New Creation and the promise of no more sea [Reader reply]
If it's a metaphor, what's the logic?
I received an email recently regarding a statement I made on the James Delingpole podcast. Speaking about New Creation, I said that I believed in the literality of the statement in Revelation 21:1: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
This is my reply.
Thanks for your respectful question [name]. You're correct, as a researcher I am very aware of the popular idea that "sea" is a metaphor for chaos or the fallen order, and that Rev 21:1 is therefore metaphorically hinting at the restoration of a good world, not describing a literal world without a sea. I reject this interpretation for several reasons.
First, the text says there will be no more sea. I believe it.
Secondly, the sea as we know it only exists today because of Noah's Flood. It was not an original feature of our world. Why would He recreate something that was never considered good to begin with?
Thirdly, the text is being explicit about New Creation at this point, with very clear descriptions. It says there will be a very tall mountain, and New Jerusalem is portrayed with plenty of specific features. It describes the changing of months, governmental policies, and very real sounding logic.
Fourthly, the metaphor would be redundant, because the text plainly says (v4) that there will be no more death, mourning, etc.
Fifthly, oceans are uninhabitable to humans, and cannot be cultivated or organized, which is why they eventually became known as symbols of chaos and disorder in the first place. Humans were made from the dust, not the water. We are meant to cultivate the land and produce a harvest, multiplying and conquering nature. But we cannot conquer the oceans, it has storms, and waves, and giant dangerous beasts, and swallows up everything endlessly. For God to create new oceans would be to cut off large parts of New Creation from humanity and remind us of our powerlessness over nature.
Sixthly, oceans separate land masses and are impossible to navigate without advanced charts and maps, which divides mankind and gives an advantage to those who master sailing and trading. God doesn't seem to want mankind to be separated anymore, but still gives us a world with boundless potential.
Are these are sufficient reasons to reconsider the popular interpretation? Is there a good reason to tell us, "the sea was no more" even though there will be a sea in reality?
Further thoughts
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