SECTION IV

Chapter Twenty-One

Heaven: A Reward for the Faithful

21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

There is no doubt that the earth and heavens will literally be destroyed at the end of time when the Lord returns, the Apostle Peter clearly teaches this. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 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?” (II Peter 3:10-12). At Christ’s return everything that pertains to this physical universe will cease to exist. Not a single molecule will remain of the vast universe which, from the dawn of creation, has awed man because of its incomprehensible size and complexity.

But what is this new heaven and new earth which John sees? Will a new physical universe be created at this time? In the last chapter we discussed the resurrection of the dead which is also to occur at this very same time. In speaking of this event, the Apostle Paul said, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (I Corinthians 15:52). As we saw in the last chapter, and as Paul points out here, man will no longer occupy his physical bodies at this time. The dead will be raised “incorruptible,” which certainly cannot mean in a physical body. So if man is to shed his physical body at the end of time, then why would God create a new physical heaven and earth? Obviously, this new heaven and earth will not be physical. This interpretation is also consistent with the rest of the book. How could we justify taking this passage as literal when the rest of Revelation has been figurative? Everything points to the new heaven and new earth being figurative. By this I do not mean that what John saw did not exist, but that what he saw was not physical. He merely related it to us in physical terms to aid in our understanding of it.

When we think of the present heaven and earth, we are looking at the whole of man’s existence. Mankind exists only in this physical universe, and is powerless to escape it, except through death. So when John speaks of a new heaven and earth, he is trying to relate to us a description of where man will live after this world has been destroyed. It is a new realm of existence for mankind. Although it is not literally a new heaven and earth, it really means the same thing in that it is the place where man is to dwell. So what John is really seeing is what we usually refer to as Heaven.

21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

This Holy City that John is now seeing is the same thing which he described as a new heaven and a new earth in the previous verse. New Jerusalem is just another name for Heaven. Christ clearly stated this back in chapter three when He said, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name” (Revelation 3:12). On the Earth Jerusalem has long been identified as the place where God dwells among men. It is where man interacts with God. When the Earth is destroyed, as the apostle Peter told us it will be (II Peter 3:10-12), there must of necessity be a new place for God to interact with man since Jerusalem will be gone. This place will be “NEW” Jerusalem, which simply means heaven.

But there is also another meaning to the name “Holy City, new Jerusalem.” In chapter eleven we saw the Church referred to as the Holy City. “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months” (Revelation 11:2). This city is also described as “a bride adorned for her husband.” This language also refers to the Church. So is new Jerusalem Heaven or the Lord’s Church? The answer is both.

Imagine taking all of the residents of Topeka, Kansas, and placing them in a large cornfield somewhere in Nebraska. It would be quite appropriate to refer to this group of people as “Topeka, Kansas,” since they in fact collectively make up this city. Even though they are geographically removed from the place which gives them their name, they still bear that name. They are that town. At the same time, you could still refer to the land where the city is located as Topeka. You see, both the people and the place can be referred to by the name of the place. This is basically what we are seeing here in Revelation. Both the place, Heaven, and its residents, the Church, are referred to by the same name, new Jerusalem. Of course this is not limited to just those who lived during the Christian era, but includes all men of all ages who have obeyed the voice of God.

The Bible refers to the Church as the bride of Christ. All men who obey God and are pleasing to Him must enter into an intimate relationship with Him. This relationship is even more intimate than that of an actual husband and wife. They must submit themselves to Him as a wife should to her husband, and He will care for them as a husband does his wife. The Apostle Paul used this analogy in describing the relationship between Christ and His followers. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband” (Ephesians 5:22-33).

The Holy City is described as descending “down from God out of Heaven.” The Church is comprised of men from this earth, which obviously cannot descend from Heaven. However, Heaven, where redeemed man is soon to dwell, does come from above, and this is what John is seeing. He is seeing the city come down to accept its residents. This does not mean that Heaven will be here on this earth, for the verse never says this in any way. In his vision John is simply seeing Heaven coming down from above to a point where it is presented for his viewing. He will soon begin a long and detailed description of this city, so it had to be brought into close proximity to him so that he could examine it.

