Revelation 21
Darby Translation · 27 verses
1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea exists no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice out of the heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he shall tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God. 4And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall not exist any more, nor grief, nor cry, nor distress shall exist any more, for the former things have passed away. 5And he that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he says [to me], Write, for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He that overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be to him God, and he shall be to me son. 8But to the fearful and unbelieving, [and sinners], and those who make themselves abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [is] in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. 9And there came one of the seven angels which had had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10And he carried me away in [the] Spirit, [and set me] on a great and high mountain, and shewed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, 11having the glory of God. Her shining [was] like a most precious stone, as a crystal-like jasper stone; 12having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are those of the twelve tribes of [the] sons of Israel. 13On [the] east three gates; and on [the] north three gates; and on [the] south three gates; and on [the] west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that spoke with me had a golden reed [as] a measure, that he might measure the city, and its gates, and its wall. 16And the city lies four-square, and its length [is] as much as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed — twelve thousand stadia: the length and the breadth and height of it are equal. 17And he measured its wall, a hundred [and] forty-four cubits, [a] man's measure, that is, [the] angel's. 18And the building of its wall [was] jasper; and the city pure gold, like pure glass: 19the foundations of the wall of the city [were] adorned with every precious stone: the first foundation, jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21And the twelve gates, twelve pearls; each one of the gates, respectively, was of one pearl; and the street of the city pure gold, as transparent glass. 22And I saw no temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lamb. 23And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon, that they should shine for it; for the glory of God has enlightened it, and the lamp thereof [is] the Lamb. 24And the nations shall walk by its light; and the kings of the earth bring their glory to it. 25And its gates shall not be shut at all by day, for night shall not be there. 26And they shall bring the glory and the honour of the nations to it. 27And nothing common, nor that maketh an abomination and a lie, shall at all enter into it; but those only who [are] written in the book of life of the Lamb.
Darby's Synopsis
But there was a new heaven and a new earth; but no more sea — no separation, nor part of the world not brought into an ordered earth before God. Here we do not find any mediatorial kingdom. The Lamb is not in the scene. God is all in all. No sorrow or crying more, no earthly people of God distinct from the inhabiters of the earth. These are God's people, and God is with them Himself, but withal His tabernacle is with them.
Study resources for this chapter
Commentary and exposition
- The Revelation of Jesus Christ Chapters 21–22 The Eternal State and Closing WordsPDF, 4 pages
Adrian Roach
Ministry meetings
- The Song of Solomon — The Progression of Love, and the Bride in Revelation 21PDF, 4 pages
Assembly ministry, August 2, 2009
Pamphlets
- The New JerusalemPDF, 36 pages
J. A. Trench, courtesy of Present Truth Publishers
Symbols
- Revelation Chapter 21PDF, 1 page
courtesy of Present Truth Publishers (Types and Symbols of Scripture, Part 2: Symbols)
Text: J. N. Darby, The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages, public domain. Emphasized words are Darby's own. Provenance on the sources page.