Jesus was to be married forever

JESUS WAS TO BE MARRIED FOREVER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Revelation21:9 9One of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and
said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife
of the Lamb."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The New Jerusalem
Revelation21:9-27
R. Green
We must see in this a portrayal of that holy community which is "the bride,
the wife of the Lamb." It is the ideal representationof vital Christianity -
Christianity as a system, but as a systemembodied in the lives of men. The
descriptions are of a glorious character. Whatcan exceedthe essentialgloryof
the true Christendom, the true Church, the true bride, the veritable "wife of
the Lamb"? It must not be separatedfrom the heavenly, the final Jerusalem,
the happy home of every wearypilgrim, the final abode of every spiritual
citizen, the final resting place whither the feet of all humble, holy souls tend.
But the heavenly begins on earth. And in this vision we must see the heavenly
or, the earth. The ornate language suits its heavenly characterand its
heavenly prototype. Babylon was the scatof the beast; this is the city of the

greatKing. It may be practically impossible to decipher the symbolical
writing, especiallyin its details, and it may be as unwise to attempt it as it is
impracticable to accomplishit; but the main features of the symbolical
teaching, consideredin the light of our previous interpretations, may
doubtless be traced. Not without fearthat our prepossessions may mislead us,
we will attempt to find in the words of this sectiona setting forth of the
essentialglories ofthe true and actual Christianity, howeverideally
considered.
I. ITS FIRST CHARACTERISTIC IS HOLINESS. It is set up in the midst of
evil and in oppositionto it. It is holy, for it is "from God;" it is holy, for it
promotes holiness in its subjects;all who pertain to it are calledto be saints.
Whateveris not in harmony with true ideas of holiness can have no part in the
holy city.
II. ITS ORIGIN IS DIVINE. "It comethdown out of heaven from God." The
true Church has its fount in him. He calls the first band out of the
surrounding darkness. All is of his grace. He gives the Word which is the seed
of the kingdom, he is the Fatherof all. The Church's grandestidea is that it is
of God.
III. IT HAS ITS HIGHEST ADORNMENT IN THE MANIFESTATION OF
THE DIVINE GLORY. But "the glory of God" is the symbol of God himself.
We approachthe true Shechinah. The glory of the Church is the presence of
God. How near is that manifested glory brought to us in the Incarnation! how
near in the abiding Spirit's presence!This is the true light that shineth over
the city.
IV. ITS STABILITY, HARMONY, AND ORGANIC UNITY ARE
REPRESENTEDIN THE FIGURE OF THE CITY. Here are taught the
intercourse, the fellowship, the safety, the mutual interest, of the holy ones.

What is here ideally presentedmay not always be actually found. We deal
with the patterns of the heavenly things.
V. THE FREEDOMOF ITS ACCESS TO ALL NATIONS is here declared.
The gates ofthe city, ever open, stand to the east, the west, the north, the
south. But one city; but all may enter.
VI. THE CHURCH IS BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE
APOSTLES AND PROPHETS. All the living Christianity has its basis here.
VII. THE SPLENDOUR, BEAUTY, PERFECTNESS, STRENGTH, AND
GREATNESSOF THE CHURCH OF GOD - the living Christianity of ours
and of every day, and the whole idea of the same - are setforth in the utmost
wealth of symbolical extravagance.
VIII. THE INTIMATE ALLIANCE OF THE DIVINE SETS ASIDE THE
EARTHLY AND IMPERFECTELEMENTS.There is no visible temple.
"The Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple of it." The
illumination of the whole city is found in the life and grace ofChrist.
IX. THE UNIVERSALLY DIFFUSED BENEFICENTINFLUENCE OF
CHRISTIANITY is declared. The nations walk in the light of it, and -
X. THEIR RECIPROCALACKNOWLEDGMENTis found in that they
"bring their glory and honour into it."

XI. ITS IMMUNITY FROM THE CONTAMINATION AND DEFILEMENT
OF EVIL is indicated. Nothing unclean, nothing untrue, nothing of evil
nature, enters it. It is ideal. True. Yet no evil elements shall ultimately be
found in the Church of Christ; and, as at first we stated, the earthly is lostin
the heavenly, of which it is at once the beginning, the type, and the pledge. -
R.G.
Biblical Illustrator
I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. &&&
Revelation21:9-14
The glorious bride
H. Bonar, D. D.
I. WHO AND WHAT SHE WAS BEFORE SHE BECAME THE BRIDE. She
had no high descentto boastof. Her lineage was not royal, but low and mean.
Without goodness,without beauty; without personalor family

recommendation; unloving and unlovable; an alien, a captive, a rebel. Such
were you once, O saint; such are you still, O sinner!
II. HOW AND WHY SHE WAS FIXED UPON. Of the "how" and the "why"
of this sovereignpurpose, what can we say but this, that in one so unlovable
and worthless it found opportunity and scope forthe outflow and display of
free love, such as could be found in no other? It was the Father's free choice,
and the Son's free choice, that made her what she is now, the bride, and what
she is through eternity to be, "the Lamb's wife."
III. HOW SHE WAS OBTAINED. She is a captive, and must be set free. This
the Bride-groomundertakes to do; for her sake becoming a captive. She is a
criminal, under wrath, and must be delivered from condemnation and death.
This also the Bridegroomundertakes; for her sake submitting to
condemnation and death, that so her pardon may be secured, her fetters
broken, and life made hers for ever.
IV. HOW SHE WAS BETROTHED. The BridegroomHimself came down in
lowly guise to woo and win her for Himself. But now He is carrying on His suit
in absence, through the intervention of others, as Isaac's proposals to Rebekah
were carried on through the faithful Eliezerof Damascus. We tell of our
Isaac's noble lineage, His riches, His honours, His worth. We tell of all that He
has done to win your love, and setbefore you the glory of His person, that you
may see how worthy He is of all this love; how blessed, how honourable it
would be for you to be the bride of such a Bridegroom;and we say, "Wilt
thou go with the Man?"
V. HOW SHE IS PREPAREDAND ADORNED. It is through the Holy Spirit
that this is carriedout. This Spirit having overcome her unwillingness, and
persuaded her to consentto the glorious betrothment, immediately
commences His work of preparation. He strips her of her rags, and puts on

royal apparel. He cleanses herfrom her filthiness, and makes her whiter than
snow.
(H. Bonar, D. D.)
The bridal city
N. Curnock.
Not heavenitself, but "the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband." Not the
palace-home, but the bride herself, the Church of the firstborn made perfect,
presentedunder the gorgeous imageryof a magnificent temple-city — an ideal
of perfect glory and beauty, safetyand fitness — this is the true subject
describedby John. "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the
Lamb."
1. Often, in the old days, John had heard from his Masterteaching, parabolic
and otherwise, whichsuggestedthe thought that His savedpeople should, in
their corporate capacity, constitute His bride. This, in turn, would recallto
the reverent student of the Old Testamentall the bridal imagery of the
prophecies — notably of Isaiah and Jeremiah-imageryso curiously and
suggestivelyinterlacedwith the whole circle of paradise, city, and temple
symbolism. Out of all this material, so familiar to him, John had no difficulty
in constructing a distinct picture of the New Jerusalem, the virgin daughter of
Zion, married as a bride to her Lord. Already Ezekiel, with extraordinary
elaborationof detail, had pourtrayed this ideal bridal-city, and not a few of
Ezekiel's details are transferred, with but little change, to this New Testament
picture.
2. It requires no stretch of fancy to believe that John, during his residence in
Ephesus, had frequently read the famous circular-letterwhich Paul sent, first
to Ephesus. And it is a significant fact, that in the Epistle to the Ephesians we

have preciselythe same combination of temple-city and bride which meets us
in this chapter. It is a highly figurative picture of a perfectedChrist-ideal at
present, but an ideal one day to be realised.The practicaluse to which the
vision may legitimately be turned is twofold.
1. It is an inspiration of hope. You see what is the hope of your calling. To this
ye are to come. This is the final destiny of the saints.
2. It is also — and this I believe to be its main purpose — a "pattern in the
Mount." One of the greatpeculiarities of the Church of Jesus Christis this,
that its golden age does not lie in the past, but in the future. And when we
desire an example — a pattern up to and after which we may work — we find
it in the revealedfuture; and that is the only justification of the revelationof
the future — to supply us with a "mark for the prize of our high calling."
I. "HAVING THE GLORY OF GOD." The first thing noted is the radiant
beauty of the bride — a beauty which consists in the striking resemblance
betweenher and her Lord. The Church, in her ideal condition, has been so
long with her Lord, coming up through the wilderness, that she has caughtthe
beauty of His face and form, and is a "partakerof the Divine nature," and
falls only a little way short of "the measure of the stature of His fulness." This
is her goldenwedding-day-the jubilee of her redemption. We may read earlier
in the Book how she was caught up into heaven out of the wilderness, and now
she is "coming down from God out of heaven," arrayed in garments white
and glistening, "having the glory of God." The first impression often
produced on Church review days — at conferences, andcongresses, and
unions — is not altogetherso noble as this. What an influential Church! So
many hundred thousand members! What perfectorganisation!What
resources ofwealthand culture! What buildings! But in the greatreview-day
— the day of "the marriage of the Lamb" — the first thought will be this,
"having the glory of God." This is the ideal at which we are to aim. If you

desire to form a distinct idea of the glory of God, read the descriptions of
God's glory as seenin ancient times by Moses orIsaiah; as revealedin God's
name, or in ancient song;as shining in the face of Jesus Christ; as manifested
in His life and works;as revealedin words fallen from His lips, or written by
St. Paul, or pictured in the visions of this Book. Think of the purity, the
holiness, and righteousness, ofthe mercy and truth, of the faithfulness and
lovingkindness, of our God and Father! This is "the image of God" in which
we are to be renewed. This is to be "the mark for the prize."
II. "HAVING A WALL GREAT AND HIGH." Walls, in ancienttimes, were
for three purposes:
1. Defining. The position of the Church in relation to the world must be
clearly defined. Everywhere throughout the Bible this is taught. "Having a
wall greatand high," — a clearly defined creed, resting on foundations of
precious stones, bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; an
equally clearlydefined discipline; a distinct organisationoffellowship — "A
wall," built of goodstones — well bounded — "greatand high." Notthat the
Church is to be narrow, little, without elbow-room, stifled, "cribbed, cabined,
or confined." The Holy City which John saw — the ideal Church — was vast
beyond our poor power to conceive — twelve thousand stadii — all the cities
of the earth are mere villages in comparison. By the same measurement,
London would be but a small and straightened dwelling-place.
2. Walls were for purposes of enclosure. We are to be an enclosedpeople. Not
nomadic — mere wilderness wanderers, heedlesslyroaming hither and
thither, like unclean spirits, "walking through waterless places,seeking rest
and finding none";but a people with a home, "a city of habitation," and,
therefore, with a work, living for s definite purpose, sharing a common life,
helping one another, "bearing one another's burdens."

