Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Revelation 21:1 NIV
As this letter to the seven churches came to a close, Jesus revealed the future to them. It included Jesus’ return and defeat of his enemies; resurrection and judgment; and a new creation. These last two chapters look at this new creation, especially the New Jerusalem, the bride of Christ.
The description starts with the creation of a new heaven and earth–our eternal home. And there will no longer be any sea. For some, that may seem an insignificant detail. For others, it might seem like a loss. But this statement is significant.
For many people in the ancient world, the sea represented chaos. It was a dangerous place full of storms and sea monsters. Revelation itself includes a monster coming up out of the sea. In Revelation 13:1, the dragon stood on the sea’s shore, and a beast with ten horns and seven heads came out of the sea. A beast that many identify as the antichrist. And who bears some resemblance to Leviathan in the Old Testament (Job 41; Ps. 74:14; 104:26; Is. 27:1).
Another reference to the sea comes in Revelation 20:13: the sea, along with death and Hades, will give up the dead in them to stand before the Great White Throne for judgment. Then death and Hades will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:14). And the sea will be no more (Rev. 21:1).
While there may well be oceans in the new creation, the chaos and fear that the sea–and the night (Rev 21:25)–represent will have no place. The evil and troubles of this current creation will be no more. The curse of Genesis 3:16-24 will be lifted (Rev. 22:3), and access to the Tree of Life restored (Rev. 22:2). And we will live forever in the light of our Lord and God (Rev. 21:23; 22:5).
