Three different entities called “heaven and earth.”

Three different entities called “heaven and earth.”

“But doesn’t the Bible say that God is going to destroy heaven and earth and create a new heaven and earth someday?” The answer is: yes, it does. But something most people, including Bible scholars, do not know is—three different entities in the Bible are called “heaven and earth.” One “heaven and earth” would never pass away. Another had already passed away. A third would soon pass away and be made new. If this sounds like a riddle, perhaps, it is. It is also a biblical truth and historical fact. Sadly, much confusion prevails.

“God has not created the new heaven and new earth yet,” a pastor-friend of John Noe’s insisted. With a wave of his hand out the window, he leaned back in his chair and sighed, “I believe the Bible says that there will be an end to all this someday.” But will there so be?

The biblical and historical resolution to the riddle is this. The “heaven and earth” that would never pass away is the physical creation (Gen 1:1). The one that had already passed away was Babylon in the 6th century B.C. (Isa. 13: 1, 13; Hag. 2:6-7). The third one that would soon pass away and be made new was Old Covenant biblical Judaism (Deut. 32:1; Isa. 1:2-3; 51:13-16; Heb. 12:26-27).

Thus, the Bible’s “new heaven and new earth” is not a re-creation of the physical universe. It’s the complete arrival of the new covenantal order on Planet Earth. And its Holy City, the New Jerusalem, is the ultimate reality, the ultimate joy, and beloved community for God’s overcoming people here on this earth! I suggest you read about it, anew, in Revelation 21 and 22. continue reading…

Sources:

1The Perfect Ending for the World by John Noe

2The Works of Josephus translated by William Whiston

3Josephus the Essential Writings by Paul L. Maier