A New Heaven and a New Earth
In my
early twenties, I had a severe back problem. Initially, the doctors tried to
handle things with physical therapy, medicines, and other noninvasive actions.
Unfortunately, over the months, things just got worse and worse—to the point
where there was some paralysis in my leg. For almost a full year, I struggled
with significant pain, lack of mobility, the inability to sleep well, and the
loss of an active lifestyle. Eventually, the only option available was surgery.
The doctors warned of the surgical dangers and the difficult recovery process,
but we ultimately determined that moving forward with the procedure was the
only viable option. One morning in the early fall, a wonderful team of doctors
operated on my back, repairing the damage that was present there. And,
immediately upon awakening… I felt like a new man!
Literally.
I felt brand-new. For so long I had struggled with the pain and limitations of
my back, and the difficulties impacted so much of my life, that coming out of
the surgery, I immediately felt such relief, that the only way to describe it
was… like I was made new!
Now, to
be clear, there wasn’t really anything “new” about me—save for some stitches
and the like. I wasn’t really “new” in the sense that something was present
that wasn’t present beforehand. The “new” feeling came rather from the sense of
being “re-newed.” After the surgery, I was restored to the way I was intended
to be, that the brokenness in my back had limited so much so, that I felt “new”
when I was fixed. Again, not that something original came into existence.
Rather, what was originally intended was able to be in its fullness again. The
“newness” was a “renewed-ness,” a change which resulted in an ability to live
life the way I was intended to live. The “old me,” the pain-filled body, was no
more—the “new” had come!
The Bible
frequently speaks of “a new Heaven and a new Earth,” and of the old heaven and
earth passing away (Revelations 21; 2 Peter 3; Isaiah 65 and 66; Mark 13). In
recent centuries this has become in people’s minds, the destruction of what is
presently this world, and the total creation from nothing of a brand new
reality. This world will be eliminated, and replaced by an entirely other
creation. The motive for such a thought is that this world is so saturated with
sin, evil, and wickedness, that the only recourse is for God to start all over
again—to take His people from this wrecked world, and insert them into a newly
fashioned-from-nothing heaven and earth.
But this
view—that the new heaven and new earth is a brand-new creation, that the old is
destroyed in such a way as to cease to exist—is hard to square with other
Scriptures. In Romans 8, we are told that all creation groans in bondage as it
awaits the liberation from sin (vs. 18-25). It is, after all, Satan’s goal to
destroy God’s creation. God’s plan is different—not destruction, but
liberation, restoration, and redemption. Yes, this world is broken, infected by
a dreadful, rebellious sin, a wickedness and evil which is anti-God in every
way. But, this describes, not just the world, but you and me as well! And,
God’s response to us and our sin? Is it not our destruction, but our
restoration - Christ’s own sacrifice destroys sin in every way, but it restores
us to our created purpose, God’s original intent for humanity.
In much
the same way, God’s work of bringing about a new creation, a new heaven and new
earth, is not so much a “new” one in the sense of new-in-origin,
new-in-creation, but rather a “new-ness” in character, a new-ness that reflects
the vast transformation that occurs when all sin is gone. The new heaven and
new earth that awaits us all at the end of time, is a new-ness that exists
because of the finality, the totality, of God’s redemptive work in Jesus Christ.
What does the new heaven and earth look like? It looks like this world… but so,
SO different! This world restored, redeemed, sin-free! That is what awaits
us—the world as God intended it to be.
This week
as you prepare for worship, read Revelation 21.
1. What
image stands out the most from this description of the end times? Why does this
grab you?
2. What
does it mean for a bride to be prepared for her husband? What is behind that picture?
What does the author want us to see about the church here?
3. What
is the dominant feature of this new heaven and new earth? What is most
important to the author to stress?
4. In
verse 5, God says He is making all things new. What might this mean if the word
“new” is taken as “brand-new, newly created” versus “renewed, restored to
original purpose?”
5. What
connections can you see here between the old earth that passes away and the new
earth that God brings?
