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Hitherto the prophecy of this book has presented to us a very remarkable mixture of light and shade, prosperity and adversity, mercy and judgment, in the conduct of divine Providence towards the church in the world: now, at the close of all, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away; a new world now appears, the former having passed away. Some are willing to understand all that is said in these last two chapters of the state of the church even here on earth, in the glory of the latter days; but others, more probably, take it as a representation of the perfect and triumphant state of the church in heaven. Let but the faithful saints and servants of God wait awhile, and they shall not only see, but enjoy, the perfect holiness and happiness of that world. In this chapter you have, I. An introduction to the vision of the new Jerusalem, Re 21:1-9. II. The vision itself, Re 21:10-27, etc.

Analysis Of Revelation 21 And Revelation 22:1-5

The whole of Revelation 21, and the first five verses of Revelation 22, relate to scenes beyond the judgment, and are descriptive of the happy and triumphant state of the redeemed church, when all its conflicts shall have ceased, and all its enemies shall have been destroyed. That happy state is depicted under the image of a beautiful city, of which Jerusalem was the emblem, and it was disclosed to John by a vision of that city - the New Jerusalem - descending from heaven. Jerusalem was regarded as the unique dwelling-place of God, and to the Hebrews it became thus the natural emblem or symbol of the heavenly world. The conception having occurred of describing the future condition of the righteous under the image of a beautiful city, all that follows is in "keeping" with that, and is merely a carrying out of the image. It is a city with beautiful walls and gates; a city that has no temple - for it is all a temple; a city that needs no light - for God is its light; a city into which nothing impure ever enters; a city filled with trees, and streams, and fountains, and fruits - the "Paradise Regained."

The description of that blessed state comprises the following parts:

I. A vision of a new heaven and a new earth, as the final abode of the blessed, Revelation 21:1. The first heaven and the first earth passed away at the judgment Revelation 20:11-15, to be succeeded by a new heaven and earth suited to be the abode of the blessed.

II. A vision of the holy city - the New Jerusalem - descending from heaven, as the abode of the redeemed, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband - representing the fact that God would truly abide with men, Revelation 21:2-4. Now all the effects of the apostasy will cease; all tears will be wiped away, and in that blessed state there will be no more death, or sorrow, or pain. This contains the "general" statement of what will be the condition of the redeemed in the future world. God will be there; and all sorrow will cease.

III. A command to make a record of these things, Revelation 21:5.

IV. A general description of those who should dwell in that future world of blessedness, Revelation 21:6-8. It is for all who are athirst; for all who desire it, and long for it; for all who "overcome" their spiritual enemies, who maintain a steady conflict with sin, and gain a victory over it. But all who are fearful and unbelieving - all the abominable, and murderers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and liars - shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. That is, that world will be pure and holy.

V. A minute description of the city representing the happy abode of the redeemed, Revelation 21:9-26. This description embraces many particulars:

(1) Its general appearance, Revelation 21:11, Revelation 21:18, Revelation 21:21. It is bright and splendid - like a precious jasper-stone, clear as crystal, and composed of pure gold.

(2) its walls, Revelation 21:12, Revelation 21:18. The walls are represented as "great and high," and as composed of "jasper."

(3) its gates, Revelation 21:12-13, Revelation 21:21. The gates are twelve in number, three on each side; and are each composed of a single pearl.

(4) its foundations, Revelation 21:14, Revelation 21:18-20. There are twelve foundations, corresponding to the number of the apostles of the Lamb. They are all composed of precious stones - jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst.

(5) its size; Revelation 21:15-17. It is square - the length being as great as the breadth, and its height the same. The extent of each dimension is twelve thousand furlongs - a length on each side and in height of three hundred and seventy-five miles. It would seem, however, that though the "city" was of that height, the "wall" was only an hundred and forty-four cubits, or about two hundred and sixteen feet high. The idea seems to be that the city - the dwellings within it - towered high above the wall that was thrown around it for protection. This is not uncommon in cities that are surrounded by walls.

(6) its light, Revelation 21:23-24; Revelation 22:5. It has no need of the sun, or of the moon, or of a lamp Revelation 22:5 to lighten it; and yet there is no night there Revelation 22:5, for the glory of God gives light to it.

(7) it is a city without a temple, Revelation 21:22. There is no one place in it that is especially sacred, or where the worship of God will be exclusively celebrated. It will be all a temple, and the worship of God will be celebrated in all parts of it.

