There is at least the possibility that John was thinking of the city of God as the consummation of the old idea of the city of the Gods, but far outshining it. 16 The city lies four-square, and its length is the same as its breadth. is a word to him that hears. The question is, why is she thus designated? They were judged every man according to their works. For in speaking matter into existence, He brought the protons and electrons and assembled them together. Then, when the Lamb and His purchase by blood are celebrated in heaven, the four living creatures join the elders, though each is distinct. And the building of the wall was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. It was most likely the stone now known as lapis lazuli. This too must not be viewed as if it were a loss. WebRevelation 21:8 Adj-DMP GRK: NAS: But for the cowardly and unbelieving KJV: But the fearful, and unbelieving, INT: but to [the] fearful and But here there is neither; and this again is an evidence of gain, not of loss. Again John may have been thinking of the vast stones in the foundations of the Jerusalem Temple. They were caught in flagrant treason and rebellion: what further need of any process of judgment whatsoever? Revelation 18:1-24 need not delay us long. All He is going to do is relax and let it go, and the whole material universe will go up in one gigantic puff. It sounds too good to be true. The seventh bowl contained under it the fall of Babylon, which "was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.". It would have been incongruous to bring in that long description before, because this must have interrupted the flow of the prophetic stream. Thus (without speaking of the resurrection of the wicked at the close) there were certainly more acts than one, not to speak of the two witnesses put to death and caused to rise after three days and a half, when the spirit of life entered them, and they not only arose, but went up to heaven, as we know. But it was no such evil which astounded the prophet. (i) It has a background in the great mythological beliefs of John's time. Line-By-Line Order: Verse-Reference. It is partly because of this that many excellent men have endeavoured to apply the vision to Romanism; and I admit that there is found a measure of analogy. Johns first vision of the New Jerusalem 21:2-8. Capnionis, which was used by Erasmus, and lately discovered after a long obscurity by Dr. Delitzsch, reads (not ) . As long as Rome was pagan, there was neither the full bearing of the seven heads, nor did so much as one of the ten horns exist. But that idea is wholly insufficient to cover or meet the word of God, which gives clear and strong reasons that prove the mistake of applying this to the pope as its complete fulfilment. They lived, and were put therefore into a place and condition suitable for reigning with Christ, no less than the Old Testament saints and the church itself. Holman Christian Standard Bible Then I Here it is the positive worship of the creature besides the Creator, yea, and notoriously more than He. Verse 6 commends these sayings afresh. "I will be his father," said God, "and he shall be my son" ( 2 Samuel 7:14). 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. It will exist separate from the new heaven and earth and the New Jerusalem. Here is symbolism which is plain for all to see. The Precious Stones Of The City ( Revelation 21:18-21). but it does not follow that various bodies are not raised at different times. All peoples, nations and languages will serve the one who is like a son of man ( Daniel 7:14). It was common enough for cities to be built in the form of a square; both Babylon and Nineveh were like that. Who are the persons thus invested with judicial authority of so glorious a nature and to reign, as we see later, with Christ? And I heard the great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, [God is now going to dwell in the midst among His people.] He measured the city with his measuring rod, and the measurement was twelve thousand stades. 1. The greatness of this future felicity is declared and illustrated, 1. Observe, 1. It is of the seven in that point of view, because it is imperialism; but it is an eighth, because it has a diabolical source when raised up again. It is not therefore a question of virtual idols suitable to ensnare the children of God, but of that which is adapted to the earth itself, thorough-going palpable idolatry. "God so loved that he gave " ( John 3:16). 