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FULL SALVATION IS HEAVEN ON EARTH
A. Introduction: For several weeks we have been talking about the second coming of Jesus and what it
will mean for the human race, going back to Adam and Eve. Tonight, we conclude our series.
1. Our goal in this series has not been to do a detailed, verse by verse study of all the events that will be
a part of Jesus’ second coming, but rather to focus on the big picture and the end result.
a. There are a lot of indicators that Jesus’ return is not far off, meaning that His second coming
could possibly be within the lifetime of some of us who hear this lesson.
b. We’ve pointed out that Jesus said that before He returns, there will be tribulation on earth unlike
anything that the world has ever seen. Matt 24:21-22
1. The conditions that will produce this tribulation won’t come out of a vacuum. They’ll be the
natural development of the trajectory that the world in presently on, and are now setting up.
2. As a result, we are seeing, and will continue to see and experience increasingly challenging
times as Jesus’ return draws closer. We have to know how to deal with what is ahead.
c. Jesus told His followers: When these things begin to occur (signs that my return is near), look
up (be elated in joyous expectation) and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing
near (Luke 21:28, Amp). You can’t do this if you don’t see the big picture and the end result.
2. This is the big picture—Jesus is coming back to complete God’s plan for humanity. Almighty God
created human beings to become His sons and daughters who live in loving relationship with Him.
He created this world to be the home for Himself and His family. Eph 1:4-5; Isa 45:18; etc.
a. Both the family and the family home have been damaged by sin, beginning with Adam. All
people are guilty of sin and disqualified for God’s family, and earth is filled with sin, corruption
and death, and is no longer a fit forever family home. Gen 2:17; Gen 3:17-19; Rom 5:12; etc.
1. Jesus came to earth the first time to begin the process of reclaiming God’s family by dying as
a sacrifice for our sin. Through His death He opened the way for those who believe in Him
to be restored to God’s family through faith in Him. I Pet 3:18; John 1:12-13; Rom 5:1; etc.
2. Jesus will come again to restore the family home by cleansing it of all sin, corruption, and
death. He will then establish His visible, eternal kingdom on earth. Rev 11:15; Rev 21-22
b. Jesus is going to bring full salvation to this world (Heb 9:26-28). Full salvation includes
resurrection of the dead and restoration of the earth, so that God and His family can live forever
in the home He created for us. Heaven will come to earth. Heaven will be on earth.
B. One of the points we’ve made in this series is that Jesus’ first followers, including the original twelve
apostles, understood that Jesus is coming back to complete God’s plan. And they were excited about it!
1. All of the apostles, and most of the first Christians, were Jewish. This meant that their worldview
was shaped by the Old Testament, the portion of the Bible that had been completed by that time.
a. These people knew from the Scriptures that the Lord will one day come to restore the world and
set up His visible, eternal kingdom on earth. And, they knew from the Scriptures that their
bodies will be raised from the grave so that they can live on the earth again—this time forever.
b. The prophet Isaiah was the first one to refer to what will happen to the earth when Jesus returns.
1. Isaiah wrote: Isa 65:17—Look! I am creating new heavens (the atmosphere and outer
space) and a new earth—so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones
anymore (NLT). The Hebrew word that is translated new in this verse means to renew.
2. Isaiah wrote that God will make “deserts like Eden…(and) wastelands like the garden of the
Lord” (Isa 51:3, NIV). Isaiah further stated that “Where once there were thorns, cypress
trees will grow. Where briars grew, myrtles will sprout up” (Isa 55:13, NLT).
c. After Jesus returned to Heaven, the coming restoration of the world was part of the message that

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the apostles preached. Peter, in an early sermon, said: (Jesus) must remain in heaven until the
final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through His prophets (Acts 3:21, NLT).
2. People misunderstand a passage Peter later wrote in one of his epistles. They take it to mean that
Jesus is going to destroy the earth with fire when He returns. But earth is not going to be destroyed.
Part of full salvation is the renewal and restoration of this world, the family home.
a. Let’s read the passage: But the Day of the Lord (the second coming) will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up…all these
things shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat (II Pet 3:10-12, KJV).
b. In this misunderstood passage, Peter was not describing earth’s destruction. He was describing
earth’s transformation. The original Greek wording makes this clear. Note:
1. Pass away (v10) is used numerous times in the New Testament. It never means cease to
exist. It has the idea of passing from one condition or state to another.
