Revelation 21:1–8 — New Heaven and New Earth

Session 48 | The old creation passes away; the new Jerusalem descends. God dwells with his people, wipes every tear, and makes all things new. But the passage ends with a sober warning. Source: A2K Online Church Archive — Revelation 21:1-8

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Overview

This passage (21:1–8) is the first half of Revelation’s climactic vision of the new creation. The teacher notes the structure: six verses of glorious promises followed by two verses of solemn warning.

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The New Heaven and New Earth (v. 1)

*“I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.””

A New Creation

The old creation — corrupted by sin, marred by human rebellion — has passed away. This is not the destruction of the cosmos but its transformation (cf. Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13).

“No Longer Any Sea”

For John’s first-century readers, the sea represented:

• Chaos — the deep, the abyss, the place of monsters (Leviathan)
• Danger — storms, shipwreck, pirates
• Division — seas separate peoples and nations
• The source of the beast — the beast arose from the sea (13:1)

The removal of the sea means: no more chaos, danger, division, or the source of evil.

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The New Jerusalem Descends (vv. 2–3)

*“I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.””

A City Coming Down

New Jerusalem descends from heaven — it is God’s gift, not a human achievement. The city is:

• Holy — set apart for God
• New — a fresh reality, not a renovation
• Coming down — heaven invading earth
• As a bride — the city is the people of God

God Dwelling with People

*“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.””

This is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant promise:

• Tabernacle — God’s presence dwelling with his people (Exodus 25:8; John 1:14)
• “They shall be My people” — the covenant formula (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 31:33)
• God Himself — not through a mediator, but directly

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No More Tears or Death (v. 4)

*“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.””

Four things are eliminated in the new creation:

1. Death — the final enemy destroyed
2. Mourning — no more grief
3. Crying — no more sorrow
4. Pain — no more suffering

This echoes Isaiah 25:8 — “He will swallow up death for all time.” The new creation is a place of complete restoration.

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“Behold, I Am Making All Things New” (vv. 5–6)

*“He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’””

God speaks directly — the only time in Revelation where God the Father speaks without mediation. He declares:

• “These words are faithful and true” — the promise is certain
• “It is done” — gegonen — “it has happened”; the same root as Jesus’s “it is finished” (John 19:30)
• “I am the Alpha and the Omega” — the beginning and the end; God is sovereign over all history
• “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost” — salvation is a free gift

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To the One Who Overcomes (v. 7)

*“He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.””

The promise to the conqueror — the same word (nikaō) that runs through the seven letters. Those who persevere in faithfulness will:

• Inherit all the blessings of the new creation
• Be called sons/children of God
• Have God as their God

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The Warning (v. 8)

*“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.””

A sober list of those who will not inherit the new creation:

Category	Meaning
Cowardly	Those who shrink from faithfulness out of fear
Unbelieving	Those who reject the gospel
Abominable	Those who practice detestable things
Murderers	Those who take innocent life
Immoral persons	The sexually unfaithful
Sorcerers	Those who practice magic (Greek: pharmakeia)
Idolaters	Those who worship false gods
All liars	Those who live by deception

The teacher notes that “cowardly” is first on the list — a pointed warning to those tempted to compromise under persecution.

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Summary

Promise	Warning
New heaven and new earth	The cowardly and unbelieving excluded
God dwells with his people	Their part is the lake of fire
No more death, tears, or pain	The second death
Water of life freely given	No inheritance for the unfaithful
Overcomers inherit all things	Liars and idolaters have no place

“Most of this passage is great promises — hope, comfort, encouragement. But we have to take all of Scripture seriously, including the warning.”

Revelation 17–22 Introduction — The Tale of Two Cities

Session 40 | An introduction to the contrasting visions of Babylon (the harlot) and New Jerusalem (the bride). Revelation presents two cities and two women — each demanding the reader’s allegiance. Source: A2K Online Church Archive — Babylon & New Jerusalem - An Introduction to Revelation’s Two Cities

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The Structure of Revelation’s Final Section

From chapter 17 through chapter 22, Revelation presents two contrasting cities personified as women:

Babylon (Chs. 17–19)	New Jerusalem (Chs. 21–22)
A harlot / prostitute	The bride of Christ
Drunk on the blood of saints	Pure, prepared for her husband
Clothed in purple and scarlet	Clothed with the glory of God
Holds a golden cup of abominations	Holds the water of life
Rides a scarlet beast	Descends from heaven
Destined for destruction	Eternal and enduring

These are not merely literal cities — they represent two realities, two value systems, two ways of life:

1. Fallen Babylon = the world system organized in opposition to God; the culture of empire, self-glorification, and violence
2. New Jerusalem = the people of God living under his reign; the community of the faithful, pure and prepared for Christ

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Why This Introduction Is Necessary

The teacher devotes this session to orienting readers to the “two cities” framework because the details of both visions are dense and easily misunderstood. Before diving into the specifics:

• Babylon = Rome for the first readers, but Babylon is a recurring reality in every age
• New Jerusalem = the church as the bride of Christ, already descending from heaven as a present spiritual reality
• The reader must choose which city to be a citizen of

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How the Two Cities Function

Revelation does not present these two cities as mere information. They are rhetorical — designed to persuade and motivate:

Babylon

• Unmasks evil — shows Rome for what it truly is rather than its propaganda
• Discourages compromise — associating with Babylon brings judgment
• Shows the end of evil — Babylon’s destruction is certain

New Jerusalem

• Gives hope — God’s people have a glorious future
• Encourages faithfulness — the reward is worth the suffering
• Defines identity — believers are citizens of heaven, not of earthly empires

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The Practical Application

“This really challenged me into how I view the church today.”

The two cities call the reader to:

• Discern which “city” they are building their life in
• Reject the values of Babylon (greed, violence, self-glorification, idolatry)
• Embrace the values of New Jerusalem (faithfulness, purity, worship, love)
• Recognize that every generation has its own “Babylon” — and its own call to “come out of her”

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Summary

Babylon	New Jerusalem
Harlot	Bride
Drunk on blood	Clothed in righteousness
Worldly wealth	Divine glory
Destined for destruction	Eternal
Demands allegiance to Caesar	Calls for allegiance to the Lamb
Built by human empire	Built by God

“Revelation puts two cities in front of you and says: choose. You can be a citizen of Babylon or a citizen of New Jerusalem — but you cannot be both.”

Every school except full preterism reads this as genuinely future — which is also preterism’s pressure point, since Rome fell and no city descended. Full preterism puts 21–22 at AD 70 as well.

Genuinely future, at the end of the historical chain.

Genuinely future, after the millennium.

Genuinely future — the hope the patterns point toward.