Revelation 21:1-7

All Things Made New

The New Heaven and Earth

At this point, John returns us to where he left off just prior to parenthetically taking the reader forward in time to the end of the world. He returns the reader to that period just at and after the destruction of Jerusalem in Revelation 20:6. Revelation 21 picks up at this point. The old Jerusalem has just been destroyed. John now describes its replacement, the New Jerusalem. “St. John saw the fall of Jerusalem, and recognized in it the hand of God; it was not an accident, but a judgement of God; it was a visitation, a Coming of the Son of Man.”¹

This new Jerusalem, a synonym for the new covenant, came into existence at the Lord’s Supper in the upper room just before Christ’s crucifixion. However, it has been in transition from that point to the point before us. At this time, with the old Jerusalem fully destroyed, and the old covenant fully fulfilled, the new community of faith now takes its full and sole right to the elevated term Jerusalem. The picture of the establishment of the new Jerusalem, the Church, is highly picturesque. It uses symbol, metaphor and highly developed imagery to draw us this picture of the bride of Christ, the new covenant replacement of the old covenant wife of Jehovah.

21:1 Then 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. We are told that the first heaven and the first earth passed away (21:1). Peter gives us some detail concerning this event.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10–13)

Now the question is this, is this a physical destruction of the earth? It certainly could be construed that way, and indeed many, probably most, good people do just that ². However, note the similarity of this passage with another in the early chapters of Revelation.

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (Revelation 6:12–14)

“…St. Peter, speaking of that day of the Lord, says, “the heavens shall pass away (παρελεύσεται) with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burnt up.” Our Lord said the same respecting his coming, “Heaven and earth shall pass away” (παρελεύσεται), “but my words shall not pass away.” ”³ Consider also Isaiah,

And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree. For My sword is satiated in heaven, behold it shall descend for judgement upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. (Isaiah 34:4–5)

And Ezekiel says,

And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon will not give its light. (Ezekiel 32:7)

This is de-creation language. The world that the Jews then knew was being uncreated. The heaven and earth that they were familiar with, their world, was passing away, and indeed, as John put it, the first heaven and the first earth (21:1) did pass away. Judaism no longer existed. Something new was created in its place, a new heaven and a new earth. Here creation language is used to describe what would take the place of the old order. The new order would be so unique and the ways of God with men so different that only the phrase a new heaven and a new earth (21:1) could describe it. The replacement for the old Jewish order would be the New Kingdom and Church of Jesus Christ. In this phrase we can see “the defunct Old Covenant system of Judaism as the older “creation,” now replaced with the new order under Christ.”⁴

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. (Hebrews 8:13)

And it did disappear.

This new heaven and new earth (21:1) phrase is otherwise found only in Isaiah 65 and 66. Interestingly, this Isaiah passage is liberally applied in the New Testament to the current age and to the new Church.⁵ The allusions are often faint, but they have a collective force demonstrating the application of the Old Testament imagery of a millennial state to today’s New Testament Church.

"They will not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, and their descendants with them." (Isaiah 65:23)	"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58)
"The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord." (Isaiah 65:25)	"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you." (Luke 10:19)
"Thus says the Lord, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Isaiah 66:1–2)	"…but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15)
"That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, that you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.” (Isaiah 66:11)	"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6)
"For thus says the Lord, behold, I extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees." (Isaiah 66:12)	"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27)
"For behold, the Lord will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgement by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many." (Isaiah 66:15–16)	"But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire." (Matthew 22:7)
"For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory." (Isaiah 66:18)	"I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven…." (Matthew 8:11)
"I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations." (Isaiah 66:19)	"…to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27 "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ…." (Ephesians 3:8)
"Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord." (Isaiah 66:20)	"…to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:16)

We are also told that there is no longer any sea (21:1). To comprehend what John is saying you must understand that sea (21:1) in Scripture often refers to unregenerate gentiles. “The Sea appears to stand for all that separates and hinders; we remember that it has often symbolized the ancient enemy of God.”⁶ “The word, sea, is frequently used in Scripture to depict Gentile nations.”⁷

Alas, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas, and the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters! The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, but He will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind, or like whirling dust before a gale. (Isaiah 17:12–13)

Who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples. (Psalm 65:7)⁸

In addition, we see John himself using waters in the same way the word sea (21:1) is here used.

