Doesn't the Bible say there will be a new Heaven and a new earth?

Revelation 21: 1 says, "And 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." So, yes the scripture does tell us about a new heaven and earth. (We'll deal with the "sea" issue in another article)

Question: What is the nature of the new heaven and earth - physical or spiritual?

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

In Hebrews 11, we are told "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (vs. 8-10). The author continues in verses 13-16, "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them."

Scripture teaches that the nature of the new heaven and earth is spiritual, not physical. It has implications for the physical realm but it is not physical. John is not talking about a new planet earth. Disagree? Read on.

Question: What is/was the old heaven and earth?

No, not the physical globe and the skies above. There are many places we could go in scripture but the clearest one to me is in Isaiah 51. God is comforting the righteous who are in distress. He rehearses what He has done and will do. In verse 16, He says, "And I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, 'You are My people.'"

God describes the covenant He made with them as establishing the heavens and founding the earth! Is physical planet earth under consideration here? No way! It was around long before the Mosaic covenant.

The phrase "new heaven and new earth" is figurative. All we have to do is study enough to see how scripture uses it and the picture starts to clear up. This is true of all the figures we find in prophecy but, unfortunately, most Christians would rather let someone else tell them what the text means than study to discover the meaning for themselves.

Keep in mind that like every other aspect of the coming kingdom, the old system was a type of the new. The old was physical, but the new is spiritual. Unless we understand this and apply it, our interpretation will continue to suffer.

Ron McRay is among those who have been studying this topic for decades. You can't sit through a session with him without hearing the question, "What is the spiritual significance of the passage?" It can be a frustrating question, but it is absolutely on target. So many of the questions about eschatology which plague Christians start to come into focus by simply considering the spiritual significance.

This brief piece isn't designed to be a detailed study of this subject. There is much more scripture that speaks to the issue and we hope that this brief excursion will cause you to see things in a different light and investigate the issue further.

In time, we will add an in depth study of this topic, in the meantime, visit the links we recommend and you will find a number of good discussions on this issue.

© Copyright 2003 ~ Jim Wade