The New Creation

Restoring the Foundations · Article 14 of 14

The Bible’s story begins with a garden that closed. After the man and woman sinned, God “drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). For the rest of the story, no one eats from that tree.

On the Bible’s last page the tree stands again beside a river, “bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2). And the place where it stands has not been carried off into the sky. John saw “the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2).

This article asks how the story gets from one tree to the other.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), current eBible.org edition, checked word for word. The WEB prints God’s name as Yahweh. Notes on the Hebrew and Greek are at the end. Each claim is marked as what the text says explicitly, a canonical connection Scripture itself makes, or our conclusion. Please check every verse for yourself.

A Fair Question

Where will God’s people live forever, and with whom?

Many of us learned one of two answers. Some were taught that the saved go to heaven and stay there. Others, including readers raised among Jehovah’s Witnesses, learned that a small number go to heaven to rule while a great crowd lives forever on a paradise earth. Both came from people who loved the Bible. We will test both, at full strength, by the text.

Part 1: What Was Lost

Article 2 showed that God made a good world and gave people a calling in it: “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth” (Genesis 1:26). “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). The man was placed “into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it” (Genesis 2:15), with “the tree of life in the middle of the garden” (Genesis 2:9). (Explicit.)

Article 3 traced what went wrong. “the ground is cursed for your sake” (Genesis 3:17). “For you are dust, and you shall return to dust” (Genesis 3:19). And the way to life was shut, “lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22). (Explicit.)

Three things were lost together: life in God’s presence, the earth as a place of blessing, and the human calling to rule it. Our conclusion: a rescue that gave back only the first, and left the earth and the body behind, would not undo Genesis 3. It would abandon Genesis 1.

Part 2: What Was Promised

God answered the loss not with a promise of escape but with promises about people, land, and a king.

To Abraham, land and blessing. “I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever” (Genesis 13:15), “for an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8), and through him “All the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Yet Stephen says, “He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on” (Acts 7:5). “These all died in faith, not having received the promises” (Hebrews 11:13), “so that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40). Paul widens the promise without cancelling it: Abraham and his offspring are to be “heir of the world” (Romans 4:13). (Explicit; the widening is Paul’s own canonical connection.)

To David, a throne forever. “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13). Gabriel tied this to Jesus: “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever” (Luke 1:32-33). Ezekiel joined king and land: “They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant” and “David my servant will be their prince forever” (Ezekiel 37:25). (Explicit; Luke 1 is the canonical connection.)

To the meek, the land. Psalm 37 repeats it like a refrain: “those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land” (Psalm 37:9); “the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psalm 37:11); “The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever” (Psalm 37:29). Jesus said, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). The Hebrew ’erets and the Greek ge can each mean land or earth. (Explicit. Jesus does not name the psalm; that he takes up Psalm 37:11 is our conclusion from the matching words.)

To all of it, a restoration. After his resurrection the disciples asked, “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus did not call the hope mistaken; he said the times were the Father’s (Article 13). Days later Peter preached that heaven must receive Jesus “until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets” (Acts 3:21). Peter defines the content: what the prophets spoke. (Explicit. The verb in Acts 1:6 and the noun in Acts 3:21 share one root; see Notes.)

So we read the prophets.

Isaiah 11. A shoot from Jesse, on whom “Yahweh’s Spirit will rest” (Isaiah 11:2), “will judge the poor with righteousness, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth” (Isaiah 11:4). Then “The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat” (Isaiah 11:6), and “the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). He will “assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12), and “the nations will seek the root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:10). Paul applies that line to Jesus: “in him the Gentiles will hope” (Romans 15:12). (Explicit; Romans 15:12 is the canonical connection.)

Isaiah 65. “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17). The next line names the place: “I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a joy” (Isaiah 65:18). Life there is ordinary and physical: “They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Isaiah 65:21). And Isaiah 25 promises, “He has swallowed up death forever!” (Isaiah 25:8), which Paul quotes for the resurrection: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). (Explicit; canonical connection.)

Our conclusion: the prophets Peter points to describe the land kept, Israel gathered, the nations blessed, David’s son ruling, the animals at peace, and death swallowed up. None of them describes the earth being left behind.

