On the Regneration of All Things

“Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones . . .” Mathew 19:28

“In the regeneration”—what did Christ mean? The Greek word paliggenesia—translated regeneration—carries with it the idea of “renewal,” and “rebirth.” The word is used only two times in all of Scripture; once in Titus 3:5 to speak of the renewal of individual Christians, and here in Matthew 19:28 to speak of the renewal of all creation. When the Son of Man comes and takes up his glorious throne it will be, Jesus says, the “rebirth” of all things. It is not insignificant that Jesus uses this word to describe the eternal state.

For reasons many and varied, Christians have often been led to believe that God’s plan is the ultimate destruction of the cosmos. Creation is spent and wasted, we are told; it will be dissolved and we will be whisked away to a celestial home beyond the bounds of earth. And though not often stated, we are often left with the impression our time in eternity will be spent in some sort of celestial, disembodied existence—floating through walls, not needing food or water. Not breathing air. But not so.

As Joe pointed out in his sermon a few weeks ago, John’s vision in Revelation 21:1-6 reveals a glimpse of a “new heavens” and a “new earth.” This is the paliggenesia—the regeneration—of which Christ spoke. The Scriptures tell us this world, like us, will be born again. The coming of the Son of Man is not the destruction of our home, but it’s healing. Indeed all of creation groans in anticipation of the Son’s return and subsequent glory (Romans 8:22-23). It too longs to be set free from decay. From this text—along with similar ones in 2 Peter and Isaiah—we see that God’s intent all along has been to redeem creation, not dissolve it. He intends to fix this word—infuse it with new life (indeed the divine life of the Second Adam) and give it back to us restored, remade, young again and fresh.

Heaven is a place of rest; the earth is a place of resurrection. God has created us as humans, with human desires and longings. He has made us for the earth, and the earth for us. It is here we will smell again the freshness of spring, hear once more the sound of the wind through the trees, and see as if for the first time, every time, the beauty of a sunrise. And it is here on this earth we will be raised again from the dust; and it is here we will be reunited with loved ones past and present. And the greatest blessing of this “heaven on earth” will be the unveiled presence of our God. It is this final hope that gives birth to all others. Every desire we have, the desire to love and to be loved, the desire for significance, purpose, glory, comfort—every desire—is met in Him.

Too often we think of the Son’s return as the interruption of all our earthly hopes and dreams. But such thoughts reflect a skewed notion of God’s plan. Christ’s return is not the interruption of our earthly desires; it is the consummation of our earthly desires—perhaps not in the way we imagine, but truly nonetheless. Christ is forever the Lord of both heaven and earth. Anchored in this truth, may we have the faith to believe His coming is the realization of every dream—both heavenly and earthly.