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Revelation
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.
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Verse 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.
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Verse 2. And I John--"John" is
omitted in A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS; also the "I" in the Greek of
these authorities is not emphatic. The insertion of "I John"
in the Greek would somewhat interfere with the close
connection which subsists between "the new heaven and earth,"
Re
21:1, and the "new Jerusalem" in this verse.
Jerusalem . . . out of heaven--
(Re
3:12; Ga 4:26, "Jerusalem which is above"; Heb
11:10; 12:22; 13:14). The descent of the new
Jerusalem out of heaven is plainly distinct from the
earthly Jerusalem in which Israel in the flesh shall
dwell during the millennium, and follows on the creation of
the new heaven and earth. John in his Gospel always writes
[Greek] Hierosoluma of the old city; in the
Apocalypse always Hierousaleem of the heavenly city (Re
3:12). Hierousaleem is a Hebrew name, the
original and holy appellation. Hierosoluma is the
common Greek term, used in a political sense. Paul
observes the same distinction when refuting Judaism (Ga
4:26; compare Ga
1:17, 18; 2:1; Heb 12:22), though not so in the Epistles
to Romans and Corinthians [BENGEL].
bride--made up of the blessed
citizens of "the holy city." There is no longer merely a
Paradise as in Eden (though there is that also, Re
2:7), no longer a mere garden, but now the city of
God on earth, costlier, statelier, and more glorious, but at
the same time the result of labor and pains such as had not to
be expended by man in dressing the primitive garden of Eden.
"The lively stones" were severally in time laboriously
chiselled into shape, after the pattern of "the Chief
corner-stone," to prepare them for the place which they shall
everlastingly fill in the heavenly Jerusalem.
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Verse 3. out of heaven--so ANDREAS. But A and Vulgate read, "out of
the throne."
the
tabernacle--alluding to the tabernacle of God in the
wilderness (wherein many signs of His presence were given): of
which this is the antitype, having previously been in heaven:
Re
11:19; 15:5, "the temple of the tabernacle of the
testimony in heaven"; also Re
13:6. Compare the contrast in Heb
9:23, 14, between "the patterns" and "the heavenly things
themselves," between "the figures" and "the true." The earnest
of the true and heavenly tabernacle was afforded in the
Jerusalem temple described in Eze
40:1-42:20, as about to be, namely, during the millennium.
dwell with them--literally,
"tabernacle with them"; the same Greek word as
is used of the divine Son "tabernacling among us." Then
He was in the weakness of the flesh: but at the new
creation of heaven and earth He shall tabernacle among us in
the glory of His manifested Godhead (Re
22:4).
they--in
Greek emphatic, "they" (in particular).
his people--Greek, "His
peoples": "the nations of the saved" being all
peculiarly His, as Israel was designed to be. So A reads. But
B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic read, "His
people": singular.
God
himself . . . with them--realizing fully His
name Immanuel.
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Verse 4. all tears--Greek,
"every tear."
no more
death--Greek, "death shall be no more." Therefore
it is not the millennium, for in the latter there is
death (Isa
65:20; 1Co 15:26, 54, "the last enemy
. . . destroyed is death," Re
20:14, after the millennium).
sorrow--Greek, "mourning."
passed away--Greek, "departed," as
in Re
21:1.
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Verse 5. sat--Greek,
"sitteth."
all things new--not
recent, but changed from the old (Greek,
"kaina," not "nea"). An earnest of this
regeneration and transfiguration of nature is given already in
the regenerate soul.
unto
me--so Coptic and ANDREAS. But
A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac omit.
true and faithful--so ANDREAS. But A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and
Coptic transpose, "faithful and true" (literally,
"genuine").
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Verse 6. It is done--the same
Greek as in Re
16:17. "It is come to pass." So Vulgate reads with
English Version. But A reads, "They ('these
words,' Re
21:5) are come to pass." All is as sure as if it actually
had been fulfilled for it rests on the word of the unchanging
God. When the consummation shall be, God shall rejoice over
the work of His own hands, as at the completion of the first
creation God saw everything that He had made, and behold it
was very good (Ge
1:31).
