The Revelation of Jesus Christ
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THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH IN THE
ETERNAL STATE 21: 1-8 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away" (21: 1). John does not tell us how the earth is to be thus renewed. We must turn to II Peter 3: 12, 13 for the information. There we read: "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day ·of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." From this passage, we learn that, after the millennial reign of Christ, the earth is to become a winding sheet of flame. How this is to be brought about, is for the Lord to decide. Whether He will release the latent fires that are within the heart of the earth, or bring into play some other force, is something we cannot say. We do know, however, that we are Jiving on the crust of a planet whose heart is molten heat. The earth will not be destroyed in that great baptism of fire; it will be renewed. As there is regeneration for the spirit of man, and regeneration for the body, so there will be re generation for the earth. In the first verse of this twenty-first chapter of Revelation, we find this regeneration having taken place. Every trace of iniquity, sin, sorrow, hypocrisy; and all other expressions of evil will be washed away in that bap tism of judicial and cleansing fire. 1. "And There Was No More Sea" (verse 1 ). The general interpretation of this statement is that in the eternal state there will be no separation of any kind, the sea being taken as symbolic of separation of loved ones from one another. While all this is true of the eternal state, it is not the teaching of this text. The mystic interpretation of the sea is given in Rev. 17: 15, where it represents "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." The passing away of
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