(8) it is always open, Revelation 21:25. There will be no need of closing it as walled cities on earth are closed to keep enemies out, and it will not be shut to prevent those who dwell there from going out and coming in when they please. The inhabitants will not be prisoners, nor will they be in danger, or be alarmed by the prospect of an attack from an enemy.

(9) its inhabitants will all be pure and holy, Revelation 21:27. There will in no wise enter there anything that defiles, or that works abomination, or that is false. They only shall dwell there whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

(10) its enclosures and environs, Revelation 22:1-2. A stream of water, pure as crystal, proceeds from the throne of God and the Lamb. That stream flows through the city, and on its banks is the tree of life constantly bearing fruit - fruit to be partaken of freely. It is Paradise regained - a holy and beautiful abode, of which the garden of Eden was only an imperfect emblem, where there is no prohibition, as there was there, of anything that grows, and where there is no danger of falling into sin.

(11) it is a place free, consequently, from the curse that was pronounced on man when he forfeited the blessings of the first Eden, and when he was driven out from the happy abodes where God had placed him.

(12) it is a place where the righteous shall reign forever, Revelation 22:5. Death shall never enter there, and the presence and glory of God shall fill all with peace and joy.

Such is an outline of the figurative and glowing description of the future blessedness of the redeemed; the eternal abode of those who shall be saved. It is poetic and emblematical; but it is elevating, and constitutes a beautiful and appropriate close, not only of this single book, but of the whole sacred volume - for to this the saints are everywhere directed to look forward; this is the glorious termination of all the struggles and conflicts of the church; this is the result of the work of redemption in repairing the evils of the fall, and in bringing man to more than the bliss which he lost in Eden. The mind rests with delight on this glorious prospect; the Bible closes, as a revelation from heaven should, in a manner that calms down every anxious feeling; that fills the soul with peace, and that leads the child of God to look forward with bright anticipations, and to say, as John did, "Come, Lord Jesus," Revelation 22:20.

The new heaven and the new earth, Revelation 21:1. The new Jerusalem, Revelation 21:2. God dwells with men; the happy state of his followers, Revelation 21:3-7. The wretched state of the ungodly, Revelation 21:8. An angel shows John the holy city, the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:9, Revelation 21:10. Her light, wall, gates, and foundations, described, Revelation 21:11-21. God and the Lamb are the temple and light of it, Revelation 21:22, Revelation 21:23. The nations and kings of the earth bring their glory and honor to it; the gates shall never be shut, nor shall any defilement enter into it, Revelation 21:24-27.

INTRODUCTION TO Revelation 21

This chapter contains an account of the happy state of the church, consisting of all the elect, both Jews and Gentiles, which will take place upon the first resurrection, and will continue during the thousand years' reign mentioned in the preceding chapter. The seat of the church in these happy times will be the new heaven and the new earth, Revelation 21:1 the church that will dwell there is described by its names, the holy city, and new Jerusalem; by its descent, from heaven; and by its state and ornament, being prepared and adorned as a bride for her husband, Revelation 21:2 and her happiness is expressed by the presence of God with her, and communion with him enjoyed by her, and by a freedom from all evils endured in the present state of things, Revelation 21:3 after which John hears the voice of him that sat on the throne, declaring himself to be the author of the new heaven and earth; ordering him to write, that what had been said was true and faithful; affirming that things were now done and finished; calling himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end: promising grace to the thirsty soul, the inheritance of all things to the overcomer, and also divine sonship; and threatening the second death to sinners, whose characters are given, Revelation 21:5 next John has a vision of the bride before spoken of; the preface to it is in Revelation 21:9 in which is signified that one of the seven angels that had the seven vials talked to him in a very free and familiar manner, and proposed to show him the Lamb's wife; and in order to it carried him to an exceeding high mountain, and showed him the city before mentioned, said to be great, holy, and heavenly; and which is described by the glory of God upon it, and the light that was in it, comparable to a crystal jasper stone, Revelation 21:11 by its wall, which is great and high; and by its, gates and foundations; its gates are in number twelve, twelve angels at them, and on them written the twelve names of the children of Israel, and these situated three at each point, east, west, north, and south; and its foundations are also twelve, having the names of the twelve apostles on them, Revelation 21:12 by the measure of it, which the angel took with his golden read; of the city, which was twelve thousand furlongs, it being four square, and its length, breadth, and height equal; and of the wall, which was a hundred forty and four cubits, Revelation 21:15 and next the city is described by the matter of which it was built; the wall of jasper the city of pure gold, like to clear glass; the foundations of precious stone, each foundation being of one stone; the gates of pearls, each gate being of one pearl; the street of the city of pure gold, like transparent glass, Revelation 21:18 and then by the temple in it, which is no other than the Lord God and the Lamb; and by the light, which is the same, it having no need of sun or moon, Revelation 21:22 and next by its inhabitants, the nations of the saved ones, who walk in its light, and the kings of the earth, that bring their honour and glory to it; by its safety and security, and by the purity of it, none but undefiled persons, and such who are written in the Lamb's book of life, being admitted into it, Revelation 21:24.

