"Behold, I Make All Things Fresh."

"Neo" is a cool sounding synonym for "New" that like many such cool sounding words is Greek in origin.  I had for awhile uncharacteristically just assumed without checking that "Neo" was the Greek word for "New" that was used when referring to New Jerusalem in Revelation.  And with that assumption in mind had considered that if I ever did start my own Worship Community I'd call it Neo-Yerushalaim, going Greek for the "New" part and proper Hebrew for Jerusalem, and in the process creating a name that sounded vaguely Anime inspired.

But recently I was looking over the Greek of Revelation 21 for other reasons (I was deciding if I wanted to revise anything about the "Great City" post) and noticed that no form of "Neo" is there.  Rather the word for "New" used of New Jerusalem is Kainos Strong Number 2537.  It's the same when New Jerusalem is first mentioned in Revelation 3:12 as part of the message to Philadelphia.

Neo/Neon is used in the New Testament. Strongs defines the difference between the two words by saying.

"new (especially in freshness; while neoV - neos 3501 is properly so with respect to age:"

Suggesting "Fresh" could be a good translation of Kainos.  Now words with "fresh" in them appear in the KJV in verses that don't use this word, but that's complicated.  Hebrews 6:6's "afresh" is a prefix that means again.  Likewise "refresh" is either there more for the RE part of that, or something to "cool off" or "rest".

Neo/Neon/Neos and words derived from it are equally as inclined to be translated "young", "younger" or "youth".  Neo implies something that actually is brand new, while Kainos implies something old being made Fresh again.

For example, you could have used Neo for New York or New Orleans, New cities founded with those names but that exist on a completely different continent.  The Mormon view of New Jerusalem treats it as a Neo, as they believe New Jerusalem will be in the Continental United States, that New Jerusalem is related to Old Jerusalem the same way New York and New Orleans are to their European predecessors.

But you could have a Neo-City on the same location, if the first city was completely destroyed and everyone killed or displaced leaving no real continuity of architecture, culture or genealogy between the Old and the New, like the Neo-Tokyo in Akira.  Chris White's rationalization for how making Mystery Babylon Jerusalem doesn't contradict New Jerusalem is also a Neo-Jerusalem doctrine.  But so is full dispensationalism, New Jerusalem is clearly identified with The Church, so if The Church and Israel and totally separate, then they need to see this as a different Jerusalem no matter where it's located.

A word related to Kainos is translated "Newness" in Romans 6:4 and 7:6 when Paul speaks of us being made new at Baptism.  Kainos is also the word for "New" when referring to the New Heaven and New Earth in Revelation 21:1 and 2 Peter 3:13.  I've argued that the Lake of Fire is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the world will be Baptized in Fire just as it had been Baptized with Water.  Forms of Kainos also get translated Renew, Renewed and Renewing.

New Jerusalem will have continuity with Old Jerusalem.  It is gonna be much larger in size, but it will include where Old Jerusalem was.  But more importantly it's population will include residents of old Jerusalem, from every era of it's history.

Kainos is also the word for "New" used when in Revelation 21:4 God says "Behold, I Make All Things New", which Peter Hiett has said played an important role in his coming to the doctrine of Universal Salvation, I think this nuance makes that conclusion about the verse even more solid.

I think this little detail I've discovered is good for opposing quasi Gnostic ideas, this World is not going to be destroyed, it's going to be purified and restored to how it was when it was New.

Likewise however the fact that Hebrews 12:24 uses a form of Neo not Kainos for the New Covenant works against the Hebrew Roots argument that the New Covenant is really just the Old Covenant restored.