Verse 11 of chapter 20, Then I saw a tremendous white throne, and the one who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And that's heavens fled away. Now, chapter 21, verse 1, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, Also, the ocean was no more. Father, as we dig into your word, I pray that you would help us to faithfully understand it and faithfully live it out. Transform us by your word, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, someone encouraged me last week to spend somewhat less time on whooping up on other false views and spend a little bit more time on what the text really does mean. So that's what I'm going to do this morning. I'm going to primarily be exegeting the text. I will be interacting with the different questions. And thankfully, the controversies on this particular passage have nothing to do with whether you are premillennial, amillennial, postmillennial, futurist, preterist, recapitulationist. It doesn't matter. In all of those different views, you will find commentators who land on different sides of this question. Even within my own camp, There are people who land on different sides of this question. And briefly, here are the key questions people differ over. Do chapters 21 through 22 deal with eternity, with history, or with both? Does the phrase, the new heavens and the new earth, and it is plural, We probably should have changed the translation there, but do they refer to something brand new that did not exist before replacing the old, or does it deal with the redemption and change of the old? How you answer those questions makes a huge difference in life. Next question, is there birth and death and sinning? in the New Heavens and New Earth, as Isaiah 65-66 indicates? Or is there no death in this New Heavens and New Earth, as Revelation 21, verse 4 indicates? And if the Isaiah New Heavens and New Earth is different than this New Heavens and New Earth, why on earth does the apostle John quote Isaiah and act as if Isaiah's New Heavens and New Earth is the same thing here? We're going to deal with these questions as we go through the text. Now, the first word in our text here, which Pickering translates as now, is John's usual term for sequence, chi. It can be translated as then or and. And I believe that this is occurring immediately after Judgment Day. So it's in in eternity, and even if you didn't have that kai, you would get that point, because verse 1 says that the heavens and the earth had already passed away, and if that's the case, since chapter 20, verse 11 talked about the heavens and the earth passing away on Judgment Day, well, this happens after. Chapter 21 happens after chapter 20. So, clearly, I side with those who say that chapter 21 And the first five verses of chapter 22 take place in eternity. But as we'll see, it's not quite that simple for a number of reasons, and I'll just give you one. In coming weeks, we will see that a number of the things that this chapter outlines are things that were already redeemed and subdued by Jesus Christ before judgment day. Not all of the things, but actually most of them. So even though the vision describes the eternal state of the new heavens and the new earth, it's important for us to understand this is the final state of a long trajectory that has been happening during history. And that is the only way you can reconcile this passage with the Isaiah 65 through 66 passage. Now in coming weeks, we're gonna be seeing that at least 10 aspects of the present millennium can be found in chapters 21 through 22, and even found more pronouncedly in Isaiah 65 through 66. Some of the things in the Isaiah passage absolutely cannot happen in eternity, such as moms giving birth to new babies. Clearly it says that happens in the new heavens and new earth of Isaiah 65 and 66, and people sinning. That can't be an eternity. And people dying, that can't be an eternity. And so those can only happen in eternity. Now, I'll be clear, those things are not mentioned in Revelation 21 through 22, but they are in the Isaiah passage. And it's one of the reasons why some commentators believe that all of Revelation 21 through 22 refers to history, to the time of the millennium. After all, the Isaiah passage forms the background Revelation quotes Isaiah, okay? So they say that it must refer to history, even though some of it may seem like it is eternity. Now, on the other hand, I can show you at least five things in this chapter that absolutely cannot happen in history. They cannot happen in history. They indicate eternity. For example, if you glance down to verse four, it says that there will be no more death, sorrow, tears, or pain. And that is why some people insist that all of chapters 21 through 22 begins to happen in eternity. Now, I agree that it's in eternity, I just don't agree with them inserting the word begins. Okay, there's a difference between those. So all commentators agree that there are some aspects of these chapters that seem to point to history, some aspects of it that seem to point to eternity, and that is what has made a third group of commentators confusingly say Well, it must be both then. It must be both history and eternity. But that actually does not solve the problem. And so which is it? Eternity, history, or both? Well, the dilemma completely vanishes if you understand the postmillennial concept of gradualism. Gradualism, very, very important concept in mescatology. Colossians 1 verse 19 indicates that the purpose of Christ's reign right now is to redeem all things and reconcile all things to himself. So in a very real sense, he is making all things new right now. How does he do it? Well, first Corinthians 5, 17 says he starts