When the apostle John spiritually visited the eschatological mountain of Scripture, he joined an elite fraternity. The first man to stand on the mountain of God was Moses, after redeeming God’s people from Egypt. There, Moses dwelt in the presence of God’s glory, received the Ten Commandments, and was also shown the pattern of God’s tabernacle (Ex. 25:40). Centuries later, the prophet Ezekiel was taken to the high mountain of God where an angel holding a measuring reed showed him the dimensions of a new temple for God (Ezek. 40:1-3). Now John ascends the theological apex of the earth to see the Bible’s final vision of the city of God.

Following Ezekiel’s experience, he writes: “The one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls” (v. 15). The angel’s golden rod, a fitting tool for the service of God, not only reveals the city’s dimensions but marks out the realm where God has pledged His sovereign protection (see 11:1-2). John was shown not physical geography but spiritual realities pertaining to the final home of God’s people. John writes that this vision employs “human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement” (v. 17). This means that the physical dimensions have a symbolic meaning regarding the heavenly glory of the city awaiting believers in Christ.

The vision of the eternal city shown to John runs from 21:9 to 22:5. 21:15-17 provides the shape and measurements of the city, which convey truths regarding its character. First, we consider the shape: “The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width” (v. 21:16). This description reflects the model of the tabernacle given to Moses, which had God’s abode constructed in rectangles and squares. As a “foursquare” city, the eternal Jerusalem reflects perfect balance, harmony, and proportion. Many ancient writers used the expression foursquare to speak of integrity, completion, or perfection, and these qualities belong to the holy new Jerusalem.

The New Jerusalem is constructed not only as a square but as a cube: “Its length and width and height are equal” (v. 21:16). Even more than the square, the cube speaks of perfect completion. In the tabernacle that Moses made, as with the temple of Solomon, there was only one cubical space: the holy of holies where God’s presence dwelt (1 kings 6:20). In the original tabernacle, the inner sanctum occupied only a small space at the center of Israel’s camp and only one person could enter it, the high priest, only one day per year. But now all the people of God live in the inner sanctum to behold His glory all the time, since the entire city is the holy of holies.

In addition to the “foursquare” and cubical shape of the city, the angel gives its measurement: “And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia” (v. 21:16). The first thing we notice is the staggering immensity of this city. Taking a stadios as 200 yards, 12,000 stadia equal approximately 1500 miles. A city this size would occupy the entire Mediterranean world from Jerusalem to Spain. It is obvious that this city is designed to house a vast number of people beyond human reckoning, especially when we remember that as a cube it is a high-rise tower that soars above any manmade construction to a celestial height.

Not only is the great size of the measurements significant, but the numbers themselves are highly symbolic. Each length of the city is 12,000 stadia, with twelve representing both the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of the New Testament. This number is therefore intended to symbolize that this city not only houses the people of God but is the people of God. A cube has twelve edges; the sum of this city is 12,0000 times 12, or 144,000. This is the very number used earlier for the assembled entirety of God’s elect” twelve times twelve for the Old and New Testaments, multiplied by a thousand, which speaks of completion and fulfillment.

The emphasis on the number of God’s people is extended to the measurement of the walls: “He also measured its wall, 144 cubits (v. 21:17). The symbolic meaning of 144 cubits is that the wall encompasses the entirety of God’s elect from all times. In this holy and eternal city, all of God’s covenant purposes and the promises of the Bible are fulfilled: the entire vast number of God’s redeemed people will live in the glory of His immediate presence so as to experience the perfection of life as God designed it in eternity past.

In addition to the city’s dimensions, we are also told of the precious materials in its construction (vv. 21:18-21). The point of these descriptions is that the glorified church reflects the glory and beauty of the holy God. The splendor of even the purest gold is inadequate to describe God’s majesty, so here the gold is like a crystal that radiates with God’s glory.

The impression of God’s radiant glory is heightened by the foundation stones, which are “adorned with every kind of jewel” (vv. 21:19-20). These jewels are not the foundation stones themselves but are set into them. This connects with Peter’s statement that Christians “like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5). The eternal city is built of God’s people themselves, and His grace within us is now working the glory that will then reflect the splendor of His beauty forever.

The idea of God’s people as a holy priesthood is heightened by the realization that these jewels correspond to the gems that formed a rectangular pattern of the breastplate of Israel’s high priest. This makes sense when we realize that Aaron’s garments were intended to replicate the tabernacle in miniature and that his breastpiece was designed to reflect the glory of the presence of God. The twelve stones represented the twelve tribes of Israel, whose names were engraved on them. The people formerly represented by those stones now are themselves the holy of holies in which God dwells with His glory within them.

