Bible School · New Testament survey · Class 53 of 53
All things new: the new Jerusalem and the end of the story
Revelation 21–22 · about 22 minutes · All things new
By the end of this class you should be able to
- Place Revelation 21 and 22 as the climax of the book and of the Bible's story, and name the Old Testament texts they fulfil.
- Outline the passage: the new heaven and earth, the bride city, the river and tree of life, and the closing words.
- Explain the main images of the new Jerusalem, including the cube shape, the gates and foundations, and the absence of a temple.
- Describe how the passage reverses the curse of Genesis 3 and completes the themes of Eden, covenant and kingdom.
- Show how Christ appears in the passage as Lamb, light, temple, Alpha and Omega, and the one who says he is coming.
Read the passage
21Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And 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. 4‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5And 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.” 6And 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. 7The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. 8But 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.” 9Then 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.” 10And 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, 11shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal. 12The 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. 13There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16The 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 in length and width and height. 17And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using. 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The 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, 20the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21And 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. 22But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23And 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. 24By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory. 25Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there. 26And into the city will be brought the glory and honor of the nations. 27But 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.
Open Revelation 21 in the reader (BSB)22Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him. 4They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever. 6Then the angel said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place.” 7“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.” 8And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 9But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” 10Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near. 11Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.” 12“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” 14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates. 15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.” 17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely. 18I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book. 20He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
Open Revelation 22 in the reader (BSB)01Background
These two chapters conclude the book of Revelation, written by a man named John on the island of Patmos () to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia. The author is traditionally identified with the apostle John, though some scholars suggest another John. The usual date is about AD 95, in the reign of Domitian, with a minority preferring the late 60s. The first readers were Christians under pressure from the cult of the emperor and from neighbours who resented their refusal to join civic religion. Some had been killed for their testimony.
The visions before describe conflict: the seals, trumpets and bowls, the beasts that serve the dragon, the fall of Babylon (a name for Rome as the power opposed to God), the return of Christ on a white horse (), a thousand-year reign () that Christians understand in different ways, and the final judgment (). and 22 are the resolution: a world in which God dwells with his people.
To a church that expected suffering, the passage says where history is going. Babylon, with its luxury and cruelty ( and 18), is set against the city of God, and the harlot of against the bride of .
02Outline
- A new heaven and a new earth: God dwells with his people
- The bride, the wife of the Lamb: the holy city, its gates and foundations
- The measuring of the city: its size, its materials, no temple, no night, the nations and their glory
- The river of the water of life, the tree of life, and seeing his face
- The faithful words: Jesus is coming, and the invitation to come
- The warning to the hearer and the closing prayer: Come, Lord Jesus
03How to read it
and 22 are the last part of an apocalypse, and the genre governs the reading. The city is described in symbols, and nearly every one has an Old Testament source. The measuring of the city comes from to 48, the river and the trees from and , the new heaven and earth from and 66:22, the gates named for the twelve tribes from , and the jewelled foundations from and . The promise that God will dwell with his people draws on and , and the wiping of every tear on . Interpreting the city means asking what each image meant in those texts, then how John uses it.
The city is a cube, 12,000 stadia on each side, roughly 1,400 miles on the usual conversion, with a wall of 144 cubits. The numbers are built on twelve, the number of God's people, and the cube echoes the Most Holy Place in the temple (). The sense is that the whole city is God's dwelling. Christians differ on how literally to take the city, and the text's chief interest is not geography but the relationship it pictures.
The chapters also conclude the whole Bible. The story began in a garden with a tree of life, a river, and God walking with the man and woman ( and 3). It ends in a garden-city with the same, and God dwelling with his people.
04What the text says
. John sees 'a new heaven and a new earth', because the first has passed away and the sea is no more. The sea in Jewish thought stood for chaos and the home of the powers hostile to God (; ), so its absence means that nothing hostile remains. John then sees the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. A loud voice proclaims that God's dwelling is now with humanity, in the language of the covenant (; ). He will wipe away every tear, and death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the former things have passed away (). The city comes down: the movement is from God to the world.
. The One on the throne speaks: he makes all things new, and these words are faithful and true. 'It is done.' He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He gives the thirsty water from the spring of life without cost (compare ). The one who conquers will inherit these things and be God's son (compare ). But the cowardly, faithless, murderers, idolaters, liars and others listed will have their share in the lake of fire, the second death. The invitation has a serious alternative.
. One of the seven angels who held the bowls shows John the bride, the wife of the Lamb, and carries him in the Spirit to a great high mountain. The bride is the city, and the city is the people of God. It shines with the glory of God like jasper. It has a great wall with twelve gates, on which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Israel and the church are in one structure.
. An angel measures the city with a golden rod: a cube, its length, width and height equal, and a wall of 144 cubits. The city is pure gold like clear glass, the foundations are adorned with twelve kinds of jewel (compare the high priest's breastplate in ), and each gate is a single pearl. The picture conveys purity, value and holiness more than a building plan.
