All Things New (Revelation 21:1-8)
Big Idea: God will make everything new, live with his people on earth, and give eternal joy to those who conquer by his grace.
I had a problem, and it was a big one. Heaven seemed boring to me.
I love this world. I love my life. I have a great family and friends. I enjoy great food. I get to go on vacation sometimes and see amazing things around the world. I love life so much that it's sometimes hard to imagine how heaven could be better. It sounds sacrilegious to say it, but it's true.
Add to that the fact that I used to be really confused about heaven. Many are confused about heaven due to misunderstandings, unclear teachings, and varied biblical interpretations. What we do think we know doesn't sound that exciting. Theologian Michael Wittmer writes:
All things being equal, I’d rather continue the earthly existence that I currently enjoy.
I’d love to go to heaven—for a visit. It will be unspeakably exhilarating to stand in the presence of God and sing his praises—but to do nothing except this forever and ever? That’s a lot of rounds of “Shine, Jesus, Shine.” Perhaps you think I’m being unfair. Well, what else do people do in heaven but worship God?…
Heaven does sound boring.
Here’s my problem: my life here on Earth, although full of problems, is actually pretty great, and I couldn’t imagine how heaven could be better.
The End
We’ve been studying Revelation since last September, and we’re coming to the end with just two more sermons after today.
As you know, Revelation was written to seven representative churches in the first century. They were small. The Roman Empire was large. They looked like they were on the losing end of history, and they were suffering for their faith in Jesus.
Revelation is written to reveal God’s “behind-the-scenes” perspective on the ongoing spiritual battle between good and evil. It aims to comfort, warn, and encourage believers to stay faithful during persecution, temptation, and suffering by showing that Christ has already triumphed and will ultimately conquer all evil. It’s meant to strengthen us for faithful witness by portraying God’s ongoing victory and the assurance of ultimate redemption.
Today, we’re getting closer to the end, not just the end of Revelation but of Scripture and of history. Revelation 21–22 serves as the climactic finale of the Bible’s story, revealing God’s ultimate purpose and our future. I’m very excited to go through these final chapters with you over the next few weeks.
Today’s passage introduces us to the end. What will the end be like? It's much better than our vague ideas of heaven and any experiences we have on earth.
What will happen in the end? Three things:
Heaven will come to earth (21:1-2)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
These first couple of verses are a radical readjustment of what we normally think about our future. You aren’t going to heaven. Well, you are, sort of. If you are in Jesus, you will go to heaven for a short time after you die, but that time will end when Jesus returns. But that’s only temporary. You’re not going to heaven permanently. There’s much better news according to verses 1 and 2: heaven is coming to earth.
Verse 1 speaks of a new heaven and earth. This new heaven and earth is necessary because the first heaven and earth will have passed away. This comes right from Isaiah 65:17: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” We don’t know the details of how this will work, but God will somehow change the heaven and the earth so that it’s appropriate for what’s to come. It will somehow be different from what we experience now, but it will also be similar too.
This passage talks about a few things that won’t be present in the new earth, and one of them is the sea. This seems like bad news for those of us who like going to the ocean for vacations, until you understand what the sea represents in Scripture. Back in Revelation 13, the beast came from the sea. In Daniel 7:3, which reads a lot like Revelation, four beasts come from the sea. In Job, a beast called the Leviathan, which seems to have Satan-like qualities, comes from the sea. It seems that Revelation is saying that we won’t have any of that on the new earth. No more chaos. No more forces that try to suck this world into darkness and disorder. No more sea.
Verse 2 describes something amazing. Depending on when Revelation was written, Jerusalem was either in ruins or soon to be destroyed. But in verse 2, John sees Jerusalem coming from heaven like a bride prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Jerusalem, just like a bride on her wedding day, looks her best. As this new Jerusalem arrives, it can only be compared to how a bride looks when she arrives to walk down the aisle.
The New Jerusalem shall descend in resplendent majesty, unblemished and pristine. Place your trust in him, and you shall find no corruption, no deceitful snares masked in false beauty. Gone will be the treacherous pitfalls and murky depths that once concealed danger beneath appealing facades. This holy city shall radiate with divine purity—immaculate, sanctified, and renewed. The ancient waters that used to harbor leviathans shall be no more, leaving no refuge for creatures of the deep.
