“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ And He that sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said unto me, ‘Write: for these words are true and faithful.’” Revelation 21:1-5 KJV.
At this point the eternal state is described; do not confuse the New Jerusalem or the new heaven and new earth with anything described in the millennial period.
People like to make fun of those who carry signs around stating that “the end of the world is near”, but the world will not be destroyed for at least 1007 years. Scripture says of that time.
“But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word [of God], are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition [eternal destruction in the lake of fire] of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10.
These verses are directed to those alive during the millennium too, because this will still be future for them also.
It should be remembered that the end of the world as we know it is very near; when Christ’s church is removed at the rapture, the world which is collapsing around us, even now, will politically implode and become unrecognizable.
In that sense, the end of the world is imminent and the men carrying those signs will be correct.
As noted in chapter 20, judgment day comes at about the same time as the destruction of the earth described in 2 Peter chapter 3 above. After this, it is stated:
“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13.
The Amplified New Testament renders the word heaven in our opening passage Revelation 21:1-5, as a “new sky” and “the former sky”.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Revelation 21:1.
“And I saw a [new sky] and a new earth: for [the former sky] and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Revelation 21:1 redacted.
If this is so it would open up the possibility that 2 Peter 3:10 and 13 concern the destruction of the earth and its atmosphere only, leaving the rest of the universe intact.
Regardless, we are about to be shown a place that our imaginations cannot fully conceive.
There is no more sea on the new earth, something that will disappoint many of you, yet it does not say that there are no bodies of water; in fact it speaks of a river. It has to go someplace!
The sea represents the restlessness of the nations and is the means of the first judgment on the earth in Noah’s time; it is the divider of families and the cause of death of many throughout the ages.
“And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’” Genesis 6:13.
“Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Genesis 9:11.
The fact that there will be no sea in the new heavens and the new earth again confirms God’s covenant in Genesis 9:11 as from the beginning to forever.
On this new earth the holy city, New Jerusalem will descend from God out of heaven. Jesus said this concerning His bride.
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3.
The first phrase above “In My Father’s house are many mansions…” is present tense, meaning that the mansions were already in existence when Jesus spoke of them.
When Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place for you” He means He is going by way of the cross to pay for our sins and open the way to heaven and the mansions created for His bride.
It has the beauty of a bride adorned for her husband; it is also the home of the bride mentioned in John 14:2 above.
Though the Scripture teaches us that no man can see God and live and that He dwells in unapproachable light, in the new creation He will dwell among us.
More than that, we will be His sons and daughters. If you have had a good relationship with your father, mother, or grandparents, you will understand how wonderful this can be.
This is one of the reasons for the attack on fatherhood today; Satan does not want us to think of God as an approachable loving father. No, but rather an unloving derelict like so many have become today who have not had an example in their own fathers.
Do not believe any of these “toxic masculinity” myths they are nothing but doctrines of demons, as is the degradation of women through the actions of misogynist men and feminist who have done nothing but tear womanhood down.
God shall wipe away all tears; it is obvious by all that follows that there will be no more tears, yet God says that He shall wipe away all tears.
This has to mean more, and it does, God will comfort you for all the things that you endured on this earth, He will remove the memories that give us such anguish in this life, and there will be no more remembrance of the evil times. Just this hope alone would make eternity so much brighter; still it does not stop here!
There shall be no more death as witnessed by the fact that death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, Revelation 20:14. No more sorrow or crying, nothing to cause that, not hunger, not pain, for there will be no more wars, plagues, or famines.
Sorrow and crying are also caused by separation. If your spouse leaves the living room and goes into the kitchen, do you sorrow from the separation?
In eternity your friend can say I am going over to the next galaxy to visit a certain planet, you will not miss them because to see them it will be no more difficult than getting up from your couch and walking into the kitchen.
With new glorified bodies there will be no more physical pain. Pain is a good thing, hard as it is to say, because it warns us of disease, and injury, and forces us to be cautious to avoid it.
Pain of heartbreak will also cease because eternal love for one another will rule out disappointment. No more death, sorrow, crying, or pain, should not be too hard to get used to, “for the former things are passed away.”
“And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.’” Revelation 21:6.
God Himself declares that “It is done!” eternity stands before us and there will be no going back to the misery that we all endure in this lifetime.
God gives us freely of the water of life much as He declared in Isaiah 55:1-3a.
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me.” Isaiah 55:1-3a.
Have you ever noticed that God gave us everything free of charge, air, water, and food? It is men that rob, overcharge, and underpay us; yet this is all God’s fault for some reason.
“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7.
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4-5.
As seen earlier in Revelation this is the definition of an overcomer. The act of overcoming is not in our strength, but rather through God in Christ, this is not something we can do on our own; it will make your Christian walk much easier to realize this early on in it.
Starting with accepting Christ as our Savior, we should walk much as the apostle Paul describes in the following passage.
“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:12-13.
John E. Hunter in his book “Knowing God’s Secrets”, Zondervan Books, interprets the sentence, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, as being all things through Christ who infuses me.
He compares this infusing to the infusing that a tea bag does to the hot water when it is put into the cup, soon you see the clear water change color and it becomes tea.
This is the same process that can take place in the Christian who is willing to abide in Christ; the more time you spend with Him, the more you become like Him.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.
If you decide to run a marathon, you need to start running to build up your endurance; if you sit at home and dream about running a marathon, you never will.
Conversely, if you work out by running, you do not say to your legs, “Okay, we are running. Calf muscles expand by a quarter inch today, thighs grow by a quarter inch also, heart you need to beat faster, vessels, veins, flow at a greater rate.” All of these things are done automatically are they not?
Abiding in Christ is the same principle, live in His presence, read His word, the whole Bible, with the intent of taking to heart the things written, not as you would a textbook while studying for a test.
The idea here is to be infused with the word of God and changing into His image rather than making up a bunch of rules to follow, this only brings frustration.
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8.
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
The passage in Revelation 21:8 categorizes the doomed in the lake of fire; the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, these are those who practice such things and refuse the hand of Christ.
The group listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 is similar, yet many of them obtain salvation, the conclusion can only be that salvation is open to all who will receive it.
Too many people put off accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior because they think that they have to clean up their act before He will accept them. I have to quit drinking, smoking, doing drugs, sexual immorality, or stealing to make myself worthy to come into Jesus’ presence.
I have murdered someone, committed adultery; I am a homosexual, a witch, sorcerer, Satan worshiper. When you put Christ off because of things like this, it is an acknowledgement that you are separated from Christ. However His door is always open to whosoever will come.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21.
Christ has done it all. The sinner has only to repent of their sins, repent means to turn around and forsake them, and accept Christ’s payment for them.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…” John 1:12.
Come to Jesus, bring your dirty laundry, your wayward heart and your filthy hands and Jesus Christ will expunge all of your sins.
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18.
Countless souls in the lake of fire will realize that they are there because they did not say one word, yes. What a gut wrenching thought to have throughout eternity in that awful place.
“Just as I am, with-out one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, and wait-ing not to rid my soul of one dark blot, To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt re-ceive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Be-cause Thy promise I be-lieve, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”
“Just As I Am” by Charlotte Elliott and Wm. B. Bradbury.
Revelation 21:1-8 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 3-17-17, updated on 11-28-22.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.