This is a good point at which to pause and make a few remarks about Heaven. So far throughout this study, Heaven has been described as a “place.” When most people talk about Heaven they describe it as a place. We look into the sky and say Heaven is “up” there somewhere. But in reality there is no up. Our planet, solar system, and galaxy are all moving and rotating continually. So the direction which is up now will be down or sideways later. We cannot point in any certain direction and say Heaven is that way.

In fact, Heaven is not even a place. When we speak of it as a place we are simply trying to put it into human terms so we can understand it. A place denotes physicality. But everything material and physical will be destroyed at the end of time. Heaven exists in eternity, where there is neither time nor matter. Life and reality as we know it now will not exist there. It is probably best described as a condition rather than a place. It is another realm of existence. It is not defined by physical properties such as time, space, energy, mass, direction or any of the other things that totally define our present state of existence. It is indeed a new world, one that is totally unlike anything we have ever experienced. As a consequence, it is extremely difficult for the Lord to convey a description of Heaven to us. Its similar to trying to describe a rain forest to someone who has lived in the Sahara Desert all of their life. That amount of water and vegetation would be incomprehensible to that person. Or it would be like trying to describe snow to someone who has always lived in a jungle in Panama. This person would never have even seen ice in any form. Imagine trying to make them understand “fluffy” water falling out of the sky. This would be a nearly impossible task.

But trying to convey a description of Heaven to man is even more difficult. At least for our two examples above, the desert dweller has seen rain and plants, and the native of the jungle has seen liquid water fall from the sky. None of us, however, knows exactly what a spirit is or how it lives. As a consequence, God cannot simply describe Heaven for us as it really is. We would not be able to comprehend it. That’s why God uses things that we do understand to describe for us those things which we otherwise could never possibly understand. We will still not have a full understanding, but will at least have the general idea.

For the sake of clarity the term “church” also needs to be more fully defined than we have done thus far. So often men tend to think of church as a place where you go on Sunday morning. But the Lord’s Church is not a building or any other physical structure or location. Neither is the Church an organization, society, association, corporation, league, club, order, fraternity, or any other such thing. The word church is from the Greek word “ekklesia,” which Thayer defines as “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly. Among the Greeks from Thucydides down, an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating. Any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance or tumultuously. In the Christian sense, (a) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship. (b) a company of Christians, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake.”[1]

In short, the term church carries no religious meaning of its own. The various shades of meaning of the word must be determined based on the context. But in general, a church is a group of people who are brought together because of a common purpose. The Lord’s Church is nothing more than the group consisting of all men around the world who are obedient to God. In this sense, the Lord has had a church since the beginning of time. It was not the Christian Church, but it was a church nonetheless. This is the same principle as the woman we saw back in chapter twelve. Here in Revelation we are not just seeing Christians, but all the redeemed from the earth of all ages. Everyone from the creation to the destruction of this world, who has obeyed God, is part of the church or group which is the Lamb’s wife. With this established we are now ready to proceed with our study.

21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

John does not identify the speaker here, except to say he has “a great voice.” This voice declares that the “tabernacle of god is with men.” Tabernacle is from the Greek word “skene,” which Strong’s defines as “a tent or cloth hut (literally or figuratively):-habitation, tabernacle.”[2] So the thought expressed in this verse is that redeemed man and God will now dwell together in Heaven. Man will live with God there throughout eternity.

“They shall be his people.” Man will be the subjects of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. They will be His people and will serve and worship Him throughout eternity as we saw in chapter seven. “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17).

21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

This verse shows us some of the wonderful characteristics of life in Heaven. Death, sorrow, and pain are three of the things which can make our current lives so difficult at times. These things often bring sadness to our hearts and tears to our eyes, but in Heaven all of these things will be absent. The key to understanding this is that “the former things are passed away.” By the former things he means, not only the death, sorrow, and pain, but all things associated with them. In other words, the entire physical universe will be gone. This conclusion is warranted because it is the physical nature of the universe which leads to death, sorrow, and pain. Here in this life our bodies are subject to aging, disease and decay, injury, and so many other things. The spiritual bodies which Christians will have in Heaven will not be subject to these limitations. This is beautifully expressed by the Apostle Paul. “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (I Corinthians 15:42-44, 49-53). How wonderful it will be not to have to worry about sickness, injury or death in Heaven.

