There has often been confusion about the afterlife. Revelation is the book of the Bible where we get the most insight. The Apostle John’s first description of the “new heaven and new earth” is a little baffling. He says in Revelation 21: that “there was no longer any sea.” Isn’t that interesting? 

I bet there are few people whose dream destination isn’t one that’s close to the ocean. California, Hawaii, Santorini, the Bahamas – you’re there to watch the waves roll in. Why? This is what’s beautiful to what we know. So right out of the gate, God is smashing our expectations for the new heavens and new earth. His ways are higher, his thoughts are higher than ours. 

Now, it’s one thing for us not to be near water for beauty, but what about for the sake of living? Our present sea is used as a basic reservoir for the earth. It’s a water supply intended for the earth’s hydrologic cycle. Think about it, if we didn’t have the seas, we wouldn’t have rain, we wouldn’t have snow, this is essential for the continuous movement of water that earth is governed by. 

In the new heavens and the new earth, the way we’ll live will be different ecologically. What does this mean practically? Accept your limitations, and follow the God you’ll spend eternity with. *This is a literal interpretation of this verse.*