Heaven and Earth: Where is Our Home?

Michael C. Stephan
 In the past few years, several books about the existence, nature, and whereabouts

of Heaven have been released to the American market. Ranging from what it will look

like to a “history” of the heavenly realm; many of these texts miss the mark about who is

there and what it is that will be happening upon our arrival. In addition, some authors

miss Earth’s role in the coming of the Kingdom. Some suggest that we must make earth

into heaven before Christ will return or that Earth will in fact become heaven upon Jesus’

return.

What is the reality? With all of these differing opinions, is it possible to know the

truth or any truth about where we will be: 1) if we die before Christ’s triumphant return or

2) what will happen if we are still on earth upon His arrival. Scripture gives us some

clues but not a single cohesive picture. What will be our ultimate home? How are

heaven and earth related? How are they different?

The intent of this examination is not to focus on what glory will be like, although

some of these questions will naturally creep into the discussion. The goal is to try and

reach a consensus about where we as believers in Jesus Christ will live in glory and

discover the relationship between Heaven and Earth.

Before we can explore the theology behind our beliefs regarding the afterlife, it

would be profitable to examine how Scripture views the words “Earth,” “World,” and

“Heaven.1” While there is some overlap, each of these words has its own connotation

when it comes to describe the created realm.

“Earth” is closely tied to “heaven” throughout the Bible. From the beginning in

Genesis chapter one all the way to Revelation 21 the two are frequently connected to one

1
Interestingly there are only a few places where all three words are used in the same sentence (Psalm 89:11;
Jer. 10:12; 51:15; Acts 17:24). In all of these cases, they make the point that God is the one who made all
these things.
another to describe the work which God made. “In the beginning God created the

heavens and the earth.”2 The first chapter of Genesis is the most “earth” heavy chapter in

the Bible. The word #r,a (erets meaning earth) is used twenty times in thirty verses. In

addition, this description of earth means that part of creation beneath which is our feet.

Literally the ground we walk upon. This is clear from the description of the creation of

Adam. God literally takes the dust from the ground and fashions a man from the earth

and breaths life into the body.3 Also, “earth” can mean the physical creation of the planet

Earth itself. Essentially meaning the place where we are, where we live.

World has a slightly different meaning. While in some cases it can mean the

ground we walk upon4 it is a much broader term. Quite often it is used to describe the

creation as a whole.5 In fact this is the most common usage with such descriptions as

“from the foundation of the world.” Alternatively, it is used to describe the people who

live on the earth, in the world.6 Finally it can also mean the age that we live in or the

philosophy behind the actions, decisions, and lives of the people in the world.7 Since

there are multiple Greek words behind the English translation it can lead to confusion

2
Genesis 1:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3
Genesis 2:7 not the same Hebrew word but the English translation can mean the same, in this case
“ground”
4
1 Samuel 2:8 “He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit
with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world
on them.”
5
Psalm 9:8 “And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with
equity.”
6
Perhaps the most well known use of “world” in this way is Jesus conversation with Nicodemus in John
chapter three. “World” in this passage clearly means people as Jesus describes Himself as bringing light
into the world but that men love darkness rather than light. The Greek word behind this translation is
ko,smoj (kosmos). This term is also used to mean the created universe but in this particular instance Jesus is
using it to describe those for whom He came to save.
7
Matt. 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word,
and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” aivw-n
is the word translated as world in this passage. It can mean “age,” “eternity,” “existence,” or “this present
life.”
concerning the many meanings of this one word. Examining these usages is a context

driven study and each of these uses gains its meaning from the surrounding text.

Lastly there is the word “heaven(s).” This is perhaps the most difficult term to try

and nail down the meaning. People today use this word in different ways which can

affect how we read it in the Bible. Again, there can be different meanings based on the

context of the Scripture passage as well as who is doing the speaking. First, it could just

mean sky; where the birds fly.8 It is also used as the place where God reigns.

It is of great importance to note that the heavens themselves are part of the realm

created by God. There was a time when the heavens did not exist. Genesis 1:1 says God

created the heavens and the earth. When the earth came into being the heavens did as

well, by God’s command.

Earth: What Happened?

