Revelation
Chapter 21
Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and there was no longer any sea.
Rev 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making
everything new!"
Then he said, "Write
this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Rev 21:6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink
without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Introduction
This chapter mainly contains three points
1.
Creation
of new heaven and earth
2.
New
Jerusalem
3.
Who
can eligible to enter to this new
Jerusalem and what is their life style ?
Parallegrism
between Genesis and Last two books of Revelation
There are many parallels with the first few chapters of Genesis;
Genesis starts with the beginning when God created the heavens and
the earth. Here in the last two chapters of the last book in the bible we find
a new beginning as God makes everything new.
· There is a new
heaven and new earth,
· we find a
spring,
· A river and the
tree of life.
· As God brought
Eve and presented her to Adam we find here a bride coming down from heaven
beautifully dressed for her husband.
· God Himself
dwells with man just as he walked with Adam in the cool of the day.
· There are some
differences, man dwells in a city rather than a garden. The description of the
new heaven and new earth, in which the bride lives,
· Ends with a
description of the second death and those who go there.
Wilcock points out that there is a close connection between this
passage, which acts as a summary, and the remainder of the book:
1. 21:2 = 21:10-21 - God’s
city - the new Jerusalem
2. 21:3 = 21:22-27 - God’s
dwelling - the new Jerusalem
3. 21:4, 5a = 22:1-5 - God’s world renewed - the river and tree of
life
4. 21:5b = 22:6-10 - God’s
word validated - these words are trustworthy and true
5. 21:6a = 22:11-15 - God’s work completed
6. 21:6b, 7 = 22:16, 17 - God’s final blessing
7. 21:8 = 22:18,19 - God’s
final curse
Rev
21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was
no longer any sea.
Rev 21:5 -
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"
Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and
true."
Rev 21:6 -
He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the
spring of the water of life
This follows immediately upon the judgement scene in which the
devil, the beast and false prophet, and all whose names are not in the book of
life are consigned to the lake of fire and earth and sky fled from His presence
(20:11).
A new heaven and new earth
is first promised in Isaiah in a wonderful description in 65:17-25
Isa. 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new
earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
and in 2 Peter 3:12 who
speaks about the destruction of the earth and a new heaven and earth were
righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 3:13
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
The first heaven refers to this present universe apart from the
earth (cf. 2 Pet 3:12).
2 Peter 3:12 Looking
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Rev 21:5 - He who was seated on the throne
said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this
down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
He who was seated on the throne who is He?
We saw in revelation 20:11
Rev.
20:11 And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them.
So clearly we can understand He is Lord Jesus
Christ, because the next sentence of this verse is stating that “I am making
everything new” John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16
Col.
1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things
were created by him, and for him:
Then he said, "Write this down,
for these words are trustworthy and true."
Jesus Himself giving assurance
about these new creation also done through by Him only.
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him
was not anything made that was made.
Rev 21:6 -
He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the
spring of the water of life
“It is done “
John
19:30 When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the
ghost.
Here God gave authority to judge the people John 5:22
& Mat. 25:31-34
John
5:22 For the Father judge no man, but had committed all judgment unto the Son:
Mat.
25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat. 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall
set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat. 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world:
To him who is thirsty I will give to
drink without cost from the spring of the water of life
John 4: 10 Jesus
answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to
you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you
living water."
John 4: 13 Jesus
answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
John 4: 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him
will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a
fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
Rev
21:2 - I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband –
This the second time that we find a reference to the New Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God. The New Jerusalem is first mentioned in Rev
3:12 where to be a permanent part of it (a pillar) is to be the reward for
those who overcome.
Holy city
The New Jerusalem is a holy city, nothing unclean shall enter is
(Isa 52:1, Rev 21:27).
Isa. 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion;
put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there
shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Bride
The church is clearly referred to here as the New Jerusalem, and as
the bride, in Rev 19:7 the bride refers to the saints. The church is known as
the bride, in Eph 5:25-27, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the
church.
Husband
Christ is clearly the husband, in 19:7 it refers to the wedding of
the Lamb, later we find the Lamb enthroned within the city, 21:3 and they reign
forever and ever.
Rev 21:3 - And I heard a loud voice from
the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live
with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God.' –
The voice is that of Jesus who speaks later in verse 5 & 6.
when God and man walked in the garden together, only here Satan is
not present to tempt mankind, it is a new start to life that will continue
eternally without the possibility of another fall.
The city is the same as seen in Ezekiel in Ezek 48:35.
Isa.
48:35 It was round about eighteen thousand
measures: and the name of the city from
that day shall be, The LORD is there (Yahowah Shamma).
