From the words of the prophets in the Old Testament leading up to and culminating in the teachings of Jesus and then passed along through the writings to the early Church, there is a sense that God isn’t giving up on the creation that was called “good” from the very beginning. In fact, there is very clear Scriptural evidence that God has always had every intention of renewing and restoring the entire created order, rather than destroying it.
This is a strong assertion, being that it contradicts the teaching and understanding of many Christians who believe that God will one day destroy the heavens and the earth…and then take them away to a spiritual heaven to live for eternity.
But as we look through the Biblical narrative: we find a creation suffering under the weight of sin and death. We find a creation subjected to frustration. We find a creation groaning for liberation from the curse under which it is has been placed.
Physical creation.
Tangible creation.
Touchable creation.
It is a creation that is enslaved…and longing to be free… but not destroyed, not annihilated, not discarded, and not thrown into the trash bin of history. It is a creation that will be saved, renewed, and restored.
And it is not just the creation in which we live and which surrounds us that will be completely renewed and restored! We long for liberation from death and decay as well. Presently we have and enjoy the first fruits of the Holy Spirit given to us by God, which gives us a foretaste of the blissful things to come, but we also groan inwardly as we wait for the redemption of our bodies, which will reveal our adoption, or our manifestation as God’s sons and daughters.
This surprising discovery, which stands in contrast to the belief that God will one day destroy the heavens and the earth, is a beautiful synergy of God’s restorative work through Jesus Christ, not just for humanity, but also for the entire created order.
For God so loved the world (kosmos- the entire created order) that He sent His Son…
But despite all that Paul has written about how creation will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption, and despite Jesus talking to the disciples about the renewal of all things, there are still a couple of misunderstood verses that have led us to the belief that the earth will one day be destroyed and that our future hope is a disembodied, spiritual heaven.
…and the material elements of the universe will flare and melt with fire? But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise, in which righteousness (uprightness, freedom from sin, and right standing with God) is to abide (2 Peter 3: 12-13).
Then I saw a new sky (heaven) and a new earth, for the former sky and the former earth had passed away, and there no longer existed any sea (Revelation 21: 1).
At first glance, these verses seemingly contradict the very position I have proposed- that God is in the process of renewing and restoring all of creation. But the key to unlocking these verses, and having a better and more comprehensive understanding of what the text is really saying, lies with the word new.
As we look at the original Greek language we find something very interesting. There are two words that can be used to describe something as new. The first word is neo and is used to describe something that is new in time. For example, a house that is newly restored to its original condition could never be neo because it is not new in time. When the house was first built it was neo, but being that it is now something old (archaios) being renewed or restored, it can never be described as neo again. Neo is not the word used in the passages from 2 Peter or Revelation.
The word that is used to describe the new heavens and the new earth in those passages is kainos. Kainos also means new, but it is describing something that is qualitatively new or renewed. Interestingly enough, it is the word kainos that Paul uses to describe the Christian, as a new (kainos) creation. The individual Christian has not been vaporized into non-existence and newly created, rather the old (archaios) has passed away, and the new (kainos) has come (cf. 2 Corinthians 5: 17).
Therefore, the passages are not alluding to a heaven and earth that are destroyed and then replaced by a heaven and earth that is newly created. They are both speaking of the current heaven and earth passing from one condition to another (parachomai), being qualitatively renewed (kainos) to their full glory, which is beyond anything that we can comprehend.
The final destination for God’s people is not “going up” to God in heaven, while the earth and sky is destroyed. Rather, the final destination is in a renewed world and cosmos in which God comes down to be among His people. If that doesn’t get you excited about the possibilities in our future, I don’t know what will.
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Brandon Andress is the author of Unearthed: How Discovering the Kingdom of God Will Transform the Church and Change the World (theunearthedproject.com). He is currently a teaching pastor of the [living] room in Columbus, Indiana and writes the popular blogs Outside the Walls (outsidethewalls.wordpress.com) and A Joyful Procession (ajoyfulprocession.wordpress.com). Brandon earned his MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University and his BA in Psychology from Hanover College.
