“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. Also there was no more sea.” (v.1)
We are now beyond the events of chapter 20 with the rebellion crushed, the earth polluted, and judgment handed out. John now sees "a new heaven and a new earth.” Due to the catastrophic events which polluted and destroyed our planet in the battle against satan, one could easily see the need for a new one. And God, having spoke the first one into and out of existence, could just as easily speak into existence a new one. Whether that means completing the greatest “home makeover” of all time, or just speaking into existence a “new universe," John records in verse five that He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new.”
Personally I believe that God will create a new heaven and a new earth. Peter tells us in his second epistle that, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up and all things shall be dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10-11). Look closely at highlighted words in this verse, they describe total annihilation. It just makes sense to create a new one. Additionally, the prophet Isaiah recorded (700 years before the birth of Christ) what the Spirit of the Lord spoke to him concerning a “glorious new creation”, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And all the former shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17).
All this speaks to me of a “new creation” a new heaven and a new earth, all things made new. But regardless of whether the old is made new or something new is created, it will truly be glorious.
The Truth: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