Alpha . . .
Omega--Greek in A and B, "the Alpha
. . . the Omega" (Re
1:18).
give unto
. . . athirst . . . water of life--
(Re
22:17; Isa 12:3; 55:1; Joh 4:13, 14; 7:37, 38). This is
added lest any should despair of attaining to this exceeding
weight of glory. In our present state we may drink of the
stream, then we shall drink at the Fountain.
freely--Greek, "gratuitously": the
same Greek as is translated, "(They hated Me) without a
cause," Joh
15:25. As gratuitous as was man's hatred of God, so
gratuitous is God's love to man: there was every cause
in Christ why man should love Him, yet man hated Him; there
was every cause in man why (humanly speaking) God should have
hated man, yet God loved man: the very reverse of what might
be expected took place in both cases. Even in heaven our
drinking at the Fountain shall be God's gratuitous
gift.
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Verse 7. He that overcometh--another
aspect of the believer's life: a conflict with sin, Satan, and
the world is needed. Thirsting for salvation is the
first beginning of, and continues for ever (in the sense of an
appetite and relish for divine joys) a characteristic of the
believer. In a different sense, the believer "shall never
thirst."
inherit all
things--A, B, Vulgate, and CYPRIAN read, "these things," namely, the
blessings described in this whole passage. With "all things,"
compare 1Co
3:21-23.
I will be his
God--Greek, "I will be to him a God," that is, all
that is implied of blessing in the name "God."
he shall be my son--"He" is emphatic:
He in particular and in a peculiar sense, above others:
Greek, "shall be to me a son," in fullest
realization of the promise made in type to Solomon, son of
David, and antitypically to the divine Son of David.
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Verse 8. the fearful--Greek,
"the cowardly," who do not quit themselves like men so
as to "overcome" in the good fight; who have the spirit of
slavish "fear," not love, towards God; and who through fear of
man are not bold for God, or "draw back." Compare Re
21:27; 22:15.
unbelieving--Greek, "faithless."
abominable--who have drank of the
harlot's "cup of abominations."
sorcerers--one of the characteristics of Antichrist's
time.
all liars--Greek,
"all the liars": or else "all who are liars";
compare 1Ti
4:1, 2, where similarly lying and dealings with
spirits and demons, are joined together as
features of "the latter times."
second death-- Re
20:14: "everlasting destruction," 2Th
1:9; Mr 9:44, 46, 48, "Where THEIR
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
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Verse 9. The same angel who had shown
John Babylon the harlot, is appropriately employed to
show him in contrast new Jerusalem, the Bride (Re
17:1-5). The angel so employed is the one that had the
last seven plagues, to show that the ultimate blessedness of
the Church is one end of the divine judgments on her foes.
unto me--A, B, and
Vulgate omit.
the Lamb's
wife--in contrast to her who sat on many waters (Re
17:1), (that is, intrigued with many peoples and nations
of the world, instead of giving her undivided affections, as
the Bride does, to the Lamb.
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Verse 10. The words correspond to Re
17:3, to heighten the contrast of the bride and harlot.
mountain--Compare Eze
40:2, where a similar vision is given from a high
mountain.
that
great--omitted in A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic,
and CYPRIAN. Translate then, "the holy
city Jerusalem."
descending--Even in the millennium the earth will not
be a suitable abode for transfigured saints, who therefore
shall then reign in heaven over the earth. But after the
renewal of the earth at the close of the millennium and
judgment, they shall descend from heaven to dwell on an
earth assimilated to heaven itself. "From God" implies that
"we (the city) are God's workmanship."
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Verse 11. Having the glory of
God--not merely the Shekinah-cloud, but God Himself as her
glory dwelling in the midst of her. Compare the type, the
earthly Jerusalem in the millennium (Zec
2:5; compare Re
21:23, below).
her
light--Greek, "light-giver": properly applied to
the heavenly luminaries which diffuse light. Compare
Note, see on Php
2:15, the only other passage where it occurs. The "and"
before "her light' is omitted in A, B, and Vulgate.
even like--Greek, "as
it were."
jasper--representing
watery crystalline brightness.
