In today’s world of advance technology, system failures are an unavoidable reality for nearly everyone. From desktop workstations, to laptop computers, to mobile phones, to gaming consoles and other types of electronic devices, virtually everyone knows what it’s like to experience a system crash. In some instances, a system application will malfunction so badly that a user has no choice but to restart everything and begin anew.
To a small degree, those experiences offer a glimpse into what we will see over the course of Revelation chapter twenty-one. In it, God will create an entirely new “universal operating system” and restart His creation, so to speak…
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:1-2).
This reference to the heavens and earth “passing away” may represent something of an understatement based on the following passage from the Biblical book of 2 Peter: “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:10). That points to a cataclysmic end for this current order prior to its replacement with a new heaven and a new earth. And while “new” may simply refer to something different, this word conveys the idea of something fresh and unprecedented. (1)
This reference to “heaven” also has several meanings, depending on its context. For instance, this word may refer to the region within earth’s atmosphere, the area where birds fly and aircraft traverse the skies. It may also refer to outer reaches of space, the universal expanse where the sun, the moon, and the stars reside (Psalm 19:1). Finally, “heaven” is also used to identify the place where God dwells (Matthew 6:9) along with the angels (Mark 13:32).
These first two definitions appear to relate to the opening verses of Revelation chapter twenty-one. This passage thus looks forward to an entirely new planet and an entirely new universe. This new universe will presumably include new galaxies, stars, planets, and other celestial mysteries that are waiting to be discovered. However, one notable exception to this new landscape will be the complete absence of any seas. This does not mean that lakes, streams, and similar bodies of water will cease to exist; only that this new earth will be devoid of any oceans.
Image Attribution :Pablo Gómez from Puerto Montt, Chile, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
(1) G2537 – kainos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2537/kjv/tr/0-1/