278. What Is Meant by "Heaven and Earth Shall Pass Away"?

The expressions "heaven" and "the heavens" mean not only the spiritual, eternal world, but also the stars and the spaces of ether surrounding the earth. Jesus used the word frequently in both these senses. He spoke of "the kingdom of heaven," signifying the eternal kingdom, and then spoke of the stars as "heaven" or "the heavens" in passages like the one you mention. Paul speaks of "the house not made with hands eternal in the heavens." (II Cor. 5:1.) The teaching of the Bible is that the material universe, including the earth itself, will be transformed, but that the spiritual universe will endure forever.