The Passing of Heaven and Earth

In my last article, I completed a brief study of Matthew 24. I ended that study at verse 35 with the intention of reserving a study of the passing of heaven and earth for a later time. However, I realized that there is no better time than now to tackle this topic, because it simply makes sense to begin a new study where the last one ended. Consider Jesus' words for a moment:

35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

Most read this verse without considering exactly what Jesus was really saying. Many who do take the time to analyze this verse conclude that Jesus was referring to the passing of the literal heaven and earth. Futurists of all forms maintain this belief. Sam Frost, an ex-Full Preterist, stated such a thing in his debate with Full Preterist Michael Miano.

If this pertains to the physical cosmos, we have some major problems. The purpose of this article is to establish the fact that the passing of heaven and earth in no way implies the passing of the cosmos. In other words, when you read Revelation 21:1 you are not reading of a newly created planet. And how many different beliefs do you think cling to the popular understanding of Revelation 21:1? Consider the Young Earth Creationists. These advocates believe the world wasn't created to exist forever, so what good do environmentalist movements do for a planet destined to be destroyed, and thus, recreated? Yes, they really believe this! I was one of them!

Dispensationalists (most of which are Young Earth Creationists) feel the same. Jesus' return is near, they claim, and he will recreate the world, for it is infected with man's sin. Because of this, what need is there for us to concern ourselves with education, let alone maintaining the planet's resources, they argue.

This may be a shock to most, but the Bible never even mentions the end of the world. It is unfortunate that the King James Version of the Bible uses the phrase “end of the world,” rather than “end of the age,” for many have been misled by such a mistranslation. A quick word study will reveal that the KJV's use of “world” is often better translated as “age.” Other times, “world” is used instead of “land,” which is also misleading.

Even those who know these facts need more evidence than a mere word study to disprove the Futurist doctrine of a dying cosmos. Because of this, I will be taking the time to analyze just what the passing of heaven and earth entails, beginning with the most fatal passage to all Futurist eschatologies.

The Passing of the Law and Prophets

It is largely ignored by all Futurist eschatologies just what Jesus was saying in Matthew 5:17-18 when he spoke of the passing of the law and prophets:

17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-18)

This is mind-boggling information here. Jesus said he did not come to destroy the old covenant law, but instead came to fulfill it. He then said that until heaven and earth pass, nothing from the old covenant law could pass away. Everything had to be fulfilled first. Most Christians believe the old covenant passed away at the cross, but this is impossible lest they admit the passing of heaven and earth at this time. In fact, if even one law was abrogated, then heaven and earth had to have already passed! Do you see the dilemma this presents for those who believe in the future passing of literal heaven and earth? One the one hand, if they subscribe to the passing of the old covenant (“the law and prophets”; cf. Matthew 22:36-40) at the cross, they must admit the passing of literal heaven and earth at that time, which means the fulfillment of Revelation 21:1. This clearly contradicts every bit of their eschatology, of course, let alone the fact that we'd probably know if the world was destroyed and recreated at the cross, don't you think? On the other hand, if they maintain the yet future fulfillment of the passing of heaven and earth, then they must admit that the law is still binding today! (Some do, in fact.)

Truth be known, at the time the book of Hebrews was penned (A.D. 63/64), the old covenant had not yet passed away:

13In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:13)

Notice that the old covenant was old, but had not yet vanished. It was merely ready to vanish. This is consistent with Jesus' words in Matthew 5, for as we've already noted, the old covenant could not vanish until everything was fulfilled. It would be at this time that heaven and earth would pass.

The Covenants

When we reach Revelation 21, we read of a new heaven and earth coming into existence:

1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1)

The Full Preterist position is that this refers to the cessation of the old covenant, and the fullness of the new. Full Preterists aren't simply applying this imagery any way we want to, either. There is a reason for this. Please consider the following:

15But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: the LORD of hosts is his name. 16And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. (Isaiah 51:15-16)

The correlation here is the planting of the heavens and laying of the foundations of the earth with Israel being God's people. In other words, the heavens and earth God is referring to are symbolizing the covenant he made with Israel, for it is through the foundations of this heaven and earth that he called them his people. This was the old covenant he made with them after the exodus, for it was at this time that they became his people.

17For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy. 19And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. (Isaiah 65:17-19)

There are three key elements here: 1) A new heaven and new earth; 2) A Jerusalem God rejoices over; 3) No more weeping.

