Rev. 21:9-279And 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. 10And 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, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12And 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: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And 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. 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19And 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; 20The 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. 21And 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. 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23And 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. 24And 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. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27And 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. (Revelation 21:9‑27)REV 21:9-279And 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. 10And 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, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12And 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: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And 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. 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19And 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; 20The 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. 21And 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. 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23And 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. 24And 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. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27And 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. (Revelation 21:9‑27)
We are considering a heavenly scene, and the most marvelous description of it. The hymn writer put it: "O bright and blessed scenes, where sin can never come." The world is trying to make this poor scene, through which we are passing, a place where men can find their pleasure and satisfaction. But the world is sunk in iniquity and cannot rise to enter into the thoughts which we have before us here in Rev. 21.
In order that even the child of God may enter into the thoughts the Spirit of God is bringing before us here, we have, as it were, to go up to the top of that high mountain. You will find in chapter 17 of Revelation that one of the seven angels also took John to see the woman that rides the beast. That gives us the thought of the false bride, and she is seen in the wilderness. But the angel that shows John this great and holy city takes him up to a high mountain.
When the Lord was transfigured, it tells us that He took Peter, James and John to "a high mountain apart." Then He was transfigured before them. What a blessed thing to get out of the atmosphere of this sinful world, and be engaged for a little while with these heavenly thoughts. Then we can enter into the mind of the Spirit of God, and get a few glimpses of that which lies before our souls—that holy city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God.
We might inquire: In what way does the city descend out of heaven from God? But before we answer this question, we will mention that here we are getting a picture of the bride in her millennial glory. If we want to consider the eternal state, we must look at the first four verses of Rev. 21. Then the Spirit of God takes us forward and shows the bride as she will appear in that day when Christ is reigning and the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.
“I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.”
It is interesting to notice that the angel tells John that he will show him the bride, the Lamb's wife, but when he looks, he sees a city. The Church is looked at in various ways in the Word of God. Paul's special view of the Church, which he received as a revelation, was as the body of Christ—that which He loved and gave Himself for—united by the Spirit of God, with Christ, the glorified Head. But here we have another thought of the Church entirely and that is that the Church is looked at in connection with her government of the earth. Of course, it is only in association with her Bridegroom, the King of kings, that she has any part in that marvelous reign of Christ.
When we see what is happening down here and how this world is developing so fast, we know that man is just winding up his history—he is working out his own destruction. These great cities with the skyscrapers and all the great works of man are soon to come down for we read of a time when "the cities of the nations fell." Rev. 16:1919And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (Revelation 16:19). Then the blessed Lord is going to set up His kingdom down here.
Let us not forget that there are glorious things in prophecy connected with this world in which we are living. You know, there isn't another planet in the whole universe like it. The more the astronomers try to learn something about the planets, the more it is proven that there is not another world, in this solar system at least, where the kind of life that we know could exist. Christians did not have to use telescopes or have astronauts to find out that there was just one world upon which God had focused His thoughts and purposes. And we should never forget that this world is the place where the eternal Son came into a scene of suffering and sorrow, and died to save rebel sinners. God will never forget His thoughts about this world where the cross of Christ raised up the precious Savior to suffer and die for sinners like you and me!
“Descending out of heaven from God.”
We have not answered the question yet about the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God. How does it descend? Does it come down to the earth? No, we find the nations walking in the light of it. When the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, He is not coming down to this earth. When He comes with that shout it is to call His people up to meet Him in the air. So you see that "descending" does not mean that it comes down and settles on this earth; no, it goes just so far—far enough to light up this world with the glory that we will be associated with in company with our Bridegroom.
What a lovely expression, "the bride, the Lamb's wife." I love the thought of the Lamb's wife. It could have said the King's wife, or the wife of the Lord of glory. So there is a special word to bring joy to our hearts when we think of the Lamb, because that very expression tells us of how we who know the Savior are some day going to be united to Him in His victim character—the Lamb that was slain in His love for us.
“Having the glory of God: and her light
was like unto a stone most precious, even
like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.”