3. Walls were for defence. If they prevent lawless wandering, they also prevent
lawless incursions. The successofChristian work depends very much on the
Churches' powerto protect. And a Church cannotprotect unless it has this
"wall" of sound doctrine and faithful discipline, and clearlydefined fellowship
— "a wall greatand high." One feature of the Bride's resemblance to her
Lord — one true sense in which she may have "the glory of God" — is this,
that she is able, not only to save, but also to keep. Like her Lord, she may say,
"Of all whom Thou hast given me I have lost none, save the son of perdition."
"I have lost none." A Church cannot saythat, if she carelesslyallows anypart
of her protecting walls to be mere mud-heaps, "daubed with untempered
mortar." And do not lose sightof the adornment — "with all manner of
precious stones." Do not frighten the people awayfrom the Church by dull,
heavy, rough, ugly buildings. You are not rearing a prison, or a criminal
lunatic asylum; but a temple, a palace, a bridal city.
III. HAVING TWELVE GATES. The Church is not to be imprisoned, nor is
it to imprison its members, or its influence, its light, its melody. But, at all
times, and on all sides, it is to have perfectpower to "go through the gates."
(N. Curnock.)
A sight of the bade
J. Irons.
I. Now you know, idle curiosity prompts a greatmany persons to go and see
greatsights; and frequently, when persons have been into the metropolis from
distant parts of the country, the neighbours ask when they return, "Did you
see such a sight?" Well, what are they after all? "the things which are seen
are temporal";"the eye is never satisfiedwith seeing, nor the earwith
hearing" them. But when the soulgets a sight of Christ, he never wants to
turn from it. I advise you, as the angel did John, to "come hither" along with

me to this "greatand high mountain," that we may get this lovely and
enamouring sight. The advice, you see, is that of an aspirant — to get away
from the position which he was occupying — the low ground of earthly
attractions;one of the most important points in our whole Christianity, to get
awayfrom things on earth, to rise, and aspire, and soaron high. Moreover,
this advice calls for the obedience of faith — obedience to the Divine call. This
messengerwas one ofGod's messengers, anangelsent with a direct errand to
John, to tell him to "come hither." Now, whereverthis obedience is yielded,
there is a mighty deliverance, because we are by nature so entangledwith the
things of the world, so entangledwith self-righteousness, so entangledby sin
and Satan, that it requires a mighty deliverance to getus away, to draw us
from, and bring us out of, our love and practice of the things that are only
earthly. But I hasten to remark, that decisionis all-important in thin actof
obedience to the Divine call. There must be no hesitating about the matter.
There must be no looking back, with a lingering, longing look, upon Sedum.
"Getthee out hence." WhenJehovahcalls by His messenger, andsays,.
"Come hither," delay is dangerous, decisionis important. And then this
coming up hither, this aspiring after heavenly things, must be devotional. It is
that which is createdby the power of the Holy Ghost in the soul, and amounts
to nothing less than the aspiring of all the gracesin lively exercise.Faithwill
aspire, and hope will aspire, and love will aspire, and all the graces ofthe
spirit must aspire, as moved, supplied, actedupon, and constrainedby the
omnipotence of the Holy Ghost. Now glance at this aspiring soul, and see his
progress. He is rising and rising, higher and higher every hour; just as you see
the skylark ascending from its nest where it had been grovelling;when it first
warbles, it seems but a little above your head, but it sings and mounts, and
sings and mounts, till it is almost out of sight. Once more observe, that as we
rise in knowledge, we shallrise also in enjoyment, we shall rise in love to Him.
Then mark, we shall rise in anticipation. "Come hither" to the top of this
greatand high mountain, and anticipate the bliss that is to be revealed, that
glory that is about to open to view.
II. Now upon this position we may expect THE SIGHT WHICH FOLLOWS,
"Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." What a sight!

Now I want to show you the bride, because there are a greatmany persons
who presume to assume the name to whom it does not belong.
1. And, in the first place, you may know her by her wedding dress. What do
you think it is? Why, the imputed righteousness ofher loving Lord. And
therefore she sings as Isaiah taught the Church to sing in olden time — "My
soul shall rejoice in the Lord and be joyful in my God, for He hath coveredme
with the robe of righteousness andclothed me with the garments of salvation,
as a bride adorneth herselffor her husband."
2. Moreover, "Iwill show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife," in her indissoluble
union. The husband that is really married has not only a bride, but a wife.
Now, before time began, before the world was formed, before angels fell,
before sin existed, Jesus and His bride were betrothed in love, and engagedin
eternal union. Moreover, this indissoluble union is effectedby Him in the
fulness of time. I confess I like to talk about this courtship, and this marriage
too.
3. Well, let us go on a step further — it is enjoyed. This union which is
indissoluble betweenChrist and His Church, is enjoyed in communion,
enjoyed in fellowship, enjoyed in association, enjoyedin every possible
expressionof affection, enjoyed in mutual help. There are pangs frequently
felt in the most affectionate unions upon earth at the idea of separation;but "I
am persuaded," says St. Paul, that in this union there can be no separation;
"for neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord." Is not she a happy bride, then?
(J. Irons.)

The Holy City, the Bride of the Lamb
John Thomas, M. A.
Our greatwork is to build the city of God upon the earth, and this can be
done only through the organisedlife of the world. We must not be content to
go one way, and to allow what we call secularinstitutions to go another way.
We are the saltof the earth. We, through the Spirit of God, are the makers of
the new city, and Godhas given us the old city as the material out of which we
are to make the new. It is ours to transform the earthly city so that it shall be
glorified into the heavenly.
1. In the first place, it is clear that the ideal city in this characterof"Bride" is
in living union with God. So that the figure of the "Bride" as conceivedin the
New Testamentis one of loving dependence and living unity. She finds her joy,
her fulness, her splendour, her very life, in Him for whom she is adorned. She
is a very part of His life, and finds her true glory in losing herself in Him.
Such is the relation to God of that city that would realise God's ideal. This is
preciselywhat is implied in the picture before us — namely, that all the vast
secularorganisations ofsocietymust find their ideal in being the "Bride of the
Lamb." What is thought to be the peculiar characteristic ofa number of
people that have certain religious and spiritual affinities must come to be
recognisedas the bestthing for all the busy world, and as the normal attitude
of the city or State that would attain true and abiding prosperity. We cannot
keepthe higher ideal in its strength by our religious combinations and
assemblies unless we insist upon its maintenance in and for the busy hum of
life. The worshipping attitude of the sanctuary is also the ideal attitude for the
mart, the exchange, the council chamber, and the senate. But let the Church
realise that it is not the ideal of a selectcoterie, howeverworthyand however
divinely elected, but the ideal that must sweepthe world, and sit upon the
throne of every State, an ideal that is as good for the market-place as for the
sanctuary. Then it will have new powerand influence, and our Churches will
rise to higher levels of worship and consecration. The old Puritans realised
this when they knelt togetherfor prayer in the British House of Commons.

They believed that the grandestthing a State could do was to worship God,
provided it were done in spirit and in truth, and not by the mockeryof
mechanicalenactments. The city that will not be the Bride of the Lamb shall
perish.
2. This condition of living union with God involves the development of holy
affinities with God. The ideal city must construct its life and frame its ends
according to the pattern on the Mount. If it is to be in living union with God, it
must live according to the divinest motives and ideals. The Bride must be
adorned for her Husband in the jewels that He loves. Many tell us that the
heavenly and spiritual ideas that we place before them are not necessaryor
suited for the great life and problems of the city. They saythat the city has to
do with earth, not with heaven; that its development and prosperity and
elevationdepend upon philanthropies and socialrevolutions and political
changes. Forthis worship is not necessary, thoughts and hopes of heaven are
hampering, and ideas of spiritual renewal, holiness, and Divine peace are
altogetherUtopian. They tell the Church, in effect, that its ideas are altogether
out of place in this world of states and cities. And some good men have
unfortunately fallen victims to this modern falsehood. Theyhave forsakenthe
Christian ideal, and acceptedthe ideal of the socialrevolutionist and the
secularpolitician. What they think the gospelcannotdo they hope to do by
some loud-sounding Ism, and proclaim this as the world's salvation, rather
than the Divine ideals of Jesus Christ. The scornful wisdom of the world will
again, as in times past, be brought to confusion. The present glorificationof
material things and material ends and methods will end in failure. The ideal
city will be the Bride of the Lamb.
(John Thomas, M. A.)
The bride
R A. Griffin.

I. COME HITHER AND SEE THE BRIDE AS THOU HAST NEVER SEEN
HER BEFORE.
1. In the enjoyment of nearer communion.
2. Participating in the highest honours.
3. Possessing enlargedknowledge.
4. Entirely absorbedin contemplation of Him.
II. COME HITHER AND SEE THE BRIDE WHERE SHE NEVER WAS
BEFORE.
1. Beyond the tempter's power.
2. Beyond the rags of poverty and the experience of famine.
3. Farremoved from the darts of the enemy.
4. Away from the vineyard. Toila thing of the past. The curse revoked.
III. COME HITHER, AND SEE THE BRIDE AS SHE HERSELF NEVER
EXPECTED TO BE.

