“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
King James Version (KJV)
21:1 And I saw - So it runs, #Rev 19:11|, 20:1,4,11, in a succession. All these several representations follow one another in order: so the vision reaches into eternity. A new heaven and a new earth - After the resurrection and general judgment. St. John is not now describing a flourishing state of the church, but a new and eternal state of all things. For the first heaven and the first earth - Not only the lowest part of heaven, not only the solar system, but the whole ethereal heaven, with all its host, whether of planets or fixed stars, #Isai 34:4 Matt 24:29|. All the former things will be done away, that all may become new, verses #4|,5, 2Peter 3:10,12. Are passed away - But in the fourth verse it is said, are gone away. There the stronger word is used; for death, mourning, and sorrow go away all together: the former heaven and earth only pass away, giving place to the new heaven and the new earth.
Re 21:1 The New Jerusalem SUMMARY OF REVELATION 21: The New Heaven and New Earth. The Bride, the Lamb's Wife. The City Coming Down Out of Heaven. Its Walls, Gates, Foundation. The City of Gold and Gates of Pearl. The Light of the City. Its Holiness. I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament point to the destruction of the old earth when the Lord comes to judgment. See 2Pe 3:10. It is to undergo a purification and a renewal to fit it for the home of the saints in glory. The "old heavens and earth", which I understand to comprehend the old world and its order, so sadly out of joint, pass away at the time of the great judgment, and the old state of things shall be succeeded by a new order, both physical and moral. And there was no more sea. "And the sea is no more" (Revised Version). Whether this is to be understood literally, or whether it means that there shall be no barriers between the peoples, such as the sea interposes, is not certain.