New Heavens and Earth

Introduction

The Lords’ Witnesses (LWs) do not have a definitive view of the nature of the Kingdom of God on Earth. This paper represents my personal views on this, albeit based on my own interpretation of the relevant scriptures. It is based on my original paper on the The Kingdom of God but goes into rather more detail in the 'new for old' context. I have sectioned it off in terms of which areas of the scriptures the relevant verses appear; you will see that the messages about the creation and nature of the Kingdom are given across the whole breadth of the Bible.

My belief has always been that we will be given a completely new planet Earth and new bodies whereby we can make a start with a clean slate such as Adam was given in the Garden of Eden before his fall. So, let us see where a more detailed view of scripture takes us on this aspect of the Kingdom. Amen.

Revelation

Well, I might as well start at the end with the slam dunk that frankly says it all as far as I am concerned. John’s Revelation says in very clear language that we will gain a new Heaven and a new Earth that will replace the first Heaven and the first Earth:

1 And I saw a new Heaven and a new earth: for the first Heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21 KJV)

The only cryptic comment in this verse applies to the phrase ‘and there was no more sea’. 'Sea' is commonly used in the scriptures to symbolise the world of man. So, in the passing away of the first Earth, we also have the passing away of all Adamic mankind (Introduction 10 - Why do we die?) through God's apocalyptic destruction. Given that Heaven is as polluted with demons as the Earth is with wicked mankind, I can see no reason why the angelic home will not also be given the same treatment. The LW understanding is that the 1NC Saints (Introduction 31 - The First New Covenant (1NC)) will rule over the new Heaven with an overwatch on the 2NC Kings (Introduction 35 - The Second New Covenant (2NC)) who will rule over the new Earth.

Since we are looking at a new Heaven and a new Earth, it is arguable that the whole universe that we know will be utterly removed from our physical reality while we are placed in an entirely new universe representing the Kingdom. Check out my A Brief History of Darkness paper for my 'outside the box' views of universal possibilities.

I have had numerous discussions with the LW Church President, Gordon, on the following verse. He uses it to justify his view that we will still have reasons to shed tears in the Kingdom that God will wipe away. I have a very different view of what this verse means; any tears we shed will be related to our memories of the current system of things:

17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7 KJV)

I believe that there will be no tears shed, due to life in the Kingdom of God, since there will be none of the things present that caused tears in the former system. Revelation 21 goes so far as to say that there will be no crying in the Kingdom:

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21 KJV)

Just in case of doubt, we are told that God will make all things new in the Kingdom. This does not sound like a patchwork quilt to fix the old system to me. The Greek word ‘καινα’ means ‘new’ not ‘renewed’. I believe this means we will be given new perfect bodies and a new perfect home to live in:

5 And the [One] sitting on the throne said, Behold! I make all things new. And He says to me, Write, because these Words are faithful and true. (Revelation 21 GLT)

5και ειπεν ο καθημενος επι τω θρονω ιδου καινα ποιω παντα και λεγει γραψον οτι ουτοι οι λογοι πιστοι και αληθινοι εισιν (Revelation 21 TIS)

In the preceding Chapter of Revelation, the old Earth and the old Heaven fled from the face of God. God clearly wants no part of something so polluted by evil mankind and the demons in His Kingdom to come:

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (Revelation 20 KJV)

Whilst not such a definitive statement of a new Earth as the verses above, John mentions a tree of life. Might this be the tree of life mentioned in the Genesis account of the garden of Eden? I believe that it is. If so, this is defining a new garden of Eden for saved and immortal non-Adamic (Introduction 10 - Why do we die?) mankind; a newly created home to match the one that God originally made for Adam before his fall from grace:

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb:
2 in the midst of its broad place, and of the river on this side and on that, {is} a tree of life, yielding twelve fruits, in each several month rendering its fruits, and the leaves of the tree {are} for the service of the nations; (Revelation 22 YLT)

14 Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22 KJV)

9 And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2 ASV)

22 And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever --
23 therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3 ASV)

Adam was driven out from Eden with no access to the tree of life. Mortal Adamic mankind has subsequently been on a six-thousand-year journey, wandering the desert of this blighted planet, in our search for the promised land of Canaan, aka. the Kingdom of God. Amen.

