Throw
Out the Lifeline
Bible
Study Lessons
BIBLE CLASS NOTES
by Bill Thornhill
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Chapter Twenty-one
We come to the 
seventh and final vision in the Book
of Revelation. The seals have all been opened, the trumpets have all sounded, the
chalices have all been poured out, and final judgment has been pronounced
on the old serpent, his Sea Beast, his Land Beast, as well as his False
Prophet. Satan has failed at every
turn. Isaiah prophesied more than eight
hundred years before the events of this book (Isaiah 65:17ff) about the new
heavens and new earth. In this chapter
we will observe the characteristics of the new heavens and earth including the
blessings enjoyed by those who dwell therein.
Oh, the beauty of the New Jerusalem!
This latter section of the Apocalypse is based on the last twelve
chapters of the Book of Ezekiel.
In this chapter John described the
blessed relationship of those who came safely through persecution. In this chapter before us we see nothing but
the bliss enjoyed by those in the new heavens and the new earth. We will be introduced to the Wife of the
Lamb, the City of
The Hebrew writer speaks of the
Christians looking for a city which has foundations, whose builder
and maker is God (
Chapter twenty-one falls into three
natural divisions: vv. 1-8; 9-21; and 22-27.
In the 1st verse John wrote, Now I
saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away. Also there was no more sea. The words “heaven(s) and earth” refer not to
literal skies and planets, but to religious world-orders. The new heaven and earth of which John
speaks is the church for which Jesus died, God’s new
world-order for the redemption of mankind.
The word “new” is from kainon, referring not to something until then
unknown, but to something recently made, novel, renovated, or better and of
higher excellence. John saw what Isaiah
prophesied some eight hundred years before.
The Lord’s church had come into existence 40 years before this time and
she was novel and of better or higher quality.
It is significant that John used the word kainon rather than neos,
referring to something new chronologically such as a newborn child. This is the only sense in which they were
“new” at the time John penned these words.
The “first heaven and earth” of this
verse and the “former” of Isaiah 65:17, which would not be remembered or called
to mind any more, are the same. The
first heaven and earth were Judaism. The
complete passing of the system of Judaism took place over a forty-year period;
the same amount of time as she took coming into existence during her wandering
in the wilderness. Essentially, Judaism
passed away in two stages. On the day
Christ died, he nailed the law of Moses to the cross,
taking it away as God’s law for spiritually governing his people. The second stage of the removal of Judaism
came when the Romans (the abomination of desolation) stood in the holy place at
the conquest of
John completed this verse with the
statement, Also there was no more sea.
The sea also disappeared. The
ancients spoke of three fundamentals of life as being the earth, the heavens,
and the seas. Using metaphorical
language, the earth and the heaven are gone, so is the sea. The word “sea” in this passage come from
thalkassa, and refers to any large body of water when it is used
literally. Here it is used metaphorically
to refer to the removal of a nation or a people, in this instance the Jewish
nation. The
In the 2nd verse John
advanced his vision when he wrote, Then I, John saw the holy city, New
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. At this point the
metaphor is changed from “new heaven and earth” to the holy City, New
Jerusalem. Both figures speak of the
same thing. The literal city of Jerusalem had been the “holy city” in which the
presence of God dwelt on the day of atonement since the Ark of the covenant had
been brought there by David (2 Samuel 15:24-29). When the Romans did what Jesus prophesied,
the literal city of
Another pertinent point regarding this
is from the prophecy of Isaiah 65:17-25 and also Isaiah 51:15-16 in which God
spoke concerning the prophet’s work of preaching to
In the 3rd verse John
introduced a third metaphor for the new heaven and earth, the New Jerusalem,
when he said, And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His
people. God Himself will be with them
and be their God. What the voice
said is a bit different from what we have heard before. In this language there is a beautiful and
humbling promise made by God to the people of his Kingdom.
The Old Testament Tabernacle was a
portable temple; the forerunner of the great
It is sometimes insisted, due to
John’s use of the future tense in the promise that he spoke of a condition
existing only when the physical universe is gone, and all are in heaven. This is a mistaken view for the following
reasons: (1) God dwells in his people now, and he always has (1 John
Continuing his description of the
relationship of God with his people, John said in the 4th verse, And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former
things have passed away. Again,
someone will insist this cannot relate to earthly life because we still cry and
suffer heartbreak. Such thinking is
outside the context of Revelation; this is not John’s subject. We ran into this same general thought in
John went on and spoke of conditions
existing in the new heavens and earth, the New Jerusalem when God dwelt with
men redeemed, not only from sin, but from the pain, suffering and martyrdom as
well. It may be the case this literal
condition will exist for the redeemed souls of mankind when we move beyond the
vale of tears we call earthly life.
