Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them [as their God]. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.” 5 The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
The Book of Revelation is attributed to John, identified in the text as a servant of Jesus Christ and a prophet (Rev 1:1, 9). Early Christian tradition holds that this is John the Apostle—the beloved disciple of Jesus and the author of the Gospel of John and the three Johannine epistles. Exiled on the island of Patmos “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Rev 1:9), John received a series of visions meant to strengthen the faith of persecuted Christians and to reveal God’s final victory over evil. Whether written by the Apostle himself or by a close disciple in his tradition, Revelation bears the marks of apostolic authority, prophetic vision, and liturgical imagery—calling the Church to hope, perseverance, and worship of the risen Lamb.
This passage from the final chapters of Revelation reveals the ultimate fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan—a vision not of destruction, but of divine transformation and complete restoration. Written in symbolic and apocalyptic language, the text does not present a merely futuristic hope detached from our lives, but a present and future reality, already initiated in Christ and awaiting its fullness at the end of time.
John begins by seeing a new heaven and a new earth, echoing the language of Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22, where God promises a renewed creation for His faithful ones. This is not a complete annihilation of the old but a radical renewal—what theologians refer to as the eschatological consummation. As St. Paul writes, "Creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption" (Rom. 8:21), and in 2 Peter 3:13, believers await "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."
The phrase “the sea was no more” (v. 1) carries symbolic significance. In apocalyptic literature, the sea often represents chaos, evil, and separation from God (cf. Rev. 13:1; Isa. 57:20). Its absence here signifies the end of evil, danger, and alienation. No longer will any force oppose God’s reign.
Next, John sees “the holy city, the new Jerusalem” descending from heaven—not built by human hands, but prepared by God. This image fulfills the covenant promises made to Israel and the Church. The city is “prepared as a bride” (v. 2), evoking the spousal imagery used throughout Scripture. God’s people, often referred to as His bride (cf. Isa. 62:5; Hos 2:16-20; Eph 5:25-27), are now fully united to Him. This nuptial language reminds us that salvation is not merely juridical but deeply relational—a covenant of love, consummated in eternal communion.
At the center of the vision is the indwelling presence of God. The loud voice declares, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race (v. 3).” The Greek word for “dwelling” (σκηνή, skēnē) recalls the tabernacle of the Old Testament—the tent where God dwelled among Israel during the exodus (Exod. 25:8-9; Lev. 26:11-12). In Christ, the Word “pitched His tent” among us (John 1:14), and in the new creation, God’s presence will be eternal, immediate, and glorious.
There will be no more death, mourning, wailing, or pain. These are not poetic flourishes but theological certainties: the “old order” of sin and death has passed away (cf. 1 Cor. 15:26). This is the reversal of Genesis 3, where sin introduced alienation, sorrow, and mortality into creation. Here, in Revelation 21, we behold the final restoration—the renewal of what was lost in Eden, but now raised to a higher glory in Christ.
The voice from the throne—most often associated in Scripture with God the Father, yet here speaking in words that reflect the redemptive mission of Christ, the victorious Lamb—declares, “Behold, I make all things new.” This powerful pronouncement expresses the unity of divine action: the Father, who created all things through the Son (John 1:3; Col. 1:16), now brings the new creation to completion through Him. Far from being merely a poetic or emotional reassurance, this is the firm and living Christian hope—that the God who created the world (Gen. 1:1), who entered it through the Incarnation (John 1:14), and who redeemed it by the Cross and Resurrection (Rom 6:9; 2 Cor. 5:17), now brings all creation to its ultimate destiny.
The vision of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven reveals that God's eternal desire is to dwell with His people in perfect and unending communion (Rev. 21:2-3). Just as God once walked with humanity in Eden (Gen. 3:8), so now He restores and elevates creation into everlasting life—a life where death is no more and love is unbroken, because God is “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28).
Lord God of all creation, You who promise to make all things new, plant within our hearts the hope of the new heaven and the new earth. Free us from fear, sorrow, and sin, and prepare us to dwell with You forever, where every tear is wiped away, and joy knows no end. Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen!
O Lord, guard and guide all who set their feet on the road of faith
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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