New Heaven, New Earth–Lent 39, 2022

A three-dimensional physical world and a life experience marked by time—that’s our frame of reference. From the time we’re born until the time we die, it’s with us … marked by movements of the sun and moon and stars, as well as by the movement of our earth. Physical objects and marked time condition us to view things in a very concrete and linear way.

Today, as we come to the final vignettes in our Lenten series “Revelation in 40”
and the big picture of the book of Revelation,
I’d ask you to consider that Jesus’ reality from heaven
was not marked by those things.
His perspective, therefore, is different.
Eternal. Multidimensional. Spiritual.

So, it’s hard for us to understand when Jesus says things like “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) or at the Last Supper before His Crucifixion “19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:19-21).

Jesus’ experiences, reality, and understanding
transcend ours which are limited, physical, and finite.
Hold that thought while we look at today’s vignette.

Revelation 21:1 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. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

This will be the last “coming down” out of heaven. From this point on, God dwells with His people. There is a curious and mysterious new heaven and new earth…that are no longer separated by time and space. Kind of like one of those Impossible Puzzles, MC Escher drawings, or a Möbius strip.

Revelation 21: 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 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. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

It’s hard to contemplate a reality we just don’t know, but this is all part of letting Revelation speak to us in its own words and not try to force understanding upon it from a finite physical world.

Thoughts for today:

Read Revelation 21:8, (See also Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Lk. 13:28, and 2 Peter 2:17 about hell, the second death being simultaneously an eternity of utter darkness and a blazing furnace or fiery lake.) How can literal flames of fire not give off literal light, so it is simultaneously utter darkness?

Read Revelation 21:9-21. What does the splendor of the New Jerusalem tell you?

Read Revelation 21:22-27. In verses 23 and 25 it states, “The 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 … On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.” I chuckle sometimes thinking that’s why God neither slumbers nor sleeps. But the truth is, His reality is not our finite one.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.