HEAVENS, NEW

On several occasions the Scriptures speak of a "new heavens and a new earth" (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1). What does the phrase mean? (a) It does not refer to a literal new heavens and earth. This is so very obvious in that these very contexts speak of the material heavens and earth being destroyed, passing away, and existing "no more." (b) The "new heavens and new earth" becomes a figure of speech signifying a new environment. Just as we now live in an environment in which we breathe the air of "heaven," and take sustenance of the bounties of the "earth," even so, we look forward to a future realm, not material in nature, but a "new heavens and new earth" of spiritual composition. Simple logic establishes this conclusion. In logic there is a principle which suggests that things equal to each other are equal to the same thing. If it is the case that "heaven" is our eternal home (and it is -- see above), and if it is also the case that our destiny is a "new heavens and new earth," then it follows they are the same -- the latter expression being merely a symbol for the former. Passages which appear to suggest an earth that "abides forever" (Psa. 78:69; 104:5; Eccl. 1:4), employ the term "forever" in a limited sense. For instance, "forever" (Heb. olam) is used to modify the Jewish Passover and the Hebrew priesthood (Ex. 12:14; Num. 25:13), both of which obviously were temporal -- lasting only so long as they were designed to remain.