What Jesus really meant by "A New Heaven and Earth" Part 2

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Description: Bryan continues his series on the last days of the Old Covenant through the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 at sermon number 23. He opens with a clarification from the previous message on Isaiah 51:13, noting that heaven and earth there refers to both the physical creation of Israel and its covenantal or spiritual creation as God’s people. He then examines Isaiah 65, which contrasts two covenant peoples: covenant-breaking Israel under judgment and the chosen remnant whom God calls His slaves and brings forth from Jacob and Judah.
In Isaiah 65:13 and following, the remnant eats and drinks while others hunger and thirst; they rejoice with merry hearts while others cry out in pain and wail with broken spirits. These chosen ones receive a new name and are called Christians under the New Covenant. Bryan connects this flow directly to Isaiah 65:17, where God declares, “For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth.” This new heavens and earth is the new covenant people and the new Jerusalem, created for rejoicing, with no more voice of weeping or crying because the curses and sorrows of the old covenant are gone and God’s people now have peace with Him.
He shows that God creates a new Jerusalem, which the New Testament identifies as the Church, the bride of Christ. Turning to Isaiah 66, Bryan explains that Yahweh’s throne is heaven and His footstool is earth; He no longer rests in a physical temple in Israel but with His people in Christ everywhere in spirit and truth. The true people of God are those who are humble, contrite of spirit, and tremble at His word—regardless of blood or ethnicity. Gentiles are included in this new covenant, and some are taken as priests and Levites, revealing its spiritual nature.
Bryan emphasizes core hermeneutical principles: everything in the Bible has a literal meaning first; spiritual meanings must be defined by the Bible itself; context is king; and the New Testament is the interpreter of the Old Testament. While passages such as Acts 14:15 and 17:24 use heaven and earth literally for physical creation in evangelism to Gentiles, other passages use the term covenantally. Psalm 102 (quoted in Hebrews 1) and multiple passages in Hebrews describe the Old Covenant wearing out like a garment, being rolled up, becoming obsolete, and ready to disappear. In 2 Peter 3, drawing directly from Isaiah 65–66, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, giving way to new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Revelation 20–21 shows the first heaven and earth fleeing away with no place found for them, replaced by the New Jerusalem—the Church—coming down as a bride, with God tabernacling among His people and no longer any sea separating Jew and Gentile.
Bryan concludes that when Jesus said heaven and earth would pass away in Matthew 24, He referred to the Old Covenant creation of His people giving way to the new covenant creation—the Church—in which believers today are a new creation in Christ and God dwells among them.

Uploaded By: schuttemeier

Uploaded On: October 24, 2026, 11:25 PM