Bible Society of South Africa

A new heaven and a new earth - 30 June 2023

By Ben Fourie

Bible text(s)

Revelation 21

The New Heaven and the New Earth

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished.

Revelation 21:1GNBOpen in Bible reader

The new creation brings forth a new heaven and a new earth. The circle is complete. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

What is meant by a new heaven and a new earth, how does it look and how will it be to spend eternity there? It is really impossible for us to try to visualise how it will look and how it will be to live there. One hears stories of people who had near-death experiences, who said that they saw something of the new heaven and earth, but it is not possible to verify such claims.

Some people try to use the vision from Revelation to put together a picture of how it would look, but the description that we have here is not meant to be a literal description of how it will be. We should also not think that this earth will be re-created and people will be able to live here in a new way, for eternity. Our earth is nothing but a planet in the solar system, like probably millions of other planets in space, and will die with our star, the sun, or even long before that. New heaven and new earth are an idea for one and the same thing, and points to a completely new dimension, God’s dwelling, something that lies outside of our comprehension.

Although we cannot visualise it, the Bible does give us some insight of how it will be. The most important of all is that God will be there. We should actually stop right here with any speculations of how it might look. To know that God will be there, is enough. However, because God will be there, the Bible describes it as a very beautiful place, a place where there will be no hunger, that is, we will not have a need for anything that is important on the old earth. The Bible tells us that it will be our home and that we will have spiritual bodies.

The best news of all is that Jesus has already booked my place in heaven.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that I can know that Jesus went to heaven to make sure my place will be ready when I arrive. Amen

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