Will heaven be here on Earth?
Question:
Hello,
I am very thankful for the many good articles I read on your website. I've recently been hearing some in the church teaching the idea that heaven will be on earth in the future. I know from many scriptures that this is not the case.
I think one of the main verses used is in the very figurative book of Revelation. 21:2 says that the new heavens and earth came down out of heaven from God. I'm wondering how you would describe the thought that the 'new heavens and earth' are our final, perfect dwelling place, yet they 'come down out of heaven'?
I see the 'new heavens and earth' and 'heaven' as both being descriptions of the same place (the same one Jesus went to prepare in John 14), but I find it hard to put into words the idea that one came down from the other.
If you have any thoughts on this, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Have a blessed day.
Answer:
"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. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:1-2).
By focusing on Revelation 21:2, the verse before it is ignored. It clearly states that the first heaven and earth are gone, which matches what Peter recorded: "But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 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" (II Peter 3:7-13). This earth will not exist after the Lord's return; thus, heaven cannot be here.
The phrase "new heaven and new earth" is often used to talk about a major change in the world (see "New Heavens and a New Earth"). Of course, the destruction of this world does lead to a major change.
The new Jerusalem is a symbol of God's kingdom. Where Jerusalem was a physical place in the Old Testament, in the New Testament the new Jerusalem represents God's redeemed people: "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:22-24). In prophetic language, the heavenly Jerusalem is still seen as sitting on a mountain: "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:10). The city is personified as a bride, being pure (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Revelation is in symbolic language. Just as the new Jerusalem is not a physical city, the descent is also a part of the symbolism. There, the people of God join Christ, just as a bride walks down the aisle to meet her husband at the wedding ceremony. It is not about the kingdom's location.
