“The New Heaven and New Earth” (Revelation 21:1-8)

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The New Heaven and New Earth The New Heaven and New Earth Brad Mills / General In 2008, a Dutch newspaper poll voted the city of Charleroi to be “The Ugliest City in the World”. Honestly, I can think of plenty of places in worse shape. The voting was weighted to places in the Belgian region, but it still felt like a low blow to those who lived there and appreciated its charm. No doubt, everyone could see that the city had been trending downward in terms of its aesthetic beauty. Buildings throughout the downtown area were in a perpetual state of repair. There seemed to be as much exposed scaffolding as there were businesses in operation. Newspaper and magazine articles pointed out the growing piles of litter and run down buildings with exteriors covered in graffiti. Ironically, all of the negative publicity began to attract tourists. The increasing popularity of the city captured the attention of savvy investors. The result has been a recovery and renewal at the heart of the rust belt of Northern Europe for more than a decade. We really cannot fathom how different this world is from when God first created it. It is difficult to imagine the impact that the fall had upon it. We do not know the pristine beauty of the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve enjoyed. We certainly have our ideal locations where we can get away and appreciate creation or culture. But, the fall introduced the intrusion of sin and corruption into this good world that God made, and it has left all of us longing for something more. This theme spans the Bible from beginning to end. God created a good world but, our first parents lost the paradise they were born into. The rest of the Bible is about how God is going to restore paradise and ensure that it would never be lost again. Read Revelation 21:1-8. I. What Is New ? (1-3, 5-6a) A new heaven and a new earth replace the first heaven and the first earth (Rev 20:11). What is removed in order for the “new” to appear? Peter provides the best commentary on this subject… 2 Peter 3:10–13 ESV But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. This present world will receive a total makeover. But, that does not suggest an utter discarding. This world is dissolved and cleansed in order to be rebuilt and renewed. The word for “new” implies a change in quality. It is remodeled and reinforced rather than completely destroyed. This is consistent with the effects of the worldwide flood that occurred in Noah’s time (Gen 6). The world was not destroyed but cleansed. We see something similar in the concept of resurrection. The body that is raised is a new and glorified body, but there is still some connection with the original body. Otherwise, why resurrect anything at all? The purpose of this renovation is to create a place for the holy city, New Jerusalem, to descend from heaven “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (2). The New Jerusalem represents God’s dwelling with the saints in perfect harmony. It represents the restoration of the perfect fellowship that had been lost back in Genesis 3. A voice from the throne declares this holy city to be a permanent dwelling place for God with man (3). Abraham “was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10). This communion between God and man was what the tabernacle and temple alwaysforeshadowed. God provided temporary measures of maintaining a relationship with his cove

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