A New Heaven and a New Earth
Today’s passage: Revelation 21:1–8
Focus verse: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. (Revelation 21:1)
We receive John’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth with much excitement.
The original version, courtesy of God’s creative work in Genesis 1 and 2, is no more (see Revelation 6:14.) A new heaven and a new earth await us. Remember that Jesus left the earth to go and prepare this place for us (John 14:1–4).
In this future reality exists the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. It descends from heaven to God’s new Earth, prepared as a bride ready to wed her husband, Jesus the Christ. There we will live with God and God will live with us.
We can imagine this might be what Adam and Eve experienced with God in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8) before their sin drove them from God’s presence. Like them, we will walk with Father God in the cool of the day. Or it might be something even better.
This idyllic paradise is void of death, pain, and sorrow. These things are forever gone.
God is making all things new. He offers living water to all who are thirsty, with no requirements or expectations. It’s at no cost, a freely given gift from Jesus (Romans 5:15–18 and Ephesians 2:8–9).
Those who have overcome and are victorious, especially those who resisted worshiping the beast and taking his mark, will receive this heavenly reward as an eternal inheritance from God. And we will be his children.
Yet those who haven’t aligned with God—the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, murderers, the sexually immoral, practitioners of magic arts, and idolaters, along with all liars—will end up forever in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This stands as the second death, eternal damnation.
This list of negative traits gives us pause.
Though we may be able to rule out several sins we’ve never committed, the last item includes everyone. We have all lied at some point. Does this mean we’re destined for the lake of fire?
Fortunately, we are not. Through Jesus, we’ve been made right with God. He remembers our sins no more (Isaiah 43:25).
If we follow Jesus—if our names appear in the Lamb’s book of life—we need not fear the second death. Instead, we can anticipate a joyous eternity in heaven with Jesus and Father God.
Questions:
- How do we think the new earth will differ from the present one?
- How often do we think about our future in heaven?
- Have we accepted Jesus’s freely offered gift of living water?
- Are we ready to receive our inheritance in God’s new heaven and new earth?
- What do we look forward to in spending time with God in heaven?
[Discover more about a new heaven and a new earth in Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, and 2 Peter 3:13. Read about living water in John 4:10–11 and John 7:38.]
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Read more in Revelation Bible Study: Discover Practical Insights from John’s Epic Vision.
Discover practical, understandable insights from the book of Revelation.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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