However, this is, most emphatically not what John speaks of
here. He was addressing the condition of
these people after the fall of
We must look to the Old Testament
passages on which this language is based.
We notice the relationship between the Old Testament prophecy on which
this verse is based and the verse itself.
Revelation 21: 4 is based on the prophecy found in Isaiah 25. In Isaiah 25:8 the prophet, speaking of God,
said, He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears
from all faces; the rebuke of His people he will take away from all the earth;
for the Lord has spoken. The
context shows clearly Isaiah was speaking of what God was going to do for his
people after he reduced the noise of aliens, as heat in a dry place,
and diminished the song of the terrible ones v. 5). The prophet also said the Lord of hosts would
make this
mountain,
In the 5th verse we read, Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I
make all things new. And He said to me,
Write, for these words are true and faithful. At this point John identified the One speaking to him. This One was the Voice who spoke in the
3rd verse. This no doubt
refers to the throne of judgment in verses 11 – 15 of the 20th
chapter. The Speaker from the throne,
Christ began by making the announcement he made all things new. There are two important concepts to be
considered. The first is the making of
all things new by the Lord. This
referred to the progress of the “new” religion he had brought into the world
after his death on the cross. The word
“new” is from kaina, which speaks of excellence rather than something new
chronologically. We must repeat the
In Isaiah 42:9, a passage in which we
find a prophecy of the coming new world-order for salvation, God said, Behold,
the former things have come to pass, and the new things I declare; before they
spring forth I tell you of them.
These are the things of which the Lord spoke in 21:5. The new things which Christians
have are: a new covenant (Hebrews
The second matter of consideration is
found in the words, Write, for these words are true and faithful. A great controversy seems to surround the
meaning of “words” in this command. It
appears “words” can refer to only one of two things; either to all the words
found in the Revelation, which John has been commanded on two occasions to
write, or to the immediate context which would indicate John was having his
commission reiterated. In reality it
makes little difference since both positions are true.
In harmony with this last thought,
John reported in the 6th verse the One on the throne declared, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End. I will give of
the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. The words, “It is done!” are not found in the
Textus Receptus. Why the translators
supplied them we are not sure. Perhaps
it was due to Jesus’ announcing he was the Alpha and the Omega. At the time these words were spoken, there
was nothing left for the Lord to do but grant salvation from sin to those who
sought it (
There is a beautiful promise contained
in this verse. This is the promise of
salvation to those who desired it as a thirsty man desires drink. We are reminded of the statement the Master made to the nameless Samaritan
woman at Jacob’s well. The Lord repeated
this promise in John 6:35 and
The voice of the One on the throne
continued in the 7th verse saying, He who overcomes shall inherit
all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My
son. In the 5th verse
we identified the Voice from the throne as Christ. The Voice appears to be quoting the Father,
or is perhaps speaking on behalf of the Father.
The Book of Revelation is about
overcoming, conquering, vanquishing, subduing, or prevailing. The Father promised to the overcoming ones an
inheritance of all things. The words
“all things” must refer to the things promised in this book. Those who overcame were promised: the Tree of
Life (2:7); the Hidden Manna (2:17); not being hurt by the Second Death (2:11);
a White Stone (2:17); Power over Nations (2:26); the Morning Star (2:28); White
Raiment (3:5); their names written in the Book of Life (3:5); their names
confessed before the Father and the Angels (3:5); having made a Pillar in the
Temple of God (3:12); never leaving the Temple (3:12); having God’s Name
written on them (3:12); a New Name (3:12); a Reign with Christ (3:21); and
finally, God would be their God, and they would be his Sons (21:7). All these blessings begin in the Christian
life here and expand into eternity when the Christian overcomes as the
Christians in apostolic times did.
In the 8th verse there is
an important contrast. Rather than
inheriting all things and being called sons of God, there was a fate worse than
death for the evil ones. The Voice said,
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have
their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death. This is a clarification
of those who made up the Land Beast, and the False Prophet who would find their
final destiny in the destruction coming on
The fall was called the second death
because these people had already died spiritually in their war against God.