by working in the individual. Let me read that for you. It says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. So there is a radical entering into the new heavens and new earth. Every time a person is converted, he's a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things are beginning to become new in his life. But as time moves on, It moves from the individual to the corporate, and from the corporate to eventually the whole world as the world begins to become Christianized. And 1 Corinthians 15, 25 through 28 indicates that every enemy except for death will successfully be subdued by his grace before the second coming. So that is why Revelation 20, verse 11b places this massive change of all of this universe right in the middle of the discussion of the resurrection. Romans 8 is another passage that indicates that the groaning that the very creation itself is experiencing because of Adam's sin, this groaning is going to be reconciled when? At the resurrection of our bodies. Those two belong together. You cannot separate them. So let me help you to see the trajectory of where we're going to go in this sermon here, and I'm going to outline some of the things that pass away on Judgment Day. According to both chapter 20, verse 11, and this verse, it has to include not only the resurrection of our bodies, so death being conquered, but I believe it has to also deal with the death of stars being done away with. People say, stars? Why would that be included? Well, that's because 2 Peter chapter 3 is a passage that talks about the new heavens and the new earth, and it indicates that even the stars and the planet are going to be melted but not done away with, melted, and reformed in a way so that no signs of any sin or any curse can be left in them. For example, there was a huge compartment in the middle of the planet, the middle of the earth, and in the Old Testament it called it Sheol, in the New Testament, Hades. And it's no longer going to be there. It's going to be completely taken away. Why? Because that was the place that dead spirits used to live prior to Judgment Day. That was the place where the demons used to be. And so that's going to flee away from his presence. And it indicates in various passages there will be no human bones in the earth, no dinosaur bones in the earth. Indicates in verse one, there will be no ocean. That's a pretty radical change. And thus, verse 23 indicates, there will no longer be any need for the moon. You know, the moon helps to regulate and cleanse the ocean with the tides. And so no need for the moon, verse 23 indicates no need for the sun. Sun also helps with the tidal effect of the ocean. So ocean will be gone, moon will be gone, sun will be gone. 2 Peter 3, 10 through 13 indicates the very stars and galaxies will be refashioned since they too have death. And if you talk to astronomers and you read some of what they have published, They talk about dying stars or already dead stars and other effects of the curse that we can see in astronomy. I tie all of those things together with, with the concept of death. Romans eight, 18 through 29 indicates that the last remnants of groaning affected by the fall will be removed when death is removed. Now, I know I'm jumping ahead here in terms of the anticipation, but I want to help you to see why I can see this verse as being in eternity, even though many of the new things that you see in eternity were already renewed before then. So this is the last stage of renewal, and many of the best commentators agree. For example, Beale. He's not in our camp. He's not a post-millennialist. He's an idealist, very pessimistic. And yet, the evidence I'm going to be showing you is so strong, he cannot evade its conclusion. So I think he captures perfectly the biblical theology of redemption when he says this, as seen in Revelation 3 verse 14, the Isaiah prophecy that stands behind Revelation 21 through 22, and he's referring to Isaiah 65 through 66. The Isaiah prophecy has been inaugurated in the death and resurrection of Christ in a more radical way than ever before. It has also been inaugurated through the church age as people believe in Christ and become a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5.17, 2 Corinthians 4.6, Galatians 6.15. Revelation 21 verse 1 asserts that the inaugurated Isaiah prophecy will be fulfilled consummately at some future time. So if you see the gradual renewal of all things as being at the heart of Isaiah 65 through 66, which is the background passage, you can see chapter 21 as being the final result. But if it's the final stage of renewal, then many of the things in this chapter had to have been fulfilled in history and have continued into eternity. I think that's the only way you can have both ends. in this passage. It's looking at things that were renewed in history from the vantage point of eternity. Now, that interpretation perfectly reconciles Isaiah 65 to 66 with this passage, and I think it also gives incredible meaning to a lot of passages like 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58, which at the end of a long chapter on the resurrection and of all things gradually being subdued to Christ till the last enemy death is subdued, it gives these encouraging words. