World English Bible · Under Rome
Revelation 21
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I saw a new and a new earth, for the first and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. I saw the city, New , coming down out of from , prepared like a adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice out of saying, "Behold, dwelling is with people; and he will with them, and they will be his people, and himself will be with them as their . He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. will be no more; neither will there be , nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away." He who sits on said, "Behold, I am making all things new." He said, "Write, for these words of are and true." He said to me, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his , and he will be my son. But for the cowardly, unbelieving, , , , sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with and sulfur, which is the second ." One of the seven who had the seven bowls which were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, "Come here. I will show you the , wife." He carried me away in to a great and high mountain, and showed me the city, , coming down out of from , having the of . Her was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; having a great and high wall with twelve , and at the twelve , and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the . On the east were three , and on the north three , and on the south three , and on the west three . The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve of . He who spoke with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, its , and its walls. The city is square. Its length is as great as its width. He measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand twelve stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. Its wall is one hundred forty-four , by the measure of a man, that is, of . The construction of its wall was jasper. The city was pure gold, like pure glass. The foundations of the city's wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve were twelve pearls. Each one of the was made of one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. I saw no temple in it, for and are its temple. The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very of illuminated it and its lamp is . will walk in its . The kings of the earth bring the and of the nations into it. Its will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there), and they shall bring the and the of the nations into it so that they may enter. There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an or a lie, but only those who are written in .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.