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Revelation 21:1 SDA Bible Commentary

1. New. Gr. kainos, “new” in quality as opposed to that which is worn or marred. Both occurrences of “new” in this verse are translations of kainos. Neos, also translated “new” in the NT (Matt. 9:17; 1 Cor. 5:7; Col. 3:10; etc.), refers to newness in point of time. By using the word kainos, John is probably emphasizing the fact that the new heavens and earth will be created from the purified elements of the old, and thus be new in quality, different. The new heavens and the new earth are, then, a re-creation, a forming anew of existing elements, and not a creation ex nihilo. Compare 2 Peter 3:13 (below)

New. Gr. kainos, “new” in the sense of being different, new in kind, rather than neos, which generally means “recent,” new in point of time. Here Peter is anticipating the renovated heavens and earth that have been cleansed from all defilement (cf. on Rev. 21:1).