1 A New World The vision pictures a new heavens and a new earth with a new Jerusalem. When the beast dares to fight with the Lamb He shall overcome the beast; and they that are with Him, "called and chosen and faithful" terms, as a whole, entirely inapplicable to the angels. The thrones were already filled. He is no longer to be allowed to prowl about the world ensnaring and destroying. WebREVELATION 21 Parallel KJVand Greek Bible (New Testament) 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 WebFor the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. And he said: "Write, for these are words that are trustworthy and true." All the sufferers, either in the early persecutions of Revelation 6:1-17, or in the later persecutions (see Revelation 15:1-8) up to Babylon's extinction, were now raised from the dead. He was the word of God in the revelation of grace; when known, by and by, it will be as the executor of God's judgments. The bride breathes out this word to the bridegroom; and the Holy Ghost it is that gives strength to her desire that He should come. Sorrow is to be forgotten; sin is to be vanquished; darkness is to be at an end; the temporariness of time is to turn into the everlastingness of eternity. On the contrary, it proved the immediateness of communion. It is the fault, however, of the bad Greek text of Erasmus, Stephens, etc. Some things which seem vastly important are seen to be unimportant when seen in the light of God. It is an evident contrast with the state supposed in the wheat-and-tare field of Christendom which is found at the end of the age. Idolaters Those who offer any kind of worship or religious reverence to any thing but God. And once again the invitation for those that are thirsty, "He will give the fountains of living water freely. No one can say for certain what much of the symbolism of this chapter stands for. This disposes of many a web of comments; for we find at once what is perfectly simple, what any child of God who believes this to be the word of God must own. What is condemned is the cowardice which denies Christ for safety's sake. It is no longer a question either of celebrating the ways and counsels of God, or of the war with the beast and king. By the vastly different state of the wicked. A single verse dispels clouds of arguments. The west is the land of the dying day and the setting sun. Although there is such a levelling of human distinctions, and men have to do directly with God that is men raised from the dead or in their changed condition we still see the holy Jerusalem "the holy city, new Jerusalem," separate from the rest of those that fill the new heaven and earth. The account given of Babylon inRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18 does not follow Revelation 14:1-20 or Revelation 16:1-21 in point of prophetic time, but differs from them in structure. ", 2. This would not be fitting for the church nor the Christian. The first heaven will pass away, and the new heaven shall appear; the light of heaven will be seven times brighter; and the new creation will last for ever (Enoch 91:16). Such is the hard bondage which mere historical tradition imposes on its votaries. It was blood-red, and was the commonest of all stones used for engraving gems. Again, that it supposes Rome after it had professed the name of Christ I think is not to be doubted, if only from the expression "mystery" attached to Babylon. There are many who are not so; but the Lord does not forget them. I say "righteousnesses," not "righteousness." (Revelation 21:5). The certainty of the promise averred: These words are faithful and true; and it follows, It is done, is as sure as if it were done already. The writer of 2 Esdras was, he says, given a vision of it in so far as it was possible for human eyes to bear the sight of the heavenly glory ( 2Esther 10:44-59). Thus eternal judgment was executed at once. That is not at all the way in which the guests are spoken of. "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white, pure.". So, there are glorious things. WebRevelation 21:7-8 New International Version 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But here is a mystery altogether different: "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.". All is opened, and this because we have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us; "for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." But, Rev. For that which comes distinctly before us in this one verse is the twofold fact, that the ten horns here contemplated receive their kingly power for the same hour or time as the beast, and not subsequently, when his rule was extinguished. All his life the merchantman would seek the pearl of great price and then count it worth selling all his possessions to buy it ( Matthew 13:46). help them, the heaven, and God's chariot the sun, and the moon. Again, it was not the modern sapphire. Those that do rise at the same time rise, no doubt, in a moment; but that there are to be various acts of resurrection is not only not contrary to scripture, but required by its own descriptions. It is an order that is holy and beautiful, where God and his people live together in the closest fellowship. A mysterious lawlessness inherits the well-known name of Babylon when Rome is brought forward; and it does not merely embrace Christian times, but the end of the age after the church has gone, when the course of divine judgment comes. WebThis lesson is a study of Revelation 21:1-8. John goes on to speak of the twelve foundations of the city. In the eternal state no such distinction exists, because God now dwells with his people in an order of life never before experienced. The murderers may well be those who in persecutions slaughtered the Christians. There is no greater honour in all the universe than that which God gives to the man who is true to him. Thus everything implies their simultaneous presence for the same time and common action with the beast, in plundering and then destroying