What will the new heavens and earth be like?
On the 22nd June 1921 King George the Fifth accompanied by Queen Mary visited Belfast to officially open the newly constituted Parliament in Belfast City Hall. It was quite a ceremony with thousands of people lining the route to the City Hall. Of course, not everyone in Belfast was excited about the King’s visit or about the opening of the new Parliament, so security was very tight for the Royal visit.
If you’ve ever visited the City Hall and taken one of the excellent conducted tours that are on offer (free of charge!) you will have seen the two chairs upon which the Royal couple sat on this prestigious occasion. I’ve got to confess that the last time I saw them they were looking a little shabby but it appears that they have recently been restored. The chairs belonged to Sir Crawford McCullagh who was a leading figure in Belfast City Council. He kindly gave them on loan for the day but afterwards they were acquired by the Council. When the refurbishment was being carried out a deep blue silk lining was found within them and experts were able to identify this silk as being of Portuguese origin. In fact, bizarrely, it was established that these two chairs had belonged to King Manuel Second of Portugal. King Manuel eventually had to flee to England when Portugal became a Republic.
A strange tale of Portuguese royal chairs that ended up being used by British royalty in Belfast!
I’m keen to see the refurbished chairs. I imagine that they will look similar yet different to the way I remember them. Similar but different. The Bible tells us that when Jesus returns, he will create ‘the new heavens and the new earth’ (2 Peter 3 and Rev 21). Similar but different. The Greek word translated ‘new’ (kainos) in our English versions is an interesting one. It doesn’t necessarily mean brand new but is more akin to our word ‘refurbished’. The truth that is being set before us is that the ‘new heavens and new earth’ which Jesus will create on his return will be new in the sense that it will be free from all the effects of the fall (Genesis 3) and of sin. There will be no pain, no tears, no sorrow, no sin. But yet it will be similar. Similar in the sense that it will be a physical creation akin to the original pre-fall world of which we read in Genesis 1 and 2. Similar also in the sense that we who love the Lord will be there in our perfected and recognisable bodies. But different in that we will no longer be struggling against the world, the flesh and the devil. All will be glorious. Sin will be absent. We will be eternally rejoicing in our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and never growing weary of being in his presence.
For those who have a living, personal faith in Jesus Christ the prospect of being with Him and his people in the new heavens and new earth for all eternity is exciting. This, by God’s grace, is our future if we know the Lord. Let’s keep going, in dependence on the Lord, until that great day when Jesus comes and we enter in to our glorious inheritance.
AA Hoekema in his superb book ‘The Bible and the Future’ has captured in a few words something of what living in the new heavens and new earth will be like. Ponder these words. They will whet your appetite for the glory that is to come:
‘Are we to spend eternity somewhere off in space, wearing white robes, playing harps, singing songs, and flitting from cloud to cloud while doing so? On the contrary the Bible assures us that God will create a new earth on which we shall live to God’s praise in glorified, resurrected bodies. On that new earth, therefore, we hope to spend eternity, enjoying its beauties, exploring its resources, and using its treasures to the glory of God’ (1)
Footnotes
(1) A A Hoekema, The Bible and the Future (1978), The Paternoster Press, p.274