Part 3: Creation Set Free

Paul says the creation itself is waiting. “For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed” (Romans 8:19). It was “subjected to vanity, not of its own will” (Romans 8:20), and the hope is “that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). (Explicit.)

Paul does not say creation will be destroyed and replaced by something unconnected to it. He says the creation itself will be set free, and he ties its freedom to ours: “the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22), and we groan too, “waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). (Explicit.)

Our conclusion: Romans 8 puts the body and the creation in one rescue. Article 13 showed from 1 Corinthians 15 that the body sown is the body raised, changed but not discarded. Paul’s picture of creation follows the same pattern.

Part 4: Fire That Ends, or Fire That Purifies?

The text most often cited for the other side is 2 Peter 3, and it must be read in full.

Scoffers say “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:4). Peter answers that they forget the flood, “by which means the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6). “But the heavens that exist now and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). Then:

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat; and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10)

He adds that “all these things will be destroyed like this” (2 Peter 3:11), and that “the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:12). (Explicit.)

The opposing reading, at full strength. Heavens pass away, elements dissolve and melt, the earth is burned, all these things are destroyed. Revelation agrees that “the first heaven and the first earth have passed away” (Revelation 21:1), and that before the great white throne “the earth and the sky fled away. There was found no place for them” (Revelation 20:11). On this reading the present world ends and God makes a wholly new one.

What the text also says. Three things keep us from reading 2 Peter 3 as the end of the earth itself.

First, Peter’s own model is the flood. That world “perished” (2 Peter 3:6), yet the earth was not replaced: when the water went down, “the surface of the ground was dry” (Genesis 8:13). Peter sets fire in the place of water, “by the same word” (2 Peter 3:7). (Explicit comparison; how far it reaches is our conclusion.)

Second, the Greek editions differ at the end of verse 10. The Byzantine text (Robinson-Pierpont) reads katakaesetai, will be burned up, as the WEB does. Westcott-Hort, Tregelles and the Greek edition used in this series (SBLGNT) read heurethesetai, will be found, and NA28 prints a conjecture, ouch heurethesetai, will not be found (SBLGNT apparatus), and some modern translations print laid bare or exposed. On that reading the fire uncovers the earth and its works for judgment rather than erasing them. Even on that reading, verses 10 to 12 still speak of heavens passing away and elements melting. (Textual and lexical fact; see Notes.)

Third, Peter says what we look for: “But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). The promise of “new heavens and a new earth” is Isaiah’s (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22), and Isaiah’s new earth has a rebuilt Jerusalem and vineyards. (Explicit; that Peter means Isaiah’s promise is our conclusion from the matching words.)

Our conclusion: 2 Peter 3 describes a real and terrible judgment by fire, as real as the flood. We do not think it describes God abandoning the earth he promised to Abraham and the meek. The fire is for “destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7); the new earth is where “righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). The language of melting and passing away is strong, and Peter himself gives the measure: “the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6), yet the earth remained.

Part 5: The City Comes Down

Revelation 21 opens where 2 Peter 3:13 points: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more” (Revelation 21:1). Then the direction of the whole story appears: “I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). (Explicit.)

People do not go up to the city. The city comes down. And God comes with it: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3). Compare Ezekiel: “My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Ezekiel 37:27). (Explicit; the echo of Ezekiel is our conclusion from the wording.)

Then the losses of Genesis 3 are reversed one by one. (Each line explicit; the pairing with Genesis is our conclusion.)

  • Death: “Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more” (Revelation 21:4).
  • The curse: “There will be no curse any more” (Revelation 22:3).
  • The tree of life: the blessed “have the right to the tree of life” (Revelation 22:14).
  • God’s presence: “They will see his face” (Revelation 22:4).
  • The calling to rule: “They will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

The covenant promises keep their names. On the gates are “the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel” (Revelation 21:12); on the foundations, “twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14). The nations are there as nations: “The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it” (Revelation 21:24). As Article 12 showed, the nations are joined to Israel’s hope, not substituted for Israel. (Explicit.)

There is no temple, “for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22). The river flows “out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). The Lamb shares the throne the Father gives, as Jesus said: “I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21). (Explicit.)

