<p>21:1 <i>And I saw a new heaven and a new earth</i>. <i>For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away</i>- This is the situation presented in 2 Peter 3. The present system &quot;heaven and earth&quot; passes away at the Lord's return, and is replaced by the new one of the Kingdom age. I emphasize this because Rev. 21 is about the situation at the time of the Lord's return- and not some point 1,000 years after it. This means that the statement that &quot;death shall be no more&quot; (:4) is true at this point- of the Lord's return to earth and establishment of the Kingdom. If death is truly &quot;no more&quot; in the new system &quot;heaven and earth&quot;, then there can be no 'mortal population' during the next 1,000 years. In other words, the theory of a Millennial reign needs to be radically re-thought, because as it popularly stands it is simply contrary to the text of Scripture.</p><p><i>And the sea was no more</i>- &quot;The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest&quot; (Is. 57:20). The sea refers to nations in 17:15, and as noted on 13:1, to the nations immediately surrounding the earth / land promised to Abraham who gave power to the beast and Babylon system. We read later in chapter 21 of how the nations enter into the new Jerusalem- the unbelieving, ignorant world at the time of the Lord's return are given the opportunity to come enter into the city of God, where there is only a new Israel, and no national differences. So this would be explaining how the situation where there is &quot;no more sea&quot; / nations came about. However it may be that the point of contrast is with the fact that in the Kingdom age, the source of water will not be the sea and its role in the water cycle, but rather the water which emerges from Zion (Rev. 22:1). The book of Revelation also seeks to subtly undermine the commonly accepted views of evil, by showing that all the beasts, dragons, demons imaginable are in fact not radical, free-ranging evil as many imagined both then and now, but rather under God's very tight control; they are playing their role within His purpose, all leading towards the final end when sin and evil will be no more on earth. &quot;The sea&quot; was feared by the first century world, as being the source of monsters and evil. Rather than trying to argue that actually, that's nonsense- Revelation 21:1 instead teaches that whatever our beliefs are about &quot;the sea&quot;, it will ultimately be no more when Christ returns.</p><p>The language of this whole section in 21:1-8 connects with Is. 65, concerning the establishment of the Kingdom, not after the Millennium. Heaven and earth pass away, the former (Gk. <i>proton</i>) things pass (:4)- the things that were once first place now pass. In 20:13, the sea gives up the dead; and this is applied to the 'end of the Millennium' by those who believe in a Millennial reign. But here in 21:1, &quot;the sea&quot; no longer exists at the start of the Lord's reign- for it is at this time that the bride meets the groom, and the Kingdom is established. Hence 20:13 must be interpreted as referring to some time around Christ's return; see my notes on chapter 20.</p><p>Revelation of the situation after the Millennium would surely be inappropriate, if not impossible, for us to receive in this dispensation.&nbsp;The context of Revelation 21 and Revelation 22 is set in chapter 20. The earth and heaven flee away when Christ sits on the throne, &quot;and there was found no place for them&quot; (20:11). This is almost quoting Dan. 2:35 concerning the establishment of the Kingdom, not the end of a 1000 year period. In place of this heaven and earth, a new heaven and earth appear in Revelation 21:1. This is the language of Is. 65:17 and 2 Pet. 3:13 concerning the second coming.&nbsp;In this context, John sees &quot;the bride, the Lamb's wife&quot; (Revelation 21:2,9).&nbsp;The church is only a bride at the time of the second coming, seeing she marries Christ at the marriage supper.&nbsp;At this time, &quot;God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death&quot;, sorrow etc. (Revelation 21:4).&nbsp;&nbsp; The church will not be afflicted by these things during the Millennium; this must refer to Christ's return. Likewise the gift of the water of life (Revelation 21:6) is at the judgment at the second coming.&nbsp;The idea of former things (e.g. death, tears) passing away in 21:4 is one of many connections in Revelation 21 and Revelation 22 with Isaiah's prophecies of the second coming (Revelation 21:4 = Is. 60:20; 65:19; Revelation 21:25 = Is. 60:11,20).&nbsp;Revelation 21:7 speaks of the time when the faithful believer will receive his inheritance.&nbsp;This surely refers to the judgment at the second coming (Mt. 25:34).&nbsp;Revelation 22 has a number of connections with Revelation 21 which would indicate that we are to see Revelation 22 as also referring to the start, rather than the end, of the Millennium (e.g. Revelation 22:14, 21:27; 2:7).&nbsp;&quot;The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations&quot; (Revelation 22:2) is another obvious example.&nbsp; &quot;They shall reign for ever and ever&quot; (Revelation 22:5) is the language of Dan. 7:18,27 concerning the judgment at Christ's return.&nbsp;</p>