Perhaps the best glimpse of what eternity will look like is contained in the first

chapters of Genesis. What was mankind’s function in the created order of things? First

there is what is called the Creation Mandate:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let

them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the

livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the

ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he

created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said

to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

8
Genesis 1:20 “Then God said, ‘Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above
the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.’”
 Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living

creature that moves on the ground."9

This is what mankind’s job description was at the beginning. We were called by God to

increase the number of image-bearers and to take care of the animals which he had

created. In Genesis 2, we have some more details about the creation of mankind.

Scripture tells us:

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work

it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are

free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree

of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely

die."10

Here, in addition to the work man was to perform, was a command from God that the

only tree not given for food, in fact the only plant at all that man could not eat, was the

tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So, in the garden mankind was given a

commission (to take care of creation) and a command (do not eat).

That was our primary purpose but in addition to these things man also had

relationships in the Garden. First, there was his relationship to God. Other than the two

sections quoted above, there is not any other communication recorded between God and

mankind prior to the Fall. However, it seems clear that a close relationship did exist

between the Creator and His image bearers. Not much is written and it is perhaps

speculation but prior to God confronting man and woman about breaking his command,

the Bible states, “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the

cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD
9
Genesis 1:26-28 New International Version (NIV)
10
Genesis 2:15-17 NIV
God among the trees of the garden.”11 The word translated as “presence” could also be

translated as “face.” So, the man and woman heard a sound that they knew to be that of

God walking in the garden.12 It may be that man and woman had conversations with God

face to face. Mankind in those very early days had communion with God we cannot fully

appreciate in our present fallen state.

Secondly, mankind was to have relationships with one another. As part of our

responsibility to fulfill the Creation Mandate, man and woman were to multiply on the

earth. It is not overstating the fact to say that this would require a close intimate

relationship. Starting with one man and one woman, these two would be the progenitors

of all future generations. Now we can assume as their children would grow and begin

families of their own having a relationship with their respective spouses, parents,

children, grandchildren, and so on they would knit together into one large human family.

They would also, as a human community, be fulfilling their second commission to have

dominion over the earth. They were to cultivate and maintain it together as one people.

Finally there would have been relationships with the animals. This may not be

very clear on the surface; after all, do we not have some connection with animals today.

Yes, we as human beings do have an attachment to some of God’s creatures. Many

people have various animals as pets. There are others that we can visit in our local zoo or

aquarium. However, these types of owner/pet associations are not exactly what were

originally intended. Looking again at Genesis chapter two there are hints at the kind of

bond that man and animal should have:

11
Genesis 3:8 NASB
12
It is interesting that they could discern this particular noise from that of the rest of the animals in the
garden. It is an indication that they were familiar with God and had walked with Him “in the cool of the
day.” It may very well have been His custom to visit man and woman in the garden. However, it is
impossible to say how long this type of relationship existed.
 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will

make him a helper suitable for him." Out of the ground the LORD God

formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them

to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a

living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle,

and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam

there was not found a helper suitable for him.13

There is a problem with man and that is as God says, “It is not good for man to be

alone.” This is the only thing that God says is not good about His creation. All of the

physical properties that God made and their physical condition were all “very good.” But

mankind, and in this case Adam, was not made to be alone. What is even more

interesting is that God does not say that He Himself would fill this need. Instead, there is

a search, by the man and God, for a helper. God forms all the creatures and Adam names

them. Every living thing that God brings to Adam, he names, not God. This is

significant in that, even though a “suitable helper” was not found among any of the

animals, man had a direct relationship with them in their creation. Adam was not the

agent of creation but he does have a small role, alongside God,14 in each creature’s

coming into being. As a result, there would indeed be a connection between mankind and

the animals in the Garden of Eden.

Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven, devotes an entire section to the question about

animals in glory? He states:

13
Genesis 2:18-20 NASB
14
This is the first instance of God and man working together to accomplish a task.
 Scripture says a great deal about animals, portraying them as

Earth’s second most important inhabitants. God entrusted animals to us,

and our relationships with animals are a significant part of our lives.

Isaiah 11:6-9 speaks of a coming glorious era and Earth when “the

leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling

together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.15

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his

hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my

holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as

the waters cover the sea.16

The context here is the afterlife, when all things will be restored to what they were made

to be.

The need for restoration comes from man’s failure to obey God’s command. The

man and woman both eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, something God

expressly commanded Adam not to eat.17 As a result, mankind fell from the perfect state

in which God had created them. This wounded our ability to fulfill the commission God

had given us. Our job, as human beings was now broken. Both our mandate to fill the

earth and our ability to rule over the earth and subdue it was damaged.

What is more, all of the relationships we were to have as part of the plan of

creation were now thrown into chaos. Our ability to commune with God was now

changed to the point that we as humans could no longer walk with Him as we had done
15
Not unlike Gen.1:30 where every green plant is given for food for all the animals God had created.
Seeing a lion eat grass may be foreign to us but it was a daily occurrence for Adam and Eve in the garden.
16
Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), 373.
17
Genesis 3:1-13
previously. A mediator would be needed for mankind to again be able to enjoy all the

benefits of a relationship with their Creator God. Our relationships with each other were

also broken so that the human family would no longer be a team but each individual

would be looking out for themselves first and (maybe) others second. And lastly, the

earth itself was affected by the curse God placed on humanity. It would now work

against us and our labor would now be toilsome rather than glorifying or gratifying.

The effects of the curse do not end with the closing of the third chapter of

Genesis. As the collapse of the human family continued, one brother would rise up to kill

his sibling. Mankind as a whole would show their pride by building a tower to “make a

name” for themselves. A tower that would reach to heaven, into the very face of God.

The unrestrained sin brought God’s wrath on all of the creation. He would wipe

out virtually everything on the face of the earth except for eight people and two of “clean

animals and animals that [were] not clean and birds and everything that [crept] on the

ground.18” After the great flood God announces that the animals themselves would now

live in fear of all mankind and they are now given to us as food, just as the plants had

been in the Garden.

So creation is scarred because of our sin. Things do not work as they should.

Creation is damaged because of our sin and all of our relationships, with God, the

creatures, and each other, have been changed. However, there is hope.

Christ brings with Him the Kingdom and the promise of a restoration of that

which has been cursed because of human sin and rebellion.

When we try to discover what constitutes the bliss of the life of the

resurrection according to Jesus’ preaching, we nowhere find an elaborate

18
Genesis 7:8 NASB
 or explicit “description.” But, just as in the case of the whole of the

proclamation of salvation, we find only the affirmative promise in all

kinds of widely scattered pronouncements. The gospel is without any

apocalyptic revelations about the great events of the future. Again and

again salvation is represented as the gracious communion of God with his

people, as the deliverance from life’s distresses, as the fulfillment of the

promise, as a compensation for temporary oppression.19

In Him we are becoming and will eventually be truly free of the curse and its effects. We

live in the tension of having the kingdom proclaimed to us and sharing a foretaste but the

fullness of that kingdom and the physical presence of the King are yet to come.

Heaven: Temporary Quarters?

Naturally, as we think about the return of the King, speculation arises about where

that kingdom is located. Many in our society today simply think of heaven as “up.” It’s

the sky. Genesis one says that the heavens and the earth were created by God. It is

interesting to note the interchange between “heavens” plural and “heaven” singular.20

Matthew Henry in his commentary says the “heavens” can be seen as three parts. Where

the birds fly he describes as the first heaven. The sun, moon and stars, are in the second

heaven and God resides in the third heaven. He draws this out from Paul’s description of

the man caught up into the “third heaven” in 2nd Corinthians 12:2-4.21 An equally

19
Herman Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Co., 1962), 273
20
~yImv
This is probably due to the use of (shamayim which means “heavens”) which has the Hebrew
plural ending and ouvrano.j (houpanos which means “heaven” or “sky”) which is in the Greek singular. In
Genesis 1:1 verse of the Septuagint, the Greek singular is used whereas the Hebrew uses the plural.
21
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the
body or out of the body I do not know-- God knows. And I know that this man-- whether in the body or
apart from the body I do not know, but God knows--was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible
things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” (NIV)
adequate explanation may be that the “third heaven” mentioned in the epistle simply

means the highest heaven or the place where God is.

Another point that should be made is that Christ “ascends” after His resurrection.

Luke says that “While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into

heaven.”22 Luke repeats this picture at the beginning of the book of Acts with a few more

details:

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a

cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when

suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,”

they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus,

who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way

you have seen him go into heaven.”23

Mark is the only other gospel writer that mentions the ascension of Jesus.24 There have

also been other individuals who were taken up into heaven, most notably Elijah as

recorded in 2nd Kings chapter two. Another instance is that of Enoch. All Scripture says

is that he walked with God and then he was not there because God took Him, presumably

to be with Him.25 In Revelation chapter 11 is a description of two witnesses whom God

resurrects and then calls up to heaven saying “Come up here.” They ascend in the same

manner as Christ.

