27 November 2026 · Latin Rite
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“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Luke 21:33
Jesus points to the fig tree: when its leaves sprout, summer is near. So too, the signs of history should make us aware that the Kingdom of God is near. Then a sentence of astonishing authority: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Only God can say that. The Word made flesh is the one thing in the universe that does not fade.
Revelation shows the last judgement: the dead, great and small, before the throne, and the books opened, including “the book of life”. Then the vision of hope: “a new heaven and a new earth… the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” The Church teaches that the universe itself will be transformed, and God will be with his people (CCC 1042–1047). Creation is not thrown away; it is made new.
Theme: “All things new.”
Christ's words outlast the universe; the book of life is opened; God makes a new heaven and a new earth.
“The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Luke 21:33
Apply: Carry a Gospel verse with you this week.
“But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12
Apply: Examine your conscience on this year's works.
“For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Isaiah 65:17
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:1–2
Apply: Care for creation in one concrete way.
Build on the word that does not pass.
God is making all things new.
Take-home resolution: Read Revelation 21–22 before Advent begins.
Dear friends, Jesus points to the fig tree: as soon as it sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near (Luke 21:29–31). The events of history are signs that God's Kingdom is on its way.
Then he says a sentence of astonishing authority: heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Luke 21:33). Only God can say that. Mountains, empires, even the stars will fade; the Word made flesh will not.
Revelation shows the last judgement: the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the books opened, including the book of life (Revelation 20:12). And then the vision of hope: a new heaven and a new earth, and the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21:1–2). God does not throw creation away; he makes it new.
Let us build our lives on what does not pass away. Write one verse of the Gospel on a card and carry it with you this week. And look around you today for one sign that God's Kingdom is growing: a kindness, a reconciliation, a prayer answered. Amen.
Children, flowers and trees fade, but Jesus' words last for ever. Learn one verse of the Bible by heart this week!
Lord Jesus, heaven and earth will pass away, but your words remain. Write my name in the book of life, make me new by your grace, and bring me to the holy city where God dwells with his people. Amen.
Revelation moves from the binding of Satan and the last judgment to “a new heaven and a new earth” and the holy city coming down as a bride. Luke gives the same certainty in a single sentence: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Everything changes except the word of Christ.
Setting.
After the fall of Babylon and the defeat of the beast (chapters 18–19), John sees the last enemy, the dragon, bound for a thousand years, then the great white throne of judgment, and finally the new creation. The reading leaves out the brief release of Satan and his final defeat (20:5–10).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,” (20:2)
“That ancient serpent” goes back to Genesis 3. Jesus spoke of binding the strong man before plundering his house (Mark 3:27).
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life.” (20:12)
No one is too great or too small to stand before God. Judgment is by works, yet salvation rests on being written in the Lamb's book of life (21:27).
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (21:1)
In Revelation the sea is the place of chaos from which the beast rose (13:1). “No more sea” means no more threat, and no more separation.
“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (21:2)
The city comes down from God; it is not built up by human effort. Heaven is God's gift, not our achievement.
How the Church reads it.
St Augustine taught in the City of God that the thousand years stand for the present age of the Church, from Christ's first coming to the end, during which Satan is bound so that he cannot prevent the Gospel from reaching the nations; the “first resurrection” is the new life given in baptism (in substance). The Catechism rejects millenarianism, the idea of an earthly messianic kingdom within history, even in modified forms (CCC 676), and teaches that the universe itself will be renewed at the end (CCC 1042–1047).
Setting.
Jesus ends his description of the end with a short parable. In the land of Israel most trees keep their leaves through the winter, but the fig tree loses its leaves and puts them out late in spring. When it sprouts, summer is close.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.” (21:30)
Luke adds “and all the trees”. The lesson is open to anyone who looks: God's coming can be read in ordinary signs.
“Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.” (21:32)
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (21:33)
Only God can say this of his own words (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus claims for his teaching the permanence of God's word.
How the Church reads it.
The Church has read v. 32 in more than one way: as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, which that generation saw, or more broadly to the whole age of the Church. Jesus himself said that the day and hour of the end are known only to the Father (Mark 13:32). The Second Vatican Council teaches that the form of this world, distorted by sin, is passing away, but that God is preparing a new dwelling where justice will live (Gaudium et Spes 39).
Was Jesus mistaken when he said “this generation will not pass away”?
No. The words most naturally refer to the events he had just foretold for Jerusalem, which came within that generation. He refused to give a date for the final end (Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7). The fall of the Temple stands as a sign and pledge of the final coming.