The new Jerusalem (21:9)
The bride has earlier been mentioned (21:2) and is now described in greater detail. The bride, is the New Jerusalem, the Church, it is the holy city because God's people are a holy people. Here we see the Church as God sees the Church in its final complete form. When Christ appears the true glory of the church will be revealed. See Col 1:27, 3:4 for a description of the church as God sees it. The New Jerusalem is the city of God where God himself dwells together with the Lamb with His people. Some see that this also relates to the church in its ideal form now rather than in the future (Milligan), however the preceding passage depicts a new order of things which detracts from his argument. Also the new Jerusalem depicts the rewards to those who overcome in the seven churches which are clearly future. However the church now is a bride under preparation while we see here the bride fully prepared and therefore perfect, without spot or wrinkle. We should expect to see aspects of the new Jerusalem which are true of the church ideally now. We should also note that there is no mention here of either the living creatures or of the elders they were last mentioned in 19:4 when the great prostitute was judged. If the elders symbolise the ideal church then there is no need for them here because the glorified church is depicted as the new Jerusalem. v9 - One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." - This is presumably the same angel who showed John the punishment of the great prostitute (Rev 17:1) who now shows John the bride and her inheritance in contrast to the punishment of the prostitute. We have already seen in verse 2 the bride introduced as the 'Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband'. Here the husband is introduced as the Lamb. Now we are to be shown the bride in greater detail. The wife of the Lamb contrasts with the prostitute who sits on the beast. v10 - And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. - John is carried away in the Spirit to a great mountain to gain a new perspective on the bride and he sees the New Jerusalem descend from heaven and from God, 3:12, 21:2. Compare this to when he was carried away in the Spirit to a desert to see the woman on the beast, 17:3, he was also in the Spirit in 1:10 and 4:2. Ezekiel had a similar experience to John when he was carried away to a very high mountain where he saw some buildings that looked like a city and he saw a man with a measuring rod (Ezek 40:1 ff.), much of John's vision in Rev 21-22 contains details found in Ezekiel 40-48. The bride is the New Jerusalem. In contrast John saw the prostitute from the perspective of a desert, that John is carried to a great mountain to see the New Jerusalem emphasises the grandeur of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is called the 'city of my God' in 3:12. In Heb 12:22 it says that we have come to 'Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God'. The mountain is probably an illusion to Mount Zion one of the hills that Jerusalem is built upon and from which one can view the city. The idea of a city is that it is God's community of the elect, in contrast to the community of the world. Another NT metaphor for the church is a house or building in which Christ dwells (Eph 2:19-22, 1 Pet 2:4-5, Heb 3:6) the idea being that the church is God's household or family (1 Tim 3:15, Gal 6:10, Eph 3:14-15, 1 Pet 4:17). In the NT teaching there is much emphasis on how God's people should behave towards one another: be devoted to one another (Rom 12:10), honour one another (Rom 12:10), live in harmony with one another (Rom 12:16), love one another (Rom 13:8), accept one another (Rom 15:7), serve one another (Gal 5:13), forgive one another (Col 3:13), encourage one another (1 Thess 5:11), etc. v11 - It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. - The Jasper recalls the description of God on His throne in Rev 4:3. The New Jerusalem, which is the Church, shines with the glory of God because God was in it, see v 22,23. The glory of God shining on His people is depicted in Isa 58:8 and 60:1. Isa 61:10 refers to the believer as a bride who adorns herself with her jewels, see also the description of the city in verses 19-21. v12 - It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. - The gates are guarded by angels (Isa 62:6) and high walls so that nothing impure can enter, v27, and eat of the tree of life, just as the tree of life was guarded by angels after Adam fell, Gen 3:24. The great high wall is similar in effect to the great chasm that separates the righteous from the wicked, Luke 16:26. This description of the city comes from Ezek 48:30-35. Here are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on the gates representing the OT church, salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22) and supremely from Jesus who was born a Jew and is the gate for the sheep (John 10:7). Salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22), the only way into the city is via the gate and Jesus is the gate, cf. the pearl in verse 21. God has prepared the New Jerusalem for OT saints like Abraham, who was 'longing for a better country--a heavenly one', Heb 11:13-16. Later in verse 14 we see that the foundations have the names of the twelve apostles on them. It shows that the church is composed of both OT (Jewish) and NT (Gentile) saints. v13 - There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. - See the similar description given by Ezekiel, Ezek 48:30-35, the name of the city is: THE LORD IS THERE, it is his dwelling place. These gates also had the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on them. The gates face in each of the four directions of the compass indicating that those within come from all over the earth (cf. 5:9, 7:9, 21:26). v14 - The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. - Notice the striking parallel with Eph 2:19-22, the church is 'built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets', and 'In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord'. The new Jerusalem is the fulfilment of this verse. The New Jerusalem is both the OT (twelve tribes of Israel v12) and NT church (built on the foundations of the apostles v14) built to become a dwelling in which God lives, Eph 2:22. The church has become one, both Gentile and Jew, fulfilling Eph 2:15; Old and New testament saints as Jesus prayed, John 17:23. v15 - The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. - In 11:1 John was given a measuring rod and told to measure the temple of God and count the worshippers there, he was told not to measure the outer court because it was given to the Gentiles who will trample on the holy city for 42 months. In the description of the New Jerusalem which is the holy city (21:2), the gates are named after the twelve tribes of Israel and the foundations are named after the twelve apostles and has no temple because God and the lamb are its temple (21:22). We can now see that the earlier measuring was to measure or count the saints. The measuring here indicates the perfection and shape of the new Jerusalem. The gold of the measuring rod indicates the cost and purity of the New Jerusalem. v16 - The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. - Note, the only other cube in the bible was the Holies of Holies in Solomon's temple which was overlaid with gold (1 Ki 6:20) 'The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar'. The number 12,000 also occurs in the