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Christ does not replace your labors or anything else in this world that he has redeemed. He finishes it on judgment day. Okay. Our labors and the rest of the things we have done will last into eternity. That's why Revelation 14 verse 13 can say, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them. Their works remain. So is this eternity? Yes. It comes immediately after Judgment Day, but it showcases much of what had already been accomplished by Christ's day before the final resurrection of chapter 20, which occurs at the Second Coming. Next it says, now I saw. John sees eternity while he is here in time. The I saw refers to a vision that he received in time in AD 66. Now why is that important? Well, because it clues us into the fact that God interrupts his vision from time to time to explain what's going on right now while he's speaking to John. For example, if you take a look at verse 5. Verse 5 uses the present tense. It says, then he who sat on the throne said, take note, I make everything new. And he says to me, write, because these things are true and faithful. Now literally it is, I am making all things new. Right now, I am making all things new. It's in the present tense while John is writing. So in AD 66, he was already in the process of making all things new. Now we would expect that from Isaiah 65 through 66, And in verse six, he says that coming to salvation, which you can't do in eternity, that's got to be done in history, coming to Christ, coming to salvation and drinking from the living waters is part of making all things new. And he says in verse seven, that overcoming in this life is part of that process. Well, if you're in eternity, you're not going to be overcoming anything. That's when it's all finished. Okay, so it's one of several clues on how to read what is going on in history and what's going on in eternity. So the vision is in history. The making of all things new is in history. The command to write the vision down is in history. Death is the last enemy that is conquered in history. And this chapter shows that everything Christ redeemed in history will remain forever. Yes, even into eternity. And nothing of that which is unredeemed can remain. He doesn't redeem Hades, so Hades has to flee away. For some reason, he doesn't redeem the moon. I don't know why, but he doesn't redeem the moon, so the moon has to flee away. And that concept of renewal is reinforced by the next word in our text, new. Now, there are some people who think that God is completely replacing the first heaven and first earth with something utterly unconnected to it, something brand new. And just reading the English, I can see why they would come to that conclusion. It does seem that way. But people from every school of eschatology have said that will absolutely contradict not only the meaning of the word new in this verse, but it contradicts a whole host of scriptures. The word new and new heavens and new earth indicates renewal, not replacement. There are two words for new in the Greek, neos and kynos, and the dictionary defines neos this way. new, recent, new in relation to time, that which has recently come into existence or become present. Now that is the word you would have expected to be used if this was a brand new universe that completely replaced the old universe in one day. But John deliberately uses the word kynos which the dictionary defines as qualitatively new. Now this is so important, we settle this before we get into the fun stuff of these chapters, because how you interpret this verse is going to radically affect how you interpret the rest of Revelation. So Big Kittle's dictionary distinguishes between the two words this way. Of the two most common words for new since the classical period, namely neos and kynos, the former, which is neos, signifies what was not there before, what has only just arisen or appeared. The latter, which is kainos, what is new and distinctive as compared with other things. So even his use of the word kainos indicates this is going to be a renewed heaven and earth. Now, why is that so important? It's because it was the heretic Gnostics who denied that there was any connection between Christ's old body and his new body. Actually, the body Jesus had was Kainos. There was a connection between his old body and what came out of the grave. It was his old body that came out of the grave, but was it different? Yes, it was. It was new in a sense that he was able, with his glorified body, to pass right through doors that were locked, right? So that's a kynos new, not a neos, utterly different new, where his body's still in the grave and he's got a new body, right? There's a connection that is there. Anyway, it was the Gnostics who wanted to escape from this creation and have something brand new, a netos new. They didn't want kynos new. They didn't want any redemption of this old creation. They wanted to escape from creation. They hated this creation. Okay, it was a gnostic idea. And Romans 8 insists that every aspect of this creation must be redeemed. It's redemption, not replacement. Now, the difference between those two concepts makes the difference between whether you have an escapist theology or a conquering theology. Now it may not seem like it immediately in your head, but it will make a radical difference in your life whether you have an escapist theology or a conquering theology. Most escapists, whether they are evangelical or not, they don't believe in this gradual application of redemption to all of life. Instead, they almost always insist that everything is going to be changed on one day, all of a sudden, boom, like that. It's going to be replacing this with something new. Augustine totally disagrees, a church father, in his City of God, he says, for this world will pass away by transmutation, not by absolute destruction. And then you say, well, what about chapter 20, verse 11? That sure seemed like replacement. Well, let's take a look at that. I can certainly understand why people would say this looks like replacement, not redemption. It says, then I saw a tremendous white