A New Hope

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. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 21:1–8.

In a weary world, there is a thirst for hope, so much so that everywhere we see people, we see suffering and hurt and a desire for relief. Therefore, the intoxication of hope becomes a powerful force that guides, and the Church must rise to share this with the entire world. Hope is more than mere wishful thinking or a passive daydream; it is a catalyst that pulls the believer out of paralysis and into the active movement of God. Almost 50 years ago, people crammed into movie theatres to see Star Wars, subtitled A New Hope. In the face of an oppressive empire, the galaxy was in need of hope, even the hope that was found in a teenage boy and a connection to the universe. This messaging struck a chord with the world, making it one of the most-watched movies of all time. Therefore, we can see that the world is looking for hope. As we read through Revelation, we understand the call to become a future-oriented people, embracing the principle that, as the Church universal, we must always be reforming. This mindset ensures we are not stuck in the past, but we trust in the ongoing renewal of the Creation by the Creator. God’s future is not a galaxy far, far away, nor is it dependent on “the force” or an unreachable reality because it is already breaking into our present lives. The vision of Revelation is more than a picture of a far-off day; it instructs us about how we must live and serve today.

A renewal of hope must be interpreted through an understanding that all things will be transformed through an absolute renewal of quality described in the passage of Revelation 21. The vision from John speaks of a new heaven and a new Earth, highlighting that the newness is of quality rather than time. This is a work of restoration rather than total replacement. God does not abandon His creation but instead restores it to its intended glory. Looking at the world from this viewpoint, we must necessarily understand that there is a purpose for the believer in our current location, and that we are not just awaiting something that will replace, but we look to God to bring the world back to the point where it was originally good. Similarly, tearing down the world does not provide hope to those already facing uncertainty and instability because they have no place to turn for comfort; it provides hope to the world to understand that the passing away of the old world is not a moment of absolute destruction but a process of purification similar to a refining fire. The world is cleansed rather than discarded. For if the world were disposable, the response of the church would be nothing more than apathy, for there is no hope for the world, and thus there is no work for the Church. Instead, because the earth is being renewed, we are called to participate and to steward. We join God in the holy work of reconciling all things.

The new hope expressed in the vision is seen in the elimination of the distance between God and the creation created by sin. The Creator and the created are brought near once again as an expression that the existing powers have failed in the face of God. The scripture declares that the tabernacle of God is now with humanity, meaning that He has chosen to pitch His tent and move into our community. Within the systems of the world under sin, the presence of God was restricted by veils and temples, but in the new world, all of creation turns the temple inside out, and the Holy of Holies becomes our residence. God dealt with sin, and because of that, there is no longer a need for a temple, because God is the temple, and the absence of the sea symbolizes the end of chaos and separation. There is no longer a need for artificial order that the world attempted to replicate poorly, which ultimately resulted in further chaotic brokenness. This ultimately addresses uncertainty, brings peace to our world, and provides the core of the new hope that the Almighty’s relationship and presence ultimately reside with us. This immediate presence fulfills our deepest identity as His people, which heals us with an active presence that fundamentally changes how we perceive our relationship with the divine.

Where God is fully present, the results of sin and rebellion cannot remain. Therefore, there is no uncertainty created by chaotic structures that exploit the world to keep power and control in their hands, and because of the end of exploitation, the people can hear God’s promise to wipe away every tear, which represents a complete reversal of the brokenness initiated during the beginning of humanity’s rejection of God and sin. This results in death, sorrow, crying, and pain being removed from the very core of our community. Hope finds a way to bring light to the places where darkness had previously devastated. The Almighty promises more than future comfort, but rather a call for our present conduct. Since God promises to wipe away tears someday, it is incumbent upon the Church, Christ’s followers, to actively engage in wiping away tears today. These acts demonstrate the reality of hope and that God fulfills promises, because we are the workmanship of God, called to be His living expression in a hurting world. This faith must meet justice by confronting materialism and other systemic sins. Our labor is a participation in the future that God has already secured.

Ultimately, we find that the hope for newness within this vision wedges between the choice to identify as one who overcomes and the choice to count oneself among the fearful. In the face of looking at everything in the world, we either identify with the followers of Christ or the powers of the world. Much like in Star Wars, you could either identify with the Rebellion fighting for freedom for the galaxy, or you identify with those fearful of the Empire and the darkness of Darth Vader. Therefore, the one overcoming lives as a true disciple and inherits all things, while the fearful are those who remain silent and uncommitted in the face of truth. To be fearful is to choose institutional survival and comfort over Spirit-led boldness. To spread hope, the Church must seek faithfulness to the walk of Christ and the Lamb that ushers in a newness. Faithfulness requires us to tell the truth about our failures and to act as a provisional demonstration of the coming kingdom. The church is not a waiting room but a preview of a new hope. If hope is truly intoxicating, then the church must be the place where the world comes to taste the beauty of a reality where God makes all things new.