Revelation 21:2 (WEB)

Passage

I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

Nearby Context

Revelation 21:1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

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

Revelation 21:3 I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "holy", "city", "jerusalem", "coming", "down", "heaven", "prepared", and "like". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "holy" and "city", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "I saw a new heaven and a..." into verse 3's "I heard a loud voice out of...", so "holy" and "city" belong inside that flow. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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