Perhaps a better description of the location of heaven is that it is where God rules

from His throne. Isaiah 66:1 says, “This is what the LORD says: Heaven is My throne,
22
Luke 24:51 NIV
23
Acts 1:9-11 NIV
24
This is in the longer ending of the gospel which is not present in the early manuscripts of the gospel.
25
Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5
and earth is My footstool. What house could you possibly build for Me? And what place

could be My home?”26 Jesus also uses this in His teaching about oaths (although He does

not quote this verse directly). In the Sermon on the Mount Christ says:

Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not

break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. But I tell you,

don't take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God's throne; or by

the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city

of the great King. Neither should you swear by your head, because you

cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your word 'yes' be 'yes,'

and your 'no' be 'no.' Anything more than this is from the evil one.27

The point is that heaven is where God is seated and reigning as Lord of the Universe. It is

the throne of the King where he rules over the kingdom that Christ brought through His

ministry and sacrifice.

What is happening in the place where God rules over history? Isaiah had a brief

picture shown to him as God called him to the office of prophet.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a

throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered

his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one

called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the

whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds

26
Holman Christian Standard Bible; This is the verse that Stephen quotes as he is speaking before the
Sanhedrin in Acts 7.
27
Matthew 5:33-37 NASB There is also a similar passage later in Matthew (23:16-22) in which Christ talks
about swearing an oath by the temple, offering and by heaven. He states that on who swears by heaven
swears by the throne of God and He who is seated upon it.
 shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with

smoke.28

The prophet is shown the power of God’s glory. The heavenly beings sing the Lord’s

praises. A similar picture is given in Revelation chapters four, five and seven. The

apostle John is shown more of God’s throne room. Around the seat itself are angels and

the twenty four elders each seated on a throne of their own. Then, before the throne of

God are 144,000 Israelites and the “great multitude.”29 All of these people and angels are

praising God their creator. They sing and praise His holiness, they sing of His justice,

and they sing of the salvation wrought by Him through His Son, the Lamb of God, Jesus

Christ.

The people pictured in these chapters of Revelation are again able to be in the

presence of God Himself and commune with Him. This is different from how it was

presented in the Garden of Eden and is also different from how it will ultimately be when

the Kingdom comes in its fullness.

Ultimately though, those mentioned here are still waiting for the culmination of

the Kingdom. One clue comes follow the breaking of the 5th seal in Revelation chapter

six.

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the

souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and

because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out

with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You

28
Isaiah 6:1-4 English Standard Version (ESV)
29
There are also 144,000 men who are chaste and “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” mentioned in
Revelation 14. While we cannot say whether or not these were also in the throne room of heaven, they are
present with the Lamb on Mt. Zion. The artist depiction of the heavenly throne room on the next page
shows this group to be present.
 refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the

earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were

told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their

fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had

been, would be completed also.30

It seems clear from this passage that there is an expectation that things are not finished

yet. Here, these martyrs are in heaven with the Lord but are waiting and asking how long

before the end? Randy Alcorn draws several conclusions from this passage. One is that

“there is time in…Heaven. How long, Sovereign Lord…God answers that they must

‘wait a little longer’ until certain events transpire on Earth. Waiting requires the passing

of time.”31 He also notes, “The people of God in Heaven have a strong familial

connection with those on Earth, who are called their ‘fellow servants and brothers.’”32 So

we also see that, in heaven our relationships with each other are restored in some fashion.

Again, this is not the same as it was originally but it should be noted that those who have

gone before us can in some way relate to events on Earth while they wait for God to bring

the Kingdom in on the Last Day.

And we are not waiting for the restoration of all things alone.

For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God's sons to be

revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility--not willingly, but

because of Him who subjected it--in the hope that the creation itself will

also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom

30
Revelation 6:9-11 NASB
31
Alcorn, Heaven, 67.
32
Ibid., 67.
 of God's children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning

together with labor pains until now.33

Creation too waits for the curse to be lifted. It is waiting for all of God’s children to be

made known. We do not always remember that we are not alone in the suffering that is

brought on us by sin.

We are waiting for our glorified bodies or as Paul says, our “house from heaven.”

Note that it is a house from heaven, not a house for heaven.34 It is a body that is made for

earth. Tied to this is Christ’s comfort from John chapter 14, “In My Father’s house are

many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place

for you.”35 The place where we go when we go to heaven is God’s house, not ours.

