Where In The Bible Will I Find:

The New Heavens And The New Earth?

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (II Peter 3:10).

Peter plainly asserts that the present earth, as we know it, will disappear in the mighty conflagration which will engulf it at the last great day. The "day of our Lord" mentioned by Peter, is the day when our Saviour will appear in the clouds in His second coming when He shall raise the dead and institute the judgment (John 5:29, 29).

The heavens which are to pass away, along with the earth, in the universal fires of that unparalleled day, include that portion of the universe immediately above our heads where the birds fly. Associated with the destruction depicted by Peter will be the crash of dissolving worlds and the mighty roar of flames as they consume the earth and all that is in it. All material things are to melt from the heat of fires everywhere raging and the earth and the works that are therein are to perish.

All that man has created of a material nature, homes, cities, memorials - everything - will end in that all-engulfing fire. Christians are privileged to look for a "new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." In this fresh new abode righteousness will dwell. Righteousness exists wherever righteous people live.

Thus, the "new heavens and earth" here contemplated are to be the abode of righteous and saved people throughout eternity, Our future abode is where Jesus now is and where He is preparing a place for us. Jesus is in heaven. So, the material heavens and earth are made by Peter to serve as the type of this future abode from which Jesus is to return in order to take us back there (John 14:2).

The phrase "a new heaven and a new earth," can mean only to embrace the place now being fitted out for the faithful. There, in the many mansions of our Father's house, our Lord is preparing a place for us, from which He will ultimately come, and then carry us to it. That "new heaven and new earth" is simply the antitype of our current abode. It is the typical description of heaven - the New Jerusalem.