Editing Christian eschatology (section)

==New Heaven and New Earth==
{{Main|New Earth (Christianity)|World to come#Christian eschatology}}
[[File:Apocalypse 38. A new heaven and new earth. Revelation cap 21. Mortier's Bible. Phillip Medhurst Collection.jpg|thumb|''A new heaven and new earth''<ref>{{bibleref2|Rev|21:1|NIV}}, Mortier's Bible, [[c:User:Phillip Medhurst|Phillip Medhurst]]</ref> Collection]]
<blockquote>But, in accordance with [[New covenant|his promise]], we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.<ref>[[Second Epistle of Peter|2 Peter]] {{bibleref2-nb|2 Peter|3:13|NRSV}}</ref></blockquote>

===New Jerusalem===
{{Main|New Jerusalem}}
The focus turns to one city in particular, the [[New Jerusalem]]. Once again, we see the imagery of the marriage: "I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" [Rev 21:2]. In the New Jerusalem, God "will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God..." [Rev 21:3]. As a result, there is "no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." Nor is there a need for the sun to give its light, "for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light" [Rev 21:22–23]. The city will also be a place of great peace and joy, for "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" [Rev 21:4].

====Description====
The city itself has a large wall with twelve gates in it which are never shut, and which have the names of the [[twelve tribes of Israel]] written on them. Each of the gates is made of a single pearl, and there is an angel standing in each one. The wall also has twelve foundations which are adorned with precious stones, and upon the foundations are written the names of the twelve apostles. The gates and foundations are often interpreted{{by whom|date=June 2011}} as symbolizing the people of God before and after Christ.

The city and its streets are pure gold, but not like the gold we know, for this gold is described as being like clear glass. The city is square in shape, and is twelve thousand [[furlong]]s long and wide (fifteen hundred miles). If these are comparable to earthly measurements, the city will cover an area about half the size of the contiguous United States. The height is the same as the length and breadth, and although this has led most people to conclude that it is shaped like a cube, it could also be a [[pyramid]].

===The Tree of Life===
{{Main|Tree of life (biblical)}}
[[File:Apocalypse 43. The tree of life. Revelation cap 22 v 2. Mortier's Bible. Phillip Medhurst Collection.jpg|thumb|''The tree of life'',<ref>{{bibleref2|Rev|22:2|NRSV}}</ref> a print from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations in the possession of Revd. Philip De Vere at St. George's Court, [[Kidderminster]], England]]
The city has a river which proceeds "out of the throne of God and of the Lamb".<ref>[Rev 22:1].</ref> Next to the river is the tree of life, which bears twelve fruits and yields its fruit every month. The last time we saw the tree of life was in the Garden of Eden [Gen 2:9]. God drove Adam and Eve out from the garden, guarding it with cherubim and a flaming sword, because it gave eternal life to those who ate of it<ref>[Gen 3:22].</ref> In the New Jerusalem, the tree of life reappears, and everyone in the city has access to it. Genesis says that the earth was cursed because of Adam's sin,<ref>[Gen 3:17]</ref> but the author of John writes that in the New Jerusalem, "there will be no more curse".<ref>Rev 22:3</ref>

The ''[[Evangelical Dictionary of Theology]]'' (Baker, 1984) says:
{{blockquote|The rich symbolism reaches beyond our finest imaginings, not only to the beatific vision but to a renewed, joyous, industrious, orderly, holy, loving, eternal, and abundant existence. Perhaps the most moving element in the description is what is missing: there is no temple in the New Jerusalem, 'because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.' Vastly outstripping the expectations of Judaism, this stated omission signals the ultimate reconciliation.}}