Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5) [emphasis mine]

One of the sad misconceptions of many within the conservative evangelical church has been the understanding that we are “aliens and strangers” on the earth. The truth is, however, that we are to be aliens and strangers to the world—to the ungodly and rebellious world system ruled over by Satan.  The Scripture informs us that this world system is going to be destroyed and its diabolical ruler vanquished for eternity.  And as a long and glorious celebration of our Savior’s victory, we are going to reign with Him on this very earth* which so many of us now abuse and malign.  When we attain our final and complete adoption as children of God, we will embrace a good earth healed from the curse where thorns no longer “infest the ground.”

So the second coming of the Messiah is bad news for this world system, yet glorious good news for the earth and for those of us who will reign with Him upon it.  I’m convinced that it is time for us to imagine with C.S. Lewis the moment when “that hideous strength” of the enemy of God and man is finally wrestled into defeat and submission, and when all the elements, plants, and living creatures of a restored earth join in one grand united doxology with redeemed mankind in praise to our Savior and Creator, Jesus Christ: It will be the return of shalom—of Isaiah’s prophesied peaceable kingdom (Isaiah 11).  The apostle John shared with us his vision of that moment:

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! (Rev. 5:13, NIV).

Note in that passage how John explicitly includes the entire biosphere: creatures in the sky, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and in the sea.  Imagine the scene: larks, dragonflies, rabbits, badgers, moles, trap-door spiders, Portugese men-of-war, sharks, and sea stars all attending to the Savior-Creator and singing!  Who says Narnia is fiction?  Remember that Aslan is the Lion of Judah! Think of the joy that will fill the Hundred-Acre Wood.  Tigger will jump higher than ever and Eeyore, then the eternal optimist, will “bouncy-bounce” with him.  Earth will be Perelandra, and Neverland will become Everland!

I feel that many of us may need to repent of our careless lack of camaraderie with the other creatures of the earth and of our lack of care for the marvelous handiwork of God that has faithfully given witness from the beginning of His divine nature and eternal power (Romans 1:20).  With our hearts and with our hands, let us work toward the anticipated restoration of the good Earth.

* I realize that there is some debate about whether or not the new earth is this old earth renewed or is an entirely different planet—indeed an entirely different cosmos.  There are many passages that indicate to me, however, that the “new earth” is this same planet .  This passage from the Revelation, however, convinces me of that.  Here we read of the fulfilled prophecy when God will make His dwelling among men and there is “no more curse.”  We know, of course, that this earth was cursed at the Fall; so if this were an entirely new planet the end of the curse would be meaningless.  And Romans 8:20-21 tells us that the cursed creation is going to be liberated:

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Acts 3:19-21 tells the story of Peter’s sermon on the Temple steps.  In his message he speaks of the “refreshing” and of the restoration of everything:  Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says that heaven and earth will be reunited:   In [our Lord Jesus Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Ephesians 1:8-10)

Finally in his letter to the church in Philippi Paul says all things were made by and sustained by Christ the Creator and will finally be reconciled to God: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:15-20).

When I add to these passages the prophecies of Isaiah about the final peaceable kingdom when Jesus comes again to reign on the Earth I have to conclude that his old earth will be redeemed, refreshed, restored, reunited, and reconciled to God the Father.  Why would all this need to be done if God simply plans to annihilate this earth and give us a new planet?  Why would the creatures look for the day of redemption in hope, if they are merely going to be annihilated with the earth?

For a further discussion of this, I recommend the book by my friend Mike Wittmer of Grand Rapids Theological Seminary: Heaven Is a Place On Earth.

Tiger photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddsnet/