Studies in the Book of Revelation
Jay Wegter
Revelation Chapter 21
The New Heaven and the New Earth
Verse 1, Impenitent inners of all ages, both demons and men, including Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet, are in the Lake of Fire, the whole universe has been destroyed, and God has re-created a new universe to be the eternal welling place of the redeemed, a New Heavens and a New Earth. The entire universe, as we now know it, will be destroyed, and replaced by a new creation that will last forever. This is an Old Testament reality as well as a New Testament one. No more sea. The oceans are currently three fourths of the Earth’s surface, but the new environment will no longer be water-based and dependent upon the sea, but will have completely different climatic conditions.
The First Vision of the New Jerusalem
Verse 2, The New Jerusalem has the capital city of Heaven, a place of perfect holiness—coming down out of heaven, indicating it already existed, but descends into the New Heavens and the New Earth from its place on high. This celestial city is where the saints will live. A bride is an important New Testament metaphor for the church. John's imagery here extends from the third part of the Jewish wedding, the ceremony. Believers make up the bride in the New Testament. And as the New Jerusalem come to meet Christ, the Bridegroom in the final ceremony of redemptive history. The whole celestial city, occupied by all the saints, is called the bride, so that all saints must be finally included in the bride imagery. In the bridal blessing, God has brought home a bride for His Beloved Son. We can hardly envision the weight of that statement! Paul summarizes it briefly in the following phrase in Ephesians one, “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. . .” (Eph 1:18b). All the saints live with Christ in the Father’s house. He fulfills the promise made before the church began (Is 62:5; Jer 31:32). For further discussion concerning the fidelity of the bride of Christ, see James 4:4; Jeremiah 3:1ff.; and Ezekiel 16:32.
God to dwell with men
Verse 3, the Tabernacle of God, the word translated tabernacle means the place of abode. This is God’s house, the place where He lives. He will wipe away every tear. This is a source of marveling, that God should tabernacle with (dwell with) creatures of dust.
Verse 4, Since there will never be a tear in heaven, nothing will be sad, disappointing, deficient, or wrong in the New Heavens and New Earth.
All things made new
Verse 5, True and faithful, God always speaks what is absolutely true—to trust His word is to never be ashamed for doing so (Ps 25:3; Rom 10:11).
Verse 6, Alpha and Omega, is the water of life. Him who thirsts. The lasting spiritual water which Jesus spoke of (Jn 4:10-14; 7:38-39). Heaven belongs to those who, knowing their own souls are parched by sin, have earnestly sought the satisfaction of salvation and eternal life.
The gift is made to him that is athirst. We may fairly conclude that unless a man feels his need, he will not seek satisfaction. When he does, his need is met from the fountain of the Water of Life. The adverb freely emphasizes that God’s gift is not grudging. The thirsty may will rely on a full and free supply of their need.ⁱ
The blessings of overcomers
Verse 7, He who overcomes—anyone who exercises saving faith in Jesus Christ, they will inherit the spiritual inheritance of all believers, which all believers will receive. This is the fullness of the new creation.
Verse 8, a solemn, serious warning about the kinds of people who will be outcasts from the New Heavens of the New Earth, and into the lake of fire. The New Testament often goes beyond simply citing unbelief, by enlisting characteristics, and lifestyle traits of the outcasts, so that believers will be able to identify as such people.
The New Jerusalem as the Bride
Verses 9-10, the Lamb's wife, the New Jerusalem takes on the character of its inhabitants, the redeemed.
God’s servants do not select their tasks. God may send them for judgment or for blessing, or for both in turn, but they must go where they are sent. They must speak whatever God tells them to speak. It is impossible to dwell both in Babylon and in the New Jerusalem, the way into the latter is by way of renunciation of the former. Judgment on sin is the necessary prelude to the establishment of the City of God. Speaking of the experiences of the faithful saint: hourly, momentarily, there come to me mercies and chastisements. The chastisements themselves are veiled mercies, as it were veiled angels. The mercies I name chastisements are no less merciful than those which at once I recognize as mercies. Mercy and judgment are inextricably interwoven.ⁱⁱ Verse 11, Jasper, a transliteration, and not a translation, rather than the modern opaque jasper, the term actually refers to a completely clear diamond, a perfect gem with the brilliant light of God's glory shining out of it and streaming over the new heaven and the new earth. John thinks of the luminary of the New Jerusalem as, like very costly stone, and as this costly stone was used in an earlier passage to convey the glory of God, its use here will connect the light of the heavenly city with God its maker. The city’s light comes not from the luminescence of a star, but from God himself.ⁱⁱⁱ
The Wall and Gates of the City
Verses 12-14, No measurements are given for the length of the wall.
