Revelation 21-22

New Century Version

The New Jerusalem

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and there was no sea anymore. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,^[a] coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Now God’s presence is with people, and he will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God.^{[b] 4} He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain, because all the old ways are gone.”

⁵ The One who was sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.”

⁶ The One on the throne said to me, “It is finished. I am the Alpha and the Omega,^[c] the Beginning and the End. I will give free water from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. ⁷ Those who win the victory will receive this, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. ⁸ But cowards, those who refuse to believe, who do evil things, who kill, who sin sexually, who do evil magic, who worship idols, and who tell lies—all these will have a place in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

⁹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last troubles came to me, saying, “Come with me, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And the angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large and high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It was shining with the glory of God and was bright like a very expensive jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² The city had a great high wall with twelve gates with twelve angels at the gates, and on each gate was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west. ¹⁴ The walls of the city were built on twelve foundation stones, and on the stones were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod made of gold to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ The city was built in a square, and its length was equal to its width. The angel measured the city with the rod. The city was 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high. ¹⁷ The angel also measured the wall. It was 216 feet high, by human measurements, which the angel was using. ¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper, and the city was made of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹ The foundation stones of the city walls were decorated with every kind of jewel. The first foundation was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was chalcedony, the fourth was emerald, ²⁰ the fifth was onyx, the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was chrysolite, the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was chrysoprase, the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate having been made from a single pearl. And the street of the city was made of pure gold as clear as glass.

²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the city’s temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God is its light, and the Lamb is the city’s lamp. ²⁴ By its light the people of the world will walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵ The city’s gates will never be shut on any day, because there is no night there. ²⁶ The glory and the honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing unclean and no one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever go into it. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. It was shining like crystal and was flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of life was on each side of the river. It produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of all the nations. ³ Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and God’s servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. ⁵ There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will rule as kings forever and ever.

⁶ The angel said to me, “These words can be trusted and are true.” The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen soon.

⁷ “Listen! I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who obeys the words of prophecy in this book.”

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me. ⁹ But the angel said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you, your brothers the prophets, and all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!”

¹⁰ Then the angel told me, “Do not keep secret the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near for all this to happen. ¹¹ Let whoever is doing evil continue to do evil. Let whoever is unclean continue to be unclean. Let whoever is doing right continue to do right. Let whoever is holy continue to be holy.”

¹² “Listen! I am coming soon! I will bring my reward with me, and I will repay each one of you for what you have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega,^[d] the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes^[e] so that they will receive the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside the city are the evil people, those who do evil magic, who sin sexually, who murder, who worship idols, and who love lies and tell lies.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am the descendant from the family of David, and I am the bright morning star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears this say, “Come!” Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may have the water of life as a free gift.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to these words, God will add to that person the disasters written about in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away that one’s share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this book.

²⁰ Jesus, the One who says these things are true, says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.