The Hope of “Land Ahoy!”
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.Revelation 21:1
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.Habakkuk 2:14
Over the course of the past several years, I’ve had to overcome some beloved but befuddled, some time-honored but truly-heretical Christian clichés. It’s amazing how the Bible deconstructs some of our favorite sayings. For example: “It’s all gonna’ burn.” And it’s twin sister: “The only things that are going to last from this life to the next are God’s Word and God’s people. Therefore invest your life in these two things.”
The assumption in both of these mantras is that one day God is going to annihilate this present creation, so we shouldn’t waste our time on “worldly pursuits”; we should be “spiritual.” After all “this world is not our home, we’re just passin’ through.” Yikes and double yikes! Talk about hope-busters!
Late in his life God gave the apostle John a fresh vision of the long-promised new heaven and new earth and it propelled the octogenarian pastor, and first century Christians, into a life of missional loving and living in a very decadent Roman world. To keep this gospel-sanity thought at “devo-length,” let me make a few observations on the text which should fertilize our hope:
· The one big unfolding story in the Bible is not a story of replacement, but redemption, renewal and restoration. This is exceedingly great and glorious news!
· God isn’t going to destroy this present earth by fire; he’s going to purge and purify it with fire, like the process of purifying the dross from gold.
· Our final home, the future of heaven, is going to be right here, in this “first creation world” that will become the “new creation world” called the new heaven and new earth.
· Only Christianity has such a high view of creation. In fact, remember, God’s story begins with creation, not redemption, and it ends with new creation!
· The new heaven and new earth is going to be “the Garden of Eden on steroids!” Read Genesis 1-2 and dare to believe that this was only meant to be a “preview of coming attractions.” The gospel is not taking us back to the Garden, but propelling us towards the new heaven and new earth. Our labors in the Lord are NOT IN VAIN!
· Jesus has signed on for two things which define history: 1st, redeeming a Bride from every single race, tribe, tongue and people group; 2nd, restoring this broken creation. Yippee and WooHoo! Hope big and love well until the Day the knowledge of God’s glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea! “Land Ahoy!”