Heaven is what we call our Intermediate State. It is where believers go if they die

before Christ returns in glory. We do not receive our resurrected bodies at this time. The

Westminster Confession states it this way:

The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption: but their

souls, which neither die or sleep, having an immortal subsistence,

immediately return to God who gave them: the souls of the righteous,

being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens,

where they behold the face of God, in light and glory, waiting for the full

redemption of their bodies.36

33
Romans 8:19-22 HCSB
34
2 Corinthians 5:1-4 For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And, in fact, we groan in this one, longing to put
on our house from heaven, since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. Indeed, we who are in
this tent groan, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality
may be swallowed up by life. (HCSB)
35
John 14:2 NASB
36
The Westminster Confession of Faith, XXXII.1
Upon our deaths we go immediately to be with the Lord.37 Again, the picture in

Revelation 7 comes to mind with the great multitude gathering before God to praise His

holy name. Waiting and worshipping with one voice while those He is calling to Himself

search for and receive His saving grace.

Being in heaven is the “common” view of the afterlife. For most believers and

some theologians (and many unbelievers as well), what we are going to be doing for all

eternity is being with God, by His throne, singing praises to Him. Heaven is the place

where we go to be with God and worship. How did we reach this conclusion of all

things? In their work Heaven: A History, Colleen McDannell and Bernhard Lang offer an

interesting account of the decline of the belief in a hereafter. In a lecture at Harvard

Divinity School in 1961, Hans Jonas presented:

a theology without heaven….“The modern temper is uncongenial to the

idea of immortality….” To be eternally remembered by God or,

mythically speaking, to be inscribed into the heavenly Book of Life, was

all Jonas could offer to his audience. We will have no individual,

conscious life after death. The existentialism of Sartre and Heidegger,

“this extreme offspring of the modern temper or distemper,” has no room

for immortality. “And we,” the lecturer continued, “whether of its

doctrine or not, share enough of its spirit to have taken our lonely stand in

time between the twofold nothing of before and after.”38

37
Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 They are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree
blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and
the mourners go about the streets--before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the
pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it
was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. (ESV)
38
Colleen McDannell and Bernhard Lang, Heaven: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001),
346.
While this is in the extreme of radical theology, the point is driven home. Our culture

does produce the belief that he who dies with the most, wins. It was essentially a

collective change in theology across the board. At the one wing, there is the “God is

dead” theology that says there is no heaven because there is no God to worship. Another

view lives in disbelief of a God that would create angels and other beings to worship Him

all of the time.39

The other extreme is a belief in heaven where we will relax all the time and have

no responsibilities whatsoever. These are the inheritors of the “Elysian Fields” view of

heaven where there is nothing but bliss. This was probably brought on the late 1980’s

and early 1990’s with the angel worship that seemed to take the United States by storm.

Pictures and statues present beautiful angels who we go to be alongside. There is even

the mistaken belief in some circles that we will become angels in glory.

Also, more liberal theologians and mainstream denominations unspoken (or

outspoken) belief that in reality everyone will go to heaven. A popular song today,

written by a post-modern generation folk rock guitarist says, thinking about what his life

was like as a boy, “If heaven is all we want it to be/Send your prayers to me care of

1983.”40 This reflects a view that heaven is in fact what we make it to be, rather than

where God rules.

In response to these trends, conservative theologians have clung to the truth of the

afterlife. However, they have not really examined why this change has crept into our

society and into the pews (and probably some pulpits) of our churches. The Christianity

of Western society has not addresses what we will do or what we will be in glory. This

comes out most clearly in our evangelism. What is being seen as the motivator of our
39
Ibid., 347.
40
John Mayer, “83,” Room for Squares, Sony Music Entertainment, 2001.
evangelism is not to bring people into a right relationship with God through the sacrificial

death of Jesus Christ but rather a desire to bring souls into heaven. Returning to

communing with God is almost seen as a secondary fringe benefit. But in reality, heaven

is a temporary residence while we wait for the New Heavens and New Earth to be

created.

Heaven is not our home, Earth is.

