Like earth but better

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”

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, and the sea was no more.” Revelation 21:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Like earth but better”

As we continue to explore the consummation of the salvation process, we now come to the final fulfillment of consummation. The first part was the time we spend in the intermediate heaven after the death of our physical body. But that is not our final state for the rest of eternity. Instead, we will spend eternity in the new heaven and the new earth and in a new resurrection body.

The first thing we need to understand about our eternal existence is that it will be a real existence in a real place. In the Bible, it is described for us in ways and using terms that we can relate to and understand. God doesn’t promise us a non-earth but a new earth. And He doesn’t promise us the old heaven but a new heaven. We will evidently move freely between both, but most of our time will be spent on the new earth.

Personally, I’m pretty excited about this because I love earth. I love the ocean and the crashing waves; I love the mountains and the snowcapped peaks; I enjoy watching a sunrise and a sunset. I also enjoy beautiful flowers, bubbling creeks, and butterflies. It’s fun to watch a puppy playing with a toy, and it warms my heart to see people smiling and to hear them laugh. There is so much about the earth that I love and enjoy and they are things I would like to continue enjoying for all eternity.

The good news is that we will. The Bible describes the new earth in terms we can relate to from what we know and experience here on the current earth (For an expanded study on this subject I recommend Randy Alcorn’s excellent book, “Heaven”). Even a quick read of Revelation chapters twenty-one and twenty-two is enough to convince us of the similarities between the old earth and the new earth. In those chapters the new earth is described with images of atmosphere, mountains, water, trees, people, houses, buildings, streets, and even entire cities. Other passages in both the Old and New Testaments speak of animals, feasting, and music.

The picture the Bible paints of the new earth is essentially a new Garden of Eden – but a greatly enhanced Garden of Eden. Imagine if sin had never entered the world and if creation, including people and civilization, had continued to advance and grow for thousands of years in absolute perfection. Now you have a glimpse of what the new earth might be like. Randy Alcorn writes,

“Some of the best portrayals I’ve seen of the eternal heaven are in children’s books. Why? Because they depict earthly scenes, with animals and people playing, and joyful activity. The books for adults, on the other hand, often try to be philosophical, profound, ethereal, and otherworldly. But that kind of Heaven is precisely what the Bible doesn’t portray as the place where we will live forever.”

The picture we are given of what our eternal existence will be like is fascinating and inviting. Therefore, we will continue exploring it tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are 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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