And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues." (Revelation 17:15)

The result of this understanding of the word, sea (21:1), is that there would be, in the ultimate completion of this new heaven and new earth, no pagan world, only spiritual Israel. This is of course a picture of the final victory of the church.

They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)

The symbolic nature of the context favors this idea. The gentiles were to the Jewish nation unclean people to be avoided at all cost. But that attitude would not do. There would no longer be an unclean gentile world to be avoided.

And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean." (Acts 10:28)

The mission of the church became the conversion of the world. And in converting the world to Christ, there will no longer be a sea (21:1).

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. This new earth is to have a new capital, a holy city (21:1), a new Jerusalem (21:2). Notice how John identifies the holy city (21:1) and the bride (21:2) as one entity. “… it is not the first time the images of a city and a woman have been joined in describing one entity. In Revelation 17, the great harlot was also Babylon, and a divine interpreter explained that “the woman whom you saw is that great city” (17:18).”⁹ As the old Jerusalem was the harlot wife of Jehovah, so the new Jerusalem (21:2) is the adorned bride (21:2) of Christ. The one has passed away; the other now takes its place.

In chapter 19, we saw the announcement of the marriage of the Lamb. Here in chapter 21, we continue with this subject. The proximity between the same subject in both chapters shows us that the author has returned to where he left off in chapter 19 testifying to the proximity of time as well. “The vision seems to pick up where that one left off, for here we see the procession of the bride in her readiness to be joined to her husband.”¹⁰

This is the city Abraham was looking for "for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10). Paul talked of this city saying, "But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother" (Galatians 4:26). The writer of Hebrews again addresses our topic, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels" (Hebrews 12:22). Now that “heavenly Jerusalem” which was “above” has now come down to man.

The significance of this descent from heaven to the new earth is found in the role Jerusalem plays in the war with God’s enemies. “Jerusalem is not simply the capital of a kingdom that must fight against other kingdoms of the world for survival. It is the city of God, and there is a cosmic, satanic opposition against God and against His redemptive purpose.”¹¹ In the world of war, one protects ones capital at any cost. And so the heavenly Jerusalem has been under God’s divine care. However, as a result of Calvary, the war has been won and there is no need to give it special protection. Its descent to earth demonstrates the total victory of God over His enemies. We are now in a mopping up operation to expand the limits of the Kingdom across the globe.

21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them….” In the Old Testament, the tabernacle of God (21:3) made reference to the tent, and later the temple, in which God dwelt. But a deeper meaning of God tabernacling amongst His people was even understood then.

Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. (Leviticus 26:11–12)

John gives us the fullness of that meaning in his Gospel when he wrote,

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled, σκηνόω (skēnoṓ)] among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

The tabernacle of God is now Christ Himself. It is He who will dwell among them (21:3).

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:23)

The phrase they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them (21:3) is a covenant phrase. God again renews the covenant with us. He swears by Himself, for there is no greater than He to swear by, that we shall be His people (21:3).

21:4 …and 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.” This verse has been of indescribable comfort to the Church. There is coming a time when there will be no more tears, death, mourning or pain. This will happen only when the mission of the Church has been fully completed and the idealized picture of the new heaven and new earth becomes an eternal reality after the resurrection. This will happen when the first things have passed away (21:4), which means not only the first covenant described as the first heaven and earth but when the first world ends at the resurrection and final judgement.

