Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

— Revelation 21:1

And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.

— Exodus 25:8

11 And I will make My dwelling place among you, and My soul will not despise you.

12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people

— Leviticus 26:11-12

My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people

— Ezekiel 37:27

What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”

— 2 Corinthians 6:16

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

The new heaven, the new earth, and the Lord’s people will proclaim Jesus’s great triumph. In a perfect universe, sin, sickness, and decay will never again afflict anyone. A primary truth envelops this new world: “God’s dwelling place is now among the people,” bringing the consummation of God’s intimate Old Testament covenant promise.

The Savior’s ultimate victory over sin and death assures the future glory of all creation. In both the Old and New Testaments, the Lord brings order and peace to the chaos of the sea. This may explain why John now saw there was “no longer any sea.” God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by bringing them through the Red Sea on dry land. In John’s earlier visions, Babylon the Great sat “by many waters” and the satanic beast came out of the sea. Whether the removal of the sea is symbolic or literal, God will remove all that threatens His people and His creation.