By bearing the stones into God’s presence, Aaron not only represented the people in making the atoning sacrifice for their sins, but also signified God’s pledge that one day the whole people of God would live within the holy of holies. Revelation 21:16-20 sees the fulfillment of this promise in the eternal age to come. It is noteworthy that the foundation stones of Revelation 21 bear the names of the twelve apostles, since the promise of Israel is fulfilled in the gospel-believing apostolic church. Jesus Christ is, of course, the Great High Priest who brings His people into God’s presence through the true sacrifice of His blood, ensuring the saving blessing of God on every believer.

The crowning detail of this spectacular vision is John’s description of the city gates (v. 21). In the ancient world, pearls were valued far above gems; here the gate towers are each formed by a single gigantic pearl. The gates of pearl are a symbol of unimaginable beauty and riches. This is why Jesus used a “pearl of great value” to describe His kingdom of salvation (Matt. 13:45-46). Since these gates provide entry into Christ’s eternal city, it is no wonder that they are formed of pearls. We are thus reminded that nothing is more valuable to us or more glorious in fulfillment than the salvation we receive through humble faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

In reflecting on this remarkable vision, we must consider a number of truths. The first is the unity of the Bible. The promise embedded in Moses’ more primitive tabernacle structure and in the high priest’s breastplate has in God’s timing come to perfect fulfillment in the New Jerusalem to come. We are part of that history now, and the Bible that guides us presents a single redemptive purpose that can only be the work of the true and Sovereign God. The remarkable unity of this book that was written over fifteen hundred years, together with its transcendent message that was far beyond what Moses could have conceived, bears testimony to the divine nature of the Bible’s origin.

Another truth for us to emphasize is that God’s eternal dwelling is not a place but is His people. This is not to say that after Christ’s return there is no physical realm of God, for there will be “a new heaven and a new earth” (21:1). Yet the symbolism of John’s vision depicts not merely that there is a place for God’s people to dwell, but also that God’s people are the ultimate place where God intends to dwell in the radiance of His glory. The key truth for Christians to understand today is not only that we are accepted as righteous through faith in Christ but that, having been justified, we have God living in us through the Holy Spirit. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

As Christ lives in us, He is preparing us as “living stones” who are together “being built up as a spiritual house” for God (1 Peter 2:5). The day is coming when we will finally put on the glory of God in order to be His fitting dwelling. Or to put is differently, the jewels of the city in John’s vision are the adornment of the divine Bridegroom for the bride He is taking into His love forever. In this life, Christ is working that beauty in us in order to “present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

Revelation 21:15-21 Study Questions:

What is the significance of the connection between the holy of holies and the New Jerusalem?

How are the walls of the city decorated (vv. 18-21)?

How might we live in a way that is open to receiving great gifts from God rather than always trying to build everything ourselves?

How do you see the glory of this future reality peeping through in our world today?

Revelation 21:9 begins the final of the seven visionary cycles in the book of Revelation and the last main section of the book. We see this in the angel’s invitation, “Come” (v. 9). In Revelation 4:1, John was summoned into heaven to witness God’s plan for the church age, beginning the cycles of visions from chapters 4-16. In Revelation 17:1, John was told, “Come,” this time to witness the judgment and final destruction of Christ’s enemies (Rev. 17:1-21:8). Now John is called to witness the bliss of Christ’s people in the eternal glory.

John makes a point of stating that this summons came from “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues” (v. 9). This angel of wrath reminds us that the fulfillment of God’s plan relies equally on God’s work of judgment and of salvation. Seeing this angel who earlier condemned the great prostitute (17:1) warns us that all history is summed up by the two women of Revelation: we must belong either to the harlot Babylon, doomed to perish for wantonness in this life, or to the bride of God’s Son, blessed to enter into glory through a holiness that begins even now.

When the angel invites John to see the bride, he is looking ahead to the time when the sacred marriage between Christ and His church has taken place, leading to an eternity of loving intimacy and mutual sharing. The basis for this love is stated by the reference to Christ as the “Lamb.” Jesus is referred to in this way seven times in this final section of Revelation, emphasizing that the union between Jesus and His people is based on His sacrificial death to remove the curse of our sins. The cross is sufficient not only to establish the beginning of the Christian life but to sustain our relationship with Jesus forever.

