REVELATION 21

NEW HEAVEN, NEW EARTH, NEW JERUSALEM 

In his vision, John sees a new heaven and new earth. The first heaven and earth are no more, they have passed away. John sees a new holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven. Jerusalem is presented like a bride adorned for her new husband.

A loud voice calls out, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” God’s presence was no longer within the temple, but everywhere, filling the new heavens and earth. Because of God’s perfect presence, there will be no more tears, death, or mourning. When believers are reunited with God in the new Jerusalem, there will be no more pain or sadness.

Jesus, seated at the throne says “Behold, I am making all things new.” John is told to document what he sees, trusting this vision of God. Because of Jesus’s victory, all sin and separation are finished. God is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. What He created, He will redeem and complete.

One of the angels speaks to John, saying “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” The angel shows John the holy city of the new Jerusalem. It is radiant, like a jewel or crystal. It has twelve gates, with twelve angels, named after the twelve tribes. Similarly, it has twelve foundations, each named after the twelve apostles.

The angel carries a rod to measure the gates and walls of the cities. Measuring the giant city, John realizes that the city is made of pure gold and adorned with every kind of jewel. The gates are made of a single large pearl and the streets made of pure, transparent gold.

In the new Jerusalem, there is no need for a temple, God’s presence is the temple! There is also no need for the sun or the moon to shine, because God’s glory provides light. Similarly, there is no need for the gates to be shut, because nothing unclean or false ever enters the New Jerusalem.