The main reason why Heaven will be such a wonderful place to live is that it will be completely free from sin. Their will be no lying, jealousy, hatred, envy, backbiting, or any of the things which at present bring much misery into the lives of men. In Heaven all will be love, harmony, peace, kindness, patience, and the many other wonderful things which can make life so happy and fulfilling. Man will once again live like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden before they sinned. At that time there was no worry of death or disease or any such thing. They had access to the tree of live and could have lived for ever in the Garden. They had virtually a paradise here on earth. But sin changed everything. After their sin God denied mankind further access to the tree of life, when meant all must face physical death. The tree of life now awaits the faithful in heaven, as we will see in the next chapter.

21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

“He that sat upon the throne,” could be either God or Christ. We have seen previously that they both occupy the throne together (Revelation 3:21). By examining the statement which is made in the next verse we can determine that it is Christ who is speaking. In the present verse He says, “behold, I make all things new.” Indeed this fits exactly with what we have just seen. The physical universe will be destroyed, and those who have proven themselves worthy, will be given eternal life in totally new, and much improved, surroundings. The old things of a physical life on earth will pass away and the pleasures of Heaven will lie before the redeemed.

Next Christ instructs John to write the things He is about to tell him. Perhaps John had become so overwhelmed by the vision of Heaven he was seeing that he had temporarily stopped writing as he had been previously instructed to do. This is the last of the thirteen times John is instructed to write, beginning with the initial charge given him by Christ in chapter one.

Christ also states that the words He is about to speak are “true and faithful.” Of course we would never doubt the sincerity and truthfulness of Christ, but He wants there to be no doubt. He assures us that the comments He is about to make are sure and certain. This is just a way of calling attention to what He is about to say.

21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

“It is done.” These three little words carry a very powerful message. At this point everything truly is done as far as man is concerned. All of creation, the entire vastness of the universe, much of which we cannot even behold, has been destroyed. All of the biblical prophesies have been fulfilled. The wicked are now receiving the reward for their works, the eternal and unquenchable fires of Hell, and the righteous are just beginning to enjoy the never ending day of bliss and happiness in the presence of God.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” This is the third of four times that Christ refers to Himself as “Alpha and Omega” in Revelation. As we have seen before it simply denotes Christ’s eternal nature. Just as nothing precedes Alpha or supersedes Omega in the Greek alphabet nothing preceded or will supersede Christ in existence. He shares in the eternal nature of his Father, and thus always has been and always will be. One name that Christ used for Himself was “I am.” “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14). Contrary to what most people would assume, it was Christ who appeared to Moses out of the burning bush. It was also Christ who walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). It was Christ who appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai. In fact every single time God made an appearance in Old Testament times it was actually God the Son who was present. Christ even said that “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). He clearly states that no man has seen God (the Father) but that He, the Son, has been the one to declare God’s will.

Jesus also used the name “I am” to refer to Himself during His life on earth as a man. “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:57-59). You can see from the reaction of the people that heard Him that they understood what He was saying. And they, not recognizing Him as the Messiah, thought His speech to be blasphemous. The term “I am” relates two things. First it testifies of the self existent nature of God. He was not created, nor was He born, He simply “is.” He needs no one else to survive, whereas man needs God to continue to exist. Secondly, it speaks of the eternal nature of God. Christ clearly claims these things for Himself by the use of the name I am.

@insert discussion of trinity

“I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” This is the statement that lets us know without a doubt that Christ is our speaker here. In His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, He spoke of this very same thing. “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:10-14). This “water of life” is not literal water, but merely symbolizes the eternal nature which man will enjoy in Heaven as a gift from God.

21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Satan and all of his evil tricks are what have to be overcome. If a person is able to overcome the evil enticements Satan has placed in the world and remain faithful to the Lord he will inherit “all things.” This means he will gain everything that he could ever need or desire. During His ministry on the earth, Christ often spoke of the inheritance which His people will someday enjoy. “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3). “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” (Matthew 25:34). “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:29). The Apostle Peter also spoke of the inheritance. “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:4).

Of course the Lord said one must “overcome” in order to receive this inheritance. The Apostle John taught us that man can overcome only through faith in Jesus Christ. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (I John 5:4-5).

