Physical Eschatology: On the Nature of "the New Heavens and the New Earth"

Abstract

For centuries, Christian believers have endured hardships and persecution with the hope of an eschatological transformation of life as we know it. While on this Earth we experience pain, suffering and death, the Bible speaks of a future transformation of physical reality, a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev 21:1). However, how should Christians interpret this expression? Is it a physical description of the new universe? Or is it a reference to a change in political, social or spiritual conditions of society as a whole? How does this expression appear in the Old Testament and how is it used by New Testament writers? This article focuses on these questions and points to the intertextual elements between both Testaments while searching for a coherent interpretation of that emblematic expression.