Mark 13:31

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

Once again we are pulled up with a jolt by what seems a simple statement. Who is this Who can claim that His words are so important that they are longer lasting than creation? That indeed they are more important than creation? By this we know that He is the Lord of glory. And what He was stressing was that what had just been outlined to them was more certain than the continuation of the world, because His words are eternal.

‘Heaven and earth will pass away.' Once the Lord has returned eternity will take over from time. There will be a new Heaven and a new earth (see Revelation 21:1 and compare 2Pe 3:7; 2 Peter 3:10; 2 Peter 3:12). This was in essence declared by Isaiah 65:17 although in his day he was unable to understand the full significance of what he was saying, for they had then no conception of anything beyond this life. Contrast Isaiah 51:6 where it is His salvation and righteousness that will not pass away (see also Isaiah 54:10), and Isaiah 40:7 where it is ‘the word of our God' which stands for ever. But here it is what Jesus has said that will endure for ever.