The Prophets

We do not just have John’s word for this. Isaiah prophesied the same message some eight centuries earlier. In addition to a new Earth, we also have a new Jerusalem (check out my earlier Third Temple paper) and confirmation there will be no more tears in the new creation:

17 For here I am creating new Heavens and a new Earth; and the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart.
18 But exult, you people, and be joyful forever in what I am creating. For here I am creating Jerusalem a cause for joyfulness and her people a cause for exultation.
19 And I will be joyful in Jerusalem and exult in my people; and no more will there be heard in her the sound of weeping or the sound of a plaintive cry. (Isaiah 65 NWT))

22 For as the new Heavens and the new Earth which I make stand before Me, declares Jehovah, so your seed and your name shall stand. (Isaiah 66 GLT)

Haggai also references the coming replacement of the old with the new. A fuller explanation of these verses is covered in the next section since they are referenced from the Book of Hebrews:

6 For so says Jehovah of Hosts: Yet once, it [is] a little while, and I will shake the Heavens and the Earth and the sea and the dry land.
7 And I will shake all the nations; and the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house [with] glory, says Jehovah of Hosts.
8 The silver [is] Mine, and the gold [is] Mine, says Jehovah of Hosts.
9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, says Jehovah of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says Jehovah of Hosts. (Haggai 2 GLT)

The Apostles

Peter tells us about the day of the Lord (check out my Last Day paper) in similar terms as we saw in the Isaiah scriptures and in the Book of Revelation. Once again, we are looking at the confirmation of the destruction of the first Heavens and the first Earth with all that is in them. Why would God not look to provide a completely clean slate for His chosen ones to rule over:

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in [the] night, in which the Heavens will pass away with rushing sound, and having burned [the] elements will be dissolved, and Earth and the works in it will be burned up.
11 Then all these being [about] to be dissolved, [of] what sort ought you to be in holy behavior and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the Day of God, through which [the] Heavens having been set afire will be dissolved; and burning, [the] elements will melt?
13 But according to His promise, we look for "new Heavens and a new Earth," in which righteousness dwells. [Isa. 65:17] (2 Peter 3 GLT)

While Matthew does not mention a new Earth and Heaven, he certainly makes it clear that the old ‘shall pass away’:

35 Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24 KJV)

Paul reminds the Hebrew congregation that God once already effectively destroyed the Earth and all life upon it by the flood, whilst saving those in Noah’s ark. The warning for this next apocalypse from God will be the ‘shaking’ of both Earth and the Heavens. Paul makes it crystal clear that those things not shaken will remain thereby telling us that the Earth and the Heavens will not remain. What will remain will be the Kingdom of God, consisting of the new Earth and the new Heavens, complete with their saved populations:

26 whose voice shook the Earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once" "I will shake not only the Earth, but also the Heavens." [Hag. 2:6]
27 Now the [words] "Yet once" make clear the removal of the things being shaken, as having been made, so that the things not being shaken may remain.
28 For this reason, receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us have grace, by which we may serve God pleasingly, with reverence and awe;
29 for also, "Our God [is] a consuming fire." [Deut. 4:24] (Hebrews 12 GLT)

As I mentioned in the previous section, we can see that verse 26 above contains a quote from the OT Prophet Haggai. Where Haggai is referring to the gold and silver that belongs to God, this is referring to the 1NC Saints and 2NC Kings respectively, together with all the host of their administrations in the Kingdom of God to come. The ‘latter house’ is God’s spiritual temple in His Kingdom which will replace the already destroyed physical temple as covered in my The Third Temple paper):

6 For so says Jehovah of Hosts: Yet once, it [is] a little while, and I will shake the Heavens and the Earth and the sea and the dry land.
7 And I will shake all the nations; and the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house [with] glory, says Jehovah of Hosts.
8 The silver [is] Mine, and the gold [is] Mine, says Jehovah of Hosts.
9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, says Jehovah of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says Jehovah of Hosts. (Haggai 2 GLT)

Also, Hebrews 12:29 above contains a reference to a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy in which God describes Himself as ‘a consuming fire’. I think this phrase makes it clear that nothing will be left of the old Earth and Heavens:

24 For Jehovah your God [is] a consuming fire; He [is] a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4 GLT)

According to Paul, saved mankind will be a new creation. The LWs believe that we will be given new non-Adamic bodies in the Kingdom. Our old Adamic bodies will not be repaired. So, if we are to become new creations why would the new Earth and new Heavens not also be brand new creations? We are told that ‘all things will become new’:

17 So that if anyone [is] in Christ, [that one] is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new! (2 Corinthians 5 GLT)

A point effectively repeated in John’s first epistle:

2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. (1 John 3 ASV)

Gifts of the Spirit

It is a Lords’ Witnesses understanding that we will be given the gifts of the spirit in the end-times of the current system to enable us to bring as many people as possible to Christ’s salvation for mankind (1Corinthians 12:28-31: Not all have the gifts of the spirit do they?). While this LW understanding prophesies a seven-year period during which the 1NC Saints and 2NC Kings have the gifts of the spirit, the question in my mind is whether we retain those gifts beyond the salvation period into the Kingdom. I should point out that Gordon believes that we will not need the gifts of the spirit in the Kingdom. He may well be correct, however, let us have a look at the scriptures that define what those gifts are so that I can make my own logical assessment of that position:

28 And God placed some in the church: firstly, apostles; secondly, prophets; thirdly, teachers; then works of power; then gifts of healing, helps, governings, kinds of languages.
29 [Are] all apostles? All prophets? All teachers? All workers of power?
30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak languages? Do all interpret? (1 Corinthians 12 GLT)

So, we have apostles and prophets to start us off. Certainly, they will be needed in the end-times to carry the message of God’s Kingdom to the mass of mankind. My view would be that they would need to retain those gifts in the Kingdom, although not necessarily throughout the whole millennium. I could imagine that those gifts would be required in the final (seven?) years of the Kingdom to prepare the way for the system that will follow the Kingdom.

I believe that teachers will be required during much of the millennium. Whilst the key teachings will need to be made in the latter years of the current system, prior to the start of the Kingdom on Earth, I am sure there will be more lessons to be learned well into the Kingdom years also. I am certain that further seals will need unlocking after the Kingdom start. Those seals will require interpreting (the seventh gift) as well as teaching once interpreted:

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5 KJV)

Next up, we have the workers of power otherwise known as miracle workers. I am not sure if we will need those in the Kingdom. The Kingdom will be a miraculous environment, compared to what we have known on the old Earth. So, with that and the other gifts that will be available, I suspect that explicit miraculous works will not be required.

Now a key gift here will be that of healing. This is the gift that set me off to write this section, as well as my previous The Kingdom of God paper, since it represents an area of disagreement between myself and Gordon on the nature of life in the Kingdom. Gordon believes we will not have the gifts of healing in the Kingdom, since he believes that we will still need to demonstrate the ability to provide more traditional medical care for our brothers in the Kingdom. For my part, I am not sure whether we will need this gift once we are in the Kingdom but I also do not believe we will need the more traditional medical care either.

First off, we will all have non-Adamic bodies which will be far more capable of maintaining their own good health than our current vulnerable Adamic bodies. I expect that any physical damage to our bodies, e.g. broken bones and serious cuts, could be fixed by our non-Adamic bodies’ self-help mechanisms, although these may be examples of the items that may require a healing gift. Either way, I do not believe we will be at all reliant on the medical capabilities that we have developed in the current system. Also, I assume we will no longer have bad bacteria or viruses in the Kingdom since Satan will not be involved in the Kingdom creation. Illnesses, created by those means, will no longer exist plus we will have perfect immune systems if required (check out my earlier Science Proves the Existence of God paper).

I have previously carried out a medical assessment, to the best of my untrained ability, of the ills that Jesus and the disciples were able to cure in my earlier Jesus Christ - Superdoc paper. These ills were many and varied but ultimately the cures came down to the provision of an ageing non-Adamic body to replace the damaged or vulnerable Adamic body. Consequently, I will stick to my position that our non-Adamic bodies, in the Kingdom, will protect or cure us from any of the ills to which we are familiar today.

Next in the list is helpful services. This is clearly a gift required in the current system of things as provided by the example of the good Samaritan. Not all are able to help their fellow man to this extent. How far this will be a special gift required in the Kingdom, I am not so certain. I think the demeanour and nature of the Kingdom and its people will ensure that everyone will have a mind to help their neighbour as the need arises. Also the need for help will likely be substantially reduced from what we experience today methinks.

Penultimately, we have ‘governings’ or the ability to govern the population of the Kingdom on Earth. I think this gift must be given to and retained by the 2NC Kings and their administrations in the Kingdom. Compared to today’s forms of government, the Kingdom rulership will be given to those most able to govern as chosen by our Lord. None of these would have been looking for a leadership role. This will mark the major difference to the nature of rulers in the current system. These latter ones have wanted to rule their nations or corporations for their own self-aggrandisement of power and/or money, regardless of their true leadership qualities in looking after their people and their planet (check out my earlier paper on Rulers of this World).

