👑WEB · Revelation 21:10
What does Revelation 21:10 mean?
"He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,"
— Revelation 21:10 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.
But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the wife, the Lamb’s bride.”
He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
On the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Explanation
Revelation 21:10 describes a visionary experience in which John, the author, is transported "in the Spirit" to a great and high mountain so that he can witness something extraordinary: the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending from heaven to earth. In plain language, this verse is saying that John is given a supernatural vantage point—much like a prophet standing on a mountaintop—so he can see and describe a city that is not built by human hands but comes down as a gift from God himself. This is not a literal city he could travel to by foot; it is a symbolic and prophetic vision meant to convey spiritual truth through vivid imagery.
The Book of Revelation was written by John, traditionally identified as the apostle John, while he was in exile on the island of Patmos, likely near the end of the first century AD. He wrote to a group of seven churches in Asia Minor who were facing persecution, false teaching, and the temptation to compromise their faith under the pressures of the Roman Empire. Revelation as a whole uses apocalyptic imagery—symbols, numbers, and visions—to reveal spiritual realities and to encourage believers that God is sovereign over history and will ultimately triumph over evil. Chapter 21 comes near the climax of the book, following the defeat of Satan and the final judgment, and it describes the new heaven and new earth that God establishes for his redeemed people.
Theologically, this verse carries rich meaning. The mountain recalls other biblical moments where God reveals himself or his plans to his servants from an elevated place, such as Moses on
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