The New Age
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(This chapter probably describes the same future as the Thousand Years from the last chapter, a completely new and higher developed way of life. Do not think, human history will have this happy end just because it has been predicted here. Prophets show us possibilities. It is for our actions to determine which way history will go.)
Then I saw a new heaven (symbol for the element of air meaning thinking and spirituality, which have changed a lot in the New Jerusalem)
and a new earth, (a new attitude towards material things)
for the first heaven (the old way of thinking)
and the first earth (the previous materialistic, money orientated world)
had disappeared, and the sea (symbol for the element of water = emotions, in their vast, threatening form)
was no longer there. (Dangerous and destructive emotions were no longer a problem.)
(2) I saw the Holy Kingdom (The New World, where people live according to divine morals taught by Jesus and other prophets)
the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven (Heaven is a symbol for the element of air: the new civilization will be created out of people's thinking, their ideas, see 12:7, ff.)
from God, (These ideas are put into people's minds by God through prophecies like the Revelation.)
prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. (God's plan will provide something very pleasant for humanity.)
(3) And I heard a loud voice proclaiming from the throne: (We are now witnesses of the first press conference by the "Rider on the White Horse".)
"Look, the home of God is with men, and he will live with them.They will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
(For the first time in the history of our civilization divine wisdom as expressed in the teachings of various prophets will be put into practice. This fundamental change will have a lasting impact.)
(4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or grief or crying or pain, for the old order of things has disappeared." (This refers to evil no longer being done by people to each other, see 7:17.)
(5) The one who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said to me, "Write this down, for these words are reliable and true." (6) And he (Now it is God speaking; the gradual, unnoticeable change from the Rider on the White Horse to God speaking underlines the divine inspiration of the former. It also means a revival of the ancient Jewish idea that there is no human king as such, the Lord is the only King.)
said to me, "It is done. I am the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (The New World is the end of millions of years of human history planned from the beginning.)
To anyone who is thirsty I will give to drink without payment from the source of the water of life. (The water of life symbolizes a loving and caring attitude providing everything a person needs for a happy life, for everyone, see 22:1, 22:17)
(7) People who win the victory (determined and fearless people who don't give up)
will get this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. (8) But cowards, atheists, corrupt, evil and immoral people, murderers,those who practice black magic, people who worship images and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur, which is the second death." (9) One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come I will make you see the bride, the wife of the Lamb." (10) And he took me away in the Spirit to the top of a great and high mountain, and made me see the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
(The Holy City symbolizes a society inspired by divine wisdom in the New Age. In the following verses we find many symbols describing the sacred, pleasant and good nature of this New World.)
(11) It was shining with the glory of God, and its brightness was like that of a very precious gemstone, like a Jasper, clear as crystal. (12) It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels in charge of the gates, where the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written. (Twelve and three are numbers symbolizing sacredness.)
(13) There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. (14) The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (The Lamb is a symbol for all the martyrs who have suffered for proclaiming divine wisdom like Jesus. Martyrs and other followers of divine morals will be the founders of this new civilization, see 5:6.)
(15) The angel who talked to me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city, its gates and its walls. (16) The city was built like a square, (A yellow square is the traditional symbol for the element of earth, which means these predictions are about life on earth, not about a world of souls, spirits and angels.)
as long as it was wide. And he measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia [2400 kilometers] its length, width and height were the same. (The enormous size of this city suggests that this new sacred [number 12] society in the New Age will not be a small isolated phenomenon. This is about the whole earth.)
(17) He also measured its wall and it was 144 cubits [72 meters] thick, by human measurement, which the angel was using. (This exaggerated thickness of the wall may reflect the difficulties in creating this new civilization and its stability.)
(18) The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of fine gold, as pure as glass. (Pure and fine gold symbolizes wealth not based on other people's poverty and suffering.)
(19) The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation 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. (This sequence of various gems seems to have some connection to Exodus 28:17, ff., where the breastplate of priests is decorated in a similar way. There is also some association between gems, spiritual forces and signs of the zodiac. However literature on these issues is contradicting without common and reasonable conclusions. On the whole these gems symbolize sacredness and spiritual completeness.)
(21) The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate was made of a single pearl. The street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. (22) I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty is its temple and the Lamb. (The traditional role of religion and Theology will change. Nowadays it is a purely academic exercise detached from reality and without any significant impact on everyday life. In the future divine morals will control life in general, politics and the economy, while traditional church rituals will become even more unimportant than they are today, see Isaiah 1:11.)
(23) And the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Light symbolizes an enlightened state of mind.)
(24) The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their wealth into it. (The new civilization is not a poor society living in devout austerity. It is a world of high living standard for everyone without waste through unnecessary conflict.)
(25) All day its gates will never be shut, because there will be no darkness there. (Darkness symbolizes fear, apprehension, mistrust and similar modern achievements.)
(26) And they will bring the glory and wealth of the nations into the city. (27) Nothing immoral will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does disgraceful things or tells lies.Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life will enter the city.
(Nevertheless this new civilization is only for a suitably enlightened minority, people who can overcome the influence of the current ideology of greed symbolized by the Lion, see 13:8.)