In each of the letters to the Seven Churches in chapters two and three of Revelation, Christ mentioned a reward for overcoming. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (Revelation 2:11). “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” (Revelation 2:17). “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations” (Revelation 2:26). “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5). “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name” (Revelation 3:12). “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21). Clearly He is stressing the need for those who would follow Him to fight against the evils of the world and not to conform to them. The Christian life is one of struggle and conflict, there are many hurdles that a person must overcome before he is worthy to be accepted of God.

“And I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” The greatest benefit which the redeemed will enjoy in Heaven is their fellowship with God. They will enjoy a much closer relationship with Him than was ever possible while living on the earth. He will make them happy for all eternity as a good father should. And in return they will worship and praise Him for ever and ever.

The fact that the redeemed will be considered the sons and daughters of God adds to the meaning of the inheritance. All children become heirs and therefore share in their father’s inheritance. While we may not be God’s natural sons’ Paul points out that through Jesus God has adopted us. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:14-17). We may be, as Paul said joint heirs with Christ, but as the first born He deserves a double portion of the inheritance, following the pattern of the Old Law. “But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his” (Deuteronomy 21:17).

There is one other aspect of inheritance that needs to be discussed, however. That is the fact that before the children can inherit their father’s estate that the father must die. In this case it was actually our elder “brother” who died and made possible our inheritance. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth” (Hebrews 9:14-17).

21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The Lord now contrasts the fate of the unrighteous with the wonderful things He has been saying about the righteous. Fearful is from the Greek word “deilos,” which Thayer defines as “timid, fearful. Christians who through cowardice give way under persecutions and apostatize.”[3] This is the kind of person Christ described in His parable of the sower. “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended” (Matthew 13:20-21).

Unbelieving is from the Greek word “apistos,” which Strong’s defines as “disbelieving, i.e. without Christian faith (specifically a heathen); (passively) untrustworthy (person), or incredible (thing):-that believeth not, faithless, incredible thing, infidel, unbeliever (-ing).”[4] Many people simply never can be convinced of the existence of God or the need to serve Him. And without that belief or faith a person is without hope. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Abominable is from the Greek word “bdelusso,” which Strong’s defines as “(to stink); to be disgusted, i.e. (by implication) detest (especially of idolatry):-abhor, abominable.”[5] A murderer is, of course, someone who purposefully takes another persons life. Whoremonger is from the Greek word “pornos,” which Thayer defines as “a man who prostitutes his body to another’s lust for hire, a male prostitute. A man who indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse, a fornicator.”[6] Sorcerer is from the Greek word “pharmakeus,” which Strong’s defines as “(a drug, i.e. spell—giving potion); a druggist (“pharmacist”) or poisoner, i.e. (by extension) a magician: -sorcerer.”[7] The meaning is someone who deceives people through the practice of magic and witchcraft.

An idolater is someone who worships a false God or anything other than the true God. It is a person who allows anything whatsoever to come before God in their life. When anything detracts from someone’s service to God, it in essence takes God’s place, and becomes an idol. The Apostle Paul even spoke of covetousness as idolatry (Colossians 3:5). The desire to possess something can consume a person and become an uncontrollable obsession. It can in essence become an idol. Whatever receives the majority of our time, effort and affection is our God.

A liar is anyone who tells something which he knows is not true. His intentions are not the issue. There is no such thing as a “little white lie.” Any lie, regardless of why it was spoken, is still a lie, and is unquestionably sinful.

The fate which awaits the people who practice any of these evil things is without doubt. They “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” The lake of fire is eternal Hell. It is also described here as “the second death.” Death is not truly a cessation of life but a separation. When man dies physically, which is the first death, he does not cease to exist, but rather his body and spirit separate. The physical body ceases to live just as any animal would, but the spirit of man continues to live in Hades. At the end of time the spirits of righteous men will gain even greater access to God, while the unrighteous will be forever separated from Him. It is this separation from God that is the second death.

@insert discussion of Hell

21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

There is no great significance in the fact that it was one of the angels which had the seven vials which came to speak with John. This is simply given to identify the angel. It is, however, somewhat appropriate that one of the angels that helped reveal the ultimate defeat of the apostate Roman Church is the one who shows John the Lord’s Church, which was so often persecuted by the Great Whore. This angel told John to come over to where he was, so that he could show John the bride of Christ, the Church. Again this is not just the Christian Church, but is the group of redeemed men from the earth of all ages.

