Revelation 21 with References

A New Heaven and a New Earth

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.



I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. For your Maker is your husband the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.



And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings at their death. What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”



‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.



He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”



He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!”. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”



Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people,and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.” This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.



But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.



One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride,the wife of the Lamb.” I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.



And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. “These are the tribes, listed by name: At the northern frontier, Danwill have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath;Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side. “Asher will have one portion; it will border the territory of Dan from east to west. “Naphtali will have one portion; it will border the territory of Asher from east to west. “Manasseh will have one portion; it will border the territory of Naphtali from east to west. “Ephraim will have one portion; it will border the territory of Manasseh from east to west. “Reuben will have one portion; it will border the territory of Ephraim from east to west. “Judah will have one portion; it will border the territory of Reuben from east to west. “Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the center of it.“The special portion you are to offer to the Lord will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord. This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites,who were faithful in serving me and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray. It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites. “Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits. They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the Lord.“The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it and will have these measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits. The pastureland for the city will be 250 cubits on the north, 250 cubits on the south, 250 cubits on the east, and 250 cubits on the west. What remains of the area, bordering on the sacred portion and running the length of it, will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city. The workers from the city who farm it will come from all the tribes of Israel. The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side. As a special gift you will set aside the sacred portion, along with the property of the city. “What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the property of the city will belong to the prince. It will extend eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the sacred portion to the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. Both these areas running the length of the tribal portions will belong to the prince, and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the center of them. So the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the center of the area that belongs to the prince. The area belonging to the prince will lie between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin.“As for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin will have one portion; it will extend from the east side to the west side. “Simeon will have one portion; it will border the territory of Benjamin from east to west. “Issachar will have one portion; it will border the territory of Simeon from east to west. “Zebulun will have one portion; it will border the territory of Issachar from east to west. “Gad will have one portion; it will border the territory of Zebulun from east to west. “The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. “This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Sovereign Lord. “These will be the exits of the city: Beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long, the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi. “On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan. “On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun. “On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali. “The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. “And the name of the city from that time on will be:the Lord is there.”



It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.



It had a great, high wall with twelve gates,and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. The gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi. “On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan. “On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun. “On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.



There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi. “On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan. “On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun. “On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.



The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.



The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand.



The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.



The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald. “Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli.



The fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.



The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. Down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.



I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.



The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,and before its elders—with great glory.



The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.



On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—their kings led in triumphal procession. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—their kings led in triumphal procession. It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.



The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.



Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.