I was shocked to learn that the eternal home of believers, our heaven, will not be in the heavens or the sky. It will be on Earth. Not this Earth, but an earth, the “New Earth.”
So much of what culture envisions as heaven, wings and halos, clouds & harps, heaven as a place that is ethereal and up high, is not what the Bible portrays for Christians in their eternal home. Instead, Revelation 21 describes a vivid picture of a new home on a new earth.
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. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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.” (Rev. 21:1-3)
When this passage describes a new “heaven,” it means the sky and the space above the sky. When it describes a new “earth,” it refers to the place where believers will live with each other and God. Heaven will be on a new earth. Our eternal dwelling place will be on a new planet with a specially made new city.
That new place is an amazing new city on an amazing new earth. Consider these dimensions for a moment. A description continues of the new city in verse 16. This city is bigger than anything humans have ever created. It is 1,400 miles wide and long. The distance from San Diego, CA, to Wichita, KS, is 1,400 miles. It is also that high. The International Space Station orbits planet Earth at approximately 250 miles above the planet. So, a city that is 1,400 miles into the sky must be on a planet that is even more enormous just to have an atmosphere up there. That means the gravity will be much stronger, and the air pressure at the base of the city will be much higher than what we are used to. Therefore, our new bodies will most likely be much stronger in many ways. Spend some time imagining the future in glory and thanking God for what he is preparing for us.
John Riley
Junior High Pastor