Believers learn from verse 9 not only what we will be but what we are now. Having come to Jesus in saving faith, we are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb so as to enter into His love. If you are a Christian, you are being prepared in the beauty of holiness so that the purifying of your character is a primary task of this life. But you are already betrothed to Christ, your eternal destiny in His love having been made certain by His sacrifice for you. You are fundamentally different from everyone who is not Christian, and your lifestyle is to reflect this difference in holy obedience. Those cleansed by the Lamb are delivered from the judgment awaiting the harlot Babylon.

While John’s vision begins with a reference to Christ’s bride, the bulk of the passage describes the church as the holy city of God. These ideas may be joined to remind us that this vision of walls and gates describes the people of Christ themselves. John was “carried…away in the Spirit to a great high mountain” (v. 10), which he ascended spiritually, not physically, to see his own future together with the whole of the church.

The angel brings John to a high mountain where the eternal city is located. Isaiah foretold: “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the great highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it” (Isa. 2:2). On this high mountain of eternity, John was shown “the holy city of Jerusalem.” Here we see the image, so often emphasized in Revelation, of God dwelling with His people to share His glory. God promised Abraham a vast multitude of spiritual offspring, as numerous as the stars in the desert sky, and a home in which they would dwell (Gen. 15:1-21). Now that promise is fulfilled in the holy city, true Jerusalem.

John sees the city “coming down out of heaven from God” (v. 10). This city does not represent the achievement of man in finally erecting a self-glorying stairway to heaven. It is instead the culmination of God’s working in redemptive history to bring about His loving eternal purpose. Its name, “Jerusalem,” plainly identifies the city as the final result of His ancient working through the people of Israel and especially by the saving ministry of Christ for the sake of His covenant people.

John not only emphasizes that the city comes down as God’s gracious gift but also highlights its special character: it is “the holy city” (v. 10). The purpose of this city is the fellowship of God with His people, and therefore it is a holy place for holy ones. John compares the holiness and glory of God’s city to a shinning jewel: “its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (v. 11). We are not exactly sure about the identity of jewels called by ancient names, but the idea here is not so much of transparency as it is of a brilliant, sparkling gem. We should envision a diamond shinning out in beautiful facets of light. Similarly, God’s holy city, composed of His holy people, will reflect all His attributes in the perfection of their glory.

If God’s Word is not changing you in the direction of spiritual holiness and moral purity, then on what basis do you expect to be part of “the holy city of Jerusalem,” which radiates the glory of God like jasper? Christians will rightly answer that they expect to enter this glory through faith alone, trusting in the finished work of Christ as the Lamb of God who died for our sins. This is profoundly true. But many professing Christians fail to realize that Christ’s finished work of justification invariably launches a present work of sanctification that will be finished only in the age to come. The mark of the Christian is therefore a growing holiness in faith-communion with God through Jesus Christ.

Not only is John shown the church as a beautiful bride and a holy city radiating the glory of God, but this opening section of the final visions in Revelation adds details about the wall that surrounds the Jerusalem to come: “It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed” (v. 12).

The wall surrounding a great city has the purpose of providing security. There admittedly no enemies remaining after the final judgment. But the wall conveys the security of salvation inside the city as well as the protective character of God for His people. It is “a great, high wall,” symbolizing the inviolable care of God in saving His own. The walls of God’s city are adorned “with twelve gates” (v. 12). Gates function to permit entry into a city, and these twelve gates show the abundant invitation for all people to enter God’s city through faith in Christ. There are three gates on each side of the squared city (v. 13). In Revelation, the four corners speak of the entirety of the world from which God’s people are gathered. These are not small gates, but large entry towers, fitting for a great multitude from every tribe, language, and nation that are assembled into God’s city.

Each gate is assigned an angel (v. 12). With such guardians, none will enter the eternal Jerusalem except those who are sealed for entry through the blood of the Lamb. At the beginning of Revelation, John was shown the angel of the churches (Rev. 1:20). The Bible does indicate the idea of guardian angels, and as God’s sentinels these angels know who belongs to the Lord and who does not. None will enter fraudulently or on any other basis that that established by God.

Furthermore, “on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed” (v. 12). Here, the emphasis is not on the individual tribes but the twelve of them together. All through Revelation, twelve is the number of God’s people (see 7:4), just as it was the number of the tribes of God’s Old Testament nation. This city represents the fulfillment of Israel’s hope and the result of God’s redeeming work as revealed through His servants the prophets.

