| 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. | After the Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ this present earth and universe will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10-13, Isaiah 34:4, Isaiah 51:6). This will make way for the creation of a new earth and universe. The original earth took six days in creating, but the new earth will be created in an instant. This means that everything will be created just as it was in the beginning. Because of this we know that there will be no more sickness, pain and death, no more storm, floods or natural disasters. Is seems that the earth will be a single land mass as it was in the beginning. "No more sea" may mean that there will be no oceans (though there will be lakes and rivers), or that the water will be in a single position rather than having several oceans and seas. This new creation is eternal (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). | |
| 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. | There is to be a New Jerusalem on the New Earth. This city will represent God's presence on earth just as it did when the first earthly temple was built. We shall learn more about the New Jerusalem in the next part of our study. It should be noted that this city is not designed or constructed on earth, but literally comes down from Heaven. John speaks of her like a bride adorned for her husband. This has led some to believe that this city is symbolic of the Church. This should not be read into the text or else we will have to reinterpret Revelation according to a historical setting. This is the mistake that the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformed Churches have fallen into. | |
| 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. | Here we have the true meaning of the New Jerusalem. It is the dwelling place of God on earth. God built the first earth so than He could have fellowship with man. This is exactly what is going to happen in the future new earth. This is going to be Heaven on earth! No other so-called gods, not even a mention of them. Allah, Krishna, and Buddha will be totally unknown. The whole earth will serve one God. His presence will never leave His people. | |
| 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. | Everything of the old earth will be forgotten. This verse reveals that life will be perfect on the new earth. Sin and suffering will be unknown. Never again will even one tear of sadness be shed (Revelation 7:17, Isaiah 25:8, Isaiah 65:19). | |
| 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. | Nothing of the old earth will remain or else it will be built upon death. This means that there will be no fossil or archaeological records to be found. God is always true to His word, so if everything is going to be new (rather than renewed or restored) then it is going to be. Revelation declares God to be the Creator of both the old earth and the new, only fools disbelieve this. | |
| 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. | He is the Sovereign Lord, the eternal God. In God's purposes this is already done. He knows the end from the beginning. The clock has been set, the hours are ticking away, and the time will come when all this will be a completed. All who trust and believe in Him and His word will have eternal life without price. Those who are thirsty enough are invited to eternal fellowship with God. | |
| 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. | Those who receive Christ as Lord and Saviour must overcome the old earth if they are to be citizens of the new. We must live as the sons of God in this present evil world (Philippians 2:15). Those who refuse to bow to this world will inherit the new earth and all the blessings God has promised. While we await this event faith must be upheld and used to stand firm. | |
| 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 outcome for those who do not overcome, but compromise with the world, is very different. The list in this verse is very complete. Not only are these evils in the world but also in the church today. These are the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-20). Are many churches free from such things? Those who practice these things, regardless if they claim to be Christians, are doomed to the Lake of Fire unless they repent. The point is; it is our choice, will we be citizens of Heaven or of the Lake of Fire? | |
| 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 show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. | An angel calls John to view the New Jerusalem, the capital city of the new earth. The city is described as being the bride of Christ. This has led some to interpret the New Jerusalem as being symbolic of the Church. The actual city is being described here, but every city has its inhabitants. Both the location and the people are called the city. If we were to say, "The whole city went to the football game", we surely don't belief that the buildings moved from their places. If we keep this in context with the rest of the text and with Revelation 3:12 the explanation is simple … "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." The bride (wife) of Christ is the citizenship of the New Jerusalem. Every city reflects the glory and honour of its people. The people make the city glorious. | |
| 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, | John is carried to a high mountain (place) to view the New Jerusalem descending from Heaven. He was given a great vantage point so that he could describe as fully of possible what he saw in his vision. | |
| 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; | As mentioned above, the city reflects the glory of its inhabitants, and since we know that New Jerusalem will be God's dwelling place, it reflects His glory most of all. The whole city radiated with brilliant light. The colour of the light was green like a jasper stone yet crystal clear. | |
