Revelation 21
BSASBJohn sees the end of the story: God makes a new heaven and a new earth, and the holy city comes down from heaven like a bride. God Himself lives with His people, and sorrow, death and night are gone. The chapter also warns that those who cling to evil have no place there, and that the city is open only to those written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Revelation 21:1
John sees creation made new. The old heaven and earth, marked by sin and death, pass away. The sea, often a picture of threat, chaos and separation in Scripture, is gone. What God brings is not a patched-up world but a fresh one.
BSA: new (“renewed, transformed”): The new creation is the old one made whole, not simply thrown away and replaced by something unrelated.
Greek: καινόν (kainon, G2537) — “new in quality, fresh.” This Greek word stresses new in kind and character, not merely new in time. It points to a creation freed from decay.
See also: Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13.
Revelation 21:2
The holy city, the new Jerusalem, descends from God. It is the people of God as well as a place, dressed like a bride on her wedding day. Salvation’s goal is a joyful union with God, and God provides the city. We do not build it.
BSA: bride (“a newly married woman, the church”): The city is a picture of God’s redeemed people, loved and made ready for Christ.
See also: Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7.
Revelation 21:3
A loud voice announces the heart of the whole Bible: God lives among His people. What the tabernacle and temple only hinted at is now fully real. There is no distance left between God and those who belong to Him.
BSA: dwelling place (“tabernacle, sacred tent”): This recalls the tent where God lived among Israel in the wilderness, now made permanent and universal.
Greek: σκηνή (skēnē, G4633) — “tent, tabernacle.” The word is a tent, the same root John used when he wrote that the Word ‘dwelt’ among us. God has always wanted to pitch His tent with His people.
See also: Leviticus 26:11-12; John 1:14.
Revelation 21:4
God Himself, tenderly and personally, wipes away every tear. The enemies that have haunted humanity (death, grief, crying and pain) are finished. They belong to the former things, which have passed away.
BSA: wipe away (“completely erase, blot out”): God does not just comfort the pain; He removes it entirely.
See also: Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 7:17.
Revelation 21:5
For the first time in this book God Himself speaks from the throne. He does not say He makes new things, but that He makes all things new. He commands John to write, because these promises are dependable and can be trusted.
BSA: faithful (“trustworthy, reliable, and true to God’s nature”): The promise is as sure as God’s own character.
See also: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Isaiah 43:19.
Revelation 21:6
God says ‘It is done,’ as if the whole plan were already complete. He is the Alpha and Omega, so He began history and He will finish it. His offer is open to anyone thirsty, and the water of life is a free gift.
BSA: freely (“without cost, graciously”): No one can pay for the water of life; it is simply given to the thirsty.
Greek: Γέγοναν (gegonan, G1096) — “they have come to pass; it is done.” The verb form speaks of something finished with lasting results. God treats the end as already settled.
See also: John 7:37; Isaiah 55:1.
Revelation 21:7
The one who overcomes receives everything as an inheritance. This is language of family: God will be his God, and he will be God’s child. In Revelation, overcoming means staying faithful to Christ to the end, trusting in Him.
BSA: overcomes (“conquers, is victorious”): Victory belongs to those who hold on to Christ through trial.
Greek: νικῶν (nikōn, G3528) — “the one conquering.” The word is a present participle, so it describes ongoing faithfulness in the fight, not one single moment.
See also: Romans 8:17; 1 John 5:4-5.
Revelation 21:8
This is a sober contrast. Those who refuse God and hold on to cowardice, unbelief and lasting evil end in the lake of fire, the second death, which means final separation from God. The list begins with the cowardly, because fear can lead people to deny Christ.
BSA: cowardly (“fearful”): The first sin listed is the fear that abandons faith under pressure.
Greek: δειλοῖς (deilois, G1169) — “fearful, timid.” It describes people who shrink back from faithfulness out of fear. That is why it comes first, ahead of the grosser sins.
See also: Revelation 20:14-15.
Revelation 21:9-10
One of the angels who poured out the bowls now shows John the bride, the wife of the Lamb. John is carried to a high mountain to see her. Seeing the city, he sees God’s people as God sees them: loved, finished and glorious.
BSA: bride (“newly married woman, Lamb’s partner”): The bride belongs to the Lamb, who gave Himself for her.
Greek: νύμφην (nymphēn, G3565) — “bride.” John is promised ’the bride’ but is shown a city. The two pictures describe the same thing: the people of God in their final glory.
See also: Revelation 19:7-9; Ezekiel 40:2.
