Revelation 21:9–22:5

21:9 One of the angels holding the seven bowls (cf. 15:1–16:21) approaches John and speaks to him. This time he shows John a beautiful and entrancing vision, summoning him to see the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Earlier John had referred to the bride and the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:7–8) and compared the new Jerusalem to a bride dressed for her husband (21:2). He now sees the church as a bride of unrivaled beauty.

21:10 John is carried away in the Spirit of prophecy (cf. comment on 1:10) to a great and high mountain, just as Ezekiel was brought to a mountain to see the building of a city-temple: “In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south” (Ezek. 40:2). God often discloses himself to his servants, from Sinai onward, on a mountain. We see the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision here in Revelation, as the whole world is God’s temple. There is no literal temple, but the temple (the universe where God dwells) is portrayed as a city. Hence, it is clear that a proper interpretation of Ezekiel 40–48 does not foresee the building of a literal temple. Ezekiel’s vision of the temple is highly symbolic, pointing to God’s presence among his people. Just as the Spirit inspired Ezekiel to see the glory of God in the temple (Ezek. 43:5), so too the Spirit lifts John up to see God’s glory in the new temple. The fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy is the new creation, the new world, where God’s glory dwells in his temple (the entire universe). Here John sees the holy city, Jerusalem (cf. Tob. 13:9), coming down from heaven. The transcendent and heavenly character of the city is emphasized, as John adds that it is from God.

As in Revelation 21:2, the new Jerusalem is linked with the people of God; once again the city designates both a people and a place. Everything said about Jerusalem and Zion in the OT (cf. comments on 3:12; 21:2) is fulfilled in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city where God dwells. This city stands in contrast to Babylon, the harlot city, which John was earlier carried away in the Spirit to see. In contrast, Jerusalem is clean and holy and stunningly beautiful—not a prostitute but a faithful and chaste bride.

21:11 The beauty of the heavenly Jerusalem is breathtaking; it shimmers with the glory of God (Isa. 58:8; 60:1–2, 19; Ezek. 43:2–5; Rev. 21:23; 22:5). Its radiance and loveliness are comparable to jewels of exquisite color and brightness. The city is like a rare piece of jasper and shines as clear as crystal.

21:12–13 John continues to describe the city, telling us it has a massive, high wall and twelve gates. In the ancient world, a wall protected a city from enemies, so this high wall symbolizes the city’s safety from all enemies (cf. Ezek. 40:5). The wall also has twelve gates: three each on the east, north, south, and west (cf. Luke 13:29). At the gates are twelve angels, again suggesting the city is protected from anything that would destroy it. On the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. The number twelve is almost certainly symbolic, signifying that the OT people of God are in the city. The promise that Israel would be restored has been fulfilled in the people of God, the church of Jesus Christ. We think also of Exodus 28:21 and 39:14, where the twelve tribes of Israel are represented by twelve stones in the high priest’s ephod, again suggesting protection for the people of God.

21:14 John’s attention returns to the city wall; it has twelve foundations, inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Jesus chose twelve apostles for his ministry (Matt. 10:2–4; Mark 3:14–19; Luke 6:13–16), the number twelve signifying the apostles as the nucleus of the new people of God, the new Israel. Paul says something quite similar, calling the apostles and NT prophets the foundation of God’s new temple (Eph. 2:20), the cornerstone of the church of Jesus Christ. John is likewise teaching that the one people of God is grounded on the apostolic testimony. There are not two peoples of God (Israel and the church) but one people, now that the new covenant is realized in its fullness. As the OT points forward to, anticipates, and is fulfilled in the NT, the people of God are centered on the revelation of Jesus Christ mediated through apostolic testimony (cf. 1 John 1:1–4).

21:15–16 The one speaking with John, presumably the angel of Revelation 21:9, had a golden measuring rod in his hand to measure the city and its gates and walls. Measuring the city signifies that it is protected and safe (cf. 11:1). The city is built foursquare, having the same length and width. When measured, the city is 12,000 stadia, which some versions translate into modern measurements; the NRSV, e.g., reads “fifteen hundred miles.” Departing from the 12,000 stadia in the translation is a mistake, however, obscuring the symbolism of the number twelve multiplied by one thousand; the size of the city dwarfs any conceivable city and is far larger than the country of Israel. In other words, John is not saying the city is literally fifteen hundred miles, a ridiculously large size.¹ Instead, he is communicating that the city is a perfect place to reside. This symbolic nature is evident from the next phrase, for the city is a perfect cube—its length, width, and height are equal (cf. Ezek. 45:2). This evokes the Most Holy Place in the temple, which was also a perfect cube: “twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high” (1 Kings 6:20). This indicates not that the city is literally fifteen hundred miles, but that it is like a massive Most Holy Place. The city is where God dwells! The entire universe is like the Most Holy Place of the temple.

