Heaven and earth have passed away…so what?

Heaven and earth have passed away…so what?

So, based on our study of the Scriptures we see that heaven and earth have passed away.  Let’s take some time to explore some of the implications of that as well as some practical considerations for our worldview and daily life.

While there are a multitude of applications, I’d like to draw out just a few of them:

1.        Since heaven and earth have passed away, God’s covenant community is not under the Law (Matt 5:18-19)

2.      No fear of a coming judgment in which the earth is burned to a crisp.

3.      Greater appreciation of what we have here and now.

a.      Better stewards of that which we have been given on this planet.

b.      Appreciate glory of NC

c.       Enjoy being united as one with Christ (marriage)

4.      Political implications

5.      Recognize our true place in God’s story.

a.      Not plan B

b.      Are new Jerusalem

c.       Bring healing to the nations

Well, as I have said before, doctrine drives your actions; what you believe affects how you will behave.  Your interpretation of the passing away of heaven and earth will have profound effects on your worldview. 

First, if heaven and earth have not passed away, then God’s covenant community is still under every jot and tittle of the Law and whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom.  However, since heaven and earth have passed away, God’s covenant community is no longer Israel according to the flesh, but Israel according to the Spirit, the Law of Moses is no longer binding.

Second, if we interpret the prophecies of Matt 24:35, 2 Pet 3 and Rev 21 as being the literal destruction of the planet some time in our future, we will likely live in a state of perpetual anxiety and perhaps fear, tossed to and fro by the headlines in anticipation of a world-wide cataclysmic event, following the whims of Harold Camping and other so-called prophecy experts.  However, if we recognize that heaven and earth have already passed away, we will not fear a coming judgment in which the earth will be burned up, since that judgment already happened to the generation to whom it was promised, namely first century Jerusalem. 

The judgment of the Old Creation is passed. We belong to the new creation in Christ and we live free of the fear of that judgment.

Further, if the heavens and earth have passed and the new heavens and earth are a present reality, then the second application for us is that we should have a greater appreciation for what we have at the present time. 

I know a guy who worked at a great company, but wasn’t particularly happy in his position there.  He was promised another job making a lot of money doing something else.  He was strung along for a while and day by day he was less and less content with his current job.  He made a lot of money and actually had a great job, but the promise of something else that was painted out to be something grandiose made what he had less appealing and he became quite miserable in anticipation of the job to come.  Unfortunately, what he was promised was never delivered and he had to come to grips with the reality that what he had was actually really good.  But, looking forward to picture-perfect dream which isn’t going to happen has a tendency to render our present lot in life rather dull.

When these prophecies are interpreted through a strict literal lens, the expectation tends to be that one day soon God will destroy this planet by fire and that we will have a new planet where there is literally no wicked people, no cancer, no physical pain and no sin.  As a result, the tendency is that people have a hard time finding contentment at the present time on the present earth.  We look forward to a new planet on which grandparents don’t die of cancer and children don’t have CAH, and marriages aren’t marred by unfaithfulness and churches don’t divide over doctrine, and there are no short people.  That lends itself to a lack of an appreciation for what we have here and now.  It tends to focus in on the negative; a gloom and doom mentality follows, in which we tend to think that we have it terrible now and that it will all get better one day on the new planet.  Such misconceptions lead to a lack of true contentment here and now.

CONTENT IN CHRIST.  However, a covenantal or fulfilled understanding of these prophecies should lead to a greater appreciation for our present station in life…the one in which we have fellowship with God, the one in which our sins have been removed from us, the one in which we don’t have to sacrifice animals before God at an altar.  We should find our contentment in Christ, here, now.  Not only will we find contentment in our present station of life, but we will find abundant joy as we recognize the fullness of what we have in Christ as the new heavens and the new earth.

BEAUTY OF NC.  Understanding that the heavens and earth have passed away will lead to a greater recognition of the beauty of the NC especially in comparison to that of the Old.  You will understand that the letter kills but the Spirit gives life; you will see the OC as a covenant of death, but the NC as a covenant of life.  You will appreciate that we don’t live under stipulations that say if you fail to obey all of this you will be cursed.  You are free from the curses of: You will toil in vain because others will rape your wives, live in your houses, and eat the fruit of your vineyards. You will appreciate the fact that you belong to a people blessed by the Lord, not cursed. Spend some time reading the OT and you will see that what we have in the NC is amazing, it is the world that the saints of old were looking forward to, it is the heavenly city.

