A New Heaven and a New Earth
1I saw “a new heaven and a new earth.” (Isaiah 65:17) The first heaven and the first earth were completely gone. There was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Look! God now makes his home with the people. He will live with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. 4‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death.’ (Isaiah 25:8) And there will be no more sadness. There will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be.”
5He who was sitting on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down. You can trust these words. They are true.”
6He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water to anyone who is thirsty. The water will come from the spring of the water of life. It doesn’t cost anything! 7Those who have victory will receive all this from me. I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8But others will be thrown into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. Those who are afraid and those who do not believe will be there. Murderers and those who make themselves impure will join them. Those who commit sexual sins and those who practice witchcraft will go there. Those who worship statues of gods and all who tell lies will be there too. The lake of fire is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem is the Bride of the Lamb
9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. The bowls were filled with the seven last plagues. The angel said, “Come. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10Then he carried me away in a vision. The Spirit took me to a huge, high mountain. He showed me Jerusalem, the Holy City. It was coming down out of heaven from God. 11It shone with the glory of God. It gleamed like a very valuable jewel. It was like a jasper, as clear as crystal. 12The city had a huge, high wall with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates, one at each of them. On the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east and three on the north. There were three gates on the south and three on the west. 14The wall of the city had 12 foundations. Written on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.
15The angel who talked with me had a gold measuring rod. He used it to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16The city was laid out like a square. It was as long as it was wide. The angel measured the city with the rod. It was 1,400 miles long. It was as wide and high as it was long. 17The angel measured the wall as human beings measure things. It was 200 feet thick. 18The wall was made out of jasper. The city was made out of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of jewel. The first foundation was made out of jasper. The second was made out of sapphire. The third was made out of agate. The fourth was made out of emerald. 20The fifth was made out of onyx. The sixth was made out of ruby. The seventh was made out of chrysolite. The eighth was made out of beryl. The ninth was made out of topaz. The tenth was made out of turquoise. The eleventh was made out of jacinth. The twelfth was made out of amethyst. 21The 12 gates were made from 12 pearls. Each gate was made out of a single pearl. The main street of the city was made out of gold. It was gold as pure as glass that people can see through clearly.
22I didn’t see a temple in the city. That’s because the Lamb and the Lord God who rules over all are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it. God’s glory is its light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by the light of the city. The kings of the world will bring their glory into it. 25Its gates will never be shut, because there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Only what is pure will enter the city. No one who causes people to believe lies will enter it. No one who does shameful things will enter it either. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.
En ny himmel og en ny jord
1Derefter så jeg en ny himmel og en ny jord, for den første himmel og den første jord var forsvundet, og havet var der ikke mere. 2Jeg så den hellige by, det ny Jerusalem, være på vej ned fra Himlen parat til at tage imod sine indbyggere som en brud, der har smykket sig og er parat til at møde sin brudgom. 3Så hørte jeg en høj stemme fra tronen: „Se! Guds bolig er nu hos menneskene. Han vil bo sammen med dem, og de skal være hans folk. 4Han vil tørre hver en tåre af deres kind, og der skal ikke længere være død eller sorg, skrig eller smerte. Alt det gamle er forbi.”
5Han, der sad på tronen, sagde: „Se, jeg gør alting nyt!” Og han fortsatte: „Skriv det ned, for det er troværdige og sande ord.” 6Så sagde han til mig: „Nu er det sket. Jeg er Alfa og Omega, begyndelsen og afslutningen. De, der tørster, vil jeg frit lade drikke af kilden med det livgivende vand. 7De, der sejrer, vil få del i alt dette. Jeg vil være deres Gud, og de skal være mine børn. 8Men de, der mangler tillid til og tro på Gud, de afskyelige mennesker og voldsmændene,21,8 Eller: „morderne”. de, der lever i seksuel synd, de okkulte og de, der dyrker afguder, og alle løgnerne—deres plads er i søen, der brænder med ild og svovl. Det er den anden død.”
Det ny Jerusalem
9En af de syv engle, der havde hældt de syv sidste plager ud over jorden, kom hen til mig og sagde: „Kom! Jeg vil vise dig bruden, Lammets hustru.” 10Så førte han mig i ånden op på et stort og højt bjerg, hvorfra han viste mig den hellige by, Jerusalem, som var på vej ned fra Guds Himmel. 11Den var fyldt med Guds herlighed og strålede som en kostbar ædelsten, som en krystalklar diamant. 12Bymuren var meget høj. Den havde 12 porte, og ved hver port stod der en engel. Portene havde som indskrift navnene på Israels 12 stammer. 13Tre porte vendte mod øst, tre mod nord, tre mod syd og tre mod vest. 14Byens mur havde 12 grundsten, og navnene på Lammets 12 apostle stod skrevet på dem.
15Den engel, som talte med mig, havde en målestok af guld for at kunne opmåle byen, dens porte og dens mur. 16Byens grundflade var en firkant, og den var lige så bred, som den var lang. Han opmålte byen med målestokken og fandt, at den var 12.000 stadier21,16 Tallet er sikkert symbolsk. Da 12 er tallet for Guds folk, er byen rummelig nok til hele Guds folk. 12.000 stadier svarer til ca. 2200 km. i hver retning, både længde, bredde og højde. 17Derefter målte han muren til at være 144 alen21,17 Da 144 er 12 gange 12, er betydningen nok, at byen kan rumme hele Guds folk. Målet svarer til ca. 66 m. Det er sandsynligvis murens højde, der er tale om. efter menneskemål, som også er det mål, englen brugte. 18Muren var bygget af jaspis, og byen selv var af rent guld, der skinnede som krystalglas. 19Bymurens grundsten var prydet med følgende 12 ædelsten: Jaspis, safir, agat, smaragd, 20onyks, karneol, krysolit, beryl, topas, krysopras, hyacinth og ametyst. 21De 12 porte var 12 perler, og hver port var lavet af en eneste perle. Byens gader var af rent guld, klart som glas.
22Jeg så ikke noget tempel i byen, for templet udgøres af Gud Herren selv, han, som hersker over alle ting, og Lammet. 23Byen har heller ikke brug for solens eller månens lys, for Guds herlighed oplyser den, og Lammet er dens lys. 24Jordens folkeslag skal leve i det lys, der stråler fra byen, og jordens konger skal give ære til byen. 25Byens porte bliver aldrig lukket, for der er ingen nat mere. 26Folkene skal ære og lovprise byen, 27og der er intet urent i byen og ingen, der lever skamløst eller lyver, for byen er skabt til dem, der er indskrevet i livets bog hos Lammet.
