Nuovo cielo e nuova terra
1Poi vidi una nuova terra (senza mari) e un nuovo cielo, perché il primo cielo e la prima terra erano scomparsi. 2E io, Giovanni, vidi la città santa, la nuova Gerusalemme, scendere dal cielo da parte di Dio: splendente, bella come una sposa alle sue nozze.
3E udii una voce proveniente dal trono che diceva: «Ecco, ora la casa di Dio è fra gli uomini. Egli vivrà con loro ed essi saranno il suo popolo; sì, Dio stesso sarà fra loro. 4Egli asciugherà tutte le lacrime dai loro occhi e non ci sarà più morte, né lutto, né lamento, né dolore, perché tutte le cose di prima sono scomparse!»
5E colui che è seduto sul trono disse: «Ecco, io rinnovo tutte le cose!» Poi, rivolto a me, aggiunse: «Scrivi, perché ciò che ti dico è vero e degno di fede. 6È fatto! Io sono il Principio e la Fine, il Primo e lʼUltimo. A chi ha sete darò il privilegio di bere gratuitamente alla fonte dellʼacqua della vita. 7Chi vince possiederà tutte queste benedizioni: io sarò il suo Dio ed egli sarà mio figlio. 8Ma per quanto riguarda i codardi, i miscredenti, i corrotti, gli omicidi, i fornicatori, quelli che praticano magie, gli idolatri e tutti i bugiardi, la loro fine è nello stagno dove bruciano il fuoco e lo zolfo: vale a dire la seconda morte».
9Allora uno dei sette angeli, che avevano versato i calici contenenti i sette flagelli, mi si avvicinò, dicendo: «Vieni con me, ti mostrerò la sposa dellʼAgnello!»
La città gloriosa
10E mi trasportò in ispirito su di una montagna grande e alta, e mi fece vedere la città santa, Gerusalemme, che scendeva dal cielo di Dio. 11Risplendeva della gloria di Dio come una pietra preziosissima, una pietra di diaspro cristallino. 12Era cinta da mura grandi ed alte e aveva dodici porte, a guardia delle quali stavano dodici angeli. Sulle porte erano scritti i nomi, delle dodici tribù dʼIsraele.
13Cʼerano tre porte ad ogni lato: a nord, a sud, ad est e ad ovest. 14Le mura della città avevano per fondamenta dodici pietre, sulle quali erano scritti i nomi dei dodici Apostoli dellʼAgnello.
15Lʼangelo aveva una canna dʼoro per prendere le misure della città, delle sue mura. 16Quando la misurò, risultò che era tanto larga quanto lunga; aveva la forma di un cubo, la sua altezza era uguale alle altre dimensioni: duemilaquattrocento chilometri circa. 17Poi misurò le mura che risultarono di settanta metri, (nel prendere queste misure lʼangelo seguiva lo stesso metodo che usano gli uomini).
18-19La città era dʼoro puro, brillante come cristallo, e le mura erano fatte di diaspro, costruite su dodici basamenti ornati dʼogni specie di pietre preziose:
il primo era un diaspro,
il secondo uno zaffiro,
il terzo un calcedonio,
il quarto uno smeraldo,
20il quinto un sardonico,
il sesto una corniola,
il settimo un crisolito,
lʼottavo un berillo,
il nono un topazio,
il decimo un crisopazio,
lʼundicesimo un giacinto,
il dodicesimo unʼametista.
21Le dodici porte erano dodici perle, una perla per porta! La piazza principale era dʼoro puro, trasparente come cristallo.
22Nella città non vidi alcun tempio, perché il Signore Dio, lʼOnnipotente, e lʼAgnello erano adorati ovunque. 23La città non ha bisogno né di sole né di luna che la illuminino, perché la illuminano la gloria di Dio e dellʼAgnello. 24La sua luce risplenderà sulle nazioni della terra e i governanti del mondo le faranno omaggio della loro gloria. 25Le sue porte non verranno mai chiuse; resteranno aperte tutto il giorno, ma qui non ci sarà più notte. 26Ad essa tutti i popoli porteranno la loro gloria e le loro ricchezze. 27Niente dʼimpuro potrà mai entrarvi, né chi vive nella corruzione o nella falsità. Vi entreranno soltanto quelli che sono iscritti nel libro della vita dellʼAgnello.
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.