The New Earth: Our New Home

The concept of both the heavens and the earth being made new is not solely a

New Testament idea. The book of Isaiah says (God speaking), “For behold, I create new

heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to

mind.41 And in the next chapter, “‘For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I

make will endure before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘so your offspring and your name will

endure.’”42 The Lord is responding to Israel’s plea for Him to return to them. In God’s

response, He tells them that the land will one day be full again. The land will be filled

with those who remained faithful as well as those who were not seeking the Lord but

found Him because He called them.43 God will make new heavens and a new earth and

He is going to make Jerusalem into a city of joy.

The design here is that mankind will come to Him to worship. It is a picture of

the restoration of the relationship between God and His image-bearers.

"And I, because of their actions and their imaginations, am about to

come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my

glory.

41
Isaiah 65:17 NASB
42
Isaiah 66:22 NASB
43
Isaiah 65:1-16
 "I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who

survive to the nations-- to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as

archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not

heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among

the nations. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to

my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD-- on horses, in

chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels," says the LORD. "They

will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple

of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of

them also to be priests and Levites," says the LORD.44

Gentile nations, some of whom have never heard of the Lord, will receive the word of the

Lord and return to the land to worship and bring offerings to God. God will even make

some of them “priests and Levites.” Those are roles that were originally intended only

for Israel as God’s people and light to the nations. But in the restoration, even the

Gentiles have a role in the worship of God, a role made possible through Jesus Christ.

The New Testament gives a fuller picture of the events around the creation of the

new heavens and the new earth. In 2nd Peter chapter three, the apostle is writing to

comfort his readers regarding their waiting and longing for the Lord’s return. He says

that the Lord is not slow in His coming but is waiting for all to come to repentance and a

saving knowledge of Him. Then he writes:

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will

pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and

the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are

44
Isaiah 66:18-21 NIV
 to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in

holy conduct and godliness as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming

of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be on fire and be

dissolved, and the elements will melt with the heat. But based on His

promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness

will dwell.45

Wherever you are right now will not be the same. While it is true that the creation is

waiting eagerly for the sons of God to be revealed, it too is going to be changed. The old,

as Peter writes here is going to be burned and dissolved and the new will arrive. That is

the way Anthony Destefano’s view of glory falls somewhat short. He writes, “If you

want an idea of what heaven is going to look like, go take a walk around the block. If you

want to know where it is…It’s right here, under our feet.”46 While Destefano is right in

that the earth is going to be our “final destination” it will not be like it is now. Everything

is going to be changed. What is more, the new heavens and the new earth will be where

righteous dwells.

In Revelation chapter 21 the new heavens and new earth are made before the eyes

of John. He sees the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first

earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city,

new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a

bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne,

saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell

45
2 Peter 3:10-12 HCSB
46
Anthony Destefano, A Travel Guide to Heaven (New York: Doubleday, 2003), 37.
 among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be

among them.47

If there is a single focal point to all of Scripture it is in this passage, God is our God and

we are His people. Man’s dwelling place is not with God in heaven or the new heaven,

God’s dwelling place is on the new earth with man. God is going to make all things new

and he is coming to be with us. God redeemed those who are his and will then come to

tabernacle among them in His holy city.

This is made most clear in the manner of the return of Christ. Much has been

recently made of the 1st Thessalonians chapter four passage:

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive,

who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have

fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of

command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the

trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are

alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to

meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Therefore encourage one another with these words.48

Now, the context of this passage is that Paul is comforting the Thessalonian church.

Some of their brothers and sisters in Christ have died and they are concerned that those

who have passed away will miss Christ’s return. The Messiah comes and those who have

died come with Him. As we noted earlier, he indeed is returning the way he left.49 Christ

in the gospel of John says this about His return, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is

47
Revelation 21:1-3 NASB
48
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 ESV
49
Acts 1:11
coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those

who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a

resurrection of judgment.”50 So it is clear that the dead are going to be raised when Christ

comes back to earth in His glory.

This is not the end of the story. These verses should also be examined in the light

of Christ’s words to His disciples in the gospel of Matthew chapter 24:

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all

the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man

coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will

send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect

from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes

tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also,

when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things

take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass

away.

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the

angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of

Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days

before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in

marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware

until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the

50
John 5:28, 29 NASB
 Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one

left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one

left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is

coming.51

Christ’s point in telling the disciples (and us through their testimony) that they should

remain awake and alert to His coming; be ready. But there are clues to the manner of His

return in the text.

He makes the point of saying that His return will be like the days of Noah. In the

days of the flood52 God warned Noah of the impending destruction about to be wrought

upon the earth because of man’s sin. The Lord had decided that everything upon the

earth was to be destroyed because the unrestrained and unrepentant sinfulness of mankind

had “grieved” Him.53 But Noah finds grace in the eyes of the Lord. He and seven others,

in addition to the animals on the ark, are saved from the judgment of God.

Now, Christ says that His coming will be like the days of Noah. People will

continue to live their lives, just as they have done, right up to the event. The ones who

were taken by the flood were those who were being judged by God. The ones who

remained were Noah and his family. This is an important distinction to keep in mind

when examining what Christ says in Matthew.

Jesus said when He returns, it will be the same as those days. We should not be

surprised to see people continuing to go about their daily routines as though nothing is

going to happen. But, as the Lamb of God returns, the ones who are left will be those

who are waiting for His return, the ones who are His. They will be gathered by the
51
Matthew 24:30-42 ESV
52
Genesis 6-9
53
This is perhaps one of the saddest stories in Scripture. The Lord says that He was actually sorry that He
had decided to make man.
angels. This does put a different view of how we will meet the Lord when He comes in

power.54 Traditionally, the “rapture” is seen as God taking the church, the believers, out

of the world. But if we understand that the coming Day of Judgment will be like that of

the Great Flood in the days of Noah, the picture is quite different. Those who are going

to be judged by God are taken out of the world. The ones who are left and remain will be

caught up in the air, forever to be with the Lord. And we all, with our Lord, set our feet

on the New Earth, our final home. The King has returned and Christ comes to reign.55

That is the “end of the beginning.” God comes to restore all things. Christ makes

it possible for us to once again walk with God in the new world He has made. We again

have a home that is unstained by our sin; and will never be cursed and broken by our

failure. “As Peter suggests at the end of The Last Battle, Heaven will be the place where

everything is allowed because everything we will want to do there will be good.”56

Now that we know where our home will be, it should encourage us to know that

there is more continuity to the hereafter with our world today rather than an expectation

54
The popular Christian fiction series “Left Behind” presents a clear picture of how the world will be made
new according to the Dispensational view of Scripture. However, it fails to take into account the first
judgment of God upon the earth which is the key to understanding how the New Earth comes to be.
55
Ezekiel 37: 24-28 My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and
they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. They will live on the land that I
gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their
sons' sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with
them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set
My sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and
they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My
sanctuary is in their midst forever.
Daniel 7:13-14 I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son
of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him
was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might
serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
Matthew 25:31 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will
sit on His glorious throne.
Hebrews 1:8 But of the Son He says, "YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND
THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.
56
Will Vaus, Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,
2004), 219.
of not knowing what it will be like if God were to remake everything over. Christ’s work

on the cross was powerful enough to bring us back home to our Creator and to reverse the

curse on all of creation itself. Even the world “knows” that it was meant to be more than

it is now. Christ is capable of making all of us what we are to be. In C. S. Lewis’ book

mentioned above (The Last Battle):

Digory, Polly, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy experience a railway accident and

suddenly find themselves in a new country, which in some parts remind

them of Narnia and in other parts reminds them of England….The old

Narnia had a beginning and an end. It was but a shadow, a copy of the real

Narnia. In the same way, Digory says, our world is only a shadow or a

copy…All that really matters in the old Narnia is drawn into the real

Narnia. Of course this real Narnia is different, as different as waking from

dreaming.57

Lewis probably has the picture of what the New Earth will be like closer than most

theologians. A place that is not unlike where we are now but also not the same. We

should look forward to that day when we meet our Lord and Savior and walk with Him

on His creation. “The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is

the morning.”58

57
Ibid., 212.
58
C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1970), 183.
 Bibliography

Alcorn, Randy. Heaven. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

Destefano, Anthony. A Travel Guide to Heaven. New York: Doubleday, 2003.

Lewis, C. S. The Last Battle. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1970.

Mayer, John. Room for Squares, 83. Sony Music Entertainment, 2001. CD.

McDannell, Colleen and Bernhard Lang. Heaven: A History. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2001.

Ridderbos, Herman. The Coming of the Kingdom. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and

Reformed Publishing Co., 1962.

Roberts, Arthur O. Exploring Heaven: What Great Christian Thinkers Tell Us About
Our Afterlife with God. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.

Tada, Joni Eareckson. Heaven: Your Real Home. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1995.

Vaus, Will. Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C. S. Lewis. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 2004.