New Earth's Vast Glory

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, … The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

(Revelation 21:10-16)

In this section, we will focus specifically on the new earth, not the New Jerusalem. Although God will place the New Jerusalem on the new earth, as we will explore later in this series, the New Jerusalem and the new earth are distinct in several ways.

One of the first things we notice about the new earth is its immense size. The highest mountain on the current earth, Mount Everest, is nearly nine kilometres high. In the above passage of Scripture, the Holy Spirit reveals that the mountain of God, Mount Zion, is 2,400 kilometres high—267 times higher than Mount Everest. Clearly, Mount Zion will be the highest mountain on the new earth. Based on a comparison between the highest mountain on the current earth and the highest mountain on the new earth, we can infer that the new earth will be at least the size of Jupiter, the largest planet in our current solar system. In other words, the new earth will be approximately 300 times larger than the current earth. Some have looked at the height of the New Jerusalem in the above passage and mistakenly tried to fit it onto an earth the size of the current one, which would make it disproportionately large. However, just as God can create the New Jerusalem at such a vast size, He is equally capable of creating a new earth of comparable magnitude.

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

(Revelation 21:1)

Another significant difference between the current earth and the new earth is the absence of oceans. In the above passage of Scripture, the Holy Spirit reveals that there will be no sea on the new earth. Currently, oceans cover approximately 70 percent of the earth’s surface, leaving only 30 percent for human habitation. On the new earth, however, mankind will inhabit an earth 300 times larger than the current one and will have access to its entire surface, not just 30 percent. Thus, the new earth will accommodate a far larger population than the current earth can sustain, which, as we will see later in this series, will be essential. As an aside, many scientists estimate that the current earth has a maximum carrying capacity of 10 billion people. With the current population at 7.8 billion, we are approaching that limit.

Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."

(Genesis 9:11-17)

Due to the absence of oceans, the atmosphere of the new earth will differ significantly from that of the current earth. On the current earth, evaporation from the oceans, driven by the sun’s heat, forms water vapour that rises into the atmosphere and creates clouds. These clouds are carried inland by winds, producing rain. The rain flows into rivers, which return to the sea, continuing the cycle. Without oceans, this cycle will not occur on the new earth. Consequently, there will be no clouds, rain, or rainbows, as rainbows form in clouds. In the above passage of Scripture, God describes the rainbow as a reminder of His covenant with the current earth, promising never to destroy it by flood again. On the new earth, God will no longer need the rainbow, as He has promised that the new earth will endure forever.

This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

(Genesis 2:4-6)

If there is no rain, how will God water the new earth to sustain plants and trees? The answer lies in the above passage of Scripture, where the Holy Spirit reveals how God watered the earth before Noah’s flood. A mist rose from the earth to water the entire surface. Similarly, God will cause a mist to rise from the new earth to nourish its plants and trees. Additionally, as we will see later in this series, rivers and streams will flow on the new earth. If there is no rain, where will these rivers originate? Many rivers today begin at springs that emerge from within the earth, and there is no reason to believe this will differ on the new earth. If there are rivers but no sea for them to flow into, where will they go? Some rivers today, rather than flowing into the sea, are absorbed back into the earth at the end of their course, and there is no reason to expect this will be different on the new earth.

Michael E.B. Maher

The End of the Age

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