21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

John again makes mention of the fact that he is in the spirit and is not present physically. His body never left the island of Patmos while his spirit was in Heaven experiencing these visions.

The angel takes John to the top of a very tall mountain and from that very lofty perch he beholds Heaven, as it were, descending from above to receive the Church. The glorious city of God, prepared for the faithful. The best vantage point to see a city here on earth is from high above. In John’s day there were no airplanes so a mountain top would be the most ideal vantage point. The main point of this statement is to let us know that John is in a position overlooking the whole city where he can see and describe it all, with missing anything.

21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

Now John begins his description of that Great City which he saw. As we have mentioned previously Heaven is not a physical place. But here John will use physical terms in an attempt to describe for us Heaven and all of its glory. The Apostle Paul once spoke of the difficulties of communicating the things he understood to other men. “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh” (Romans 6:19). Our humanity limits our capacity to understand, and therefore hampers spiritual discernment. As it is written, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). So as we go through the next several verses we must keep in mind that the mention of all of these valuable and precious items from the earth are not to be taken literally, but are merely intended to provide for us an understanding of the great beauty and magnificence of Heaven. Were we to actually find a place here on earth that was constructed as Heaven is described here, we would certainly say it was grander than anything we had ever seen, and this is the point the Lord wants to get across to us. Heaven is much grander than anything we have ever seen or even imagined.

The first characteristic of Heaven we are told about is that it possesses the glory of God. Certainly nothing can be more glorious and wonderful than if it possesses the glory of God. The light of the city is compared to a precious stone such as jasper. As we saw in chapter four, jasper is a type of quartz of varying color. But the light here is said to be clear, which is not a color of the jasper stone. This just serves to reinforce the point that we are not looking at literal jasper. The intended meaning is that the light is pure and flawless, much superior to any light that we could find here on the earth.

21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

During the times in which John wrote Revelation any city of note would have a wall around it. The wall served as a barrier against the outside world. Access to the city could be controlled if it was walled. A good wall could keep some people in and others out, whatever may have been the wish of the ruler(s) of the city. The wall would also keep wild and domesticated animals out of the city, improving safety and sanitation. But above all else, a wall was especially valuable in stopping invading armies, which were so prevalent in John’s day.

Obviously, Heaven will not need a wall or anything else for any of these purposes, or any other for that matter. So do not expect to see a real wall in Heaven. The reason it is mentioned here is that in John’s day a city would have been incomplete without a wall. So in keeping with the extravagant illustrations, Heaven is pictured with a wall greater than any other city has ever dreamed of having. The wall was great and high, and contained twelve gates. Each of the gates had an angel standing beside it. Angels would be perfect guardians, only letting those into Heaven admitted by the Father. There would be no possible way that any undeserving person could talk or bribe their way into Heaven.

We also find that on each gate was written a different name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Children of Israel are the ones who brought Christ into the world. Therefore it can be said that it is through them that man gained access to Heaven, hence they are pictured as the doors to Heaven.

21:13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

The city was in the shape of a square and the twelve gates were equally distributed along the four sides, with three gates being on each side. This would allow for easier movement in and out of the city, something very important for a real city, but not so for Heaven. Once Heaven receives her residents the doors could be closed, locked, and the key thrown away. No one will be allowed in after that and everything that will be needed will be right there in Heaven.

21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

In verse twelve we saw the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on the gates. Now it is the names of the twelve apostles on the foundations. The foundations are what the walls sit upon. It would indeed be very foolish to expend a great deal of time, effort and money to build a wall if you were simply going to place it right on top of the dirt. A wall so built would be unstable, easily tunneled under by man or beast, and because of its great weight subject to sinking. Smith’s Bible Dictionary alludes to “the practice common in Palestine of carrying foundations down to the solid rock.”[8] The soil and loose rocks would be dug out and replaced by what would essentially be a subsurface wall to support to actual wall people would see. “The earlier Romans erected their buildings on the most solid foundations constructed of large blocks of concrete, composed of quarry rubbish, gravel or burnt earth, bonded by an excellent mortar. This material formed under the superstructures homogeneous basements of veritable artificial rocks capable of sustaining the heaviest of buildings without rupture or settlement.”[9]

“Twelve foundations” is an allusion to the perfect strength and durability of the foundation, the number twelve, like seven, denoting completeness. This wall, or any other structure for that matter, would have only one foundation. But since this wall is intended to last for eternity the foundation needs to be perfect so that it can support the wall without ever failing. The durability of anything built on a foundation depends more on the foundation than on the structure itself.