CHAPTER 21

Revelation 21:1. Instead of παρὴλθε (Elz.), read ἀπῆλθαν (A, B, א, Lach., Tisch. [W. and H.]).

Revelation 21:2. The addition ἐγὼ Ἰωάννης to καὶ εὶδον (Elz.) is here incorrect.

Revelation 21:3. The sing. λαὸς (Beng., Tisch.) is sufficiently supported by B, 2, 4, 7, al., Verss. The plur. λαοὶ (A, א, Elz., Lach., Tisch. IX. [W. and H.]), which does not belong in the O. T. tone of description, may, indeed, have been occasioned by the preceding αὐτοὶ.

Revelation 21:6. Γέγοναν. So A, Iren., Lach., Tisch. [W. and H.]. To this also leads the erroneous text-recension γέγονα ἐγὼ τὸ Α καὶ τ. Ω in B, א1; while the γέγονε ἐγώ εἰμι, κ.τ.λ. (Rec.), originate in Revelation 16:17.

Revelation 21:9. Read, with A, א, Verss., Beng., Lach., Tisch., τὴν νύμφην, τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ αρνίου. The various transpositions (Rec.: τ. νύμφ. τ. ἀρν. τ. γυν.) depend upon the purpose of combining the τ. νύμφ. with τ. ἀρν.; cf. Revelation 19:7.

Revelation 21:16. Undoubtedly false is the effort at interpretation, τοσοῦτόν ἐστιν before ὅσον (Elz., rejected already by Beng.).

Revelation 21:23. The ἐν before αὐτῂ (Rec.) is, according to A, B, א1, al., to be deleted (Beng., d. N.).

Revelation 21:24. The Rec. καὶ τὰ ἔθνη τὼν σωζομένων ἐν τῲ φωτὶ αὐτῆς περιπατήσουσι is an interpretation. Beng. already has the correct text.

Revelation 21:27. Instead of κοινοὺν (Elz.), read κοινὸν (A, B, א, al., Beng., Griesb., Lach., Tisch. [W. and H.]). The neuter ποιοὺν (B, Elz.) has been written because of the immediately preceding πᾶν κοιν. Before the correct ποιὼν (A, א1, Beng., Lach., Tisch.), however, the article (7, 8, 13, al., Tisch.) is probably not justified (A, א1, Beng., Lach.).

Now, finally, after all the enemies of the Lamb, and his believers, have been eternally removed, there appears (Revelation 21:1 to Revelation 22:5) the final and supreme goal of all Apocalyptic prophecy, the eternal completion of the promised mystery of God,[4250] that wherein all the promises which the Lord had caused to be declared to his Church are fulfilled, and to which he had directed all the hopes of his people in the midst of the afflictions of the world, and towards which, accordingly, also the deepest longing of believers extends.[4251] Augustine already[4252] remarks correctly: “When the judgment is finished, whereby he announced beforehand that the wicked are to be judged, it remains for him to speak also concerning the good.” The result of Revelation 21:4, with complete clearness to him, is that the subject of treatment here is the eternal blessedness of the godly.[4253]

Nevertheless, individual expositors have ruined also the description of ch. 21. by allegorizing.[4254]

[4250] Revelation 10:7.

[4251] Cf. Revelation 22:17; Revelation 22:20.

[4252] l. c., c. 17.

[4253] l. c., c. Revelation 14 : “Things are said with such clearness concerning the future world and immortality, and the eternity of the saints, that we ought to seek for nothing manifest in the Holy Scriptures, If we suppose these to be obscure.”

[4254] Cf., e.g., Grot., who again stops with the times after Constantine, when the first earth no longer existed, because the earth no longer drank the blood of the martyrs, etc. Even Vitr. understands “a state of the Church to be presented on earth at the last times,” which he expects even before the judgment of the world.