Babylon. Their doom was awful, but by no means after the same sort as their two leaders. [2.] The sins of those who perish, among which are first mentioned their cowardliness and unbelief. To the same world in which He suffered, according to the scriptures, He will come back. Yet religion, be it ever so corrupt, acts as a restraint on human will, as a government does, however evil. Scholz's note ("rec. There are three gates on the east. The Romans were the greatest experts in government the world has ever seen. As long as they feel their need of him, he will supply that need (5-6). It is written to be believed, not to be ignored or explained away. The wall cannot be for defence, for all hostile beings, spiritual and human, have been obliterated or cast into the lake of fire. For according to unquestionable testimony the Reuchlinian copy has like some half-dozen cursives, which was probably a mistake for . Web[ 1] Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. prosperity, says the Lord of hosts ( Haggai 2:9). Still God does not forget His ways with His people; and the angels here are only in the quality of porters, if we may so speak; they are at the gates. A seventh should follow; and what is more, the seventh was in one aspect to be an eighth. People of all races and tongues shall "take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you" ( Zechariah 8:20-23). Unhallowed love will end in hatred. Whether it were the Old Testament saints and the church, or the Apocalyptic saints, if I may so distinguish them, it was in an instant that each were raised, but there was some space between them. In fact, he makes it clear that the future state of things is vastly different from the present. This being so, it adds immense clearness in the understanding of the book. For who knows not the horrors of Mariolatry? Separate Line. a Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Lev. . There is no doubt of the symbolism which John intends. In short, one may be described as corruption, and the other as violence. , . Just as the city of man's confusion was seen in her vile, degraded, and degrading relations with the beast, this city is seen in her pure and glorious relations with the Lamb. Here I am obliged to say that our authorized version, and not merely it, but our common Greek Testaments, are altogether wrong. What the symbolism of that would be it is impossible to tell, unless it is John's way of saying that the city of the gods is made new in the city of God. "The ten horns which thou sawest AND the beast" would give unquestionably the right form of the verse. If they have only heard His voice, this after all is the incalculable boon; yea, it is the turning-point of all blessing. Observe, 1. [ 2] In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. 10. This also is a no less important element for understanding the chapter. The Egyptians saw it as the power which swallowed up the waters of the Nile and left the fields barren. Third, it was made in a Psalm which the Jewish scholars always interpreted of the Messiah. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband ( Revelation 21:2 ). The idolaters are those who worshipped the false gods of whom the world was full. "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it" not into but unto. I am not aware of any MS. in its favour, though some versions represent it. This is a promise for the future. But a grave consideration soon disposes of both views by the relation to the beast, and more particularly by what will be shown a little farther on. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come." Hence He must have come back previously to both. "Surely I come quickly." "The Spirit of prophecy" and such it is all through the Revelation after the seven churches are done with "is the testimony of Jesus." Beloved now are we the sons of God. This city is seen now as the holy vessel of divine power for governing the earth during the millennium, "having the glory of God: and her brightness was like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.". Holman Christian They are all to reign concurrently with the beast. 8 She is permitted to wear the cleanest and whitest and finest of linens. (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.) But now, when those symbols disappear, because of a new action of God (namely, the consummation of the church's joy), the elders and the living creatures disappear, and we have not the bride alone, but another class of saints, who at once come forward. This is probably a reference, primarily, to participants in the rites of paganism and the unmentionable perversions and debaucheries that attended them. May our hearts answer freely to His word of love and truth with our "Amen." "Having a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel." There are probably but few, if any, here who do not understand it as the fore-shadow of a real resurrection. But she has a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication. But, in point of fact, in giving the description of Babylon, the Holy Ghost enters even more into an account of her relations with the beast, the imperial power of which we saw not a little last night. Line-By-Line Order: Verse-Reference. It will be cubed however