The New Heaven and

the New Earth

Revelation 21
 Opening Question
 What is your view of heaven?
– What is heaven?
– A physical place or a state of mind?
– What will life be like in heaven?
– What will we be like in heaven?
– Is there time in heaven?
– What will heaven look like?
– Do you really look forward to heaven?
 Heavenly Myths
What the Bible does not say about heaven
(Sanders, 1993)
 Our main occupation in heaven will be
sitting on a cloud, plucking strings of a
golden harp
 Everything in heaven will be bland and not
interesting
 Life in heaven will largely consist of rest and
contemplation
 Heavenly Myths
What the Bible does not say about heaven
 The music in heaven will be dull, heavy and
repetitive
 Peter guards the pearly gates
 That we become angels, wearing halos and
wings
 Longing for heaven is weakness and a form
of escapism
 Why myths are dangerous
Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words
of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add
unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of
the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his
part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,
and from the things which are written in this book.
 What is Heaven?
 The Greek word translated “heaven” is used
in three ways in the Bible:
– The aerial or atmospheric heavens
 Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth…”
– The sidereal or starry heaven
 1 Kings 8:27 – “The heavens, even the highest
heaven, cannot contain you.”
– The eternal abode of God
 Matthew 6:9 – “Our Father in heaven…”
 Biblical Heaven
Revelation 21:1 – 22:6
 Events in these passages take place after:
– The return of Christ (19:11-21)
– The thousand years (20:1-6)
– Satan’s doom (20:7-10)
– The final judgment (20:11-15)
 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away…” (21:1)
 Eternal Heaven
The place were God dwells
– Isaiah 66:1 – “Heaven is my throne…”
– Matthew 6:9
– 1 Peter 3:22 – “(Jesus) has gone into heaven
and is at God's right hand - with angels,
authorities and powers in submission to him.”

Heaven is the place where God most fully

makes known his presence to bless.
 Is Heaven a Physical Place?
 Often denied outside the evangelical word
– Existence only known from the testimony of Scripture
 Even some evangelical scholars have been
questioning this
– “… heaven is both a place and a state, it is primarily a
state” (Erickson, Christian Theology)
– Heaven is not so much a place, but the presence of a
person, God (Guthrie, New Testament Theology)
 What do you think?
The Case for Heaven as a Place
 Jesus’ ascension
– Acts 1:9-11
 Stephen’s death
– Acts 7:55-56
 Jesus’ promise
– John 14:2-3
 The New Earth
 God will make “a new heaven and a new
earth”
– Isaiah 65:17, 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13, Rev 21:1
 Physical creation will be renewed in a
significant way
– Romans 8:19-21
 The earth will be as God intended it to be at
creation
– Genesis 1:31 (“very good”)
– “Paradise”, “utopia” etc…
 Renewed or Replaced?
Some Scripture seem to suggest that earth will be
completely destroyed:
– Hebrews 1:11-12
 Heaven and earth will perish, grow old, be rolled up, changed
– Hebrews 12:26-27
 Remove what was shaken, so what cannot be shaken remains
– 2 Peter 3:10
 The earth and all its work will be burned up
– Revelation 20:11
 Earth and sky fled away, no place was found for them
– Revelation 21:1
 The first earth has passed away, and the sea was no more
 Replaced or Renewed?
 Completely destroying the earth, however,
would seem to give the devil the last word
– The original earth that was “very good”
(Genesis 1:1) would be scraped
 Earth will not be “new”, not in the sense of a
new creation, but new in character
 Disagreement in the Protestant world on this
– Lutheran: entirely new creation
– Reformed: present creation will be renewed
 Believers in Heaven
 Similar to heaven and earth, believers will
have new resurrected bodies (Glorification)
– 1 Corinthians 15:12-58
 All things will be subject to us, under the
kingship of Christ, forever and ever
– Hebrews 2:6-9; Rev 22:5
– Matthew 5:5 – we will “inherit the kingdom”
– This was according to God’s original plan at
creation (Genesis 1:26-28)
 Life in Heaven
 Life in heaven include many features that are part
of God’s physical or material creation
– Eating and drinking (Rev 19:9; Luke 22:18)
– River of the water of life, street of the city (Rev 22:1)
– Tree of life will bear twelve kinds of fruit, each in its
month (Rev 22:2)
– Heavenly city (the New Jerusalem) with gates, a wall,
foundation etc (Rev 21:10-11, 21-26)
– Music (Rev 5:7-14; 14:2-3)
 Eternity = Timeless?
 Will time be no more in heaven?
– No Scripture support
– “There shall be no night there” (Rev 21:25)
– Due to light from the God’s glory (Rev 21:23)
 Most description of heaven imply sequence
or succession of moments
– Rev 21:24-26; Rev 22:2
 For us, eternity means living in a succession
of moments that will never end
 Life in Heaven
 Heaven will be a place of great beauty and
abundant joy
– A holy city…prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband (Rev 21:2, 11, 18-21)
– No more death, mourning, crying, pain (21:4)
– Drink freely from the fountain of life (21:6)
– Free from all evil (21:7)
 Life in Heaven
 Most importantly, we will be in the glorious
presence of God and enjoy unhindered
fellowship with Him (Rev 21:3-4)
– See also Jude 1:24; Romans 3:23; 8:18; 9:23; 1
Cor. 15:43; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:17; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess.
2:12; Heb 2:10; 1 Peter 5:1, 4, 10
 We will experience genuine worship of God
and shall see His face (Rev 22:3-4)
– See also Psalm 16:11; 27:4
 Application
Two Questions for Reflection
 Will we be going to heaven?
– Revelation 21:27; Matthew 18:3
– See perseverance of the saints:Romans 8:35-39;
John 17:24
– Does our life reflect our hope in heaven?
– Present life is temporary (2 Peter 3:11-13)
– Storing treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21)
– Stewardship – eternal consequences (Matthew 25:14-
28)
Next Lesson

Chapter 22