# Revelation 21 đź“–: All Things New
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### A New Heaven and a New Earth
**Principle**:
[[#Verse 01.]] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more.Â
[[#Verse 02.]] And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.Â
[[#Verse 04.]] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”
[[#Verse 05.]] And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.”Â
[[#Verse 06.]] He also said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water free of charge from the spring of the water of life.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.Â
[[#Verse 08.]] But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.”
### The New Jerusalem Descends
**Principle**:
[[#Verse 09.]] Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!”Â
[[#Verse 10.]] So he took me away in the Spirit to a huge, majestic mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] The city possesses the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper.Â
[[#Verse 12.]] It has a massive, high wall with twelve gates, with twelve angels at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel are written on the gates.Â
[[#Verse 13.]] There are three gates on the east side, three gates on the north side, three gates on the south side and three gates on the west side.Â
[[#Verse 14.]]Â The wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
[[#Verse 15.]] The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall.Â
[[#Verse 16.]] Now the city is laid out as a square, its length and width the same. He measured the city with the measuring rod at 1,400 miles (its length and width and height are equal).Â
[[#Verse 17.]] He also measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s.
[[#Verse 18.]] The city’s wall is made of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
[[# Verse 017]] He also measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s.Â
[[# Verse 018]] The city’s wall is made of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] The foundations of the city’s wall are decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,Â
[[#Verse 20.]] the fifth onyx,the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] And the twelve gates are twelve pearls—each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main streetof the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
[[#Verse 22.]] Now I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God—the All-Powerful—and the Lamb are its temple.Â
[[#Verse 23.]]Â The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb.Â
[[#Verse 24.]] The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their grandeur into it.Â
[[#Verse 25.]] Its gates will never be closed during the day (and there will be no night there).Â
[[#Verse 26.]] They will bring the grandeur and the wealth of the nations into it,Â
[[#Verse 27.]] but nothing ritually unclean will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or practices falsehood, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. New heavens and a new earth (21:1) fulfill the promise of Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22.
2. "The sea was no more" (21:1). In the Bible the sea often pictures chaos and danger, and for John it was also the barrier that kept him on Patmos.
3. God's dwelling (*skēnē*, tent) being with people (21:3) recalls the tabernacle and Leviticus 26:11-12.
4. The city is shaped like a cube about 12,000 stadia on each side (21:16), roughly 1,400 miles.
5. The Most Holy Place in Solomon's temple was also a perfect cube (1 Kings 6:20).
6. The twelve gates bear the names of the twelve tribes, as in Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 48:30-34).
7. The twelve foundations bear the names of the twelve apostles (21:14).
8. The twelve precious stones of the foundations (21:19-20) resemble the twelve stones on the high priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:17-21).
9. Each gate is made of a single pearl (21:21), the source of the phrase "pearly gates."
10. The city needs no sun or moon because God's glory gives it light (21:23), echoing Isaiah 60:19.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Lamb whose bride is the holy city (21:9) and whose book of life holds the names of all who enter (21:27). He is the Alpha and Omega who makes all things new (21:5-6; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God promises to wipe away every tear and end death, mourning, and pain (21:4). Which of these promises speaks most to you today?
2. The city has no temple because God and the Lamb are its temple (21:22). What does it mean that God's presence will fill everything?
3. God says, "I am making all things new" (21:5). Where do you long for God's renewal in your life right now?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 1: John sees a new heaven and a new earth, and the sea is no more.
- đź“– verse 3: God's dwelling is with His people, and He will live among them.
- đź“– verse 4: God will wipe away every tear. Death, mourning, crying, and pain will be gone.
- đź“– verse 5: The One on the throne says, "I am making all things new."
- đź“– verses 22-23: The city has no temple and needs no sun, because God and the Lamb are its temple and light.
## đź”— Related Passages
- 🔗 21:1 → Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:13 – New heavens and a new earth.
- 🔗 21:2 → Hebrews 11:10, 16 – The city whose architect and builder is God.
- 🔗 21:3 → Leviticus 26:11-12 and Ezekiel 37:27 – I will dwell among them and be their God.
- 🔗 21:3 → John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
- 🔗 21:4 → Isaiah 25:8 and 35:10 – Death swallowed up; sorrow and sighing flee away.
- 🔗 21:5 → Isaiah 43:19 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 – Behold, I am doing a new thing.
- 🔗 21:6 → Isaiah 55:1 and John 4:13-14 – Come, all who are thirsty.
- 🔗 21:10-21 → Ezekiel 40-48 – Ezekiel's vision of the restored temple and city.
- 🔗 21:12-14 → Ezekiel 48:30-35 and Ephesians 2:20 – Gates named for the tribes; foundations of apostles.
- 🔗 21:22 → John 2:19-21 – Jesus speaks of the temple of His body.
- 🔗 21:23 → Isaiah 60:19-20 – The Lord will be your everlasting light.
- 🔗 21:24-27 → Isaiah 60:3, 11 and 52:1 – Nations walk by its light; the unclean will not enter.
- đź”— [[Isaiah 65#Verse 17.|Isaiah 65:17-19]] - New heavens and a new earth with no more weeping.
- đź”— [[Isaiah 60#Verse 19.|Isaiah 60:19-20]] - The Lord will be your everlasting light.
- đź”— [[Ezekiel 48#Verse 30.|Ezekiel 48:30-35]] - The city's gates and its name, The Lord Is There.
- đź”— [[John 14#Verse 02.|John 14:2-3]] - I go to prepare a place for you.
- đź”— [[Hebrews 11#Verse 10.|Hebrews 11:10]] - Abraham looked for the city whose builder is God.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Revelation 21 - SOAP|In the Garden Again!]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes