrating his role as the second person of the Trinity from two "locations," if that word can even be used of the infinite God.
   
   I humbly offer my solution that the saints remain in heaven during the millennium and rule with Christ from there as he moves effortlessly from one sphere to the other. At the end of the millennium, another new heavens and earth are prepared by God, the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21-22 descends from heaven and actually lands on the new earth, and the saints of all time spend eternity with God there. Hallelujah!
   
   Finally, why would this second cleansing of heaven and earth be necessary? The first cleansing of the earth by fire (cf. Peter and Isaiah) was necessary to rid the earth of the accumulated sin pollution of thousands of years so that the righteous earthly reign of Christ during the millennium could begin in holiness. The same problem must be solved as the eternal state begins, because perfect holiness shall be its mark. An earth sullied by sin and death during the millennium, including another Satanic war against God, could never be suitable as the eternal dwelling place of God with his people. Thus a new heavens and earth are created by God.
   
   
5. CONCLUSION
   
   I offer this proposed solution with full knowledge that I may have to reverse it. But if the timing issues are so difficult, what application does God expect us to make from the teaching in this portion of Scripture? We will take up the wonders of eternal life with God in the New Jerusalem in our next study. For this study, it is essential that we see the destiny of all of our material possessions, even the possessions which the human race holds in common, such as the earth itself. None of it will last. None of it will pass the door of eternity. I am reminded of the sight of Southern California homes destroyed by fire during the periodic onslaught of the dreaded Santa Ana winds. There is nothing left but a smoking slab of concrete where a lovely home used to be, with perhaps a few metal pipes sticking up and perhaps some masonry. This same kind of total destruction by fire is the destiny of our most prized possessions, ranging in size from diamond rings to the Pacific Ocean ("there is no longer any sea" [Rev. 21:1b]).
   
   If this is true, then what are we doing with our lives? Do we have God's priorities in view? Does our present comfort level on earth really matter that much in light of the need of people to meet God through Christ Jesus our Lord? Not much. Are you saving money to pass to your children? I am not. When I die, I want to have spent the resources God has given me on the task of world evangelism. And while I live, I want the energies of my life to be directed to the same end, living for God and enjoying his fellowship. What about you? I advise you, in light of the teaching in the word of God, to focus your life on the things that really matter.