1 Cor. 15:45 And so it is written, The
first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Isa.
65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for
ever in that which I create: for,
behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
Isa. 65:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the
voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Isa.
65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath
not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the
sinner being an hundred years old shall
be accursed.
Isa.
65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat
the fruit of them.
Isa 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit;
they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect
shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isa.
65:23 They shall not labour in vain, nor
bring forth for trouble; for they are
the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
Isa. 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they
call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Isa.65:25 The wolf
and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the
bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's
meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Heaven—the new
earth—is a physical place where we will dwell with glorified physical bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-58).
Revelation
21:2,9-21
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying,
"Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and
high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out
of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most
precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates,
and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names
of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north,
three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and
on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure
the city, its gates, and its wall.
16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as
great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand
furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four
cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the
city was pure gold, like clear glass.
19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned
with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second
sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh
chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the
eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual
gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like
transparent glass.
Rev.
21:2 - Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
- This the second time that we find a reference to the New
Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. The New Jerusalem is first
mentioned in Rev 3:12 where to
be a permanent part of it (a pillar) is to be the reward for those who
overcome. It is alluded to as the city with foundations in Heb 11:10-16 and Heb 12:22-23.
Heb.
12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb.
12:23 to the general assembly and
church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all,
to the spirits of just men made perfect,
The new Jerusalem is the heavenly city that Abraham was searching
for,
Heb
11:10 for he waited for the city
which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
without the rest of the church he could not become perfect,
Heb
11:40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made
perfect apart from us.
and neither can we. The New Jerusalem is a holy city, nothing
unclean shall enter is
Isa
52:1 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful
garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
Rev
21:27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an
abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of
Life.
The Holy city is usually a term for earthly Jerusalem, (Neh 11:1, Mat 4:5, 27:53) but in
Revelation the earthly Jerusalem persecutes the saints (11:8). The New
Jerusalem is also Mount Zion the city of God (Ps
48, Isa 4:3, 35:8-10, 51:11, 60:14-22, Joel 3:17). In Gal 4:25-26 Paul comments 'But the Jerusalem
that is above is free, and she is our mother' and contrasts her to 'the present
city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children'.
The church is clearly referred to here as the New Jerusalem, and as
the bride, in Rev 19:7 the
bride refers to the saints. The church is known as the bride, in Eph 5:25-27, husbands are to love their
wives as Christ loves the church. Christ is clearly the husband, in 19:7 it
refers to the wedding of the Lamb, later we find the Lamb enthroned within the
city, 21:3 and they reign forever and ever. The virgins represent the church in
the parable of the ten virgins who are waiting for the bridegroom who is
Christ, Mat 25:1. The New
Jerusalem is again described as the bride, the wife of the Lamb in Rev 21:9-10. The church has to come out of
heaven from God because the church was His idea from start to finish and He is
the one who cleanses and prepares her. The New Jerusalem is to be contrasted to
the harlot dressed in purple and scarlet who sits on the beast and is the
worldly city Babylon that is from the earth. As a bride she is beautifully
dressed for her husband, in 19:8 we find that fine linen, bright and clean was
given her to wear, which stands for the righteous acts of the saints. We also
find later that in the description of the new Jerusalem she shone with the
glory of God (v11) she is decorated with every kind of precious stone (v19) and
pearls (v21) and gold (v18). There is a parallel with Gen 2:21-22 in which Eve was made from
Adam's rib and brought to Adam by God. Here we find the church, which was
formed through the blood of Christ, his side was pierced on the cross and now
we find His bride coming from God prepared for her husband.
Rev.
21:9 - Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the
seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will
show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
great prostitute (Rev 17:1)
---- prepared as a vergin bride
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.
Rev.
21:10 - And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven
from God,
Much of John’s vision in Rev 21-22 contains details found in
Ezekiel 40-48.
The New Jerusalem is called the 'city of my God' in 3:12.
The idea of a city, is that it is God’s community of the elect, in
contrast to the community of the world. Heavenly Jerusalem coming from God
verses earthly Babylon.
Rev.
21:11 - having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like
a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
The Jasper recalls the description of God on His throne in
Rev 4:3 And he that sat
was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne,
in sight like unto an emerald.
Later we find that the wall
and the first foundation are made of jasper (21:18-19).
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.
Rev.
21:12 - 12 Also she had a great
and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names
written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children 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
twelve angels guard the way to the tree of life. Only this time not all men are
excluded, those who wash their robes may enter and eat of its fruit (Chilton).
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.
Rev. 21:13 - 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).