rather than round and it will be fourteen hundred miles cubed.Now, if we lived dimensionally at that time, you know we live on the surface of the earth, but if you had a cube and we lived dimensionally, it is interesting to get out your pencil and notepad and figure how many square miles you could get in a cube that was fourteen hundred miles in each direction. This falls in with what we have seen of the book in general; but I do not deny that certain elements which figure in the Apocalypse then existed and still exist. WebRev 21:8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, [fn] abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. The New Jerusalem ( cf. This is clearly of moral importance. Man alone is to blame who has misapplied it. The particulars are reserved for a later point in this prophecy. Surely we are meant to see that in the holy city there is room for everyone. What John meant to symbolize by this arrangement other than the catholicity of the Church we do not know. The word used for "light" is phoster ( G5458) . "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse." Try to put them together and they will fight each other. Babylon had once heard the varied testimony of God; for what had she not heard of truth? The twelve apostles of the Lamb will accordingly have their own special place. And idolaters - 1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:19. *It now appears that the Cod. The Whole Earth For God ( Revelation 21:24-27). "After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great crowd in heaven, saying, Alleluia, the salvation, and the glory, and the power of our God: for true and righteous [are] his judgments: because he judged the great harlot, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. Most High God, who is the most righteous of all upon the earth. . This is known so well, and on such decided grounds, that it would be unbecoming to withhold the fact. We gather up three further points before we leave this chapter. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. We can understand a remnant saved out of one or more nations; but who ever heard of "nations of them which are saved"? But the prophecy shows us the beast revived and the separate kings reigning for the same time, before divine judgment destroys them at the coming of Christ and His saints. Here were thrones, and people sat upon them, changed 'before this into the image of Christ's glory. The living creatures are, from Revelation 5:1-14 coupled with the elders, as we find them in the beginning of Revelation 19:1-21. Everything that belongs to the body of Christ is unearthly and unworldly. 2. The woman the strange woman sets forth corruption, human nature indulging itself in its own evil desires, irrespective of God's will. It is always a child of wickedness. "Faithful" is what belongs to a man. When John pictured the nations walking in the light of the city of God and the kings bringing their gifts to it, he was foretelling the consummation of a hope which was always in the hearts of the greatest of his countrymen. "His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems." Even the proclamation of the grace of God is powerless save it be brought home by the quickening energy of His own Spirit. Only when we see things in the light of God, do we see things as they are. The normal Greek word for "light" is phos ( G5457) , and phoster ( G5458) is normally the word used for the lights of heaven, the sun, the moon and the stars, for instance, in the Creation story ( Genesis 1:14). He has, I think, exactly that class in view when He sanctions the calling him who hears to say "Come." Its Hebrew name means the stone of Tarshish. In that story the sea, the waters beneath the firmament, became the dwelling-place of Tiamat. - CBSC. "And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." The decem-regal division of the broken empire in the West, as all know, was long after Rome had ceased to be heathen. It can govern and bless but not convert man. (i) It has a background which is essentially Greek. All is then fixed. The elements will be dissolved and melted with a fervent heat. There will be no time for seeking mercy, as it were: whatever the state in which the Lord at His coming will find us, all is closed up and fixed. We read that in the Messianic Age the Jerusalem which is invisible will appear ( 2Esther 7:26). To the woman at the well He said, "If you drink of this water, you will thirst again, if you drink of the water that I give you will never thirst again"( John 4:13-14 ). We can easily understand that the overthrow of the ecclesiastical power is necessary to leave a full field unimpeded for the imperial power to develop itself in its final form of violence and rebellion and apostacy against the Lord. John 16:7-11 (KJV) 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come u "And he said unto me, It is done. It was but an imperfect view they got even of justification; a far scantier perception, if they could be said to have had any, about Christ's Headship of the church, His priesthood, or almost anything else. (iii) There is another interesting possibility. There are three gates on the south. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman."