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NASB | Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (vanished), and there is no longer any sea. [Is 65:17; 66:22] |
Bible Question: What is meant by "there is no longer any sea" in this verse? Does it mean that water is no longer present on earth, save the River of Life? |
Bible Answer: ok I have some ideas for you: 1. "(i) It has a background in the great mythological beliefs of John's time. We have already seen that the Babylonian story of the creation of the world is of a long struggle between Marduk, the god of creation, and Tiamat, the dragon of chaos. In that story the sea, the waters beneath the firmament, became the dwelling-place of Tiamat. The sea was always an enemy. The Egyptians saw it as the power which swallowed up the waters of the Nile and left the fields barren. (ii) It has a much more human background. The ancient peoples hated the sea, even though, by the time of John, they were voyaging long and far. They did not possess the compass; and, therefore, as far as possible, they coasted along the shores. It is not till modern times that we come on people who rejoice in being sea-faring. Matthew Arnosd spoke of 'the salt, estranging sea.' Dr. Johnson once remarked bitterly that no man who had the wit to get himself into gaol would ever choose to go to sea. There is an old story of a man who was weary of battling with the sea. He put an oar on his shoulder and set out with the intention of journeying inland until he reached people who knew so little of the sea that they asked him what strange thing he carried on his shoulder. 'The Sibylline Oracles' (5:447) say that in the last time the sea will be dried up. 'The Ascension of Moses' (10:6) says that the sea will return into the abyss. In Jewish dreams the end of the sea is the end of a force hostile to God and to man." [ The above from William Barclay The Daily Study Bible: The Revelation of John Vol 2, Saint Andrew Press, 1998 ] 2. "Yes, I believe it means what it says there. A new earth with no sea literal. The Bible says there will also be no sun as the Lord will be the light of it." [An opinion of a friend.] 3. "Scarcely could we rejoice at the thought of losing the glorious old ocean: the new heavens and the new earth are none the fairer to our imagination, if, indeed, literally there is to be no great and wide sea, with its gleaming waves and shelly shores. Is not the text to be read as a metaphor, tinged with the prejudice with which the Oriental mind universally regarded the sea in the olden times? A real physical world without a sea it is mournful to imagine, it would be an iron ring without the sapphire which made it precious. There must be a spiritual meaning here. In the new dispensation there will be no division -- the sea separates nations and sunders peoples from each other. To John in Patmos the deep waters were like prison walls, shutting him out from his brethren and his work: there shall be no such barriers in the word to come. Leagues of rolling billows lie between us and many a kinsman whom to-night we prayfully remember but in the bright world to which we go there shall be unbroken fellowship for all the redeemed family. In this sense there shall be no more sea. The sea is the emblem of change; with its ebbs and flows, its glassy smoothness and its mountains billows, its gentle murmurs and its tumultuous roarings, it is never long the same. Slave of the fickle winds and the changeful moon, its instability is proverbial. In this mortal state we have too much of this; earth is constant only in her inconstancy, but in the heavenly state all mournful change shall be unknown, and with it all fear of storm to wreck our hopes and drown our joys. The sea of glass glows with a glory unbroken by a wave. No tempest howls along the peaceful shores of paradise. Soon shall we reach that happy land where partings, and changes, and storms shall be ended! Jesus will waft us there. Are we in Him or not? This is the grand question." [ A quote given by a friend from: C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) - wow!! what wonderful faith did this person have. ] 4. "The sea in John's time was viewed as dangerous and changeable. It was also the source of the beast (13:1). We don't know how the new earth will look or where it will be, but God and his followers- those whose names are written in the book of life - will be united to live there forever. Will you be there?" [ From NASB Life Application Study Bible, Zondervan, 2000. ] I guess there is a consensus here. I hope it helps you with a leading prayer. I found it all very insighteful and so thankyou for your question. God Bless You, deb |