Re 21:1-27.

THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH: NEW JERUSALEM OUT OF HEAVEN.

The remaining two chapters describe the eternal and consummated kingdom of God and the saints on the new earth. As the world of nations is to be pervaded by divine influence in the millennium, so the world of nature shall be, not annihilated, but transfigured universally in the eternal state which follows it. The earth was cursed for man's sake; but is redeemed by the second Adam. Now is the Church; in the millennium shall be the kingdom; and after that shall be the new world wherein God shall be all in all. The "day of the Lord" and the conflagration of the earth are in

2Pe 3:10, 11

spoken of as if connected together, from which many argue against a millennial interval between His coming and the general conflagration of the old earth, preparatory to the new; but "day" is used often of a whole period comprising events intimately connected together, as are the Lord's second advent, the millennium, and the general conflagration and judgment. Compare

Ge 2:4

as to the wide use of "day." Man's soul is redeemed by regeneration through the Holy Spirit now; man's body shall be redeemed at the resurrection; man's dwelling-place, His inheritance, the earth, shall be redeemed perfectly at the creation of the new heaven and earth, which shall exceed in glory the first Paradise, as much as the second Adam exceeds in glory the first Adam before the fall, and as man regenerated in body and soul shall exceed man as he was at creation.

1. the first--that is the former.

passed away--Greek, in A and B is "were departed" (Greek, "apeelthon," not as in English Version, "pareelthe").

was--Greek, "is," which graphically sets the thing before our eyes as present.

no more sea--The sea is the type of perpetual unrest. Hence our Lord rebukes it as an unruly hostile troubler of His people. It symbolized the political tumults out of which "the beast" arose,

Re 13:1.

As the physical corresponds to the spiritual and moral world, so the absence of sea, after the metamorphosis of the earth by fire, answers to the unruffled state of solid peace which shall then prevail. The sea, though severing lands from one another, is now, by God's eliciting of good from evil, made the medium of communication between countries through navigation. Then man shall possess inherent powers which shall make the sea no longer necessary, but an element which would detract from a perfect state. A "river" and "water" are spoken of in

Re 22:1, 2,

probably literal (that is, with such changes of the natural properties of water, as correspond analogically to man's own transfigured body), as well as symbolical. The sea was once the element of the world's destruction, and is still the source of death to thousands, whence after the millennium, at the general judgment, it is specially said, "The sea gave up the dead . . . in it." Then it shall cease to destroy, or disturb, being removed altogether on account of its past destructions.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth - Such a heaven and earth that they might properly be called new; such transformations, and such changes in their appearance, that they seemed to be just created. He does not say that they were created now, or anew; that the old heavens and earth were annihilated; but all that he says is, that there were such changes that they seemed to be new. If the earth is to be renovated by fire, such a renovation will give an appearance to the globe as if it were created anew, and might be attended with such an apparent change in the heavens that they might be said to be new. The description here Revelation 21:1 relates to scenes after the general resurrection and the judgment - for those events are detailed in the close of the previous chapter. In regard to the meaning of the language here, see the notes on 2 Peter 3:13. Compare, also, "The Religion of Geology and its Connected Sciences," by Edward Hitchcock, D. D., LL. D., pp. 370-408.

For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away - They had passed away by being changed, and a renovated universe had taken their place. See the notes on 2 Peter 3:10.

And there was no more sea - This change struck John more forcibly, it would appear, than anything else. Now, the seas and oceans occupy about three-fourths of the surface of the globe, and, of course, to that extent prevent the world from being occupied by people - except by the comparatively small number that are mariners. There, the idea of John seems to be, the whole world will be inhabitable, and no part will be given up to the wastes of oceans. In the present state of things, these vast oceans are necessary to render the world a fit abode for human beings, as well as to give life and happiness to the numberless tribes of animals that find their homes in the waters. In the future state, it would seem, the present arrangement will be unnecessary; and if man dwells upon the earth at all, or if he visits it as a temporary abode (see the notes on 2 Peter 3:13), these vast wastes of water will be needless. It should be remembered that the earth, in its changes, according to the teachings of geology, has undergone many revolutions quite as remarkable as it would be if all the lakes, and seas, and oceans of the earth should disappear. Still, it is not certain that it was intended that this language should be understood literally as applied to the material globe. The object is to describe the future blessedness of the righteous; and the idea is, that that will be a world where there will be no such wastes as those produced by oceans.