census for every tribe of Israel, 7:5. The city is square as is the city described by Ezekiel, Ezek 48:30-35, whose twelve gates were named after the tribes of Israel (Reuben, Judah, Levi; Joseph, Benjamin, Dan; Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun; Gad, Asher and Naphtali), each side having three gates. The name of the city is THE LORD IS THERE, cf. 21:3, 21:22, 22:3 in which God will dwell with His people. Ezek 43:16 also depicts the altar hearth as square twelve cubits by twelve cubits. The measuring of the temple in 12:1 was also a kind of census because he was told to count the worshipers there. Here we find another measuring which gives the number 12,000 which also occurs in the census of the twelve tribes in 7:5. The dimensions here 12,000 stadia in length, width and height emphasises it perfect completeness. Horton makes the interesting observation that if these measurements are taken literally the city would have sides 1,380 miles long and if it contained twenty billion people each one would have a cubical space one half of a mile on each side. v17 - He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. - The nearest equivalent is the 144,000 in Rev 7:4. That is 12 * 12 which is the equivalent to the OT * NT this once again emphasises the complete nature of the church. v18 - The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. - The gold reflects the purity and value of the Church, it is transparent like glass so that the glory of God can shine throughout the city. Jasper represents the glory of God, 21:11. As pure as glass emphasises the lack of imperfections or defects, that is the holiness of the church, cf. Eph 5:27. v19 - The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone - In verse 14 the foundations had the names of the twelve apostles on them, here they are decorated with precious stones, Isa 54:11, Solomon's temple was also adorned with precious stones, 2 Chr 3:6. The Ephod that the high priest wore was decorated with four rows of three precious stones, Exo 28:21, one for each of the twelve tribes, each one has the name of the tribe engraved on it, this is to remind him that he is mediating for the twelve tribes. So not only do the foundations have the names of the twelve apostles on them they also have the names of the twelve tribes on them thus indicating the complete nature of the church. The precious stones here and the pearls and gold in v21 can be contrasted with the woman who was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls (17:4), one is the faithful wife the other the adulterous harlot. v19-20 - The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. - The signs of the zodiac have exactly these stones associated with it but in the reverse order. v21 - The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. - Pearls are objects of great price but they are also made through the suffering of the mollusc, the idea is that the only way into the city is through the suffering of Christ on the cross. Jesus calls himself the gate in John 10:7-11, there is no other way into the city the walls are too high to climb. The great street of the New Jerusalem is also mentioned in 22:2 down the middle of it flowed the river of the water of life. The great street is in contrast to the street of the great city where the bodies of the two witnesses lay, 11:8. In Solomon's temple the priests walked on gold (1 King 6:30). v22 - I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. - The earthly form of a temple is no longer needed because God himself will dwell with his people, 21:3. God will live with, and walk among the saints, we see here the fulfilment of 2 Cor 6:16 "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people" and a literal fulfilment of Eph 2:22 "you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit". This shows that we have come full circle from Genesis when God walked with Adam, the tabernacle in the desert, the temple of Solomon, the temple within the individual to God again dwelling with man. Faith has become seeing. v23 - The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. - Contrast the light here with the fall of Babylon the whore 'The light of a lamp will never shine in you again' 18:23. This idea is found in Isa 60:19, this idea is repeated later in Rev 22:5. The glory of God is seen through Jesus who is the lamp, the radiance of God's glory 2 Cor 4:4, Heb 1:3. The idea of the Lamb being its lamp also comes from the image of the church being a lampstand (1:20), Jesus is the lamp, the church is the bearer of this lamp. Jesus is the light of the world and the church is to shine in the world, showing Jesus to the world. Note: the word used for lamp here and in 18:23 and 22:5 (KJV sometimes uses candle) is the Greek luchnos which is a portable lamp (using oil and a wick) usually set on a lampstand, Greek luchnia, which is translated lampstand in NIV (candlestick in KJV) and used of the seven churches and the two witnesses (11:4). Compare with Mat 5:15 'Neither do people light a lamp (luchnos) and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand (luchnia), and it gives light to everyone in the house'. Jesus is the true light (John 1:9) and is the light in the new Jerusalem (see John 8:12). v24 - The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. - The citizens of the city of God are now described. This verse is a reference to Isa 60:3 see also Psa 72:10, the redeemed come from every nation (Rev 7:9) and so therefore nations are mentioned here. This should not be taken to imply universalism which is against the whole tenor of the book, only the glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it (21:26) anything unclean will not enter (21:27). v25 - On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. - Normally the gates of a city are shut at night to protect the inhabitants, there is continuous day because of the continuous presence of the Lamb so there will be no night and there will also be perfect security, Isa 60:11, Zec 14:11. The gates are guarded by angels to prevent anything impure from entering, 21:12. There is perfect security as there will be no thieves, Mat 6:20, these will be outside the city. v26 - The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. - As in the verse above the idea comes from Isa 60:11, 'Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations-- their kings led in triumphal procession'. See also Rom 2:7 in which 'those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality', God will give eternal life. In contrast nothing impure will enter, v27. v27 - Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. - The new heaven and new earth will be a home of righteousness 2 Pet 3:12-13, the wicked will not enter Isa 52:1, 35:8-10. This is in accord with Paul's teaching that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Cor 6:9, Gal 5:19. Only those who wash their robes will have the right to go through the gates into the city, 22:14, that is those who are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Those in the Lamb's book of life are those who have overcome, Rev 3:5, and have not had their names blotted out from the book of life. There are angels at the gates and great high walls to stop the impure entering the city, 21:12. In contrast to the impure who will never enter the city, the followers of the Lamb in 14:4-5 kept themselves pure, no lie was found on their lips, they are blameless. |
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