The descent of the New Jerusalem
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.'" (Revelation 21:1–4) In these verses, the seer of Patmos is granted a vision not merely of an apocalyptic end, but of a transcendent fulfillment—a new creation which is not a negation of the present world but its divinely ordained consummation. The image of a "new heaven and a new earth" does not imply annihilation and replacement, but rather transformation and renewal. The sea, s...