IV. COME HITHER, AND SEE HER AS SHE WAS DECREEDTO BE.
V. COME HITHER, AND SEE HER AS SHE SHALL FOR EVER REMAIN.
1. Her Husband has paid her debts.
2. Her Husband is unchangeable.
3. No fear of divorce.
4. No fear of estrangementon her part.
5. No death.
VI. COME HITHER AND SEE HER AS SHE SHOULD NOW AIM TO BE.
(R A. Griffin.)
That greatcity, the holy Jerusalem
The new Jerusalem
J. A. Seiss, D. D.
One of the most remarkable paradoxes of the Church of our times is its
abhorrence of materiality in connectionwith the kingdom of Christ and the

eternal future, whilst practically up to its ears in materialism and earthiness.
No wonder that professedbelievers of our day are anxious to put off getting
into the heaven they believe in as long as the doctor's skill cankeepthem out
of it, and finally agree to go only as a last despairing resort. It has no
substance, no reality, for the soul to take hold on. It is nothing but a world of
shadows, ofmist, of dim visions of blessedness,with which it is impossible for
a being who is not mere spirit, and never will be mere spirit, who knows only
to live in a body, and shall live for ever in a body, to feel any fellowship or
sympathy. But such are not the ideas of our futurity which the Bible holds out
to our faith and hope. Did men but learn to know the difference betweena
paradise of sense and a paradise of sensuality, the truth of God would not
suffer in men's hands as it does, and their souls would not suffer as they do for
something solid to anchor to amid the anxious perturbations of life and death.
Did men but rid themselves of the old heresythat matter means sin, and learn
to know and feel that there was a material universe before sin was, and that a
material universe will live on when sin shall have been cleanwashedaway
from the entire face of it, they would be in better position both to understand
and to enjoy the fore-announcements of the futurity of the saints which God
has given for their consolationamid these earthly vicissitudes and falsities.
The New Jerusalem, whichwe now come to consider, is in the line of these
ideas. It stands in antithesis to the final Babylon. That a real city as wellas a
perfectedmoral systemis here to be understood, I see not how we can
otherwise conclude. All the elements of a city are indicated. It has specific
dimensions. It has foundations, wails, gates, and streets. It has guards outside
and inhabitants within, both distinct from what characterises itas a real
construction. Among the highest promises to the saints of all ages was the
promise of a specialplace and economyanswering to a heavenly city, and
which is continually referred to as an enduring and God-built city.
I. ITS DERIVATION. John sees it "coming down out of heaven from God." It
is of celestialorigin. It is the direct product of Almighty power and wisdom.
He who made the worlds is the Makerof this illustrious city. No mortal hand
is ever employed upon its construction. The saints are all God's workmanship.
They are all begottenof His Spirit, and shaped and fashioned into living
stones from the dark quarries of a fallen world, and transfigured from glory

to glory by the gracious operations ofHis hand. They reachtheir heavenly
characterand places through His own direct agencyand influence. And He
who makes, prepares, and places them, makes, prepares, and places their
sublime habitation also.
II. ITS LOCATION. This is not specificallytold, but the recordis not without
some hints. John sees it coming down out of heaven. The idea is that it comes
close to the earth, and is intended to have a near relation to the earth; but it is
nowhere said that it ever alights on the earth, or ever becomes part of its
material fabric. Though coming into the vicinity of the earth, it is always
spokenof as the "Jerusalemwhichis above" (Galatians 4:26).
III. ITS SPLENDOUR. Here the specifications are numerous and
transcendent, as we would expect in a city erectedand ornamented by
Jehovah, and coming forth direct from the heavens. Everything built by God's
direction is the very best and most splendid of its kind. And this city has, and
is invested with, the glory, light, brightness, and radiating splendour of God.
IV. ITS AMPLITUDE. There is no stint or meanness in God's creations.
When He setHimself to the making of worlds, He filled up an immeasurable
space with them. When He createdangels He added myriads on myraids, and
orders on orders, till all earthly arithmetic is lost in the counting of them.
When He started the human race it was on a careerof multiplication to which
we can set no limit. When He beganthe glorious work of redemption, and
commencedthe taking out and fashioning of a people to become the
companions of His only begottenSon and co-regents withtheir Redeemer,
these pictures of the final outcome tell of greatmultitudinous hosts, in
numbers like the sands of the seashore. And the city He builds for them is of
corresponding dimensions. Amplitude — amplitude of numbers, as wellas
glorious accommodations — is unmistakably signified, in whateverway we
contemplate the astonishing picture.

V. ITS SYSTEM OF ILLUMINATION. What is a city without light! The
glory of God's brightness envelopes it like an unclouded halo, permeates it,
and radiates through it and from it so that there is not a dark or obscure place
about it.
VI. ITS LACK OF A TEMPLE. "A temple," says the seer, "I saw not in it."
What a vacuum it would create in every earthly city if its temples were taken
away!What would ancient Jerusalemhave been without its temple? But it is
no privation to the New Jerusalemthat there is no temple in it. Nay, it is one
of its sublimest peculiarities. Deity will then have come forth from behind all
veils, all mediating sacraments,all previous barriers and hidings because of
the infirmities of the flesh or the weaknessesofundeveloped spirituality.
Himself will be the temple thereof. The glorious worshippers there hold direct
communion with His manifested glory, which encompassesthem and all their
city alike. As consecratedhigh priests they will then have come into the holiest
of all, into the very cloud of God's overshadowing glory, which is at once their
covering, their temple, their God.
VII. ITS RELATION TO THE WORLD AT LARGE. Of old, the song of the
Psalmistwas:"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount
Zion, the city of the GreatKing" (Psalm48:2). In every land into which the
Jewishpeople wandered, there was a glad thrill upon their souls when they
remembered Jerusalem. We cannot look back upon those times, even now,
without a degree of fascinationwhich draws like a magnet upon every feeling
of the heart. And what was then realisedon a small and feeble scale, in the
case ofone people, is to be the universal experience with regard to this blessed
city. It is to be the centre and illuminator of the world.
VIII. ITS SUPREME HOLINESS.

(J. A. Seiss, D. D.)
The city of God
John Stoughton.
I believe that it was a purpose of God in making the world that it should have
in it greatcities. Wisdom, in the beginning of God's ways, "rejoicedin the
habitable parts of the earth, and her delights were with the sons of men." A
peopled earth — A city-coveredearth — was, I have no doubt, from the
beginning part of what God meant should be. Ages of greatcities are of His
appointment. But sin has spoiled all. Here's the mischief. The only thing to be
complained of in London, or any other city, is sin. Now, the thing that sin has
spoiled here — the life of greatcities — is "to be perfectly shown in another
world." There is "a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is
God. God is not ashamedto be calledthe God of His saints, for He hath
prepared for them a city."
I. THE CITY — WHAT IT IS. Talk of greatLondon! Rome! Nineveh!
Babylon! — the vision of St. John conveys the idea of something much more
vast and beautiful in the lasthome of the saints. City and country, streetand
garden, Jerusalemand Eden, are mixed in the picture here, to show, I
suppose, that heaven will have in it all that is fairestin nature with all that is
richest in civilisation. The city is built of "precious stones" — all manner of
precious stones piled together. Precious stonesare in themselves more
astonishing than any form, however curious and beautiful, into which they
can be carved. In their nature they are images of heavenly things. Just think:
no objects last so long as precious stones:they are the oldestand the strongest
things in nature. No objects are so pure and clearas precious stones. The
crystal is purer than the water, when the water is said to be like crystal. No
objects are so free from corruption and decay, so utterly beyond the reachof
inward stain. And no objects are at once so richly dyed, so rainbow-like in
colour, and yet so well seenthrough, so ready to getand to give light. Are they

not striking images ofthe things of heaven? The lasting nature of heaven! the
bright clearness ofheaven! the impossibility of staining heaven! the truth, the
faithfulness, the love, the justice that dwell and reign in the city of heaven!
The life lost by Adam's sin is brought back, and perfected and made to last by
Christ's obedience. Redemptionmore than repairs the fall; the Lamb has
slain the serpent; simplicity has gotthe better of subtlety; the patience, self-
denial, and sacrifice ofthe atoning Mediatorhave destroyedthe mischief of
the tempter's pride, selfishness andcruelty; for a heavenbetter than Eden is
opened to men driven from Eden. In the New Jerusalemthere are none of the
drawbacks and evils of an earthly condition. Especiallywe are taught that the
city is "holy." The tabernacle and the temple were patterns of things in the
heavens. Now, in every possible way they showedthe quality of holiness. In
the other world, as much as in this, physical purity as well as moral, moral
purity as well as physical, are indispensably needful. A clean heart in a clean
house — that is wantedfor comfort in this world and in that. Cleanhands,
pure worship, and a soul full of health and joy — that was the order of things
in Jerusalem;so it is in the Christian Church, and will be in heaven. Heaven is
pure: it must be so;the necessityis grounded on the deepestreasons.It
follows, from its being the habitation of God; of God the holy; — whose eyes
are calledthe eyes of His holiness;whose arm is calledHis holy arm; whose
name is a holy name: who swears by His holiness;who cannot look upon sin;
whom to rob of His moral perfection, in our thoughts, is to insult even more
than by the denial of His being. It follows, from the perfection of the saints.
Any defilement in them would destroy their perfection. Any defilement in
their companions would endangertheir perfection. It follows, from its being a
world of bliss. Sin would spoil the bliss. The consciousnessofit would unmake
heaven.
(John Stoughton.)
Heaven
Homilist.

This figure of heavensuggests —
I. ITS RELATION TO GOD'S EMPIRE. Whatthe Metropolis is to a country,
heaven is to the universe.
1. The central influence of the kingdom.
2. The dwelling-place of its chiefestand strongest.
3. The residence of its sovereign.
II. ITS MARVELLOUS CONSTRUCTION.
1. Heaven is a vastcity — a city, not a mere hamlet for a handful of the elect.
2. Heaven is a secure city. Its walls, its gates, etc. "Nothing canhurt or
destroy."
3. Heaven is a magnificent city. Nothing impoverished, no by-ways of shame,
no lurking places of misery; its very streets are of gold.
III. ITS FAMOUS POPULATION. The population is —
1. Immense in number; "a greatmultitude," etc.

2. Honourable in occupation. Jerusalema city of priests; Athens, of sages;
Rome, of soldiers;London, of shopkeepers:heaven, of saints, who serve God
day and night.
3. Holy in character. This the glory of the population; they are robed in white.
Their moral lustre is their beauty.
(Homilist.)
The holy city
H. Bonar, D. D.
This city is not earthly, but heavenly, and is among the heavenly things said
by the apostle to be purified by the "better sacrifices"(Hebrews 9:23.). Why
did such a city need " purifying:? Not because unclean, but because sinners
were to dwell in it; and they would have defiled it, had it not been for the
greatsacrifice. forthe blood does two things — it makes the unclean clean,
and it keeps the cleanfrom being defiled.
1. It is a greatcity. There has been no city like it. It is the city, the one city, the
greatmetropolis of the mighty universe.
2. It is a well-built city. Its builder and makeris God. Its foundations are
eternal; its walls are jasper; its gates pearls;its streets paved with gold. It is
"compactlybuilt together," lying foursquare, and perfectin all its parts,
without a break or flaw, or weaknessordeformity.
3. It is a well-lighted city. Something brighter than sun and moon is given to
fill its heaven. The glory of God lightens it; the Lamb is its "light" or "lamp,"
so that it needs no candle, no sunlight.

4. It is a well-wateredcity. A pure river of the waterof life flows through its
streets, proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb. What must its
waters be! What must be the rivers of pleasure there!
5. It is a well-provisionedcity. The tree of life is there, with its twelve variety
of fruits and its health-giving leaves. It has more than Eden had. It is paradise
restored;paradise and Jerusalemin one; Jerusalemin paradise, and paradise
in Jerusalem.
6. It is a well-guardedcity. Not only has it gates, and walls, and towers, which
no enemy could scale or force;but at the gates are twelve angels keeping
perpetual watch.
7. It is a well-governedcity. No misrule is there, no disorder, no lawlessness,
no rebellion.
8. It is a well-peopledcity. It has gathered within its walls all generations of
the redeemed. Its population is as the sands or the stars;the multitude that no
man can number; the millions of the risen and glorified.
9. It is a holy city. Nothing that defileth shall enter; no spot or speck or
shadow of evil. All is perfection there, Divine perfection.
10. It is a glorious city. The glory that fills it and encircles it is the glory of
God. Everything resplendent is there. It shines like the sun.

