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In this chapter is described the new and spiritual Jerusalem.

21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were vanished away; and there was no more sea.  And I, John, saw that holy city, new Jerusalem, come down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride made beautiful for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; neither will there be any more pain. For the former things are gone. And he that sat upon the seat said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write, for these words are faithful and true.

And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him who is a-thirst of the well of the water of life, free. He that overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be my child. But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

And one of the seven angels that had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and a high mountain, and he showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the brightness of God. And her brilliance was like a stone most precious, even a jasper clear as crystal. 12 And she had walls great and high, and had 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels, and names written which are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. 13 On the east side were three gates, and on the north side three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and in them the names of the Lamb’s 12 apostles.

15 And he who talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city with, and its gates and its wall. 16 And the city was built four-square, and the length was the same as the breadth of it. And he measured the city with the reed: 12,000 furlongs, and the length and the breadth and the height of it were equal. 17 And he measured its wall: 144 cubits according to the measure of a man, which the angel had.

18 And its wall was constructed of jasper. And the city was pure gold like clear glass, 19 and the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third a chalcedony, the fourth an emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth a topaz, the tenth a chrysoprase, the eleventh a jacinth, the twelfth an amethyst.

21 The 12 gates were 12 pearls; every gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as though shining glass. 22 And there was no temple in it, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to give it light, because the brightness of God did light it, and the Lamb was the light of it. 24 And the people who are saved will walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory to it. 25 And its gates are not shut daily, 26 because there will be no night there. 27 And there shall enter into it no unclean thing, neither whatsoever works abomination or makes lies, but only they who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a](A) for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,(B) and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City,(C) the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,(D) prepared as a bride(E) beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.(F) They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.(G) ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.(H) There will be no more death’[b](I) or mourning or crying or pain,(J) for the old order of things has passed away.”(K)

He who was seated on the throne(L) said, “I am making everything new!”(M) Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”(N)

He said to me: “It is done.(O) I am the Alpha and the Omega,(P) the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost(Q) from the spring of the water of life.(R) Those who are victorious(S) will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.(T) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars(U)—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.(V) This is the second death.”(W)

The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues(X) came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride,(Y) the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away(Z) in the Spirit(AA) to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.(AB) 11 It shone with the glory of God,(AC) and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper,(AD) clear as crystal.(AE) 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates,(AF) and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.(AG) 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations,(AH) and on them were the names of the twelve apostles(AI) of the Lamb.

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod(AJ) of gold to measure the city, its gates(AK) and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[c] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human(AL) measurement, and it was 144 cubits[d] thick.[e] 18 The wall was made of jasper,(AM) and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.(AN) 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.(AO) The first foundation was jasper,(AP) the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby,(AQ) the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[f] 21 The twelve gates(AR) were twelve pearls,(AS) each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.(AT)

22 I did not see a temple(AU) in the city, because the Lord God Almighty(AV) and the Lamb(AW) are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God(AX) gives it light,(AY) and the Lamb(AZ) is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.(BA) 25 On no day will its gates(BB) ever be shut,(BC) for there will be no night there.(BD) 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.(BE) 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,(BF) but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.(BG)

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 21:1 Isaiah 65:17
  2. Revelation 21:4 Isaiah 25:8
  3. Revelation 21:16 That is, about 1,400 miles or about 2,200 kilometers
  4. Revelation 21:17 That is, about 200 feet or about 65 meters
  5. Revelation 21:17 Or high
  6. Revelation 21:20 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.

21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.