New Genesis Pt. 1: Exploring the Creation of a New Heaven and Earth
I remember watching Star Trek II, the Wrath of Khan. Arguably the best of all the Star Trek movies. If you are not a treky, stay with me for a bit. The crew of the enterprise goes on a mission to stop Khan from capturing 'project genesis', a device that has the capacity to create a functioning planet out of a dead one. In one scene, a scientist explains this secret device to the captain and his friends. She says that the project, genesis, is "life from lifelessness." She goes on to explain how exactly it will create life on moons or dead planets. As she does the movie plays out in perfect 1980's virtual effects what it would look like. The digital graphics were ground breaking for its time. I remember this scene unfolding, watching in awe, having never seen anything like it before. The genesis device slams into the moon’s lifeless shell. Fire erupts engulfing the moon as the camera moves across the moon’s surface. Mountain ranges spring up, and valleys fill with water. Trees, vegetation, and all that brings life come into reality. It etched into my memories the creative power of a world coming to be for the first time.You can see it here. Specifically at the 1:14 mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AmORMupApU
Fast forward a decade or so to 1995. I find myself as a new apprentice to Jesus, reading the opening pages of the Bible. I can't help but replay the images from Star Trek II as I read line by line the creation story unfolding. It's really how I saw it.
I had this image in my head for most of my Christian journey. Until that is, I discovered that maybe I had it all wrong.
Almost everyone knows this famous story. The one where God creates everything. The, in-the beginning-God story. Genesis 1, more precisely. But most don't give much thought to the re-creation story. The one at the end of the Bible. What the biblical authors knew as New Heaven and New Earth. I like to call it New Genesis.
It goes like this.
In Revelation chapter 19, Jesus returns like Gandalf on the mountain with the riders of Rohan. They come to save those in danger at Helm's Deep. (A scene in Lord of the Rings the Two Towers. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I hear the books are good too.)
In Revelation chapter 20, sin and death are dealt with. People are resurrected to recount their lives, and God's reign commences.
Okay, depending on your end-of-the-world point of view, this might be overly simplistic. I agree, but that conversation is not this post. Our conversation is about the very, very end.
We are now at the final chapters of this long and somewhat confusing vision—Revelation chapter 21. God makes everything new. A city begins to descend down onto the New Heaven and New Earth. And we are told some very important details.
God's dwelling is now with mankind (verse 3).
Non-order, pain, and suffering will be done away with (verses 1 and 4).
Everything will be new (verse 5).
Let's unpack this all-things-new statement.
Verse 5 of Revelation 21 goes like this. “He who was stationed on the throne (God) said, "I am making everything new!" Then he (God) said, "Write this down, for these words (The ones just spoken) are trustworthy and true." NIV
Everything will be new. You can trust that. Take it to the bank. I'm not sure that expression is used anymore, but you get the idea. So, what does God mean by new? This word, new (καινὰ kaina), is used three other times in the New Testament. Only three.
In Matthew, when discussing the Kingdom of Heaven/God, Jesus compares teachers of the law who become disciples in the Kingdom of Heaven to a homeowner. The homeowner brings out new and old treasures from their storeroom to fill the house. Matthew 13:52 NIV.
Paul writes to the church(s) in Corinth and makes one of his most quotable statements. "If anyone is in Christ, the NEW creation has come. The old has gone, the NEW is here." 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV.
Finally, Revelation 21, the all things will be made NEW statement.
In each of these verses, we have a common thread. With Matthew, Jesus connects the "new" to his Kingdom is like teachings. Paul connects the "new" to creation. In the Revelation, the two become one "new" thing. God is dwelling on earth (Kingdom/Rule), and everything is remade (Creation). Where is the First place we see these two realities co-existing? Where God is in charge, and creation is perfect? You guessed it. Genesis 1 and 2.
The new thing God speaks of in Revelation 21 is a Genesis thing. A New Genesis thing. What God started in the beginning, he intends to make new. Not start over, not do away with. But make new. That's a very important distinction.
Let’s explore that distinction further.
There are other places where his New Heaven and Earth are mentioned in New Testament writings. One of the more notable places is in 2 Peter, chapter 3. The author discusses the future hope of people in a metaphorical Babylonian exile (1 Peter 5:13). In the second letter from Peter, he describes what is known as The Day of the Lord. In spite of the pain now, we should stay hopeful for the future of Heaven and Earth (verse 13). But before this happens, he explains in vivid description, the doing away with what is here now. He describes it like this.
"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." 2 Peter 3:10 NIV
When we read this verse, it seems like the Star Trek II genesis device crashing onto a planet and covering it in fire was correct. However, there is a specific word that can help us understand Peter's point more clearly.
Here is how it's all laid out. The heavens disappear. The elements are destroyed. And the earth will reveal itself fully. Let's narrow in on that middle part.
The elements are destroyed by fire. The word the NIV translation team translates as elements is στοιχεῖα (stoicheia). Which is not to be confused with material elements, as if the fire described in verse 10 is burning away trees, mountains, cities, and bad people. The word στοιχεῖα (stoicheia) as found in its usage in places like Galatians 4:3, Colossians 2:8, 2:20, and Hebrews 5:12. It describes the principles or rudiments that make up the way something is.
Peter is saying that the elements that caused the creation project in Genesis 1-3 to go wrong are being burned away. This is why the Angel proclaims there will be no tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain. The former things (elements/rudiments) cease to exist.
The image I prefer now, after leaving behind the state-of-the-art VX from Star Trek II, is that of a Metalsmith. First, he combines pure ore (a natural combination of minerals from which metals can be extracted) with additives. The ore and its additives are heated to extremely high temperatures, from 1000 to 1200 degrees Celsius. This reveals the pure gold by burning away the impurities attached to the gold. The heat, or fire, reveals the true nature of what is there. This is more to the point Peter is making. The doing away of Heaven and Earth doesn't mean creating another separate thing, as if God gives up and wants to try again. It means to eliminate the things that have caused this current heaven and earth to conceal its creational good.
It's the revealing of the New Genesis.
New Genesis is a way to describe what the New Heaven and New Earth are all about, and it gives us a working model to begin to imagine what we might do in this new beginning.
In part two of this topic, we will explore how the New Genesis is like the old Genesis and what that means for our vocation in it.
