New heaven and new earth – the promised land
Series: Follow me | Bible text: Hebrews 11:13–16; Revelation 21:1–4
Abraham was looking for a new home in heaven. He put his trust in God. Followers of Jesus Christ also hope for a new home in heaven. Through their new creation, they already have a share in it, but still live on earth with pain, suffering and death. However, they have the prospect of a promised land. This is the new earth and the new heaven. Heaven and earth come together there. The old has passed away, so there are no more tears, no more death, no more mourning, no more weeping and no more pain.
When my wife and I moved to Aargau when we got married, I wondered whether I would ever feel at home here in Aargau. But I soon realised that even when we were visiting Bern or Schaffhausen, I was quickly drawn back to Seengen. The reason for this is our bed. I realised very quickly that I feel at home where my bed is. So I could say that my home is where my bed is. Where is your home?
Abraham – guest and stranger on earth with a heavenly home
We have been looking at Abraham for some time now. Today we want to look at the promised land. At the very beginning of God’s story with Abraham: «Then the LORD commanded Abram: «Leave your homeland, your relatives and your father’s family and go to the land that I will show you!» (Genesis 12:1 NLB). Abraham leaves three things. Firstly, he leaves the land where he grew up. Secondly, he leaves behind his relatives, i.e. people who are familiar to him and who stand by him. Thirdly, he leaves his father’s house, i.e. his closest family. However, he does not leave it for nothing, but is given a new country and a new family. He does not yet own the land, but it is promised to him. He has offspring in old age. Abraham left three things, but only received two promises, land and family. But he does not yet find a new home. Abraham and many others in the Old Testament believed without having received everything God had promised them: «All these people believed until they died without having received what God had promised them. But they saw what had been promised to them from afar and rejoiced in it, for they had recognised and testified that they were only guests and strangers here on earth» (Hebrews 11:13 NLB). Abraham and others recognised that they were only guests and strangers in this world. And this realisation led to a momentous confession. «And they confessed that they were looking for a country they could call home. If they had meant the land they came from, they would have found a way to return there. But they were looking for a better place, a home in heaven. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has built them a city in heaven» (Hebrews 11:14–16 NLB).
When the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the homeland, the Greek word «patris» is used. This has the meaning of fatherland or homeland. The New Testament was written in Greek, the Old Testament mainly in Hebrew. However, there is a translation of the Old Testament into Greek. It is always interesting to see which word was translated from Hebrew and how it is used in the New Testament. As I said, Abraham left his relatives. The Hebrew word «moledet» means kinship, fatherland, origin, birth, homeland. This is translated as «patris» in five out of eight cases – although not here in Genesis 12:1. The word chosen here focuses only on kinship. But I think that the meaning of kinship is also home. Hope for All also translates with home.
Now comes the crucial point. Abraham had left his land, home and family and two of these things were promised to him on earth. But he had not found a home on this earth. «Abraham was able to act in this way because he was waiting for a city with a firm foundation, whose builder and creator is God himself» (Hebrews 11:10 NLB). Followers of Jesus Christ, like Abraham, do not have their home on this earth, but they have a heavenly home. «For this world is not our home; we await our future city only in heaven» (Hebrews 13:14 NLB).
New creation in the old creation
Followers of Jesus Christ are God’s children. Heaven is therefore their fatherland in the truest sense of the word. They already have a share in the heavenly fatherland – through the new creation that happens in and to them the moment they confess Jesus Christ as their Lord. They experience certain things that have their origin in this divine homeland. Nevertheless, the old creation spills over again and again. But they are his new creation. «But this means that whoever lives with Christ becomes a new person. He is no longer the same, because his old life is over. A new life has begun!» (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLB). But there are still tears, death, mourning, weeping and pain. The letter to the Romans also writes about this tension. «But I am convinced that our present sufferings are insignificant compared to the glory he will give us later. For the whole of creation is eagerly awaiting that day when God will reveal who truly belongs to his children. Everything on earth was subjected to transience. This was done against their will by the one who subjected them. But all creation hopes for the day when it will be freed from death and corruption to the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans with us until that moment, as with the pains of childbirth. And even we, though we have received in the Holy Spirit a foretaste of the coming glory, groan and eagerly await the day when God will establish us in our full rights as his children and give us the new body he has promised us» (Romans 8:18–23 NLB).
Everything that is happening now is nothing compared to what awaits followers of Jesus Christ in the new home. Not only people, but the whole of creation is suffering. But the new creation is a foretaste in the Holy Spirit of the new home. For the new creation happens in the old world. What will we receive? Full rights as children in our fatherland and new bodies.