11. It is a blessedcity. It is truly "the joyous city." It is the throne of the
blessedOne, and all in it is like Him.
(H. Bonar, D. D.)
Twelve gates
The manifold Christ
C. H. Parkhurst, D. D.
Three gates on eachside of the celestialquadrangle. So much as to the
accessibilityof the heavenly city. Christ is Himself gatewayimpersonated,
what Scripture calls "open door." Three gates in eachwall. Christ is not only
one gate;He is all the gates, and His multiplicity matches our diversity. So
that eachman to be saved will be savedby his own particular Christ, and
enter the kingdom through his own specialprivate portal. We believe in the
same Christ, and yet we have not the same belief in Christ — like two men
standing on the opposite side of a hill, who have a view of the same hill, but
not the same view of the hill. We are in that respectlike different kinds of
flowers growing out in the sunshine; one flower when it is touched by white
light will extractfrom the white light one particular tint, another flowerwill
extract another particular tint from the same white light, So while we all in a
way believe in Christ we eachbelieve in our own way, and He is not the same
to any two of us. This leads on to saythat Christ as you apprehend Him — not
as I apprehend Him, not as your neighbour apprehends Him, hut Christ as
you apprehend Him — is your open door. Doubtless, as we come to know Him
better and to enter more deeply into the intimacies of His characterand spirit,
our conceptions ofHim will have more and more in common, and we shall
draw nearer and nearer to eachother in our views and experience of Him.
Three gates on a side. "The Lord is nigh unto them that callupon Him."
Christ, in the conceptionthat you already have of Him, is your gate;no
hunting necessaryin order to find it; no waiting requisite. The Bible would
not say, "Chooseye this day" if there were anything to wait for. Such words

as "now" and "to-day" would have to be left out if the gate were anywhere
but directly in front of you. This Biblical idea of "to-day" just matches this
apocalyptic idea of three gates on a side, every man's gate close to him. The
objectof this is not to encourage the notion that it makes no difference how
little idea a man has of Christ. Our only point is that the veriest scintilla of an
idea, if made available, is enough to begin with. Supposing in a dark, starless
night you become lostin the woods. The glimmer of a distant candle reaches
your eye, and you are not lost any longer. There may not be light enough
about it to show you where you are, but you are not lostany more because
there is light enough about it to give you a direction. Any smallest, feeblest
conceptionyou may have of Christ will answerevery purpose if only you will
treat it in the same way that you would treat what appearedto be the glimmer
of a distant candle falling upon your eye by night in the midst of a black
forest. Light is a sure guide, because, unlike sound, it goes in straight lines.
And whereverand howsoeverfarout upon the circumference of Christ's
characteryou take your position and begin threading inward any one of its
radiating lines, you are moving by a line as straightas a sunbeam toward the
heart and centre of the entire matter. When the disciples were bidden by
Christ to follow Him, clearlythat meant to them at the outsetlittle more than
patterning their fives after Him, going where He went, and doing what He did.
That was where they first took hold of the matter. Anything like mere
imitation seems mostly to disappear from their life in its later manifestations
and farther developments; but it was not much but imitation to begin with.
They commencedby obeying Him and trying to be like Him. Christ's early
instruction to them was in this line. Now, it must needs be said that this
obediently doing what God in Christ enjoins upon us, important and
indispensable as of course it is, is by no manner of means the bestand most
distinctive part of the Christian matter. At the same time there are two things
to be saidabout it that are practicaland that are in close line with our present
thought. The first is that while studiously doing as Christ bids us is not the
best part of the Lord's matter, it is singularly educating, and contributes with
wonderful facility to initiate us into the best part of the Lord's matter.
Obedience to Christ is only gatewayso far as relates to the full meaning of
Christ and of Christian life, but it is gatewaythat portals one of the central
avenues conducting directly to meanings that are more essentialand complete.

The other point is that this matter of taking Christ's commands and doing
them is not only gateway, but gatewaythat opens itself immediately in our
face. We have not to searcharound in order to find it. The door is directly in
front of us.
(C. H. Parkhurst, D. D.)
The many gates
Leon Walker, D. D.
I. THE VARIOUSNESS OF MEN'S MANNER OF APPROACHTO THE
HEAVENLY CITY. The "gates" openin all directions, because analmost
infinite variety of travellers, and journeying from most dissimilar regions, are
to be gatheredthere. Said our Saviour to His disciples, "Other sheepI have,
who are not of this fold." The gospelHe proclaimed was not for one nation
only, but for the world. And so this New Jerusalem, to which that gospel
points the way, must be accessible to men of all languages andlands. But it is
not this geographicalvariousnessofapproachto the New Jerusalemalone
which the fourfold aspectof the heavenly gates suggests to us. There is a
moral variousness still greaterthan any geographicalone. The people who
gather, are gatherednot only out of unlike regions, but out of unlike faiths,
ideas, habits, deficiences. Thosemust needs be, in many respects, very
different pathways of approach, intellectually and morally, which are
traversedto the heavenly city by one who comes thither out of African
ignorance, out of Oriental mysticism, out of Indian savagery, andout of
European refinement. How unlike, after all, are the dwellers who live door to
door in a city like this; or sit side by side in this Sabbath sanctuary! What
diverse dispositions, inclinations, experiences, characters!And in leading men
and women so variously constituted to the heavenly Jerusalem, the Spirit of
God conducts them in most diverse ways. Here is one who arrives thither
through the throes and agonies ofan experience as stormy as that of Luther
or of Paul. Here is another whose Christian experience is like that of Fenelon
or John. Almost natural it seems for this man, when he heard the words,
"Beholdthe Lamb of God," to turn and follow Him. Here are those on whom

in their journey Zionward the sun always seems to smile. Others come, but it
is always under a stormy sky. More and more alone as they go forward,
heavier and heavierweighted with suffering and with care, they arrive at last,
spent and buffeted, like a shipwreckedsailor, smitten by a thousand seas,
stripped and exhausted, at the heavenly refuge.
II. THE UNEXPECTEDNESSOF THE ARRIVAL OF MANY THERE. As
many of the travellers to the city were on their way thither, they often seemed
at leastto be journeying in different directions. Their pathways sometimes
ran not parallel but crosswise,and even in contrary courses, according as
eachwas led by the GoodSpirit which guided him to one or another of the
opposite gates. And it would not be strange if, while they thus crossedand
traversedone another, doubt should arise, and even controversy, as to the
probability of one another's arrival. Sometimes the road insisted on has been
the road of a particular church organisation. Sometimes the prescribed
pathway has been a particular form of some Christian ordinance. How
reassuring, in view of an almost interminable catalogue ofcontroversies like
these, to remember the many and opposite-looking gatesofthe heavenly city!
How comforting to know that not one road, but many roads, leads thither!
And what a suggestionthis affords of the surprises which will await those who
finally enter; the unexpectedness to multitudes of the arrival of multitudes
besides.
(Leon Walker, D. D.)
The gates ofheaven
T. De Witt Talmage.
The Cashmere Gate of Delhi, where convergeda heroism that makes one's
nerves tingle; the Lucknow Gate, still dented and scarredwith Sepoy
bombardment; the Madeline Gate, with its emblazonry in bronze; the
hundred gates of Thebes, the wonderof centuries, all go out of sight before the
gates ofmy text.

I. EXAMINE THE ARCHITECTURE OF THOSE GATES. Proprietors of
large estates are very apt to have an ornamented gateway. Gatesofwoodand
iron and stone guarded nearly all the old cities. Moslems have inscribed upon
their gateways inscriptions from the Koran of the Mohammedan. There have
been a greatmany fine gateways,but Christ sets His hand to the work, and
for the upper city swung a gate such as no eye ever gazedon, untouched of
inspiration. There is no wood, or stone, or bronze in that gate, but from top to
base, and from side to side, it is all of pearl Not one piece picked up from
Ceylon banks, and anotherpiece from the PersianGulf, and anotherfrom the
Island of the Margarette;but one solid pearl picked up from the beachof
everlasting light by heavenly hands, and hoisted and swung amid the shouting
of angels. The glories of alabastervase and porphyry pillar fade out before
this gateway. Julius Caesarpaida hundred and twenty-five thousand crowns
for one pearl. The Government of Portugal boastedof having a pearl larger
than a pear. Cleopatra and Philip
II. dazzled the world's vision with precious stones. Butgather all these
togetherand lift them, and add to them all the wealth of the pearl fisheries
and setthem in the panel of one door, and it does not equal this magnificent
gateway. An Almighty hand hewedthis, swung this, polished this. Against this
gateway, onone side, dash all the splendours of earthly beauty. Against this
gate, on the other side, beat the surges ofeternal glory.
II. COUNT THE NUMBER OF THOSE GATES. Imperial parks and lordly
manors are apt to have one expensive gateway, and the others are ordinary;
but look around at these entrances to heaven and count them. One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Hear it all the earth and
all the heavens. Twelve gates.Gate the first: the Moravians come up; they
believed in the Lord Jesus;they pass through. Gate the second:the Quakers
come up; they have receivedthe inward light; they have trusted in the Lord;
they pass through. Gate the third: the Lutherans come up; they had the same
grace that made Luther what he was, and they pass through. Gate the fourth:

the Baptists pass through. Gate the fifth: the Free-will Baptists pass through.
Gate the sixth: the Reformed Church passes through. Gate the seventh: the
Congregationalistspass through. Gate the eight: the Episcopalians pass
through. Gate the ninth: the Methodists pass through. Gate the tenth: the
Sabbatarians pass through. Gate the eleventh: the Church of the Disciples
pass through. Gate the twelfth: the Presbyterians pass through. But there are
a greatnumber of other denominations who must come in, and great
multitudes who connectedthemselves with no visible Church, but felt the
powerof godliness in their heart and showedit in their life. Where is their
gate? Will you shut all the remaining host out of the city? No. They may come
in at our gate.
III. NOTICE THE POINTS OF THE COMPASS TOWARD WHICH
THESE GATES LOOK. They are not on one side, or on two sides, or on three
sides, but on four sides. What does that mean? Why, it means that all
nationalities are included. On the north three gates. Thatmeans mercy for
Lapland, and Siberia, and Norway, and Sweden. On the south three gates.
That means pardon for Hindostan, and Algiers, and Ethiopia. On the east
three gates. Thatmeans salvationfor China, and Japan, and Borneo. On the
westthree gates. Thatmeans redemption for America. It does not make any
difference how dark-skinned or how pale-facedmen may be, they will find a
gate right before them. Hear it! oh, you thin-blooded nations of eternalwinter
— on the north three gates. Hearit! oh, you bronzed inhabitants panting
under equatorial heats — on the south three gates. ButI notice when John
saw these gates they were open — wide open. They will not always be so. After
awhile heavenwill have gatheredup all its intended population, and the
children of God will have come home. And heaven being made up, of course
the gates willbe shut.
IV. THE GATEKEEPERS. There is one angelat eachone of those gates. You
say that is right. Of course it is. You know that no earthly palace, or castle, or
fortress would be safe without a sentry pacing up and down by night and by

