The Bible — World English Bible
Revelation 21
In brief
Revelation 21 opens the final vision of the book: a new heaven, a new earth, and the holy city coming down out of heaven like a bride adorned for her husband. The heart of the chapter is a presence: God lives with people, wipes away every tear, and death is no more. The one who sits on the throne makes all things new and invites anyone who is thirsty to come and drink freely. The New Jerusalem has no temple, because God and the Lamb are its temple. Christians read these images more literally or more symbolically, but they find the same hope in them.
The chapter in 5 parts
1I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.
2I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
5He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”
6He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
7He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.
8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the wife, the Lamb’s bride.”
10He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
11having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
13On the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
15He who spoke with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, its gates, and its walls.
16The city is square, and its length is as great as its width. He measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand twelve stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal.
17Its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
18The construction of its wall was jasper. The city was pure gold, like pure glass.
19The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
20the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst.
21The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each one of the gates was made of one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.
23The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
24The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
25Its gates will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there),
26and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it so that they may enter.
27There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Key verses
I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
The center of the chapter: the covenant promise, I will be their God and they will be my people, reaches its fulfillment. God's plan since the garden of Eden has been to dwell with his own.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
A very concrete promise of comfort: tears, mourning, crying and pain belong to the “first things” that have passed away. It does not deny present suffering, it announces its end.
He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”
God himself speaks, and this is one of the rare times in the book. He does not say he replaces everything with something else, but that he makes all things new. The preacher also sees in it the way he already works today.
He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
Salvation is presented as a spring offered freely: thirst is the only requirement, and no merit is demanded.
There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
The city welcomes those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Grace here means having your name written there by Christ.
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Frequently asked questions about Revelation 21
What does Revelation 21 mean?
This chapter describes the end of history: a new heaven, a new earth and the New Jerusalem, where God lives with his people. It announces the end of death, mourning and pain. Christians differ on how literal or symbolic the images are, but agree on the essential: God stays faithful to his covenant and brings everything to its fulfillment.
What does “I am making all things new” mean in Revelation 21:5?
These are the words of the one who sits on the throne. They announce the final renewal of creation, but they also describe the way God acts: he remakes what is broken. Many believers draw from it the hope that nothing is lost to him, without that promising that everything will be settled right away.
What is the New Jerusalem?
It is the holy city that John sees coming down out of heaven, presented as the bride of the Lamb. Its twelve gates carry the names of the tribes of Israel and its twelve foundations those of the apostles, which unites the old and the new covenant. It has no temple, because the presence of God fills everything.
Who will enter the New Jerusalem?
The text says that only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life enter it (verse 27). The invitation is nevertheless wide: whoever is thirsty receives the water of life freely (verse 6). The chapter also warns against a lasting refusal of God.
Articles quoting Revelation 21
- All Saints' Day: What Does the Bible Say About Saints and Our Dead?
- 20 Bible Verses for a New Beginning: Starting Over with God
- Revelation 20-21: The Book of Life and the Hope of Heaven
- Hebrews 11:35: A Better Faith, Even Without Deliverance
- Isaiah 35: Suffering Passes, Joy Is Eternal
- Revelation 3: Recovering the Fire of Revival
World English Bible translation — public domain.