The Word Am I

The Revelation of St. John the Divine

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- Chapter 21 -

(Isaiah 65:17–25)
1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,(a) for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.(b)
4
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’(c) and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5
And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
6
And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
7
The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

9
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
11
shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
12
The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates.
13
There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west.
14
The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15
The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.
16
The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia (d) in length and width and height.
17
And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits,(e) by the human measure the angel was using.
18
The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19
The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was 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, and the twelfth amethyst.
21
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate consisting of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.
22
But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24
By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.(f)
25
Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there.
26
And into the city will be brought the glory and honor of the nations.
27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Footnotes

(a)21:1 See Isaiah 65:17 and Isaiah 66:22 (see also LXX).
(b)21:3 SBL, NE, WH, and BYZ God Himself will be with them.
(c)21:4 Isaiah 25:8.
(d)21:16 12,000 stadia is approximately 1,380 miles or 2,220 kilometers.
(e)21:17 144 cubits is approximately 216 feet or 65.8 meters. The measure could indicate either height or thickness.
(f)21:24 BYZ and TR include and honor.
(Isaiah 65:17–25)
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 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, “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, (a) abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, (b) idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

9
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls which were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
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, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12
having a great and high wall with 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. Its length is as great as its width. He measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand twelve stadia.(c) Its length, width, and height are equal.
17
Its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits,(d) 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;(e) the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20
the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, 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 or 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.

Footnotes

(a)21:8 TR and NU omit “sinners”
(b)21:8 The word for “sorcerers” here also includes users of potions and drugs.
(c)21:16 12,012 stadia = 2,221 kilometers or 1,380 miles. TR reads 12,000 stadia instead of 12,012 stadia.
(d)21:17 144 cubits is about 65.8 meters or 216 feet
(e)21:19 or, lapis lazuli
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