I have heard it said that there will be no more sun and moon when we reach the New Earth. I'm not sure if the people literally mean there will be no more sun and moon or not.
The Word of God says, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof","And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever" (Revelations 21:23,22:5).
Notice in both these verses the Word does not say that there is no sun or moon. What they say is there is NO NEED for them. The word no in Greek is an absolutely negative. It's a strong NO! The word need in Greek is chreia. It means, "employment, that is, an affair; also (by implication) occasion, demand, requirement or destitution" (Strongs).
So God is saying in His Word exactly what He means. We will have no need for the sun or the moon because the Glory of God will outshine them thus the sun and moon will be "retired" from they're "employment" as lights. The Word does not say they are gone which leads me to the next verse I would like to look at.
Maybe there is a new sun and moon. "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful" (Revelations 21:5). Jesus Himself says He is going to make all things new. I wondered if it were just the New Heavens and New Earth He was talking about so I looked up pas which is the Greek for all. It means all, any, every, the whole. It's is used in the New Testament over 1200 times. 975 of those times it is rendered as all. 168 times it is rendered every. Seems to me that Jesus means EVERYTHING!
But then where was He when He said this? " And 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. And God shall wipe away all 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. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful" (Revelations 21:3-5).
Jesus was still in the Heaven when He spoke that He was making all things new. Was He saying this just about the New Earth? I don't think so. Even if the sun and moon remain I think the laws of nature that God set in place to govern them will be changed upon creation of the New Earth.
Matthew Henry's Commentary says, " I saw a new heaven and a new earth; that is, a new universe; for we suppose the world to be made up of heaven and earth". Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible says, "A new heaven and new earth Rev_21:1, and an order of things to correspond with that new creation. The former state of things when sin and death reigned will be changed, and the change consequent on this must extend to everything".
Of course there are commentaries that say it's only a New Earth Jesus is speaking of but I think I agree with Barnes. There must be a new order. New laws set forth. Just think, we won't die, no night, the tree of life yields fruit every month....does this mean it's perpetual spring? No more seasons?
Were going to look some more at the tree of life in the next post. I think that will be the last of this series on Heaven.
3 comments:
Interesting idea, Michael. I will have to give it some thought.
thanks again michael, im really enjoying this topic.
alas I dont think I can add anything to it though. I especially like the use of strongs and getting into the original text for better understanding. Good move on your part, after all God says what He means and means what He says.
These verses are symbolic of Jesus of course.
"..and the Lamb is the light thereof"
Heaven is all about worshiping Jesus. The focus will be purely on him. (The light thereof) So much so that there is no need for Sun, Moon etc everything else is irrelevant. These verses are magnifying Jesus in comparison to the brightness of the Sun and moon.
Have you ever looked into a camp fire and realised that you can't take your eyes away as it flickers? The majesty of Jesus the lamb that was slain is what heaven is all about. We will be worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth for eternity.
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