There is something very special and exciting about things that are new. When you get a car from the factory, it has that new car smell and everything is pristinely clean. When new carpet is installed, it has that new look, smell, and feel. Those who have been fortunate enough to buy a new home from a developer have experienced everything around them looking freshly new and (theoretically) working perfectly. Imagine being ushered into an eternity where everything is new and far exceeds any experience we can compare it to now.

As Revelation 21 opens, the Apostle John sees four new things: “a new heaven and a new earth…(a) new Jerusalem,” and a new kind of life for the redeemed (21:1-4). There is no mystery as to the timing of this future scene. It will become a reality immediately after the Millennial Kingdom and the final rebellion of Satan and man. The events John witnessed will usher in a new eternal state. The first new thing in sequence will be a new heaven and a new earth. We must not mistakenly conclude earth will be destroyed and a new earth created. The covenants of Israel guarantee Israel will possess this present earth in perpetuity. Second Peter 3:5-12 explains that God will effectively renovate the earth with fire, destroying every remnant of man’s sin, therein preparing a sinless earth and heavens for the redeemed to inhabit. John also saw a “new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven” (Revelation 21:2). This will be a literal, walled city, described in detail as being greatly adorned and strictly Jewish in character and population (vss. 10-27). We must remember, the eternal home for believers today will be in the heavens. What John saw was what the redeemed of Israel were always promised, and righteous Jews desired and “looked for” (Hebrews 11:10). Revelation 21:4 also reveals a new condition for saints in the eternal state: “And God shall wipe away all tears…and there shall be no more death…sorrow…nor crying…neither…any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” This will be so fantastic that it’s hard to fully wrap our heads around such a blessed condition. But we believe it. We also believe that there will surely be a parallel condition for the Body of Christ in the heavens too.

When contemplating this magnificent future, it should make us want to sing the hymn: “How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be.” Rejoice believer. The best is yet to come.