. John sees no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. It does not need the sun or moon, since the glory of God gives it light and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates are never shut, because there is no night. Nothing unclean will enter, only those written in the Lamb's book of life.
. The angel shows John the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. On either side of the river stands the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be anything accursed. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no night, and they will reign forever and ever. Seeing God's face is the promise the Old Testament held out as the deepest hope (; ).
. The angel says the words are trustworthy and true. Jesus says he is coming soon, and pronounces a blessing on the one who keeps the words of the prophecy. When John falls down to worship the angel, he is told to worship God (compare ). John is told not to seal up the words, in contrast to , since the time is near. Jesus declares himself the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. He blesses those who wash their robes (some manuscripts read 'do his commandments'), who will have the right to the tree of life. Outside are sorcerers, the immoral, murderers, idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood. Jesus says he sent his angel to testify to the churches, and calls himself the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star. The Spirit and the bride say 'Come', the hearer says 'Come', and the thirsty are invited to take the water of life freely.
. The book closes with a warning against adding to its words or taking from them, in the manner of and , protecting the text. The one who testifies to these things says he is coming soon, and John answers, 'Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.' The book ends with a benediction of grace.
05Key terms
- new kainos
- New in kind or quality, not only recent. Many take the new heaven and earth as the old creation renewed; some read it as replacement.
- dwells skenoo
- To pitch a tent, to live among. It recalls the tabernacle () and , where the Word 'tabernacled' among us.
- bride nymphe
- A bride. The church as the bride of Christ is a New Testament image (; ) set against the harlot Babylon of .
- tree of life xylon zoes
- The tree of and , from which humanity was barred after the fall. It is restored to God's people here.
- Alpha and Omega to alpha kai to o
- The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In 21:6 God speaks it, and in Jesus does.
- Come erchou
- The prayer of the Spirit, the bride and the hearer. It echoes the Aramaic prayer maranatha, 'Our Lord, come', found in .
06In the whole Bible
The passage is the Bible's answer to the question of where history ends. It teaches the renewal of creation: the final hope is not an escape from the world but a new heaven and a new earth, with God dwelling in the midst. A city coming down says that redeemed life is physical, social and shared, in keeping with the resurrection hope of and , where creation itself is set free.
It teaches the fulfilment of the covenant. The formula 'I will be their God and they will be my people' runs from and to and , and here it is complete. It teaches the reversal of the fall. The curse of is gone, the tree of life is open, the river runs, and humanity sees God's face. It teaches the inclusion of the nations. The kings of the earth bring their glory, and the leaves of the tree heal the nations, so the promise to Abraham that all peoples will be blessed () is realised.
It also teaches a final judgment and a real alternative. The lake of fire and the exclusion of the unclean stand beside the open gates, and the book warns as well as comforts. Its last word is an invitation: the thirsty are to come and take the water of life without cost.
07Where Christ is
Christ is in nearly every verse of this passage. The city is the bride of the Lamb, and the Lamb is its lamp and its temple. The one who was slain () is the light by which the nations walk. The throne is 'of God and of the Lamb' (, 3). The Old Testament hoped for a temple where God dwelt; John sees that God and the Lamb are themselves the temple, as John's Gospel says of the body of Jesus ().
The titles of and return. In 21:6 the One on the throne is the Alpha and the Omega; in Jesus says he is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, taking to himself a title of God. In 22:16 he is the Root and the Offspring of David (, ), the fulfilment of the Davidic promise, and the bright morning star, which may echo the star of . The water of life he offers is the water he promised in the Gospel (; ). The closing prayer, 'Come, Lord Jesus', matches the early Aramaic prayer maranatha preserved in and shows that believers prayed to him as Lord.
The chapters complete what the cross began. The Lamb's blood bought a people for God (). Here that people is gathered into the city where God lives with them, and the tree of life, closed after Eden, is open again.
08How traditions read it
Christians have long differed on two matters raised by these chapters.
- The first is whether the new earth is the present creation renewed or a replacement of it. Most Catholic, Orthodox and Reformed writers, citing and the continuity of the resurrection body, speak of renewal. Some Lutheran theologians of the post-Reformation period taught that the present world would be annihilated and a new one created. The class rests no point on the choice.
- The second is the fate of the lost. The long-standing majority view across Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches is that the punishment of the lost is final and conscious. A minority of evangelical writers, John Stott among them, tentatively favoured conditional immortality, in which the lost are finally destroyed. Others hope that all will finally be reconciled, as some have read Gregory of Nyssa and as David Bentley Hart argues today. The text speaks of the open gates and of an open invitation () and, in the same chapter, of those outside ().
09Review questions
- Which Old Testament passages stand behind the new heaven and earth, the new Jerusalem, and the promise that God will dwell with his people?
- What does the absence of a temple in the city mean, and why does John say the Lord God and the Lamb are its temple?
- In what ways does reverse the story of and 3?
- Which titles of Christ appear in , and what Old Testament promises do they fulfil?
- What does the book end with in , and how do the invitation, the warning and the prayer fit together?
Prepared with AI assistance. A scholar's review is still to come; if you spot anything to correct, please tell us.
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