The Dimensions of the City
Verse 15, a golden reed, the measuring rod was about 10 feet long and was a standard measure. The measure of the city, this action indicates that the capital of heaven belongs to God, and He is measuring what is His.
Verse 16, Length, breadth and height. The city has a symmetry, dimensions of a perfect cube, which parallels its closest earthly compartment, the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, of the temple, or the Holy of Holies. 12,000 furlongs, this would be nearly 1,500 miles cubed over 2 million plus square miles offering plenty of room for all the glorified saints to live.
The Beauty of the City
Introduction to verses 18-21, Though the precise colors of these stones, in some cases are not certain. The general picture here described by John is one of unmistakable beauty. designed to reflect the glory of God in the spectrum of brilliant color. The light of the city within shining through these various colors in the foundation of the wall topped by the wall itself, composed by the crystal clear Jasper, forms a scene of dazzling beauty in keeping with the glory of God and the beauty of His Holiness. The city is undoubtedly far more beautiful to the eye than anything that man could ever have been able to create. And it reflects not only the infinite wisdom and power of God, but also His grace as extended to the objects of His salvation.ⁱᵛ Verse 18, This is the material of thick wall, diamond, pure jasper, and then pure gold like clear glass, unlike the earthly gold, this gold will be translucent. So that the overpowering radiance of God’s glory can refract and glisten through the entire city.
Verses 19-20, because of some of the names of these gems have changed through the centuries, it's difficult to identify each one.
Verse 21, each gate of the city is a single pearl, a 1,500 mile high pearl, even as earthly pearls are formed in response to the wounding of the oyster flesh, so these gigantic supernatural pearls will remind the saints throughout eternity of the magnitude of Christ’s suffering and its eternal benefits.
The Temple of the City
Verse 22, no temple, several passages say that there is a temple in heaven. It is clear there is none in eternity, though. How can this be? The temple is not a building; it is the Lord God Himself. Revelation 7:15 says, "He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. There’s no temple in the New Jerusalem. What a contrast this is to the Old Covenant and the Old Testament, which had the Tabernacle first and then the temple. This is a sharp contrast to the millennial situation, where a temple is built for the worship of God. Here the shadows are dispelled and the Scripture indicates the Lord God Himself and the Lamb are the temple in the new city. No longer is the structure necessary for the saints are in the immediate presence of the Lord with no need for an earthly mediator or for shadows of things eternal.ᵛ
The Light of the City
Verse 23, continues the thought of no temple except God and the Lamb, the glory of God will illuminate all of heaven. This defines heaven as its temple, as His temple, and there is no need for a temple in the eternal state, since God himself will be the temple in which everything exists. The presence of God literally fills the entire New Heaven and the New Earth. Going to heaven will be entering the limitless presence of the Lord.
Verse 24, literally the peoples, the Gentiles, redeemed people from every nation and ethnic group will dwell in heaven and in heaven’s light, in the eternal city, there will be no more divisions, barriers, or exclusions, because of race or politics, or national identity, all kinds of people in eternity will dissolve into one people of God, and they will move freely in and about the city. There’ll be no longer an ocean. There’ll be no temple, no sacrifice, no sun, no moon, no darkness, no gates to shut, no abomination. This is another indication that the eternal state, rather than the millennial situation is in view here. For the sun and the moon are vital to the weather and tides and sea currents which will be operative during the agricultural abundance of the millennium.
The Access to the City
Regarding the kings of the earth, they are declared to walk in the light, bring their glory and honor into it. Some have arbitrarily assumed, because the nations are mentioned, this must be a millennial situation and not the eternal state. This is an unwarranted assumption. However, for the text specifies the nations of them which are saved, the word nations, ethni is the Greek word for Gentiles. The meaning is not that political entities will enter into the New Jerusalem, but rather that those who are saved Gentiles who belong to the non-Jewish races will be in the new city.ᵛⁱ
End Notes:
i Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John
ii Christina Rosetti in Leon Morris
iii Leon Morris
iv John Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ
v Ibid.
vi Ibid.