Understanding the Fulfilled View What Heaven and Earth Meant in Scripture Part 7 of 10

By Dan Maines

Understanding the Fulfilled View
What Heaven and Earth Meant in Scripture
Part 7 of 10, all posted same day, links at bottom

Introduction
When people hear the phrase heaven and earth, they usually think of the sky above and the physical planet beneath our feet. But scripture interprets scripture, and the Bible often uses heaven and earth as covenant language for God's order with Israel, His covenant world, His people, His temple, and their relationship to Him. When Jesus spoke of heaven and earth passing away, He was not predicting the annihilation of the physical universe, He was declaring the end of the Old Covenant world and the establishment of the New Covenant creation in Himself.

Heaven and Earth Called as Witnesses Against Israel

Deuteronomy 4:26
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.

† Moses called heaven and earth to witness against Israel, not the physical sky and dirt as conscious observers, but the whole covenant order under which Israel lived.
† Heaven and earth here is courtroom language for the covenant framework, God above, Israel in the land below, bound together under the Law.
† From the beginning, heaven and earth was tied to Israel's covenant life in the land, not to the end of the physical universe.

The Prophets Addressed Heaven and Earth When Rebuking Israel

Isaiah 1:2
Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth, for the Lord speaks, Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me.

† God calls on heavens and earth but immediately speaks about sons He raised who rebelled, that is Israel.
† Heaven and earth is the covenant stage, Israel is the covenant son who has broken the relationship.
† Scripture interprets scripture. Heaven and earth is the covenant context where Israel's rebellion and judgment unfold.

Heaven and Earth Planted and Founded When God Formed Israel

Isaiah 51:15-16
For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is His name. I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, You are My people.

† God explains what He means by establishing heaven and earth, He defines it by saying to Zion, You are My people.
† Heaven and earth is established when God forms His covenant people, puts His word in their mouth, and claims them as His own.
† This shows heaven and earth in prophetic language is the covenant order centered in Zion.

Prophetic Decreation Language Used for the Land of Judah

Jeremiah 4:23-28
I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void, and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were pulled down before the Lord, before His fierce anger. For thus says the Lord, The whole land shall be a desolation, yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

† Jeremiah uses Genesis creation language to describe judgment on Judah, not a literal collapse of the universe.
† The heavens and earth of Judah are decreated by covenant judgment.
† This proves the phrase is symbolic of Israel's covenant world.

Old Testament Heaven and Earth Language Behind New Testament Prophecy

Joel 2:30-31
I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon will not give its light before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

† Joel's heaven and earth signs are covenant judgment symbols.
† Peter applies them to the first century.
† Scripture interprets scripture. These signs belong to the covenant transition of that generation.

Heaven and Earth Until All Is Fulfilled

Matthew 5:17-18
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

† If heaven and earth means the physical universe, then the Mosaic Law is still fully binding.
† The passing of heaven and earth is the passing of the Old Covenant order.
† When all was accomplished, that heaven and earth passed.

Heaven and Earth Passing Connected to Jerusalem's Fall

Matthew 24:29
But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

† Jesus uses prophetic decreation language to describe the destruction of Jerusalem.
† Heaven and earth passing refers to the end of the Old Covenant system.
† His words, the New Covenant, remain.

Present Heavens and Earth Reserved for Fire

2 Peter 3:7
But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

2 Peter 3:13
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

† Peter describes the covenant world that was about to be destroyed in fire.
† The elements are the rudiments of the Old Covenant.
† The new heavens and new earth is the New Covenant.

New Creation Language Applied to the Covenant

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.

† New creation is covenantal and relational, not geological.
† The old things are the Old Covenant realities.
† Heaven and earth passed and the new creation stands.

Heaven and Earth Perish, But God Remains

Psalm 102:25-28
Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure, and all of them will wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.

† Hebrews applies this to the covenant world, not the physical planet.
† The perishing is covenantal transformation.
† God remains when the old heaven and earth is replaced.

New Heavens and New Earth Promised in Isaiah

Isaiah 65:17
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.

† This is fulfilled in the context of Jerusalem's judgment.
† New heavens and earth is a new covenant people.
† The former things are the Old Covenant order.

New Heavens and New Earth Linked to Israel's Covenant Status

Isaiah 66:22
For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me, declares the Lord, so your offspring and your name will endure.

† New heavens and earth is tied to Israel's renewed covenant identity.
† This is not planetary replacement.
† It is covenant restoration.

Heaven and Earth Respond in Covenant Blessing

Hosea 2:21-22
It will come about in that day that I will respond, declares the Lord. I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth, and the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.

† Heaven and earth are relational covenant symbols.
† They speak of God's blessing or judgment on Israel.
† This matches all prophetic usage.

The Removal of the Old Covenant World

Hebrews 12:26-27
And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. This expression, Yet once more, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

† Heaven and earth here are the things that could be shaken, the Old Covenant system.
† The New Covenant is the unshakable kingdom.
† This explains Matthew 24 perfectly.

The First Heaven and Earth Passed Away

Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

† This is immediately connected to the fall of old Jerusalem in Revelation 21:9-10.
† First heaven and earth is the Old Covenant order.
† The new heaven and earth is the New Covenant.

All Things Made New

Revelation 21:5
And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true.

† The newness is covenantal.
† The transformation began in Christ and was completed in the judgment of Jerusalem.
† This fulfills Isaiah and the apostles.

How It Applies To Us Today
† Heaven and earth in prophecy is about God's covenant world with Israel, its establishment, judgment, and passing, not the end of the physical universe.
† When Jesus said heaven and earth would pass away, He was announcing the end of the Old Covenant order and the full arrival of the New Covenant creation. That happened in the first century when Jerusalem fell.
† Believers today live in the new heavens and new earth of the New Covenant, where Christ reigns, righteousness dwells, and there is no going back to the shadow world of temple, sacrifice, and Law written on stone.

Source Index
† Deuteronomy 4:26, Deuteronomy 30:19, Isaiah 1:2, Isaiah 51:15-16, Jeremiah 4:23-28, Joel 2:30-31, Matthew 5:17-18, Matthew 24:29, Matthew 24:35, 2 Peter 3:7, 2 Peter 3:10, 2 Peter 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 102:25-28, Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, Hosea 2:21-22, Hebrews 12:26-27, Revelation 21:1, Revelation 21:5

Series - Understanding the Fulfilled View

01 The Time Statements Mean What They Say Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894198244801641/

02 Audience Relevance, Their Generation Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894198808134918/

03 The End of the Age Was Not the End of the World Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894199314801534/

04 The Last Days Were Their Last Days, Not Ours Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894199971468135/

05 The Coming of the Son of Man Was a Judgment Coming Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894200534801412/

06 The Judgment of Babylon Was the Judgment of Jerusalem Website