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We are now meeting
at the Kootenai School Gym
for our Adult Sunday School and Morning Worship services.
Adult Sunday School
begins at 9:15 AM. The Worship Service starts at 10:45 AM.
Children's Sunday School
meets in the church building across the street starting at 9:15
AM.
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I Want A New Earth!: The Resurrection of Creation
Part 3 of 3
May 2007
Everyone gets a new body! Both the righteous
and the wicked will receive a body in which they will spend eternity.
Perhaps you have never thought in those terms before, but I hope by now
the reality of that is starting to impress itself upon your thinking.1
If we get a body in which to spend eternity,
then where will we be? What will that eternal state be like? Will it be
a physical place or a spiritual realm of sorts? These questions will be
answered as we look at what the Bible says about a third
resurrection, the resurrection of Creation.
The Purpose of Creation
God did not create matter simply to throw it
away in the end. The purpose of this creation is to show forth the glory
of the Creator. Even in its present fallen state, “The heavens are
telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of
His hands.” (Psalm 19:1) However, this is only a glimpse, and
a marred one at that.
The reason we have a body is that we might
glorify God with it. (1 Cor. 6:19-20) “God created the
universe and all that is in it as an emanation or manifestation of the
fullness of His glory.”2
God is not backing out of that plan. He will see that intention through
to its realization. God will glorify Himself through human beings, human
bodies, and through a perfect creation.
Once again, Christianity does not view matter
as inherently evil. As John Piper writes, “Christianity is not a
platonic religion that regards material things as mere shadows of
reality, which will be sloughed off as soon as possible. Not the mere
immortality of the soul, but rather the resurrection of the body and the
renewal of all creation is the hope of the Christian faith. Just as our
bodies will be raised imperishable for the glory of God, so the earth
itself will be made new and fit for the habitation of risen and
glorified persons.”3
But I Like This World!
During the summer months I enjoy waking up to a
pot of fresh-brewed coffee as the sun is just coming up over the
mountains. A couple of times a week, I pour some coffee, slip on my
shoes, and take a leisurely stroll around my yard.
I see the birds flitting from tree to tree. The
dew on the ground, the gentle breeze, clean air, and the warmth of the
sunshine in the coolness of the morning are all reminders to me of God’s
goodness, grace, and glory. I walk through my garden marveling at the
design and care of God in His creation as plants grow and prepare to
produce food. I walk through the fruit trees examining the progress of
the coming harvest. I thank God.
During some of my morning strolls, I can almost
find myself thinking, “How could creation be any better than this?” Then
I have to remember that this creation is marred, twisted, and dominated
by sin. It lies under a curse (Romans 8:20) and groans to be free
from it. All around me I can see death, disease, and the disfigurement
of something glorious. My peaches have scabs, my tomato plants fight
blight, my cherry trees will be a home for worms and my apple trees
produce twisted, gnarled and deficient fruit. Sin and its effects.
Yet I still love creation. I love this world.
It is beautiful in so many ways! Could it possibly get better than this?
Yes! Most certainly! And it will. In fact, we live in the shadowlands.
It is a mere image, a shadow of the beauty and glory that is to come.
The Resurrection of Creation
God’s intention is to make His
eternal dwelling among men on a new earth. Revelation 21
describes an enrapturing picture of that future blessing:
“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 among them, and they shall be His
people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will
no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have
passed away.’” (21:1-4)
What does John mean when he says that the first
heaven and the first earth passed away? Does he mean that this
earth on which we live will cease to exist?
Part of the answer is given to us by Peter in
his second epistle where he writes, “But the day of the Lord will
come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and
the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its
works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in
this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the
elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we
are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness
dwells.” (2 Peter 3:10-13)
We are looking for a new heavens and a new
earth in which righteousness dwells. Before there will be a new heavens
and a new earth, this one must “pass away.” Peter tells us that this
creation will be “burned up.” Three times he says that there will be a
destruction of this present world. Notice the wording:
v. 10 - “elements will be destroyed with
intense heat”
v. 11 - “all these things are to be
destroyed”
v. 12 - “the heavens will be destroyed by
burning”
Does this mean that the earth we live on and
the heavens we live under will be totally done away with? Will God start
over with a totally new creation? How are we to understand the terms
“destroyed,” “burned up,” and “pass away?”
Re-creation or Regeneration?
John’s description of “a new heaven and a new
earth” is not meant to communicate a place that is totally other than
this present earth, but rather a renewed universe.
