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REVELATION 
VI. THE NEW CREATION*
The New Heaven and the New Earth.
211a Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.* 2I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,* coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.b 3I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.c He will dwell with them and they will be his people* and God himself will always be with them [as their God].* 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death
or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.”d 5The one who sat on the throne* said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.”e 6He said to me, “They are accomplished.* I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water.f 7The victor* will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son.g 8But as for cowards,* the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol- worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool
of re and sulfur, which is the second death.”h
The New Jerusalem.* 9One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls lled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”* 10He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.i 11It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal.j 12It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where
The last chapters in Revelation turn from the punishment of the wicked to the nal victory and transcendence of Christ.
21:2
The “new Jerusalem” is the place where God will dwell in the midst of the people, not in the fearsome imagery we have seen in other chapters of Revelation, but as a loving parent, wiping the tears from their eyes.
21:12
The walled city has twelve gates, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve courses of stone, for the twelve Apostles. The dimensions of the heavenly city are meant to suggest its vastness: it is large enough to include all who love God.
a. [21:1]Is65:17;66:22;Rom8:19– 23; 2 Pt 3:13.
b. [21:2] 19:7–9.
c. [21:3] Ez 37:27.
d. [21:4] 7:17; Is 25:8; 35:10.
e. [21:5] Is 43:19; 2 Cor 5:17.
f. [21:6] 22:17; Ps 36:8–9; Is 55:1.
g. [21:7] 2 Sm 7:14.
h. [21:8] 22:15; Rom 1:29–32.
i. [21:10] Ez 40:2.
j. [21:11] Heb 11:10.
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* [21:1–22:5] A description of God’s eternal kingdom in heaven under the symbols of a new heaven and a new earth; cf. Is 65:17–25; 66:22; Mt 19:28.
* [21:1] Sea. . .no more: because as home of the dragon it was doomed to disappear; cf. Jb 7:12.
* [21:2] New Jerusalem. . .bride: symbol of the church (Gal 4:26); see note on Rev 19:7.
* [21:3–4] Language taken from Ez 37:27; Is 25:8; 35:10; cf. Rev 7:17.
* [21:3] People: other ancient manuscripts read a plural, “peoples.”
* [21:5] The one. . .on the throne: God himself; cf. Rev 4:1–11.
* [21:6] They are accomplished: God’s reign has already begun; see note on Rev 20:1–6.
Alpha. . .Omega: see note on Rev 1:8. Life-giving water: see note on Rev 7:17.
* [21:7] The victor: over the forces of evil; see the conclusions of the seven letters (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). He will be my son: the victorious Christian enjoys divine a liation by
adoption (Gal 4:4–7; Rom 8:14–17); see note on Rev 2:26–28.
* [21:8] Cowards: their conviction is so weak that they deny Christ in time of trial and become
traitors. Second death: see note on Rev 2:11.
* [21:9–22:5] Symbolic descriptions of the new Jerusalem, the church. Most of the images are
borrowed from Ez 40–48.
* [21:9] The bride, the wife of the Lamb: the church (Rev 21:2), the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:10);
cf. 2 Cor 11:2.