You’re not going to heaven. Heaven is coming to earth. We won’t escape earth. Instead, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). God’s plan isn’t about souls escaping to a spiritual heaven. It’s about transforming the earth so he can dwell with his people here forever.
The Bible’s hope isn’t simply “going to heaven.” It’s about a new earth where heaven and earth become one, and God makes his home with us forever. But that’s not even the best part. There’s a second thing that will happen in the end:
God will dwell with his people (21:3-4)
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
We’ve already seen that there won’t be any sea in the new earth. No more chaos. Verses 4 lists a few more things that won’t be present on the new earth:
- no tears
- no death
- no mourning
- no crying
- no pain
All of these things characterize life in this world. Despite advancements and achievements, our lives are still defined by death, mourning, and suffering. None of these will be present on the new earth.
But the absence of these negative things aren’t even the best part about the new earth. What’s even better? God will be there. The best part of heaven is that we will enjoy the relationship you were made for. We will enjoy God himself.
God will dwell with his people. This happened once, temporarily, in Eden, but we lost it because of sin. It happened, partially, in the tabernacle and temple, and church. Jesus tabernacled among us for a short time (John 1:14). But on that day, God will dwell with us. Nancy Guthrie says, “And then he will come to us as a bridegroom so that our eternal marriage can begin. We’ll finally have the intimacy with him we’ve always longed for but have never been able to achieve or maintain. We will love him who first loved us.”
John Piper once asked:
The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?
The answer has to be no. We wouldn’t be satisfied. The best part of heaven won’t be that there will be no more tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain, although that will be amazing. The best part is that God will love among us, and he will get rid of everything that has brought us sorrow.
I can’t wait! Heaven will come to earth, God will dwell with us, and we will be eternally satisfied in him.
But there’s one more thing that this passage says will happen:
He will make all things new (21:5-8)
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (21:5-6)
Notice what verse 5 says: “Behold, I am making all things new.” He doesn’t say, “I am making all new things.” Revelation 21-22 emphasizes that God is bringing about a complete renewal of creation, all humanity, and their cities. This is exactly what Isaiah 65:17 promised: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” It’s what Romans 8:21 talks about: “creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
The biblical vision describes a renewed and improved earth, where the best of this world is enhanced and free from pain, suffering, and death. “There will be no more cancer or depression, no more emergency rooms or children’s hospitals, no more SWAT teams or security screens, no more wars or funerals or hatred or sin” (Adam Ramsey).
God does not promise us a non-Earth, but a New Earth. If the words New Earth mean anything, they mean that we will live in a place that is both new and earth, a place that’s familiar, yet transformed, just as we will be.”
I love how D.A. Carson describes it in The Gagging of God: “The wealth of human cultures, purified from every taint of sin, will be brought in as well. The cultural diversity of the world is not destroyed; it is redeemed.” Or, in a different place: “All that is best in human culture will be purified and brought in—not tossed away, but redeemed, so that the glory and honor of human achievement in all its variety pay tribute to the Great King.”
John Bradford, an English martyr who was burned at the stake, often shared an interesting idea. He reflected that if God created such a magnificent universe for his enemies, then the world he must have prepared for his friends is extraordinary. It’s going to be incredible.
But it’s only for his friends.
To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:6–8)
If you are thirsting for God, you can have your thirst satisfied eternally in God free of charge.
Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
(Isaiah 55:1)
Eternal satisfaction is freely offered to you because Jesus has paid the price. On that day, you will be able to say, in the words of the character in The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.”
However, if you do not love God, you will not accept this freely given gift. You will be punished in the lake of fire with Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and others.
The stakes are unimaginably high. What you desire most is freely available through Jesus right now and will bring you lasting fulfillment. Rejecting it means losing everything. We’ve already discussed what will be absent from the new earth: the sea, tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain. Now we recognize one more absence on that day: those who turn away from God’s grace.
Here’s what this passage is telling us: God will make everything new, live with his people on earth, and give eternal joy to those who conquer by his grace.
I once believed heaven would be dull. Let me tell you what isn’t dull: heaven descending to earth, God living among His people, and everything being renewed. I can’t wait for it. Can you?