VIEW OF GOD, CHRIST, CHURCH. You should adopt a greater view of God as a covenant keeper as one who does what he says he will do when He says he will do it.  This will strengthen your faith in Christ as a true prophet and you will see him for who he is, namely God; you will see him in His father and His father in Him, you will see the fullness of the deity.  You will have a greater view of the church as the kingdom of God and the bride of Christ washed clean and adorned, precious in the sight of God as the apple of His eye, not as an afterthought or a plan B, but the center of His plan, the apex of his plan.

CAVEAT.  Let me touch on something before I move on.  Yes, it is possible to view the passing away of heaven and earth as being literal and in our future and to still have a grand view of God, the church, Jesus, a grand view of the NC and to have a contentment in Christ.  It is also possible to see that heaven and earth have passed and to still have a lack of contentment in Christ.  What I intend to convey with this point is the tendency of what follows such doctrines, not dogmatic absolutes, but generalizations.  There are exceptions. But these mentalities should be our natural response.

STEWARDSHIP.  There is a tendency in some believers to say: it’s all gonna burn one day, which leads to the mentality of why should we care, why should we recycle, why not just litter up this earth, God is going to replace it anyway.  There are a multitude of non-believers out there who outshine such believers in stewardship as they go green and take care of the planet God has given us to inhabit.  A paradigm shift with regards to the heavens and earth having passed away should cultivate a healthy attitude towards this precious planet that God has given us to dwell upon which drives us to become better stewards of that which we have been given.

Some might respond with the question, “So if all this has happened, then what do we have to look forward to?

First consider the implications of that.  It implies that what we have now isn’t amazing.  That’s like the kid who finishes opening his toys on Christmas morning and then says, since this great event is now past, what do I have to look forward to now?  Ummm…how about playing with your toys, enjoying your presents?  For us, if this great event is past, how about enjoying God’s presence?

Consider the fact that the wedding of the Lamb with His bride is an event concurrent with the passing away of Heaven and earth.  If we are still waiting for heaven and earth to pass away, then we are still waiting to be married to Christ.  That would be an exciting event to anticipate.  Getting married is exciting.  When Breann and I got engaged, we would talk on the phone on my breaks at work about how excited we were to get married.  We would literally count down the days.  It was exciting to look forward to that big day, as it was a huge event that we eagerly anticipated.  On March 16, 2002 we finally got married. 

While the anticipation of the wedding is exciting, does that mean that once the great anticipated event is over, there is nothing to look forward to?  Imagine if on March 17^th Breann had a conversation with Kalan and Kalan said, can you believe you are finally married to David and Breann responded with, “Yeah, I know.  But since that long anticipated day has finally passed what do I have to look forward to now?”  Hello!!! How about doing life together, dwelling together, enjoying one another’s presence??? 

Yes, the big anticipated wedding has passed, but that doesn’t mean that I have nothing to look forward to.  It means that now I have the joy of living with Breann, intimately as one, doing life together and being fruitful and multiplying; expanding our family is a joy.  In the same way, now, I have the joy of living with Christ, intimately as one, doing life together and being fruitful and multiplying, expanding the family of God through the privilege of sharing the gospel and bringing forth new children of God.

Hello!!!  Every day is a journey with God.  Every day, we get to walk with Jesus, dwell with Him.  He is your God and we are His people.  Every day is exciting; every day with Jesus is something to look forward to.

POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.  If the passing away of heaven and earth in Scripture means the dissolution of OC Israel, then today we have no sound Biblical basis upon which to say, “As Americans we need to support the political state of Israel so God will bless America because those who bless the Jews will be blessed, but those who curse them will be cursed.”  That stipulation was a part of the OC world and it passed away with the passing away of the old world.  In the new covenant world, that political state is no different in God’s sight than the political state of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Tazmania, Haiti or Japan.  In the new creation there is no Jew or Gentile.  God no longer looks upon one ethnic group as His chosen race.  The chosen race includes all who believe regardless of ethnicity.  So our political decisions should not be based upon such guidelines.  If you want to vote somebody into office who longs to support Israel, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it should be done for political reasons, not theological reasons.  We are the Israel of God.

We will recognize our true place in God’s story.  We will operate with a full understanding of where we fit in history and our role in God’s plan. 

