As a part of my preparation for last weekend’s message on the second Eden, I came across a list of 12 things that won’t be in heaven. Check it out:
1. No more sea (Revelation 21:1)
2. No more tears (Revelation 21:4)
3. No more death (Revelation 21:4)
4. No more mourning (Revelation 21:4)
5. No more crying (Revelation 21:4)
6. No more pain (Revelation 21:4)
7. No more thirst (Revelation 21:6)
8. No more wickedness (Revelation 21:8, 27)
9. No more Temple (Revelation (21:22)
10. No more night (Revelation 21:23-25; 22:5)
11. No more closed gates (Revelation 21:25)
12. No more curse (Revelation 22:3)
The curious representative on this list is the sea. I’ve been to the ocean as the primary destination of family vacations as you probably have. And like you, we had a pretty good time. So why is the sea absent from heaven? In biblical literature, the sea is symbolic of chaos and danger. Further, it is symbolic of evil. In previous chapters in Revelation, for example, the “beast” rises from the sea, then is cast into the lake of fire consummating his doom. Its an interesting concept, especially when you think of the children of Israel passing through the parted waters of the Red Sea, the story of Jonah, Jesus walking on water and calming the Sea of Galilee, and Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27-28 en route to Rome.