December 28: Revelation 21
A New Heaven, a New Earth, the New Jerusalem
21 Then in a vision I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. 2 I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descending out of the heavenly realm from the presence of God, like a pleasing[a] bride that had been prepared for her husband, adorned for her wedding. 3 And I heard a thunderous voice from the throne, saying:
“Look! God’s tabernacle is with human beings.
And from now on he will tabernacle with them as their God.
Now God himself will have his home with them—
‘God-with-them’ will be their God![b]
4 He will wipe away[c] every tear from their eyes
and eliminate death entirely.
No one will mourn or weep any longer.
The pain of wounds will no longer exist,
for the old order[d] has ceased.”
5 And God-Enthroned spoke to me and said, “Consider this! I am making everything to be new and fresh. Write down at once all that I have told you, because each word is trustworthy and dependable.”
6 Then he said to me, “It has been accomplished! For I am the Aleph and the Tav,[e] the beginning and the end. I will give water to all who are thirsty. As my gracious gift, they will continuously drink from the fountain of living water. 7 The conquering ones will inherit these gifts from me. I will continue to be their God and they will continue being children for me.[f] 8 But as for the cowardly,[g] the faithless, the despicable, the murderers, the perverts,[h] the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all deceivers,[i] they will find their place in the lake of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the last seven plagues came to me and said, “Come. I will show you the beautiful bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 He carried me away in the realm of the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain. There he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 It was infused with the glory of God, and its radiance was like that of a very rare jewel, like a jasper,[j] clear as crystal. 12 It had a massive, high wall with twelve gates, and each gate had an angel. Each gate had written upon it a name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel— 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The city wall had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates and walls. 16 The city was laid out in a perfect square;[k] its length, width, and height were equal. So he measured the city with his rod, and it was 12,000[l]stadia,[m] with equal dimensions for its width, length, and height. 17 He also measured the wall at 144 cubits, according to the measure of a man, which is angelic.
18 The city was pure gold, clear as crystal,[n] and its wall was made of jasper.[o] 19 The twelve foundations of the wall[p]were adorned with every kind of precious stone—the first was jasper,[q] the second sapphire,[r] the third agate,[s] the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx,[t] the sixth carnelian,[u] the seventh chrysolite,[v] the eighth beryl,[w] the ninth topaz,[x]the tenth chrysoprase,[y] the eleventh turquoise,[z] and the twelfth amethyst.[aa] 21 The twelve gates are twelve pearls—each gate made of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, clear as crystal.[ab]
22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb.
23 The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.[ac]
24 The people[ad] will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their wealth[ae] into it.
25 Its gates will never be shut by day—standing always open—because there is no night there.
26 People will bring the glory and wealth of the nations into it.
27 Evil[af] will not enter, nor anyone who does what is abhorrent or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.