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

Today's Scripture Reading (July 31, 2024): Revelation 21

It is the first request of the Lord's Prayer. "Our Father in Heaven, Holy is your name. Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus taught us to pray that what is up there will be brought down here. That heaven would come down.

It is in the heart of John Peterson's Hymn

            Heaven came down and glory filled my soul

            When at the cross the Savior made me whole

            My sin was washed away and my night was turned to day

            Heaven came down and glory filled my soul (John Peterson).

This is the truth that we know. God has come down here. He is in me. My life has changed because God came to me. The life of Jesus is an example of God coming down. We celebrate this in the moments of our faith journey: God came down.

We also believe that eternal life doesn't begin when we die. It begins now. I have a change that can only be explained by the idea that God came down. But this passage doesn't seem to speak about God coming down that way. John says, "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. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband" (Revelation 21:1-2)

At first blush, it seems this passage might support a "disposable earth" philosophy that has dominated us. The passage says that the first heaven and earth had passed away. Except that, we only believe that the first earth is disposable. Isn't heaven eternal? So maybe this means the sun and the stars. That makes sense. It is not the heaven of God that passes away, but the heaven of the stars. Does that make sense?

Maybe, but what if this verse means precisely what it says? Perhaps it is the first heaven and earth that have passed away. But maybe not the actual heaven and earth, but the order of things that passes. That is what I believe the passage suggests. And so, in verse 4, John writes, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4. Italics mine). It is the order of things that pass away.

All of this is hinted at by the idea that there is no sea. I heard a pastor talking about this verse a while ago. He and his wife like to go snorkeling in the Caribbean. What they do is add to their life list all the fish that they have seen. He then lists them: blue tangs, rainbow parrotfish, French angelfish, and the occasional Octopus. He loves these trips to the Caribbean, where he snorkels with his wife in the ocean. He then comes to this verse in Revelation, and John says there is no longer any sea. Does this mean that God will destroy what we sometimes find beautiful? I am not a snorkeler, but my favorite places on earth are on the beaches beside great bodies of water. I love to look out over the surface of the water, see the boats slowly moving along the surface, and see the islands and birds. I want to ask God: "What is wrong and sinful with the sea that you would want to destroy it."

But that is not what John is saying. John lived in a time when going to sea meant taking your life in your hands. How many times did the disciples think they were about to die because they decided to cross the Sea of Galilee, which is nothing more than a large lake? A storm would come up and just about sink the boat, and they could do nothing.

The sea, in ancient writings, is often a placeholder for chaos. Chaos stole the lives of people who still had living to do. In the new order, the beautiful water is not missing. It is chaos—even the chaos introduced by suicide bombers and gunmen with the intent to kill. The chaos of thieves roaming the hills around Bethlehem will be gone, and all that will be left is the peace of sitting on a hill and looking down on a sleepy little town. It is a new order of life because what was up there has now come down here, and God has made his dwelling place with man.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Revelation 22