New Heaven, New Earth

The Seawall, Acadia, NP

Revelation 21:1 

"Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,

for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."

"The Times They Are a-Changin'" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released in 1964.  The song is a conscious effort to verbalize the changes of the 60's. For me its release influenced my views on society because the lyrics are general yet universal giving the song a lasting message of change similar to Mark 10:31 where the last verse says:

The slow one now will later be fast

As the present now will later be past

The order is rapidly fading

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'

The times seem to be changing to a "new normal". New Normal? What does that mean? Perhaps more working at home, continued social distancing, or more frequently wearing masks? Does it mean an increase in overt violence or a more subtle violence such as suspicion, mistrust and humiliation?

John's Revelation is set in a time of random persecution in Rome and Asia Minor. It's intent was to provide hope to the seven churches of Asia. So it is about more than our reality of earth and our image of heaven as a place in the afterlife. John clearly says this New Heaven and New Earth is about God dwelling among people. It is about God "wiping every tear from their eyes." And that "mourning and crying and pain will be no more."

For me, this vision of God dwelling among us gives us hope in these troubled times of violence, disease, and poverty. Our hope lies in God's presence as we journey through the now to the unfolding "new normal". This unfolding of the "New Heaven and New Earth" is nothing less than God's Peace of Christ among us.