Our conclusion: the Bible’s final scene is not humanity leaving the earth to be with God. It is God coming to live with humanity on a renewed earth, in a city whose gates carry Israel’s names, with the nations walking in its light.

Part 6: “Going to Heaven”

Faithful readers rightly ask about texts that seem to point the other way. Here are the ones most often cited.

John 14:2-3. “In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). The natural first reading is that Jesus prepares rooms in heaven and takes his disciples there. Jesus himself says, in the next breath, where and when they will be with him.

What the text says next is, “I will come again and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also” (John 14:3). The meeting happens at his coming. John’s last book shows a city “prepared like a bride” (Revelation 21:2) coming down, and Hebrews says God “has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16). The Greek verb for prepare is the same in all three. (Explicit; see Notes.) Our conclusion: the place Jesus prepares is the city that comes down, and where he is, after his return, is here.

Philippians 3:20. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). The other side reads citizenship as destination. Paul’s own direction is from heaven to us: the Savior comes from there and “will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory” (Philippians 3:21). (Explicit.) Our conclusion: our citizenship is held where the King is, and the King comes from there to change our bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:1. “For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). But Paul’s longing here is for a body, not its absence: “not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:4). The dwelling is “from heaven” (2 Corinthians 5:2), and it is put on. (Explicit.) Our conclusion: the building is kept in heaven and given to us; Paul does not say we go there to keep it.

The same pattern runs elsewhere. The inheritance is “reserved in Heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4) and “ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). “your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3), and “When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). The fathers desired “a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16), the city John sees descending. (Explicit; reading each as kept in heaven and revealed on earth is our conclusion.)

Our conclusion: in these texts heaven is where God’s gifts are kept and where the Messiah now sits. The New Testament nowhere says the final home of the redeemed is heaven instead of the earth. It does say the city comes down.

Part 7: One Flock, One Hope

The two-class view takes the earth seriously in a way many churches do not, and they are right that God has not given up on the earth (Psalm 37:29). The question is whether Scripture gives God’s people two different hopes.

The view, as its holders state it. Revelation 7 has two groups. John hears a number, “one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7:4), then sees “a great multitude which no man could count” (Revelation 7:9). In Revelation 14 the 144,000 stand with the Lamb “on Mount Zion” (Revelation 14:1), John hears “a sound from heaven” (Revelation 14:2), and “No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth” (Revelation 14:3). They are “the first fruits to God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 14:4). Jesus called his disciples “little flock” (Luke 12:32) and spoke of “other sheep which are not of this fold” (John 10:16). Read together, these look like two groups with two destinies.

What the texts say.

  • The 144,000 come “out of every tribe of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7:4); the multitude comes “out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages” (Revelation 7:9). The text distinguishes them by origin, not by destination. (Explicit.)
  • The multitude is not placed on earth while the 144,000 are in heaven. The multitude stands “before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9); “they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple” (Revelation 7:15). The 144,000 “sing a new song before the throne” (Revelation 14:3). Both are before the same throne. (Explicit.)
  • The multitude receives the New Jerusalem’s own promise. Of them: “He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them” (Revelation 7:15), and “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17). Of the city: “he will dwell with them” and “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:3-4). The Greek verb for God’s dwelling is the same in both. (Explicit; see Notes.)
  • John 10:16 does not end with two flocks: “They will become one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16). In its setting the other sheep are most naturally those outside Israel’s fold; that is our conclusion, and it agrees with Article 12.
  • Paul writes to all believers, “you also were called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4). (Explicit.)

Revelation 5:10. The song says the Lamb “made us kings and priests to our God; and we will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10). Some translate the Greek epi here as over the earth, which would allow rulers in heaven over people below. That sense is real with verbs of ruling: the great city “reigns over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18) also uses epi with the genitive for ruling over. So over is a possible rendering, and our case does not rest on on. The Greek editions also differ. All four compared in the SBLGNT apparatus read them, where the WEB has us. Westcott-Hort and Tregelles (followed by SBLGNT) read they reign; NA28 and Robinson-Pierpont read they will reign. Westcott-Hort, Tregelles and NA28 read a kingdom where Robinson-Pierpont reads kings. (Textual and lexical facts; see Notes.) What Revelation says without dispute is where the throne finally stands: in the city that came down, where “his servants will serve him” (Revelation 22:3). Our conclusion: however 5:10 is translated, Revelation’s last picture puts the reigning servants with God on the renewed earth.