day; and if there were no defences before heaven, and the doors setwide open
with no one to guard them, all the vicious of earth would go up after awhile,
and all the abandoned of hell would go up after awhile, and heaven, instead of
being a world of light, and joy, and peace, and blessedness, wouldbe a world
of darkness and horror. So I am glad to tell you that while these twelve gates
stand open to let a greatmultitude in, there are twelve angels to keepsome
people out. Robespierre cannotgo through there, nor Hildebrand, nor Nero,
nor any of the debauched of earth who have not repented of their wickedness.
There will be a passwordat the gate of heaven. Do you know what that
passwordis? Here comes a crowd of souls up to the gate, and they say:"Let
me in. Let me in. I was very useful on earth. I endowedcolleges, Ibuilt
churches, and was famous for my charities; and having done so many
wonderful things for the world, now I come up to getmy reward." A voice
from within says:"I never knew you." Another greatcrowd comes up, and
they try to getthrough. They say: "We were highly honourable on earth, and
the world bowedvery lowly before us. We were honoured on earth, and now
we come to getour honours in heaven;" and a voice from within says:"I
never knew you." Another crowd advances and says:"We were very moral
people on earth, very moral indeed, and we come up to get appropriate
recognition." A voice answers:"I never knew you." After awhile I see another
throng approachthe gate, and one seems to be spokesmanfor all the rest,
although their voices ever and anon cry, "Amen! amen!" This one stands at
the gate and says:Let me in. I was a wandererfrom God. I deservedto die. I
have come up to this place, not because I deserve it, but because I have heard
that there is a saving powerin the blood of Jesus." The gatekeepersays:
"Thatis the password — 'Jesus!Jesus!'"
(T. De Witt Talmage.)
The gates ofthe city
J. G. Greenhough, M. A.

Bearing in mind still that this is a description of the ideal Church, we have
here four suggestive features presentedto our attention.
I. THE CHURCH IS A WALLED CITY WITH MANY GATES. "And had a
wall greatand high, and twelve gates, andat the gates twelve angels."
Evidently there is no exclusiveness here, but there is protection from
unsanctified and unlicensed intruders. The wallis for a bulwark, but not for a
barricade; it separatesfrom the world, but it does not shut out the world. And
angels stand at the gates-large-hearted, loving angels, not bigotedpriests, not
stern and crabbed formulators of creeds, but angels with the sweetface of
charity; and they stand there, not so much to challenge intruders, as to
trumpet forth into every corner of the world their summons, "Come in and
welcome."A walled city, but with an abundance of open gates. Thatis the
true idea of the Church. Separate from the world, yet always uniting the
world; offering freedom of access to all, but license to none. But men have
always been trying to improve on this idea. Heaven's methods are too simple
for their self-conceitedingenuity. The pattern in the mount wants
accommodating to the state of things below. Men have always beentrying to
improve on this idea of the Church, and in improving have defacedand
marred and impoverished and corrupted it. On the one side we have the gates
of the city closed, and nothing left but some narrow back stairs entrance, and
that so coveredover with a network of forms and creeds and subscriptions
and questions that only the most pliable and yielding souls can worm their
way through. But on the other side — and this is by far the greaterdangerat
present — we have not only the gates multiplied, but the very walls thrown
down, and the guardian angels dismissed, as though they were no longer
needed. Come in where you like, how you like, believing what you like, or as
little as you like. Let us take care that we abuse not in this way the sacred
name of charity. I am willing to pay a greatprice for brotherly love, but to
buy it at the costof truth is a losing bargain. There are twelve gates lying open
to all the world, and voices on every watch-towersinging the song of welcome:
"Come in, come in. But come in the name of our Lord and Saviour."

II. A CITY WITH GATES ON EVERY SIDE — NOT ONLY PROTESTING
AGAINST EXCLUSIVENESS BY THEIR NUMBERS, BUT
PROCLAIMING THE GRAND CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH BY
THEIR POSITION. "Onthe eastthree gates, onthe north three gates, onthe
south three gates, and on the westthree gates." Itis another rendering of the
Saviour's words, "They shall come from the east, and from the west, and from
the north and south, and sit down with Abraham in the kingdom of God";
and a picture of the same kind as that magnificent vision which floated before
the Saviour's eyes when He stoodunder the shadow of the Cross and looked
through the scornand mockeryof universal rejectionat a world bowing at
His feet, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." All
the ages travailfor its fulfilment. The gates ofthis city which point north and
westhave been crowdedfor a thousand years.
III. EVERY GATE HAS ITS OWN PECULIAR BEAUTY AND
ATTRACTIVENESS. "The gatesofthe city were twelve pearls, every several
gate of one pearl"; that is, there are no two gates alike, but they are all alike
beautiful. Here, firstly, is the carrying out of the thought which runs through
the whole description — that the Church below, like heaven above, manifests
its life, and power, and graces in infinite variety. There are all manner of
precious stones;all manner of fruits; all manner of gates;all imaginable
colours and forms. It is God's vindication of individuality; God's protest
againstcramping uniformity — againstall attempts to fashion Christians in
the same mould and turn them out after the same pattern. It means that
Christ, in fashioning men, never repeats a design;that no two Christians are
beautiful in exactlythe same way; that no two Christians have the same
training, the same experience, the same thoughts and feelings, but that God
sends every one a different schooland subjects every one to a different
discipline, that at last He may present every one perfect after a different
fashion. All the pictures of heavenwhich I have seenare gross caricatures,for
they representrows of saints and angels as much alike as rows of pins. God
does not fashionHis jewels in that way. All very well for pins, but God's elect
are not machine-made, turned out by the gross. Theyall glow with the same
Christ-light, but eachof them is cut after a unique pattern. But further: there

is a specialmeaning in the distinction and variety of the gates. It means that
men enter the Church by different ways, and are drawn to Christ by various
attractions. The promise which brought me peace as I knelt at the Master's
feet would perhaps hardly have touched you at all; and the word which
thrilled you would perhaps have fallen dull and meaningless onmy ears.
Christ has a separate song for every heart. Here is a youth, restless, fiery, full
of activity, eagerforsome greatfield of battle. Christ chants this battle-song
to him: "Fight the goodfight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." Here is a
student panting for knowledge, fired with a passionfor truth, ready to suffer
martyrdom for it. He hears a voice behind him saying, "In Christ are hid all
the treasures ofwisdom and knowledge."Here is a mystic, who longs to break
the veil of the unseen, dreamy, idealistic, half inclined to believe in
spiritualism, courting fellowship with invisible souls. Christ sings to him thus:
"Ye are come unto an innumerable company of angels, and to the spirits of
just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediatorof the new covenant."
IV. THE GATES ARE ALWAYS OPEN. "The gates shallnot be shut by
day." Yes, the gates are open! You have heard of that girl who had left her
father's house and wandered into paths of sin; and one night there came over
her a flood of shameful remorse and the agonyof a greatrepentance, and she
thought she would go back and look at the old home again, but not to enter.
Ah, no! those doors were closedfor ever. Just to look — one stolenlook — at
the old Paradise, and then back into darkness and despair! And with tear-
blinded eyes and weariedfeetshe crept up to the door in the silent midnight
hours, and half mechanicallyput her hand upon the latch; and lo, the door
opened, and she entered. For the father had said, "It shall be left open night
and day; it may be that she will come back again." And there she lay until the
morning, and awoketo find him kneeling by her side, kissing her with the
sweetkiss offorgiveness.
(J. G. Greenhough, M. A.)

The heavenly Jerusalem
R. Winterbotham, M. A.
Let us take up two or three points in the inspired description of the city in this
chapter and considerwhat they really mean.
1. Considerfirst what is said in ver. 13 "on the eastthree gates,"etc. What do
these twelve gates meanthen, three on eachside? What, save that the city lieth
open and accessible to all quarters, and to all quarters alike? Now let us not
fail to notice how strongly this contrasts with the characterofall human
institutions. How obvious it is that they are accessible to the few only, and
almost in exactproportion to the advantages theyoffer is the smallness of the
number of those who are admitted to share in them. The prizes of this life are
only for the rich, the successful, the talented, the favourites of fortune; only its
miseries, its sicknesses, its bereavements, seemthe common heritage of all, of
rich and poor, high and low, one with another. But it is not thus with the
glories of the holy city; they lie equally open towards every quarter, equally
accessible to men of every race and clime, and colour, and circumstance.
Therefore take courage,O traveller Zionwards; if only thy face be set towards
the holy city, thou too shalt surely find a gate open to admit thee, from
whateverdirection thou shalt come.
2. Considernext what is written about the city in ver. 15 that it "lieth
foursquare," etc. The city is the same in every direction — thoroughly
symmetrical, with no inequality about it; all is full, complete, utterly
satisfactory, nothing falls behind the mark of the rest. How greatand striking,
again, is the contrastbetweenthis and any human happiness, any earthly
good, so unequal, so incomplete as that always is!If well in one direction, so
certainly ill in another; if pleasantfor the body, so generallybad for the soul;
if wholesome forthe spirit, so generallygrievous to the mind. But in heaven
nothing will be wanting; perfect and equal extensionwill be the law of being;
life will have its threefold expansion, in fulness infinite, in intensity perfect, in
duration eternal.