We find that the One who sits on the throne in the fourth chapter, where the throne is set for judgment, was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone. I understand that the jasper stone speaks of the glory that you and I can enter into. There are other glories; we are told in 1 Tim. 6:16,16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:16) that God dwells "in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see." But we have a glory here that is for the delight of the creature. And is it not rather striking that the One who sits upon the throne, and the city which is described as the bride, are identical? Yes, we are going to be like the blessed One in His glory some day! The very glory that we see in Christ is going to be displayed in His redeemed ones.
“And had a wall great and high.”
That is the first description we have and a very important description. The Garden of Eden was an un-walled garden. The serpent entered that garden and persuaded man that he was a better friend than the God who had given man all those blessings. Wherever you look in this fair scene, how many beauties there are, the glories, wonders, marvels and majesty of the work of the Creator. But wherever you turn, you see also the sad trail of the serpent. The miseries, the sadness, the heartaches are found wherever you go no matter how beautiful the surroundings may be. But the first thing the Spirit of God would assure us of is this, that the serpent will never enter that heavenly scene—it had a wall "great and high." So we do not have to anticipate another fall of man. No, it is all secure for the redeemed.
“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.”
Here we view the bride in her domain. It would be one thing to see Queen Elizabeth when she was over here in America, but it would be quite another thing to see her in Buckingham Palace. There you see her in her domain. So here you not only have the bride, the Lamb's wife, but we have her in her domain, and in connection with the government of this world below. If you carefully read Scripture, you will find that the gate was where the government of the people was conducted. It speaks of government; twelve is administrative perfection in man.
It all tells of that kingdom which is to be set up. We may be in that kingdom sooner than we anticipate; things are winding up very fast! When the Lord comes, the next thing is that those judgments will come on this earth, and then He is going to set up His kingdom. In a few years all that we are talking about may be realized!
The angels here are just servants. I think it is very touching to see the angels who excel man in power and strength, and who have never sinned or fallen as you and I have, yet they are willing to open their ranks to another people who come into a nearer place of blessing than themselves. Here they are satisfied to be just porters at the gate. How they rejoice in seeing the purposes of God wrought out! We are told that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the all-various wisdom of God.
“And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
That is very precious. When the Lord was eating the last supper with His disciples, they got into a quarrel over who would be the greatest. But that was the very time you find the Lord saying, "Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me; that ye may... sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22:28-3028Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28‑30). The Lord doesn't forget His promises, does He? Here where we get a description of the heavenly scene, what the Lord promised the twelve is seen and they are to have a special place.
James and John wanted to suggest a place for themselves—to sit on His right hand and on His left. But they were not promised that. He told those two that "it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father." It is far better to let the Lord decide the reward, the size, and the gain than to try to decide the matter for ourselves. Leave it to the Lord; serve Him faithfully, and He will see to it that you will not be disappointed. I am sure that when the time comes, and we see what He has prepared for those that love Him, we are going to be so humbled and our hearts will be so filled with delight that we will fill heaven with His praises!
“And he that talked with me had a golden
reed to measure the city, and the gates
thereof, and the wall thereof.”
You will find in the eleventh chapter that there was a reed like unto a rod to measure the temple, for there it is the earthly temple. But here it is a golden reed. Gold, as we know, speaks of divine righteousness. Everything in that heavenly scene is measured by divine righteousness. Thank God, that through grace we have already been made the righteousness of God in Christ!
But alas, we have the old nature still in us and often we are measuring things by the ideas and thoughts of poor, unworthy creatures like ourselves. We begin to measure whether this is wise, or this is worthwhile. And if you get into the higher education, you begin to measure your prospects or your interests by a human measurement if you are not watchful. How delightful it is to look into this scene and find that all that kind of measurement, the rod that is just an earthly thing, is no more. The old nature is gone; you measure everything that unfolds before you and it is all divine. There is nothing to bring sadness, disappointment or regret to your heart.
“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.”
