Misinterpretations often include a hyper-literal reading that the physical sun and moon will vanish from existence entirely, overlooking the passage's specific context of the holy city where divine glory surpasses created lights. Others wrongly dismiss the goodness of God's creation by implying heavenly bodies are obsolete or evil, while some allegorize it excessively to deny any physical new creation, missing the profound symbolism of God's light conquering darkness, ignorance, and evil forever.
Revelation of John 21:23
King James Version (1769)
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
This passage depicts the New Jerusalem, God's eternal city, where the radiant glory of God Himself and the Lamb—Jesus Christ—provides perfect, unending illumination, rendering the sun and moon unnecessary. It symbolizes the supreme sufficiency of divine presence, banishing all spiritual darkness, sin, and sorrow, and filling redeemed humanity with eternal light, holiness, truth, and joy in unbroken fellowship with God.