And finally, we have the gift of speaking in tongues. This, I think, will be a gift that will only be required during the last days of the current system of things. This will be needed while the 1NC Saints and 2NC Kings converse with the inhabitants of the various nations in their national languages to convince and prepare them to choose between salvation or damnation. I believe that once we are in the Kingdom there will be a common language that all will be able to converse in as was the case prior to God’s curse on mankind at the Tower of Babel (check out my Nations paper). Amen.

Potential Counter Arguments

To try to keep a balanced view of this debate, I thought it best to record any verses that might seem to support a different view of the Kingdom. One of these is to be found in John’s Gospel. It might seem, from this verse, that the world was to be saved through Jesus. However, what does ‘the world’ mean here? Jesus is not sent to judge ‘the world’ so this cannot mean the inanimate planet Earth. It refers to mankind in ‘the world’ who can be saved into the Kingdom on the new Earth not the saving of the old Earth:

17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. (John 3 ASV)

In Paul’s letter to the congregation at Philippi, he talks of our bodies being ‘transformed’. This could be taken to mean that our existing bodies will be modified in some way. This could lend some credence to the argument that we will not be created completely anew.

Well, firstly the resurrected dead will have to be created anew, so I do not think it would make much sense, or seem entirely fair, if those still alive in the latter days on the old Earth would not also receive the same treatment. Secondly, I believe the word ‘transform’, for those who will be raptured (see my earlier Rapture paper), will be given brand new non-Adamic bodies based on their previous DNA but without any genetic imperfections:

21 who shall transform the body of our humiliation to its becoming conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working of his power, even to subject to himself the all things. (Philippians 3 YLT)

21 ος μετασχηματισει το σωμα της ταπεινωσεως ημων συνμορφον τω σωματι της δοξης αυτου κατα την ενεργειαν του δυνασθαι αυτον και υποταξαι αυτω τα παντα. (Philippians 3 TIS)

Paul’s first letter to the congregation at Corinth contains a similar message for the living and the dead. Here the word ‘transformed’ (Greek - μετασχηματισει) becomes ‘changed’ (Greek - αλλαγησομεθα) but I believe this retains the same context as in his letter to the Philippian congregation:

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15 ASV)

51 ιδου μυστηριον υμιν λεγω παντες ου κοιμηθησομεθα παντες δε αλλαγησομεθα
52 εν ατομω εν ριπη οφθαλμου εν τη εσχατη σαλπιγγι σαλπισει γαρ και οι νεκροι εγερθησονται αφθαρτοι και ημεις αλλαγησομεθα (1 Corinthians 15 TIS)

And Another Thing!

Well, this is a section that I was not expecting to be writing! Just prior to completing the first draft of this paper I came across a rather worrying report from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). I look at these reports on a regular basis to see what it can tell us about God’s creation as its deep probes go back in time to the early universe. This particular report is on the trajectory of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS: https://blog.sciandnature.com/2025/09/james-webb-telescope-issues-terrifying.html.

This object is on a trajectory for the solar system, although it currently would miss the Earth by some distance. However, astronomers are generally concerned that its trajectory is unpredictable and could change. This could potentially pass it closer to Earth or even on an impact course. So, I mused, could this be the way God has decided to end the old Earth?

Consequently, I decided to give this outlandish Earth-destroying method from God a couple of sanity checks. First off, what is the expected timeframe for 3I/ATLAS’s entry into the solar system? Answer, and I quote: ‘3I/ATLAS will come very close to Earth in the 2030s’. Wow, the current Lords’ Witnesses’ chronology has the end of the physical world on 12/13th July 2033 so that fits: https://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding101.html.

