The new heaven and the new earth in Revelation is being taken literally by my friend. I know it’s referring to the spiritual earth. My grandson and I studied this scripture last night (Revelation 21:1-2). He brought up the fact that in Rome, the Christians were oppressed and God is promising them, in this scripture, a new earth. Not too unlike the pilgrims when they left their home country and came to this one they called it the New World. We were wondering why the writer used the word “earth” when we know that Christ’s kingdom is spiritual not of this earth. We determined that the word earth is used because its something we can relate to and make sense of. Is that right? Will you comment?<\/p>\n\t
Anyone reading Revelation must understand that it states it is written in symbolic or figurative language. John stated that the message given to him was \u201csignified\u201d (Revelation 1:1). This just means that the message was written down in signs or symbols. A quick reading of the book shows that this is obviously true, but why use symbols instead of plain text?<\/p>\n
First, the use of symbols limits who can understand its meaning. Like Jesus\u2019 use of parables, the symbols would have meaning to Christians and would be gibberish to those not inclined to follow God (Matthew 13:10-17). Notice that John said the book was written to show God\u2019s servants the things that would shortly take place (Revelation 1:1). The use of symbols limits that revelation to only God\u2019s servants.<\/p>\n
Second, the use of symbols gives a greater illustration. Great pageantry and glory are described with vivid symbols. Things too great and marvelous to understand are compared to familiar ideas. For example, heaven is described as having streets paved with gold. Yet heaven is a spiritual realm and gold is physical. Are the streets actually gold-lined, or is the author describing a place so beautiful and valuable that the most precious metal in our world is considered cheap paving material in heaven?<\/p>\n
Finally, the use of symbols dramatizes the events. The scenes are so vividly portrayed that they are locked into our memory. Readers of Revelation do not quickly forget its message.<\/p>\n
So, yes, the use of “earth” is the familiar dwelling place of humanity, but this dwelling place is new, which means it won’t be like the old one. Referring to a new heaven means that the new dwelling place will not be in the same place as the old one. Just as we understand that when John said, “the city was pure gold, like clear glass” that he isn’t talking about physical gold because gold isn’t transparent, we know that the new heaven and new earth isn’t a physical place in this universe.<\/p>\n\t
Thank you! I just finished a study of Revelation with my grandson and these are all things we learned. I appreciate your help in renewing my mind. Very well put. Who couldn’t understand this? Thank you so much!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: The new heaven and the new earth in Revelation is being taken literally by my friend. I know it’s referring to the spiritual earth. My grandson and I studied this scripture last night (Revelation 21:1-2). He brought up the fact that in Rome, the Christians were oppressed and God is promising them, in this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[211,46,102,210],"class_list":["post-23755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-figurative-language","tag-heaven","tag-revelation","tag-symbolism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50433,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-bible-say-we-will-live-on-earth-after-the-millennium\/","url_meta":{"origin":23755,"position":0},"title":"Doesn’t the Bible say we will live on earth after the millennium?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I read your article\u00a0about Jesus not ruling on a physical throne on earth\u00a0because the earth will perish. Well, the first earth will perish because at the end of the millennium Jesus will make a new one and the eternal city will come down from heaven to the earth.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7942,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-there-musical-instruments-in-revelation\/","url_meta":{"origin":23755,"position":1},"title":"Why are there musical instruments in Revelation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 4, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If the New Testament forbids the use of musical instruments in the worship service, why are there musical instruments in the Book of Revelation? Answer: Before answering your question, let's get a bit more precision. The New Testament doesn't forbid the use of instrumental music in worship; that is,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-a-new-heaven-and-a-new-earth\/","url_meta":{"origin":23755,"position":2},"title":"What is meant by a new heaven and a new earth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is meant by a new heaven and a new earth? And what is meant by a war in heaven? Answer: \"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\" (Revelation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3266,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/heaven-will-be-even-better\/","url_meta":{"origin":23755,"position":3},"title":"Heaven Will Be Even Better","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Roy Diestelkamp In song songbooks by many congregations is the old hymn: \u201cFor The Beauty Of The Earth.\u201d The first verse says: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFor the beauty of the earth, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For the beauty of the skies, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For the love which from our birth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Over and around us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95441,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-heaven-be-here-on-earth\/","url_meta":{"origin":23755,"position":4},"title":"Will heaven be here on Earth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13431,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-new-heaven-and-new-earth-been-already-made-or-will-they-be-created-in-the-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":23755,"position":5},"title":"Are the new heaven and new earth been already made or will they be created in the future?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are the new heaven and new earth been already made or will they be created in the future? Answer: This is a question that leaves me wondering whether an answer one way or another will make any difference in how you and I must live our lives on this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}