They rejected him, his Son, and the
From this dark and dismal picture,
John turned to the picture of the triumphant New Jerusalem in all her beauty and glory. In the 9th verse we read, Then
one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues
came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the
Lamb’s wife. At this point the
spokesperson changed. In the 3rd
verse John heard a Voice from heaven. In
the 5th verse he heard the One who sat on the throne. In the 9th the voice is that of
one of the seven angels. This angel
we have seen before in chapters sixteen and seventeen. In the 17th chapter, one of the
seven angels told John he would show him the judgment of the great Scarlet
Harlot who sat on many waters. In this
chapter the scene in not one of judgment, but of a glorious city called the
bride, the Lamb’s wife. John
began here with one metaphor then shifted to a second; we are happy he did, as
well as thankful, since he gave us a somewhat double view of the great
City, Wife of the Lamb.
In the 10th and 11th
verses we read, And he carried me away in the Spirit
to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy
The scene is reminiscent of
Ezekiel. John was carried away into a
great high mountain where he saw holy
The 11th verse finds John
beginning a description of the holy
John continued his portraiture saying,
in the 12th and 13th verses, Also she had a great and high
wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on
them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; three
gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and
three gates on the west. The
City is perfect in all her proportions.
Her wall is great and high, she is a place of perfect fortification, of
perfect protection. The gates face the
east, west, north, and south, meaning she is open to all people of the
earth. God has a new
The angels standing at the gates of
the City indicates God’s messengers are always ready to go out to proclaim the
everlasting Gospel to all the clans of the earth. The messengers at the gates of the holy City
are there to usher in all who would enter legitimately into where the river of
life flows and the tree of life grows; unlike the cherubim who was posted by
God at the east gate of the Garden of Eden to keep out everyone.
In the 14th verse, John
added still another facet to his picture of the splendid Metropolis when he
said, Now the wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Yahweh wanted John to assure his readers the celestial City is not for just the
Jewish faithful, but for all who would be brought to her by the word of the
apostles. The City could not exist
without the apostles on whose teaching she was built. The gates bore the “names” of the twelve
tribes, while the foundation stones bore the “names” of the apostles of the
Lamb. This City stands not on the law of Moses, but on
the precious ordinances of the Gospel delivered to the world by the
apostles.
In the 15th through 17th
verses we read, And he who talked with me had a gold
reed to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. The 15th verse reminds us
of the 11th chapter in which we saw the measuring of the
In the 16th verse we
learn. The city is laid out as a square;
its length is as great as its breath.
And he measured the city with the reed; twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breath, and height are
equal. Like Ezekiel’s
The angel measured the Megalopolis to
be 12,000 furlongs x 12,000 furlongs x 12,000 furlongs x 12,000 furlongs. “Furlong” is a translation of studious, a
unit of measure equaling 201.45 yards.
So we have 48,000 times 201.45 yards.
Of these figures Osborne wrote,
Second, Ezekiel’s actual measurements are multiplied manifold,
as the heavenly city is 12,000 stadia in each dimension. …Thus, the city is “an enormous cube
measuring ca. 1,416-1,566 miles in each direction.” Taking a medium of 1500 miles, this would
give the city a volume of about 3,375,000,000 cubic miles. …As the 1,600 stadia of
Looking now at the 17th
verse we learn, Then he measured its wall: one
hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of
an angel. John’s discussion
turned to the dimensions of the walls.
They were 144 cubits according to the measure of a man, making the walls
approximately 216 feet thick. One
hundred forty-four is the number 12 squared indicating totality as in the case
of the 144,000 saints in 7:1-8. This is
a spiritual City of gigantic proportions, perfect in every regard, and
absolutely impregnable, as far as man is concerned. She is indestructible (Daniel
The 18th through the 21st
verses describe the divine City in terms of the most precious of gem stones of
the time. This in intended to emphasize
the beauty and perfection of this City, which like precious gems, will endure
forever. In the 18th verse we
read, The construction of its wall was of
jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. This great wall appears to have been made
from one incredibly huge yellow jasper stone.
Rather than being opaque, as the jasper sometimes was, it was
crystalline, or clear like glass. In 4:3
this stone was used to describe the One on the throne. It is only natural the holy Metropolis should
share the radiant color of God. While
the wall was constructed of jasper, New Jerusalem herself was pure gold.
In the 19th and 20h verses
John described the precious stones adorning the foundations of the City. Notice: The foundations of the wall of the city were
adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the
second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx,
the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz,
the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and twelfth amethyst. We
wish to look at these stones rather closely.