The next test was what does the Bible tell us of the apocalypse? Well, there are already plenty of quoted scriptures in the body of this paper that tell us of the Earth’s destruction. A particularly telling one is to be found in the second letter of Peter:

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in [the] night, in which the Heavens will pass away with rushing sound, and having burned [the] elements will be dissolved, and Earth and the works in it will be burned up.
11 Then all these being [about] to be dissolved, [of] what sort ought you to be in holy behavior and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the Day of God, through which [the] Heavens having been set afire will be dissolved; and burning, [the] elements will melt?
13 But according to His promise, we look for "new Heavens and a new Earth," in which righteousness dwells. [Isa. 65:17] (2 Peter 3 GLT)

So, let us examine some of the detail contained therein. One point that might be argued against this form of Earth’s destruction is that ‘the day of the Lord will come as a thief in [the] night’. Well, the imminent destruction of the Earth, due to a large ‘asteroid’ impact, does not seem like a thief in the night. Quite the very opposite in fact! However, suppose that object was determined to be passing by the Earth by a far enough distance not to cause any disruption and then at the last minute changed its unpredictable direction of travel for a full impact. From what I have gleaned from the JWST blog that does not sound completely unlikely.

If we look at the above scripture the terms ‘burned’ and ‘dissolved’ certainly sound like the probable effects of a large asteroid impact on the Earth. An asteroid, however, would not be the cause of the destruction of the Heavens. I can only think that the Word of God would be enough for that.

There are also another couple of apocalyptical scriptures from the Gospels that could, arguably, be depicting such an astronomical event:

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from Heaven, and the powers of the Heavens shall be shaken: (Matthew 24 KJV)

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the Earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21 KJV)

Now interestingly coincidental or, more likely due to the manoeuvring of the Holy Spirit, the topic of the star called Wormwood came up centre stage in one of our recent LW internet meetings without any provocation from yours truly. This occurred later in the same day in which this whole notion occurred to me. So let us have a look at a scripture from the Book of Revelation that may have some implications regarding our interstellar object:

10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from Heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of Heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the Earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! (Revelation 8 KJV)

Now Revelation is written as a symbolic book (check out the current LW decoding of Revelation 8: https://www.truebiblecode.com/understanding151.html#8), however this does not mean to say that it has no literal meaning. So, in the literal sense of verse 10, we have a great star falling from Heaven like a burning lamp. Well, a large asteroid falling into the Earth’s atmosphere would certainly loom large to those that could see it and it would certainly be burning up from the friction created by the air resistance.

The poisoning of the waters of verse 11 is interesting. Given that 3I/ATLAS is of an interstellar origin, it will probably consist of a chemistry unknown to this solar system. Consequently, it would seem not unlikely that its debris would prove poisonous to Earth’s inhabitants.

Verse 12 goes on to describe the darkening of the third part of the celestial bodies. Again, this would be a probable result of the debris thrown up into the atmosphere from an asteroid impact event. I am unsure as to the meaning of the third part except that this might indicate that the debris cloud would ‘only’ cover one third of the Earth’s surface.

Finally, we have verse 13 which indicates that the asteroid impact is not the final act of God’s apocalypse. So, if an asteroid impact were to be part of God’s plan to destroy the old Earth, then it would also require the Word of God to finish the job as the later Chapters of the Book of Revelation go on to tell us.

Well, I would certainly acknowledge that this is a highly speculative piece of research on my part. I will let you, the reader, determine whether you think this holds up as a possibility. Amen.

Synopsis

The LW do not have a definitive view of the Earth under the Kingdom of God. My believe is of a completely newly created Earth.
I reference numerous scriptures that demonstrate, to my mind, that we will receive a completely new Earth, with the old Earth having been destroyed.
Those scriptures cover the words of John’s Revelation, the Prophets and the Apostles.
A key point of a long-running difference between Gordon and myself is Gordon’s view that we will still be shedding tears in the Kingdom. My take is that they will be tears of remembrance of life on the old Earth, not of things occurring in the new Earth.
We are told that God will make ‘all things’ new.
The Genesis account of the Garden of Eden and descriptions of the Kingdom both refer to the ‘tree of life’. I, therefore, posit that the Kingdom will effectively be a newly created Eden complete with its population of non-Adamic mankind.
One aspect of Gordon’s argument is that we will still be using some traditional medical knowledge to heal people in the Kingdom. My take is that, since we will all have perfect non-Adamic bodies in the Kingdom there will be no need for such practices. If still needed for serious accidental injuries, I believe we will have the healing gift of the spirit.
One potential counter-argument is that Christ came to save the world. However, that is the world of mankind not the planet Earth.
Will God’s destruction of the old Earth commence with the impact of a currently visible interstellar visitor travelling towards our solar system? Watch this space!

Date of Publication: 26th October 2025

New Heaven and New Earth

Courtesy The New Gnostic

The New Heaven and The New Earth

Jewish Lords' Witness