And one of the seven angels who had the seven vessels in which were the seven last punishments, came and said to me, Come here, and see the bride, the Lamb's wife.

And he took me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and let me see the holy town Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

And the angel who spoke to me [See verse 9] had a golden measuring stick with which to measure the city, its gates and its wall.

I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.

Then the angel [See 21:9] showed me the river of the water of life. It was crystal-clear as it flowed out of the throne of God and the Lamb,

"In future there will be no curse," he said, "but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in that city. And His servants will render Him holy service and will see His face,

And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.

And it will never be nighttime there anymore; they will not need the light of a lamp or of the sun, for the Lord will give them light. And they [i.e., God's servants] will rule [with Christ, See 20:4] forever and ever.

Then the angel [See 21:9] said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His servants [i.e., through the apostle John] the things that must happen soon [See 1:1].

See, I come quickly. A blessing on him who keeps the words of this book of the prophet.

I am John, which saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down, to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.

And he said unto me, "See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant and the fellow servant of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book. But worship God."

See, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man the outcome of his works.

I am the Alpha and the Omega [See note at 1:8], the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

On the outside [of the city] are the dogs [Note: This probably refers to people who practiced sexual perversions. See Deut. 23:17] and the sorcerers, and the sexually immoral people, and the murderers, and the idolaters and every person who loves and practices falsehood.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you people about these things for [the benefit of] the churches [See 1:4]. I am the Root and the descendant of King David, the bright Morning Star."

And the Holy Spirit and the bride [i.e., the church. See 21:9] say, "Come!" And the person who hears [this] should say "Come." And the person who is [spiritually] thirsty should come; [and] whoever wants to should come and drink the water of life without having to pay for it.