12/21/20 WHAT’S NEW? #5 — Isaiah 65:17 (HCSB) “For I will create a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.” — Israel's future kingdom will include a temporal kingdom of a thousand years (see Rev 20:1-10) and an eternal kingdom in God's new creation (51:6, 16; 54:10; 66:22).

2 Peter 3:13 But based on His promise, we wait for the NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH, where righteousness will dwell. — The "promise" of a new universe is rooted in the OT (e.g., Ps 102:25). The word "new" means new in quality, i.e., different from before, not just new in chronology. The universe is new in quality because righteousness has settled in and taken up permanent and exclusive residence (cf. Isa 60:19-22).

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. — All the sinners of all the ages, both demons and men, including Satan, the beast, and false prophet, are in the lake of fire forever. The whole universe has been destroyed, and God creates a new universe to be the eternal dwelling place of the redeemed. The entire universe as we now know it will be destroyed and be replaced by a new creation that will last forever. [adapted from The MacArthur Study Bible]