A New Heaven and a New Earth Hello, I m Mark Russ, Nurturing Friends and Meetings Tutor at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham, England. I m delighted to be asked to speak about the subject of the New Heaven and the New Earth, as the Book of Revelation where this quote comes from is one of my particular interests. Before watching the rest of this video, you may want to read Revelation 21-22:5, which contains the description of the New Heaven and the New Earth. You may find it exciting, disturbing or incomprehensible! Before talking about these chapters in detail, I want to talk about Revelation in general. Some general points on Revelation It s one of the most difficult books of the New Testament, and it s challenging to read any part of it out of context. It s a book that is dangerous to read unaccompanied. An excellent introduction to Revelation is Michael J. Gorman Reading Revelation Responsibly. I highly recommend it if you want to explore Revelation further. I think the instruction to read revelation responsibly is an important one. There are many destructive and harmful interpretations of Revelation in the world that we need to be wary of, but I believe that when we read it responsibly, we will find it to be a life-giving and inspiring text. The narrative of Revelation is very complicated. It s not a simple story with a beginning, middle and end, so I won t attempt to summarize what happens. For our purposes there are three things I want to explain: who the book is written for; the central message of the book; and whether Revelation is about the future. Firstly, there are two types of Christian that the book is written for. There is the comfortable and complacent believer who compromises in order to stay safe, and there is the faithful and fearful believer who is being persecuted for their faith. The first section of Revelation sees Jesus sending letters to seven churches, and each of these churches exemplifies these two types. The Christians at Smyrna are faithful in the face of imprisonment whereas the Christians in Sardis are accused of being spiritually dead. The church at Philadelphia are praised for their faithful endurance, but the church at Laodicea are accused of being lukewarm and of no use. The themes of faithfulness and compromise run throughout the book of Revelation, and come together in the central image and message of the book. This
2 is the throne in the heavenly courtroom. The question put by Revelation is who sits on the throne? Is it God or Caesar? Revelation is clear that our loyalties cannot be divided. Many of the harmful interpretations of Revelation come from the idea that the events described in it are predictions of the future, sometimes very specific predictions. From the beginning of the Quaker movement, the Book of Revelation was read as describing, not future events, but an inward spiritual reality that had outward consequences. The new heaven and the new earth weren t things to experience after death, the new heaven and the new earth can be experienced within the community of faith here and now. So, Revelation was written to encourage faithfulness and discourage compromise, asking us to choose between the God revealed in Jesus or the false god Caesar, and describes a present choice that is always before us. Now we re ready to look at the final vision of Revelation in detail. A New Heaven and a New Earth At the beginning of chapter 21 we read: 21 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. Note that it is both a new heaven as well as a new earth. This isn t the destruction of earth in a fireball, and eternal life on a cloud, but a renewing of the whole of creation. In Jewish thought, the sea is a symbol of primordial chaos, so the absence of sea isn t an anticreation sentiment, but means that the forces of demonic chaos have been destroyed. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Again instead of an ascent into heaven, heaven comes down to earth. Throughout the Old Testament, Jerusalem is depicted as woman who is either faithful to God, or more usually unfaithful through worshipping other gods. Within Revelation itself, the New Jerusalem is contrasted with the Whore of Babylon, a symbol of idolatry who is drunk on the blood of the faithful. The New Jerusalem is a community completely dedicated to God. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.
3 A title for Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. In the Christian tradition, that God s home is among mortals has already been demonstrated in the incarnation of Jesus and the sending of God s Spirit at Pentecost. For the faithful, this is a present reality, not a future event. 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, See, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true. 6 Then he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. Again, this is a renewal, not destruction and starting from scratch. This passage speaks definitively of God as the beginning and end of all things. Water may symbolise the Spirit, speaking of spiritual as well as physical refreshment. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. Revelation is clear that evildoing will not be tolerated in the New Heaven and New Earth. We may ask whether fire and sulfur used to destroy, or do they cleanse and purify? In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, fire is always symbolic of God s love. We read in the third chapter of Malachi that God is like a refiner s fire. Can we read this passage as speaking of the healing of those that do evil? What this passage certainly does not speak of is souls living in eternal conscious torment. 9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 10 And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. This passage alludes to the legend of the cosmic mountain at the centre of the earth, the location of Paradise, the Garden of Eden. God comes down to this earthly paradise, rather than humanity building up to God, like we tried to with the tower of Babel. 11 It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Numbers are used as symbols in Revelation. The number twelve represents the people of God. This is because there were twelve tribes of Israel, God s chosen people. Then in the New Testament there are twelve apostles, representing the expansion of God s covenant to include non-jews.
4 15 The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. These measurements show us that the city is a perfect cube, symbolic of perfection and wholeness. It s definitely not a literal city! It s interesting to note that holy numbers such as 144,000, are square, and demonic numbers such as 666, are triangular. In being a cube, the New Jerusalem refers to the holy of holies in the temple in Jerusalem, the inner chamber where God was said to dwell. Now, the whole city is the dwelling place of God. When Jesus died, the curtain that hid the holy of holies was ripped in two, symbolising the same thing, that God can t be contained. 18 The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass. In Jewish tradition, these are the jewels and metals of Paradise. The twelve precious stones are the stones used in the high priest s breastplate. This city is built of the most beautiful materials in creation. It s a return to Paradise. 22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. As we have seen, the whole city is like the holiest part of the temple, therefore the city needs no temple. God and the Lamb dwell intimately with God s people. Darkness is a symbol for secret wickedness, fear and danger. In the city, God s presence means that darkness is forever banished. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut by day and there will be no night there. 26 People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb s book of life. There are several things to note here. Earlier in the Book of Revelation we see the nations and the kings of the earth committing fornication with the Whore of Babylon. Now we see them walking by the light of God, and bringing their glory into the city. Also, the gates are never shut. City gates are for keeping danger out, but now the gates are forever open.
5 People are free to come and go as they please. However, there are still restrictions on what can and cannot enter. All people are free to enter, but the city cannot be tainted by wickedness. 22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. The river of life flows, perhaps symbolizing the Spirit enlivening and energizing the people of God. This is a place of abundant food and healing. Again, this need for healing points to the New Jerusalem being a present reality rather than a future state of perfection. The mentions of twelve and the nations again emphasizes that this is for everyone. The Biblical story begins with a tree in a garden, and here ends with a tree in a garden in a city. This speaks of a dynamic harmony of human culture, the created world, and God. In the earthly temple, the high priest, once a year, wore the sacred name of God on his forehead and entered God s immediate presence in the holy of holies. It was also said that none could look upon God and live. Now, in the New Jerusalem, God can be intimately known and approached by everyone. In the New Heaven and the New Earth we are given a vision of physical wellbeing, spiritual integrity and right relationship with all people, with the non-human creation and with God. God lives intimately with God s people, and everyone is invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Can we see this great renewal breaking through in our own communities of faith? Mark Russ, April 2018