Where we stop. Scripture does not say more about who the 144,000 are, and we add nothing to it. What the text does not do is give them a heavenly home and the multitude an earthly one.

If you are leaving the organization where you learned the two-class hope, please hear this gently. You were right to love the promise of a restored earth; Psalm 37 is still yours. The text simply does not shut you out of the rest. The face of God and the name on the forehead belong to “his servants” (Revelation 22:3), all of them.

Part 8: That God May Be All in All

Article 10 showed the risen Jesus reigning from the right hand, and Article 13 showed his return. Paul looks one step further:

“Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26)

“When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:28)

The Son reigns, hands the Kingdom to God the Father, and is himself subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all. (Explicit.)

The opposing reading, at full strength. Many Christians read this as the Son’s role in the work of salvation, not his nature, and argue that a son can be subject to a father while sharing his nature. They point to “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1) and to “He will reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15) to argue the Son’s reign never ends. These are real texts, and the Lamb is on the throne in the new creation.

What we conclude. Paul does not say the Son leaves the throne. He says the reign reaches its purpose: enemies subjected, death abolished, the Kingdom handed to the Father. Paul speaks of the Son’s subjection; the language of shared nature and roles comes from outside the text. Our conclusion: at the end of the story, as at the beginning, there is one God, the Father, and his human Son the Messiah is forever the one through whom God put all things right. The calling of Genesis 1:26 is fulfilled in a man, and through him in us.

What Scripture Leaves Open

  • Who the 144,000 are (Revelation 7:4; 14:1-4).
  • How Isaiah 65:20 fits Revelation 21:4. Isaiah’s new heavens and new earth still mention dying at a hundred years old; Revelation says death will be no more. Some see Isaiah speaking in terms his hearers knew; others place 65:20 in an earlier stage of the kingdom.
  • How much of the present creation continues. Romans 8 and the flood comparison point to renewal; Scripture does not give the details.
  • How the thousand years and the new creation relate (Revelation 20:4-6; 21:1).
  • What our new bodies will be like. “It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him” (1 John 3:2).

Where We Stand

What the text says explicitly: God made a very good world and gave humanity dominion over it (Genesis 1:26, 31). Sin brought the curse, death, and exile from the tree of life (Genesis 3:17-24). God promised Abraham land and blessing for all families (Genesis 12:3; 17:8), and David a throne forever (2 Samuel 7:13). The fathers died without receiving the promises (Hebrews 11:13). Heaven receives Jesus “until the times of restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21). The creation itself will be set free (Romans 8:21). We look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). The holy city comes down, God dwells with people, death and the curse are no more, his servants see his face and reign forever (Revelation 21:2-4; 22:3-5). The Son will hand the Kingdom to God the Father and be subjected to him, “that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).

Canonical connections Scripture itself makes: Isaiah 11:10 in Romans 15:12; Isaiah 25:8 in 1 Corinthians 15:54; Abraham’s promise as “heir of the world” (Romans 4:13); David’s throne given to Jesus (Luke 1:32-33).

Our conclusions: The final hope is bodily resurrection on a restored earth, not a disembodied life in heaven. Heaven is where God’s gifts are kept and where the Messiah now sits; they are revealed on earth when he comes. The fire of 2 Peter 3 is judgment like the flood, not the abandonment of the earth. God’s people share one hope. Israel’s names stay on the gates and the nations walk in the light. At the end there is one God, the Father, all in all, with the Lamb on the throne.