I was a fan of the television show LOST, right up to the last episode, then the ending was a bit of a fail.  But that show had a time travel element to it that made it fascinating.  It became necessary for the characters and the viewers to discern not only where they were but when they were.  The sooner they and we figured out when they were the better.  Understanding when you are determines how you think and live.  If this was 1987 I wouldn’t be wearing these clothes or have this hairdo.  I would be wearing a hot pink shirt, have about 200 holes in these pants and I’d be rocking a mullet.

Knowing when you are is important factor how you live.  Understanding that heaven and earth have passed and we live in the time of the new heavens and earth will dramatically affect the way we think and live.  Namely, we will see the elements of the new heavens and earth in Rev 21 & 22 as present realities and seek to live those out.

Rev 21:1-4  ¹ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 

Let's practice the presence of God because His presence (parousia) is a reality; we really do have access to Him. Not only was the veil torn, the temple was completely destroyed and God has made Himself a new Temple in us.  He dwells in us.  We have His presence! 

For us to neglect his presence in our lives is like complaining about being too broke to pay our bills holding a lottery ticket in our hands watching the winning numbers being called, seeing that the numbers match those on our ticket and continuing to complain of our bankruptcy. We have what we need. We have what we want. We have more than we could ask for or imagine in Christ! We want joy. It is in Him. We want peace. He is the prince of peace. We want love. He is the very manifestation of love in setting aside himself for the sake of others coming not to be served but to serve. He embodied love; greater love has no one than thus that he lay down his life for his friends. In him we are loved more than any mind can imagine. We want acceptance? We are accepted by God.

1.       Reformed Church in Georgetown Texas.  Preterist church in Georgetown Texas.  New Covenant Fellowship Church in Georgetown Texas.  Pastor David Boone.preterism covenant eschatology.

Let's spend our days getting to know this Jesus with whom we dwell, with whom we have become one. His prayer was that he would be in us and we in him and the father in him, that we would be intimately woven together. Let's be intimate with this God of ours who has condescended so low as to become one of us and suffer in order to make a way for us to know him. Let's get to know him. The marriage has been consummated. Let's enjoy dwelling together in the same place. Let's commune with Him. Let's drink wine and break bread with him.

His presence is among us.  Recognizing Him for who he is, as a natural result of being in his presence, we should be more inclined to bow in worship.  Moses worshiped at the burning bush.  At the great catch of fish Peter bowed down to worship Jesus.  As we dwell in His presence we cannot help but see that He is worthy of our worship. As the angels in His presence, let us not become weary of crying out holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was and is and has come and has taken his place upon the throne. Let us bow down and worship him let's give him the glory due his name.

Rev 21:6-7 ⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. It is done.  We drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.  ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.  We are among the victorious.  The inheritance has been given and we are partakers.  God is our God.  We are His children.  This is a present reality.

Rev 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. We dwell in this city where Christ is the temple.  He is our locus of worship.  ²³The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.  In our dwelling, Christ is the light.  He is the light of our world.  ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut.  We don’t belong to a physical Jerusalem where the gates close.  We dwell in a spiritual Jerusalem and the light of our city is a light to the dark world around us; the nations walk by the light of this city.  This is a present reality.

Rev 22:1-3  ¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  We are not cursed, but blessed.  God’s throne is among us and we, his servants serve Him.  We are at an exciting time in History where we have access to the Tree of Life once again, enjoying eternal life. We drink of the living water and find refreshment for our soul; we offer this water to all who are thirsty. 

We invite others into this kingdom to serve the king of kings and lord of lords, a king who doesn’t do his subjects wrong like the kings of the former kingdom, but a king who died for his people, one who it is a joy to serve.

The application is endless.  We have work to do as those who dwell in the new Jerusalem.

Rev 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.  We have gone into the city while unrepentant sinners remain outside. There are hurting people outside the city gates of this heavenly Jerusalem who need healing. We have access to the tree of life and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. Remember the poetic symbolic nature of this text in Rev...in literal language, this means that we have the anecdote to heal them, namely Jesus Christ.

The pain they feel, the lack of love and acceptance, the empty worship of athletes, rock stars and self can be replaced with Him who is worthy of worship.

The fatherless have the ability through Christ to come to a Father who will never leave nor forsake them. There are those who are in need of healing. Let's heal them.

There are dead people who need to be raised. In the movie, 6th sense the kid says I see dead people all around me. They think they’re alive don't even know they're dead. That is fitting. There are spiritually dead people all around us. Let's raise them to life with the touch of Jesus.

Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.  We enjoy this free gift of the water of life and it is our duty and privilege to say to others, if you are thirsty, come and drink freely of Jesus that you may thirst no more.