¶ The Heaven and the Earth
The Heaven and the Earth is the Bible’s first name for the whole created order.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The phrase runs from the first verse of Scripture to the promise of a new heaven and a new earth.
Heaven and earth are not eternal.
They are made, ruled, shaken, and one day made new by the Word who was in the beginning with God.
Genesis opens with God as Creator of all that is not God.
Heaven and earth together mean
- the skies and the land,
- the unseen realm and
- the visible world,
- the complete work of His hands.
The flood account speaks of the windows of the heavens and the fountains of the deep. The covenant with Noah is made between God and the earth He will not again destroy by water.
The law is given while heaven and earth are called as witnesses.
The prophets announce that the Lord stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and that He will one day create new heavens and a new earth.
Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not pass away. He claimed all authority in heaven and on earth.
Peter says the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, and that according to God’s promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
The last pages of Scripture show that promise kept: the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and God dwells with His people.
- “The heaven and the earth” is the Bible’s way of naming the entire creation.
- God alone is uncreated; heaven and earth had a beginning.
- The same Lord who made them upholds them and will make them new.
- Heaven and earth serve as witnesses to the covenant and will pass away before the word of Jesus does.
- All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to the risen Christ.
- The Christian hope is not escape from creation but the renewal of heaven and earth.
- The first creation and the new creation are the work of the same Word.
¶ Key Aspects of the Heaven and the Earth
- Created in the Beginning – God spoke, and the whole order came to be.
- Filled and Ordered – Light, land, seas, plants, lights, creatures, and man take their places.
- Sustained – The Son upholds the universe by the word of His power.
- Witnesses – Heaven and earth are called to hear the covenant and the warning.
- Passing Away – The present order is not final; it will be shaken and changed.
- All Authority – The risen Jesus rules both realms now.
- Made New – A new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells.
- Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
- Genesis 2:1, 4 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them… These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created…”
- Genesis 9:11-13 – “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth… I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
- Exodus 20:11 – “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.”
- Deuteronomy 4:26 – “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land…”
- Deuteronomy 30:19 – “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life…”
- Psalm 19:1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
- Psalm 102:25-27 – “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment… but you are the same, and your years have no end.”
- Isaiah 40:26, 28 – “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?… The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.”
- Isaiah 65:17 – “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”
- Isaiah 66:1-2, 22 – “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool… All these things my hand has made… For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain.”
- Jeremiah 10:12 – “It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.”
- Matthew 5:18 – “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
- Matthew 6:10 – “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
- Matthew 24:35 – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
- Matthew 28:18 – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
- John 1:1-3 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
- Colossians 1:16-17 – “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
- Hebrews 1:10-12 – The Son is addressed with the words of Psalm 102: He laid the foundation of the earth; they will perish, but He remains.
- Hebrews 12:26-27 – “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens… in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.”
- 2 Peter 3:7, 13 – “But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire… But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
- Revelation 21:1-3 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more… Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.”
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
That is the first fact. The last fact is like it: He will create a new heaven and a new earth.
Do not worship the work of His hands. Do not treat the world as if it were uncreated or as if it will last forever in its present form.
Heaven and earth will pass away. His words will not.
All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus.
Pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Wait for the world in which righteousness dwells. The Maker of the first creation will finish the new one, and God will dwell with man.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.