We know Revelation 21 is the fulfillment of Isaiah 65 given the exact same details:

2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:2-4)

So, in Isaiah 51, we read of heaven and earth as they pertain to God's covenant with Israel. In Isaiah 65, God declares that he will create a new heaven and earth, in which Jerusalem would be a joy. Finally, in Revelation 21, we read of Isaiah 65's fulfillment, for heaven and earth have been made anew (Revelation 21:1), and a new Jerusalem exists in which God finds joy in his people (21:2-3). We also have the element of no more weeping (21:4). Therefore, if heaven and earth pertain to God's covenant with Israel, and God declares that he will make a new heaven and earth (Isaiah 65:17), then we know he was implying the creation of a new covenant.

When we tie this into Matthew 5, the points speak for themselves. The fulfillment of the old covenant would signify its passing. Remember, not one jot or tittle could pass from the law until all had been fulfilled. Only when heaven and earth pass away can the law pass, which means if we maintain the passing of the law, we must also maintain the passing of heaven and earth. If we believe the passing of heaven and earth remains for the future, then we must admit the binding of the law today. Dispensationalists contradict themselves on these points.

Thus, since scripture defines heaven and earth in a covenantal manner, it is entirely logical to understand that Jesus was referring to the old covenant when he used the phrase. After all, if the fulfillment of the law and prophets would signify its passing, and heaven and earth wouldn't pass until the law passed, then it is only logical to realize that the passing of heaven and earth, and the passing of the law, are the same thing!

Further proof of this can be tied again to Isaiah. In Isaiah 65, we read:

25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 65:25)

Futurists believe the “perfect world to come” consists of straw-eating lions and a sea-less planet (Revelation 21:1). I believe, however, that John saw “no more sea” because the terms of the new covenant of Christ did away with Jew and Gentile distinctions. This is why the “wolf and lamb shall feed together,” for it pertains to such differences having been done away with. The same goes for the lion feeding with the bullock, rather than feeding on the bullock.

If this argument is going to be made, it must be shown that the “sea” has a relationship with those who are not Jews. I believe Daniel 7 is key to understanding this. Daniel has a vision of four beasts which come from the sea (Daniel 7:2-3). There was a lion with eagle's wings (7:4), a bear with three ribs in its mouth (7:5), a leopard with four heads and four wings (7:6), and a fourth beast with ten horns (7:7). Again, all of these came from the sea. These beasts are kings, or kingdoms, rather (7:17). We know these to be Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), Greece (leopard), and Rome (ten-horned beast). This is evident when we analyze Daniel 7 and 8 in correlation to Daniel 2. Also, the fourth beast would be in power at the coming of the Son of man, and we know this was the Roman empire.

So, how does this connect to the “sea”? All four of these kingdoms are Gentile kingdoms! That is why the beasts that represent them come from the sea (compare this to Revelation 13). When John has the vision of Mystery Babylon, he sees her sitting upon many waters (Revelation 17:1). This harlot, Jerusalem, consisted of many tongues and nations (Acts 2:5), and the angel speaking to John tells him that the waters represent this very thing (Revelation 17:15).

If the “sea” and “waters” pertain to a multitude of nations and tongues, then it is no stretch to understand the “sea” of Revelation 21:1 to be the symbol of the Gentiles, especially in light of how Daniel's vision portrayed Gentile kingdoms rising from the sea. Recall that the wolf and lamb would feed together, implying there would no longer be anything that separates them. Per the new covenant, there is no longer any Jew and Gentile:

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. (Romans 10:12)

The correlations should be a bit more clear now. If in Christ there is no more differentiation between Jew and Gentile (Greek), and the terms of the new heaven and earth are as such, and John saw “no more sea,” which represents the Gentiles, then it should be clear that the new heaven and earth of Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21 is the fullness, or consummation, of the new covenant, in which there is no more Jew or Gentile! The old covenant had finally been done away with!

Conclusion

Jesus said the law and prophets would not pass until heaven and earth passed (Matthew 5:17-18). If the old covenant passed at the cross, then so too did heaven and earth, which means Revelation 21 was fulfilled. The Futurist paradigms are self-defeating! Since Futurists maintain the future passing of literal heaven and earth, they must admit to the binding of the law today. But how many admit this? None! They contradict themselves entirely.

The passing of the old heaven and earth was the passing of the old covenant. God spoke of a new heaven and earth (Isaiah 65:17), and in it would be a Jerusalem that brings joy (cf. Revelation 21:2-3). This is Christ's covenant, wherein lies no distinction between Jew and Gentile (cf. Isaiah 65:25), and a new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ, which is his body of believers.

Isn't fulfillment great?

Blessings,

Jason Watt