FUNCTIONAL FAITH
The Wording

The New Jerusalem

Revelation 21

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Berean Standard Bible

Goodspeed New Testament

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1

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

2

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, come down out of heaven from God, like a bride dressed and ready to meet her husband.

3

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.

I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See! God’s dwelling is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them,

4

‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

and he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no death any longer, nor any grief or crying or pain. The old order has passed away.”

5

And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”

Then he who sat upon the throne said, “See! I am making everything new! Write this,” he said, “for these words are trustworthy and true.

6

And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

It is all over!” he told me, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give anyone who is thirsty water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

7

The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.

He who is victorious will possess all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

8

But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

But the cowardly, unfaithful, and polluted—murderers, immoral people, those who practice magic or idolatry, and all liars will find themselves in the burning lake of fire and brimstone. This is the second death.”

9

Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke to me. “Come,” he said, “I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

10

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

He carried me away in a trance to a great, high mountain, and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God,

11

shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.

in all the glory of God. It shone with a radiance like that of some very precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal.

12

The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates.

It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, which had carved upon them the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

13

There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west.

There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

14

The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the Lamb’s twelve apostles.

15

The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.

The angel who talked with me had a gold measuring rod, with which to measure the city and its gates and wall.

16

The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height.

The city was a square, its length the same as its breadth. He measured the city with his rod, and it was 12,000 furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height were the same.

17

And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using.

He measured the wall and it was about 144 cubits (216 feet), as men measure, for that was the way the angel measured.

18

The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass.

The material of the wall was jasper, but the city was pure gold, as transparent as glass.

19

The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

The foundation stones of the wall of the city were ornamented with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation stone was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

20

the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

21

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate consisting of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls; each gate made of a single pearl. The principal street of the city was pure gold, as transparent as glass.

22

But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

23

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.

The city does not need the sun nor the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God lighted it, and the Lamb is its lamp.

24

By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.

The heathen will walk by its light. The kings of the earth will bring their splendor to it.

25

Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there.

Its gates will never be shut by day—for there will be no night there

26

And into the city will be brought the glory and honor of the nations.

and they will bring the splendor and the wealth of the heathen into it.

27

But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who indulges in abominable practices and falsehoods, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Functional Faith Reading

The Greek behind verse 3 uses the verb skenoo — meaning to pitch a tent or tabernacle — and carries deliberate echoes of the wilderness dwelling where Jehovah met Israel in the desert. The city itself "comes down out of heaven from God," a directional detail the text makes unmistakable: this is a gift descending from the Father, not something humanity builds upward toward him.

Standard readings often collapse the distinction between the Father on the throne and the Lamb who appears alongside him, reading the whole vision as a portrait of a triune God already present everywhere in equal measure. What gets lost is the relational architecture the text is actually celebrating — a reunion with a source who was always distinct, always other, always the One from whom all things came.

The Functional Faith reading sees something more urgent here. The Father, Jehovah himself, is coming to dwell with his creatures — not dissolving into them, but being genuinely present with them. The Pioneer blazed the road through suffering and death precisely so that this moment could arrive: the bride prepared, the gates inscribed with the names of those who walked the Way, the tears wiped by the hand that made everything new. The ending is not abstraction — it is reunion.

For anyone walking the road today, this vision is not escapism but orientation. You are walking toward something real — a city whose builder is the Father himself, whose gates have names on them, and one of those names could be yours.

Sit with this

What would change about how you live this week if you genuinely believed the destination described here was already being prepared for you?

Sources

SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)License

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Copyright 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software.

Licensed CC BY 4.0.

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