We could picture this city on a map of our North American continent. If we were to measure from the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver, B.C., to Lake Superior; then south on a line to the Gulf of Mexico; west to the Pacific Ocean, and follow a line back to the starting point, we would have the twelve thousand furlongs. Just think of a city described in this way. We know that both Los Angeles and New York are immense cities, but how everything that man has built just fades into insignificance compared to what we are describing here!
We must remember, however, that what we are considering is not something that is literal; everything here is figurative. But it is a figure of something that is real. The way the Spirit of God instructs the saints is to take something that we are familiar with in this world, or we would not have any concept of the things set before us. So He takes a city, and immediately expands into something that is so beyond anything possible down here that we are just lost. Think of a city, the extent of that which we have just described, which has just one street down the center! It shows that it could not be literal. Then think of the amount of gold to cover the walls of a city the length and breadth of what we have been reading about.
Then there is the pearl. The pearl comes out of an oyster. Here is a pearl not only large enough for a door, but for the gate of the city! He just takes something that we are familiar with again and immediately carries us beyond anything down here. So we get a little glimpse of the glories and wonders of what is before us. Then we are just left gazing up, as it were, like those disciples that the Lord took to the Mount of Olives; they followed the Lord to the confines of the unseen world, and were left gazing until the two in white come and say, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" Yes, they tell us that He is coming back; so we gaze, and gaze and wonder. It fills us with the anticipation of what is before our souls. The result is that things down here look very cheap. Think of a pearl of that extent—so large that it fills the gate of that great city—when compared to a pearl in a necklace!
This city is a perfect cube; or finite perfection. The universe is laid out in a circle. There is divine perfection. What we have before us here is suited to the needs of man. So everything is perfectly equal. Everything that we see in the world today is unequal. In some parts of the world people are starving; here we have a superabundance. Everywhere we go things are out of order. One is in good health and another a poor cripple. Some people blame God for it all, but who brought sin into the world? Did God bring it into the world? He did not! He told His creatures how they could keep it out of the world but man brought it in and ruined everything. Here we have a scene which is described in this way, "When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.”
“He measured the wall thereof, a hundred
and forty and four cubits, according to the
measure of a man, that is, of the angel.”
The very fact that it speaks of the angel shows that there is divine power in connection with all the blessings that are found there. And yet, it is the measure of a man. We are going to be men for all eternity and so is our blessed Lord and Savior! Here is a theme that is suited for man in his likeness to Christ Himself. What a theme, where we as men and women like Christ, filled with His joy and His glory are to enjoy an eternity together with our blessed Lord and Savior!
“The building of the wall of it was of
jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto
clear glass.”
We never saw gold like that, did we? It is divine righteousness but in its transparency. We have already mentioned that we down here are made the righteousness of God in Christ; but we still have all the old flesh in us to contend with. There it will be transparent. Not a thought will ever cross our minds that will bring any regret to our souls! As William Cowper wrote in one of his poems:
Or, if yet remembered above,
Remembrance no sadness shall raise,
They will bring but new thoughts of Thy love,
New themes for our wonder and praise.
“The foundations of the wall of the city
were garnished with all manner of precious
stones.”
Then we get the names of the twelve stones. A stone is not something that gives light, it merely reflects light. It is rather striking that the same stones mentioned here appear in the twenty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel, in connection with Satan who was the most exalted of all the creatures of God before he sinned. He once was arrayed with those glories with which some day the bride of Christ will be arrayed.
One thought that should touch our hearts is that these very stones are found on the breastplate of the high priest. So, Christ bears us, not only on His shoulders, but also on His heart of love. The glories that are seen in these stones bring us very close to the heart of that blessed One. Every child of God will reflect some glory of Christ. How good it would be if we reflected more of His glories down here—the meekness, gentleness, devotion to His Father's will. If those things were seen in our ways, what a beauty it would surely be.
“The twelve gates were twelve pearls; every
several gate was of one pearl.”
