122 Revelation The New Jerusalem

After all the pesky non-believers and manifestations of extreme evil are gone, it's time to bring about a new Earth. John sees it happen—a New Jerusalem comes down from Heaven to Earth. And, no surprise, it's terrifically awesome. The Elect will live there with God. No one will ever mourn or die or be in pain. It will simply be God and his children living together forever and ever. But people who haven't led such upstanding lives will get thrown into the Lake of Fire. The city of New Jerusalem itself is probably the most incredible thing John has seen so far. John sees that the whole city is made of gold and glitters with all different kinds of jewels and gemstones. It has twelve gates (with the names of the tribes of Israel written on them) and twelve foundations (with the names of the apostles written on them). This New Jerusalem doesn't have a temple, though, because God himself is the temple. They also don't have to worry about lamps, because the presence of God provides all the light they need. It's always sunny in New Jerusalem. Crime is also non-existent, because no one ever does anything even remotely bad there.
An angel shows John a beautiful river flowing from God's throne. It's the water of life flowing in it. On the banks of the river is the tree of life, which grows twelve kinds of fruit. Nothing bad is ever going to happen in this new city. Everyone will just hang with God and rejoice and love each other all day. Heaven will be here on earth.

The angel assures John that everything he's seen and heard is true. All of this is actually going to happen. He also tells John to go ahead and share all this with the world. After all, Jesus will be coming very, very soon. People need this information because they need to do the right thing. God's judgment is coming. People who lead good lives will be able to live inside the walls of an awesome city made of gold. People who don't will get to take a little swim in a Lake of Fire… for all eternity. John also tells us that if anyone changes what he's written down, God is going to include them in all those terrible plagues. Jesus is coming soon, John tells us. He ends the book with this hope and a short prayer for the faithful.