To understand “new heavens and new earth” one must first understand the term “heaven and earth”. McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia says, “Heaven and Earth is an expression for the whole creation (Gen 1:1). In prophetic language the phrase often signifies the political state or condition of persons of different ranks in this world. The heaven of the political world is the sovereignty thereof, whose host and stars are the powers that rule, namely, kings, princes, counselors, and magistrates. The earth is the peasantry, plebeians, or common race of men, who possess no power, but are ruled by superiors. Of such a heaven and earth we may understand mention to be made” in the following verses.
Heb 12:26 – Whose voice then shook (saleuo) the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Shook is the NT Greek word saleuo. Complete Biblical Library says, “this verb refers to various types of shaking, such as the motion of a wave or an earthquake, which results in a to-and-fro movement or in tottering. Figuratively it means to produce instability or agitation within a person or a nation and thus denotes temporariness in contrast to something unshakable or permanent. In classical Greek the verb occurs in its literal sense to describe the tossing of the sea or an earthquake. Figuratively it refers to the vacillations of human nature, to political unrest, and to the disruptions of normal life and beliefs”. Saleuo is used in the following verses.
Mt 24:29 – Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (saleuo):
Luke says it slightly different.
Lk 21:26 – Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken (saleuo).
More verses.
Lk 6:48 – He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake (saleuo) it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Acts 2:25 – For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved (saleuo):
II Th 2:2 – That ye be not soon shaken (saleuo) in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Saleuo comes from the noun salos. Complete Biblical Library says, it refers literally to the rolling, surging motion of the waves of a rough sea, or some similar swelling or tossing such as might accompany an earthquake. Figuratively it describes the restless tossing of the nations or of a person’s inner being.
Lk 21:25 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves (salos) roaring;
Ps 55:22 – Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved (mowt – shake or totter – LXX word is salos).
Ps 66:9 – Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved (mowt – salos).
Ps 89:9 – Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise (nasa – to lift – LXX word is salos), thou stillest them.
Ps 121:3 – He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (mowt – salos): he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Lam 1:8 – Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed (niydah – impurity or unclean thing – used of the impurity resulting from menstruation or from contact with a corpse – In the NT we are warned to stay away from dead corpses – Mt 23:27, Mt 16:11-12, Lk 12:1-3 – Num 9:1-13 – LXX word is salos): all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.
In Hebrews 12:26 it also mentions, “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven”. The word shake is the NT Greek word seio. Complete Biblical Library says, seio means to shake, to move back and forth, or quake, especially in a violent manner.
Mt 21:10 – And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved (seio), saying, Who is this?
Mt 27:51 – And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake (seio), and the rocks rent;
Mt 28:4 – And for fear of him the keepers did shake (seio), and became as dead men.
Rev 6:13 – And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs (not ripe yet), when she is shaken (seio) of a mighty wind.
Jud 5:4 – LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled (ra’ash – to shake of quake, generally connected with God’s judgment – LXX word is seio), and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
II Sam 22:8 – Then the earth shook and trembled (ra’ash – seio); the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
Job 9:6 – Which shaketh (ragaz – to be agitated, to quiver, to quake, to be roused to anger – LXX word is seio) the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
Job 9:28 – I am afraid (yagor – to fear something with great dread – LXX word is seio) of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
Ps 68:8 – The earth shook (ra’ash – seio), the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Isa 13:13 – Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove (ra’ash – seio) out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Isa 14:16 – They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, [and] consider thee, [saying, Is] this the man that made the earth to tremble (ra’ash – seio), that did shake kingdoms;
Jer 50:46 – At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved (ra’ash – seio), and the cry is heard among the nations.
Jer 51:29 – And the land (same word for earth) shall tremble (ra’ash – seio) and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
Joel 2:10 – The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble (ra’ash – seio): the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Joel 3:16 – The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake (ra’ash – seio): but the LORD [will be] the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Seio is the verb, the noun form is seismos, which is where we get the word seismograph, meaning an instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes. It is used in the following verses.
Mt 8:24 – And, behold, there arose a great tempest (seismos) in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
Neptune/Poseidon, the god of the sea, (Noah deified as Dagon, the sea god of the Philistines) was called the shaker of the earth.
Mt 24:7 – For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes (seismos), in divers places.
Rev 6:12 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake (seismos); and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 8:5 – And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake (seismos).
Rev 11:13 – And the same hour was there a great earthquake (seismos), and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake (seismos) were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Rev 11:19 – And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake (seismos), and great hail.
Rev 16:18 – And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake (seismos), such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake (seismos), and so great.
Isa 29:6 – Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake (ra’ash – seismos), and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
A Key to Symbolical Language of Scripture by Thomas Wemyss says, An earthquake, when great, overturns and changes the surface of the earth, overturning mountains, hills, and rocks, sinking some parts, elevating others, altering the course of rivers, making ponds and lakes on dry lands, and drying up those that already existed; and is therefore a proper symbol of great revolutions or changes in the government or political world. It is thus used in the prophets above quoted, and in Jer 4:23-24. And to the same purpose it is explained by Artemidorus, and by the Oriental interpreters, who there also explain it of a change in the state, occasioned by new laws. There are only three literal earthquakes mentioned in scripture, namely, that mentioned I K 19:11; that in Uzziah’s time, mentioned in Amos 1:1, Zec 4:5, and also by Josephus, who speaks of it as being very violent. The third was that which took place at our Saviour’s death, Mt 27:51. Every other earthquake spoken of in the Old Testament, and some of those predicted in the New, may be considered as symbolical merely, representing great political commotions, and revolutions of Empires. Take for instance that in Joel 3:16, The heavens and the earth shall shake. The prophet having said, that the Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, continues the metaphor. As a lion, when he roars, makes the woods or plains to resound, and the beasts of the field to tremble; so God being here compared to this fierce animal, his voice is justly said to make the very heavens and earth shake; the plain meaning of which is, all should be put into the utmost consternation and distress, like a man seeing a roaring lion coming on him to devour him; or as if he saw the very heavens and earth themselves moving and in the utmost disorder. All this, says Kimchi, is by way of similitude. No one is so ignorant, says Maimonides, and so addicted to the letter of parables, as to imagine any change in the heavens, or that the earth was moved from its centre when Babylon was destroyed. Let’s get back to Heb 12.
Heb 12:27 – And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken (saleuo), as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken (saleuo) may remain.
28 – Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved (asaleutos – the opposite of saleuo – unshaken, immoveable), let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:26-28 is quoted from the prophet Haggai.
Hag 2:6 – For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake (ra’ash – seio) the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
7 – And I will shake (raʿash – suseioo – shake together – from seio and sun, meaning with or together) all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come (in the LXX it says, the elect of all the nations): and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Hag 2:21 – Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake (rāʿash – seio) the heavens and the earth;
22 – And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia continues to say, “Such modes of speaking were used in Oriental poetry and philosophy, which made a heaven and earth in everything, that is, a superior and inferior in every part of nature; and we learn from Maimonides, quoted by Mede, that the Arabians in his time, when they would express that a man was fallen into some great calamity, said, His heaven has fallen to the earth, meaning his superiority or prosperity is much diminished. To look for new heavens and a new earth (II Pet 3:13) may mean to look for a new order of the present world”. A Key to Symbolical Language of Scripture by Thomas Wemyss says, There is, says Daubuz, a threefold world, and therefore a threefold heaven. The invisible, the visible, and the political, among men, which last may be either civil or ecclesiastical. Wherever the scene is laid, heaven signifies symbolically the ruling power or government; that is, the whole assembly of the ruling powers, which, in respect of the subjects or earth, are a political heaven, being over and ruling the subjects, as the natural heaven stands over and rules the earth. So that according to the subject, is the term to be limited; and therefore Artemidorus, writing in the times of the Roman emperors, makes Italy to be the heaven: As heaven, says he, is the abode of gods, so is Italy of kings. The Chinese call their monarch Tiencu, the Son of Heaven, meaning thereby the most powerful monarch. And thus in Mt 24:30, heaven is synonymous to powers and glory: and when Jesus says, the powers of the heaven shall be shaken, it is easy to conceive that he meant, that the kingdoms of the world should be overthrown to submit to his kingdom. Any government is a world, and therefore in Isa 51:15-16, heaven and earth signify a political universe a kingdom or polity. And in chapter 65:17, a new heaven and a new earth, signify a new government, new kingdom, new people.
Isa 65:17 – For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
More New Heaven and New Earth verses.
Isa 66:20 –And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
21 – And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.
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 (or all nations) 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.
II Pet 3:13 – Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (Eph 4:24).
Rev 21:1 – And I saw a new heaven (NT Israel) and a new earth: for the first heaven (or the former heaven as per Isa 65:17, which is OT Israel) and the first earth were passed away (OT Israel passed away or not remembered as per Isa 65:17 – II Co 5:17, Gal 6:15-16); and there was no more sea.
2 – And I John saw the holy city (Rev 20:9 – Heb 11:8-10, 13-16), new Jerusalem (Heb 12:22-23), coming down from God out of heaven (Rev 3:12), prepared as a bride adorned (kosmeo – from kosmos, the word for world in Jn 3:16 – she will be adorned in white) for her husband (I Pet 3:5).
3 – And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle (skene – it denotes a tent, dwelling, abode, habitation or cover – from skeuos, meaning a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus, specifically, a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband) of God is with men, and he will dwell (skenoo – from skene) with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 – And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (Isa 65:19); and there shall be no more death (because time will be no more as per Rev 10:6-7), neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 – And he that sat upon the throne (the ark of the covenant) said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
A literal new heaven and new earth is part of Dispensationalism doctrine. The reason for the Millennial Reign is to have a literal new heaven and a literal new earth so that they may live on a paradise on earth. These 2 doctrines go hand in hand. This is what most denominations believe. Is it biblical? No.