2. Elements (v10) comes from a word that means the most basic components of the physical
world. We now know those to be atoms, molecules, and subatomic particles.
3. Shall melt (v10) and dissolve (v11-12) are from a word that means to loose. Jesus used this
word when he raised Lazarus from the dead and instructed people to free the man from his
grave clothes (John 11:44). When you loose something you set it free from or to something.
4. Shall melt (v12) is a different word. We get the English word thaw from it. When the
spring thaw sets in, winter releases its grip. Note that the idea in these words (melt and
dissolve) is something that is released or freed from something else.
c. The phrase burned up (v10) is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts. Instead, they use a
word that means found or shown. The idea is exposure of corruption for the purpose of
removal: The earth and everything in it will be laid bare (NIV); the earth and the works that are
done on it will be exposed (ESV). Jesus will remove all corruption from earth when He returns.
3. Peter said that, in connection with the second coming of Jesus, the earth will melt (be loosed) with
fervent heat (v10). The Greek word that is translated heat means to be set on fire, and is used
figuratively to describe the attributes and actions of the Lord, including His spoken Word.
a. God told the prophet Jeremiah when: I will give you a message (for my sinful people) that will
burn them up as if they were kindling wood (Jer 5:14, NLT); Does not my word burn like a fire,
asks the Lord. Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes rocks to pieces (Jer 23:29, NLT).
b. Fire doesn’t cause anything to cease to exist. Fire causes things to change form—wood turns to
ashes. At His coming, the Lord will speak, and the elements that make up the heavens and the
earth will be loosed (freed) from their present state of bondage to corruption and transformed.
C. John the apostle saw the completion of the plan, the new heavens and new earth, at the conclusion of a
vision that Jesus gave John around AD 95, when the apostle was exiled on the island of Patmos.
1. In the vision, Jesus showed John events in Heaven and on earth that will precede His second coming.
John recorded the vision in the Book of Revelation (many lessons for another day).
a. The point for us is that none of the information Jesus gave John scared 1st century readers. It
assured them that, even though sixty years had passed since Jesus returned to Heaven, He had
not forgotten them, and that Almighty God’s plan of salvation will be completed.
b. John wrote: Rev 21:1—And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away. And there was no more sea (NKJV).
1. Several Greek words can be translated new. John used the word kainos which means new in
quality or form and superior in character, as opposed to new in time. John didn’t see a
world that never existed before. He saw this world renewed and restored.

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2. John called our present world the first heavens and earth, and wrote that they have passed
away. First is the Greek word protos which means first in time or place. We get our
English word prototype from the root of this Greek word.
A. A prototype is an original model on which something else is patterned. This current
world is the pattern for the one to come.
B. Passed away is the same Greek word Peter used when he said the heavens will pass away.
Paul used the word when he wrote that believers become new creatures in Christ and old
things pass away (II Cor 5:17). It means to pass from one condition to another.
c. The new earth will be new, but familiar, changed, but recognizable, because it will be this earth,
made new through restoration—with all the beauty and wonder it possesses, even in its present
sin damaged condition. Jesus didn’t die to replace what He created—He died to restore it
1. People familiar with the Old Testament prophets expected the Lord to restore the conditions
of the Garden of Eden. Earth before sin gives us an idea about what God’s original plan for
life on earth looks like, before sin damaged the family and the family home.
2. The Book of Genesis describes Eden as a beautiful place of full provision, with trees, plants,
animals, rivers, minerals, and gold. There was no lack, sickness, sorrow, or death.
3. Adam and Eve engaged in meaningful work and had close interaction with each other and
with the Lord as they enjoyed the beauty and bounty of creation. Gen 2:10-14
d. By no more sea, John meant the sea as we know it. That was good news for 1st century people.
We can fly across the ocean in a few hours, but for them, the sea was a formidable obstacle
capable of great destruction. Sailors had wooden ships with no radar or sonar to guide them
around storms or submerged objects. To sail away from the shoreline meant risking death.
1. The seas today are a remnant of judgment for sin. All of that water is left over from the
flood in Noah’s day, and has left two-thirds of the world uninhabitable. Seas predate sin.
