The first heaven and the first earth pass away and are replaced by a new heaven and a new earth.
Revelation 21:1 says the first heaven and first earth "were passed away," and 2 Peter 3 says they are dissolved with fervent heat. Les Feldick explains that this is why the earth disappears from view, why the lost are resurrected out of hell to face the great white throne, and why John then sees a new heaven and a new earth.
Revelation 21:1 — This verse plainly states that the first heaven and first earth pass away and no longer remain.
2 Peter 3:10 — Peter describes how the present heavens and earth will be dissolved and burned up.
Revelation 20:11 — John sees the earth and heaven flee away from the face of God at the great white throne.
Scripture directly states the end of the present creation. Revelation 21:1 says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." Revelation 20:11 shows what precedes this: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was no place found for them." Peter describes the manner of destruction: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."
Les Feldick teaches that the earth is burned up by fire at the end of the millennial reign, after which a new heaven and a new earth appear. He connects this to Peter's statement that the elements melt with fervent heat and that the earth and its works are burned up. The reason the present earth disappears from view, he says, is so that the new heaven and new earth can come. Because the place of torment is in the innermost parts of the earth, Les explains that lost people must be resurrected bodily out of hell before the earth is removed. At the great white throne—which is up in space because the earth has fled away—the lost stand in resurrected bodies fit for the lake of fire. After their doom, they are sent to the lake of fire, which Les says is not hell.
Scripture directly states the end of the present creation. Revelation 21:1 says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." Revelation 20:11 says the earth and heaven fled away from the face of God, and no place was found for them. Peter adds that the heavens pass away with a great noise, the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth and all its works are burned up.
Les teaches plainly that the earth is "burned up by fire at the end of the millennial reign." He connects this to Peter's language in 2 Peter 3—heavens pass away with a great noise, elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth's works are burned up. The earth must disappear from view, he says, because a new heaven and a new earth are coming.
Les explains that the place of torment is in the innermost parts of the earth. Because the earth flees away at the great white throne, the lost who are held there must be resurrected bodily out of hell. They stand before God in resurrected bodies fitted for the lake of fire so they will not be consumed. The great white throne itself is up in space, not on the earth, because the earth has fled away. After judgment the lost are sent to the lake of fire, which Les says is not hell.
Revelation 21:1 says John saw "a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Les points to this same verse when he says the present earth disappears from view for that reason. He adds that the new earth will be the abode of believers and that heaven is on an earth-type situation, not an ethereal realm.
Call to Holy Living After Dissolution
Les applies Peter's warning that 'all these things will be dissolved' to the urgency of holy living, showing the practical purpose of the earth's coming destruction.
New Heaven and New Earth
Les says the present earth disappears from view because a new heaven and a new earth are coming, and the lost appear at the great white throne in resurrected bodies fit for the lake of fire.
Great White Throne in Space / Resurrection of the Unjust
Les explains that hell and the place of torment are in the innermost parts of the earth, and at the end of the thousand years the great white throne is up in space because the earth has fled away; the unjust are brought bodily.
Eternal Abode on Earth
Les teaches that the present earth is destroyed at the end of the initial thousand years, and God's eternal abode is still on an earth-type existence in the new heavens and new earth.
Lake of Fire, Not Hell
After the great white throne, the lost are sent to the lake of fire—which Les says is not the same as hell—and then chapter 21 opens with the new heaven and new earth.
Earth Fled Away, Lost Resurrected Out of Hell
Les says the lost are resurrected out of hell itself; the earth and heaven flee away with no place found, and this is what Peter means by melting with fervent heat.
Earth Burned Up at End of Millennial Reign
Les states plainly that the earth is burned up by fire at the end of the millennial reign, after which chapters 21 and 22 present a new heaven and new earth as the abode of believers.
Peter's Description of Dissolution
Les reads from 2 Peter 3: the heavens pass away with a great noise, the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth with its works is burned up.
Revelation 21:1: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
This is the clearest direct statement that the first heaven and first earth pass away and are replaced.
Revelation 20:11: And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was no place found for them.
Shows the present earth and heaven fleeing away at the great white throne.
2 Peter 3:10: But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Peter describes the fiery destruction that dissolves the present heavens and earth.
2 Peter 3:11: Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
This is the practical application Les draws from the coming dissolution of the earth.
Revelation 20:12: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
This describes the scene of the great white throne where the lost stand before God.
2 Peter 3:10 says the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up.
No. Les Feldick says the great white throne is strictly for the lost; believers will not come before it. It is the resurrection of the unjust that appears there.
They are resurrected bodily out of the place of torment, stand before the great white throne, and are sent to the lake of fire—which is not the same as hell.
A new heaven and a new earth. Les says this new earth will be the eternal abode of believers and an extension of the kingdom economy.
Watch the Teaching: What Happens After the Millennium? Revelation 21 Explained