THE ENVELOPING END OF THE OLD EARTH

Most of my website is dedicated to the discussion of the pastoral implications of biblical eschatology (what the bible foretells about the end times) particularly from the Book of Revelation. For many bible-readers, the bible’s prophecies about end-times are about a calamitous end of the world. Perhaps a novice reading of the Book of Revelation may even give the impression that all of its apocalyptic symbolism is reinforcing the preconception that the Book of Revelation, in particular, is about the climatic end of the world. But a closer examination of this profound book, reveals that it concludes, not with a vision of the end of the world — but with a vision of a new beginning. Let’s take a close look at the first six verses of the second-last-chapter of the Bible’s last-book.

1. A New Heaven and a New Earth – a new dimension of supra-time begins, where the redeemed have been resurrected with an imperishable and immortal body.

Rev. 21:1 ¶ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

2. God’s ‘House’, as Christ called it in John 14:2, (heaven), is called the “New Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2) will ‘come down’ to earth – the supra-physical dimension of ‘heaven’ will envelope the previously physical dimension of the old earth to renew the earth into becoming the new heaven/earth. [Further reading: From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth: A Christ-Centered Biblical Theology of the Promised Land, by Munther Isaac.]

3. God and the Redeemed will be eternally united and the Resurrected Redeemed will be glorified and receive a new nature – the apostle Peter declared that since the Holy Spirit had now been poured out the redeemed had received “divine power” to live a godly life – but in the resurrection they would also receive “the divine nature” (2Peter 1:3-4, note also Phil. 3:21). Consider Revelation 21:3 —

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them, and they will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them as their God.
Revelation 21:3

4. The divine union of God and the Redeemed and the transformation of the Redeemed into fullness of the Image of God (2Cor. 3:18; 4:4; Rom. 8:29) – God had created mankind in His image as man and woman with the potential to be glorified with a divine nature which has now been made possible by Christ’s atonement of the redeemed. Thus, the redemption of mankind’s redeemed will be marked by the realisation that the past will be no more, and that they are now immortal, imperishable, and incorruptible –

Rev. 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5. The Redeemed are comforted by the knowledge that all of creation and future history is moving toward God’s plan of redemption to make all things new. God’s Spirit declares that He is making (present, continuous tense) all things new.

¶ And He who was seated on the throne said,
“Behold, I am making all things new.”
Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5

The hope of final redemption also comes with an invitation to enter into this eternal life now! If you are thirsty, come and drink of God’s Water of Life. It starts with one simple prayer from you heart to God now. I suspect that many Christians regard the gospel as the means by which someone can have their sins forgiven and when they die to be admitted into the heavenly presence of God. Thus, this perspective of the gospel is often presenting with a question: When you die, will you go to heaven? To be sure, the Scriptures present the consequences of this life coming to an end as having eternal ramifications. Every person will give an account of how they responded in this life to God’s offer of forgiveness and His command to humbly repent and accept His Son as their Saviour. Because this life is sacred and our choices are an exercise of our God-given free-will, the response we make in this life to God’s offer and command will be the determining factor for how He will judge on the Last Day (John 12:48).

THE GOSPEL IS SO MUCH MORE THAN DYING AND “GOING TO HEAVEN”!

I trust that our brief excursion through Revelation 21:1-6 has revealed that instead of the Book of Revelation being about the end of the world, it is really about the beginning of the world that God had originally intended. Here is graphical summary of what we have seen in this passage about how the Book of Revelation foretells about the new beginning:

Revelation 21 describes the beginning of the fulfilment of God's Plan of Redemption.