Revelation 21:24

 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

·        “How encouraging to note that not all were destroyed when the nations came to do battle against Jerusalem and the Lord Himself. There will also be ‘kings of the earth’ who will be a part of the eternal state.” (Hocking)

·        “Among the mysteries of this new heaven and earth this is set forth to us: that, besides the glorified church, there shall still be dwelling on the renewed earth nations, organized by kings, and [xxii. 2] saved by means of the influences of the heavenly city.” (Alford)

Isiah 60:3  The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Psalm 67:4 Oh, let the nations be lad and sing for joy!  For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth.

Revelation 21:23

 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.  The Lamb is its light.

·        This reminds us that heaven will be a place of pure worship. The things we use to help us worship, but often end up distracting us in worship (such as buildings, music systems, customs, and so forth) will no longer be an issue. Our focus will be totally on the Person we Worship, the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.  (DG)

·        Light speaks of joy, for in the Scriptures light and joy go together. Light speaks of beauty, because without light there is no beauty. Light speaks of knowledge and in heaven we will all know Him as He knows us.  (DG)

Isaiah 60:19-20  “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for the brightness shall the moon give light to you; but the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. 

Ezekiel 48:35  All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be:  THE LORD IS THERE

Revelation 21:22

 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

·        In the ancient world, it was unthinkable to have a great city without many different temples. It’s like saying today, “I saw a great city but I saw no bank in it” or “I saw a great city but I saw no shopping mall in it.” This city is marked by the fact that there is no temple in it.  (DG)

·        For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple: Here, the temple is not removed, but expanded. Everything and every place is holy and the dwelling place of God.  (DG)

Psalm 11:4  The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. 

Psalm 27:4  One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.

Revelation 21:21

 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl.  And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

·        Will that pearl door be propped open all the time or will we simply "pass" right through it no one knows for sure, but what a glorious sight!   (JB)

·        Without spending a lot of time on the different stones and such, I think it is important that in the city where our Father dwells, everything is "precious". . .even the "asphalt is gold!  (JB)

Psalm 24:7  Lift up your heads, O you gates!  And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!  And the King of glory shall come in.

Exodus 24:10  and they saw the God of Israel.  And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens even as clear glass.

Revelation 21:19-20

 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones; the firs foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

·        Jasper . . . sapphire . . . chalcedony: The precise identification of these gemstones in modern terms is difficult, but the impression is of unending, staggering beauty. (DG)

·        “The symbolism is not meant to give the impression of wealth and luxury, but to point to the glory and holiness of God.” (Johnson)

Isaiah 54:11, 12  O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires.  I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones.

Revelation 21:18

 The construction of the wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

·        When we read of jasper and pure gold and all kinds of precious stones, we should take these as literal representations; yet they express realities of another world. We can gain a brief glimpse of what John saw, but we can’t even begin to see it in fullness until we see it with our own eyes.  (DG)

·        John’s use of material riches to describe the city “is his way of bringing out the very great value of what God has for His people.” (Morris)

Exodus 28:20  and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.  They shall be set in gold settings.

Exodus 24:10  and they saw the God of Israel.  And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens even as clear glass.

Revelation 21:17

 Then he measured its wall:  one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

·        The size of the New Jerusalem is enormous; twelve thousand furlongs equals 1,500 miles. This is the same distance from Maine to Florida; the square footage would approximate the size of the Moon.  (DG)

·        “A city of this size is too large for the imagination to take in. John is certainly conveying the idea of splendor. And, more importantly, that of room for all.” (Leon Morris)

·        Henry Morris, guessing that there will have been 100 billion people in the human race, and that 20% of them will be saved, calculates that each person would have a “block” with about 75 acres on each face to “call their own.”  (DG)

Psalm 39:4 LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.

Isaiah 2:15 Upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall

Revelation 21:16

 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth.  And he measured the city with the reed:  twelve thousand furlongs.  Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

·        The New Jerusalem’s length, height and width are equal. This means that it is either a cube or a pyramid.  (DG)

·        A cube is reminiscent of the Holy Place of the tabernacle, suggesting that the entire city is the Holy Place. (DG)

Ezekiel 43:16  The altar hearth is twelve cubits long twelve wide, square at the four corners..

Ezekiel 40:3  He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze.  He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

Revelation 21:15

 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

·        In Rev 11:2 the non-measuring of the outer courts of the temple implied it’s being given up to secular and heathen desecration. So here, on the contrary, the city being measured implies the entire consecration of every part, all things being brought up to the most exact standard of God's holy requirements, and also God's accurate guardianship henceforth of even the most minute parts of His holy city from all evil. (JFB)

Ezekiel 40:3  He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze.  He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

Zechariah 2:1  Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.

 

Revelation 21:14

 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

·        The names of the tribes on the gates communicate the unity and heritage that the people of God have with Israel. God will never forget the tribes of Israel, even unto eternity. (DG)

·        As architects often have their names inscribed on their great works, so the names of the apostles shall be held in everlasting remembrance.  (JFB)

Genesis 49:28  All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them.  And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Psalm 48:2  Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

Revelation 21:12-13

 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:  three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

·        The wall for security.  Heaven is a safe state.  (MH)

·        The height of it is sufficient both for ornament and security (MH)

·        Twelve gates – answering to the twelve tribes of Israel (MH)

Psalm 69:28  Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

Daniel 12:1  “….And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.”

Revelation 21:10-11

 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.  Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

·        The entire city of Jerusalem, both heavenly and earthly, will be dynamically connected and considered “Jesus’ Throne of Glory”, because everyone and everything related to the City will be under His direct influence and serving His governmental purposes. In the Catholic world, Vatican City is but a dim earthly glimpse of this ultimate heavenly reality.  (CS)

·        Jesus’ Throne of Glory in the earthly city of Jerusalem will actually be inside of the Holy of Holies in the Millennial Temple (Ezek. 43:4-7). Jesus’ kingly throne and “presidential oval office” will be in the prayer room or the House of Prayer that is leading the global prayer movement across the earth. (CS)

 Ezekiel 40:2  In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city.

Isaiah 52:1  Awake, awake!  Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city!  For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you.

Revelation 21:9

 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

·         God has a variety of work and employment for His holy angels.  They readily execute every commission they receive from God.  (MH)

·         This heavenly city is literal, but it is called the bride, the Lamb’s wife because it is the place where all God’s people are gathered. In this sense the New Jerusalem is certainly like the bride; but this association doesn’t diminish the reality behind the image. The city is associated with the bride to awe us with a sense of its beauty.  (DG)

Jeremiah 19:8  I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.

Isaiah 62:5  For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Revelation 21:8

But the cowardly, unbelieving, 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.”

·        But the Jesus-rejecting and apostate are specifically prohibited from entering the New Jerusalem. (DG)

·        Cowardly: Is cowardice enough to send a person to hell? “John is not speaking of natural timidity, but of that cowardice which in the last resort chooses self and safety before Christ.” (Morris) John Trapp spoke of these “Cowardly recreants, white-livered milk-sops, that pull in their horns for every pile of grass that toucheth them, that are afraid of every new step.”  (DG)

Psalm 89:46  How long, LORD?  Will You hide Yourself forever?  Will Your wrath burn like fire?

Isaiah 1:31  The strong shall be as tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench.

Revelation 21:7

 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

·        Those who overcome (by faith in Jesus, as in 1 John 5:5) enjoy a special relationship with God  (DG)

·        The tenure and title by which they enjoy this blessedness as the sons of God, a title most sure and indefeasible (MH)

Zechariah 8:8  I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, they shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.

Psalm 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever.