In this message we shall begin to consider the last aspect of the kingdom of God—the new heaven and new earth.
Revelation 21:1 says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more.” Three other verses that speak of the new heaven and new earth are Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; and 2 Peter 3:13. Isaiah 65:17 says, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isaiah 66:22 tells us that the new heavens and the new earth which the Lord will make will remain before the eternal God, that is, remain forever. To remain forever means to remain for eternity. Second Peter 3:13 says, “According to His promise we are expecting new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” Here we see that righteousness will dwell in the new heaven and new earth. This means that everything will be right, proper, and fitting and that there will be no more friction.
In eternity past God purposed to have a corporate expression that He might be fully expressed and glorified (Eph. 3:9-11; 1:9-12). For this, He created the heavens, the earth, mankind, and numerous items. Since the creation of man, there have been four dispensations: the dispensation of the patriarchs, that is, the dispensation before law, from Adam to Moses (Rom. 5:14); the dispensation of law, from Moses to Christ (John 1:17); the dispensation of grace, from Christ’s first coming until the “restoration of all things” at Christ’s second coming (Acts 3:20-21); and the dispensation of the kingdom, from Christ’s second coming to the end of the millennium (Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6). God has used the first three dispensations and will use the fourth to accomplish His purpose by perfecting and completing His chosen people that they may be His eternal corporate expression. All four dispensations belong to the old heaven and old earth. Although the dispensation of the kingdom will be the dispensation of restoration, it will nevertheless take place in the old heaven and old earth because God’s perfecting and completing work in His chosen people will not be fully accomplished until the end of that dispensation. When God finishes this work, by the dispensation of the kingdom, the old heaven and old earth will pass away through fire and be renewed into the new heaven and new earth (2 Pet. 3:10-13), where the New Jerusalem will come for the eternal expression of the processed Triune God.
The new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem as the center will be the new universe which God will renew out of the old heaven and old earth. Although the heaven and earth which were created by God have become old because of Satan’s corruption, God’s purpose in creating the heaven and earth cannot be stopped. On the one hand, God will exercise His almighty power to judge the Satan-corrupted old heaven and old earth; on the other hand, He will renew the judged old heaven and old earth into the new heaven and new earth. Thus, the old heaven and old earth will be rid of their oldness and be renewed into a new universe suitable for God’s use to accomplish His eternal purpose and in which He will express Himself eternally and fully.
In relation to the new heaven and new earth, Revelation 21:1 says, “The sea is no more.” The sea is the result of the waters of judgment, the waters which God used to judge the pre-Adamic world (see Life-study of Genesis, Message Two). The work of God’s re-creation was to recover the land by restricting the waters which were the result of His judgment (Gen. 1:9-10; Jer. 5:22). The living creatures of the pre-Adamic world, after being judged by the waters, became the inhabitants of the sea. After they are dealt with by Christ and His believers (Matt. 8:29-32; Luke 10:17; Acts 16:16-18; 19:12) and the sea has given them up to the judgment of the great white throne (Rev. 20:13), there will be no more need of the sea. From the time of God’s work of re-creation, God has intended to abolish the sea by dealing with Satan and his demons. Hence, to say, “The sea is no more,” indicates that Satan and his evil followers have all been dealt with and will not be found in the new heaven and new earth.
The new heaven and new earth will not be something other than the old heaven and old earth. The new heaven and new earth will be the old heaven and old earth renewed to be the new heaven and new earth through the judgment of God by the purging of the burning fire at the close of the old creation (2 Pet. 3:10b, 12b). This may be compared to our old man and our new man. Today we are a new man but not another man, for the new man is the old man renewed. But whereas we are renewed by the Lord’s life, the old heaven and old earth will be renewed by the Lord’s judgment with fire. The old universe will be burned, but it will not be burned to nothing; rather, this burning will be a purging, and out of this purging the new heaven and new earth will come forth.
Second Peter 3:10 says, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements burning with intense heat will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.” In the day of the Lord, which will come mostly in the sense of judgment, the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up. This will take place after the millennium (Rev. 20:7, 11). The word “roar” indicates a rushing sound or noise. This may be a proclamation of a great change in the universe from the old to the new. The “elements” here are the physical elements of which the heavens are composed.
We may compare the words “dissolved” and “burned up” in 2 Peter 3:10 with “roll them up” and “changed” in Hebrews 1:12, “fled away” and “no place was found for them” in Revelation 20:11, and “passed away” in Revelation 21:1. The “burning with intense heat” to dissolve the heavens and the earth will be the procedure God will use to roll up the heavens and the earth and put them away so that they may be changed from the old to the new. This will be God’s final and consummate dealing with His creation in His government. In God’s final dealing all the material things will pass away, but His eternal word will abide forever (Matt. 24:35; 1 Pet. 1:25). The word of His prophecy will remain and be fulfilled at His appointed time for the accomplishment of His eternal purpose, regardless of the changes that occur in the physical universe.
Speaking of the day of God, Peter says, “On account of which the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements burning with intense heat are melted” (2 Pet. 3:12). The relative pronoun “which” refers to the coming of the day of God. The coming of the day of God is to execute judgment upon every part of the old creation to clear it up. On account of the coming of such a day, the heavens will no longer be able to stand and remain as they have been, but will be dissolved, their elements melting in the intense heat of the burning fire. Therefore, Peter says that “the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements burning with intense heat are melted.” This is for the old heaven and old earth to be renewed to be the new heaven and new earth.