There Will Be No Sea in the New Heaven and New Earth

Scripture often speaks of the entire creation awaiting the final act of redemption. To destroy something completely and to replace it with something utterly new is not an act of redemption. To redeem something is to save that which is in imminent danger of being lost. The renovation may be radical. It may involve a violent conflagration of purging, but the purifying act ultimately redeems rather than annihilates. The new heaven and the new earth will be purified. There will be no room for evil in the new order.

A hint of the quality of the new heaven and new earth is found in the somewhat cryptic words, “Also there was no more sea” (Rev. 21:1). For people who have a love for the seashore and all that it represents in terms of beauty and recreation, it may seem strange to contemplate a new earth without any sea. But to the ancient Jew, it was a different matter. In Jewish literature, the sea was often used as a symbol for that which was ominous, sinister, and threatening. Earlier in the Revelation of John, we see the Beast emerging from the sea (Rev. 13). Likewise, in ancient Semitic mythology, there is frequent reference to the primordial sea monster that represents the shadowy chaos. The Babylonian goddess Tiamat is a case in point.

In Jewish thought, the river, the stream, or the spring functioned as the positive symbol of goodness. This was natural in a desert habitat where a stream was life itself. If we look at a relief map of Palestine, we see how crucial to the life of the land is the Jordan River. It cuts like a ribbon through the heart of an arid and parched land, connecting the Sea of Galilee in the north with the Dead Sea in the south.

The Mediterranean coast of western Palestine is marked by rocky shoals and jutting mountains. The ancient Hebrews did not develop a sea trade because the terrain was not suitable for much shipping. The sea represented trouble to them. It was from the Mediterranean that violent storms arose.

We see this contrasting imagery in Psalm 46. The psalmist writes: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling” (vv. 1–3). Then he adds, “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God” (v. 4).

I live in central Florida. Our area is sometimes described as “the lightning capital of America.” The summer months bring severe electrical storms. My grandchildren are frequently frightened by what they call the “booming.” The loud thunderclaps are not a part of what they would envision heaven to include.

But the Jews feared other problems from the sea besides turbulent storms. Their traditional archrivals, marauders who beset them countless times, were a seacoast nation. The Philistines came from the direction of the sea.

The Jew looked to a new world where all the evils symbolized by the sea would be absent. The new earth will have water. It will have a river. It will have life-giving streams. But there will be no sea there.

The One Road to Heaven: Jesus Christ

Before the mountains were brought forth, or the earth and world were formed, Jesus Christ was like the Father, very God. From the beginning He was foreordained to be the Savior of sinners. He was always the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, without whose blood there could be no remission. The same Jesus, to whom alone we may look for salvation, that same Jesus was the only hope of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and all the patriarchs; what we are privileged to see distinctly they doubtless saw indistinctly – but the Savior both we and they rest upon is one. It was Christ Jesus who was foretold in all the prophets, and foreshadowed and represented in all the law – the daily sacrifice of the lamb, the cities of refuge, the brazen serpent, all these were so many emblems to Israel of that Redeemer who was yet to come, and without whom no person could be saved. There never was but one road to heaven: Jesus Christ was the way, the truth and the life yesterday as well as today.

~ J.C. Ryle

Tract: The Unchanging Christ

Our Mother Who Art In Heaven?

Returning to the "masculine feel" of Christianity discussion, it may be worthwhile to address one prominent point in the debate. While God the Father is spirit, and therefore is not a sexual being nor is he "male," he chooses to predominantly reveal himself in masculine language in Scripture.

But one of the immediate objections to this is the simple fact that God sometimes references himself through feminine imagery, and this is certainly true. By my count we find this in 26 places:

Numbers 11:12
Deuteronomy 32:18
Ruth 2:12
Job 38:8
Job 38:28–29
Psalm 17:8
Psalm 22:9–10
Psalm 90:2
Psalm 91:4
Psalm 123:2
Psalm 131:2–3
Proverbs 8:1
Proverbs 8:22–25
Isaiah 31:5
Isaiah 42:13–14
Isaiah 45:10
Isaiah 46:3
Isaiah 49:15
Isaiah 63:15
Isaiah 66:7–13
Hosea 13:8
Matthew 23:37
Luke 13:34
Luke 15:8–10
John 3:3–8
1 Peter 2:2–3

In his book Our Father in Heaven: Christian Faith and Inclusive Language for God, John Cooper published the conclusions from his study of these 26 (or so) passages. One of his major discoveries was while feminine metaphors for God's activity are sometimes used, and used to illustrate the tender nurturing character of God, none of these references include feminine titles for God.

