Reasons for Confidence

Note how Revelation 21:5 continues.  It quotes God, seated on his heavenly throne, as declaring:  "Look! I am making all things new."  That divine promise is better than any national declaration of independence, any present-day bill of rights, or any human aspiration for the future.  It is an absolutely reliable declaration by the One who the Bible says "cannot lie." (Titus 1:2) Understandably, you might feel  that we could stop right here, relishing this exquisite  prospect and trusting God. But we need not stop. There is more for us to learn about our future.

Reflect on what the preceding article established as to the Bible's promises of new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah foretold such a new system, and his prophecy  had a fulfillment  when the Jews returned to their homeland and reestablished true worship.  (Ezra 1:1-3; 2:1,2; 3:12, 13)  Yet, was that all that Isaiah's prophecy pointed to?  Definitely not!  The things  he foretold would be fulfilled in a grander way in the distant future.  Why do we reach that conclusion?  Because  of what we read at 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1-5.  Those passages point to new heavens and a new earth that will benefit Christians on a global scale.

As noted earlier, the Bible uses the phrase "new heavens and a new earth" four times.  We have considered three of these and have reached encouraging conclusions. Pointedly, the Bible foretells that God will eliminate wickedness and other causes of suffering and that he will then further bless mankind in his promised new system. 

Next time:  Continue with Reasons for Confidence

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000