3. Consider, again, how it is written in ver. 18 that "the city was pure gold,
like unto clearglass."We shall remember at once that no gold on earth is like
this, for it is one of the qualities of gold to be opaque, howeverthin it may be
beaten out; even gold-leaf is not transparent: the beauties of pure gold and of
clearglass are never combined in this world. Nor, if they were, would the
result be at all desirable for building purposes. For what would be the
consequence ifa city were made of such material? Why, that every house and
every chamber would be transparent, and that one could look through the
whole city from side to side. But what does this universal transparency signify
in heaven, save that there will be nothing to hide, nothing to keepsecret, but
that all will be open to all, because nothing will be shameful and nothing
selfish? And now, since we have gone round about our Sion, and marked well
her bulwarks and consideredher palaces, tellme, O my fellow-pilgrims, shall
this be really our home? It is ours, no doubt: we are heirs of it, joint heirs with
Christ of all that He as man hath won for man; but shall we certainly come
into our inheritance? Oh, my fellow-pilgrims, travellers together, as ye say,
towards the heavenly' Jerusalem;this holy city, this happy city is certainly
ours; its joy is our joy, its glory is our glory. Shall a little toil, a little need for
earnestness, a little necessityfor patience, daunt us and defeatus? Shall we
fall short of so greatand full salvationfor want of a few years'careful
watching, a few years' resolute striving?
(R. Winterbotham, M. A.)
The gates ofheaven
H. Macmillan, D. D. , LL. D.
I cannot help thinking that there is more meaning in the vision than the mere
quarter of the earth from which the inhabitants of the New Jerusalemare to
come. I believe the gates referalso to the different periods of life at which
persons go to heaven. The gates onthe eastside admit those who enter heaven

in the morning of life, when the sun is just rising, and the dew is on the grass,
and all is fair and bright, and full of beautiful promise. The gates on the west
side admit those who enter heaven with heavy step, at the close ofa long life,
when the sun is setting, and the sad twilight shadows are gathering and
deepening, making the path dim and indistinct, so that there is dangerof
missing the gates altogether. The gates onthe cold, dark, wintry north side
admit those who have had few advantages in life, who have been poor and
friendless, whose circumstances have beenunfavourable, and perhaps
through much persecutionand tribulation entered the kingdom. While the
gates on the warm and sunny south side admit those who had prosperedin
life, to whom everything had been favourable and pleasant, who had no
difficulties to overcome, and no trials to endure. Such, I believe, is a deeper
meaning implied in the position of the gates ofthe New Jerusalem.
(H. Macmillan, D. D. , LL. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM DESCRIBED(Revelation21:9 to
Revelation22:5).—Beforeentering upon this sectionit is wise to recallonce
more that the descriptions here given are figurative, and are not to be
understood literally. “There is nothing in it as it seems saving the King.” This
remark may well be thought needless;but the misconceptions and
misrepresentations ofthe Christian’s hope have been many and reckless;and,
even were this not the case, there is always a certain proportion of people who
seemincapable of understanding figurative language. Half the errors of the
Church have been due to prosaic-minded men who could not discernthe
difference betweenfigure and fact; and men of unpoeticaland vehement
temperament have blundered over these descriptions, and their blunders have
discredited the whole Apocalypse in the eyes of some. The following are the

features of the heavenly city, which the description seems designedto enforce
upon our thoughts. The greatand holy community will be one which draws its
glory from God (Revelation21:11; Revelation21:23;Revelation22:5). Its
blessings are not for a few, but open to all, for its gates lie open to all quarters
(Revelation21:12-13). The heavenly and the earthly will be at one; angels,
apostles, andpatriarchs are there (Revelation21:12;Revelation21:14).
Diverse characters willfind entrance there; the gates bearthe names of the
twelve tribes. The door of admissionis alike for all, though diverse characters
from diverse quarters will enter in (Revelation21:21). It will be the abode of
all that is fair and good, and no disproportions will mar its loveliness
(Revelation21:17-18). The ancient truths, spokenby various lips, will be
found to be eternal truths, full of varied but consistentbeauty (Revelation
21:14;Revelation21:19-20). The forms and helps which were needful here
will not be needful there (Revelation21:22-23);all that the servants of God
have righteously hungered and thirsted for here will be supplied there
(Revelation22:1-2). There will be blessings, various, continuous, eternal; new
fields of labour and new possibilities of service will be openedthere
(Revelation22:3-4).
(9) And there came unto me one of the sevenangels . . .—The words “unto
me” should be omitted. One of the sevenangels which had the seven vials of
wrath had shown to the seerthe scarlet-cladharlot, the great and guilty
Babylon: so here does one of the same company of angels show him the pure
Bride of the Lamb, the new and holy Jerusalem.
BensonCommentary
Revelation21:9-14. And there came unto me one of the seven angels — Most
probably the same who had (Revelation17:1, &c.) showedJohn the mystic
Babylon and her destruction, and now shows him, by way of contrast, the new
Jerusalemand her glory. And he carried me away in the Spirit — The same
expressionas is used before, Revelation17:3; to a greatand high mountain —
Thus Ezekiel40:2, was brought in the visions of God, and set on a very high
mountain: and showedme the holy city Jerusalem — The old city is now

forgotten, so that this is no longer termed the new, but absolutely, Jerusalem.
O how did St. John long to enter in! But the time was not yet come. Ezekiel
also describes the holy city, and what belongs to it, (chap. 40.-xlviii.,) but a city
quite different from the old Jerusalem, as it was either before or after the
Babylonish captivity. The descriptions of the prophet and of the apostle agree
in many particulars; but in many more they differ. Ezekielexpresslydescribes
the temple and the worship of God therein, closelyalluding to the Levitical
service. But St. John saw no temple, and describes the city far more large, and
glorious, and heavenly, than the prophet. His description, indeed, is an
assemblageofthe sublimest, richestimagery, not only of Ezekiel, but of other
ancient prophets. Having the glory of God — Forher light, Revelation21:23;
Isaiah60:1-2; Zechariah 2:5; and her light — Or the lustre thereof, as ο
φωστηραυτης may be rendered; was like unto a stone most precious, even
like a jasper— Forbrightness; clearas crystal — The divine shechinah
illuminating the whole city, which, as it was representedto St. John pendant
in the air, shone with an elegantand amazing lustre, expressive of the perfect
illumination, purity, and holiness of its happy inhabitants. And had a wall
greatand high — To show its strength and security under the almighty
protection of its founder and preserver; and had twelve gates — With angels
for guards, still waiting upon the heirs of salvation; and names written
thereon — On the gates;of the twelve tribes of Israel — To signify that it was
the dwelling of the Israel of God, and that such as had been faithful members
of the true church had a right to be admitted, and to show also the greatglory
of that city, where angels were appointed to keepguard; an honour properly
due only to the majesty of God’s presence, and to the seatof it. On the east,
north, south, and west, three gates — To show that people of all climates and
nations may have accessto it. And the wallof the city had twelve foundations,
inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles — Figuratively showing how
greatdependance the church had on their testimony, what an influence the
gospelwhich they preachedhad had on raising this divine structure, and that
the inhabitants of it had built only on that faith which the apostles once
delivered to the saints.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

21:9-21 God has various employments for his holy angels. Sometimes they
sound the trumpet of Divine Providence, and warn a careless world;
sometimes they discoverthings of a heavenly nature of the heirs of salvation.
Those who would have clearviews of heaven, must getas near to heavenas
they can, on the mount of meditation and faith. The subject of the vision is the
church of God in a perfect, triumphant state, shining in its lustre; glorious in
relation to Christ; which shows that the happiness of heaven consists in
intercourse with God, and in conformity to him. The change of emblems from
a bride to a city, shows that we are only to take generalideas from this
description. The wall is for security. Heaven is a safe state;those who are
there, are separatedand securedfrom all evils and enemies. This city is vast;
here is room for all the people of God. The foundation of the wall; the promise
and powerof God, and the purchase of Christ, are the strong foundations of
the safetyand happiness of the church. These foundations are set forth by
twelve sorts of precious stones, denoting the variety and excellence ofthe
doctrines of the gospel, or of the graces ofthe Holy Spirit, or the personal
excellencesofthe Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven has gates;there is a free
admission to all that are sanctified;they shall not find themselves shut out.
These gates were allof pearls. Christ is the Pearl of greatprice, and he is our
Way to God. The streetof the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. The
saints in heaventread gold under foot. The saints are there at rest, yet it is not
a state of sleepand idleness;they have communion, not only with God, but
with one another. All these glories but faintly representheaven.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And there came unto me one of the sevenangels ... - See the notes on
Revelation16:6-7. Why one of these angels was employed to make this
communication is not stated. It may be that as they had been engagedin
bringing destruction on the enemies of the church, and securing its final
triumph, there was a propriety that that triumph should be announced by one
of their number.
And talkedwith me - That is, in regardto what he was about to show me.

I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife - I will show you what represents
the redeemedchurch now to be receivedinto permanent union with its Lord -
as a bride about to be united to her husband. See the notes on ver. 2. Compare
Revelation19:7-8.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
9. The same angelwho had shown John Babylon the harlot, is appropriately
employed to show him in contrastnew Jerusalem, the Bride (Re 17:1-5). The
angelso employed is the one that had the last sevenplagues, to show that the
ultimate blessednessofthe Church is one end of the divine judgments on her
foes.
unto me—A, B, and Vulgate omit.
the Lamb's wife—in contrastto her who sat on many waters (Re 17:1), (that
is, intrigued with many peoples and nations of the world, insteadof giving her
undivided affections, as the Bride does, to the Lamb.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
One of the sevenangels;one of those mentioned Revelation15:6.
I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife; I will show thee the whole church,
(invisible heretofore), the glorious state of the church triumphant, under the
representationof a greatcity.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And there came unto me one of the sevenangels,.... Eitherthe first of them, as
one of the four beasts is the first of them, Revelation6:1 or it may be the last,
and very likely the same as in Revelation17:1

which had the sevenvials full of the seven lastplagues;that is, the wrath of
God poured out by them on the antichristian party; see Revelation15:1.
And talkedwith me, saying, come hither; see Revelation17:1.
I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. The "Lamb" is Christ, who is
often so called in this book;see Revelation 5:6 Revelation19:7 and is the Son
of God, the heir of all things, the Makerand Governorof the universe, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords; and who, as Mediator, has all
accomplishments and qualifications to recommend him as a bridegroom, such
as beauty, riches, and wisdom: the bride, his wife, is not any particular
believer, nor any particular church; not the Gentile church, nor the Jewish
church only, but all the electof God, consisting ofthe raisedand living saints
at the coming of Christ; who will make up one body, one generalassembly,
and be as a bride, prepared and adorned for her husband: these were first
betrothed to Christ in eternity, and were openly espousedby him, one by one,
at conversion;and now being all gatheredin by the effectual calling, the dead
being raised, and the living changed, and all glorified, the marriage is
consummated, and they are declaredpublicly to be the bride, the Lamb's
wife; See Gill on Matthew 22:2. And now, though John had had a sight of her
before, Revelation21:2 yet that was but a glimmering one, at a distance, he
being in the wilderness, Revelation17:3 wherefore the angelcalls him to him,
and proposes to give him a clear, distinct, and particular view of her, in all her
glory; and a glorious sight this indeed! to see the bride brought to the King in
raiment of needlework, and the queen stand at his right hand in gold of
Ophir. This is a sight of a quite different nature from that of the filthy
strumpet, which the same angelproposed to give to John in Revelation17:1.
Geneva Study Bible

