Jesus, Heaven and New Creation
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Revelation 21:1-3
Reflection Questions: What do you imagine that the new creation will be like? When have you seen glimpses of God’s glorious creation? You may wish to draw or use other creative means to reflect on these questions.
Prayer Prompt: Thank God for the moments of beauty you have experienced and pray for areas of brokenness that you’re aware of. Pray that God’s kingdom would come on earth to make all things new.
Online Prayer Activity
‘In N T Wright's book, ‘Surprised by Hope’, he argues that the idea of heaven being in a different place, and the rapture, where we are taken away from this evil place, leads to problematic behaviours (for example, ‘climate change doesn't matter because we will be freed from this earth’) and this is, in fact, not biblical.
Does God give us clues or glimpses of heaven by the natural beauty of nature on earth?
How about an alternate view that Heaven is the earth that we live in today, but made right in the way that God intended it (‘on earth, as it is in heaven’). How would It change our behaviour if we think that our role, as faithful followers of Jesus, is to advance this future state?
