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Bible Study from 2 Peter 3:13-14
The New Heaven and the New Earth!
By I Gordon
Introduction
We have seen so far that the context of chapter 3 deals
with the last days and the Lord’s return. More specifically, we saw in the last
study that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in these last days,
catching out a world very much asleep to the things of God. We saw also that
there is a threefold purpose for the day of the Lord -
to judge a sinful world, to bring about revival, and to break
There is a
2 Peter 3:13-14 ‘But
in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking
forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace
with him.’
From the passage before us, we see that a promise
is made. This brings up the following questions…
1) Who is making this promise?
2) What is the promise?
3) Why is there a need for this promise?
4) What are we called to do in view of this
promise?
5) What hope and expectation can we have regarding
this promise?
Ok, simple enough hopefully! Onto the first
question…
1. Who is making
the promise?
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that the promise of a new heaven and a new earth is made by God Himself! Seeing that He is the one who made the first heaven and earth, it kind of stands to reason that He is the only one capable of promising another one! Now, a promise is only as good as the character of the one making that promise. If a con-artist promises you a great deal then beware. If I promise to do something then I’ll definitely do my best but a chance remains that it won’t come to pass (unfortunately… sorry ‘bout that!) But if God promises something then that is a whole different story. His character and His ability to carry out what He has promised make it a 100% guarantee of fulfilment.
2. What is the promise?
Another no-brainer hopefully. The promise is that we are going to get a new heaven and a new earth! Things are not always going to be like they are now! You may remember that we saw in the previous study this passage from Isaiah –
Isaiah
24:20 ‘The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so
heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.’
This current earth will fall. It is pictured as being weighed down by sin, and as Isaiah prophesied, it will not rise once it has fallen. But thank God that that isn’t the end of the story! He has made a greater promise to us that there will be a whole new heaven and earth![1]
3) Why is there a
need for this promise?
Ok, so I have already half answered this above. The
promise of a new earth is a necessity because of the state of this current
earth… It is wearing out! The Psalmist spoke of this very thing in Psalm 102:25
“In
the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the
work of your hands. They will perish,
but you remain; they will all wear out
like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
But you remain the same, and your years will never end. The children of your servants will live in your presence; their
descendants will be established before you.”
While it is slightly off the topic, here is an interesting quiz question for you…Who is speaking in Psalm 102:25 above? It is the Psalmist speaking about God creating heaven and earth right? Um, wrong. Check out the footnote on this very interesting passage![2]
Ever had a favourite shirt that you just hoped was
going to last forever? Sure enough, it gets stretched, stained, holes appear
and though you go on wearing it for far too long you know that it’s soon going
to become your favourite dust rag! Well, the Bible declares that this earth is
like that garment. It, like you and unfortunately me, is getting old and it’s
getting tired. Creation, the Bible says, is groaning! (See Rom 8:18-23).
4) What are we
called to do in view of this promise?
So, what do we do with the promises of God?[3]
What does the verse say? It says ‘Therefore beloved, since you look for these
things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless…’ (vs
14 NASB)
So, first of all it says ‘look’. To look is to turn
your gaze upon something. We may not look for this promise of a new heaven and
a new earth with our physical eyes, but we can with our spiritual eyes![4]
You look spiritually when you take the time to stop, think, and meditate on
that which God has prepared for those who love Him. The second command is also
crucial. ‘Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless…’
Don’t go to sleep! Keep alert and abide in Him. As John tells us in 1 John 2:28 ‘And now, dear children,
continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed
before him at his coming.’
Finally, let’s take a brief look at the characteristics of this new world that is coming!
5)
What can we expect regarding this promise?
Well, firstly, we can expect righteousness! Complete
righteousness! You know all those fleshly attitudes that run in your veins and
pull you in all sorts of directions? Yeah, you know… the ones that have you
filled with pride one day and full of self pity the next! Well, it will be
gone! The greed, the lust, the spiteful words…the self absorbed nature that we
currently have… all gone! Righteousness, Peter tells us, will be at home! It
will be permanently at home! John gives us an even better glimpse of what we can
expect (and he should know because he was given a vision of the whole thing!)
Rev 21:1-5 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the
first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. 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 great voice out of the
throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God: and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death
shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any
more: the first things are passed away. And he that sitteth on the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new. And he said, Write: for these words are faithful
and true.
When Jesus said that heaven and earth would pass
away but His words would never pass away, He meant it! He knew that this earth would
pass away. But how much better is the description that we read above! A new
heaven and a new earth! No more tears, no more sickness, no more pain, no more
death[5]!
All of that stuff, in God’s view, was just the first order of things. We live
with them every day but they were never intended to exist forever! And they
won’t. Solomon once said that there was nothing new under the sun. But there is
something new under THE SON. In Christ, we are new creations, we look for our
new bodies, long for the new Jerusalem, and will dwell in the new heaven and
new earth.
In closing, I would just like to draw your
attention upon the two things specifically that John tells us ‘behold:
Firstly, he says behold this – the dwelling place
of God is with men! Far out! If you have got a glimpse of the awesomeness of
God then that statement should blow you away somewhat. That was God’s plan from
the very beginning – that He would dwell with us and be our God. Great thought.
Secondly, John tells us to behold this fact – God
will make all things new. Now, something can be new in regards to time or
character. The new heaven and the new earth will be both. It will be new in
regards to it being a brand new creation that God will make in a point of time.
But it will also be new in regards to its character. It will not be like this
world in terms of its character. As we saw earlier – it will be the home of
righteousness… the home of peace... the home of joy. Let’s close with Peter’s
words again…
‘But in keeping with his promise we are
looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So
then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to
be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.’