new-heaven-new-earth

 

 

The New Heavens and New Earth

 

A time when all things will be restored

 

28 June 2025

By

Reprinted from Creation.com

 

The present heavens and earth have been exposed to God’s Curse due to mankind’s sin. All creation is “groaning together in the pains of childbirth” (Romans 8:22) as it looks forward to the fulfillment of God’s plan and “revealing of the sons of God” (v. 19). The existing heaven and earth will pass away (Mark 13:31), and they will be renewed. At that time, God declares, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). In the new creation, sin will be eliminated, and there will be no more Curse (Revelation 22:3)!

To fully understand the significance of the New Heavens and New Earth, one must first understand the meaning of a fallen world. In Genesis 3:24, Adam and Eve’s exile from the Garden of Eden involved a dramatic shift in life as they knew it. At one level, their departure deprived them of their earthly paradise and introduced travail and death.1

Their exile also placed them in a harsher ecological environment. Paul continues these same themes in Romans 8:19–20. In that passage, he connects humanity’s physical death and degradation, as a result of sin, and the Earth’s environmental decline.2 This is the world we live in today.

Prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments point toward a future New Heavens and Earth. In Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22, the prophet declares that God will create a New Earth and Heavens as part of His broader project of restoration, where “the former things shall not be remembered, or come into mind.” 3 In 2 Peter 3:13, Peter refers to the promised restoration of the heavens and earth, connecting it to the spiritual renewal of believers at the end of the age in a place “in which righteousness dwells.” Paul unpacks this theme in Romans 8:20–23. Per Romans 8:20, “the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope.” In other words, because of the Fall of man, all of God’s creation was exposed to a Curse. As a result of that Curse, all creation now groans. However, according to verse 21, God will restore His creation to its prior uncursed created state.1

Finally, Revelation 21 and 22 describe the types of regeneration that will occur within the earth and heavens at the end of the age. John specifically notes of his vision, connecting back to Isaiah, that he saw the New Heavens and Earth. He also describes the changes that will occur as a result of creation’s restoration. There will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1), no more death (Revelation 21:4), no more mourning (Revelation 21:4), no more weeping (Revelation 21:4), no more pain (Revelation 21:4), no more night (Revelation 22:5), and ultimately, no more Curse (Revelation 22:3). Thus, this futility discussed in Romans 8:20 will be eliminated. The curse of sin will be repealed, and all that God created will be refurbished to an Eden-like state of Genesis 1–3 and the true display of God’s glory.4

Because a New Heavens and New Earth is coming, believers need not focus on their current sorrows. Instead, they can look forward to their future glory. Christians may suffer now through their sojourn on Earth, but 1 Peter 2:11 and Hebrews 11:13 remind those in Christ that this fallen world is not home. Believers should look forward to a glorious future kingdom where, as per Revelation 21:4, “death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” As 2 Corinthians 4:17 assures us, when we securely latch onto this ultimate promise from God, we can regard current sufferings as temporary compared with the permanence of our future glory.

No More Sea?

Revelation 21:1 indicates that in John’s vision of the restored creation, “the sea was no more”. Taking this declaration in its straightforward sense does not need to deny or obscure its likely symbolic significance as well. In the Old Testament, the sea idiomatically is a symbol of mystery, of rebellious power, and of perpetual unrest. Thus, ‘no more sea’ reinforces the promise of the cessation of these things. In the New Heavens and New Earth, there will be no more terror or rebellion. There will be no more of the ‘floods lifting up their voice’ as in Psalm 93:3. There will be no more turbulence of changing circumstances and no more unrest of a sinful heart. In this restored creation, the ‘old humanity’ will be left behind. However, the relationship with God will endure, though strengthened, glorified, and made pure. For believers on that restored earth, all that is sorrowful, rebellious, mysterious, and turbulent will have passed away forever!

References and notes

  1. Sarfati, J., The Fall: a cosmic catastrophe, creation.com/plant-death, 21 Feb 2005.
  2. Smith., H., Cosmic and universal death from Adam’s fall: an exegesis of Romans 8:19–23a, J. Creation 21(1):75–85, 2007; creation.com/romans8.
  3. Sanders, L., The Resurrection of Jesus, creation.com/resurrection, 8 Apr 2012. Return to text.
  4. See Sanders, L. and Bates, G., The New Earth: Christ’s victory over the Fall, creation.com/new-earth, 20 Apr 2014.