A Sure and Certain Hope

“Then 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.” (Revelation 21:1)

Any time I see a movie or read a book for a second time, much of the tension is relieved. In the second read, I no longer have to worry if the main character is going to live or die in the end. I already know the answer. In the days ahead, I would like to remind us of the end of our great story by looking again with you at the last two chapters of the Bible.

As is often true in good stories, the end of our great story causes us to remember the beginning. Mention of the first earth causes us to remember the opening chapters of Genesis. For us to remember the beginning of the first earth is to remember something tragically lost. Ever since the Fall (the sin of Adam and Eve) we have been living east of Eden in a wilderness of sin. We are barred from the entrance to the garden - there is no way back.

Ah, but that is what makes this opening verse of Revelation 21 so good. What is announced is something new: a new heaven and a new earth into which we can live. As you and I experience the tired brokenness of this world (read Covid-19 and its social disruption) do not allow this present reality to drive us to despair. Instead allow it to cause us to rejoice that we know the end of the story. For the end of our great story provides us with hope: not merely a hope of getting through this trial, but rather a sure and certain hope of a time when all will be NEW!