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Verse 12. And--A and B omit. Eze
48:30-35, has a similar description, which implies that
the millennial Jerusalem shall have its exact antitype in the
heavenly Jerusalem which shall descend on the finally
regenerated earth.
wall great and
high--setting forth the security of the Church. Also, the
exclusion of the ungodly.
twelve
angels--guards of the twelve gates: an additional emblem
of perfect security, while the gates being never shut (Re
21:25) imply perfect liberty and peace. Also, angels shall
be the brethren of the heavenly citizens.
names of . . . twelve tribes--The
inscription of the names on the gates implies that none but
the spiritual Israel, God's elect, shall enter the heavenly
city. As the millennium wherein literal Israel in
the flesh shall be the mother Church, is the antitype to
the Old Testament earthly theocracy in the Holy Land,
so the heavenly new Jerusalem is the
consummation antitypical to the spiritual Israel, the
elect Church of Jews and Gentiles being now gathered out: as
the spiritual Israel now is an advance upon the previous
literal and carnal Israel, so the heavenly Jerusalem shall be
much in advance of the millennial Jerusalem.
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Verse 13. On the north . . . on
the south--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic
read, "And on the north and on the
south." In Ezekiel, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan (for which
Manasseh is substituted in Re
7:6), are on the east (Eze
48:32); Reuben, Judah, Levi, are on the north (Eze
48:31); Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, on the south (Eze
48:33); Gad, Asher, Naphtali, on the west (Eze
48:34). In Numbers, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun are on the
east (Nu
2:3, 5, 7). Reuben, Simeon, Gad, on the south (Nu
2:10, 12, 14). Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, on the
west (Nu
2:18, 20, 22). Dan, Asher, Naphtali, on the north
(Nu
2:25, 27, 29).
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Verse 14. twelve foundations--Joshua,
the type of Jesus, chose twelve men out of the people, to
carry twelve stones over the Jordan with them, as Jesus chose
twelve apostles to be the twelve foundations of the heavenly
city, of which He is Himself the Chief corner-stone. Peter is
not the only apostolic rock on whose preaching Christ builds
His Church. Christ Himself is the true foundation: the twelve
are foundations only in regard to their apostolic testimony
concerning Him. Though Paul was an apostle besides the twelve,
yet the mystical number is retained, twelve representing the
Church, namely thirty the divine number, multiplied by four,
the world number.
in them the
names, &c.--As architects often have their names
inscribed on their great works, so the names of the apostles
shall be held in everlasting remembrance. Vulgate
reads, "in them." But A, B, Syriac, Coptic, and
ANDREAS read, "upon them." These
authorities also insert "twelve" before "names."
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Verse 15. had a golden reed--so
Coptic. But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac
read, "had (as) a measure, a golden reed." In Re
11:2 the non-measuring of the outer courts of the temple
implied its being given up to secular and heathen desecration.
So here, on the contrary, the city being measured implies the
entire consecration of every part, all things being brought up
to the most exact standard of God's holy requirements, and
also God's accurate guardianship henceforth of even the most
minute parts of His holy city from all evil.
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Verse 16. twelve thousand
furlongs--literally, "to twelve thousand stadii":
one thousand furlongs being the space between the several
twelve gates. BENGEL makes the length of
each side of the city to be twelve thousand stadii. The
stupendous height, length, and breadth being exactly alike,
imply its faultless symmetry, transcending in glory all our
most glowing conceptions.
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Verse 17. hundred . . . forty
. . . four cubits--twelve times twelve: the
Church-number squared. The wall is far beneath the height of
the city.
measure of a man, that
is, of the angel--The ordinary measure used by men
is the measure here used by the angel, distinct from
"the measure of the sanctuary." Men shall then be equal to
the angels.
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Verse 18. the building--"the
structure" [TREGELLES], Greek,
"endomeesis."
gold, like
. . . clear glass--Ideal gold, transparent as no
gold here is [ALFORD]. Excellencies will
be combined in the heavenly city which now seem
incompatible.