21:17 The wall of the city, noted in verses 12–14, is featured again and measured. It is difficult to know if the height or the width of the wall is in view, though it is probably the former. The measurement is clearly symbolic, for the wall is 144 cubits, or twelve times twelve. The symbolism is even clearer from the next statement, for John says the 144 cubits is a human measurement, but also the measurement of the angel. Referring to the measurement of angels is very strange. John does not expect readers to say, “Of course, that makes sense. It is the measurement angels use.” Instead, by appealing to the measurement employed by angels, he is signaling to the readers that this is symbolism—none of us knows angelic measurements! The great height or thickness of the wall symbolizes absolute safety and security; no one can breach or get over the top of this wall. The city is a walled city (like most cities in the ancient world) and is therefore impregnable.

21:18 The wall is built of jasper, and the city is pure gold and like clear glass. Why is this important? Clear glass was very unusual in the ancient world, since the technology to make it was rare. Most glass was opaque and therefore difficult to see through. Both the wall and the city, then, are indescribably beautiful. Those who dwell in the city will be ennobled by its superb artistry and eye-catching splendor. The city reflects the glory and beauty of God himself.

21:19–21 The wall of the city, as we have already seen, has twelve foundations and twelve gates (vv. 12–14), and the number twelve, as we have repeatedly seen in Revelation, is symbolic. Verses 19–20 describe the foundations, and verse 21 the gates. The foundations of the city consist of twelve different kinds of beautiful jewels. We should probably not read significance into each jewel specifically—they simply drive home the beauty of the city and echo Isaiah’s description of future Jerusalem: “I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones” (Isa. 54:11–12). The jewels also remind us of the twelve stones on the high priest’s breastplate symbolizing the tribes of Israel, whom the high priest represents before the Lord (Ex. 28:17–20; cf. Ezek. 28:13). Each gate of the city is made of a single pearl, and the streets are of gold comparable to transparent glass. These symbols communicate the perfection of the new creation, the glory of God in it, and the purity of his people.

21:22 John relays some surprising features of the new creation. It is quite striking that he sees no temple in the city. Instead, the temple is Almighty God and the Lamb. In the portrayal of the new creation in 7:15, John had said that believers “serve [God] day and night in his temple.” We have no contradiction here—the whole new creation is God’s temple, in which his people serve Almighty God and the Lamb as they abide together. This also speaks to the Lamb’s equivalence with God, showing him to be fully God, sharing his very nature.

21:23 In the new creation there is no need for illumination by sun or moon (cf. Isa. 24:23; 2 Esd. 7:39, 42), for the light will stream from the glory of God (cf. 21:11; 22:5), and the lamp for the world will be the Lamb. This statement perhaps refers not to physical illumination but to the true enlightenment flowing from God and the Lamb, fulfilling the words of Isaiah: “The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended” (Isa. 60:19–20). It is striking that John calls upon a text typically understood by many to refer to the millennium and applies it to the new heaven and new earth, suggesting the language of the OT prophets is fulfilled fundamentally in the new creation in a way that is not necessarily “literal”—he is not necessarily saying there will be no celestial lights in the new earth.

21:24 John again appropriates Isaiah 60, seeing its fulfillment in the new creation. The nations will walk by the glory and light streaming from the Lord and the Lamb (cf. Isa. 60:3). Everyone in the heavenly city will be illumined and strengthened by the Lord. As Psalm 36:9 says, “In your light do we see light.” Life can be lived only in the light of the Lord, for he is our “light” and “salvation” (Ps. 27:1). In John’s Gospel, we read that in Jesus “was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4), for he is the “light of the world” (John 8:12). The kings of the nations will also bring their glory into the city (cf. Ps. 72:10). As Isaiah 60:5 says, “The wealth of the nations shall come to [Jerusalem]” (cf. Ps. 68:29), while Isaiah 60:11 declares, “People [will] bring to you the wealth of the nations.” It seems John is saying that every good and beautiful thing from the old creation will be in the new creation. Nothing of beauty will be lost. Instead, it will be present in a perfected and incorruptible way.

21:25 We have seen earlier that the wall of the new Jerusalem is impregnable, unbreachable (21:12, 17). Now we are told the gates of the wall are always open, another fulfillment of Isaiah 60: “Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut” (Isa. 60:11). The apocalyptic and symbolic character of Revelation is clearly evident, for there is no use having a high and thick wall if the gates are open all the time! Believers in the heavenly city are so safe that the gates of the city are never shut. There are no enemies on the outside, for they are confined to the lake of fire. The gates are not open to welcome those from hell, as some argue—we find no suggestion in the book that some in the lake of fire migrate to the heavenly city.

John also addresses the dangers associated with darkness and night, for at night enemies creep near and attack without being observed. But there is no need to fear, for night never comes (cf. Rev. 22:5). John draws on Zechariah 14:7, which records what will happen on the day of the Lord: “There shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.” John is not speaking literally about whether there is darkness in the new creation (cf. Rev. 22:5); darkness stands for evil. Thus evil is completely absent in the new creation; there is nothing that can remove the peace and security and goodness of what is to come, for the glory of God and the lamp of the Lamb provide unending light to the city.