While the Children of Israel presented Christ to the world, His message went forth to the world with the work and teachings of the apostles as a foundation. The Apostle Paul spoke of the Lord’s Church as being “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). Even today the writings of the apostles are to be used by Christians as the sole basis or foundation for godly living. The Papacy built its Empire on an unsure foundation, not on Christ. Jesus Himself warned of this type of foolishness. “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:47-49).

The Apostle Paul said, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 3:10-11). Regardless of the size and strength of a Church that is built, if it does not have as its foundation Jesus Christ, “the Rock of Israel” (II Samuel 23:3), then it is destined to fall in the Day of Judgment.

21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

The angel that had been talking with John had in his possession a reed, or measuring rod, with which he was able to measure the dimensions of the city, the gates, and the walls. The measuring reed which the angel has is said to be made of gold. In reality gold would be a poor material for a measuring instrument. First of all, gold is very heavy and any measuring device made from it would be very unhandy to use. Secondly, gold is soft, so the measuring device could easily be dented or even bent. And thirdly, gold tends to shrink and expand with changes in temperature, and thus the length of the measuring reed would change with the temperature. So all in all, gold is a very poor choice for a measuring device. But this is not meant to be taken so strictly. The intent of saying it is made of gold is to show its worth and value. Such an instrument would be worthy of measuring something as grand as Heaven and should be expected to give extremely precise measurements.

21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

“The city lieth foursquare” simply means the city was a perfect square. The fact that the length is equal to the breadth is redundant, for if they were not equal then the city would not be square. Most large walled cities of ancient times were not squares, but had very irregular shapes. Their shapes were determined more by the topography and geography of the area where they were constructed, as well as the fact that they may have been added on to as the city grew. There are no such limitations with Heaven, however, and it will form a perfect square.

When the angel measured the city with the golden reed it was found to be 12,000 furlongs. A furlong is 606 feet and ⅜-inches.[10] Twenle-thousand furlongs would be over 1,377 miles! The scale of this city is unimaginable. The city is a perfect cube with the length, breadth, and height all over 1,377 miles. In a city of that size every single person currently living in the world, which has a population of well over six billion people, could have about 65,000,000,000 (sixty five billion) cubic feet of space if it were divided up equally. To put this into perspective a house which is 40 feet wide, 100 feet long, and has an 8 foot ceiling, only has 32,000 cubic feet of space. This is well over two-million times smaller. Again it should be mentioned that Heaven is not a physical place and will not have physical dimensions. But God has certainly done an effective job of conveying to us just how impressive Heaven really is.

The number twelve-thousand that is used here is not arbitrary. Twelve is the heavenly number of completeness. One thousand , as we have mentioned previously, is used to convey the magnitude of a large inexact or unknown number. Taken together as twelve-thousand we have the idea that Heaven is very large and just the perfect size. Would we expect anything less?

21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Next the angel measures the thickness of the wall, it was 144 cubits. A cubit is the distance from a man’s elbow to his fingertips, and is generally taken to be about 18 inches. John makes it clear that the cubit he is speaking of here is the one measured with a man’s arm. But with one slight difference in this case, it is an angel, and not a man, who is doing the measuring. I don’t believe John is implying any significant difference in the size of a cubit by telling us it is measured by the angel’s arm. Anything measured with a human body part would be inherently inaccurate due to the flexibility of flesh, and more importantly the fact that people are of different dimensions. The angel, however, being perfectly proportioned would be able to render a perfect measurement. Smith’s Bible Dictionary gives an exact value of a cubit to be 19.0515 inches.[11] Using this value the walls would be over 228 feet thick. That’s the better part of a football field. Again we see the superiority of Heaven over all earthly cities, no enemy could ever hope to scale or breech those walls.

21:18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

The “building of the wall” means the material from which the wall was built. The wall surrounding Heaven is made of jasper. Jasper being a variety of quartz is very hard and resistant to weathering. The “city” would include all the structures and buildings. All of these things were made of gold which was clear as glass. Obviously, gold is not clear. The idea is that this gold is so shiny and glittery and pure that it almost seems transparent. This gold far exceeds any ever seen on the earth in beauty and value. In reality gold is gold. Pure gold cannot be made any purer. This is another item which lets us know these descriptions are not to be taken literally, but are simply meant as an attempt to describe the wonders and glories of Heaven in physical terms, and to show Heaven’s superiority over the earth. Everything in Heaven will be far superior to its counterpart here on Earth.