Rev.
21:14 Now 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.
Rev.
21:15 - And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its
gates, and its wall.
- 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.
Rev.
21: 16 The city is laid out as a
square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with
the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
- 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. As Osborne
points out the city is enormous, big enough to hold the saints from all ages,
those from every tribe, language, people, and nation. In my father’s house are
many mansions.
Rev.
21: 17 Then he measured its wall: one
hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of
an angel.
. –
v15 tells us that the measuring rod was made of gold. In v12 it is called a
great high wall, it has 12 gates and in v14 we are told that the wall has
twelve foundations. The nearest equivalent to 144 is the 144,000 in Rev 7:4. The 144 cubits is 12 * 12 which
corresponds to the walls twelve foundations and its twelve gates. The 12
foundations are named after the twelve apostles and the 12 gates are named
after the twelve tribes of Israel. This is the equivalent to the OT * NT, this
once again emphasises the complete nature of the church. In ancient times the
city wall was for security, we are told it is a great high wall, the gates are
guarded by twelve angels v12. Since the book is intended for man, namely the
church, the angel uses measurements that we are familiar with, and makes its
symbology obvious.
Rev.
21:18 The construction of its wall
was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear 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
(in v21 the street is made of gold as transparent as glass). 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.
Rev.
21:19 The foundations of the wall of
the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation
was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
- 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.
Rev.
21:20 - the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius,
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. If background of the jewels comes from the 12 jewels on the breastplate
of the high priest, representing the twelve tribes, only here the jewels
symbolise the apostles. Then the emphasis is on the priestly nature of the
church, who is thus seen as end-time Israel (cf. 1:6, 5:10 and 20:6) so
Osborne. In the light of John’s theology in Revelation in which he sees the OT
and NT people of God as a unity, this explanation seems more likely than the
Zodiac explanation, although it may be a case of both rather than either or.
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Rev. 21:21 - The twelve gates were twelve pearls:
each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure
gold, like transparent glass.
The city is made of gold, its walls of jasper, its foundations of
precious jewels and now pearls are added to this list. Beale sees an allusion
to Isa 54:11-12. Note the
contrast to the whore of Rev 17:4 who 'was glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls.' Pearls are objects of great price (Mat 13:45) 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. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel
(21:12). The gates are never shut (21:25). Twelve angels (21:12) guard them.
The gates are in the four directions of the compass so that people from the
whole world may enter (Hendriksen). Who may enter through the gates? Those who
wash their robes (22:14) in the blood of the Lamb (7:14), whose names are
written in the Lamb's book of life (21:27).
The Great Street of the New Jerusalem is also mentioned in 22:2 and
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).
Revelation
21:3,4,22-26
Rev.
21:22 But I saw no temple in it, for
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Rev.
21:23 The city had no need of the sun
or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is
its light.
Rev.
21:24 And the nations of those who
are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory
and honor into it.
Rev.
21:25 Its gates shall not be shut at
all by day (there shall be no night there).
Rev.
21:26 And they shall bring the glory
and the honor of the nations into it.
Rev.
21: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.
Isaiah
59: Separated from God
Isaiah
59:1 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear
heavy, That it cannot hear.
Isaiah
59:2 But your
iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face
from you, So that He will not hear.
Isaiah
59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.
Rev
21: 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God.
God will live with, and walk among the saints, we see here the
fulfilment of
Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature:
1 Tim. 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honour
and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Heb.31:33
But this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their
inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Heb. 8:10 For this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,
saith the Lord; I will put my
laws into their mind, and
write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people:
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"
My tabernacle also
shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall 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".
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted
together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for
a dwelling place of God in the 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, and the
temple within the individual, to God again dwelling with man. Faith has become
seeing (praise God).
Rev.
21:23 - 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
Ish
60:19 " The sun shall no
longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to
you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory.
Isa
60:19:20 Your sun shall no longer go
down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your
everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
this idea is repeated later in
Rev
22:5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for
the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
The glory of God is seen through Jesus who is the lamp, the
radiance of God's glory
Heb.1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
2
Cor 4:4 whose minds the god of this
age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Rev. 21:24 - 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
And the
Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Rev.
21:25 - 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 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they
shall not be shut day nor night; that
men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
Zec
14:11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no
more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely.
There is perfect security as there will be no thieves, Mat 6:20,
these will be outside the city.
Mat. 6:20 but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and
where thieves do not break in and steal.
Rev.
21:26 - The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. –
Rom 2:7 in which 'those who by persistence in
doing good seek glory, honour and immortality', God will give eternal life.
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