Counter-texts, answered: 2 Peter 3:10-12: the flood world “perished” (2 Peter 3:6), and the earth remained; the new earth is where “righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). Revelation 21:1 and 20:11: the first heaven and earth give way, and the new earth receives the city coming down (Revelation 21:2). Isaiah 65:20 beside Revelation 21:4: Revelation’s last word is “Death will be no more” (Revelation 21:4). John 14:2-3: “I will come again and will receive you to myself” (John 14:3). Philippians 3:20, 2 Corinthians 5:1 and Hebrews 11:16: what is from heaven comes to us; God “has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16), and it comes down. Revelation 5:10: however epi is rendered, the throne ends in the city on the renewed earth (Revelation 22:3). Revelation 14:3: “redeemed out of the earth” (Revelation 14:3) is said again as “redeemed by Jesus from among men” (Revelation 14:4); our conclusion: bought out from earth’s peoples, not removed from the earth. 1 Corinthians 15:28 with Revelation 11:15 and 22:3: the throne is “of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1), and God is “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).

What Scripture does not say: that the redeemed live forever in heaven instead of on the earth; that the earth is annihilated and forgotten; that the promises to Abraham, David, and Israel were cancelled or transferred; that God’s people have two final hopes, one in heaven and one on earth.

The series in one paragraph. The Bible is one story (Article 1), and one God, the Father, made the world good (Article 2). Humanity fell, and God promised a rescuer (Article 3). He chose Abraham, rescued Israel, gave the land and the king, and spoke through the prophets in exile (Articles 4-7). The King came, died, and was raised and exalted (Articles 8-10). God pours out his Spirit and calls all to repent, believe, and be baptized (Article 11), forming one people from Israel and the nations (Article 12). The King will return, raise the dead, and judge (Article 13). And God will make all things new and live with his people on a restored earth (Article 14). Test every claim in an ordinary Bible.

Living It Out

These are our applications, offered as invitations.

  • Read Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 21-22 in one sitting, and mark every place the end answers the beginning.
  • Treat the earth and the body as things God means to keep (Romans 8:21, 23).
  • If you are leaving a two-class hope, read Revelation 7:9-17 beside Revelation 21:3-4, slowly.
  • Pray as Jesus taught: “Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Notes

  • Acts 1:6; 3:21: apokathistaneis, are you restoring; apokatastaseos panton, restoration of all things. Verb and noun share one root.
  • Psalm 37:11, 29; Matthew 5:5: yirshu ’arets; ’erets (Strong’s 776) covers land and earth; Matthew has kleronomesousi ten gen.
  • Isaiah 65:17: shamayim chadashim va’arets chadashah, new heavens and a new earth.
  • Romans 8:21: aute he ktisis eleutherothesetai apo tes douleias tes phthoras, the creation itself will be freed from the slavery of decay.
  • 2 Peter 3:10: SBLGNT kai ge kai ta en aute erga heurethesetai, and earth and the works in it will be found, Robinson-Pierpont reads katakaesetai, will be burned up; NA28 prints the conjecture ouch heurethesetai, will not be found (SBLGNT apparatus). 3:13: kainous ouranous kai gen kainen.
  • John 14:2; Hebrews 11:16; Revelation 21:2: hetoimasai topon, hetoimasen polin, hetoimasmenen: one verb, hetoimazo, prepare.
  • Philippians 3:20: politeuma, citizenship, commonwealth; ex hou, from which.
  • Revelation 7:15 and 21:3: skenosei ep’ autous and skenosei met’ auton, will tabernacle over / with them. 7:17 and 21:4: exaleipsei (ho theos) pan dakryon ek ton ophthalmon auton, the same words.
  • Revelation 5:10: SBLGNT epoiesas autous ... kai basileuousin epi tes ges, you made them ... and they reign on/over the earth, NA28 and RP basileusousin, they will reign; RP basileis for basileian (SBLGNT apparatus). Compare Revelation 17:18 echousa basileian epi ton basileon tes ges.
  • Revelation 14:3: hoi egorasmenoi apo tes ges, those bought from the earth. Rev 14:4 has the same construction, egorasthesan apo ton anthropon (SBLGNT, printed edition).
  • 1 Corinthians 15:28: autos ho huios hypotagesetai ... hina e ho theos panta en pasin.

This is the final article of Restoring the Foundations. Thank you for reading the whole story with an open Bible. Now go back to Article 1 and read it again; the beginning reads differently once you know the end.

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© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/restoring-the-foundations/14-the-new-creation/
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