Book of Common Prayer

³² And what more shall I say? The time would be too short for me to tell of Gideon, Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, also of David and Samuel, and of the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, wrought righteousness, received promises fulfilled, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the force of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the other nations. ³⁵ And the women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were racked, and would not be delivered, so that they might receive a better resurrection. ³⁶ Others tasted of mockings and scourgings; moreover of bonds and imprisonment; ³⁷ were stoned, were hewn asunder, were sorely tried, were slain with swords, walked up and down in sheepskins, in goatskins, in need, tribulation, and vexation – ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in wilderness, in mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹ And these all through faith obtained good report, and yet did not obtain the promise, ⁴⁰ God providing a better thing for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

An exhortation to be patient and steadfast in trouble and adversity, in the hope of everlasting reward. A commendation of the new testament above the old.

12 Therefore let us also (seeing that we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses) lay away all that presses down, and the sin that hangs on, and let us run with patience to the battle that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him suffered the cross, disregarding the shame, and is seated on the right hand of the throne of God.

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.  ² 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. ³ 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. ⁴ 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.

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.

The river of the water of life. The fruitfulness and light of the city of God. The Lord does ever give his servants warning of things to come. The angel will not be worshipped. Nothing may be added to the word of God, nor taken away from it.

22 And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the seat of God and of the Lamb, ² in the middle of the street of the city. And on either side of the river there was the wood of life, which bore 12 kinds of fruit, and gave fruit every month. And the leaves of the wood served to heal the people. ³ And there shall be no more curse, but the seat of God and the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ And they will see his face, and his name will be in their foreheads. ⁵ And there will be no night there, and they need no lamp, nor the light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forevermore.