A New Heaven and a New Earth

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Scripture: Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV)

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. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 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. 4 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.”

Devotion:

            In this scripture the apostle John brings us great hope in for our time of waiting during advent. Indeed, we are in a period of waiting between two arrivals. The coming of Jesus to Mary in the land of Israel, and the return of King Jesus at the end of time. This second coming of Jesus we are told will be a great time of celebration and worship because Jesus has brought peace and justice to a world sorely lacking in both. God has come to make all things new. Not just new in time but new in kind.

            The new heaven will be like nothing we have ever experienced before. There will be a new city, a new Jerusalem big enough for all the people who lived and loved Jesus to reside there. This new city will not be like any city we have ever known. God will come and dwell there with his redeemed people forever. Perfect justice and perfect peace will be a reality. There will dwell in the city no unclean thing or spirit of oppression. Sin and death will be no more.

            This place will be worth the wait. Although we long for this new Jerusalem because our current dwelling place is so corrupt and fallen, we will not be disappointed with our new home. We will see Jesus and we will be healed of all our diseases and all our aches and pains will be no more. There will be no more death. Tears will be forever banished by the presence of God with us. It will be an eternity of worship and rejoicing in our new dwelling place.

            Our time of waiting will be over, and we will be richly rewarded for our patience and faithfulness. We at last will be home. This world is not our home. We do not belong here. We are made for eternal communion with our God and at last we shall come into God’s abiding presence never again to leave. Let us pray a prayer of thanksgiving to our God.

Prayer:

            Lord, we come before you rejoicing in the new home you are preparing for us. We long to spend eternity there with you. We long for an end to pain, tears, and death. We are not at home in our current world. We confess that we sometimes are impatient for our new home. Teach us the way to wait for your final redemption. You are a mighty and magnificent God. We are not worthy of you, but you love us anyway and we rejoice in our redemption. Amen. 

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