A New Heaven and a New Earth…
It’s hard to imagine something we’ve never seen, especially for John who’s trying to describe for us the unfathomable. John is writing the book of Revelation while imprisoned on the island of Patmos. We get a sense of his awe as we read the descriptions of this New Heaven & New Earth.
He paints word pictures for us, but it can’t fully explain the grandeur of heaven and new earth. Gold as clear as glass. What? Jasper as clear as crystal? Huh? Huge jeweled walls and gates. Wow.
I liken his attempt to explain what he’s seeing to Dorothy’s expression when she unexpectedly lands in Oz. We see the wonder and astonishment and we get to experience that with her. This is a new place, indescribable–like heaven in a sense.
Reading through Revelation 21 and 22, here’s what we know–the story ends well for those who have placed their faith in Jesus.
What John describes is in all reality the reunification of heaven and earth. God is redeeming what was broken in the garden of Eden. We get to be with God, face to face, forever, in a perfect place. No sin. No death. No struggle. And it’s all because of Jesus.
This promise of a New Heaven and a New Earth not only offered John a hope for his future, but it offers us a hope. It’s a promise that being a follower of Jesus is worth it, and worth giving up everything for. And this promise is also an invitation to those who are not yet followers. Jesus waits for the unbelievers and wants them desperately to follow him and join him in the New Heaven and New Earth.
Our God of creation is the God of redemption, and all of history, which he controls, is racing toward this very moment–the end of the world and the beginning of forever.
And this is how the greatest story ever told ends…but really, it’s how it begins.
VC Devotionals 