Cooper explains:

Linguistically, all the clear and plausible instances of feminine reference to God are imagery or figures of speech: similes, analogies, metaphors, and personification. . . . there are no cases in which feminine terms are used as names, titles, or invocations of God, and thus there are no feminine pronouns for God. There are no instances where God is directly identified by a feminine term, even a metaphorical predicate noun. In other words, God is never directly said to be a mother, mistress, or female bird in the way he is said to be a father, king, judge, or shepherd.1

That explains why in Scripture we find many many masculine titles for God: Lord, Father, King, Judge, Savior, Ruler, Warrior, Shepherd, Husband, and even a handful of metaphorical masculine titles like Rock, Fortress, and Shield. But when it comes to feminine titles for God, there simply are none.

Cooper goes on to argue that the developing clarity in Scripture in regards to the trinitarian nature of God means that most of the feminine language for God is to be found in the Old Testament. "As the Bible progressively reveals God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, the feminine imagery for God does not increase but recedes into the background."2

Theologian John Frame makes an additional point that feminine imagery in Scripture is often intentionally applied to men. This is true of Paul's references in Galatians 4:19 and 1 Thessalonians 2:7. Obviously, Paul's male-ness is never brought into question by these female metaphors. This is also true of striking passages like one about the male kings in Isaiah 60:16. "So," Frame concludes on this passage, "while Scripture does use this feminine metaphor [of birthing and nursing] for God, it gives us no more encouragement to think of God as female than it gives us to think of these kings as female."3 Good point.

Assuming you agree with me up until this point, and many Christians will, you may object: Yes, but in the end those masculine titles for God do not make the faith or the church any more masculine.

And yet, J. I. Packer, in his greatest book, and in perhaps the greatest chapter of his greatest book, tells us that the key to understanding creation and redemption and adoption and therefore all of Christianity, is bound up in the Fatherhood of God.4 In other words, we cannot dismiss this masculine title and role for God as Father and hope to arrive at a clearer understanding of what Christianity or creation is all about. We certainly may end up forfeiting something important about God in the process.

Which is Frame's concern. When he explored the modern feminist attempts to highlight the 26 feminine references to God as a means of downplaying his masculine titles, Frame discovered that the rejection of God's masculine character and authority went hand-in-hand with a denial of God's Lordship.5 That makes sense. If God is not masculine, then he is not Lord, and he therefore no longer stands as the sovereign Lord over all.

I wonder if Frame is on to something more significant here than semantics, similes, metaphors, and analogies. What if the tension over the "masculine feel" of Christianity reveals an uncomfortableness with God's authority and his Lordship?

It may be.

Among other reasons, Frame makes an important connection between the emphasis in Scripture on God's masculine titles and the explicitness of his masculine-Lordship. Preserving the masculine names and titles of God is not merely good for our Theology 1 class, but is essential in shaping all of Christianity, in shaping our lives, and in shaping our churches as we all submit to God's explicit authority.

Which can only mean that God chose to reveal himself as the masculine-Lord for the flourishing of women and for men alike. That God is the masculine-Lord over all things, and that Christianity has a "masculine feel" to it, does not exalt men over women. Quite the contrary. A proper biblical emphasis on God's masculine-Lordship puts men like me in our proper place. It puts us on our knees.

My Heart is in Heaven — Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon,

When a Christian man constantly acts like a worldly man, can it be possible that he is acting rightly? When the two actions are precisely the same, and you discern no difference, is there not grave cause to suspect that there is no difference? By the fruit must you know the tree. And if two trees bear precisely the same fruit, is there not cause to suspect that they are the same sort of trees?

Dear Friends, may you and I…not try to match ourselves with sinners as to the joys of this present life. If they say, “Here are my treasures,” let us tell them about the “city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” and say, “Our treasure is above.” Let us imitate the noble Roman lady, who, when her friend showed her all her trinkets, waited till her two fair boys came home from school, and then pointed to them, and said, “These are my jewels.”

Do you, when you hear the worldling vaunting his happiness, drop in a gentle word, and say, “I, too, have my earthly comforts, for which I am grateful. But my best delights are not here, they spring neither from corn, nor wine, nor oil, nor could spices, and gold, and music render them to me. My heart is in Heaven. My heart is not here. I have set my soul upon things above. Jesus is my joy, and His love is my delight. You tell me of what you love, permit me to tell you of what I love. I have listened patiently to you, now listen to one of the songs of Zion. I have walked with you over your estate, now let me take you over mine. You have told me of all the good things which you enjoy, do lend me a few minutes of your attention while I tell you of still better things which make up my portion.” (emphasis added)

(excerpted from: Hezekiah and the Ambassadors—or, Vainglory Rebuked, Sermon No. 704, delivered by C.H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, August 5, 1866)

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