He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8)

Earlier John had spoken in like vein when he said,

The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17)

Paul likewise made similar remarks demonstrating the present reality of the New Jerusalem.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“With the emphasis upon “all things,” he points out that the Christian is not simply given a ticket to heaven and a new set of religious rituals, but every area of his life is targeted for renewal as the result of his participation in the new life.”¹²

21:5 And 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.” The phrase, behold, I am making all things new (21:5) is interpreted by most as the beginning of the eternal state. This brings us to ask the Premillennialists how an eternal state, here called the new heaven and new earth, is different from their previous millenium? They posit a previous millenium that looks suspiciously like the eternal state. We posit a millenium, which moves the world increasingly toward this eternal state with the increasing victory of the Church, but does not ultimately confuse the one with the other. Symbolic language pictures our spiritual victories and looks forward to material benefits in earthly prosperity and health. But the earthly millenium is never to be confused with heaven itself. For the Dispensationalists there,

…is pointless duplication. Both are golden ages, the first partial to be sure, the other perfect. Negatively they are the same: in one, the curse, pain, and sin are partially removed (Rom. 8), in the other, the curse, pain and sin are removed (Rev. 21:22). Nor is there a positive difference: In the millennium peace, righteousness and the reign of the saints are instituted. In the new heavens and earth peace righteousness and the reign of the saints are reinstituted. In the former, the saints are supposed to reign on earth; in the latter, the New Jerusalem and the tabernacle of God descend and the saints reign on earth. In the millennium, the nations are to bring their glory, wealth and honor into Jerusalem (Isa. 60); in the new heaven and earth the nations are to do the same (Rev. 21:24–26).¹³

It would appear that they have confused the one with the other.

Christ is making this new heaven and earth, as He made the old one. He is both creator and re-creator.

21:6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. What is done (21:6)? Everything planned from before the foundation of the world for this new creation. It is completed; it is done (21:6). Calvary and the establishment of the Church have come to their fullness. Eternal salvation is offered, not simply to Jews, but to everyone. Christ gives to every one the water of life without cost (21:6). Jesus began this book identifying Himself saying, “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’ ” (Revelation 1:8). He now ends the book the same way. This fact demonstrates a continuity of content. The material before us is a part of the material found in Revelation chapter 1. There is one message, experiencing fulfillment at one time.

This phrase I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost (21:6) is a familiar one. We are first introduced to it in Isaiah,

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. (Isaiah 55:1).

And Christ in His earthly ministry said, and John himself recorded it,

…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. (John 4:14)

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37–39)

“Like the oriental thrones, which have a fountain of cool water springing up near by, so the throne on which the Redeemer sits, is regarded as furnished with a like fountain of water; and from this his friends and followers, who are admitted to his presence, drink.”¹⁴

The phrase without cost (21:6) drives home the great truth of the free grace of God in salvation. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). Every religion on earth is a “works salvation” religion. Not only do they criticize Christians for “doing nothing” in their own salvation, they boast of their work and merit in obtaining salvation. But such “merit” is an affront to God. It is impossible to earn eternal life; it can only be obtained "...by grace … through faith…" (Ephesians 2:8–9).

21:7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Salvation is promised to he who overcomes (21:7).

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

For those that overcome, God identifies Himself as their God and they as His children. The John that wrote this passage also penned these words about overcoming.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:3–5)

To be a Christian is to be an overcomer. More specifically to our context however, overcomers are martyrs.

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (Revelation 12:11)

But what of the others? Shallow conversions and worldly lifestyles are common in many churches today. Will this faith overcome? It will not.

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Excerpted from Bass, R. E. (2004). Back to the Future: a study in the book of Revelation. Living Hope Press.

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Footnotes:

¹ Carrington, Philip, The Meaning of the Revelation, 308.

² Jay E. Adams, Preterism: Orthodox or Unorthodox?, 50.

³ Desprez, Phillip S., The Apocalypse Fulfilled, 436.

⁴ Gregg, Steve, Revelation – Four Views, 488.

⁵ Ibid., 506.

⁶ Philip Carrington, 333.

⁷ J. E. Leonard, Come Out of Her My People, 101.

⁸ See also Isaiah 5:26–30; 8:7–8; 57:20; Jeremiah 6:22–23; and Ezekiel 26:3.

⁹ Steve Gregg, 489.

¹⁰ Ibid., 490.

¹¹ Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, Page 1031.

¹² Steve Gregg, 491.

¹³ Jay E. Adams, The Time is at Hand, Page 19.

¹⁴ Moses Stuart, Commentary on the Apocalypse, vol. II, Page 376.