New Heaven and New Earth

We began our journey through the Bible almost seven weeks ago at the beginning - the origin of creation! The account of creation found in the book of Genesis clearly identifies God as the creator of the heavens and the earth. Now, in the final book of the Bible, Revelation, we find that God is in the process of recreating and renewing all of creation, which will ultimately result in a new heaven and new earth.

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The promise of new creation is found throughout the New Testament, but has only recently been explored and developed by theologians and biblical scholars. In Revelation 21:5, we hear the words of the One seated on the throne as he proclaims, "Behold, I am making all things new." As we look at the world around us full of brokenness, these words provide us with great hope. We have hope in the promise that God is, even now, in the process of restoring all things; God is making all things new in preparation for the unveiling of his new creation. At the conclusion of the book of Revelation, we hear the promise of Jesus, "Behold, I am coming soon," to which the church throughout the ages has responded "Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!"

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The book of Revelation is also referred to as the apocalypse. In the ancient world, apocalyptic literature did not have the same connotation that it has today. Movies that are referred to as apocalyptic typically focus on the doom and destruction associated with the end of the world. To the contrary, apocalyptic literature in the ancient world was intended to offer hope in the midst of the trials and tribulation of the world. This type of literature focused on the fact that although life is difficult and hard, one day God will victorious overcome evil and establish his kingdom forever. The book of Revelation fits clearly within the genre of apocalyptic literature. It important to remember that within this genre, future historical events are described through imagery and allegory, which are not intended to be taken as literal descriptions of these events.

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Finally, a word of thanks to all those who faithfully followed this journey through the bible. I have enjoyed writing the daily blog entries and I hope they were helpful to you. God bless you all as you continue to explore God's holy and life-giving Word.