Discourse 01 – The Millennium and the New Creation.

The Millennium and the New Creation. / Reply, Jörg Frost 00, 2000-07-13

The search for intelligent life in the universe.

(Texts in a black frame are quotations from visitors to this site or from other authors.)

For want of an overall view of the prophecies of the Bible, some commentators repeatedly confuse and confound the scriptural statements on the Millennium, on the one hand, and those relating to the New Creation on the other.

We have in Revelation texts which relate unambiguously to the New Creation ‒ a new heaven and a new earth, thus a completely new universe:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

Rev 21,1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 21,2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 21,3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 21,4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." 21,5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new. "And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." Rev 21, 1- 5;

Now it is pointed out above, in Rev 21,1 that the first heaven and the first earth have passed away. But Rev 20,11, as well, foretells an end to this, the first creation:

From whose presence earth and heaven fled away.

Rev 20,11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. Rev 20,11;

The reason, now, why many commentators cannot accept this matter of the passing away of the present world and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth may be put down to the fact that in the scriptures we have numerous references to a "new heaven and a new earth" which plainly have to be referred to earthly conditions.

I create new heavens and a new earth.

Isa 65,17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. 65,18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. 65,19 I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. 65,20 No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed." Isa 66,17-20;

To establish the heavens, to found the earth.

Isa 51,14 "The exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking. 51,15 For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the LORD of hosts is His name). 51,16 I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’" Isa 51,14-16;

(See also Chapter 08: "The reorganization of heaven and earth.")

So although in both passages we are told of a "new heaven and a new earth", the "youth who dies at the age of one hundred" in Isa 65,20 and the "exile who will not die in the dungeon" in Isa 51,14 clearly point to an earthly fulfillment of these promises.

And now, of course, these commentators do not go on to study the scriptures to see whether it might not be the case that both promises are valid: instead, they "truncate" what scripture tells us by lumping the two together, asserting that there will be no New Creation ‒ rather the new heaven and the new earth are a "renewed" heaven and a "renewed" earth. The consequence, then, is that these people ‒ like the Jehovah’s Witnesses ‒ arrive at the view that eternity will happen here on earth, on this planet of ours. 

This interpretation patently confounds the events that take place directly before the Millennium with those that take place after the Millennium, after the General Resurrection and the Last Judgment. If we study the scriptures more closely, we can see that before the Millennium ‒ that is, the millennial kingdom of the Lord Jesus ‒ God will transform heaven and earth, so as to fulfill those promises made to humanity in connection with this kingdom, like a lifespan of something like a thousand years (as in antediluvian times), simultaneous sowing and harvesting and so on. 

(See also Chapter 10: "The Millennium.")

The New Creation, on the other hand, has nothing more in common with this earth and this heaven. There completely different conditions will prevail. As we see from Rev 20,14 and 21,4, amongst other things, death itself will then no longer exist.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

Rev 20,13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 20,14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 20,15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev 20,13-15;

And there will no longer be any death.

Rev 21,4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. Rev 21, 4;

And then too, as a result, one who "dies at the age of one hundred" can no longer pass as a youth, and likewise the prisoner can no longer "die in the dungeon", seeing that now, in the New Creation, the heavenly Jerusalem, neither prisoners nor death will any longer be found.

The search for intelligent life in the universe.

(See also Chapter 14: "The New Creation.")