| 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: | The walls are great and high. We will come to the measurements of the city in verse 16. Within the walls are set twelve gates. Each gate has the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel upon it. At each gate an angel stands guard. This should be taken literally or else what would the symbolism mean? If it describes the church then we need to figure out what it means in the light of Scripture. John said it describes the New Jerusalem! | |
| 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. | The city stands four square. Each wall (east, north, south and west) has three gates. Truly New Jerusalem will be the centre of the New Earth. The nations of the earth will come from all directions to pay homage to the King of Heaven and Earth. | |
| 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. | The city wall has twelve foundation stones laid in it. There may be three on each side of the wall. The stones are engraved with the names of the twelve apostles of Christ. | |
| 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. | John is handed a measuring stick to measure the city, its gates and its walls. This means that the city has shape and size, therefore cannot be symbolic. | |
| 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 is square and is a wide as it is long and high. This is an enormous city! It is 1,500 miles long, wide and high. This means in total 2,225,000 square miles or 3,375,000,000 cubit miles. The height is probably the measurement of its tallest building. | |
| 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. | The walls are 144 cubits or 266 feet. Many commentators see this as referring to the thickness of the walls, but it can just as well indicate their height. It is not common for walls to be as high as the city they surround. | |
| 18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. | The walls are made of jasper stone. The walls will sparkle with the reflected glory of God. The city itself is constructed from pure, crystal clear gold. The buildings will be dazzling gold which again speaks of God's glory. It is impossible for man to purify gold so that it is clear as glass, but God will. | |
| 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; | Now John describes the twelve foundation stones more fully. It is impossible for us to add a particular name to each of the stones, but John does say what precious stone they are constructed from. 1st Stone: Jasper - a green rock-like crystal. 2nd Stone: Sapphire - a sky-blue stone with specks of gold. 3rd Stone: Chalcedony - luminous green like a peacocks tail. 4th Stone: Emerald - the greenest of all gemstones. |
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| 20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. | 5th Stone: Sardonyx - this stone has various colours within it, white, red, and brown. 6th Stone: Sardius: a blood-red stone. 7th Stone: Chrysolite - a dazzling green stone. 8th Stone: Beryl - Sea-blue / green stone. 9th Stone: Topaz - a transparent greenish gold stone. 10th Stone: Chrysoprasus - an apple green stone. 11th Stone: Jacinth - a violet, bluish-purple stone. 12th Stone: Amethyst - a violet, bluish-purple stone, but more dazzling than the jacinth. Did you ever wonder why the devil has the new age crowd running around after crystals? He's trying to counterfeit God's New Jerusalem. |
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| 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. | The gates of the city are made from gigantic pearls. One pearl for each gate. If you think they're huge, what about the oyster they came from! The roads of the New Jerusalem are pure, crystal clear gold. This is the place where the Lord Jesus Christ promised to build you a mansion! | |
| 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. | The city will require no building for a temple. God the Father and Jesus are its temple. Notice that temple is singular. Do you still doubt the Trinity? The place of worship will be at the feet of God Almighty. No one will be without the presence of God. This also means that there will be no need of ceremonies, rituals or other human forms of worship. Then it will certainly be true … "They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). | |
| 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. | There will be no sun, moon or stars illuminating the New Jerusalem. Instead God's glory will be its sole source of light. Who is the Light - the Lamb - for Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5). | |
| 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 honour into it. | All the saved will walk in the light radiating from Christ. This also means that the city, as the earth's capital, will influence all the other cities on earth at that time. They will be governed in the knowledge, righteousness and purity of God. The leaders of other nations, and their peoples, will honour and worship the King of kings and Lord of lords. Who are the kings of these nations? Revelation 5:10 may be of great significance to us … "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." The whole earth will have access to God. | |
| 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. | The twelve gates remain open forever. It will be constantly be daytime. There will never be any night. This again speaks of unbroken access to God. Since there is no night does that mean there will be no sleeping? How can we say? But we do know we will rest in the Lord forever. | |
| 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. | It is reiterated again that the glory of nations will be brought into the New Jerusalem to God. Jesus Christ will be the King over all the earth … "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this" (Isaiah 9:6-7). | |
| 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. | Only truly born again believers have part of the citizenship of the New Jerusalem. No evil, compromising, ecumenical, perverted person will ever enter in. If your name is not in the Lamb's Book of life on this side of eternity you will not enter into His New Jerusalem on the other side. |