The Word Made Fresh
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and the sea no longer was there. 2I saw the sacred city, Jerusalem, coming down from God in heaven, dressed as a bride adorned for her husband. 3I heard a loud voice from the throne call out,
“Look! Now the tabernacle of God is with the people!
And God will live with them,
and they will be God’s people.
God himself will dwell there,
4and will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no longer;
mourning and weeping and pain will cease to be,
for the old way of life has passed away.”
5Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I will make everything new! Write these words down, for they are to be trusted; they are true.” 6Then he said, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water from the spring of life to those who are thirsty. 7Those who conquer will inherit these things; I will be their God and they will be my people. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the defiled, those who murder, those who go in to prostitutes, those who practice sorcery, those who worship idols, and those who are liars – all of them will be cast into the lake of fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
9Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and said, “Come, I’ll show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10Then he carried me in the spirit to a great and tall mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem being sent down from God out of heaven. 11It is glorious, like God, and radiant like a rare jewel – jasper, or crystal. 12The city has a high wall with twelve gates. Twelve angels are at the gates, and the gates are etched with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west. 14The wall around the city has twelve cornerstones on which the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are etched.
15The one who spoke with me held a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city walls and gates. 16The city is perfectly square; each side measures the same. The angel measured the city with his rod. It is fourteen hundred miles square – its length and width and height are the same. 17He measured its wall also; it was about two hundred feet thick by the angel’s measurements. 18It is made of jasper, but the city itself is of pure gold as smooth as glass. 19The foundations of the city wall are decorated with different jewels: the first is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21The twelve gates are pearls – each gate a single pearl. The city street is pure gold as transparent as glass.
22I didn’t see a temple in the city; its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23The city doesn’t need the sun or moon to shine on it because its light is the glory of God, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24The nations will walk by its light. The glory of the earth’s kings will be brought into it. 25It gates will never be shut because there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought to the city, 27Nothing unclean nor anyone who engages in sinful activities or dishonesty will be allowed to enter it, but only those whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Commentary
1-4: The idea of God doing away with the current heaven and earth and bringing about a new heaven and earth is not unique to Revelation. It is at least as old as the prophets of Israel (see, for example, Isaiah 65:17). The sea in verse one is surely intended to refer to the “deep,” that primordial ocean of chaos in the midst of which God placed the heavens and the earth (read again the creation story in Genesis 1), and out of which God constantly battled against the powers of evil. Leviathan was the ancient dragon of the sea in the Old Testament where there are several references to God warring with it (Psalm 74:14, Isaiah 27:1) and in the intertestamental writings as well (2 Esdras 6:49-52). John sees “the new Jerusalem” descending out of heaven in great splendor which he describes in detail a few verses further along. Jerusalem is the dwelling place of God among mortals, and the New Jerusalem is thus a sign that God is also coming down to dwell there. There will be no more suffering, no pain, no death, no mourning. Jesus had said all those things were merely the birth pangs of a new world aborning, and suffering would pass away when the birthing is complete (see Mark 13:8), and Paul fleshed out the idea more thoroughly (Romans 8:18-25).
5-8: John hears God announcing from the throne that all things will be made new. God was in the beginning at the first creation and is at the end when that creation is replaced with the new one. The thirsty (those who thirst for the living God) are given the water of life and will enjoy eternal life while the wicked will be cast into the “lake of fire.”
9-14: An angel takes John to see Jerusalem, now called “the bride of the Lamb.” The description given in these verses reminds us of the description of the new Jerusalem the prophet Ezekiel “saw” hundreds of years before (Ezekiel 40-48; note especially the last verse in that book). But, while Ezekiel saw the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel, John also sees the twelve apostles honored.
15-21: Ezekiel saw the new temple in Jerusalem; John sees the whole city made new – not renewed, but replaced entirely. In his vision he is taken by the angel to measure the whole city – Ezekiel had been concerned only with the measurements of the new temple. The gems in the foundations of the wall are reminiscent of the gems woven into Aaron’s priestly vest; 10 of the 12 gems listed here are identical with those worn by the high priests of Israel (see Exodus 28:17-20, 39:10-13. See also Ezekiel 28:13). In the New Jerusalem the foundation gems are for the 12 apostles rather than the tribes of Israel. The Church, in other words, has in John’s vision replaced the old sacrificial offerings system of Israel.
22-27: Whereas Ezekiel was given a vision of a new temple, John’s vision does not include the temple at all. God and the Lamb are the temple; that is to say, they will dwell in the city with the people and since they are present there is no need for a temple. The city is always open for anyone to enter who wishes. Of course, they are the people “whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s book of life.” There are no unbelievers, no evildoers, and no wickedness. I like this vision!
Takeaway
At last, the terrible visions are replaced by the sight of the new world God has planned since the beginning – a new world where there is no sin, no suffering, and no fear. The plans God has for us are breathtaking and wonderful. Keep the faith!