A New World is Coming
The Bible begins with the creation of the world (Genesis 1-2).
The Bible ends with the creation of a new world (Revelation 21-22).
“But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13 NLT)
This present world is like a foreign country. We make our temporary home here, but it’s not our final destination. A glorious new world is coming. And that should affect how we live now. C S Lewis once said, "If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next."
As if to highlight this, the apostolic leader of a church movement in Brazil explained the reason for their ongoing, rapid growth like this: “We teach our people on eternal rewards and judgement. In the West you have a 70-80-year mind set. Our people have an eternal mind set.”
When you have an eternal mind set you live differently. You live fruitfully. You endure trials better. You cannot help but pray for and reach out to lost people. However, many Christians have such a nebulous view of eternity and heaven that it hinders this. Take for example David Lloyd George, UK Prime Minister 1916-1922:
“When I was a boy, the thought of heaven used to frighten me…I pictured heaven as a place where time would be perpetual Sundays with perpetual services from which there would be no escape.”
This could not be further from the truth! The present heaven is temporary home to the spirits of dead believers, but we will not spend eternity there. Rather we will spend eternity on a new earth filled with purpose and boundless things to do.
One day Jesus will return to earth, raise the dead to life, and judge all people. He will give those who have believed in him glorious resurrection bodies designed to live in the new earth that God will create, and give rewards that will determine our roles in that earth.
“Then I saw a new heaven (universe) and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever’” (Revelation 21:1-4 NLT)
The City of God will descend from heaven, a megalopolis measuring over two thousand kilometres on all sides, the base as large as two-thirds the land mass of Australia, the top reaching into space. This city will be the magnificent capital of the new earth. It will be the most perfect structure ever seen by the human eye.
There will be no sea, but there will be a pure river of life that waters the whole earth. The previous world and its evils will be gone forever. Never again will there be any suffering, distress, sickness, sorrow, or death. The Lord will have vanquished sin and death forever. It is the ultimate act of a loving God, to bring his home, heaven, to our home, earth, and for God and his people to be one forever.
FEATURES OF THE NEW EARTH
· No night. (Revelation 21:23)
· Organic paradise and two trees of life. (Revelation 22:1-3)
· Human, zoological, and botanical harmony. (Isaiah 2:4; 11:6-7; 55:13)
· One universal language. (Zephaniah 3:9 NIV)
· Nations of glorified resurrected believers and rulers will inhabit the new earth, with the City as our home and capital. (Revelation 21:24)
Technology, art, music, and many other facets of life will be present in this luxuriant new earth. God will not return us to a primitive state. Secrets in creation will unfold to us as never before. It’s Jesus who made this possible. If he had not shed his blood on the cross for our sin, then the City of God would remain in heaven, forever beyond the reach of humanity.
The Ultimate
“For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face.” (Revelation 22:3b, 4a NLT)
The ultimate wonder of the New Jerusalem will be seeing God’s face. As wonderful as the new earth will be, full satisfaction for the human soul will come only with the privilege of seeing God, being with him, and talking with him. Greta and I live in a lovely modern home with a nice garden. But without her presence it would be hollow. Similarly, without God, paradise would be nothing.
Rick Joyner: “Not only will the earth be restored as the paradise it was created to be, but with God dwelling on the earth, this tiny little speck of dust floating through space will become the capital of the universe!”
(Please see our book Afterlife for much more detail about the return of Christ, the resurrection, the new earth, and eternal rewards. You can order here )
CONCLUSION
God wants us to enjoy this present world (see 1 Timothy 6:17) but we are to do so with an eye on the world to come. “By faith [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country…for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11: 9-10 NIV)
American Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim across the English Channel. In 1952, she attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the shore of mainland California, a distance of 35 kilometers. The weather was foggy and cold, and she could not see the coast. After swimming for 15 hours, she became exhausted and was pulled from the water. She then discovered she was only 800 meters from shore. She later said, “All I could see was the fog …if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”
May we not allow the fog of adverse circumstances or confused theology to obscure the glorious new earth that God has prepared for those who love him and who have believed in his Son, Jesus. May we endure and so live for him that we not only affect the world around us, but store up for ourselves great reward in the world to come. Grace alone will allow us to enter the new earth and the city. What we do there will be determined by how well we live for God in this current world.