Revelation Chapter 21

At a Glance

  • Revelation 21 lifts readers into the fulfillment of God’s redemptive promise: a new heaven and a new earth, for the first creation has passed away.
  • The passage culminates in a deeply relational hope: God will be present with his people, and their life will be reconciled to the divine intention from creation.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • As the final chapter in Revelation’s narrative arc, Revelation 21 represents the eschatological culmination of a text that uses symbolic and literal language to communicate ultimate things.
  • - Divine dwelling: God’s presence among his people as the center of reality.

Chapter Overview

Revelation 21 lifts readers into the fulfillment of God’s redemptive promise: a new heaven and a new earth, for the first creation has passed away. John beholds the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. God dwells with humanity, wiping away every tear, abolishing death, mourning, crying, and pain. The city’s glory radiates with divine light, and the river of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, offering free access to the water of life. The chapter details the city’s beauty and the sustaining presence of God, with architectural imagery that emphasizes completeness, order, and intimate proximity to the Creator. The vision closes with a strong note of invitation and warning: nothing impure will enter, yet the faithful are given the promise of eternal fellowship with God.

The passage culminates in a deeply relational hope: God will be present with his people, and their life will be reconciled to the divine intention from creation. It is a vision of consummation, where the brokenness of the present world is replaced by a perfected, secure, redeemed existence.

Historical & Literary Context

As the final chapter in Revelation’s narrative arc, Revelation 21 represents the eschatological culmination of a text that uses symbolic and literal language to communicate ultimate things. The new creation imagery echoes prophetic anticipation in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel while reframing it through the lens of Christ’s victory and the Spirit’s renewal. The ideal of a blessed, intimate presence with God contrasts with the prior depictions of judgment and cosmic conflict, providing a comprehensive arc from fall to restoration.

Key Themes

- Divine dwelling: God’s presence among his people as the center of reality.

- Restoration and healing: the removal of death, tears, and pain.

- Purity and holiness: the triad of gates, foundations, and the city’s perfect order emphasize holiness and security.

- The harmony of creation and covenant: the city embodies the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham, David, and all who belong to the covenant.

Modern Application

Revelation 21 speaks to contemporary longing for healing, justice, and a place of belonging. It invites believers to orient their lives toward the coming renewal, practicing hope in a world marked by loss and betrayal. Practical takeaways include:

- Cultivating a hopeful, mission-shaped life rooted in the promise of new creation.

- Pursuing justice and mercy as expressions of the future kingdom already breaking in.

- Nursing a robust eschatological imagination that informs ethics, worship, and community life.

- Revelation 22 (the tree of life and final invitation)

- Isaiah 65-66 (new heavens and new earth)

- 2 Peter 3 (the day of the Lord and new creation)

- John 14 (Jesus’ preparing a place)

Recommended Personas

- Jesus (the Lamb who makes all things new)

- Paul (theology of new creation in Christ)

- Moses (vision of promised land and God’s dwelling among his people)

- Mary (holding fast to God’s promises and the expectation of new life)

Chapter Text

1

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

9

And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

10

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

11

Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

12

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13

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

14

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15

And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

17

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

18

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24

And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

25

And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26

And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Discuss This Chapter with Biblical Personas

Explore Revelation Chapter 21 with Biblical figures who can provide unique perspectives grounded in Scripture.

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