Twitter — @brandonandress
For additional reading on this subject, check out this post from Patrick Mitchel entitled The Hermeneutics of New Creation.
August 4, 2012 at 10:59 am
Brandon,
Thanks for this and the Greek translation backup. The idea that the earth will be renewed is indeed exciting. As you point out so well, need to carefully define renewed -
1. restored (to its former self)
2. made anew (otherwise made new, made again with new materials in a new way)
3. recreated (same materials but with something new and very important added)
In (1) we have the restored historical treasure, made new with careful attention to keeping what was before.
In (2) we have the butterfly, made new and other using the same materials. In fact, even the instructions for the new were there all along in the DNA of the larva. A complex set of conditions (and the passage if time) had to be present to make the new butterfly form possible. I’m a biologist :)
In (3) we are confronted with something quite different and hard to illustrate from our common experience. The old has been restored (healed), what formerly caused the thing to degrade has been removed, and there is something present that never existed before as an integral part of the structure. This something makes all the difference to the new nature and ultimate success of the new thing.
To illustrate (3) the closest we can come in our experience so far is the regeneration in humans made possible by the Holy Spirit. The overwhelmingly important new element is now present, but the ravages caused by the negative factor remain, in fact, the negative factor continues its work in opposition to the newness. When this is all resolved, when Christ returns, the heavens, the earth and the creatures of God who bow down to the King of Kings will together be recreated, perhaps somewhat analogous to the sense illustrated in (3).
Just some musings that hopefully are helpful.
Blessings,
Bev
August 4, 2012 at 12:19 pm
beautifully illustrated Bev! thanks for reading…
August 4, 2012 at 1:26 pm
The idea in many respects mirrors Christ’s resurrection. New, yet old and glorified. In the article I noted at the bottom of Brandon’s post, the author speaks of continuity and discontinuity. I like that. Combing the world that is with the glorified world that is to come.
August 5, 2012 at 9:07 am
Jeff,
Re the resurrection – exactly! I knew that I had written something along these lines (as far as I know never posted). Just found it and It fits well with this conversation, hope it is helpful (see below).
BTW, Jeff and Brandon,
Roger Olson was kind enough to post something I sent to him a while back. It is somewhat related and may also be of interest. Roger has just put it up this morning.
B
Creation – God’s great rescue plan by Bev Mitchell
If we agree with Athenagoras (“A Plea for Christians” from Boyd pg 294) and others, Satan was given authority over matter (the earth) before material life appeared, then he rebelled. It is likely that in addition to being a miser with the matter he supervises, Satan wants only disorder, ruling out life of any kind. He wants matter in as disorganized a state as possible. Under his management, before God’s intervention, the place was a mess!
God then began to rescue the matter he had created, lovingly acting within the limits set by the kind of material reality he created, and the freedom he had given his rebellious prince of this earth. God said “No!” to disorder and darkness, or in Biblical words he said ”Let there be light!” God set out to redeem matter (his material creation) showing that his love alone could make possible beautiful, complex, living order in the face of Satan’s worst efforts. This was accomplished even given the fact that death and violence had to be allowed – for a time, and only due God’s respect for his gift of freedom to Satan. God lovingly overcame the evil limitations placed on matter/energy with a recycling solution (birth-death-birth…) to yield some of the abundance and beauty that God wanted to display.
Disorder was and is overcome by God’s continuous supervision of his good world (a physical example of this is the sun’s photic energy which keeps life going on this planet). Death was finally defeated at the Resurrection by recreating the body of Jesus – ‘blending’ matter and spirit the way God originally intended, in a manner we can barely begin to guess at.
