After reflecting this Easter weekend on Christ’s glorious death and resurrection, I thought it good to spend a few moments today considering what life with Christ in the new Creation will look like…
The book of Revelation gives us terrific insight into this place of great beauty and joy.
Revelation 21:1 ‘Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”’
It’s a new earth. So, we can expect to have earthly things, it’s a physical place made of mountains, water, trees, people just like this one. And we’re told of a city. The city. The new Jerusalem. (v2)
And it’s a sight to behold. It shines bright with the glory of God, and brilliant like a precious jewel. (v11)
The people in this city are safe! The gates are always wide open; it doesn’t get dark (v25).
Unsurpassed security and protection, extravagant wealth. The building materials are made of the finest in precious stones and decorated with the purest of jewels. There is shimmering gold everywhere (v18).
Splendid opulence for God’s people to be saturated in… and the most spectacular of it all…
God himself will be with them! (v3)
You see, as God creates, it’s as if his goodness is over spilling his own being. He’s so bursting with good it can’t be contained. He made us because he wants us to experience and enjoy all that good. He wants to pour it our for us to soak it all up. Life was never meant to be such hard work. The new earth will be a very different story to this one. We’ll enjoy him as we should.
And God will dwell in the new earth in a way that he does not here. His glory will be the city’s dazzling light v 23, “…and the Lamb is its lamp.”
That is, in the new earth we will see the brilliance of the Lord Jesus clearly. He is the lamb.
Isaiah 33:17 “Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.”
And in Revelation 21:4 – the result of enjoying living with God and his Kingly Son? No more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, that’s for the old earth, not the new. This one won’t have any hospitals. This one won’t have any dictionaries explaining cancer, or divorce, or tiredness, or isolation, or gravestone. God will personally wipe the tears and agonies from your face and there will only be vibrancy and energy and pleasure.
Joy to replace misery. Deep rooted happiness to replace loss. Pleasure to replace pain. A joyful God the full delight of his people.
And in a time where we many of us are missing relationship, the new earth will be very much a place bursting with the fun and joking and care of relationship.
v 3 “…They will be his people…”
Heaven will be life in community where we will share in happiness with one another. Loved ones all around and plenty of them. For the first time in its fullest there will be one great big happy family!
A picture of brothers and sisters with total commitment to one another. That’s the life of the new earth.
It will truly be the good life. Part of a large dynamic family, endless joy to be had. Centred around the wonderful lamb whose death purchased the kingdom, and we will bask in God’s overflowing happiness and love in total peace.
That’s why we celebrate Easter!