21:19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

21:20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

In verse fourteen the twelve foundations of the wall were introduced and said to contain the names of the twelve apostles of Christ. Now we find that they are garnished or decorated with precious gems. Each foundation was decorated with a different gem. On earth no one would use such precious materials to dress up the foundation of a wall. But nothing is too good for Heaven. God is not limited by money, the availability of materials or labor, or any of the other problems that an earthly ruler would face when constructing a large city. He can use the best materials and use them in any amount He wishes, something not true of an earthly city.

Jasper has already been discussed earlier in the chapter. The sapphire was “a precious stone, apparently of a bright-blue color, and extremely precious. The sapphire of the ancients was not our gem of that name.”[12] The term chalcedony is applied in mineralogy to one of the varieties of agate. It is generally translucent and exhibits a great variety of colors. So named because it was found near the ancient Chalcedon, near Constantinople.”[13] The emerald is believed to be the same stone which we call by that name today.

Sardonyx is “a name compounded of sard and onyx, two precious stones, varieties of chalcedony or agate. The sardonyx combines the qualities of both, whence its name. The sardonyx consists of ‘a white opaque layer, superimposed upon a red transparent stratum of the true red sard.’ It is, like the sard, merely a variety of agate.”[14] Sardius also called sardine is “a variety of chalcedony, which the Greeks called sardios and sardion. Two sorts, distinguished by their color, were known by the name of sardius: the transparent red being our carnelian and the brownish red being the variety of carnelian to which we restrict the name sardius.”[15] Chrysolite is identical with the modern Oriental topaz, the tarshish of the Hebrew Bible.[16]

“The beryl is an earthy mineral, having as its chief constituents silica, alumina, and beryllium. It may be colorless or aquamarine, bluish green, or various blues and violet, or yellow and brown. It is closely allied to the emerald.[17] “The topaz of the ancient Greeks and Romans is generally allowed to be our chrysolite, while their chrysolite is our topaz. Chrysolite is a silicate of magnesium and iron; it is so soft as to lose its polish unless carefully used. It varies in color from a pale-green to a bottle-green. It is supposed that its name was derived from Topazos, an island in the Red Sea where the stones were procured.”[18] Chrysoprasus or chrysoprase is “a variety of chalcedony of an apple-green hue, the color being produced by the presence of oxide of nickel.”[19] “The jacinth or hyacinth is a red variety of zircon, which is found in square prisms of a white, gray, red, reddish-brown, yellow or pale-green color.”[20] Amethyst is “a subspecies of quartz of a bluish violet color.”[21]

21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

These gates were first introduced in verse twelve. There it was said that each gate had the name of one of twelve tribes of Israel written on it. Here we are told that these gates are giant pearls. Obviously no pearl of the size described here has ever been seen by any man. This extends the thought that the beauty and glory of Heaven will far surpass that of the earth.

We found back in verse sixteen that Heaven is a cube of nearly 1,400 miles. Yet here we find that Heaven has only one street. It is not “streets,” as so many people often say, but simply “the street.” Again, all of this is figurative anyway, so we should not try to make something out of the fact that there is only one street in such an enormous city. The emphasis is not on how many streets there are, but rather on what it is made from.

In the days of John the best roads were made of stones, but the majority of them were simply dirt. To someone living today seeing a street of gold would be unbelievable, but to someone of John’s day, where most of the roads were dirt, to see a street constructed of pure gold would be mind boggling. Imagine the amount of gold it would take to build something like this! In truth pure gold would be totally unacceptable material for a street. It is very soft and simply would not last long at all. But the real intent here is to show us that in Heaven even the most basic thing like a street will be something to marvel at. A king who can afford to pave the streets of his city with gold can certainly take care of his people.

We have seen the gold in Heaven described as transparent before. Again this is simply an attempt to convey to us that it is much superior to any gold found on the earth.

