THE HOPE OF THE COMING OF CHRIST: THE HAPPY CREATION

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.  (Revelation 21:1)

Presently, the heavens we see above us and the earth we see around us is in a state of deterioration because of the curse, wearing out like an old piece of clothing (Heb.1:10-12).  In the end, God will regenerate them as He renovates all creation by fire (2 Pet.3:10-13). 

Perhaps you have seen a forest consumed by wildfire—all that remains are charred trunks and gray ash covering the ground, but then—come Spring—new growth begins to push out of the ashes and a forest is reborn.  In a far greater way, this old creation of groans will yield to a new creation of glory at the last and for eternity.

The aged Apostle John cheerfully exclaims that in the new creation, “there was no more sea.”  He didn’t mean there would be no water; in the heavenly city, there is a crystal clear river.  In the new earth, the world will no longer be ¾ covered by oceans as it is today.  I would suppose they will return to the conditions before the flood altered the land and seas—the greenhouse canopy of water vapor that encircled the planet which created a paradise on earth will be regenerated.  It could be that instead of vast oceans, there will be large lakes teeming with aquatic life according to God’s original design.

What’s the big deal?  John saw a sea of storms and separation and wanted it gone!  Sitting on that rocky island of desolation called Patmos where he was exiled for preaching the Gospel, the ocean was a dreadful barrier that kept him isolated from his brothers and sisters in Christ.  The salt waves were whipped into a frightful frenzy by stinging winds as lightning flashed across the dark skies and thunder boomed its terror over the breakers dashing on the shoreline.  With John we long for this,

There is coming a day,
When no heart aches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forever more,
On that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be. (James Hill)