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For the introduction and Part One of this series, go to https://coryhcollins.blogspot.com/2026/06/heaven-on-earth-what-some-are-saying.html.
Here are more reasons given by those who support the heaven-on-earth belief.
5. Fifth, some take Peter’s statement in Acts 3:21 as a promise of a new, physical earth. There he spoke of Jesus, “… whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” The problem here is that the “holy prophets long ago” never spoke of God creating a new, physical planet earth that would last forever. They did speak, however, of the radical, gracious restoration of man’s relationship with God that Jesus Christ would create at his first coming.
6. Sixth, some will go back to the Garden of Eden. Since God originally placed man and woman on a physical earth, it logically follows for them that he would do that again in eternity. Perhaps they find support by taking literally the mention of the “tree of life” in Revelation (2:7; 22:2, 14, 19).
However, those same passages in Revelation indicate that heaven will be unlike and even opposite to the original earth and the Garden of Eden. Specifically, there will be no hunger, no thirst, no sun, no moon, and no night there (Rev 21-22). How could the new earth have trees and food without a sun (Rev 21:23; 22:5)? And, without a sun, would the new physical earth still revolve around something? Would it spin on its axis as the present earth does? How will things work without the moon and the sea? Will there be other eternal, physical planets? If people fish on the new earth, of course the fish would die. In that case, death would continue.
The more “opposites” we see between the present life and the life to come, the harder it is to maintain the idea of a new physical earth very similar to this one. That theory just does not seem to fit the biblical data.
7. Seventh, some will take the OT prophets’ predictions of an ideal life on earth as proof. Read, for example, Isaiah 11:1-9. It speaks of the wolf lying down with the lamb, the nursing child playing by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child putting his hand on the viper’s den. Since that has not happened literally, they reason, Isaiah must be speaking about the “new earth.” It will be this earth, or one just like it, without the dangers of our current life.
However, read a similar passage in Isaiah 65, which actually promises new heavens and a new earth. When you do, I think you will agree that these Old Testament prophecies cannot point to an eternal, physical earth.
Is 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
This passage, like the one in Isaiah 11:1-9, speaks of the wolf and the lamb, and also the lion eating straw and the serpent eating dust (65:25), so it apparently refers to the same future for God’s people. It speaks of planting crops, building and inhabiting houses, and people enjoying the work of their hands.
Some “new earth” proponents may find support here in Isaiah for a physical, eternal earth which will include these elements. However, that is not possible. Why?
The phrase “new heavens and new earth” in this passage obviously refers to Jerusalem! It points to God’s “holy mountain,” which is likely Mount Zion. It also speaks of bearing children, though there will be no marriage in heaven. And it clearly notes that people will still die (though at an old age) in this “new earth.”
Since there is no death in heaven, these “new earth” passages in Isaiah cannot refer to eternity. They must refer instead to the new existence that God would give the Jews after their return from exile in the Old Testament era. Using symbolism and metaphors, Isaiah described this renewed Jerusalem in idealistic, idyllic terms. In other words, it would be what you and a would call “a whole new world” – but not a new, eternal, physical planet earth.
By the way, this idea of a “new Jerusalem” also helps us understand the “new Jerusalem” noted in Revelation (3:12; 21:1-2, 10). The phrase there describes eternity with God in heaven as the fulfillment of the “new Jerusalem” granted to Israel after the exile. It does not necessarily refer to an actual physical city called “Jerusalem.”
8. Eighth, some promote the idea that eternity with God, the angels, and the saints in heaven would be unfulfilling, even boring, without the pleasures of earth. Some will actually suggest that, without the current blessings of life on earth, eternity would basically be an eternal church worship service, and they imply that nobody would enjoy that! It would be dry, stale, and uninteresting if it lasted forever.
It’s hard for me to imagine such a view. When I read Revelation 4-5, for example, I can feel the thrill of joining in the saints’ praise of God and fellowship with each other.
Here is just a small part of that great, inspiring text.
Rev 5:11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
9. Ninth, some will point to Jesus’ resurrected body. Since he came from the tomb in flesh and blood, in a physical body, they believe that he still exists in this form and that we will, too, for all eternity. In the view of some, he still today has the scars on his back, the nail marks in his hands, and the spear wound in his side. And, according to this view, I suppose they believe that we will still have our bodily scars, wounds, and wrinkles that we have when we die.
In my next post, I want to discuss the nature of Jesus’ resurrected and then (I believe) glorified body. I propose that the Bible’s teaching on this subject will provide clear evidence that our eternal existence will be in the heavenly realm, not on a physical earth.
To subscribe to “Serving and Sharing”, send an email to servingandsharing*outlook.com. (Replace * in the address with @.) Then watch your inbox and spam folder for a welcome email.
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