What's Coming in the End (Revelation 21:9-22:5)

Big Idea: We can look forward to a new beautiful and secure city that’s better than anything before and that will satisfy us forever.

What do we have to look forward to in the end?

The answer to this really matters. I’m convinced that one of our greatest problems in the Christian life is that we don’t look forward to what’s coming as much as we should. Randy Alcorn explains, “Some of Satan’s favorite lies are about Heaven… Our enemy slanders three things: God’s person, God’s people, and God’s place — namely, Heaven.” Satan wants us to be confused about what’s coming and to have inaccurate ideas so we don’t look forward to it like we should. Satan wants to extinguish our excitement about heaven.

As someone’s said, “We don’t think much about heaven because we don’t think well about heaven.” My goal today is that we’ll think better about heaven, and as a result that we’ll think more about heaven, because we really do have a lot to look forward to.

Catching Up

We’re in our last two weeks of our series through Revelation. Revelation has been stretching us these past few months in all the best ways. It’s written to churches who were an oppressed minority. Revelation shows us Jesus and what he’s up to in the world. Jesus is reigning now, and he is unfolding his plans in the world. One day he will return in victory to judge sin, reward his people, and establish his eternal kingdom on earth. So stay faithful now, even when you face hardship and pain.

Since chapter 20, we’ve even getting glimpses of what’s coming in the end. What do we have to look forward to in the end? Here’s what Revelation has told us so far:

• Complete victory over evil — God will totally defeat Satan and destroy both evil and death forever.
• Everything made brand new — God will restore his people and remake the entire world from the ground up.
• Perfect relationship with Jesus — Jesus will take his people as his beloved bride, uniting with them in an eternal marriage relationship.
• God living with us — God himself will make his home among his people right here on earth.
• Endless joy and peace — All who overcome through God's grace will experience perfect, eternal joy without any pain or sorrow.
• Complete healing and restoration — Every hurt, every broken thing, every effect of sin will be completely undone and made perfect.

There are so many ways you can put this. Jesus puts it this way in Revelation 21:5: “Behold, I am making all things new.” C.S. Lewis described it this way: “Death itself would start working backwards.” And again, “Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” J.R.R. Tolkien put it this way: “Is everything sad going to become untrue?”

What’s coming is amazing. And we’re not even done yet!

One More Picture

The passage we just read gives us a longer description of the glories of what’s coming. He’s already given us one view; now he’s giving us another so we really get it.

As we look at this passage, I want to remind you that Revelation is symbolic. We’re going to see that in some of the details as we work through this passage. But the symbolism tells us something real and profound.

Today’s passage is the climax of the book of Revelation, but it’s more. It serves as kind of a bookend to the whole Bible, completing many of its themes and its storyline. This passage is steeped in allusions to passages in the Hebrew Scriptures, and completes many of the themes that started in Genesis 1-3.

What do we have to look forward to? This passage tells us:

A new beautiful and secure city (21:9-21)

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. (21:9-11)

Notice how the symbolism begins right away. It’s a vision of a bride, but it’s also a vision of a city, the New Jerusalem. According to verse 1, the New Jerusalem is also the new heaven and the new earth. So which is it: a new heaven, a new earth, or a New Jerusalem? It’s all of them. They’re all the same thing.

How do you make sense of this? This vision is telling us what the new creation will be like. It will have the intimacy of a marriage with our Savior. It will be a place where we can live with God in safety and security. And it will be a new creation that’s completely renewed.

These verses are packed with language and symbols that reject the picture of Babylon in Revelation 17 and 18 and instead recall the Garden of Eden, only it’s a city and it’s even better. It shows us that God's relationship with humanity is being fully restored in a new, perfected setting. Instead of a garden, however, the restored creation is now a glorious city, combining the innocence of Eden with the majesty, permanence, and community of a city where God dwells among his people.

For instance, look at two of its features:

It’s stunningly beautiful (21:11, 18-21).

The new creation is breathtakingly beautiful, as described in Revelation 21:11, 18-21. It radiates with the glory of God, its brilliance resembling an extraordinarily rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. This divine presence illuminates the city, fulfilling Isaiah 60:1, which declares, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you." The beauty stems directly from God’s presence, transforming the entire scene into a vision of awe.

Moreover, this beauty extends to you, the believer. As Daniel 12:3 foretells, the righteous "shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." This promise reveals a personal transformation, where you will reflect the divine splendor in the new creation.

Looking closer at Revelation 21:18-21, the city is adorned with gold, precious jewels, and pearls in abundance. This echoes Isaiah 54:11-12, where God promises, "O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones." These materials symbolize not only beauty but also a restoration of divine design.

Additionally, the jewels connect to deeper biblical imagery. They mirror the stones engraved with the names of Israel’s tribes on the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:17-20) and some associated with the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 28:13-14). This progression—from Eden’s treasures to the temple’s gold and jewels in sacred spaces, and now to their pervasive presence in the new creation—illustrates a culmination of God’s redemptive plan, where beauty and holiness are no longer confined but are everywhere.

The new creation, as depicted in Revelation 21, is a place of unparalleled beauty, shining with God’s glory and adorned with gold and precious jewels. This splendor extends to the righteous, who will shine like stars, and reflects a restoration of Eden’s perfection and the temple’s sanctity on a grand, universal scale.

It’s stunningly beautiful.

It’s also eternally secure (21:12-17).

The new creation is also eternally secure, as described in Revelation 21:12-17. Verses 12 to 14 mention high walls surrounding the city, symbolizing strong protection. Each gate is guarded by an angel, ensuring complete safety for everyone who enters. This level of security is even greater than what was found in Eden. As Richard Baxter said, “Our first and earthly paradise in Eden had a way out, but no way in that we could find. But this eternal paradise has a way in... but no way out again.” Once we are inside, we are safe forever, with no fear of being cast out.

