Chapter 14 The New Earth

“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13 ESV

Isaiah first prophesied that there would be a ‘new earth’ in scriptures familiar and sacred in the Jewish tradition. The New Testament also contains prophecies about a future ‘new earth’. The idea that this Earth and this life is temporal and part of a bigger story is a widely held belief across the world faiths.

The Bible ends with a vivid vision of a future reality that will exist after people have been resurrected and judged by God. It describes a new heaven and new earth, and a ‘heavenly city’ descending from heaven to be established on the new earth. We believe that this is the place alluded to by Jesus when he describes his father’s house as having ‘many rooms’, which he will prepare and make ready (John 14:2). We assume the new earth will be a terrain large enough to comfortably hold every person who has ever lived (possibly around 100 billion people).

Revelation 21 goes on to describe the radiantly beautiful heavenly city that ‘has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light’ (v. 23). However, the chapter also describes space on the new earth outside of the city, including ‘a lake that burns with fire and sulphur’ (v. 8), where people are placed who have been resurrected but are still identified by their destructive ways. It is important to note that several verses suggest that people are not confined there for all eternity and that those initially outside the city will enter it: ‘nations’ and ‘kings of the earth’ will bring their ‘glory’ into the city (v. 24), people who ‘thirst’ will be given ‘the water of life without payment’ (v. 6), and people who ‘conquer’ will inherit all that God has prepared for his children (v. 7). We are also told that the gates of the city ‘will never be shut’ (v. 25).

These references encourage us to picture people coming into the heavenly city even if they are initially placed outside of its walls when first raised by Jesus, although this is clearly not possible until changes have taken place in their behaviours and attitudes (v.27). In Hope for Everyone, we have interpreted these images in Revelation, alongside some of Jesus’ parables (such as the workers in the vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16), to present a possible scenario whereby it will be possible for everyone to eventually enter the heavenly city.

In our story, we describe how people who are not yet ready to enter the heavenly city when they are resurrected are placed in communities that are ranged across the vast terrain outside of the city. They are provided with simple yet comfortable accommodation (the ‘many rooms’ of John 14:2) and a carefully chosen mix of neighbours designed to challenge them to reflect on their previous life and to change and grow.

Change is not easy, and we believe that the ‘lake that burns with fire and sulphur’ alludes to the trials and challenges that people will have to go through in relating to others in their communities in order to grow in agape love. This type of ‘fire and brimstone’ language in the Bible is directly linked to the process of purifying and refining metal – something that would have been familiar to people in most societies until relatively recently when industrialisation moved this process into factories. It goes without saying that the aim of refining is to remove impurities and dross so that the valuable metal can emerge in its true, unadulterated form. In the same way, the aim of fiery trials is not to punish or destroy, but to purify out the twisted desires, selfish behaviours, immaturity and false self-identities that are formed by people’s choices and their personal circumstances and experiences in our current age here on Earth.

This process on the new earth will take time – and different lengths of time for different people. It may be that some will joyfully accept God’s work in their lives, while others will cling to their ingrained prejudices and behaviours. We would encourage the idea that God’s loving judgement and chastisement is something to embrace. Maybe it is helpful to liken it to surgery, which removes the diseased part of the body in order to restore a person to health. Life on the new earth may be very difficult for those who persist in unhealthy actions and attitudes, but we suggest that as humans mature in their trust in God and their understanding of his loving guidance, they will begin to surrender and accept the ‘surgeon’s knife’, thus allowing healing to happen. Perhaps this is the meaning of ‘conquering’ in Revelation 21:7 and becoming heirs of God, our Father. However long the process takes, Jesus will know when someone has changed enough to be ready to enter the city.

We believe that life on the new earth, both inside and outside of the city, will feature work, rest and play in a similar framework to everyday life on this Earth. We describe many different environments in our book, believing that life on the new earth will be full of variety, interest and new discoveries. Because God promises us abundant life, we envisage that people will be able to enjoy animals, plants, food, drink, architecture, landscapes, music, art – and much more besides. We would be the first to concede that our descriptions are influenced by our British context of the twenty-first century, but we are confident that the vast array of human cultures and societies will be reflected in the age to come, as every tribe and tongue will be present.

We have purposefully stayed away from describing much to do with technology and engineering, as we feel these could become unnecessary distractions, but we have envisaged natural sources of energy being used, such as hot-spring water, instead of fossil fuels We have also included many scenes of interaction between animal life and humans, as we believe all of creation will be made new, not just humanity. We have described a diet without meat, as we don’t think animals will be killed for food on the new earth.

Imagining wider aspects of life on the new earth rather than just the state of humanity has been a fun and exciting ‘thought exercise’ for us. It’s one that we would recommend, as we have found it helps nourish hope in the ages to come. It’s a good idea to start with a good understanding of the character of God and the Bible passages about the new earth, but then prayerfully ponder and use your imagination, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the wonder of the resurrected life that lies ahead for all of us.