17) The New Earth
The eternal home of the saved: new heavens and new earth
After the millennium, God will create new heavens and a new earth. This is the final hope of Christians: to live eternally with God in a renewed world. In this lesson, we will glimpse our eternal home.
The Promise of the New Earth
What did God promise to create?
Show answer
Answer: New heavens and a new earth
Isaiah 65:17: "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."
What did John see coming down from heaven?
Show answer
Answer: The holy city, the New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:2: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
“All that was lost by sin has been restored.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, GC 674.3
What Will No Longer Exist
What will be wiped away from the eyes of the saved?
Show answer
Answer: Every tear
Revelation 21:4: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
What things will no longer exist on the new earth?
Show answer
Answer: Death, mourning, crying, and pain
Revelation 21:4: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
Will there be a sea on the new earth?
Show answer
Answer: The sea no longer exists
Revelation 21:1: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."
Life on the New Earth
Where will God dwell?
Show answer
Answer: With man, God's tabernacle will be with them
Revelation 21:3: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
What will the saved do on the new earth?
Show answer
Answer: They will build houses, plant vineyards, and enjoy the fruit of their labor
Isaiah 65:21-22: "And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands."
How will nature be on the new earth?
Show answer
Answer: The wolf will dwell with the lamb, there will be no more violence
Isaiah 11:6-9: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
“There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, GC 677.2
The New Jerusalem
What illuminates the holy city?
Show answer
Answer: The glory of God and the Lamb is its lamp
Revelation 21:23: "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
Who will enter the holy city?
Show answer
Answer: Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life
Revelation 21:27: "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life."
Now What?
The new earth is our hope:
- God will make all things new: New heavens and new earth
- There will be no more pain: No death, tears, or sorrow
- We will live with God: He will dwell with us
- It will be eternal: Happiness without end
My Decision
I desire to have my name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I accept Jesus as my Savior so that I may dwell in the new earth that God is preparing. I await with joy the fulfillment of this blessed hope.