Revelation 21:1

Revelation 21:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

Context of Revelation 21:1

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had gone away. The sea also was not there any more. 2I saw God's own holy city, called the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was very beautiful, like a bride who is wearing beautiful clothes, ready to meet her husband. 3I heard a voice that spoke loudly from the throne. It said, ‘Look! God's home is now among people! God will live together with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and he will be their God.

Revelation 21:1 word by word

Καὶ εἶδον οὐρανὸν καινὸν καὶ γῆν καινήν. ὁ γὰρ πρῶτος οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ πρώτη γῆ ἀπῆλθαν, καὶ ἡ θάλασσα οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• I sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• a newκαινόςkainos · newG2537
• heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• the firstπρῶτοςprōtos · firstG4413
• were passed awayπαρέρχομαιparerchomai · to pass byG3928
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• noοὐou · noG3756
• moreἔτιeti · stillG2089
• seaθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281

Cross-references for Revelation 21:1

• Revelation 21:5God, who was sitting on the throne, said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, because these words are true. Everyone should believe them.’
• Isaiah 65:17Listen! I will create new heavens and a new earth. People will not remember what things were like before. Those thoughts will not be in their minds at all.
• Isaiah 66:22The Lord says, ‘The new heavens and the new earth that I will make will always be there. In the same way, your descendants and your family name will always continue.’
• 2 Peter 3:13But God has promised to make a new sky and a new earth. That is what we are waiting for. That will be a home for everything that is good and right.
• Revelation 20:11Then I saw a great white throne. I saw that God was sitting on it. The earth and the sky rushed away from the place where he sat. There was no longer any place for them.
• Revelation 13:1Then I saw a wild animal that was coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and there was a crown on each horn. The animal also had seven heads. On each head there was a bad name that insulted God.
• Isaiah 27:1At that time, the Lord will punish Leviathan. The Lord will use his great and powerful sword to destroy that monster. Leviathan is a snake that moves very fast in the sea and it turns in every direction. But the Lord will kill it.
• Isaiah 57:20‘But wicked people are like a rough sea with dangerous waves. It cannot stay still. Its waves throw up mud and dirt.
• Daniel 7:3Then four large animals came out of the sea. They were all different from each other.

Commentaries on Revelation 21:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1A new heaven and a new earth - See the notes on 2 Peter 3:13; : The ancient Jews believed that God would renew the heavens and the earth at the end of seven thousand years. The general supposition they founded on Isaiah 65:17. There was no more sea - The sea no more appeared than did the first heaven and earth. All was made new; and probably the new sea occupied a different position and was differently distributed, from that of the old sea. However, with…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth - Such a heaven and earth that they might properly be called new; such transformations, and such changes in their appearance, that they seemed to be just created. He does not say that they were created now, or anew; that the old heavens and earth were annihilated; but all that he says is, that there were such changes that they seemed to be new. If the earth is to be renovated by fire, such a renovation will give an…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1A new heaven, and new earth: the new Jerusalem where God dwells, and banishes all sorrow from his people. (1-8) Its heavenly origin, glory, and secure defence. (9-21) Its perfect happiness, as enlightened with the presence of God and the Lamb, and in the free access of multitudes, made holy. (22-27) Verses 1-8 The new heaven and the new earth will not be separate from each other; the earth of the saints, their glorified, bodies, will be heavenly. The old…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The vision describes God's creation of a new heaven and earth (compare Genesis 1:1 with Isaiah 65:17; 66:22). The old creation has vanished because it was subject to decay (see Romans 8:20–21; 2 Peter 3:7, 10). the sea was no more: The sea symbolized chaos or the abyss (see study note on Revelation 9:1–12) and was sometimes depicted as a roaring monster (see Psalms 46:3; 74:14; see also Job 3:8; 41:1–34; Luke 21:25). The new creation will be free from all…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-27The remaining two chapters describe the eternal and consummated kingdom of God and the saints on the new earth. As the world of nations is to be pervaded by divine influence in the millennium, so the world of nature shall be, not annihilated, but transfigured universally in the eternal state which follows it. The earth was cursed for man's sake; but is redeemed by the second Adam. Now is the Church; in the millennium shall be the kingdom; and after that…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 21:1

• Astronomy
• Earth
• Heaven
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Readings, Select
• Restoration
• Sea

In the dictionaries

• New Earth
• Jacinth
• Tabernacle
• Unbelieving
• Citizenship
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Heavens, New (and Earth, New)
• Parousia
• Regeneration
• Revelation of John

Commentaries on Revelation 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings