Then I heard a voice. It said, “Look, God is going to live with people! He’ll be their God, and they’ll be his people. He’ll wipe away their tears of sorrow. He’ll do away with death, grieving, sorrow, and pain. Everything will be different.”

Then God said to me. “What you’re seeing is true. Everything will be new. I am the A and the Z, the beginning and the end. I give ‘Springs of Living Water’ to the thirsty. I’m a father of the redeemed. They are my children, and they have found my victory.

“But those who didn’t believe are cowards and vile. They’re full of murder, immorality, and lies. They worship devils and false gods. When all of this is done, I’ll send them to the Lake of Fire. That is the Second Death!”

Then an angel came to me and said, “Come and I’ll give you a closer look.”

He took my spirit to a high mountain, so I could see the Holy City as it came out of heaven. The New Jerusalem was dressed in God’s glory, and shone like precious jewels.

Its wall had twelve gates—three on each of the four sides. The gates had the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the foundations of the walls had the names of the twelve apostles. All of it was made of precious stones.

The angel measured the city. And I found out that it was 1500 miles in each direction, like a massive cube. The walls were made of jasper, and the city itself was pure gold. The gates were made of pearl. The main street was made of pure, transparent gold.

There was no temple because God and the Lamb were the temple. Those in the city didn’t need the sun or moon because the glory of God was the light and the Lamb was the lamp.

The gates were always open because it was always day there. All the nations were welcome to come at any time. But vile and unclean people were not allowed in. Only those whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life were welcomed into the city.

Continued in the next story