What is the Difference Between Heaven and the New Heaven?

Out of the brokenness of our current system, a new heaven and a new earth will be born. Over and over again, Scripture reminds us that our current world is not the only world—that when our life on earth comes to an end, our fullest life will begin with God in heaven. That guarantee is foundational for the Christian faith.

At the same time, the Bible is also salted with promises of a new heaven. Not only that, but a new earth. For example, take a look at these intriguing words from Psalm 102:

Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will have no end. (verses 25–27)

The psalmist didn’t understand all the details of God’s plan for eternity, but he certainly foresaw a future time when our current reality would “grow old like a garment.” Haven’t we felt that as a people? As a civilization? So much of our world these days seems worn out and threadbare. Now, I don’t think the same is true of the third heaven in its current form—God’s dwelling place isn’t wearing thin. Yet the psalmist perceived a day when God would transform even the glories of heaven into something new and more glorious in almost the same way a man swaps out one coat for another.

In the New Testament, Peter expanded on and amplified this promise:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10–13)

What a description! What a promise! These verses almost feel like the opening scenes of a Hollywood blockbuster in which an alien race launches an attack against earth—something so powerful that even “elements will melt with fervent heat.”

Timeline of Events

The Bible gives us the timeline for when these events will take place. First will come the Rapture, in which Jesus will rescue His Church. Then the Tribulation, where God will pour out His judgment and wrath against all evil. At the end of those seven years, Christ will physically return to earth as our conquering King, and all the saints will join Him. He will set up a preview of heaven on earth that will last for a thousand years—the Millennium. That era will come to an end with a new rebellion, or a new repetition of the fall from Genesis 3, followed by the Great White Throne Judgment.

That is the moment when “the heavens will pass away with a great noise.” What we know and perceive as the universe will be disbanded and dissolved. Time itself will come to an end. The old version of creation will be consumed, and God will establish something new in its place: a new heaven and a new earth to be enjoyed for eternity.

God has made that promise to you.

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For more on this topic, see chapter 7 from Dr. Jeremiah’s book, The Promise of Heaven: 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home