JOIN MY EMAIL LIST FOR CONTENT UPDATES
NOTES
The end of the Bible offers a spectacular vision of eternity. And it might surprise you to learn that the Christian’s eternal hope is focused not on heaven but on earth.
The apostle John was likely a teenager when he followed Jesus during his earthly ministry. Then, probably more than fifty years after the resurrection of Jesus, the old apostle was exiled by Rome to a small island called Patmos where he received his vision which we call Revelation. It’s the last book in the Bible. The book reveals many mysteries, but it primarily reveals Jesus in his glory and his plans. The end of Revelation contains a final vision. This vision gives us a glimpse into the eternal state—when this epoch of history closes and all the plans and goals of Jesus Christ are finalized. Here’s how John begins this final vision in Revelation 21:1–4:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
In this set of videos, we’re distinguishing heaven-aimed Christianity from new-creation Christianity. When I first became a Christian, I thought heaven was our home. I thought going to heaven is our final goal in life and that God intended to keep us there forever. While holding that idea, however, I had to neglect the simple truth offered in the passage I just read. That there will be a new heaven and new earth. Now some Bible teachers, when speaking of “heaven,” are actually referring to the new earth. But using the term heaven is confusing for many people and actually inaccurate according to the Bible. Jesus-followers who die go to heaven immediately, but at the end of all things, they eventually dwell on a new earth. Just like John saw. What John saw and recorded for us in Revelation chapters twenty-one and twenty-two should be the images that fill our minds when we think of the new earth.
In a separate video, I shared how Peter emphasizes the new earth will be a place where righteousness dwells. No more evil. No more corruption. We will be perfect, feel perfect, and relate perfectly—in love, joy, and peace. Now notice the emphasis John gives: that the new earth is a place where God dwells with his people. Our union and fellowship with God will be perfect. And all the pain that human evil and the earth’s corruption caused, will fade away. The hands of Christ will wipe away our tears. Pain will be a distant memory and there will be no more hurting, crying, pain, or death. All those things fill our lives on earth. But John refers to those things as the former things. They will all pass away for those who follow Jesus. Notice how it’s the fullness of the Lord’s presence that removes them all. Now, as for us today, as for us right now. John wants us to know that the Lord’s presence also helps us endure all those present evils which one day will all be behind us. Thank you for listening. I’m Aaron Massey.