Rev 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."

There are some who teach that the new heaven and the new earth is the paradise of God or the glory world. However, this doesn't seem to accord with what Paul taught in 2 Cor. 12:2 "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."

Paul spoke of the man caught up to the third heaven and equated that to being caught up into paradise. Thus paradise is equated to the third heaven.

Since the "new heaven" and the "new earth" followed the "first heaven" and the "first earth" then the "new heaven" must be the second heaven and the "new earth" must be the second earth. "Paradise" is the third heaven. By all logic, the "new heaven" and the "new earth" cannot be "Paradise" or the "Glory World."

Isaiah spoke of "new heavens" and a "new earth" in two passages of scripture:

1. Is. 65:17 "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.  21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD."

2. Is. 66:22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

From the above we can deduce that those who occupy in the new heavens and the new earth will build houses and the wolf and the lamb shall feed together. In addition, the passages say there will be new moons and Sabbaths. These are not things we would expect in the Glory World.

Heaven is referred to in the scriptures as God's dwelling place:

1. 1 Kings 8:30 "And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive."
2. 1 Ki 8:39 "Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)"
3. 1 Ki 8:43 "Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name."
4. 1 Ki 8:49 "Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,"
5. 2 Chr 6:21 "Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive."
6. 2 Chr 6:30 "Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)"
7. 2 Chr 6:33 "Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name."
8. 2 Chr 6:39 "Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee."
9. Psa 52:5 "God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah."

The earth is referred to as the footstool of the Lord and the footstool of the Lord is described as the place of his worship in the following verses:

1. Ps. 99:5 "Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy."
2. Ps. 132:7 "We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool."
3. Is. 66:1 "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?"
4. Matt. 5:34 "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King."
5. Acts 7:49 "Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?"

Thus the heaven is God's dwelling place and the earth is the place where God is worshipped and Jerusalem is the city of the great King. From this we can surmise that in old law covenant God chose Israel as a nation to dwell among (first heaven) and they worshipped him (first earth) under that covenant with natural Jerusalem being the holy city of the King.

When God made a new covenant the first covenant soon passed away:

1. Heb. 8:8 "For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."

2. Matt. 24:34 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

3. 2 Cor. 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

"And there was no more sea." We have previously identified that the sea sometimes represents the "sea of humanity" outside of the nation of Israel also called the Gentiles. In the new covenant of worship that God has established there is no more a distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles as there was under the old covenant of worship, thus there is no more "sea" or distinction, as God has a people both among the Jews and the Gentiles who worship him in Spirit and in truth.

Today, God's people worship him (new earth – with laws written in their heart and mind) in the kingdom of heaven (new heaven). In summary, the children of Israel worshipped God under the old law covenant and that covenant and form of worship passed away. Today, God's people in the church, regardless of nationality, worship God in Spirit and truth under the new covenant of worship.