Revelation 21
Irwin1 a new heaven and a new earth. See xx. 11; cp. Isa. lxv. 17; 2 Pet. iii. 13, and notes. This new state is marked by the exclusion of all the wicked, and of all sin, imperfection, and suffering.
there was no more sea. In ancient times the sea was regarded as unproductive and unprofitable; a barrier to intercourse, and destructive. One can believe also that St. John’s view of it was coloured by his exile on the sea-girt island.
2. New Jerusalem. The Church, in its ideal purity and blessedness, is predicted by Isaiah under the figure of a holy Jerusalem (Isa. lxvi. 20), which is more fully described by Ezekiel (Ezek. xii.-xlviii.), and is repeatedly alluded to in preceding portions of the New Testament: see Isa. lii. 1; Heb. xi. 10; xii. 22.
3 the tabernacle of God is with men. “The tent” or abode of God. Cp. Ezek. xxxvii. 25-28; John i. 14, and note.
5. Behold, I make all things new. See Isa. lxv. 17-19, and note.
6. It is done. The new creation is complete.
Alpha and Omega. See note on i. 8.
I will give unto him that is athirst. The beginning of the new creation is here connected with its completion. With the “thirsting” the “giving” begins; and it goes on increasingly; since the thirsting is the living impulse throughout the whole conflict. The correspondence between character and privilege is clearly marked in these verses, as in Matt. v. 3-12.
7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things. Cp. John i. 12; Rom. viii. 17, and notes.
8 the fearful. That is, the cowardly, who, instead of “overcoming,” shrink from Christ’s service, through a base fear of loss or suffering. These must share the doom of the superstitious, the impure, the cruel, and the false.
9 the bride, the Lamb’s wife. This figure represents the redeemed Church in its permanent union with the Lord. Cp. ver. 2, and xix. 9.
10 the holy Jerusalem. As the ancient Jerusalem was a chosen type of the Church, the glory and blessedness of the Church in its perfection are set forth by a symbolical Jerusalem, far more magnificent. The measurements (16), the golden street (18), and the precious stones (19) signify perfection of form and of colour, something transcendently beautiful. The vision is that of the ideal Church, descending to earth and diffusing its blessings among men.
11 having the glory of God. In the ancient Holy of Holies the Shechinah or visible glory of God was the only light (23).
12 twelve. Twelve, the number of the tribes of Israel, is here used, with its multiples 144 (17), and 12,000 (16), probably to represent completeness. The always-open “gates” (25) fronting all points of the compass, signify ready and constant access from every quarter.
twelve angels, etc. The “twelve angels,” “the twelve tribes,” and “the twelve apostles,” seem to show the union of all God’s faithful servants, both the unfallen and the redeemed, of every period and of all nations, in the glory of His Church.
14 in them the names of the twelve apostles. Inscriptions were often placed on foundation stones and pillars. Cp. Eph. ii. 20; 2 Tim. ii. 19, and notes. John, the beloved disciple, read his own name amongst the others there!
16 twelve thousand furlongs. Perhaps the sum of the four sides. Each side of the city would thus be 3,000 furlongs, little less than 400 miles; an expressive symbol of the vast capacity of the Church redeemed; its security being indicated by the loftiness of the walls, more than 200 feet in height.
17 [according] to the measure of a man. That is, the angel used human measures.
18 the building. That is, the material or structure.
22. And I saw no temple therein. No spot specially sacred, consecrated by a limited display of the Divine glory and occasional acts of worship; but the whole hallowed by God’s manifest presence. See A City without a Church, by Henry Drummond.
24. And the nations, etc. Omit the words “of them which are saved,” as not found in any good MS. The Church in its true ideal is the light of the world—a source of knowledge and purity to all mankind.
27. The Lamb’s book of life. See xiii. 8; xx. 12, 15.