The new earth and sky
1 Then I saw a new sky and a new earth, because the first sky and earth had gone away and the sea is no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending from heaven and God, having been prepared as a bride dressed for her groom.
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! The sanctuary of God is with people. He will reside with them; they will be his people and he will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, or mourning, or commotion, or misery, because the old ways are gone.”
5 Then the one sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” And he added, “Write this down, because these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He continued, “It has come to pass! I am the alpha and the omega, the start and the finish. I will give freely to the thirsty from the well of the Water of Life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit all this; I will be their God and they will be my child. 8 But the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the disgusting, the murderers, the promiscuous, the sorcerers, the idolators, and all liars, will have their share of the lake burning with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”
The new Jerusalem
9 Then one of the seven angels with the bowls of the final seven disasters came out and spoke to me: “Here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in spirit to a huge, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God. 11 It radiated the majesty of God the way a very precious stone such as crystalline jasper reflects light.
12 It had a huge, high wall around it with twelve doorways, with an angel at each one, and over the doorways were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three doorways on each of the four sides: east, north, south, and west. 14 The wall also had twelve foundations, named for the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 Then the one speaking with me had a golden measuring stick with which to measure the city, its doorways, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out in a square; the length and width are equal. It measured 1,380 miles in length, width, and also height. 17 The wall itself measured 200 feet thick according to standard human measure, which the angel is using.
18 The wall is composed of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as clear as glass. 19 The wall’s foundations have been decorated with every kind of precious stone: the first with jasper, the second with sapphire, the third with chalcedony, the four with emerald, 20 the fifth with onyx, the sixth with ruby, the seventh with chrysolite, the eight with beryl, the ninth with topaz, the tenth with chrysoprase, the eleventh with hyacinth, and the twelfth with amethyst. 21 The twelve doorways were composed of twelve pearls— each one from a single pearl. And the city square was made of pure gold, as clear and transparent as glass.
22 I saw no temple in the city, because the Master God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city has no need of the sun or moon to shine on it, because the majesty of God is its light and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk about in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their majesty into it. 25 The city doors will never be locked on any day, because there will be no night, 26 and the majesty and honor of the other nations will be brought to it. 27 But the vulgar, the disgusting, the false— whoever wasn’t written in the Lamb’s Book of Life— will absolutely not be granted entry.