Revelation 21:1 (DRB)

Passage

I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone: and the sea is now no more.

Nearby Context

Revelation 21:1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone: and the sea is now no more.

Revelation 21:2 And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men: and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people: and God himself with them shall be their God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heaven", "earth", "first", and "gone". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heaven" and "earth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "And I John saw the holy city...", so "heaven" and "earth" should be read forward into that movement. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "heaven" and "earth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.