God's Work with Planet Earth

Back in Old Testament times, God was already excited about His plans for Planet Earth, and He expressed that anticipation through the prophet Isaiah.

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” Isaiah 65:17-19

First of all, notice how closely the language of Isaiah (around 700 BC) matches the language of John (around 90-95 AD), two different writers nearly 800 years apart.

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4

• Isaiah – “I create Jerusalem”
• John – “New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God”
• Isaiah – “The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard”
• John – “There shall be no more … crying”
• Isaiah – “I create new heavens and a new earth”
• John – “I saw a new heaven and a new earth”
• Isaiah – “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people”
• John – “God Himself will be with them and be their God”

Also, John gives a side note that “there was no more sea”. He saw a recreated earth with no more oceans caused by the Flood of Noah’s time. The New Earth will have rivers and lakes, judging by how God originally created the world. But the earth now is 71% covered by water. That’s nearly 3/4 of the world where no one can live, farm, build… because it’s covered with leftover Flood waters.

Here’s another Old Testament promise that has echoes in the New Testament:

“He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8

The following verses in the New Testament echo what Isaiah prophesied.

“The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4

“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.” Revelation 22:3

With wars, disasters, hate, and violence, this world is under the curse of sin. But it won’t be when God sets things right.

Timing

Judging by the descriptions of events in Revelation 19, 20, 21, this new earth will be created by God AFTER the destruction of the wicked by fire, which God will do “when the thousand years have expired” (Revelation 20:7). Once sin and sinners are gone, then this new world is created, which kicks off Stage 5 of God’s Work with Planet Earth. And this final stage never ends.

More Old Testament promises about the New Earth

I was amazed how much God said through prophets about His future plans for this world. Let’s explore some of these passages.

“Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,” Isaiah 32:18-20

In the New Earth, the capitol will be the New Jerusalem. But there will be “nations of those who are saved” governed by “the kings of the earth” (Revelation 21:24). Even away from God’s holy city, in the regions of this new world, there will be righteousness and peace.

“He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” Psalms 33:5

And listen to the descriptive language about the living conditions of God’s people.

• “My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation”
• “the effect of righteousness” (will be) “quietness and assurance forever”
• “quiet resting places”

“They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; … And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.” Isaiah 65:21-23

What about building or planting without someone else inhabiting or eating? This is not selfish. In the times leading up to Isaiah’s time, whenever the people turned away from God to worship false gods, God allowed surrounding nations to come in and raid their crops and drive them from their homes.

This will not happen in the New Earth. People will share food and living spaces. It just won’t be because invaders have forced them to do so.

“They shall not labor in vain”. Think about what this means. In this world:

• Doctors lose patients
• Attorneys lose cases
• Soldiers lose battles

Isn’t that laboring in vain? They did not achieve what they were working for when these things happen. But in the New Earth, these occupations will not even exist, because there will be no disease and injuries, no injustice and victimization, no war and fighting.

They will not “bring forth children” but “their offspring with them”. First of all, when there is no death, and the earth is filled with millions of God’s faithful who lived throughout the history of the old world, you don’t need reproduction. They never die. But someone like Abraham will live with many thousands of his descendants. And of course those of us living now pray that our children will be there also.

Restoration in Nature

“On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety.” Hosea 2:8, NLT

God is promising to do two things here.

• In this sinful world, animals are dangerous to each other and to humans. God will “make a covenant” with these “beasts” so they will no longer cause harm.
• Humans invent and build weapons to hurt and destroy each other. God will not allow this to happen in His kingdom.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9

Notice that most of these passages describe God bringing about peace and safety for humans who come from a world of wars, danger, damage and death.

Changes to attitudes and language

Zephaniah 3 has some fascinating statements related to God’s future plans.

“For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord.” Zephaniah 3:9

In Genesis 11:1-9 is the story of the Tower of Babel. God wanted the people to spread out over the earth, but they rebelled and consolidated in a big city. At that time everyone on earth spoke the same language, so God diversified the languages so that they could not understand each other. This caused them the separate into language groups and disperse over the world, according to God’s purpose.

But in this passage, God promises to reverse that diversification of languages so we can all communicate freely and praise God with the same words.

Zephaniah continues:

“In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.” Zephaniah 3:11-13

I initially misread this passage to say “you shall not be ashamed”, but it says “you shall not be shamed”. God will not be reminding us of our sins and failures because He promises many times to forget them.

But the change that happens between the Old Earth and the New Earth is that those who “rejoice in pride”, and those who are “haughty” will be “removed” from existence (as we see in Revelation 20:11-15). The only people remaining in the New Earth will have the following characteristics:

• They will be meek and humble
• “they shall trust in the name of the LORD”
• They will “do no unrighteousness” and “speak no lies”

Changes to environment and human bodies

Here’s a passage that is hard to imagine.

“Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound.” Isaiah 30:26

We can’t even look at the sun now, and we get sunburned if we stay in it’s beams too long. Seven times brighter? But we have to remember that at Jesus’ Second Coming when He resurrects His faithful, they will be given glorified bodies, which will be able to perceive and enjoy this increased brightness.

“in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:52-53

This will happen “in the day the LORD binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound”.

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” 2 Corinthians 5:1-4

• Paul compares our earthly bodies to a tent
• He compares our glorified, heavenly bodies to a house
• Both a tent and a house are physical, but there are significant differences.
• Earthly body (tent) characteristics:
  • Flimsy and temporary, not durable
  • Makes us groan and feel burderned
  • Makes us feel vulnerable and poorly clothed
• Glorified body (house) characteristics:
  • Like receiving “a building from God”
  • “not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”
  • Like being “further clothed” – increased durability, comfort, and ability
  • Our current mortal condition will be replaced by eternal life

Peter on God’s promised future

Peter had just described the very elements melting as the old earth and everything in it made by man will be destroyed. Then he wrote this:

“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13

Peter also commented on the promises God has given us about our future:

“by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4

The promises of God about the future fall into two main categories.

• Physical/literal: the restoration of the earth and it’s environment, and the glorification of human bodies to be incorruptible and immortal.
• Spiritual: The transformation of character from fallen, sinful humans to people who reflect the character of Jesus and are sons and daughters of God, citizens of His forever kingdom.