An angel then measures the city with a golden rod, alluding to Ezekiel 40-41 where a new temple is measured as a sign of God’s promise to restore his people. The city is described as being 2,200 kilometers long, wide, and high—a massive cube about the size of the entire Roman Empire, and 250 times taller than Mount Everest, with walls 200 feet thick.

These numbers are meant to show just how spacious and secure the city is. There will be room for all the saints from every tribe, language, people, and nation throughout history. The walls’ thickness and the sheer size of the city emphasize that God’s people will be completely protected and safe forever.

Revelation 21:12-17 presents the new creation as an unbreakable fortress—eternally safe, vast enough to welcome all God’s people, and with no way of being lost once inside.

These verses offer real hope for us today. When life feels ugly or unsafe, Revelation 21 promises a future that is both beautiful and safe in ways we can hardly imagine. God’s presence will fill the new creation with glory, and we will share in that beauty. We will also be perfectly secure, never facing danger or separation from God again. Knowing this future is waiting for us gives us strength for today. It helps us handle life’s troubles and inspires us to seek and share glimpses of beauty and safety, looking forward to what God has promised.

What do we have to look forward to? A new, stunningly beautiful and eternally secure city. But this passage continues. It’s a new, stunningly beautiful and eternally secure city…

That’s better than anything before (21:22-27; 22:3)

The new creation is a city not only stunningly beautiful and eternally secure, but also radically improved beyond anything previously known or experienced (Revelation 21:22-27). These verses highlight what’s missing, except that what’s missing actually makes it even better.

• No temple (21:22) — The temple traditionally signified God's presence. However, verse 22 states, "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb." This isn't an absence, but an all-encompassing presence. The entire city becomes the temple, a universal Holy of Holies, because God and the Lamb's glorious presence will permeate every part of it. The most sacred space is no longer confined; it is the city.
• No need for sun or moon (21:23) — While the sun and moon may still exist, their light becomes secondary. The city will blaze with the direct, unmediated glory of God. The same divine glory that once filled the tabernacle will now illuminate the entire new creation, making external light sources unnecessary.
• No closed gates (21:25-27) — The gates of the city will remain perpetually open, symbolizing unhindered access for all who belong to Jesus, regardless of their nation of origin. This signifies constant welcome and perfect security, where the need to shut out danger or darkness no longer exists (though, as verse 27 clarifies, those who reject Christ will not enter).
• No more curse (22:3) — The pervasive effects of sin will be completely eradicated. This means an end to the struggle for survival, and the disappearance of sickness, sorrow, and death, ushering in a state of perfect, untainted existence.

This vision of the new creation shows us that God's ultimate plan isn't just to fix what's broken. It's to make everything better than it ever was. The new Jerusalem surpasses Eden, exceeds the temple's glory, and outshines every earthly city. It combines perfect beauty with absolute security, and then improves upon everything we've known before. God's presence won't be limited to a single building but will fill every corner of existence. Light won't come from created sources but from the Creator himself. The entire creation will be his holy of holies and his dwelling place. Access won't be restricted by time or circumstance but will be eternally open to all who belong to Jesus. And the curse that has plagued humanity since Eden will be permanently lifted. This is what awaits us: not just restoration, but transformation into something far greater than what was lost. This hope should fill us with joy and anticipation, knowing that whatever difficulties we face today are temporary, while this perfect future is eternal.

What do we have to look forward to? A new, stunningly beautiful and eternally secure city that’s better than before…

That will satisfy us forever (22:1-5)

Three things are present in 22:1-5.

The first is the river of life, which actually leads to the tree of life.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1-2)

In Genesis 2:10, the Bible describes a river flowing out of Eden to water the garden. Ezekiel 47 picks up on this and pictures a river flowing from God’s presence that starts like a trickle but gets deeper and brings life. In the new creation there’s a river that also comes from God himself.

Then you have the tree of life, just like in the Garden of Eden. To eat from the tree of life meant that you would not die (Genesis 3:22). But after sin, we lost access to the tree. But now it’s back, and the fruit is available all the time.

It’s like the Garden of Eden except it’s even better. This image picks up on the river of life in Eden The tree of life produces luscious fruit that’s available all the time. It’s never out of season.

We’re brought right back to God’s plan for creation, only this time we can’t mess it up.

But that’s not even the best part. Verses 4 and 5 say that “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” We will see God. We will behold him. It will satisfy us deeply, and we will worship him forever. We will belong to him.

On that day we’ll have our greatest desires fulfilled. We will be back to Eden only better, living life the way it was meant to be lived in the presence of God himself.

What do we have to look forward to? We can look forward to a new beautiful and secure city that’s better than anything before and that will satisfy us forever.

Richard Baxter, a highly influential pastor in 17th-century England, constantly battled illnesses, including chronic cough, migraines, and various painful conditions, throughout his life. He once noted that from age 21, he was rarely free from discomfort for even an hour.

At 35, during a severe illness, he began meditating on heaven, believing death was near. These reflections became his book The Saints' Everlasting Rest. After recovering, he committed to spending 30 minutes daily contemplating heaven, finding it transformative. He strongly encouraged his readers to do the same, believing it brought spiritual strength and perspective.

Listen to what he said:

If you would have light and heat, why are you not more in the sunshine? For want of this recourse to heaven, your soul is as a lamp not lighted, and your duty as a sacrifice without fire. Fetch one coal daily from this altar, and see if your offering will not burn… Keep close to this reviving fire, and see if your affections will not be warm.

What do we have to look forward to in the end? Satan doesn’t want us to be able to answer this question well. We need to think accurately about heaven so we can think about it often, and so it can change how we live now.