Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Revelation 21:1.
Sandwiched between Revelation twenty and twenty-one, heaven and earth get a total makeover by way of fire. Jesus didn’t need to include the details here, because He already told us all about it, in 2 Peter 3:3-13. We discussed this last week; you can read about it here: Your New Home is Being Delivered.
Then,
the landlord, renovated the earth. Thankfully, he used bulldozers instead of fire
and fervent heat, like The Lord will use with His renovation of the earth.
He
made, (or is in the process of making) all things new. All new homes, amenities
galore; pool, hot tub, pickle ball, shuffle board, just to name a few. Tiki
bar, clubhouse; a snowbird paradise and more.
Watch their short video and feel drawn to their fair city.
Read
Revelation twenty-one and two, and be drawn to God’s New Heaven and New
Earth.
We’re
told about the new heaven and earth in the Bible, and then, occasionally, we hear
from folks who catch a glimpse as they stand in the threshold between this life
and the next.
Inventor Thomas Edison was one of them. His last words, according to the book "Edison: Inventing the Century" by Neil Baldwin, hours before his death, Edison emerged from a coma, opened his eyes, looked upwards and said, "It is very beautiful over there."
Roxy’s
mom left us a message as she timed her entrance into that beautiful city. We
couldn’t figure out what she was waiting for. She held on for weeks. It was
cold. Bitterly cold. She held fast, somewhere between here and There.
Then,
in a way, you’d have to see to believe, her face got a glow, and literally looked
younger, a large age spot on her forehead disappeared and with all of us
watching, with no struggle, or pain, or sorrow, just like that, she breathed
her last.
I
texted two words into my phone. She’s Home.
At
first, we didn’t notice. But then it finally hit us. That day, that
very special day, was her one last message.
That day, was the first day of spring.
Her
way of saying to her one hundred and some-aught, children, and grandchildren; this
is not the end; it’s just the beginning.
At
first, we may not notice God’s message. But after we step back enough to see
the whole context of His perfectly, harmonious, Masterpiece, we see something in
the very beginning that creates a perfect marriage with the ending.
Side note: Just as I was typing that last line,
Roxy walked in from the clubhouse. As she passed by, she said: “Christmas stuff is
down, New Year’s stuff is up.”
Have
you ever read a book, or watched a movie, that in the final scene, it refers
back to the beginning, as a powerful clencher, to wrap it all up, tie it all
together?
This
is like that.
The Bible begins and ends with God creating or renewing, heaven
and earth, ( in the middle Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you”—no wonder
He was born into the family of a carpenter).
Here
in the ending, we read, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away.” Revelation 21:1.
In the beginning we see: “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1.
Let’s compare the two, heaven and earth, construction sites
and see if we can discover the eternal message God has prepared for us.
In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1.
In our Revelation
text, about the new heaven and new earth, (Revelation 21:1), we have already
been told everything we need to know to understand that verse.
Fortunately,
after the first verse, the Bible fills us in on details we need to know about
God, so we can understand this very first verse.
A few examples:
Psalm 145:9 tells us that God
is good.
The LORD is good
to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
Then, we see, in 1 John 1:5, that, God is
light and in Him is no darkness at all.
We’re told in Genesis 1:31, and 1 Timothy 4:4, that everything God created was good.
With
that being said, we know, God is good, in Him is no darkness, and everything He
created was good.
So,
when we read, God created the heavens and the earth, we know that it was
created good and right and light.
But something happens. Verse two tells us the opposite. It says, the earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep.
The
original Hebrew for, was, is, hayah; meaning: come to pass, become, be.
The
original Hebrew for, without form, is, tohu; defined as: chaos,
confusion, desolate, futile, waste.
The
original Hebrew for, void, is, bohu, which means, empty, void.
Tohu,
bohu…makes you want to, boo-hoo.
Now,
that second verse may describe something I create, but not God. The
description in verse two should set off alarms all over our soul.
God is not the author of confusion, but of
peace,
In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, wonderful and good, filled with purpose and
light and life.
However,
somewhere between verse one and two, (kind of like between Revelation 20 and
21), everything changed.
The
chaotic state of Genesis 1:2, resembles the desolate darkness of a world
inhabited by demons.
Which
is exactly what happened.
The
devil and a third of the angels, were cast from heaven to earth sometime in the
dateless past. They destroyed the planet.
God
disclosed how He cleaned up His beautiful creation in a week for the sake of
mankind, and an object lesson in Love; not only for us, but for all of
creation, before and after, lucifer’s fall.
In
God’s Divine wisdom and justice, He created time, (set sun, moon, stars in
place, for days, and years, and seasons), and made man, subject to time
(chronos) in body, but eternity (kairos), in soul and spirit (in His image).
(Thus,
we’re able to be with Him, forever; and, He was able to make Himself into our
image, the flesh, to sacrifice Himself, to save us, from ourselves, our sin.)
He
made all things very good, and handed the keys to the planet, to man.
Alas,
it didn’t take long for the world to fall into chaos, confusion and darkness, again;
because, we opened the door to the devil.
Now,
here we are at an interesting intersection, in our Bible study, and in HIStory.
Consider
His Divinely orchestrated timing.
We’re
simultaneously walking through the end of this year, and the end of the final
Book, that reveals how this heaven and this earth, come to an end.
Better
still, we’re ringing in the new year, just as we read, how it all begins, with
a new heaven, and a new earth, wherein righteousness dwells, forever.
Best
yet, is the big picture, of exactly where we’re sitting in HIStory.
Step back
and gaze at God’s calendar.
The
passage in Peter we discussed last week, (2 Peter 3:3-13), mentions that with the Lord, a
day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. Which simply
means, God operates in the fullness of time, by kairos time—not the
calendar of man. However, it’s also a foreshadow, a type, of the timeline of
mankind.
God
worked six days, rested the seventh.
For
nearly six-thousand years, from Adam to us, the earth has toiled under the
weight of sin.
The week
of work is almost over, the day of rest is drawing near.
Just as
in the beginning, God will make all things new.
This heaven, and this earth, in which we now live,
is but a blip, on the radar screen of eternity; where we’ll spend forever,
either in heaven, or in hell.
He
begins and ends, this Revelation, by telling us, these words are prophecy, not just
allegory or story, but HIStory, told in advance.
Blessed is he who reads
and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are
written in it; for the time is near. Revelation 1:3.
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he
who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Revelation 22:7.
So, as
we draw near the end of this year, the end of this Book, the end of this age,
we can know for sure and certain, that this isn’t the end, it’s just the
beginning.
Like the first day of Spring, forever.
Lord Jesus, we look forward to our new home, with You, forever.
Remember,
We love you,
Most importantly,
Jesus loves you.
1 comment:
Time is short ❤️
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