Bible / Revelation (Apocalypse)
Revelation (Apocalypse) 21
Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone: and the sea is now no more. CCC · Fathers
2 And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. CCC · Fathers
3 And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men: and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people: and God himself with them shall be their God. CCC · Fathers
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more. Nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. CCC · Fathers
5 And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write. For these words are most faithful and true. CCC · Fathers
6 And he said to me: It is done. I am Alpha and Omega: the Beginning and the End. To him that thirsteth, I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely. CCC · Fathers
7 He that shall overcome shall possess these things. And I will be his God: and he shall be my son. CCC
8 But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
9 And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. CCC
10 And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, CCC
11 Having the glory of God, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone even as crystal. CCC
12 And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. CCC
13 On the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates. CCC
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations: And in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, CCC
15 And he that spoke with me had a measure of a reed of gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof and the wall.
16 And the city lieth in a four-square: and the length thereof is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs: and the length and the height and the breadth thereof are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel.
18 And the building of the wall thereof was of jasper stone: but the city itself pure gold like to clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire: the third; a chalcedony: the fourth, an emerald:
20 The fifth, sardonyx: the sixth, sardius: the seventh, chrysolite: the eighth, beryl: the ninth, a topaz: the tenth, a chrysoprasus: the eleventh, a jacinth: the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one to each: and every several gate was of one several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were, transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb. CCC
23 And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it: and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.
24 And the nations shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates thereof shall not be shut by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 There shall not enter into it any thing defiled or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie: but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb. CCC
This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church
Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text.
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 756 “Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. the Lord compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but…”
- CCC 1043 “Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal, which will transform humanity and the world, "new heavens and a new earth." It will be…”
- CCC 117 “The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events…”
“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, because the former things have passed away.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 677 “The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his…”
- CCC 756 “Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. the Lord compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but…”
- CCC 757 “The Church, further, which is called 'that Jerusalem which is above' and 'our mother', is described as the spotless spouse of the…”
- CCC 1045 “For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and…”
- CCC 2016 “The children of our holy mother the Church rightly hope for the grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their…”
“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, because the former things have passed away.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 677 “The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his…”
- CCC 756 “Often, too, the Church is called the building of God. the Lord compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but…”
- CCC 2676 “This twofold movement of prayer to Mary has found a privileged expression in the Ave Maria: Hail Mary [or Rejoice, Mary]: the…”
“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, because the former things have passed away.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 677 “The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his…”
- CCC 1044 “In this new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among men. "He will wipe away every tear from their…”
- CCC 1186 “Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into the house of God, we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing…”
“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, because the former things have passed away.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 1044 “In this new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among men. "He will wipe away every tear from their…”
“And He said to me, They are done.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 694 “Water. the symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism, since after the invocation of the Holy Spirit it becomes…”
“And He said to me, They are done.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism
- CCC 2788 “Since the Lord's Prayer is that of his people in the "endtime," this "our" also expresses the certitude of our hope in…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 757 “The Church, further, which is called 'that Jerusalem which is above' and 'our mother', is described as the spotless spouse of the…”
- CCC 865 “The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the…”
- CCC 1045 “For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and…”
- CCC 1138 “Recapitulated in Christ," these are the ones who take part in the service of the praise of God and the fulfillment of…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 865 “The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 865 “The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 765 “The Lord Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 765 “The Lord Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 765 “The Lord Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there…”
- CCC 857 “The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways: - she was and remains built on "the…”
- CCC 865 “The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 586 “Far from having been hostile to the Temple, where he gave the essential part of his teaching, Jesus was willing to pay…”
Read the Catechism
- CCC 1045 “For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and…”
A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.