The New Heavens and the New Earth and No Sea

Friday, August 5, 2011

Revelation 21(The New Heavens and the New Earth and No Sea)

“I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”  When I read those words of Revelation this morning, I looked out of my window at the beauty of the present heaven and earth that is destined to be replaced with a new heaven and a new earth in the coming age.  How lovely they are right now!  How much better can they get?  What will these new realities be like, free from the hidden corruption which limits the beauty of creation?  And I felt regret for the sea.  I love the sea in its immensity, and its wild freedom from every human attempt to tame it.  The sea speaks to me of the infinity and omnipotence of God.  I will miss the sea.  But of course, the Book of Revelation speaks, not only of nature, but more especially of the transformation of humanity.  The sea is symbolic of those forces of chaos in the human heart.  I will not miss that sea!  Nor will I miss the ocean of sorrow that is fed by streams of sin flowing from the multitude of unrepentant hearts and the tsunami of violence that devastates so many innocent lives.  Jesus has passed through the sea of suffering and death.  Someday, these things will be no more.  Let His star of hope rise in our hearts to guide us on our voyage, when not only our nights are stormy, but even our days are dark.