throne, and the one who sat on it, from whose face the earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. We can take this in a straightforward way as replacement, or in a straightforward way as redemption. Let me explain the redemption. Was there something of the first heavens and the first earth that was present before the judgment day that literally fled away from that throne? I say, absolutely, yes. There were representatives of the first heaven that remember in the first century, God cleansed heaven, completely cleansed it of evil. Satan was kicked out, all of the demons were kicked out. But are those demons standing before the throne? Yes, they are. So that aspect and the memory of that aspect of the first heavens has to flee away from Christ's throne. Gog and Magog are before the throne. That's part of the first earth. That has to be completely cleansed away and flee away from his throne. And so will redeemed man still be there? Yes. So it's not something brand new. God creates a whole new humanity. He gets rid of the previous humanity. Redeemed mankind will continue to be there. Why? Because they are already part of the new. Will disfigured faces, broken arms, and other aspects of the fall flee away from our bodies at the throne? Yes. Well, we may actually before the throne already have glorified bodies. But will we have memories? Yes. We'll just have gone through judgment day, remembering all kinds of things we cringe over. Those things are going to be evaporated from our brains. If we have brains, whatever kind of body we have, they're going to flee away. Hebrews 12, 26 through 29 tells us that all through covenant history, God has been and will continue to shake the heavens and the earth and gradually remove everything in this old creation associated with sin and death. And only that which cannot be shaken will be remaining in eternity. But it clearly affirms that everything Jesus redeems in this old creation will remain. for eternity. That's Hebrews 12, 26 through 29. So many redeemed things in this universe will remain. And what does Jesus redeem? Well, Romans 8 says he redeems all kinds of things, including planet Earth. You know, everything lost by Adam will be renewed by the second Adam, Jesus. Now, does that mean that every single star that we see in the sky is going to remain and is going to be redeemed? Not necessarily any more than every single human that's been born is going to be remained. Right? There's going to be the non-Elect who will be cast out, and there is indication that there are aspects of this creation that will be cast out and replaced as well. So, there is still some connection, though, between the first heavens and the new heavens, the old earth and the new earth. Now, if this was not the case, there would be a contradiction to a massive number of scriptures And I've just given you in your outlines a tiny sampling, and I'm not even going to read all those that are in your outline. Let me just read some scriptures that affirm the permanence of the creation and deny that this creation will cease to exist, as the Gnostics claim. Genesis 8, verse 21, and the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground for man's sake. Although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, nor will I again destroy every living thing as I had done." Now, he affirms two things he absolutely will not do. He says, I will never again wipe off the face of the map every living creature that's on the earth. And secondly, I will never again curse the earth like I did with that flood. But that's exactly what most people think God is going to do on Judgment Day. Here, they think is going to be a sin filled universe that God is going to vaporize, cast away, and every living thing that's on it is going to be burned up and destroyed. And we've seen in the last two weeks that that is actually not the case. Christ is going to be coming back to a regenerate earth where every person is not going to be destroyed like happened under the flood. So in this decaying world, if God redeems even some facets that are decaying at the second coming, it doesn't necessarily mean replacement. It could mean renewal. And this is exactly what Romans 8 says. Let me read from verse 18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits. Creation is not dreading that day because we're going to be vaporized. No, it's eagerly waiting for the second coming. Why? It says, eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope." So there's hope for creation, not an obliteration of creation. Verse 21 goes on, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God, For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope. but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. So that is why there are physical aspects of earth and the heavens that can remain, while the sin-cursed aspects flee away from God. Nothing of the sin-cursed first heavens and earth will remain. Only that which is redeemed by Christ even has the right to be called new, okay? Just like nothing in our life can remain personally, except for that which he is redeemed, what he is made new. And by the way, we're going to suffer the same fire. We read from first Corinthians chapter three last week that, uh, uh, after judgment day, we're going to be purified with fire. And then there's going to remain only that, which is good. That's been produced by his grace. I'm going to go ahead and read that again. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear, for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. So Judgment Day is actually going to be a purification, a glorification process of the saints making everything from the first creation, including our memories of sin and painful events. to flee from that throne and leave us as glorified saints who are prepared to enjoy God fully. So it's really, it's a blessing, not a curse. Anyway, let me read some other scriptures. Psalm 78 verse 69. And he built a sanctuary like the heights, like the earth, which he has established forever. The earth is not transitory. It is established forever. Only redemption can accomplish that. Psalm 93 verse one, the Lord reigns. He is clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed. He has girded himself with strength. Surely the world is established so that it cannot be moved. So the fleeing away in chapter 20, verse 11 is possibly a metaphorical fleeing away of the last remnants of the heaven and the earth that have not yet been subdued under Christ's feet, allowing the rest to remain. On the other hand, at the end of this sermon, I'm going to be explaining how I really think it's literal. There's going to be a literal, you're actually going to see it with your own eyes, a fleeing away of all of these things. And I'll try to explain that. Psalm 96 verse 10, say among the nations, the Lord reigns. Now notice this next phrase. The world also is firmly established. It shall not be moved. He shall judge the peoples righteously. Psalm 104, verse five. You have laid the foundations of the earth so that it should not be moved forever. Psalm 148, verse four. Praise him, you heavens of heavens and you waters above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He also established them forever and ever. He made a decree which shall not pass away. Ecclesiastes 1 verse 4, one generation passes away and another generation comes, but the earth abides forever. OK, let's go back to chapter 21, verse one. This verse gives even more indications that it's a transformation, not an abandoning of the universe. It is, after all, called a renewal of heavens and earth. It's not something net loss, in other words, a brand new planet. No, he's calling it something he used to call it. It's still the earth. But there's something special about this earth. John no longer uses his normal words for this planet. This is not the Greek word oikumene. It's not the word cosmos. For the first time, John uses what he had reserved before to describe the land of Israel, the Greek word ges. He now uses it to describe the whole planet, the world. Somehow, it indicates that the land of Israel has expanded to fill the whole world. Jerusalem or Zion has expanded to fill the whole world. Now, later on in this chapter, he's going to make a big point about the merging of heaven and earth and filling of the world with Zion. And God had already anticipated this with his promise to Abraham. He had promised to Abraham that he would possess the land of Canaan. Palestine, basically. yet Hebrews 11 says he never got it. So was God unfaithful to his promise? And the conclusion of scripture is, oh no, God was not unfaithful to his promise because Palestine was simply a down payment of the whole world that he was going to receive. And if he receives the world, he receives the down payment of Palestine. But if it's a brand new world, there is no way that that promise could ever have been fulfilled. And God would have been unfaithful to his promise. Another argument in favor of the enduringness of this planet. Now, where do I get the idea that God's promise that that was just a down payment? Well, it's from Romans chapter 4 verse 13 where God gives his intention of giving this promise to Abraham Romans 4 13 says for the promise that he would be the heir of the world. That's the Greek word cosmos Was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith now if that verse is true then gaze has to become cosmos Okay in eternity God's intention was to give Abraham the world, and he gave Palestine to his descendants so that his descendants would know, hey, God's still got to fulfill his promise to Abraham, and you're getting the down payment that Abraham's going to get of the whole world to be inherited. So really, this is the eschatological gaze. But even the word that's used for passed away has as one of its dictionary definitions this, to discontinue as a condition or state. Well, what condition or state has been discontinued? Well, it's the condition of being sin-cursed. Now, of course, we'll see in a moment that the removal of sin and the effects of sin and every memory of sin and death will make for some very radical changes on that day. But the word passed away does not need to mean replacement. It can mean to discontinue as a condition or state. Now, just by way of comparison, consider where we have become new creations. 2 Corinthians 5, 16-19, actually, I'll compare three things here. 2 Corinthians 5, 16-19, he shows the old and the new in Jesus, the old and the new in every convert to Christianity, and the old and the new in the world. Let me read that. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now, all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now, let's consider each of those three. Christ received a new body, but was it still related to the old body? Yes, it was. We talked about that earlier. The old body came out of the grave, but it's Kainos knew it now has powers it did not have before. And when Phil Kaiser got converted at age 18, was he still Phil Kaiser? Well, yes, in a sense, he was still Phil Kaiser, but he was also a new creation. Old things had passed away. All things were becoming new. Galatians 6.15 indicates when we get converted, we're ushered into the new creation that is progressively expanding as the kingdom of heaven invades earth and changes earth. Every single day, without exception, the new creation is expanding when new people get converted. Every single day. There's not a day that's gone by since the coming of Christ when the new creation has not been expanding with new people coming to Christ. And eventually, this creation will be amazingly different, as the last point shows, Isaiah 65 through 66. I mean, I struggled. How much do I leave out of this sermon? Because it's got some amazing things in there. of people living older and still being healthy at age 1,000. I mean, how on earth is this going to be possible? And it talks about, you know, the wolf and the lamb being together and they're not being eaten, you know, and animals becoming vegetarian. There are many blessings that are yet to be experienced in history. But despite all those changes that will already have happened in history, there will still be a lot that needs changing on judgment day. So both the progressive and the ultimate transformation of the universe will be radical. First, it will be radical in that there will be a total absence of all sin in eternity. Verse eight indicates that the cowardly and unbelieving and sinners and abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all who are false will eventually have no place in this creation. They're going to be cast out, right? They will be one of the things that will flee from Christ's throne so that no place can be found for them in the universe anymore. Why? They're associated with the unredeemed first earth. Verse 27 says, but anything common or anyone perpetrating an abomination or a lie will absolutely not enter her. Only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. So clearly once judgment day has happened, the new heavens and new earth will be 100% sinless. I mean, that's awesome to think about. Likewise, all of the effects of sin will be removed. Verse four says, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death. nor sorrow, nor crying. There will be no more pain for the former things that passed away." Now, there are some people, remember, you see people on both sides, some people interpret all of this as history, and I read their commentaries, and their explanations of that, well, they say, well, I mean, there's a sense in which we no longer weep over our sins of repentance. We don't have to because we're reconciled. No way! I don't know about you, but I still have sins to repent over. And by the way, it's not just weeping over sin and repentance, it's weeping over pain. So it says right here that there are no pain, no tears, no crying, no sorrow, no death. And chapter 22, verse 3 says, and there shall be no more curse. That is clearly an eternity. We're still experiencing the curse of sin. So every effect of sin, by that I mean every result of sin will be removed at the end of Judgment Day. So it's an awesome, awesome day that we can look forward to. But it seems that even the reminders of sin and of the curse will be gone. Certainly the ocean, which showcases nonstop death of fish and other critters, is going to be gone. Verse one says also the ocean was no more. Why? Because death is no more. Verse four gives us its reason why there will be nothing to sorrow over, because the first things have gone. First things have gone. Isaiah 65 interprets what he means by that. It doesn't mean everything in the old, previous world is gone, that will be forgotten, but only the sin-cursed things. Here's what Isaiah 65, 16, and 17 says. Because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes, for behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. What are the former things we will not have in our heads any longer? It's the former troubles that are forgotten after the embarrassment of judgment day. And it's all finished. God will wipe away every memory of sin that you have ever committed. Everything that you cringe over every painful memory. There'll be no more memory of sin and the curses of sin, but the memories of what has been redeemed by Christ will certainly make it into eternity because Hebrews 12 says everything redeemed must remain. So we will have some memories. How God sorts that all out in our brain, I don't know, but he's omnipotent and omniscient. He can do it. As we'll see in coming weeks, this view of Revelation 21 verse 1 resolves every tension that you find in commentaries in these chapters. It also gives incredible motivation to produce those things by Christ's grace that will remain so that they will last into eternity. Now, of course, Isaiah indicates, hey, there's going to be an amelioration of the curse, amelioration of disease, amelioration of death, but not the conquering of death. That's got to wait till the last day of history. But if you read Isaiah 65 through 66 sometime, you'll see that it prophesies a time in history, as I mentioned, where people will live to be a thousand years old and still be healthy. And I imagine a lot of genetic studies need to take place before that can happen. By the way, there is just a handful of geneticists nowadays that have recently discovered they think our genes within two or three generations, their genetic therapies and whatnot will enable us to live to be 1,000 years old. One of these dudes, he's actually a biomedical gerontologist, Audrey de Grey, thinks somebody is born already who might live to be 1,000 years old. I'm very skeptical of that. And other geneticists are skeptical too. They say, wow, it's probably a long ways off, but it's in the code, it's there. And here's the point. Isaiah guarantees it's going to happen at some point. OK, living to be a thousand years old. The same passage in Isaiah promises that there is coming a time when moms will never have stillborn children and moms