Revelation 21:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

NIV: He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'

NASB: And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' And He *said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true.'

CSB: Then the one seated on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new." He also said, "Write, because these words are faithful and true."

NLT: And the one sitting on the throne said, 'Look, I am making everything new!' And then he said to me, 'Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.'

KJV: And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

NKJV: Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

John reports in this verse that the One who occupies the throne declared, "Behold, I am making all things new." When God created the heavens and the earth, including every living thing, including our first parents, "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). However, when sin entered the world, it brought God's judgment upon all creation. Decay. deterioration, death, and dying scarred nature and human life. Today, nature groans to be delivered from the curse (Romans 8:22), and God's redeemed people anticipate their freedom from every vestige of sin (1 John 3:1–3).

Someday, God will make everything new: a new heaven and earth and a new freedom from sin. The prior chapter of Revelation described the ultimate defeat of sin and evil. These final two chapters describe the victorious conditions which come about as a result. John also heard a voice from the throne affirm that God's declaration of His making all things new is completely dependable. His words are "trustworthy and true." Indeed, everything God says is trustworthy and true, as Titus 1:2 affirms: "God…never lies."

Revelation 21:1–8 continues the progression of events which came after the end of the tribulation: Christ's return to earth (Revelation 19:11–16), the defeat and destruction of those who war against Christ (Revelation 19:17–21), the incarceration of Satan (Revelation 20:1–3), the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4–6), the release of Satan and the nations' final revolt against God (Revelation 20:7–10), and the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11–15). Here we see the creation of the new heaven and the new earth. Upcoming verses describe the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9–27).

This chapter focuses on the New Jerusalem. This is not the earthly, historic Jerusalem of the tribulation (Revelation 11:2, 8). Nor is it the surviving Jerusalem of the millennium that serves as Jesus' capital (Revelation 20:9). It is the heavenly city referred to in Hebrews 12:22, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10, 16). John attempts to describe the indescribable using analogies to precious gems and metals.

Leading up to this chapter, all sin and evil have been entirely defeated. Satan is banished to hell, along with every person who rejected Christ, as seen in chapter 20. Here, John describes the nature of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city which descends onto earth after the ultimate victory over evil. Chapter 22 is a further description of this perfect eternity, and last messages from Jesus to those who read John's words.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''