The first was jasper. We have
already described this stone, so we will add only it was the third stone in the
fourth row of Aaron’s breastplate (Exodus 28:20; 39:13). The second stone was sapphire. This sapphire designated here was the one
known to the ancient Hebrews who regarded it very highly as a precious stone
(Song of Solomon
The fifth stone is sardonyx, a variety
of chalcedony or onyx, found in both red and white. If this is the stone the Hebrews called the
“onyx” it is the second stone in the fourth row of gems on Aaron’s breastplate. The sixth stone is the sardius, a deep red
stone considered by many to be the carnelian.
It too belonged to the group of stones known as chalcedony and was often
used for the making of royal seals as well as the adornment for Kings (Ezekiel
28:12-13). It was the first stone in the
first row of stones in the breastplate of Aaron. The seventh is chrysolite. Chrysolite comes from the Greek word
chrusolithos, meaning “gold stone.” It
was a yellow quartz stone known as a topaz or yellow beryl. If this is the stone known to the Hebrews as
topaz, it was the second stone in the first row of jewels worn on the
breastplate of Aaron. The eighth is
beryl. Beryl, is those days, was a
mineral ranging in color from silver-white to light blue, to green, yellow,
white, pink, and deep green. The word
was used to describe the wheels which the prophet Ezekiel saw in
In Hebrews 11:10, the author wrote of
Abraham who sought a city with foundations whose builder and maker is God. The City identified by John in this chapter
is the City sought by the father of the faithful. Hebrews’ author and Isaiah spoke of the same
beautiful City as John in this passage.
Having arrived at the final portion of
the portrayal of the holy City, in the 21st verse we read, The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each
individual gate was of one pearl. And
the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. In the mind’s eye one sees twelve huge pearls,
so large they could not be produced by any mollusk on earth. Consequently, these precious gems are
creations of God. Jesus used the pearl
of great price to illustrate the value of his Kingdom in the parable bearing
that name. Precious bits of spiritual
truth are likened to pearls in Matthew 7:6.
He proceeded to describe the street of the City as being the color of
pure gold, appearing as transparent glass.
How inexpressibly beautiful the holy City, New Jerusalem, the Bride of
Christ is.
We think it is appropriate to point
out the word “street” in this picture is singular. Jesus referred to this street as the “strait
and narrow way.” Isaiah (35:8-10) called
it the “highway of holiness.” It is the
single way leading to life everlasting.
Verses 22 through 27 comprise the last
paragraph of this overwhelming chapter.
In the 22nd verse we read, But I
saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Since New Jerusalem is the abiding place of
God, she needs no special place called “the
This characteristic of the City was
foretold in Ezekiel 37:26-28. (See also:
Isaiah 65:24; Ezekiel 48:35; Micah 4:7; Zechariah 2:4-5, 10;
Coming now to the 23rd
verse we read, The city had no need of the sun or
of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. Ancient literal
The New Testament plainly teaches when
men are called from the world to Christ, they are called from darkness to light
(Acts 26:17-18; Colossians
Of the influence of this holy City on
the world, John in the 24th verse wrote, And the nations of those who are
saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and
honor into it. The first thing
we notice about the City is her population is called the “saved.” The people who are saved from every nation
under heaven dwell in this City.
Ancient literal
The erudite McKelvey made important
observations about this City when he wrote,
Another way of
saying the same thing is to interpret the vision to mean that the new Jerusalem is itself a temple. We recall that that the city is cubiform,
like the holy of holies in the
McKelvey clearly stated the point John
was making in the last paragraph of this chapter.
Turning to the 25th verse
we read, Its gates shall not be shut at all
by day (there shall be no night there). This is a beautiful way of saying the doors of
the New Jerusalem would never be closed.
Again , we have an implied comparison between
old earthly
In the 26th verse John
seems to repeat the latter part of the 24th verse, except there is
no mention of kings. He wrote, And they shall bring the glory and the honor of
the nations into it. The Jews
often failed to bring glory and honor into their
Finally, in the 27th verse John wrote, But there shall by no means enter it anything
that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written
in the Lamb’s Book of Life. In
the New Jerusalem there would not by any means (the meaning of the double
negative “not not” in the Greek) enter any “common
thing.” “Common thing” has reference, as
the context clearly shows, to that which is sinful or abominable. Our minds are drawn to the vision of Peter in
Acts 10:9-16. Those who are invited to
reside in the New Jerusalem are neither common nor unclean. The word “lie” (pseudos) refers not so much
to something told for the purpose of deceiving, in a secular sense, as it does
to those who practice perverted or false religion.
No kind of impurity is brought into the holy City because as
one becomes a citizen of the New Jerusalem, he is washed, cleansed, and
sanctified by believer’s baptism (Acts