And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

The New Universe

There are three phrases used in chapter 21 that we have found throughout the Book of Revelation. They are used at those times that point to the landmarks, the great events of the chronology of the book. Whenever we see John write, “And I saw”, “And I heard a great voice” or “He that sat upon the throne said” then we know something momentous is about to take place. Now we those phrases again here the end of Jesus’ epistle and the pattern holds, for what we see and hear through John is the wrap-up of the letter, after the dramatic climax of Jesus riding that heavenly white horse, accompanied by all the heavenly armies, coming to the rescue of Jerusalem and the last surviving believers on the earth, especially those of the nation of Israel.

New Creation - “I saw”, John says, a new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem. “I heard the voice from heaven” say, “Behold the tabernacle of God is with men.” So, these things are all new astoundingly, amazingly new and we along with John are called to take notice of them.

First The Old Destroyed - Before we consider the new, perhaps we should ask, what happened to the old heaven and earth, the old universe?

How - Peter in 2 Peter 3:10-13, tells us they are gone and he tells us how it is destroyed, “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. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

When - Revelation 20:11, may tell us exactly when it was destroyed. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” It could be that at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment, even the old creation, polluted and corrupted by man’s sin and Satan’s rebellion, is judged and destroyed by fire.

The New Heaven and Earth - And after the old is destroyed, Revelation 21 and 22 give us details of what the “new” will be like.

First, John sees the new heavens, new earth, and new Jerusalem. Revelation 21:1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth

The word for new, used here is καινός (kainos). In the AV, 44x it is translated new, but it is not the word neos, which means new as compared to something old, something that is younger, or fresher. No, this word, kainos, means new as in a new substance. It is of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, unique, never before seen or heard of.

The New Relationship

Now once again, John hears “a great voice out of heaven.” This how the John’s vision began way back in Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.

Each time a great voice is heard, it calls our attention to a wonderous event. Here it heralds the new reality of our new relationship with God.

The Great Desire- This new relationship will fulfill the great desire of His people of those who love Him. To all of God’s people, both Old Testament and New Testament our great desire is to see and be with God.

Moses expressed this desire to see his God and God said, Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

The Psalmist express the same desire in Psalms 42:1-2 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

And in Psalms 63:1-3, David wrote, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

In the New Testament the promise is closer and is better understood by those who walked and talked with Jesus, the Son of God, 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Now in Revelation 20, John hears the great voice call out, “Revelation 21:3 Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God

This long promised, long hoped for day will finally be the reality of our relationship with God. We will experience His presence as we never have before, every moment of eternity. The word for tabernacle here is used in the same way as it was used the book of Exodus where God was instructing the Hebrews to build Him a tent, a tabernacle to dwell in with His people.

The same word as a verb is the word John used when he wrote, in the Gospel of John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Now John hears the great voice announce that God will not dwell in a temporary tent in the wilderness. Nor will He only dwell in a temporary human tabernacle of flesh upon the earth for just 3 years, but the time has come for God to dwell eternally with His people.

No longer will there be a separation of a veil, or of time or space. All these were part of the old but now just like the old heavens and earth they are done away, and a new relationship takes its place. This time God’s tabernacle abides forever with us. There will never again be any separation between God and his people.

And the result of this new relationship is seen in one of the most beautiful and tender verses in all the Bible. vs. 4

New Experience

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Do you hear these simple, tender words of promise? This is language that the persecuted, the martyred, the suffering, the hurting people of God will fully understand. It is the final reward for all they have endured.

There will be no more tears. No tears of sorrow, no tears of loss, no tears of loneliness, no tears of emptiness.

There will be no death, Paul’s words to the Corinthians has come true. 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

There will be no mourning and no crying. Joy, happiness, praise and rapture will have replaced them and removed them from our memory. The hope of Psalms 30:4-6 is now fulfilled Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life:
weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
What John is seeing is that eternal morning of joy.

Finally, the great voice says, there will be no more pain. The sin and corruption that brought sickness, old age, genetic defects, crippled bodies, weak hearts, epidemics and pandemics is gone and with sin gone, the physical, spiritual or emotional pain that it brought can no longer exist in the presence and power, of the fulfilled promise of God with us.