The Revelation · New Testament

Revelation 21

Revelation 21: a new heaven, a new earth and the holy city measured

General context

John sees a new heaven and a new earth, with the first ones passed away and no more sea, and sees the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride. A great voice announces that God will dwell with men, and that death, sorrow, crying and pain will be gone. The one on the throne says he makes all things new, tells John to write, declares it done, names himself Alpha and Omega, and offers the water of life freely; a promise to the one who overcomes is set beside a list of those whose part is the lake of fire. One of the seven angels who had the vials then carries John to a high mountain and shows him the city in detail: its light like jasper, a great wall with twelve gates and twelve angels bearing the names of the twelve tribes, three gates on each side, twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel measures it with a golden reed, foursquare and equal in length, breadth and height. The materials are listed stone by stone. The city has no temple, no need of sun or moon, and gates that are never shut because there is no night.

Cited passages: Revelation 21:1, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:3, Revelation 21:4, Revelation 21:5, Revelation 21:6, Revelation 21:7, Revelation 21:8, Revelation 21:9, Revelation 21:10, Revelation 21:11, Revelation 21:12, Revelation 21:13, Revelation 21:14, Revelation 21:15, Revelation 21:16, Revelation 21:17, Revelation 21:18, Revelation 21:19, Revelation 21:21, Revelation 21:22, Revelation 21:23, Revelation 21:25, Revelation 21:27

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, chrysolite; 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.

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Historical context

The writer names himself again in this chapter, "And I John saw the holy city", with no further identification, as at 1:9. The angel who shows the city is one of the seven who had the vials, the same description used of the angel at 17:1. The city is introduced as "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" and the angel offers to show John "the bride"; the text uses city language and bride language for the same thing and does not explain the pairing. The gates carry "the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel" and the foundations "the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb", and neither list of names is printed. Measurements are given in furlongs and cubits, with the note that the cubit is "according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel". Two features are explained by the text itself: there is no temple because "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it", and no need of sun or moon because "the glory of God did lighten it".

Cited passages: Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:9, Revelation 21:12, Revelation 21:14, Revelation 21:17, Revelation 21:22, Revelation 21:23, Revelation 17:1, Revelation 1:9

Literary context

The chapter is built first out of what is gone and then out of what is there. It opens with a run of absences, no sea, no more death, "neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain", and returns to that pattern at the close with no temple, no need of sun or moon and no night. Between the two runs of negation stands the most detailed inventory in the book, twelve repeated through gates, angels, tribes, foundations, apostles, pearls and thousands of furlongs, with twelve named stones listed one by one. Two lines reach back to earlier chapters word for word: "It is done" was said at the seventh vial, and "I am Alpha and Omega" was said in the opening chapter. The measuring here also answers the measuring at 11:1 and 11:2, where a reed was given and part of the ground was deliberately left out.

Cited passages: Revelation 21:1, Revelation 21:4, Revelation 21:6, Revelation 21:16, Revelation 21:19, Revelation 21:20, Revelation 21:21, Revelation 21:22, Revelation 21:25, Revelation 16:17, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 11:1, Revelation 11:2

Key moments

A new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). The first heaven and earth pass away and there is no more sea.
The holy city descends (Revelation 21:2). John sees new Jerusalem coming down from God, prepared as a bride.
No more death (Revelation 21:4). A voice says tears, death, sorrow, crying and pain are gone.
All things new (Revelation 21:5). The one on the throne declares he makes all things new and tells John to write.
Twelve foundations (Revelation 21:14). The wall's foundations carry the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The city measured (Revelation 21:16). The angel measures a foursquare city whose length, breadth and height are equal.
No temple there (Revelation 21:22). The text says the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

For reflection

The city is measured to the cubit and its stones are named one by one, while the names on its gates and foundations are said to be written and never printed. What is it like to read a description so exact about some things and silent about others?