After the first 1000 years of Christ's reign has been completed and the final rebellion put down, the earth will be destroyed by fire along with most of its inhabitants.

God will then completely restore both the earth and the heavens surrounding it to their original perfection (Revelation 20:4-7, Isaiah 24:6, Revelation 20:9, Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:1).

Why Do The Heavens Need To Be Made New?

There is no scriptural evidence that the Heaven where God lives needs renewing. There is no sin there. However, there is much scriptural evidence that the heavenly places surrounding this earth, our atmosphere and beyond, are the abode of fallen angels. It seems the very heavens, surrounding our earth’s atmosphere are infested with these fallen beings and has been corrupted by sin and will need renewing along with the earth (Revelation 12:9, Daniel 8:10, Ephesians 6:12).

The new earth will continue to be inhabited by all the saved from down through the ages (Matthew 5:5, Revelation 21:24, Psalm 115:16).

Death will finally be abolished in the new earth, and all broken hearts will be healed. The inhabitants of the New Earth will never again experience sickness, pain, death or sorrow (Revelation 21:2-4).

But God's great redemption will not be forgotten in the new earth. The Holy Jerusalem (that God will send down from Heaven) will be a visible reminder of it (Revelation 21:10-27).

The names of the twelve tribes of Israel, the nation through whom our redeemer came, will be written upon the twelve gates of this holy city. Each of these magnificent gates will be made of one great pearl (Ezekiel 48:31-35, Revelation 21:21).

The wall of that city will have 12 foundations, each foundation made of a different precious stone, in which the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb will be inscribed. The brightness of the Holy Jerusalem will light the whole earth (Revelation 21:14,23-24, Isaiah 60:19-20).

Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be permitted to enter the city, and there the saints will walk on streets made of pure gold (Revelation 21:21,27).

Yearly Reminders

New moons and sabbaths will be observed by the people of the new earth just as they were during the millennium (Isaiah 66:22-23).

As the Feasts of the Lord, in the former times, revealed Christ and God’s plan to redeem our souls, bodies and the earth, the new moons and sabbaths on the new earth, will serve as reminders of God's great love and mercy (Exodus 12:14, Leviticus 23:21, Isaiah 66:22-23).

There will be one other act of remembrance performed by the people of the new earth, a reminder, not of God’s mercy, but of his justice. Pilgrimages will be made to the one place on earth that will not be made new.

The Lake of Fire, formed when hell enlarged itself by moving up and breaking through to the surface of the earth (on the day Christ returned), will remain. And the land area surrounding it will remain a desolate wasteland—forever. This will be a grim reminder to all that God is a God of justice as well as a God of mercy (Isaiah 14:9, 34:9-10).

Indeed, it is impossible to display love and mercy without the justice that must accompany it (Isaiah 66:24, Ezekiel 47:11).

The people of the new earth will make pilgrimages to this desolate area and will look upon the carcasses of the men and women who transgressed against God and were cast into the Lake of Fire (Isaiah 66:24, Revelation 14:9-11, 20:10, Mark 9:43-48).

The scriptures do not contradict themselves when we are told, on the one hand, that the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and on the other hand they are called carcasses. The word carcass accurately describes these suffering transgressors, because the Bible consistently refers to people who are separated from God through sin as dead (Matthew 8:22, Ephesians 2:1, 5, Colossians 2:13, 1 John 3:14, Revelation 3:1).

Those who will be consigned to the lake of fire, those who will die twice, will not be preserved whole, because their spirits will be taken from them (for the second time) at the second death, and James tells us the body without the spirit is dead. Their souls, which cannot die, and their dead bodies, which will never be consumed, will remain united in the lake of fire—forever—but with no way to access the presence or power of God. That will be their destruction (1 Thessalonians 5:23, James 2:26, Luke 16:23-24).

The soul is that hidden man that Peter spoke of, and of which he said, “Is not corruptible.” That means it cannot decay or cease to exist (1 Peter 3:4).

Those whose names are not written in the Lambs Book of Life will be cut off, forever, from the presence and power of the God who is the source of all life (2 Thessalonians 1:9, Ephesians 2:1).

These carcasses will be in a constant state of decay, and will burn forever, but will never be consumed (Isaiah 66:24, Mark 9:43-48).

The people of the new earth will be able to physically look upon the carcasses of transgressors. And they will do so with abhorrence. The men and women who transgressed during the time of God's mercy and grace, who rejected the salvation so freely offered, who rebelled after having lived for 1000 years under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ himself, are past redemption and past pity. They are now looked upon, rightly, with nothing but contempt (Isaiah 66:24).

There will be no brokenhearted wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, friends or brothers sobbing over their fate. Jesus will have thoroughly wiped those tears away when he made all things new (Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:4).

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, or if you are unsure of your salvation—please make certain of it now—repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you and save you through faith in his risen son today—right now. There will be no second chances when this life is over. This is it (Luke 12:16-21, Romans 10:9-10,13).

The scriptures say, “Take heed to the things we have heard, lest at any time we should drift away from them. For if a word spoken by angels was certain and every transgression received a fair repayment: How shall we escape—If we neglect so great a salvation?”