Promised Land – New Heaven and New Earth
The promised land for Christians is the new heaven and the new earth. But what does the new land look like? To find out, let’s delve into the book of Revelation together. «Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was no longer there either» (Revelation 21:1 NLB). A new heaven and a new earth are described here. The old has disappeared. New here means something that did not exist before, but is now being called into being. It is not abstract, but something that is familiar to us: the divine sphere of heaven and the human sphere of life, the earth. The two were only sporadically intermingled in the past. There was a human intrusion into heaven, for example through prayers or praise. The divine intrusion manifests itself, for example, through miracles. It is about a real, new, beautiful world. Inwardly and outwardly, geographically and spiritually.
Followers of Jesus Christ are a new creation, but still on earth. «For you died when Christ died, and your true life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, becomes known to the whole world, then it will also become visible that you share his glory with him» (Colossians 3:4 NLB). Through the new creation, they share in this glory, which is yet to unfold fully. What is also new is that there is no longer a division. Heaven and earth are no longer divided. It is easy to overlook the fact that the sea has disappeared. But there is a lot behind it. For the sea is a sign of threat and a chaotic force that threatens God’s plans and his people. The sea is contained in the old heaven and is allowed to wreak havoc within limits. In the new creation, there is no more sea. So there is no chaos and no place where evil can wreak its havoc.
It continues «And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride adorned for her bridegroom. I heard a loud voice calling from the throne: «Behold, the dwelling place of God is now with men! He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them» » (Revelation 21:2–3 NLB). God himself speaks here to John, who received the revelation. Unfortunately, I cannot go into all the details of these verses, they are so dense and full of content. Jerusalem is the city that God has chosen here on earth to dwell in the temple and meet people. Heaven meets earth in the temple. But since the new heaven and the new earth are undivided, there is no longer any need for a temple. For God himself then dwells with people. What does it mean when God has his dwelling place with people? This is a radical reversal of today’s conditions. Today there is a separation between God and man, beyond and on this side, visible and invisible. Here there is a reversal of what happened in Genesis 3 at the fall of man. The separation is cancelled. Man and God live together again. Even closer than was the case in paradise. God becomes visible among people. The promised land towards which followers of Jesus Christ are travelling is the new heaven and the new earth. It is the place where God dwells in the midst of mankind.
The whole thing finally ends in verse four. «He will wipe away all their tears, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the first world with all its calamities has passed away forever» (Revelation 21:4 NLB). This list is based on numerous Old Testament prophecies. The wiping away of tears expresses carefree joy and the removal of all humiliation for God’s people (Isaiah 25:8). Death no longer has a place. No more dying. No growing old. No sickness. No end to life (Hosea 13:14). Pain and grief will not affect people or creation. Hence no weeping (Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 51:11). This is also the fulfilment of Jesus Christ’s words from the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. «Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted» (Matthew 5:4 NLB). When it is written about pain in Revelation, this is to be understood much more comprehensively than simply physical pain. Pain here stands for the overall effects of the fall of man. Thorns and thistles are a characteristic of human labour on this earth. It is laborious, difficult and also an endless toil. But now there is basically nothing left that can cause pain. The first world has passed away. For good! The old creation can then never come back.
The question rightly arises as to whether this perspective of the new heaven and the new earth is not merely a postponement until later? How would you answer? I mean both and. It is a consolation in that the glory of God is yet to come in its fullness with the new heaven and the new earth. At the moment, we are all still living in the old creation. Therefore, from this point of view, it can only remain a consolation. But it is also not a consolation, because followers of Jesus Christ already have a share in it through their personal new creation. I think that what Abraham recognised was that if the home is in heaven, storms may come, but they will pass. The heavenly home remains and will be fulfilled.
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Hebrews 11:13–16; Revelation 21:1–4
- We can learn three things from Abraham’s story. Listening to God, setting out for new territory and the prospect of the promised land. He left his country, his kinship (home) and his family (Genesis 12:1). How would you outline these three concepts for you personally?
- What impact did holding on to the heavenly home have on Abraham’s life? How is this reflected in his actions?
- Would you describe yourself as a follower of Jesus Christ? If so, then you are a new creation. How do you experience the tension between being a new creation and at the same time living in this old creation?
- Do you understand the radical difference between the present heaven and earth and the future new heaven and earth? That heaven and earth are no longer divided, but will come together?
- In Revelation 21:4 we read God’s promise of what it will be like one day. Does this awaken a longing in you? It says that the first/old earth has passed away. What does this trigger in you? What do you cling to in this old earth?
- What impact could it have if we receive this perspective of the heavenly home? If we see ourselves as a new creation and know that the new heaven and the new earth are coming? What does this change about your being on this earth?
