Our Stay Is Not Permanent
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
Renewal Series
“Things will retain their current identity – but will take on new qualities. Perhaps the best analogy to this is in the body of the risen Jesus himself...”
“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. And I 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 the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Explanation:
It is difficult to find a more explicit description of the world to come than in this passage of Revelation. While we obviously don’t have a complete description of what this next world will be like, we can discern some things from the description we find here. We know that this world will be different in quality to that of this one – yet will still be recognizable¹. Things will retain their current identity – but will take on new qualities. Perhaps the best analogy to this is in the body of the risen Jesus himself. In the scriptures, the risen Jesus is undoubtedly recognized as himself. Yet, his identity takes on new qualities. He is able to walk through closed doors (John 20:19). He is able to appear and disappear (Luke 24:13-32). His resurrection body is “fully human,” to be sure, yet it takes on properties that are unlimited by the world we currently inhabit. Since the scriptures testify that we will receive a body “like his” at the resurrection, we can deduce that the world to come will not be a destruction of everything we recognize, but a redeeming and glorification of all things.
Connection:
As we are approaching the end of winter, and as lent is in full swing, we begin to see the world begin to anticipate new beginnings. The grass starts to turn a more vibrant shade of green. The temperature begins to rise. Trees burst forth with life and all things are becoming new again as we reflect on the significance that life is once again being brought out of death and desolation. It would seem that in some sense God has written the story of the universe into creation itself. Things always seem darkest right before the dawn.
How appropriate then that we should find ourselves on the back-end of a very long winter marked by social unrest, division, sickness, and even death. Our societies have been stretched thin and we have become isolated - alienated from one another as the powers that be scramble to find solutions to all of our problems. Yet, we Christians look ahead to Easter, as we do every year. In the midst of turmoil we recognize a God who is not absent in our suffering and affliction but has participated himself In our suffering. He has tasted the darkness to where we often descend - not to take it away from our lives, but that the dark places in our lives might be illumined by his presence, offering light that we might discover the mysteries that are hidden in the depths. We know that the darkness cannot overcome the risen Lord. All things will pass away - but our Lord remains our firm rock. In him and through him, all things will be made new.
Action:
1. Reflect -
Read through Revelation 21:1-5. What are some of the things that stand out to you? What would a new creation look like in contrast to the world we see today? Taking the time to reflect on this can help us to know how to pray and how to conduct ourselves as we await the coming of our Lord.
2. Connect -
It's no secret that we have been rather alienated over the past year. These times can make us lonely and depressed. Make It a point to reach out to someone you know for encouragement (1 Thes 5:11).
3. Rejoice -
Christians are a people of hope. As we lean Into the Easter season, remember to enter Into the joy of his kingdom, recognizing that we are sojourners on this Earth. Therefore, pray that God might make you an instrument of transformation of this world as opposed to be transformed by it (Rom 12:2).
¹ G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson, Commentary On the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), 3208.