Revelation 21:1-8 Unspoiled
God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. Satan spoiled it, so He made a new one. One that will be untouched by sin FOREVER.
Have you ever made something that you really liked, then it gets messed up somehow and you have to start again? Sometimes you long for the original because the replacement isn’t nearly as good. Other times you are GLAD you had to start over because the new one is SO much better than the first. A poem I wrote a while back comes to mind regarding this concept. I’m firmly in the former camp when it comes to that poem. I still wish I could retrieve the original one.
God decided it is time to start over with heaven and earth. I don’t know if this includes His original dwelling place but probably so. Actually, He won’t need a new separate Heaven for Himself and the angels. He will be occupying this new earth with us.
When God created everything in the beginning He said it was “good” and then He rested from His work. Everything was good in the beginning but then God’s most beautiful angel, Lucifer, got it into his mind that he wanted control of everything. He wanted God’s place. He wanted the honor, the praise, the recognition and control that belonged to God. He saw how God’s creations looked to Him with awe. He wanted that for himself.
We don’t know how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before Lucifer got jealous. I imagine it took a bit of watching God interact with Adam and Eve before he saw what a joy that companionship was to God. Adam and God walked together in the garden each day (Genesis 3:8). The bible says it was in the “cool of the day.” I don’t know if it was early morning or late evening but it was a time they enjoyed together on a regular basis. I wonder what they talked about. I wouldn’t be surprised if it involved Adam thanking God and praising His workmanship. Whatever it was, it brought joy to both of them.
Lucifer wanted that relationship for himself. He wanted the “atta boys” and the “you do marvelous work” and even “you look amazing tonight” for himself. It is interesting that his job was to bring all the praises to God and inspire more praise for God. He must have noticed while doing this how God enjoyed receiving these praises. Lucifer wanted some of that for himself. “Why should He get all the praise? I’M the one putting this whole thing together. I’m doing all the work! I should get the recognition I deserve. Besides what has He done for them lately? It’s MY turn now.”
This heart change in Lucifer was the beginning of the end for him. That little seed of “I want” grew until he was no longer the same beautiful creation God had made. His was actually the first sin and it was pride. He acted on that pride in an effort to get what he wanted. In the process of doing so, he was able to get one third of Heaven’s angels to agree with his point of view. This rebellion put a stain on that portion of God’s creation. That stain wouldn’t be removed until Jesus cleaned it with His blood.
But that left the problem of what to do with Satan and his followers. His sinful heart even robbed him of his name. No longer the beautiful angel, Lucifer, now the rotting leader of the rebellion, Satan. God cast this group down to earth.
I wonder how long it was between Satan’s defeat and his whisper in Eve’s ear. If you eat this you will become like God (Genesis 3:5). She had observed God in the garden and wanted to be like Him too. She wasn’t happy with her status either. Her sin was jealousy/envy.
Adam, who apparently was there beside her didn’t even raise a fuss. He went along with whatever she decided. His sin was idolatry. He loved his relationship with Eve above his relationship with God. He was the first man to buy into the “Happy wife, happy life” mentality. Now the stain of sin was on man and the earth.
Now EVERYTHING was spoiled. Nothing remained sin free. God repaired the damage done through Jesus’ sacrifice but even when Satan was bound for 1,000 years, sin’s stain still remained. The proof of that is the final battle that followed his release.
I believe that when we read about the earth and sky fleeing from His presence at the Great White Throne judgement, that He literally removed them from existence at that point. The Lake of Fire and the Throne room remained. John tells us that not even the water, which was the heaven’s and earth’s covering in the beginning, remained. I’m going to be brave here and say that not even the stars in the sky remained. God made a CLEAN slate. One untouched by sin. And it would remain that way!
In God’s new heaven and new earth He doesn’t just walk with His creations in the cool of the day. Instead, He makes His home right in the middle of them! ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, He is with us. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man” (verse 2b). We don’t even need a sun in the sky to give us light; God is our light. I’m wondering if this will be a flat earth or if His light is so strong that it covers the entire sphere. He will have to change a few of the original laws of physics either way.
In this new, untouched by sin, world there are SEVERAL things missing. They are missing because they were a “side effect” of sin. We will be new too. Our original bodies are marked by sin too so they can’t enter God’s new creation without bringing sin with them. Because ALL will be new again there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, and no more death; NOTHING that brings hurt to the body or soul. The only sounds heard now will be those of joy. Not because God won’t allow any other emotions but because nothing will remain that will create those emotions. Perfect peace. Perfect contentment. Perfect love. COMPLETELY cut off from sin, Satan, and any who would follow him.
Satan and his followers will be “enjoying” their “second death” for eternity while those who follow Jesus will be enjoying eternal life in His presence FOREVER!
Father God, I’m looking forward to the “no more pain” and “no more tears” aspect. I HATE how sin has left its imprint on all You created, even my own heart. I know I am washed clean by Jesus’ blood but the scars still remain. I’m looking forward to being completely new again in a body not marred by sin. I wonder what it will look like. PLEASE don’t let it be fat like I am now! If You are taking requests, I would like to keep my curly hair, have eyes the color of my mom’s and have teeth without a gap too. I know I’m being silly because it won’t really matter what I look like. Being with You is all I really need.
I can already picture the “bench” where Jesus and I will sit and talk about ALL the questions You inspired within me during our time together. And, no, I don’t mind if He invites others into our quiet space from time to time. I’ll gladly share as we all learn together even then.