2. There will be large bodies of water on the new earth. Eden before sin had four large rivers
which flowed into something, implying large bodies of water. Gen 1:9-10; Gen 2:8-25
2. John continued to describe what he witnessed: Rev 21:2—I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband (NLT).
a. John saw a scene beautiful beyond description coming from Heaven to earth—a city glowing
with and illuminated by the glory of God. John said that there is no need for sun or moon in the
city, because the brilliant light of God’s glory is visibly present there. Rev 21:23; Acts 26:13
1. Based on the writings of the Old Testament prophets, the original readers recognized what
John was seeing. The prophets recorded several instances where Heaven briefly opened to
people on earth. And in each case, men saw brilliant light and precious stones as the Lord,
in all His glory, appeared before them. Ex 24:9-10; Ezek 1:26-28; etc.
2. There’ll be no need for light in the capital of the new earth. But away from the city, there
will be night. Otherwise we won’t be able to see the moon and stars, the galaxies and
planets, all of which God put in place before sin, for us to observe and enjoy. Gen 1:14-15
b. John described the city as pure gold. John’s readers recognized that the city is filled with gold
because it is the dwelling place of God. Solomon’s Temple was filled with gold throughout,
befitting the place where God met with His people. Rev 21:18; Ex 25:10-40; I Kings 6:14-38
3. Note what John wrote next: Rev 21:3-5—I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the
home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God
himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or
sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and all of its evils are gone forever” (NLT).
a. This has been the point all along—the Lord living with His people in the world He made for us.
That’s why, when God redeemed His people from Egypt, He told them to build a Tabernacle so

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He could dwell with and manifest Himself to them. Ex 40:34-38; Lev 26:11-12; I Kings 8:10-11
b. John gave more details about what he saw (lessons for another day), but everything he reported
reinforced the idea that, not only are God and His family together again, all that hurts or harms is
gone forever—full salvation.
1. John wrote that the gates of the heavenly city “never close at the end of the day because there
is no night (in the city)” (Rev 21:25, NLT). Before electricity, no one went beyond the gates
at night (too much danger). City gates in the 1st century closed at dark to keep out enemies.
2. As John ended his description of the city, he wrote: No longer will anything be cursed. For
the throne of God and the Lamb will be there…and they (His people) will see his face…and
the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever (Rev 22:3-5, NLT).
4. Heaven is presently located in another dimension beyond the physical (seen) world. But God’s
intention has always been to share His home (Heaven) with His family.
a. Heaven was open to Adam and Eve before they sinned. When God created Adam and Eve, He
placed them in the Garden of Eden. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden. Gen 2:9
b. The tree of life is mentioned twice more, and both times indicate the tree is located in Heaven.
Jesus referred to it as the tree in the paradise of God (paradise was a common name for Heaven).
John wrote that he saw the tree of life in Heaven in his vision. Rev 2:7, Rev 22:1-2
c. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were cut off from Eden (Heaven) and access to the tree of life.
Angelic beings called cherubim were positioned to guard the garden’s entrance. Gen 3:24
1. This is more evidence that Heaven was open to Adam and Eve before sin, because cherubim
surround the throne of God (Ps 99:1). Sometime after Adam and Eve sinned, Heaven
became not only inaccessible to men and women, it became invisible to us.
2. But the fact that Adam and Eve had access to the tree indicates that this unseen realm was
initially open on earth. And even though men and women are designed to live in a physical,
material world, Adam and Eve could freely interact with God in His dwelling place.
d. The Bible begins and ends with Almighty God on earth with His family. Salvation will
culminate with two dimensions coming together again to be the forever home of God and His
family. That’s what the new earth will be—Heaven on earth. Full salvation.
D. Conclusion: To have peace of mind and hope in these increasingly troubling times, we have to learn to
look past what we see around us to the end result—full salvation. We must keep this life in perspective.
1. We’re only passing through this world in its present form, and the best is yet to come—first in the
present Heaven and then when Heaven and earth come together.
2. We need to live with an awareness that eternal things matter more than temporal things. Paul wrote:
a. Col 3:1-4—Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of
heaven…Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here…And when
Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory (NLT).
b. Rom 8:18-21—Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.
For all creation is eagerly waiting for that future day…All creation anticipates the day when it
will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay (NLT).
3. John the apostle wrote: I John 3:2—Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t
even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we
will be like him for we will see him as he really it (NLT).
4. Peter the apostle faced death as a martyr with these statements: II Pet 3:12-13—You should look
forward to that day and hurry it along—the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the
elements will melt away in flames (NLT). God made a promise to us, and we are waiting for a new
heaven and a new earth where goodness lives (CEV). Come Lord Jesus come!!