Revelation 21-22

EasyEnglish Bible

The new heaven and the new earth

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had gone away. The sea also was not there any more. ² I saw God's own holy city, called the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was very beautiful, like a bride who is wearing beautiful clothes, ready to meet her husband.

³ I heard a voice that spoke loudly from the throne. It said, ‘Look! God's home is now among people! God will live together with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and he will be their God. ⁴ God will take away all the tears from their eyes. Nobody will ever die again. Nobody will be sad again. Nobody will ever cry. Nobody will have pain again. Everything that made people sad has now gone. That old world has completely gone away.’

⁵ God, who was sitting on the throne, said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, because these words are true. Everyone should believe them.’

⁶ He also said to me, ‘Everything is now done! I caused all things to begin and I will cause the end of all things. I am the beginning and the end. If anyone is thirsty, I will give them water to drink. Nobody will have to pay anything for it. That water comes from a spring of water that gives life to people. ⁷ Everyone who wins against Satan will receive all these things from me. I will be their God and they will be my children.

⁸ But I will punish other people. They include:

All these people will go into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. That is the second death for people.’

New city of Jerusalem

⁹ Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls that were full of the seven final troubles came to me. He said, ‘Come with me! I will show you the bride who will become the Lamb's wife.’

¹⁰ Then God's Spirit caused me to see and to hear strange things. The angel carried me away to a great mountain that was very high. He showed me God's own holy city, Jerusalem. The city was coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It had the bright glory of God. It shone like a valuable jewel that is called jasper. It shone like clean glass. ¹² The city had a very big, high wall round it. The wall had 12 gates in it. 12 angels stood at the 12 gates. The names of the 12 tribes of Israel's people were written on the 12 gates. ¹³ There were three gates on each side of the city:

¹⁴ The city's wall has a foundation of 12 strong stones. The names of the Lamb's 12 apostles were written on those 12 stones.^[a]

¹⁵ The angel who talked to me had a long gold stick. He used it to measure things. So he could measure the city and its gates and its walls. ¹⁶ The shape of the city was a square. It was as long as it was wide. The angel measured the city with his stick. It was 12,000 stadia (2,400 kilometres) long. It was as wide and as high as it was long. ¹⁷ He also measured its wall. The size of the wall was 144 cubits (65 metres). That is the way that humans measure things. The angel also measured in the same way.^[b]

¹⁸ The wall was made from the jewel that is called jasper. The city was made from pure gold. The light shone through it, as light shines through clean glass. ¹⁹ The strong stones that were the foundation of the city's wall were very beautiful. They had valuable jewels in them that were different colours. Each great stone had its own special jewel. They were called:

²¹ The 12 gates were 12 pearls. They had used a single pearl to make each gate. The city's biggest street was made from pure gold. The light shone through it, as light shines through clean glass.

²² When I looked, I saw that there was no temple in the city. The Lord God, who has all power and authority, is there himself. The Lamb is also there. So people do not need a special place to worship him there. ²³ Also, the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. God's bright glory gives light to the city. The Lamb is the lamp that gives it light.

²⁴ People from all the world's nations will live in the city's light. The earth's rulers will bring all their valuable things into it. ²⁵ Nobody will ever shut the city's gates at the end of the day. It will always be day and there will be no night there. ²⁶ People from all the world's nations will bring their beautiful and valuable things into the city. ²⁷ But nothing that is bad or unclean will ever go in there. Nobody who does anything that God hates will go into the city. Nobody who tells lies will go in. Only those people with their names written in the Lamb's book of life can go in there.^[d]

The river and the tree that give life

22 Then the angel showed me a river. It had water that gives true life to people. The water shone like clean glass. The river of water started from the throne where God and the Lamb sit to rule. It ran from the throne ² along the middle of the city's biggest street. I saw a tree that was growing on each side of the river. It is the tree that gives people true life. It has 12 different kinds of fruit, a new fruit every month. The tree's leaves are like medicine. They make people of every nation well again.

³ Nothing that is in the city will be under a curse. The throne where God and the Lamb sit to rule will be in the city. God's servants will worship him there. ⁴ They will see his face. His name will be on the front of their heads. ⁵ There will be no more night, so nobody will need a lamp to make light. They will not need light from the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them. They will rule as kings for ever.

The final message

⁶ Then the angel said to me, ‘All these words are true and everyone should believe them. The Lord God uses his prophets to speak his messages. He has sent his angel to speak to his servants. The angel will now show them what must happen soon.’

⁷ Jesus says, ‘Listen! I will come soon.^[e] God will bless everyone who obeys the words of the prophecy that is in this book.’

John finishes his book

⁸ I am John. I myself heard these things and I saw them. When I had heard them and I had seen them, I bent down low at the angel's feet. I wanted to worship him because he had shown these things to me. ⁹ But the angel said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am only a servant of God, the same as you are. I serve God like all God's prophets, who are believers like you. I serve God like everyone who obeys God's message that is written in this book. God is the one that you must worship!’

¹⁰ Then he said to me, ‘Do not hide the words of God's prophecy that are written in this book. The time is near when these things will happen. ¹¹ Let everybody continue to live as they choose. Everyone who does wrong things will continue to do wrong things. Everyone who is disgusting will continue to be disgusting. Everyone who does right things will continue to do right things. Everyone who belongs to God will continue to be holy.’^[f]

¹² Jesus says, ‘Listen! I will come quickly! I know what each person has done. I will give each one what they ought to have. I am ready to do that. ¹³ I caused all things to begin and I will cause the end of all things. I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the end.

¹⁴ Believers who keep themselves clean will be happy. They are like people who always wash their clothes. I will let them eat the fruit from the tree that causes people to have true life. I will let them go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But other people must stay outside the city:

¹⁶ I am Jesus. I have sent my angel to tell you this message. You must tell it to all the people in the churches. I am called the Root of King David. I am his descendant. I am the bright morning star.’^[g]

¹⁷ God's Spirit and all God's people answer Jesus. They say, ‘Yes, come!’ God's people are like a bride for Jesus. Everyone who hears this should also say to Jesus, ‘Come!’ Anyone who is thirsty should come to Jesus. Then that person will receive from Jesus the water that gives life. Anyone who wants it may take it. They will not have to pay anything for it.

¹⁸ Now John says this. I say clearly to everyone who hears the words of God's prophecy that are written in this book: If anyone adds any more words than are already in this book, God will punish them. The terrible troubles that this book describes will happen to them. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes away from the words that are in this book, God will punish them too. He will not let them eat the fruit from his tree that gives life. God will not let them live in his holy city either. This book describes all these things.

²⁰ It is Jesus who tells us that all these messages are true. He says, ‘Yes, I will come soon!’

Amen! We agree! Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ I pray that the Lord Jesus will continue to be kind to all of you.