The New Creation
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; b for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, c and the sea was no more. d 2 I also saw the holy city, e the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, f prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. g
3 Then I heard a loud voice h from the throne: ,i Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, ,j and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. k Death will be no more; l grief, crying, and pain will be no more, m because the previous things have passed away. n
5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” o 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! p I am the Alpha and the Omega, q the beginning and the end. r I will freely give to the thirsty s from the spring of the water of life. t 7 The one who conquers u will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. v 8 But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars w—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, x which is the second death.” y
The New Jerusalem
9 Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, z came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 He then carried me away in the Spirit ,a to a great, high mountain b and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 arrayed with God’s glory. c Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. d 14 The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations.
15 The one who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod e to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. f 16 The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used. 18 The building material of its wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of jewel: g the first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
22 I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. h 24 The nations will walk by its light, i and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ,j 25 Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there. k 26 They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. ,l 27 Nothing unclean will ever enter it, m nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life. n
21:1. Creation is renewed not by destroying the old and starting over but by transforming the old into something different, better, and transcendent (cf. Is 65:17). Creation changes without losing its former identity and becomes “a new heaven and a new earth” (21:1a). God has not abandoned this world, and neither should we. Because God plans on transforming the old created order, the church should be faithful stewards of the planet and not exploit its resources.
21:2–8. The new Jerusalem descending from heaven is the community of faith (21:2; see the commentary on 21:9–11). The promises that God gave to Israel in Is 25:8 to wipe away their tears, protect them from suffering, and keep them safe from death find a deeper fulfillment in an eternal home where there is no death at all, pain is gone, the old rule of sin is broken, and God himself will comfort his people with his tabernacling presence (21:3–4; cf. Lv 26:11; Ezk 37:27; 43:7). Joy will abound for the bride of Christ (cf. Is 49:18; 52:1; 61:10; Eph 5:22–27). The Alpha and the Omega, the one who governs history from beginning to end, assures the reader, “It is done!” and promises the faithful that a sinless new world shall be their inheritance (21:6–7).
21:9–11. Glimpses of the new Jerusalem have been shown to John throughout his heavenly tour (3:12; 21:2), but no detailed exposition of the city’s import and meaning has been given until now. The epiphany of God’s city has three major movements: (1) the initial descent of the city and its summary description (21:9–14), (2) the measurements and materials of the city (21:15–21), and (3) the internal content and landscape of the city (21:22–22:5).
21:12–17. The dimensions of the city are an allusion to Ezekiel’s vision of a restored temple in which God’s glory is manifested as rivers of living water flowing from the sanctuary’s foundation and each of its twelve gates is named after one of the twelve tribes of Israel (21:12–14; cf. Ezk 40:1–4; 43:1–5; 47:1–12; 48:30–35). Just as Ezekiel’s dimensions make the temple a perfect cube, so do the bowl angel’s measurements of the new Jerusalem make it a cube (21:15–17). Yet everything about the new Jerusalem surpasses the eschatological temple, which Ezekiel surveys. The new Jerusalem is twelve thousand stadia in length, height, and width (about fourteen hundred miles), while the dimensions of the Ezekiel temple only amount to approximately one and a half miles. Since twelve is the number of God’s apostles and his tribes, and one thousand is a multiple of ten (i.e., the number of power and vastness), the dimensions of the new Jerusalem are a spatial metaphor for a numberless multitude, the entire people of God from both Testaments, believers from every nation, tribe, and language (7:9) gathered around in perfect communion with each other and with God, whose glory the city reflects.
21:18–21. The material description of the city focuses on its jewels (e.g., jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, carnelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, amethyst, pearls, and other precious materials). The stones have a twofold function. First, they highlight the glorified and transcendent nature (cf. Is 54:11) of the church at the resurrection. Second, they indicate the priestly role of the community since Jerusalem is dressed like a high priest. The listed jewels on the breastplate of the high priest (Ex 28:17–20) resemble those embedded on the city walls, foundations, and gates. Each stone in the Exodus text represents a tribe of Israel. The stones in the new Jerusalem, therefore, could be another way of signifying the diverse membership of God’s people in the same way that the different names around the city signify it (cf. Is 54:11–12).
21:22–27. John catalogs the content and occupants of the city. But the question, What is in the city? is not as important as, What is not in the city? or rather, What is no longer needed? There is no temple (21:22). There is no sun or moon (21:23). The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb have become the temple of the new Jerusalem, and their glory, abiding presence, and splendor so fill every corner, street, room, gate, wall, and quarter that there is no part of the universe a person can travel without basking in the light of God (21:24). The reach of the Lamb’s lamp knows no bounds. This is a universal theophany of epic proportions (Is 6:1–10; Ezk 1:28–2:3; Dn 8:15–18; 10:4–21).