will never give birth to non elect children. Just unbelievable. It prophesies a time when the wolf and the lamb will feed together, when lions will be vegetarian. Isaiah 11 verse 8 prophesies that vipers will no longer be poisonous and they can play with your babies in the crib and your babies won't get hurt. I mean, it's just going to be incredible the changes that God's grace is doing when? In history. Remember, every enemy put under his feet except for the last enemy, death, and that happens in history but on the last day at his second coming. Now, I do want to distinguish my view from the view that some postmillennialists have Some post-millennialists deny that the earth and the universe will be renovated by fire. They just see a smooth transition from history into eternity where you really don't notice much of a change. But there seems to be a very pronounced transition that will happen on Judgment Day that includes earth and heaven melting with fire. Now, I'm not super dogmatic on this, but I'm pretty strongly convinced. It would take an awful lot to convince me otherwise. So I want to briefly make this clarification. Let me read you some sample scriptures that still convince me there will be a renovation of everything by fire. First of all, a background verse, Psalm 102, 25 to 26. Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, they will all grow old like a garment. Like a cloak, you will change them and they will be changed. Now, the second law of thermodynamics is at work in our universe. and eventually the sun and the stars will grow old. They will be like an old garment. Science says they can only last so long, and the Bible indicates they can only last so long. So this passage indicates that the decay in our universe will necessitate it perishing in some sense, and yet it insists that there is enough of the previous that remains that it speaks of God changing the earth and the heavens rather than replacing them. And the Hebrew word for change, halap, means be different, diverge, to change, to violate, to renew. But in the hyphal tense, and that's what's used here specifically, it means to cause, to succeed, to receive anew, to give anew, to sprout afresh. So the ESV dictionary says it basically means renew. That's what we've been seeing all along. It's used in Psalm 90 verse five of the grass renewing in the morning. you know, perking up in the morning. And so really it's a blessing. It's a renewal. It's not a curse. And many scriptures seem to indicate that this blessed renewal will happen by fire. Second Peter three verse 10 says, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Later, he says, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwell. Now, some people say, well, Phil, if you're right on that, then it seems like there is a complete contradiction of Genesis, Chapter 8 verse 21 verse I read earlier and that we saw that verse promises God will never again destroy every living thing as he did at the flood will never again curse the earth and So I would point out three things that I say no, there's no contradiction whatsoever. First of all this destruction by fire happens after We are given resurrection bodies. So our resurrection bodies are not going to be destroyed fire cannot harm them No problem there. And with a Christianized world, the world's not going to be... Inhabitants of the world are not going to be destroyed. It's not going to be the same as the flood. Only the resurrected wicked will be. Second, I see no reason why God cannot preserve every animal and other aspect of creation in the same way that he preserves our resurrected bodies. Who knows? He might even transform some of the animals that are living, that are alive at his second coming, and glorify them. We don't know. Scripture seems to indicate that there's going to be animals in the new heavens and the new earth, but they appear to have glorified bodies. And that's the third point. The fire comes to bless, not to curse. It renovates, it does not destroy. Now, I kind of imagine the fire that we talked about from 1 Corinthians 3 that's going to purify us, right? I kind of imagine, as our haywood and stubble gets purified, that we're going to be standing there, amazed as the earth gives way beneath our feet, and we become enveloped in fire and we emerge from it shortly thereafter completely unscathed, unharmed with every sinful memory, every vestige of the sin-cursed life purged away. It's not going to be a time of terror for us because, remember, Judgment Day is already finished, all of our judgments that I talked about last week, and we are going to have the sheer delight of being wrapped up in our consuming God of fire without getting hurt. It's not a negative judgment. It's not a curse like the flood was. It's a blessing and a renewal. So for those three reasons, I think there is no contradiction. And he's going to do all of that near the end of Judgment Day. It appears that everything will dissolve and reconstitute fairly rapidly. And people say, that's impossible. You know, with all the trillions of stars out there, hey, Take Genesis 1, literally, God spoke these things into existence. There is no reason why God cannot reconstitute them with the same word of his power in a very short period of time. But it would be utterly inappropriate for the bones, idols, and other artifacts of sin and rebellion that remain buried in the earth to make it into eternity. All that is connected with sin, curse, and death must flee away from Christ's throne. and only that which is redeemed can remain. And that's another reason why I think it has to be renovated by fire. Now, some of you have very imaginative brains. You can picture things in