"WHAT WILL THE NEW EARTH BE LIKE?"

Look Up: Revelation 21

         Sermon preached by:   Dr. Clay Barnes, Carmel Baptist Church

(Copyright 2006)  

1.  Review – been in a series talking about heaven – misconceptions, redemption and resurrection, intermediate heaven…  

This morning I have the great privilege of talking with you about the New Earth and the New Jerusalem – synonyms for the future heaven – what will they be like – what will the physical features be like. Contrary to what you might think or perhaps even been taught, the Bible has a lot to say about what the new earth will be like. So hang on – we are in for a run this morning!  

The primary consideration/presuppositions we have is that this world in which we live gives us a foretaste of the new world to come  

We have wonderful scenes of magnificent beauty that can literally take our breath away.  At the same time we have pictures that are not so pretty, that at places show the ugly side of creation and the ugly side of humanity… For remember – not only did Adam and Eve sin and face a fallen life – but as a result, the earth is under a curse and will be in need of redemption and restoration.  

If taken literally, the earthly depictions of the New Earth found in scripture allows us to make direct connections with our current lives. It would seem odd to me that God is promising us an eternal home that none of us would be able to grasp or wrap our minds around.  

So, what gives us sensory pleasure and delight, such as the beauty of a mountain scene, sitting in a canoe on a lake etc I believe will be highlighted on the New Earth.  

I want to look at some of the most commonly asked questions:  

I.  What will the new earth (heaven) be like?

According to Gen, God created our first home – in Eden. 
God himself planted a garden – showing he was actively involved in creating our world. God did all that in the beginning. 
            1.  Jesus is preparing the new Earth for us.  Jo 14:23 says:
In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

 Imagine what Jesus has created for you and me given that he has had close to 2000 years to do it!  Mansions, cities, gardens, roads, lakes – all coming together

            2.  Will the New Earth be a return to Eden? Many ask, “Will we be starting over – going back to the original paradise of Adam and Eve?   

Many present this idea…

 The Bible tells us otherwise. The new earth will be a carry over of nations and cultures – Rev 7:9
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands  

Doesn’t appear that history starts over. From Eden to the present history has continued. There are certainly pivotal points – as Christians we believe the pivotal point was the death and resurrection of Jesus…  

Imagine though – going back to Eden – what would that mean? In some senses it would be regression and denial of the good things humanity has been a part of – the development of music and musical instruments, great literature and art, the development of wood and metal working  

Also – a going back to Eden does not fit the biblical picture of a great city with millions of inhabitants  

Alcorn gives this example – suppose a young lady or man, sick from birth – let’s say blindness…  

Now – we can certainly expect the new earth to be like Eden in many ways, only better. This is what the Bible says: Isa 51:3; Ez 36:35

The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited."

Imagine this – we have never seen nature in its pure, magnificent state. We only see it as cursed and decaying. If we are struck by powerful beauty that thrills our emotions and can bring us to a point of worshipping God for it – all on the shadow side – how much more would we expect the new earth in its restored condition to be of incredible beauty – almost indescribable.  

Alcorn states that we won’t trade earth’s beauty for heaven’s, but retain earth’s beauty and gain even deeper beauty.  

CS Lewis seems to have had this same biblical understanding. It comes through most clearly in the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia – the Last Batlle

In this scene Lucy and Jewel, the unicorn watch as their beloved Narnia is being destroyed right before their eyes. Though they are actually standing on the threshold of Aslan’s country – heaven – she and Jewel mourn the loss…

As they turn and begin the journey inward into Aslan’s country here is what happens…(read from the book)  

That captures the concept the Bible presents about the new earth  

II.  What is the New Jerusalem? What will it be like?

            1.  Important to understand that the Bible refers to heaven as both a country and as a city.  Look at Heb 11:16…  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Then look at Heb 13:14 and Rev 21:2

For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Many ask if the descriptions in the Bible are intended to be symbolic – the city, its size, the descriptions. Certainly it could be. However, the repetition in Rev and the descriptions of architecture, streets, and city features suggests the term is more than a figurative one  

            2.  I believe the Bible shows us the city will be a physical place

Dr. Poplin – that we will have physically resurrected bodies  

As Alcorn states – where do we expect physically resurrected people to live if not in a physical environment?  

It would seem to me to be misleading for the Bible to continually refer to it as a physical city if it does not contain what we know as characteristics of a city  

            3.  It will be very, very BIG.  How Big is the New Jerusalem? Again, people will often ask if the measurements presented in Rev are symbolic in nature.  Though that is certainly possible, the Bible states that the measurements are given in human measurements (Rev 21:17). 

… by man's measurement, which the angel was using.  

This is language indicating literal measurements  (Counter example)

Isa 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?  

So let’s assume the measurements are literal. If I believe God created this world and the universe in which we find ourselves, then surely I believe God or Jesus can build a city of this proportion.  

Think about the Great Wall of China – 4000 miles long…  

Rev 21:16  The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.  

1400 miles or 2200 kilometers. What does that mean – look at this map of North America …  

That is a city larger than India, for my daughter and son-in-law it is 40 times larger than the UK.  

(return to verse) Even more impressive is that it as high as it is long and wide. What does that mean.  Let’s say we took a very generous 24 foot per story – taller than a two story foyer or great room. This city would be 360,000 stories high.

That is 2 million square miles – on the first level alone…

What does it all mean – I can’t even picture it. In some of the science fiction I read… But this is not science fiction – it is the word of God  

But that is not all. Look at the incredible beauty and colors that will be a part of this city. It is a description of the walls of the city – described as broad and high – no less than 200 feet thick…  

Rev 21:19  The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst  

Look at the kaleidoscope of colors. And the gates – twelve gates each made of one giant pearl – don’t know about you but I would not want to meet that oyster.   There will obviously be other cities on the new earth for as Rev 21:24 says,   The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. The kings of the nations have to come from somewhere and return somewhere  

But they will not be like the new Jerusalem.  This city will shine with the radiant glory of God and with its streets of pure gold
The river of life running through it… Fruit trees with 12 kinds of fruit, ripening every month will line the river and the streets  
The surrounding countryside and countries will be exquisite  

III. A final question that is often asked when thinking about the new earth is this – will there be time on the new earth?  

Some authors state that our existence in heaven will be without time or space – a mode of existence where space and time are meaningless concepts.  But if that is true, there is no way we could ever understand what heaven – the new earth will ever be like.  For God created us in time – even before the curse came upon the world  

time question – important to remember that God created time before any curse and declared it to be good.  Eden was created in time.  

Rev 8:1 – there is silence in heaven for ½ hour.   

Dan 10:13 (no slide) tells us Michael was delayed – which means time – from arriving at a particular place – which means space.   

Many more verses in OT and NT talk about time in heaven – so we can be pretty certain there will be time on the new earth.    

The resurrection does not eliminate time and space – it redeems them.  

It may be that people feel they are making heaven and the new earth  sound more wonderful if they say there is no time and space.  In reality, they are making it more of an unreality for us.  

Many more questions could be raised about the new earth – what about the seasons, weather, sun and moon, etc. that we simply do not have time to pursue.  

Suffice it to say – the new earth is not going to be this big mystery of mystical lack of time and space, with, in the language of our senior pastor “little naked souls running around”.  It will be a familiar place, though redeemed in all its beauty and pleasure.  

Question is – why are we so afraid of it – of the passage to it?  

For me, as with Jewel the unicorn, “I have come home at last – to what I have been looking for all my life…”