Revelation 21:11
The city shines with God’s own glory. Its brightness is like a precious jewel, clear as crystal, so it is lit from within rather than by earthly light. Everything about it shows the beauty of God.
BSA: radiance (“light, luminescence”): The shining is a source of light, not just a pretty surface.
Greek: φωστήρ (phōstēr, G5458) — “light-giver, luminary.” The word is used elsewhere for the sun and stars. The city carries the light of God, as a light-giver.
See also: Isaiah 60:1-2.
Revelation 21:12-13
The great wall means safety, and the twelve gates carry the names of Israel’s twelve tribes. Three gates face each direction, so people are welcome from every side. The angels at the gates guard the city and remind us that it is God’s holy place.
BSA: tribes (“family groups, clans”): The old covenant people are honored in the city’s very entrances.
See also: Ezekiel 48:30-35.
Revelation 21:14
The wall rests on twelve foundations carrying the names of the Lamb’s twelve apostles. The city joins Israel’s tribes with the apostles’ witness, which shows that God’s people of both covenants are one. The church is built on what Christ’s chosen messengers handed down.
BSA: apostles (“messengers, delegates”): They were sent by the Lamb with His message, and the city rests on their witness.
See also: Ephesians 2:19-20.
Revelation 21:15-17
The angel measures the city with a golden rod. It is a perfect cube, equal in length, width and height, about 1,400 miles each way. The shape recalls the Most Holy Place. The numbers speak of completeness and room for all. Christians differ on how literally to read the numbers.
BSA: rod (“reed, standard of measurement”): A measuring reed shows that the city is real and exact, and that God cares about it.
Greek: κάλαμον (kalamon, G2563) — “reed, measuring stick.” It is a reed used as a ruler. Measuring in Scripture often means marking out what belongs to God and is safe in His care.
See also: Ezekiel 40:3; 1 Kings 6:20.
Revelation 21:18
The wall is jasper and the city is pure gold, as clear as glass. Earthly gold is cloudy with impurities, but this gold is perfectly pure. Everything in the city is clean and open to the light, with nothing hidden or defiled.
BSA: pure (“clean and untainted”): The city’s material matches its moral cleanness.
Revelation 21:19-20
The twelve foundations are each a different precious stone. Many of the same stones were set in the high priest’s breastplate. The variety of colors suggests the rich diversity of God’s people and the many-sided beauty of His grace. The exact identity of some stones is uncertain.
BSA: adorned (“beautifully decorated, garnished”): The foundations are decorated with beauty, not just built for strength.
See also: Exodus 28:17-20; Isaiah 54:11-12.
Revelation 21:21
Each gate is carved from one giant pearl. Pearls are formed through a wound in the oyster, and some Christians see in this a hint of the cost of entering. The street is pure gold, clear as glass, so even the road we walk is holy.
BSA: pearls (“complete set”): A full set of twelve suggests nothing is missing in the way into the city.
Greek: μαργαρῖται (margaritai, G3135) — “pearls.” A pearl was among the most prized of treasures in the ancient world. Here the very entrance to the city is made of it.
See also: Matthew 13:45-46.
Revelation 21:22
There is no temple, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple. A temple was the place where people met God at a distance. Now there is no distance, and worship is face to face.
BSA: temple (“dwelling place, sacred space”): God Himself is the sacred space where His people live.
Greek: ναός (naos, G3485) — “sanctuary, inner shrine.” The word means the inner dwelling place of God, not just the temple grounds. In the new city God Himself fills that role.
See also: John 4:21-24.
Revelation 21:23
The city needs no sun or moon, because God’s glory lights it and the Lamb is its lamp. The Lamb who was slain is now the source of light for His people, and the darkness is gone for good.
BSA: lamp (“a portable light source”): The Lamb is the light the city carries within it, close and constant.
See also: Isaiah 60:19-20; John 8:12.
Revelation 21:24-26
The nations walk by the city’s light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. This shows people from every nation joining in worship. Their best gifts are no longer used for themselves but offered to God. The gates stand open all day, and with no night they are always open.
BSA: nations (“Gentiles, non-Jewish people”): The promise reaches beyond Israel to peoples from everywhere. bring (“offer, present”): The kings give their glory as an offering of worship.
See also: Isaiah 60:3-11; Revelation 7:9.
Revelation 21:27
Nothing unclean and no one living in deceit will enter. The only ones inside are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Entry rests on belonging to the Lamb. It does not rest on earning, and it is kept safe by Him.
BSA: unclean (“morally impure, defiled”): Nothing that spoils or corrupts will be admitted, so the city stays pure.
See also: Revelation 3:5; Philippians 4:3.