The same victory will be displayed at the restoration of all matter, energy and spirit, including our own resurrection. Even now, humans can participate in a spiritual restoration (and sometimes physical via divine healing). While the disorder and meanness of Satan contaminates on both spiritual and physical levels, God, in Christ, has declared that evil’s time is up on the spiritual front. Satan’s God given authority over the material world continues to bring much pain but, despite this pain and suffering, humans have the opportunity to accept the Spirit’s lifeline and become spiritual children of God through Christ.
Ref. Greg Boyd “Satan and the Problem of Evil”
August 5, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Thanks, Bev. Looks great! Feel free to send me content like this :) I would be happy to have you as a guest contributor as well!
August 6, 2012 at 11:19 am
Brandon,
I do appreciate your posting very much, which Jeff Clark has linked in Pentecostal Theology Worldwide,” a forum on Facebook. That is where I saw your posting, as well as in the “AG Theology” forum, and, it was posted in other similar forums. Much of my appreciation arises from my resonance with its expressed themes, which you have effectively articulated in an easy to read manner.
However, it it for this reason I am a little concerned on one matter: quite a bit of what you have expressed here, such as in the themes, rhetorical / writing style, and phraseology, seems just too similar to N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (2008).
I realise that perhaps you wanted to keep this piece uncluttered by references in delivering a very readable, popular-oriented text. Yet— the similarity with Wright’s work concerns me. Perhaps Brandon, you might want to take a second look at this, reflect on what or who has influenced your thoughts, and possibly— just insert a few references if needful.
Blessings to you.
Monte
August 7, 2012 at 7:53 am
Monte,
Thanks for taking the time to read the post. I am not even sure where to began with your assertion. Perhaps my original five part series on the Kingdom of Heaven, Heaven, and Resurrection Bodies (of which this current post was taken) would have been strengthened had I used Wright’s book as a reference. Based on my observations, there is an entire movement of preachers, writers, and even theologians who can thank Wright for his influence and understanding on any number of topics. I would consider myself one who is thankful for his ministry. But your assertion goes a bit too far in that it starts feeling like an accusation, which I find reactive. I believe that if you had taken the time to read my body of work over the last seven years (http://outsidethewalls.wordpress.com) you would find that my writing and writing style has been incredibly consistent (I try to write like I speak in front of people… very rhetorically… I ask a ton of questions). So have I been influenced over the years by Wright? Absolutely. And Greg Boyd and Richard Rohr and Randy Alcorn and Leo Tolstoy and Frank Viola and Mortimar Arias and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And I will give credit to every single one of them for helping me more fully understand the Kingdom of God and how that influences our daily walk and future hope…. but the insinuation that I sat down and heavily referenced Wright’s book on this topic is borderline offensive. Next time I would simply suggest that you shoot me (or others) an email to voice your concern rather than making accusations in a public forum. Please forgive me if I have misread or mistook your comments in any way.
This piece originally ran in February on Outside the Walls blog and I have Scriptural and Language references hyperlinked (http://outsidethewalls.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/heaven-a-new-heaven-and-new-earth/)
Peace…
Brandon
August 7, 2012 at 11:52 am
Dear Brandon
Hmm . . . perhaps I should have dropped an email rather than through this public medium; my apologies. Now objectively speaking, I had not intended that you nor anyone would have interpreted my concern as an “accusation,” or “insinuation,” etc. However, I suppose if I was in your shoes, I may well feel equally chagrined. Hence, my apology. This is one of those unfortunate risks that sometimes arises from the online medium.
Blessings to you
Monte
August 7, 2012 at 12:02 pm
monte… thanks a million for such a contrite and humble response. it is greatly appreciated. I whole-heartedly meant my last line about the potential of me mistaking you. I understand how difficult the written language is without the luxury of inflection and tone. I can tell from your note that you are a man of God and that means a lot to me. peace… brandon
August 7, 2012 at 7:40 pm
This is the kind of conversation I like to see here, gentleman. Thank you.
August 8, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Hey Jeff — Check out Mark Stephen’s dissertation called “Annihilation or Renewal: The meaning and function of new creation…”
I think you’ll enjoy it :)
Blessings,
Jason