your head. So I want you to picture this universe and every individual standing before the throne, and after judgment is finished, you see streaks of black peeling away from our bodies as the memories of sin are dealt with and they're fleeing away from his throne. And we're left there, still us, but we're left there purified, no memories of the past. And you see streaks of black peeling away from the earth and peeling away from the galaxies as dead suns and other things are being peeled away. And what is left is brand new. But as Kainos knew, it's connected to the old. That is chapter 20, verse 11b, happening literally before your eyes. And once every vestige of black has fled away, what remains from this fiery matrix is a glorious planet surrounded by a glorious universe that we're going to be exploring for the rest of our eternal lives. And I look forward to that day. I don't want the memories that I cringe over continuing to be my memories into eternity. I look forward to the day when trillions of fossils are going to flee away and a perfect earth will remain. I look forward to the day when dying stars will disappear and be replaced with something far, far more glorious. Let me end with four quick applications that, uh, in addition to the applications I've made, if everything I've said is true, And if God's going to redeem the universe rather than to discard it, that means that every facet of this universe is important to God and will experience the renewal of his atonement. It means Satan was not successful in ripping this world away from God. No, Christ has ripped the world away from Satan, and he's going to make it into something far more glorious than it ever has been. Both Romans 8 and Isaiah 65-66 indicate that Christ's grace reaches far as the curse is found. This is such a critical antidote to the impotence and the escapism of the modern Church. Christ's grace conquers, it does not abandon. So that's the first application. Christ's grace conquers, it does not abandon. It redeems, it does not discard. This should encourage you that when you grow in Christ personally, you are advancing the goal of all things being made new, whether your neighbors do or not. We should not be discouraged by the fact that other people are ignoring all things being made new, because you're a new creation, and God is making all things new within you. So how do we get into the program of being a part of the advancement of the kingdom of heaven, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, making all things new on planet earth. Well, it's easy. Start with yourself. It's so encouraging. We don't have to wait for other people to do it. As soon as you start applying God's redemption to your motives, your thoughts, your words, your actions, you are part, you're adding to the new creation. It's such a cool thought. Every time you take dominion in your work to the Father's glory, you are adding to the new creation. God's grace is producing new creation things in you that Hebrews 12 says cannot be shaken and will remain into eternity. Third, if everything I have said is true, then we need to be in this battle for planet Earth for the long haul. God's purposes of renewing all things began at the cross, yes. They were given a major impetus forward at AD 70 when heaven was cleansed, when the first resurrection happened. Over this history, it's continuing to grow. There will be a final capstone of all death and anything associated with death being removed. But these chapters, as we study them, are going to make crystal clear there is a ton of work that is left for God's people to do before the final chapter is written, before the installment of chapter 21, verse 1 happens. Though we will not see death conquered in history, we can certainly advance the length of life, advance health and medicine, advance our dominion over animals and birds and insects, and develop new technologies. I'm all about technology. I think Bible commands it. Though not all of the effects of the curse will be removed, we should take joy, great joy, in ameliorating the effects of the curse as we're able to do it by God's grace. So let's be in this for the long haul. Let's be passionate about taking dominion. And then fourth, I hope these chapters give you a vision of the glorious future that God has for us on planet earth. And most of that glorious vision I'm going to reserve for my exposition. of the remainder of these chapters, but even what we've seen today ought to be an encouragement of the comprehensive nature of God's covenant of grace. May it encourage us that our labors in the Lord are not in vain. Everything we do has the potential of advancing the old things, new aspect of the good news. May it be so Lord Jesus. Amen. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the encouragement that it gives. We thank you that Christ will indeed win the victory that, uh, there is an advancement of that victory. Even now, as Christ builds his church and as of the advancement of his kingdom, the growth of his kingdom and of peace, there will be no end. Father, we want to be a part of that. We want to get on board as foot soldiers of that kingdom. We want to be sold out in our lives. And so I pray that whether it's dealing with our inward motives, thoughts, our outward actions and words, that we would be part of this new creation, this making of all things new that you have ordained for us. Give us a holy excitement, a holy faith, a holy hope Father, that the world could not crush and that others could not stamp out of us. Help us, Father, to break through and see the supernatural in our lives and in our families. And we pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.