NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH
Concept of a new or renewed universe first found in the book of Isaiah. God
declares, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former
things shall not be remembered or come into mind …. For as the new heavens
and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me … so shall your
descendants and your name remain” (Is 65:17; 66:22,
rsv).
Some scholars think that long before Isaiah’s time there
existed among many ancient peoples the belief that the end of human history
would correspond to its beginning and therefore some sort of universal
restoration would take place. The world renewal taught in Scripture regards
the event as supernatural and as taking place in a different and higher
sphere.
That God is Creator of the heavens and earth is basic to
all biblical theology. “In ages past you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands” (Ps 102:25,
nlt). If God created the
heavens and earth, then it is entirely appropriate that, once they have
served their purpose, God may do with them what he wishes. “Even they will
perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing. You
will change them like a garment, and they will fade away” (v 26,
nlt). The same metaphor is
found in Isaiah 51:6, which speaks of the earth wearing out like a garment.
Scripture (quoted below from the
nlt) gives considerable
attention to the passing away of the old order, speaking of a future time
when heaven and earth will disappear (Is 34:4; 51:6; Mt 24:35; Rv 21:1). A
number of related phrases portray the same idea: “And this world is fading
away” (1 Jn 2:17); “They [the heavens and earth] will wear out like old
clothing” (Heb 1:11; cf. Ps 102:26; Is 51:6); “But the day of the Lord will
come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a
terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth
and everything on it will be exposed to judgment” (2 Pt 3:10). This
consummation by fire will take place at the time of final judgment. It will
be “the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt
away in the flames” (v 12).
This judgment, which brings to a close the old order,
clears the way for new heavens and a new earth. Peter continues, “But we are
looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world
where everyone is right with God” (2 Pt 3:13). It will be so wonderful that
no one will even remember the old (Is 65:17). Peter, preaching in Solomon’s
Colonnade, says that Jesus will remain in heaven until the time comes for
establishing all that God spoke by his holy prophets (Acts 3:21). This
recovery or renewal is eagerly awaited by the created order. Paul writes,
“For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will
reveal who his children really are” (Rom 8:19) because “all creation
anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom
from death and decay” (v 21).
The heaven that will be renewed is not the heaven of
God’s presence, but the heaven of human existence, the starry expanse that
constitutes the universe. In the book of Revelation we learn that the new
Jerusalem comes down from heaven to earth (Rv 21:2, 10) and forms the
eternal dwelling place of God and his people. The new earth will be a place
of perfect righteousness (Is 51:6), divine kindness (54:10), eternal
relationship to God (66:22), and total freedom from sin (Rom 8:21).
rsv
Revised Standard Version
nlt
New Living Translation
Elwell, Walter A. ; Comfort, Philip
Wesley: Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale
House Publishers, 2001 (Tyndale Reference Library), S. 949