The Eternal State – New Heaven/New Earth

Bible Study

21

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

5And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. 7The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

– Revelation 21:1-8
(NASB® © 2020)

The eternal state – so after the Millennium and the destruction of this planet – is described in the first eight verses of Revelation 21. We could emphasize the following points:

Concerning Creation

  • There will be a new earth, which will be of a completely new kind. Every trace of sin has disappeared. The curse and suffering of the first creation will be forgotten.
  • There will be a new heaven, which will be of a completely new kind. All the evil done in heaven by the devil and his angels will have disappeared.
  • There will be no more sea on the new earth. There will be no separation, no unrest, no impurity, no busyness, and nothing that distresses and frightens.

Concerning the Assembly

  • There is a holy city. There is an orderly, beneficial community and administration that will be separate from evil and completely reserved for God.
  • The city is the new Jerusalem. The old city of Jerusalem on earth no longer exists, but there is this eternal, heavenly “dwelling place of peace” (= Jerusalem).
  • The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven. The New Jerusalem, the assembly, has a heavenly character.
  • The New Jerusalem comes from God, it is in connection with God and belongs to God; this city is of divine origin.
  • The assembly is prepared, she will be beautiful for her beloved bridegroom, although the marriage of the Lamb took place before the millennium.
  • The assembly is the tabernacle of God with the redeemed people on the new earth. God will dwell in the assembly; it is His immediate dwelling place.

Concerning the Redeemed on the new earth

  • The tabernacle of God is with the people: God will reveal Himself through the assembly, this “marvelous tent,” to the redeemed on the new earth (there is no distinction between Israel and the nations in this respect).
  • God will dwell with people on the new earth. God is permanent and He is always there. He dwells among them indirectly through the tabernacle of God.
  • The people on the new earth will be God’s people. They will belong to Him forever, have a relationship with Him, and worship Him.
  • But God also belongs to them forever: God is with them, He is not a God at a distance: they will experience His closeness.
  • God will wipe away every tear, thus erasing every pain of memory and filling everyone with His eternal comfort.
  • That which caused the tears will be no more; in the first place, the greatest enemy is mentioned: death.
  • The death of loved ones brings grief and therefore also tears – but on the new earth there will be no more mourning, there will be no gravestone.
  • There will be no more crying on the new earth caused by the injustice that living people inflict on others.
  • No one on the new earth will feel pain anymore. The word “pain” is not part of the vocabulary of eternity.

Concerning the Individual Christian

  • Anyone who has thirsted for God on earth will experience that God will one day bring his mouth to the spring of the water of life without asking for anything in return. In eternity, every thirst of the soul is completely quenched.
  • Anyone who has overcome what is against God on earth will enjoy a personal relationship with God in eternity and will have taken up the inheritance: “I will be God to him and he will be My son.”

Concerning God

  • It is God Himself who will make all things new. No creature can do that.
  • It is God Who says that it will happen reliably and truly.
  • God guarantees that it will happen that way, because He is the One who speaks the first and last word, and He is the One Who begins a thing and completes it.
  • What God will have worked will be eternal, because He speaks the final word: “It is done!”

Concerning the Unbelievers

  • In contrast to believers, who will enjoy the waters of life and be united with God, unbelievers will be eternally separated from God in the lake of fire, which constitutes the second death.

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