But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

2 Peter 3:10 – 12

I hear very little such talk these days here in our culture.  We evidently are not aware of what will happen, when the end of our physical world is a reality.  Then a new thing will happen, a new heaven and a new earth will appear.

My mind has no problem with these words, except that I have never fully digested their meaning – when earth and heaven as we know them will disappear – gone!  Then what?  A new heaven and a new earth will appear.  How can we understand the meaning of this?  The times are in God’s hand.  Our minds cannot fully understand what will appear.  Our planet as we know it will be no more – therefore time, as we know it, will vanish and an entire new way of viewing reality will be upon us.

I find that I am consumed by what is happening on this earth now.  If I am not careful, I omit completely the new reality for the redeemed.  Our culture knows nothing of that reality so it cannot even think of using language like this.

If this revelation is for us – how shall we live?  The Word tells us, where righteousness reigns.  That binds heaven and earth together.  Moses spoke of righteousness.  Jesus paid the price so that we can live where righteousness reigns.  And the new earth and the new heavens will proclaim the same thing – God’s righteousness reigns.