Prophecy · Chapter 21 of 22

Revelation 21

John sees a new heaven and new earth, and the holy city, new Jerusalem, descending as a bride adorned for her husband. A great voice announces that God will dwell with his people and wipe away every tear; death, sorrow, and pain will be no more. The One on the throne makes all things new. An angel shows John the radiant city, whose temple and light are God and the Lamb.

What happens in Revelation 21

John sees the first heaven and earth pass away, replaced by a new heaven and new earth, with the sea gone. The holy city, new Jerusalem, descends from God, prepared like a bride for her husband. A loud voice proclaims that the tabernacle of God is now with humanity: he will dwell with them, be their God, and wipe away every tear, ending death, sorrow, crying, and pain. The One on the throne declares he is making all things new, and offers the water of life freely to the thirsty, while warning that the faithless and wicked have their portion in the second death.

An angel then carries John to a high mountain to show the bride, the Lamb's wife: the city ablaze with God's glory, walls of jasper, twelve gates of pearl bearing the tribes' names, twelve foundations bearing the apostles' names, streets of pure gold. There is no temple, for God and the Lamb are its temple, and no sun, for the Lamb is its light.

Revelation 21 in context

Near the end of Revelation, after judgment has run its course, John receives the vision that answers the ache of all Scripture: God dwelling unhindered with his people. Chapter twenty-one describes the new creation and the new Jerusalem, drawing on Eden, the tabernacle, and the prophets' promises.

It is the Bible's picture of ultimate hope, where the story that began in a garden ends in a radiant, God-filled city.

Main themes of Revelation 21

Revelation 21 (KJV)

1And 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. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And 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. 4And 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. 5And 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. 6And 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. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8But 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. 9And 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. 10And 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, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12And 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: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And 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. 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19And 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; 20The 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. 21And 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. 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23And 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. 24And 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. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27And 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.

Verses to carry from Revelation 21

“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.”Revelation 21:3

“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.”Revelation 21:4

“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.”Revelation 21:23

Reflection

Whatever grief, pain, or loss you carry, Revelation 21 promises a future where God wipes away every tear with his own hand. Let the hope of his unhindered presence, and a world made new, steady you today. The story does not end in darkness but in a city filled with the light of the Lamb.

A prayer from Revelation 21