21:26 John reverts to the message of verse 24, saying that the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into the new Jerusalem. No one should fear that anything good or delightful will be lacking. Indeed, it will be present to an even greater degree. Again, we should not read this to say that good things are continually brought into the city, nor that those who are evil can change their status and eventually enter the city.

21:27 Everything good, and nothing defiled or anyone who does what is detestable or false, will be in the city (cf. 22:15). There are many OT prophecies that nothing unclean will be present when God brings his kingdom. Isaiah 35 looks forward to return from exile and the coming of the kingdom, declaring that the unclean will not be on the highway to Zion (Isa. 35:8). No one uncircumcised or unclean will enter the city of God (Isa. 52:1). Joel also promises that, in the day of the Lord, Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will not enter (Joel 3:17; cf. Ezek. 44:9). Zechariah envisions a day when “Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy” (Zech. 14:21). Only those inscribed in the Lamb’s book of life will be in the city (cf. Rev. 17:8; 20:12, 15; 22:19; cf. Isa. 4:3); they will enter the gates of the city because they have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14; 22:14).

22:1–2 Both Zechariah (14:8) and Ezekiel (47:1) prophesy that in the last days a river will flow from Jerusalem and the temple. The image of the river is used to describe replenishment and refreshment for God’s people. As Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.” We see the ultimate fulfillment of these prophecies in Revelation. This is no ordinary river—it has the “water of life” (cf. John 4:10; 7:37). It is as clean and bright as crystal, unsullied by pollutants; it flows from God’s throne and the Lamb and runs down “the middle of the great street of the city,” showing that life comes from God and the Lamb. John seems to say that one or more trees of life stand on each side of the river, harking back to Genesis (Gen. 2:9; 3:17, 22, 24; cf. Rev. 2:7; 22:14, 19; cf. comment on Rev. 2:7). The tree yields twelve kinds of fruit, and its leaves are “for the healing of the nations,” echoing Ezekiel 47:12: “On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing” (cf. 2 Esd. 7:123). This allusion to Ezekiel is especially significant because it comes from a chapter describing the new temple. We see again that the temple prophecy in Ezekiel refers to the new heavens and earth—where there is no literal temple! In the new creation is full and constant replenishment—a river to refresh and enliven, and a tree of life that never grows old or rotten, whose leaves reinvigorate the people of God.

22:3 After Adam and Eve sinned, the ground was cursed and they were expelled from the garden and banned from the tree of life (Gen. 3:17, 22–24). We saw in the previous verse that the tree of life is given to the saints, and now John affirms that there is nothing cursed in the heavenly city, for all its members have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 1:5; 7:14). The freedom from curse accords with Zechariah’s vision of Jerusalem: “There shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security” (Zech. 14:11). Remarkably, God’s throne is shared by the Lamb (cf. Jer. 3:17)—he shares God’s identity. Their throne is in the new city, and thus God reigns in the new Jerusalem, the heavenly city, forever and ever. This fits with the end of Ezekiel’s vision of the temple in Jerusalem, which says the name of the city shall forever be, “The LORD Is There” (Ezek. 48:35). The presence of God is what sets the city apart (Rev. 7:15; 21:3, 23). When the saints see God as he is, they will worship him as Lord (cf. 7:15; 19:5); they will bow before their king and glorify him with gladness and inexpressible joy.

22:4 What makes the new creation new is the presence of God, and his servants will enjoy the greatest blessing imaginable: “They will see his face.” This is commonly called the “beatific vision.” It is impossible to describe what this will be like, since none of us has yet experienced it. As Psalm 17:15 says, “I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.” The greatest agony in life is to be separated from God (Ps. 42:3), but those who are “pure in heart . . . shall see God” (Matt. 5:8; cf. 1 Cor. 13:12; 1 John 3:2). God’s name will be imprinted on the forehead of those who are his (cf. Rev. 3:12; 7:3; 14:1), just as the mark of the beast is on the forehead and hands of those who give themselves to evil (13:17; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). John is not thinking literally, as if there were an actual mark on the forehead of God’s servants. The point is that God’s servants are identifiably his; they are God’s and will enjoy him forever.

22:5 John circles back to the theme of light, since there will be no night in the city (cf. 21:25; Isa. 60:19)—there will be no smidgen of evil in any corner. There is no need for lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be the light for his people (cf. Rev. 21:23). And God’s people will fulfill what was intended in the beginning; they will reign forever, fulfilling the mandate originally given to Adam (cf. also Dan. 7:18, 27; Luke 22:30; 1 Cor. 6:2; 2 Tim. 2:12). They will be kings and priests over the new creation (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; cf. 20:4; Rom. 5:17).