The word new (kainos) means “new
in quality,” “different,” or “unlike anything previously known.” If
Peter and John wanted to speak of something that was new in origin or
time, they would have used neos instead of kainos. Therefore, the
expression new heaven and new earth “means not the emergence of a
cosmos totally other than the present one, but the creation of a
universe which, though it has been gloriously renewed, stands in
continuity with the present one.”4
Further, the word destroyed used by
Peter does not have to mean “put out of existence.” Instead, it may mean
that there is such a change in them that their present condition passes
away. As John Piper remarks, “We might say, ‘The caterpillar passes
away, and the butterfly emerges.’ There is a real passing away, and
there is a real continuity, a real connection. . . We might say, ‘The
flood destroyed many farms.’ But we don’t mean they vanished out of
existence. . . . And so what Peter may well mean is that at the end of
this age there will be cataclysmic events that bring this world to an
end as we know it - not putting it out of existence, but wiping
out all that is evil and cleansing it by fire and fitting it for an age
of glory and righteousness and peace that will never end.”5
So does the future hold a complete
disappearance of the old before being replaced by the new or a
renovation of the old resulting in the new? Revelation 21:5 says
that “he who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things
new.’” The most natural way of taking that statement is to
understand that the Lord is promising a complete renovation of the
existing creation.7
What Does Paul Have To Say?
Paul’s description of the grand hope for the
material world and our bodies shows us that what is in store for this
earth is not a total annihilation, but a regeneration.
We see this in Romans 8:19-23, “For the
anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the
sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,
but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of
the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation
groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not
only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our
adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”
In that passage there are two things that Paul
promises will be redeemed; creation and our bodies. Let me take those in
reverse order.
We have already looked at the promise in
Scripture of the resurrection of our body. Paul is well aware that we
are shackled to “this body of death.” (Rom. 7:24) The longing of
the child of God is for the “redemption of our body.” (8:23) We
“groan” and “wait eagerly” for this final redemption.
Paul applies the same language to
creation. Notice the imagery that Paul uses:
v. 20 - “creation subjected in hope”
Due to Adam’s sin, God placed the entire
creation under a curse in hope knowing that someday, He would remove
that curse and redeem this creation.
v. 21 - “creation to be set free from its
slavery to corruption”
As Piper writes, “Therefore creation is not
appointed for annihilation. It is destined for liberation.” Clearly,
Paul cannot be saying that this creation will be destroyed in the sense
of annihilation or ceasing to exist. Rather it will be set free from its
corruption. The curse will be removed and the futility will be
destroyed. It will cease to exist as we currently know it, but will pass
into its glorious liberty. The old will pass away being purged by
fire. He will make all things new.
v. 22 - “creation groans”
This creation does not groan under the curse
and eagerly waits for its annihilation to be free from its corruption.
This creation groans under a curse in hope of being set free from its
bondage and experiencing its ultimate redemption with the “sons of
God.”
v. 23 - “we ourselves groan. . . waiting
eagerly. . . for the redemption of our body”
There is an obvious and essential connection in
the passage between the redemption for which creation groans and the
redemption for which we groan. Just as our bodies will not be thrown
away and cease to exist but will be resurrected to a new, sinless,
glorious, and eternal state, so will the creation which also groans and
waits for that day of redemption.
“What happens to our bodies and what happens
to the creation go together. And what happens to our bodies is not
annihilation but redemption: ‘We await the redemption of our bodies.’
Our bodies will be redeemed, restored, made new, not thrown away. And so
it is with the heavens and the earth.”8
Physical Bodies in a Physical Heaven
Perhaps you used to think of heaven as some
nebulous ghostly place where spirits wander around together, passing
through each other, where you would reach out to shake someone’s hand
only to find nothing to hold on to. Do you picture clouds with
ghost-like figures riding about the expanse of the sky? Bring your
thinking down to earth. Literally. God is going to resurrect, redeem,
restore this universe, this world, just like He will your body. You will
live here! You will walk on grass, heavenly grass and feel it on your
feet. You will walk on streets, stand by rivers, see mountains, trees,
people. There will be a city with gates that you will walk through. You
will eat with Paul, Peter, and John. You will be able to walk, run,
jump, swim, stand, sit, kneel, and SING!