21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

In the days of John any important city where very many Jews lived would have its own temple or synagogue. The temple was where the people went to worship or sacrifice to God. But John points out that this wonderful city he is describing has no temple. Its not that this city is not important enough to deserve a temple, but that there simply is no need for one. There is no need to go to a building somewhere to worship God when you will be eternally in his presence.

21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

On this earth man depends on the sun for his very survival. Without the sun we would live in darkness. Plants and animals could not live under these conditions. And to top all of this off the earth would be so cold that everything would freeze solid anyway. But in Heaven, Christians will not be dependent on physical light sources. Hot and cold, as well as light and darkness, as we know them now, will have ceased to exist. God will be the “light” of this Great City. He will not shine like a light bulb, but His presence will “brighten” the entire city and thereby make it inhabitable just as the sun does for the earth. This also points out the dilemma for the damned. They will reside eternally in darkness. In fact this is one of the bad things the Bible specifically mentions about Hell. “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.

“And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.” This speaks of the effects Heaven had on the earth while it was still in existence. The nations and countries which had many of their citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the Lord’s Church, will tend to be influenced by those righteous people to walk in the light of Heaven, which is God. In other words, otherwise heathen nations will be made somewhat righteous by the presence of a few Christians. And indeed we can see from history that the Western world, where most Christians lived, has been blessed to a far greater extent than any other region of the world.

“And the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.” This does not mean that the leaders and rulers of secular governments will all be allowed into Heaven. In fact, it will tend to be quite the contrary. As the Apostle Paul pointed out, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (I Corinthians 1:26). What John is pointing out here is that all kingdoms and nations of the earth, regardless of their stature among men, will be vastly inferior to the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore all nations of the earth will “bring their glory and honor into it.” This means that they will be subservient to the Kingdom of Heaven realizing its preeminence among the nations. This is the same thought expressed by the prophet Isaiah. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2). The mountains here are kingdoms, and the Lord’s Kingdom will be greater than all the rest. Therefore they will all bow down to it and offer tribute. This was not necessarily done literally, but in the end all other kingdoms fell while the Lord’s remained.

21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

This verse really contains two distinct but related statements. First of all, the gates of the heavenly city will never be closed during the day. Secondly we are told there will never be night there. As we have already seen physical light sources will not be necessary in Heaven, God will be the light there. Together these two statements tell us the gates of Heaven will never close. They do not close during the day, and eternity is just one endless day, therefore they do not close.

This tells us a lot about Heaven. The gates of earthly cities were often closed. The reasons for closing them were many. To keep out wild animals or to keep out thieves or other undesirable people, but especially to seal the city up against enemies. However, in Heaven these problems will not exist, therefore there will never be a need to close the gates. This again points out another way in which Heaven is superior to all earthly cities. Even the mightiest earthly cities in history have fallen victims to invasion. Rome, the Eternal city, was taken several times. And even the great Constantinople, which still bears the infamous title of the world’s most besieged city, also eventually fell to the sword of an invading army. Or we might say more correctly, as we saw in chapter nine, the cannons of an invading army. But Heaven will be eternally secure. No one is mighty enough to come against the God of heaven to besiege His city.

21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

This verse really just reiterates the thought expressed in verse twenty-four. The Lord’s Kingdom will be superior to all others in every way. Therefore all other nations will eventually fall before it and become subservient to it, thereby testifying to the superiority of Heaven.

21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Entrance into Heaven is restricted, only those deemed worthy by the Gatekeeper may enter. And Christ said, “…I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:7-9). Only those known of Christ will be admitted.

Only what is pure and righteous and holy will be allowed to pass through the gates into the city. Everything that is vile and base and carnal will be kept outside. In the next chapter we will see some of the things which will be kept outside the city. “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (Revelation 22:15). This is what will make Heaven such a wonderful place. I’m sure we often wish we could get away from some of the people we have to deal with in this life. While we’re on the earth it will not be possible, we will always have to deal with very carnal and evil people. But when this life is over we can either spend eternity in Hell with all of those people we wanted so badly to get away from, or we can spend it in Heaven with people who will all be righteous, those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life because of their faithful service to God.

[2] Strong, 1982, s.v. “Greek #4633.”

[7] Strong, 1982, s.v. “Greek #5332.”

[9] Americana, 1954, s.v. “foundation.”

[11] Smith, 1986, s.v. “weights and measures.”