Similar but different

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Heaven”

Our Bible verse for today: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” Revelation 21:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Similar but different”

It’s important to remember that when we speak of heaven there are two different heavens being referred to. There is heaven as it exists now, and then there is heaven as it will exist for eternity. Likewise, in the Bible there are two earths referred to. There is earth as we know it now, and then there will be a new earth that will exist for eternity and which will be closely tied to the new heaven. The current earth and the new earth, and the current heaven and the new heaven, are similar but different

In Revelation 21:1 the Apostle John reveals that when everything is said and done – in other words, when the rapture occurred, the seven-year tribulation unfolded, the second coming of Christ happened, the battle of Armageddon was fought and won, Satan was cast into the abyss for a thousand years, the saints reigned with Christ in the millennial kingdom on earth, and the Great White Throne Judgment was held – when all of that has happened, the age of human history will have finally drawn to a close. It is at that point that Jesus creates a new heaven and a new earth that will exist for all eternity, and that is where we will spend eternity – in a new heaven and a new earth.

There is a lot about the new heaven and the new earth that we cannot and will not understand until that day. In fact, I think we will spend the rest of eternity exploring and enjoying those new realities. But there are some things we can know now about what it will be like then, and we will spend the rest of this month considering what those things are.

For starters, we need to note that God chose to describe those two new realities as the new heaven and the new earth. Remember, words have meaning and God chooses His words carefully and intentionally. He could have told us that our eternal existence will be so new and so different that there simply are no human words to describe it. But He didn’t do that. Instead, He chose to use two words that already have meaning to us and which will help us to gain at least a limited understanding of what it will be like for us then. We do have some concept in our mind of what the intermediate heaven will is like (a paradise; in the presence of the Lord; each of us identifiable as the people we were in this life; etc.) And, we know what earth is like.

So, since God chose to use those two descriptive terms (heaven and earth) to help us gain some limited understanding of what eternity will be like, we need to consider the new heaven and the new earth in light of what we already know about the old heaven and the old earth. We will do that in the days to come.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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