There will be no sun or moon, for the glory of
God will illumine it.9
There will be no night. The river of life will be here alongside the
tree of life. If you think this world is beautiful...wait till you
see it after God makes it all new! This world is nothing compared to
the eternal state. This world has been cursed by sin, infected by
thorns, destroyed by the flood, and ravaged by war, bloodshed, and man’s
abuse. Yet this is still beautiful.
We will be raised in a physical body which will
dwell on this physical earth (made new) for all of eternity, and our God
will make His dwelling with us on this redeemed earth. We will get a new
heaven and a new earth!
Allow me to indulge in a little “sanctified
speculation.” I want to have a garden on the new earth. I’ll be able to
tend it without having to worry about weeds! Weeds won’t exist without
the curse. It will grow REALLY good with 24 hours a day of daylight.
I’ll be able to garden all year long. I’ll never get sore.
I want to have not one or two peach trees, but
a field full of peach trees. I get lost in wonder when I eat a peach off
my peach tree. Imagine what a homegrown peach will taste like when it’s
not under the curse! Apples, cherries, nectarines. I won’t have to spray
any of the trees!
Won’t it be nice to be able to go swimming
without the risk of drowning. Want to go mountain climbing and not have
to fear falling and dying? Ever wonder what it would be like to snuggle
up next to a lion and take a nap? That would be cool!
I want to play football. I think there will be
football in heaven since it is God’s sport. I know it is God’s sport
since it is played with eleven men on the field, and eleven is the
number of the disciples minus the traitor. With my glorified body, maybe
I won’t be picked last!
I want to get better at darts and ping pong and
learn to ride a skateboard.
Will we really be able to do all this cool
stuff on the new earth? Perhaps. Or maybe all these great things that we
enjoy now will be to boring and trifling to occupy our time then. Maybe
all these things we think are so great now are merely shadows of the
greatness to come.
I close with an excerpt from a poem written by
John Piper titled “Justified Forever.”
And as He spoke, the throne
Of God came down to earth and shone
Like golden crystal full of light,
And banished, once for all, the night.
And from the throne a stream began
To flow and laugh, and as it ran,
It made a river and a lake,
And everywhere it flowed, a wake
Of grass broke on the banks and spread
Like resurrection from the dead.
And in the twinkling of an eye
The saints descended from the sky.
And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast
As she could come. She leaped the stream -
Almost - and what a happy gleam
Was in her eye. I knelt to drink,
And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy. And everywhere
I turned I saw a wonder there.
A big man running on the lawn:
That’s old John Younge with both legs on.
The blind can see a bird on wing,
The dumb can lift their voice and sing.
The diabetic eats at will,
The coronary runs uphill.
The lame can walk, the deaf can hear,
The cancer-ridden bone is clear.
Arthritic joints are lithe and free,
And every pain has ceased to be.
And every sorrow deep within,
And every trace of lingering sin
Is gone. And all that’s left is joy,
And endless ages to employ
The mind and heart, and understand,
And love the sovereign Lord who planned
That it should take eternity
To lavish all His grace on me.
O, God of wonder, God of might,
Grant us some elevated sight,
Of endless days. And let us see
The joy of what is yet to be.
And may Your future make us free,
And guard us by the hope that we,
Through grace on lands that you restore,
Are justified for evermore.10
Without Wax-
Jim Osman
Pastor/Teacher
Footnotes:
1. Part 1 of this series focused
on the resurrection to life for believers and the redemption of our
body. Part 2 focused on the resurrection to damnation faced by
unbelievers who will spend eternal punishment in a body. The first two
articles in this series can be accessed at our website:
www.kootenaichurch.org. It is not my intention in this series to discuss
in detail the timing of these events, but instead to focus on the nature
of these events. For more information on my eschatological views of when
these Resurrections take place, see our doctrinal statement titled “We
Believe: The Doctrinal Statement of Kootenai Community Church” also
available at our website.
2. John Piper, Future Grace
(Sisters: Multnomah Books, 1995), 374.
3. John MacArthur, The
MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 2 Peter and Jude (Chicago: Moody
Publishers), 131.
4. Hank Hanegraaff,
Resurrection (Nashville: Word Publishing), 87.
5. Revelation 8-22: An
Exegetical Commentary, Thomas, Robert L. (Chicago: Moody Press), pg.
430-431.
6. Piper, 376.
7. Thomas, 439.
8. Piper, 378.
9. Read Revelation 21-22 for this
grand picture of the eternal state.
10. Piper, 381-382. |