{6} And there came unto me one of the sevenangels which had the seven vials
full of the seven lastplagues, and talkedwith me, saying, Come hither, I will
shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
(6) A transition to the describing of the heavenly Church, by the express
calling of John in this verse, and his enrapturing by the Spirit, in confirmation
of the truth of God in the verse following.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
to Revelation22:5Revelation21:9 to Revelation22:5. One of the sevenvial-
angels, anotherof whom had shownJohn the judgment of the great
harlot,[4281]now carries the seerto a high mountain, in order to afford him a
close view of the new Jerusalem. Then there follows the specialdescription
which portrays in brightest colors the final goalof Christian hope, and thus
puts the glorious end of what is to happen[4282]at the close of the peculiarly
revealedvisions.
[4281]Revelation17:1.
[4282]Cf. Revelation4:1.
Revelation21:9-10. Δεῦρο, κ.τ.λ. The uniformity of the description makes
prominent the contrastwith the judgment presented to view (Revelation
17:1).[4283]
τὴν νύμφην, τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀρνίου. It belongs to the contrastwith the
woman representing the worldly city, that here the holy city, wherein the holy

Church of God dwells, appears as the bride, the wife belonging to the
Lamb.[4284]
ἀπήνεγκέν-g0-με-g0-. Cf. Revelation17:3; Ezekiel40:2.
μέγα-g0-καὶ-g0-ὑψηλὸν-g0-. “Great” in circumference must the mountain be
in proportion to its height; but the height assures the seerof the complete view
of the city spread out before him, which at all events does not lie upon the
mountain.[4285]
καταβαίνουσαν, κ.τ.λ. Hengstenb.[4286]finds that describedhere for the first
time in proper terms which previously designated, by way of introduction,
Revelation21:2; but Revelation21:10 cannothave the same relation to
Revelation21:2 as, e.g., ch. 15 Revelation21:5 has to Revelation21:1, for, in
this connection, alreadyat Revelation21:2 reference was made to the
descending Jerusalem. The scene is thus to be regardedin the way that the
descending of the city (Revelation21:2), which gives occasionforthe speeches
of Revelation21:3-8, has already begun, but Revelation21:10 proceeds
further, so that, while the city is sinking down from heaven to earth, and here
finds its place, John is carriedby the angelto the mountain, and thence gazes
upon the city now found upon earth.
[4283]Cf. Ewald.
[4284]Cf. Revelation21:2;Revelation19:7.
[4285]AgainstHengstenb. and Luthardt.

[4286]On Revelation21:1.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
The Vision of the New Jerusalem, Revelation21:9 to Revelation22:5The
Measure ofthe City, Revelation21:9-179.And there came unto me &c.]As in
Revelation17:1. “unto me” should be omitted, so that the sentence as far as
“vials” is verbatim the same as there. The identical form of introduction
emphasizes the contrast betweenBabylon and Jerusalem, the harlot and the
bride.
full] According to the correcttext, this word is made to agree not with “the
sevenbowls” but with “the seven angels.”But probably it is a merely
accidentalgrammaticalinaccuracyof St John’s. There is a much worse “false
concord” in Revelation14:19.
in the Spirit] Revelation17:3, Revelation1:10. Cf. Ezekiel3:14.
to a greatand high mountain] Ezekiel40:2. The preposition rendered “to”
plainly implies that St John was seton the mountain; whether the city
occupiedthe mountain itself, or another site within view. In Ezek. l.c. the city
apparently occupies the southern slope of the mountain, whence the seerviews
it.
that greatcity, the holy Jerusalem]Read, the holy city Jerusalem.
descending … from God] Verbatim the same as in Revelation21:2, according
to the true text. The descentdescribedhere is no doubt the same as there, but
St John’s vision of the descentis not exactlythe same. He has seen, as it were
in the distance, the appearance ofthe city: but his attention was absorbedin

listening to the sayings of Revelation21:3-8. Now, he is summoned to attend to
the other, and finds it at the same stage where he noticed it in passing before.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 9. - And there came unto me one of the sevenangels which had the
sevenvials full of the sevenlast plagues. Omit "unto me." "Full of" must be
connectedwith "angels." Justas these angels had carried out God's
judgments upon the ungodly, and one of them had exhibited the judgment of
the harlot (Revelation17:1), so now one of them shows the picture of the bliss
of the faithful - the bride of the Lamb. And talked with me, saying, Come
hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife; hither (omitting "come").
The wording of this verse (except the last phrase) is almostidentical with
Revelation17:1. The last phrase is the greatcontrastto the former chapter. In
Revelation17. I was seena picture of a harlot, the unfaithful part of Christ's
Church; here we have a descriptionof those who have been "faithful unto
death" (Revelation2:10), and whose purity and faithfulness are symbolized
under the figure of the "wife of the Lamb" (see on Revelation17:1).
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
TONY GARLAND
Revelation21:9 Open Bible at Rev. 21:9 Listen to Rev. 21:9
one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls with the sevenlastplagues

The sevenlast plagues were calledlast because “inthem the wrath of God is
complete” (Rev. 15:1‣ ). This may be the same angel which showedJohn the
GreatHarlot (Rev. 17:1‣ ).
Come, I will show you
The angel, having one of the sevenbowls, refers back to the seventh bowl itself
which destroyed Babylon (Rev. 16:19‣ )and invites a comparisonbetweentwo
greatcities:Babylon, the Harlot and the New Jerusalem, the bride (Rev.
21:10‣ ).
the bride, the Lamb’s wife
Bride is νύμφην [nymphēn], used of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven (Rev. 21:2‣ ). Wife is γυναῖκα [gynaika], usedof the wife
of the Lamb at His marriage (Rev. 19:7‣ ). Concerning Jesus’title as Lamb,
see commentary on Revelation5:6. See commentary on Revelation21:2. See
commentary on Revelation19:7. See JerusalemMarriedto God.
Some expositors take the remainder of this chapter and the first part of the
following chapter as a recapitulation which describes the participation of the
New Jerusalemwithin the Millennial Kingdom hovering over the earth.35
They interpret the nations on the earth (Rev. 21:24-26‣ )as being millennial
nations which accessthe New Jerusalemabove. In particular, they point to the
existence ofthe tree of life in the New Jerusalemas evidence that the
millennial nations will receive healing from it.
There are significant problems with the recapitulationview:
If the millennial nations have accessto the tree of life, why then is there still
death during the thousand years (Isa. 65:20)? Although, the millennial nations
will have accessto all kinds of trees (plural) which provide fruit for food and
leaves for medicinal purposes, these are not the tree of life (Eze. 47:12). Nor
do the locationof these trees correspondwith that of the tree of life in the
eternal city (Rev. 22:2‣ ).

Within this vision of the city, the curse is said to be no more (Rev. 22:3‣ ). Yet
the curse continues during the Millennium (Isa. 65:20;Rev. 20:8-9‣ ).
This is not a recapitulation, but a further refinement of the overview which
John saw in Revelation21:1-8‣ .36
CHRIS BENFIELD
The Gathering of the City (9) – The judgment of God is over and eternity has
begun. One
of the angels which had the 7 vials of wrath has been chosento present the
New Jerusalemto
John.
 The angelfirst shows John the bride, the Lamb’s wife. As I consideredthese
words, I
realized that John was looking at us, the saved by grace, the bride of Christ.
He was given a
snapshotof the future and we were in it! We will be there in heaven as the
bride of the Lamb.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 9
3. John"s secondvisionof the New Jerusalem21:9-22:5

God now provided John with more information about the New Jerusalem(
Revelation21:2). Similarly Revelation17:1 to Revelation19:10 expanded the
announcement of Babylon"s fall in Revelation16:19. The chronological
progressionofthe revelationin Revelation19:11 to Revelation22:5 locates the
New Jerusalemin the new creation, not in the Millennium.
Verse 9
One of the angels with the sevenbowls of judgment servedas John"s guide in
this part of his vision (cf. Revelation17:1). The fact that one of these
particular angels helped John understand both the mystery of Babylon and
that of the New Jerusalemsets these two cities in stark contrast.
"It is impossible to dwell both in Babylon and in the new Jerusalem." [Note:
Morris, p248.]
It is quite clearthat the "bride," the wife of the Lamb, is the New Jerusalem(
Revelation21:10;cf. Revelation21:2). Contrastthe harlot of Revelation17:1
(cf. Revelation19:7; Revelation21:2). From the description that follows it also
seems clearthat the New Jerusalemis a city. It is not just a personor a group
of people, such as Christians. Some have identified it as the church. [Note:
E.g, RobertGundry, "The New Jerusalem:People as Place, notPlace for
People," NovumTestamentum29:3 (July1987):256.]This is the first of seven
references to the Lamb in this section( Revelation21:9; Revelation21:14;
Revelation21:22-23;Revelation21:27;Revelation22:1; Revelation22:3). He
becomes increasinglyprominent as the book draws to a close. "The Lamb is
all the glory in Immanuel"s land." [Note:"Immanuel"s Land" by Anne Ross
Cousin.]