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Verse 19. And--so Syriac,
Coptic, and ANDREAS. But A, B, and
Vulgate omit. Compare Re
21:14 with this verse; also Isa
54:11.
all manner of precious
stones--Contrast Re
18:12 as to the harlot, Babylon. These precious stones
constituted the "foundations."
chalcedony--agate from Chalcedon: semi-opaque,
sky-blue, with stripes of other colors [ALFORD].
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Verse 20. sardonyx--a gem having the
redness of the cornelian, and the whiteness of the onyx.
sardius--(See on Re
4:3).
chrysolite--described by PLINY as
transparent and of a golden brightness, like our topaz:
different from our pale green crystallized chrysolite.
beryl--of a sea-green color.
topaz--PLINY [37.32], makes it green and
transparent, like our chrysolite.
chrysoprasus--somewhat pale, and having the purple
color of the amethyst [PLINY, 37, 20, 21].
jacinth--The flashing violet
brightness in the amethyst is diluted in the jacinth [PLINY, 37.41].
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Verse 21. every
several--Greek, "each one severally."
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Verse 22. no temple . . . God
. . . the temple--As God now dwells in the
spiritual Church, His "temple" (Greek, "naos,"
"shrine"; 1Co
3:17; 6:19), so the Church when perfected shall dwell in
Him as her "temple" (naos: the same Greek). As
the Church was "His sanctuary," so He is to be their
sanctuary. Means of grace shall cease when the end of grace is
come. Church ordinances shall give place to the God of
ordinances. Uninterrupted, immediate, direct, communion with
Him and the Lamb (compare Joh
4:23), shall supersede intervening ordinances.
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Verse 23. in it--so Vulgate.
But A, B, and ANDREAS read, "(shine)
on it," or literally, "for her."
the light--Greek, "the lamp" (Isa
60:19, 20). The direct light of God and the Lamb shall
make the saints independent of God's creatures, the sun and
moon, for light.
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Verse 24. of them which are saved
. . . in--A, B, Vulgate, Coptic, and
ANDREAS read "(the nations shall walk)
by means of her light": omitting "of them which are
saved." Her brightness shall supply them with light.
the kings of the earth--who
once had regard only to their glory, having been converted,
now in the new Jerusalem do bring their glory into it, to lay
it down at the feet of their God and Lord.
and honour--so B, Vulgate, and
Syriac. But A omits the clause.
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Verse 25. not be shut . . . by
day--therefore shall never be shut: for it shall
always be day. Gates are usually shut by night: but in
it shall be no night. There shall be continual free ingress
into it, so as that all which is blessed and glorious may
continually be brought into it. So in the millennial
type.
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Verse 26. All that was truly glorious
and excellent in the earth and its converted nations
shall be gathered into it; and while all shall form one
Bride, there shall be various orders among the redeemed,
analogous to the divisions of nations on earth
constituting the one great human family, and to the various
orders of angels.
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Verse 27. anything that
defileth--Greek, "koinoun." A and B read
[koinon,] "anything unclean."
in the Lamb's book of life--(See on Re
20:12; Re
20:15). As all the filth of the old Jerusalem was carried
outside the walls and burnt there, so nothing defiled shall
enter the heavenly city, but be burnt outside (compare
Re
22:15). It is striking that the apostle of love, who shows
us the glories of the heavenly city, is he also who speaks
most plainly of the terrors of hell. On Re
21:26, 27, ALFORD writes a Note, rash
in speculation, about the heathen nations, above what
is written, and not at all required by the sacred text:
compare Note, see on Re
21:26.
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Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic
edition prepared from text scanned by Woodside Bible
Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-Brown
Commentary is in the public domain and may be freely
used and distributed.
Bibliography
Information
Jamieson, Robert,
D.D. "Commentary on Revelation 21". "Commentary Critical
and Explanatory
on the Whole Bible".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/jfb/view.cgi?book=re&chapter=021>.
1871.
|
