A New Heaven and a New Earth
1Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”21:1 Isaiah 65:17 for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’21:4 Isaiah 25:8 or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb
9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia21:16 That is, about 1,400 miles or about 2,200 kilometers in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits21:17 That is, about 200 feet or about 65 meters thick.21:17 Or high 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.21:20 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain. 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
新天新地
1接著我看見一個新天新地,21·1 以賽亞書65·17。因為以前的天地都消逝了,海洋也不復存在了。 2我又看見聖城新耶路撒冷從天上的上帝那裡降下,預備好了,像妝飾整齊等候新郎的新娘。 3我聽見從寶座中傳來響亮的聲音說:「看啊!上帝的居所設立在人間,祂要與人同住。他們要成為祂的子民,上帝要親自與他們同在,作他們的上帝。 4上帝要擦乾他們所有的眼淚,再沒有死亡、憂傷、哭泣和痛苦,因為以前的事都已成過去。」21·4 以賽亞書25·8。
5坐在寶座上的那位說:「看啊!我已經將一切都更新了。你要將這一切記錄下來,因為這些話真實可信。」 6祂又對我說:「一切都成了!我是阿拉法,我是俄梅加;我是開始,我是終結。我要將生命泉的水白白賜給口渴的人。 7得勝者必承受這一切福分,我要作他的上帝,他要作我的兒子。 8至於那些膽怯的、不信的、行為可憎的、殺人的、淫亂的、行邪術的、拜偶像的和所有說謊的,他們的結局是被扔進硫磺火湖裡,這就是第二次的死。」
新耶路撒冷
9七位天使手裡拿著盛滿最後七災的七個碗,其中有一位來對我說:「你來,我要將新娘,就是羔羊的妻子指給你看。」 10我被聖靈感動,天使帶著我到一座高大的山上,將從天上的上帝那裡降下的聖城耶路撒冷指給我看。 11城中充滿上帝的榮光,璀璨如貴重的寶石,晶瑩如碧玉。 12-13城牆高大,有十二個城門,東、北、南、西每面三個門,每個城門都有一位天使把守,門上寫著以色列十二支派的名字。 14城牆共有十二塊基石,基石上有羔羊的十二位使徒的名字。
15那和我說話的天使拿了一根金量桿要丈量聖城、城牆和城門。 16聖城是正方形的,長寬相等。天使用量桿丈量那城,長、寬、高都是兩千二百公里21·16 「兩千二百公里」希臘文是「一萬二千司他町」。。 17他又丈量了城牆,按人的尺寸,也是天使的尺寸來算,是六十五米21·17 「六十五米」希臘文是「一百四十四肘」。厚。 18城牆是用碧玉砌成的,城本身是用純金造的,跟玻璃一樣明淨。 19城牆的基石用各種寶石裝飾:第一塊基石是碧玉,第二塊是藍寶石,第三塊是綠瑪瑙,第四塊是綠寶石, 20第五塊是紅瑪瑙,第六塊是紅寶石,第七塊是橄欖石,第八塊是水蒼玉,第九塊是黃寶石,第十塊是翡翠,第十一塊是紫瑪瑙,第十二塊是紫晶。
21十二個城門是用十二顆珍珠造的,每一個城門都是一顆珍珠,城中的街道是純金的,好像透明的玻璃一樣。
22我看見城中沒有聖殿,因為全能的主上帝和羔羊就是聖城的殿。 23聖城裡不需要太陽和月亮的光照耀,因為有上帝的榮光照耀,羔羊就是聖城的燈。 24萬民要在聖城的光中行走,地上的君王也要將他們的榮耀帶進聖城。 25城門整天都開著,那裡沒有黑夜。 26人們將列國的榮耀和尊貴帶進聖城。 27所有污穢的、做可憎之事的、撒謊的都不得進入聖城。唯有名字記錄在羔羊的生命冊上的人才有資格進去。