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible
With the ninth verse we are brought back once more to the millennial state.
What was briefly statedin Revelation20:4-6 is now more fully revealedand
we have a description of the bride, the Lamb’s Wife, in her millennial glory, in
relation to Israeland to the nations on the earth. one of the angels which had
the sevenvials appears on the scene to show something to the seer. We had a
similar scene in Revelation17:1-3. There one of these angelic bearers of the
vials showedto John the harlot woman and her judgment; but now he is to see
the bride, the Lamb’s wife. “And he carried me awayin the Spirit, and setme
on a great, high mountain and showedme the holy city, Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God.” She is seencoming down out of heaven. This
coming down precedes the one mentioned in Revelation21:2-3 by a thousand
years. Her coming down does not mean here that she actually comes down
upon the earth, to dwell on the earth during the millennium. Her coming out
of heaven in Revelation21:2-3 is undoubtedly to the new earth. But here she
comes down to be over the earth.
F. B. HOLE
Second, in this vision John sees the holy city, the bride, the Lamb’s wife, not
as it will be in the eternal state, as in verses Revelation 21:2-3 of our chapter,
but as it will be in connectionwith the millennial scene. The fact that we read
of the twelve tribes of Israel, the nations who are to be healed and saved, and
the kings of the earth, make this manifest. So when John sees the city
descending out of heavenfrom God, in verse Revelation21:10, he is viewing it
coming down to take up its connectionwith the millennial earth at the
beginning of that epoch. When he saw it coming down, in verse Revelation
21:2, it was at the beginning of the eternalstate, the millennium being over.
The recognitionof this factenhances the value of the words in verse

Revelation21:2, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” A thousand
years have rolled, yet her bridal beauty for the heart of Christ is untarnished
and as fresh as ever.
As with Babylon so here we have brought togetherthe two symbols of a
woman and a city. They appear, on the surface, to be quite incongruous, but
not so when we come to their significance. The one sets forth what the church
will be to Christ; the other what it will be for Him: as the bride, the objectof
His love; as the city, the centre from which His powerful administration will
proceed.
The adjective, “great,” inverse Revelation21:10 lacks authority and should
be omitted. The harlot city, Babylon, was characterizedby greatness,the
bridal city, New Jerusalem, is characterizedby being from God, and hence it
is holy and heavenly and has the glory of God—not the glory of man. This
being so, it descends overthe earth as a luminary, and “her light” is likenedto
“a jasper stone clearas crystal.” Jasperindeed is mentioned three times in the
description of the city, and the only other occurrence ofthe word in the book
is in the description of the One who sits on the throne in Revelation4:3. That
which is descriptive of Godis descriptive of the city.
IRONSIDE
The City of God (Revelation21:9-17)
Beginning with the ninth verse we have a marvelous description of the new
Jerusalem. Note that this comes atthe conclusionof the prophetic outline. It is
a kind of appendix or supplementary description. Just as one of the seven

angels that had the sevenbowls full of the sevenlast plagues gave to John a
vision of Babylon the great(17-18), so here one of the same angels now bids
him come and view the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Carrying him awayin the
Spirit to a greatand high mountain, the angelshows him that great city, the
holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God. Babylon was both a city
and a woman-both a greatsystem and a company of people professing to be in
bridal relation with the Lamb. So here the holy Jerusalemis both a city and a
woman. The city is the bride as well as the home of the saints;just as we speak
of Rome when we mean the church that has her seatthere, as well as the city
where she sits.
By this greatcity descending out of Heaven from God, I understand then the
diffusion of heavenly principles over all this earth during the millennium by
the heavenly saint. It is through His saints that the Lord is going to claim His
inheritance. We may learn in this symbolic description of the city, the great
guiding principles that will prevail in that coming age, and which are full of
instruction for us at the present time. The city has the glory of God, and her
light is described as “like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasperstone,
clearas crystal” (11). The church is to be the vesselfor displaying the glory of
God throughout that age of righteousnessand indeed, as verse 2 has already
informed us, throughout all the ages to come. The “wallgreatand high”
speaks ofseparation, a divine principle that runs throughout the Word of God
from the time that sin entered to the close. Awall is for protection too. The
separationof God’s people is not an arbitrary principle to their discomfort, as
some seemto think; it is clearly for their blessing, protecting from the evil
without.
J HAMPTON KEATHLEY III
AS A BRIDE, THE WIFE OF THE LAMB (9-10)

“And one of the sevenangels …” (vs. 9). As this verse shows, this angel’s
ministry was one of severe judgment, a judgment which from our standpoint
is still future, but here his ministry is one revealing doctrinal truth to John, a
much more enjoyable task.
“The bride, the wife of the Lamb” is a description, as verse 10 shows us, of the
new Jerusalemwhich is againseencoming down out of heaven from God.
Why is the new Jerusalemcalledthe bride, the wife of the Lamb? In verse 2
we are told the city was “made ready as a bride adorned for her husband,”
but here new Jerusalemis called the bride. There are at leasttwo reasons for
this: the first is seen, as suggestedin verse 2, in the beautiful analogyof the
figure of a bride. Though dealing with the church and her responsibility in
witnessing JosephAldrich has nicely captured the picture. He says:
Ideally, a bride is the epitome of all that is right and beautiful. She is a symbol
of purity, hope, purpose, trust, love, beauty, and wholeness in a world pock-
marked with ugliness. The bride motif, found in both testaments, is used by
God to illustrate His strategyfor attracting mankind to the availability of his
life changing grace.245
So God calls new Jerusalemthe bride, the wife of the Lamb, because as (a) the
Lord is making his bride, the church, spotless and pure (Eph. 5:26-27), so he
will make beautiful the new Jerusalem, (b) as marriage is permanent, so will
be the new city, and (c) as a bride is beautiful and gloriouslyadorned, so will
be the new city.
Second, though the new Jerusalemwill eventually be the home of all the
redeemed, it will first be the home of the church, the bride of Christ, who will
also be on display during the Millennium, the marriage feast. Remember, this
is the home that He is preparing for us (John 14:2-3).

“And he carriedme awayin the spirit” (vs. 10)refers to a specialspiritual
state, a trance-like condition into which John was often takenin order to
receive specialrevelationfrom God for this book (cf. 1:10; 4:2; 17:3). This
goes beyond the generalfilling or controlof the Spirit.
Then againJohn sees the “holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven.”
Some think that because ofthe secondmention of the city coming down out of
heaven “this sectiondescribes the city’s relation to the millennial state. In
other words there seems to be two descents of the city, 21:1-8 being the one in
relation to eternity, and 21:9-22:5 the one in relation to the Millennium.”246
Walvoord on the other hand says, “A preferred interpretation, however, is
that the passage continues to describe the new Jerusalemas it will be in the
eternal state. Obviously the city would be much the same in either case …”247
As mentioned earlier, the city will exist in the Millennium and will probably
hover over the earth, perhaps above the earthly Jerusalemrather than
descending to settle upon the earth as suggestedearlier.
IVP NEW TESTAMENTCOMMENTARIES
The angelpromises to show John the bride, the wife of the Lamb (v. 9), but
what then appears is a city, not a woman (v. 10). From this point on, the
bridal imagery is dropped, to surface againonly in 22:17. The image of the
city as a woman is not carried through consistently, as it was in chapters 17
and 18. The angelshows Johnthe holy city (vv. 9-14)and then measures it (vv.
15-21). The mountain great and high (v. 10) to which John is takenin the
Spirit (that is, in his vision) is more than a vantage point from which to view
the holy city. It is Mount Zion itself (14:1), on which the city stands, or rather
"lands" in its descentfrom the sky.

JOHN MACARTHUR
The Capital City of Heaven, Part 1
Sermons Revelation21:9–21 66-83 Jan29, 1995
A + A - RESET
The description of the capital city of heaven starts in chapter 21, verse 9, and
runs all the way to chapter 22, verse 5. And though that is a long portion of
Scripture and you might think it would take us a long time to get through it,
there’s really not much to add. You can almost getthe full picture by just
reading it. It cannotbe embellished. There are few things that can be
explained and enriched as we move along. But basicallythe Scripture itself is
so magnificent, that in itself it says plenty for us to begin to understand the
glories of eternalheaven.
But before we look at the text itself, just some introductory thoughts to get us
running. Jesus made a wonderful promise to all of those who believe in Him.
He said, “In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places;if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come againand receive you to Myself, that
where I am, there you may be also.”
Now I want to extract out of that sectionfrom John 14 just the thought, “In
My Father’s house are many dwelling places.” The Father’s house is really the
new Jerusalem, becausethat’s the abode of God, that’s where God will live
with His people forever. Back in the first few verses of chapter 21, remember
we saw in verse 2 the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God. And it says in verse 3, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among
men.” That’s the city where we live. That’s the city where God dwells. There’s
no temple in it, as we shall see overin verse 22, because the Lord God, the

Almighty, and the Lamb are the temple. So that is the house where God
dwells, that is His place of abode, and that’s where we will live with Him.
So here, in fact, is the Father’s house being described. What was promised in
John 14 is describedhere in Revelation21. The place that the Lord has been
preparing for His beloved now comes down into the eternalstate, descending
out of the heaven of heavens into the new heaven and the new earth. And here
it is described for us.
Remember now, the capital city of heaven is that; it’s the capital city of the
new heavens and the new earth, the infinite, final state. And so, in John 14
Jesus was giving us the promise of heaven. Repeatedlyin the New Testament
we are told as believers we are citizens of heaven, and we are waiting to getto
heaven where our Fatheris, our Savioris, our dwelling is, where our names
are written, where our brothers and sisters are, where our affections are,
where our hearts are, where our treasure is, and where our inheritance
dwells.
The country song says, “I want to go home where I belong.” And we should
experience those kinds of longings for heaven. Heaven is where we will live
forever, and the Lord knows that we have a desire to know something about
it. Like a persontraveling to a foreign country wanting to know where they’re
going to live when they get there, we excite ourselves when we begin to see
some of the details about the place we’re going to spend eternity. This is a
description, againI say, of the Father’s house where He is preparing dwellings
for us. So God knowing our sense ofanticipation, knowing that we would like
to know what it’s all about, has given us a glimpse of heaven with some very
selectdetails. And they’re really, frankly, absolutelystaggering, mind-
boggling, and overwhelming.

By the time – just a reminder – we come to chapter 21, the rapture of the
church has passed, the period of the tribulation and judgment on the earth
with all of the death and destruction that went with it is passed. Armageddon,
the greatbattle is passed, it is only a memory. The destruction that comes at
the day of the Lord is passed. The thousand-year millennial kingdom is over.
All rebellion is forever ended, and all sinners are in the eternal lake of fire,
sent there from the greatwhite throne judgment. Heaven and earth have been
uncreated, what is remaining of heaven and earth after the holocausts of
judgment. They are reduced to divine energy, and Godhas recreatedthe new
heaven and the new earth, which is the eternalstate, introduced to us in
chapter 21 verse 1: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth.”
We have seenthe vision of the doomed, the damned , and the unblessed. We
have felt the scorchof eternal hell, and the isolationof separationand the
relentless pain of everlasting punishment. But now the vision is of the domain
of the blessed, the final eternalhome of all the redeemed, the beautiful new
heaven and new earth. And in the middle of it this diamond jewelcapital city
calledthe new Jerusalem. Time is over and eternity is resumed again.
Now in the first eight verses, we alreadylookedat the introduction to the new
heavens and the new earth. And in that introduction we were given a glimpse
of the capitalcity, as verse 2 notes, the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And
what we saidat that time – and I briefly remind you of – is that the present
heaven where the saints go who die knowing the Lord, where all of them are,
whether they are Old Testamentor New Testament, when they’ve died they
go into the current present heaven. That place where God dwells with the holy
angels and with the spirits of redeemed men and women, will descendinto the
new heaven and the new earth, perhaps affixing itself someone onthe new
earth, settling into that final new heaven and new earth, that marvelous,
marvelous new creationas the capital city, the holy city, the place where we

Jesus was to be married forever

Jesus was to be married forever

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Jesus was to be married forever

Similar to Jesus was to be married forever (20)

More from GLENN PEASE

More from GLENN PEASE (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Jesus was to be married forever