God Has Spoken Through His Son

1 In the past God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke to them many times and in many different ways. ² And now in these last days, God has spoken to us again through his Son. He made the whole world through his Son. And he has chosen his Son to have all things. ³ The Son shows the glory of God. He is a perfect copy of God’s nature, and he holds everything together by his powerful command. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then he sat down at the right side^[a] of God, the Great One in heaven. ⁴ The Son became much greater than the angels, and God gave him a name that is much greater than any of their names.

⁵ God never said this to any of the angels:

God also never said about an angel,

⁶ And then, when God presents his firstborn Son to the world,^[b] he says,

⁷ This is what God said about the angels:

⁸ But this is what he said about his Son:

¹⁰ God also said,

¹³ And God never said this to an angel:

¹⁴ All the angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation.

The New Jerusalem

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,^[a] coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.

³ I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God’s home is with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”

⁵ The one who was sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.”

⁶ The one on the throne said to me, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega,^[b] the Beginning and the End. I will give free water from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. ⁷ All those who win the victory will receive all this. And I will be their God, and they will be my children. ⁸ But those who are cowards, those who refuse to believe, those who do terrible things, those who kill, those who sin sexually, those who do evil magic, those who worship idols, and those who tell lies—they will all have a place in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

⁹ One of the seven angels came to me. This was one of the angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. The angel said, “Come with me. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ The angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large and high mountain. The angel showed me the holy city, Jerusalem. The city was coming down out of heaven from God.

¹¹ The city was shining with the glory of God. It was shining bright like a very expensive jewel, like a jasper. It was clear as crystal. ¹² The city had a large, high wall with twelve gates. There were twelve angels at the gates. On each gate was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. ¹⁴ The walls of the city were built on twelve foundation stones. On the stones were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod made of gold. The angel had this rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ The city was built in a square. Its length was equal to its width. The angel measured the city with the rod. The city was 12,000 stadia^[c] long, 12,000 stadia wide, and 12,000 stadia high. ¹⁷ The angel also measured the wall. It was 144 cubits^[d] high. (The angel was using the same measurement that people use.) ¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper. The city was made of pure gold, as pure as glass.

¹⁹ The foundation stones of the city walls had every kind of expensive jewels in them. The first foundation stone was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was chalcedony, the fourth was emerald, ²⁰ the fifth was onyx, the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was yellow quartz, the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was chrysoprase, the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each gate was made from one pearl. The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass.

²² I did not see a temple in the city. The Lord God All-Powerful and the Lamb were the city’s temple. ²³ The city did not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. The glory of God gave the city light. The Lamb was the city’s lamp.

²⁴ The peoples of the world will walk by the light given by the Lamb. The rulers of the earth will bring their glory into the city. ²⁵ The city’s gates will never close on any day, because there is no night there. ²⁶ The greatness and the honor of the nations will be brought into the city. ²⁷ Nothing unclean will ever enter the city. No one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever enter the city. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.