The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 21 -

(Isaiah 65:17–25)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more.

And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people; and God himself with them shall be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.

And he said to me: It is done. I am Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth, I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely.

He that shall overcome shall possess these things, and I will be his God; and he shall be my son.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

The New Jerusalem

And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come, and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

Having the glory of God, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone, even as crystal.

And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

On the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

And he that spoke with me, had a measure of a reed of gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof, and the wall.

And the city lieth in a foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs, and the length and the height and the breadth thereof are equal.

And he measured the wall thereof an hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel.

And the building of the wall thereof was of jasper stone: but the city itself pure gold, like to clear glass.

And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire: the third, a chalcedony: the fourth, an emerald:

The fifth, sardonyx: the sixth, sardius: the seventh, chrysolite: the eighth, beryl: the ninth, a topaz: the tenth, a chrysoprasus: the eleventh, a jacinth: the twelfth, an amethyst.

And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one to each: and every several gate was of one several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb.

And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.

And the nations shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it.

And the gates thereof shall not be shut by day: for there shall be no night there.

And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb.

(Isaiah 65:17–25)

I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.”

He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”

He said to me, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.

He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.

But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, (a) abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, (b) idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls which were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

having a great and high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

On the east were three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

He who spoke with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, its gates, and its walls.

The city is square. Its length is as great as its width. He measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand twelve stadia.(c) Its length, width, and height are equal.

Its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits,(d) by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

The construction of its wall was jasper. The city was pure gold, like pure glass.

The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire;(e) the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each one of the gates was made of one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it and its lamp is the Lamb.

The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

Its gates will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there),

and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it so that they may enter.

There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Footnotes

(a)21:8 TR and NU omit “sinners”

(b)21:8 The word for “sorcerers” here also includes users of potions and drugs.

(d)21:17 144 cubits is about 65.8 meters or 216 feet

(e)21:19 or, lapis lazuli