Revelation 21:23-25 “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. (24) And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour into it. (25) Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).”
Again, the above passage of scripture describes the New Jerusalem to us. But in its description, the passage does give us some insight regarding the new earth as well. For in this passage, the scripture speaks of the fact that the city of Jerusalem will not need the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God will illuminate the city. Some have interpreted this scripture to mean, that there will be no sun or moon in the new heavens that God will create. But the scripture goes on to say, that the gates will not be shut at all “by day”, and it emphasizes that there shall be no night “there”, speaking only about the city. And so, if there were no sun and moon in the new heavens, then the scripture would have just said that the gates will not be shut, period. But because the scripture speaks of the gates not being shut by day, the Holy Spirit is telling us that day and night will continue to exist in the new earth. And so, we see that unlike the city of the New Jerusalem, the nations living on the outside of the city walls, will experience both day and night and both the shining of the sun and the moon, just as God said it would happen for all eternity (Genesis 8:22).
Isaiah 66:22-23 “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the Lord, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. (23) And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the Lord.”
In the above passage of scripture, God the Father clearly reveals to us that just as the earth today experiences a new moon, so the new earth will also experience the same, every twenty-nine and a half days. For there will be a moon in the new heavens, and that moon will orbit the earth just as the current moon does. The new earth will also experience the same passing of time as the current earth does, i.e. the new earth will continue to rotate on its axis every twenty four hours, and because there will be a sun in the new heavens, the earth will experience day and night as a result. And thus God tells us that we will observe the Sabbath every seventh day, just as the current earth does.
Michael E.B. Maher
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