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Revelation 21: A New Heaven and Earth

God makes all things new, the New Jerusalem descends as a bride, and God dwells with his people, wiping every tear away.

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Revelation 21 (WEB)

1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

3 I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

4 He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”

5 He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”

6 He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.

7 He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.

8 But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers,idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the wife, the Lamb’s bride.”

10 He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

12 having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

13 On the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

15 He who spoke with me had for a measure, a golden reed, to measure the city, its gates, and its walls.

16 The city is square, and its length is as great as its breadth. He measured the city with the reed, Twelve thousand twelve stadia. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

17 Its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

18 The construction of its wall was jasper. The city was pure gold, like pure glass.

19 The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;

20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst.

21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each one of the gates was made of one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

23 The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moon, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

24 The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

25 Its gates will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there),

26 and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it so that they may enter.

27 There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Summary

John sees a new heaven and a new earth, the first having passed away, and the sea is no more. The holy city, New Jerusalem, comes down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. A loud voice declares the heart of everything: God's dwelling is now with his people; he will live with them, they will be his people, and he himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear, and death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more, for the old order has passed. The One on the throne announces that he is making all things new and gives the water of life freely to the thirsty, while the unrepentant have their portion in the second death. An angel then shows John the bride, the Lamb's wife, the city radiant with the glory of God, its light like a precious jewel. It has high walls with twelve gates inscribed with the tribes of Israel and twelve foundations bearing the names of the apostles, and it is measured as a vast and perfect cube of gold and precious stones. There is no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple; it needs no sun or moon, for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations walk by its light, its gates never shut, and nothing impure ever enters—only those written in the Lamb's book of life.

Key Figures

  • God dwelling with his people — The One on the throne who makes all things new, comes to dwell with his people as their God, and wipes away every tear from their eyes.
  • The New Jerusalem, the Bride — The holy city coming down from heaven, the Lamb's wife, radiant with God's glory, where God's people dwell in his presence forever.
  • The Lamb — Jesus Christ, who with the Lord God is the city's temple and whose glory is its lamp, in whose book of life the citizens are written.

Key Verse

Revelation 21:3 (WEB)

Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Lessons Learned

  • God's ultimate goal is to dwell with his people in a renewed creation.
  • God will wipe away every tear, ending death, mourning, crying, and pain forever.
  • God is making all things new, not merely escaping or discarding creation.
  • In the holy city there is no temple, for God and the Lamb are its temple and light.
  • God dwells with his people. “God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3, WEB). The whole story climaxes in restored fellowship with him.
  • Every tear is wiped away. “He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more” (Revelation 21:4, WEB). God personally heals every grief.
  • Christ makes all things new. “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5, WEB). Redemption renews creation rather than abandoning it.
  • God himself is the city's light. “The very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23, WEB). His presence is all the light his people need.
  1. What does it mean that the goal of the whole book is God dwelling with his people?
  2. How does the promise that God will wipe away every tear speak to the griefs we carry now?
  3. Why is it significant that God says he is making all things new rather than simply destroying the old?
  4. What does the absence of a temple in the city tell us about life in God's immediate presence?
  5. How does the vision of the New Jerusalem give you hope and shape the way you live today?
  1. The loud voice declares the heart of the new creation: God will dwell with his people as their God (21:3). Help the group see that all of Scripture has been moving toward this restored communion, lost in Eden and now perfectly regained.
  2. The promise that God will personally wipe away every tear, ending death and pain, meets us in our deepest sorrows (21:4). This is a comfort question; invite the group to bring their griefs to this hope, trusting God to make them new.
  3. God's word is not destruction but renewal: I am making all things new (21:5). Discuss how the future is not the loss of creation but its glorious restoration, dignifying the present world and our embodied life within it.
  4. There is no temple because God and the Lamb are the temple; nothing mediates his presence anymore (21:22). Discuss the wonder of unhindered access to God, the fulfillment of every longing for nearness to him.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Encourage members to let the vision of the New Jerusalem fuel present hope and faithfulness. As leader, invite them to live now as citizens of that city, longing for the day God's dwelling is with us.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.