We have the pearl of great price in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, where we find the merchant man seeking goodly pearls. "Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Matt. 13:4646Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:46). In this city there were twelve gates; three of which faced in every direction. What a story that tells in that scene above, that it will be the display in glory of Christ's love for the Church, that He gave His all in order to possess her! We have its value and its beauty. The beauty of the pearl was what attracted the merchant man, and such was this pearl. Think of Christ back in eternity looking at what He is going to see in glory, and of which you and I by grace form a little part. It so delighted His heart that He would give up everything in order to possess it.
“The street of the city was pure gold, as it
were transparent glass.”
That is where we walk. How many times we have walked in this world and contacted defilement. But up there, there will no longer be the need of the basin, the water and the towel; the precious service the Lord is carrying on in our behalf now. We are going to walk a street where we will never pick up any defilement. It is transparent too. That is one thing that is very lovely to see in God's people, transparency; you can see through and through them—nothing is said behind the back. All will be perfect up there and nothing will create friction or suspicion!
“I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”
Why is it that there is no temple in heaven? We find that the temple is measured in the eleventh chapter of this book, and in the seventh chapter there are those that serve God in the temple. But that is earthly. There will be an earthly temple. The Jews have not built a temple over there in Palestine, and I do not think they will now. Some day they will build a temple where Solomon's temple stood, but I do not expect it until we are gone.
Again, why is it that there is no temple in heaven? You know, the temple is where worship is confined. But will there be a confinement of worship in that glorious scene? The whole heavenly scene will be a scene of worship; no need for a temple there. Think of the company there walking that street where they never have defilement. When we lift our voices in praise to the Lamb, all heaven will join in the praise. What a destiny lies before us! We are approaching it rapidly; we may be called up there before another sunrise. These things are real.
"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.”
We find that Christ, the Lamb, is the light of the heavenly city. The Church, viewed here as a city, reflects the glory within to the world below. And the Church should have reflected that glory through her history in this scene. But what a sad story of failure it has been, although we can say that the only light that reaches this dark, benighted world comes through the Church. As little, feeble and flickering as that light is, take the Church away and what will become of that light? What a solemn day when the Church leaves this scene in its awful darkness. In that day she will shed her light in all its perfection. Perhaps the Lord was speaking of that in John 17:23: "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me." When it is testimony, it is that "the world may believe," but when it is the communion of the saints in glory, it is "they shall know.”
“The nations of them... shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.”
What a testimony will be rendered here below all through the thousand years. This very world on which we are living is going to enter into the glorious kingdom of Christ!
“The gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.”
The light and glory of that scene exclude every effort of Satan to bring in that which spoils. In another way the same thing is true today. Look at Rom. 13:1212The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12). "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Light excludes darkness. The same principle that we see in connection with the heavenly city, that will forever exclude everything of man's failure and of Satan's deceit, should characterize us down here. That is having on the armor of light. Satan cannot operate in the light of the truth of the presence of God. The danger always is the covering up, and not bringing what is contrary to God wholly into the light where it is confessed, judged and put out so that there is a testimony for Him.
This chapter closes in a most marvelous way:
“And there shall in no wise enter into it
anything that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but
they which are written in the Lamb's book of
life.”
Abomination is idolatry Satan's work. How thankful we can be that Satan is never to bring in his work into this scene. How sad that he has succeeded in bringing in his work among the people of God and to our shame. The corruption of man comes in if we are not watchful and careful, the corruptions that come in through the way of the world. But here we are looking at a scene where the things that try our faith are gone forever!
“There shall be no more curse: but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it;
and His servants shall serve Him.... for
the Lord God giveth them light: and they
We have the bride viewed in her millennial glory, yet it carries us right on beyond the millennium into the eternal ages. Reigning to the ages of ages is where the Spirit of God draws the curtain for us. The Apostle Paul had to reprove the Corinthians; he said, "Ye have reigned as kings without us." 1 Cor. 4:88Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. (1 Corinthians 4:8). They were trying to reign too soon. Reigning is not merely government, but it is the whole enjoyment of that scene where "His servants shall serve Him." It is not a scene of idleness, but perfect service, which we have failed in so sadly down here. It will be fully realized up there. Then, just look into the eternal ages: we shall reign forever and ever! A.M. Barry