Finally, “the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (v. 14). Ancient walls had large decorative foundation stones, and here the apostles are seen as the foundation of the eternal church. This imagery refers to the New Testament witness of Jesus Christ and the evangelistic labor of the apostles in founding the first churches.

If you look to the foundation of your faith and your hope of salvation you will also find your answer in the mission of Christ’s apostles. It is through the written testimony of God’s Word, commissioned through the eyewitness disciples, that we are certain of our hope through Jesus Christ. The apostles themselves took their stand on God’s Word. Our salvation hope rests securely on the apostolic testimony inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, which declares salvation now even as that Word will form the foundation of God’s eternal city. It is through this same foundation of God’s Word that every true church is established and built up today.

As Christians look ahead to the holy city of the age to come, we thank God that the destination is better than the journey. We have what Paul called “our blessed hope” in the return of Christ and the glory He brings (Titus 2:13). For all the many blessings of this life, we like Abraham face present trials and disappointments by “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). By faith, the things of the world to come become real to us now. We thus begin to reflect now some of the glory of God that in the end will radiate from us like a glittering jewel.

Revelation 21:9-14 Study Questions:

How is the New Jerusalem specifically designed to reflect the identity of God’s people (vv. 12-14)?

How is studying God’s Word changing you?

What is the purpose of “the holy city”?

In revelation 21:5-8, the apostle John’s long tour of church history brings him finally to the end of the world. Previous visions have brought us to the brink of the end. But the sixth cycle of visions, starting in chapter 17, has seen judgment and removal of all Christ’s enemies. The great harlot Babylon has fallen. The beast and false prophet have gone into the lake of fire. Satan the dragon has also been cast into the fiery lake, together with even death and Hades. The sea itself – the symbolic source of chaos and evil – is no more. Now the end of history has been reached in the final verses of the sixth section of Revelation (six being the number of fallen mankind). And here, at the end, John and his readers face God Himself: “And he who was seated on the throne said” (v. 5).

On only two occasions in the book of Revelation does God Himself speak directly. The first occasion was at the beginning: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’” (Rev. 1:8). Now, at the end of history, we face God Himself once more. In this way, Revelation makes a vital point: every living soul must deal with God. All through life we may follow the distractions that keep us from reckoning with God, but in the end we must all face Him. Have you stood before God? Are you afraid to think of God, to realize that God sees you and knows you? Are you afraid to speak directly to Him? Because we must all face God, we have no greater need than to know Him. Verses 5-8 shows God as He is and as He will be at the end of the world: a God of truth, a God of life, and a God of justice. We see Him taking delight in His victory over all things, declaring His final purpose: “Behold, I am making all things new” (v. 5).

The God of truth: In verse 5 God speaks to John: “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Here, God Himself bears witness to the truth of His Word. He is able to establish truth because, as Hebrews 6:18 asserts, “it is impossible for God to lie.” God’s nature demands that He be faithful to His promises. Paul writes: “He who calls you faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:24). In writing down the words that God has given him, John is fulfilling his apostolic office. When Paul said that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Eph. 2:20), he meant that by writing down the New Testament, they secured for us the truths committed to them by God for us to believe.

Not only was God speaking to John when He appeared in this vision on the Isle of Patmos, but God speaks to us now as this same Word is read and preached. Ultimately, it is by the Word itself that we know the truth of the Bible, as God speaks directly to us just as He did to John. God reveals the truth of His Word by His Word as the Spirit applies it to our hearts. John writes in verse 5, “He who was seated on the throne said,” and by His declaration that “these words are trustworthy and true,” His people know and recognize the truth of God’s Word. This is why John needed to write the book of Revelation, so that the persecuted believers of his day would receive God’s truth by God’s Word just as tempted believers today need the same.

Not only does God declare the truth of His Word by His own direct assertion, but He declares that the events fortold in Revelation are already fully established: “And he said to me, ‘It is done!’” (v. 6). God is standing at the end of history, speaking to John in the midst of history to declare a future that is already certain. People say that the only certain things are death and taxes. But believers know that everything promised in God’s Word is absolutely certain and worthy of our faith.

In addition to declaring the truth of His Word and the accomplished reality of His promises, God declares to John, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end” (v. 6). Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and omega is the last. By calling Himself “the Alpha and the Omega,” God speaks of His eternal being: He is the Creator who brought all things into existence, and He is the Judge who brings all things to their final end. The point is God’s sovereignty over all things: He can ensure the end because he was Lord at the beginning and remains sovereign through every moment of history. As the Alpha and the Omega of history, God rules absolutely over all things in between.

The God of Life: The God who stands at the end of the world is not only the speaker of truth but also the giver of life. He declares: “Behold I am making all things new” (v. 5). God alone can truly renew because of the Spirit that He sends. He is doing this work now in the hearts of those who believe in Jesus. The old under the domination of sin comes to an end through the new birth into faith in Christ, and a new life begins with power from God for purity, truth, and love. What God is doing now on a limited scale in His people He will extend to all things at the end.

The great tragedy of the world is that lost sinners resent God and avoid Him as much as possible. Men and women recoil at the idea of facing God and try as hard as they can to avoid even thinking about Him. Yet the God they are fleeing is a merciful giver of life. God thus says to John, “To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment” (v. 6). This is God’s message to you if you have never turned to Him in faith. He offers you a life that has its origin in the spring of His own eternal vitality and being.

God offers through His Son everything that the soul needs in order to have eternal life: mercy, grace, pardon, peace, and strength from above. God offers you eternal life as a free gift because of the grace of His generous heart. God’s offer to provide salvation like a spring of water speaks to the experience of life that He offers the thirsty through Jesus. But He adds another aspect of life when He speaks of the relationship that the faithful will fully enter into at the end. “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (v. 7). If it is the thirsty who are invited to drink from God’s living spring, it is “the one who conquers” who attains the heritage of eternal sonship with God. Together, these two descriptions capture the beginning and the end of the Christian life.

The God of Justice: At the end of the world, God sits enthroned in truth and in the life that He gives. Those who have thirsted for salvation so as to drink from His grace and who have conquered in faith so as to be granted the status of sons will meet God there for an eternal experience of glory. Yet God was speaking to John while the apostle was still living on this earth. This means that a warning must accompany these soaring statements of grace. The God of truth and love must also be revealed as a God of justice who punishes all unforgiven sins. The Lord therefore concluded: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (v. 8). Those who thirst for sin and for the pleasures of the world, together with those who collaborate in the world’s rebellion against God, will receive not the heritage of glory but the portion of condemnation reserved for all of God’s spiritual enemies in hell.

This is not to say that Christians are people who have never committed such sins or that believers’ lives are completely free from such sins now. God is not telling John that anyone who has ever committed sexual immorality or who has lied is barred from eternal life. Christ came to redeem these very kinds of sinners (Mark 10:45; 1 Tim. 1:15), and the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses believers from all their sins (1 John 1:7). The point is that those who are saved from such sins are called to renounce them in such a way that they cannot remain characteristic of a Christian’s lifestyle.

Since the God who is enthroned at the end of history is a God of justice, not all will enter into that glorious life. Not all will be saved in the end, but many will follow their rebellious life with an eternal portion “in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (v. 8). Just as believers will glorify God’s truth and God’s grace in eternal life, unbelieving sinners will glorify God’s perfect justice in the eternal condemnation of hell.

At the end of the world, God sits enthroned. Every human being will face Him, and God’s sovereign rule will be the arbiter of every person’s eternal destiny. If God is the One who matters most in the end, then God also matters most now. For this reason, every person is called by God’s Word to be reconciled to God through the forgiveness offered by Jesus (2 Cor. 5:20).

There is a single command that God gives to his servant in this passage: “Also he said, ‘Write this down’” (v. 5). John was to write down God’s message, recording the entire book of Revelation. This hails the Word of God as heaven’s chief provision for mankind, by which sinners are warned to their future meeting with God and learn of His grace for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Revelation 21:5-8 Study Questions:

What is the message that comes from the One who sits on the throne Himself (v. 5)?

What is included in “all things”?

What difference should it make in how we live now to know that God’s ultimate purpose is to renew all things of this present existence?

The opening statement of revelation 21:1 provides some of the greatest encouragement that Christians could ever receive. The Bible states that when Christ returns, the “heavens and the earth,” which is a way of referring to both the physical universe and the spiritual world order, will be cleansed and renewed in glory.

Verse 1 adds a statement that sums up the removal of all evil: “and the sea was no more.” In the symbolism of Revelation, the sea has a theological rather than topographical meaning. The sea is the realm of evil and rebellion against God. Psalm 74 describes salvation as God’s breaking the head of “sea monsters” and crushing “Leviathan,” the great mythical sea beast that represents idolatrous opposition to God (Ps. 74:12-14). In Revelation 12:17, Satan “stood on the sand of the sea,” and then raised up his beast “out of the sea” (Rev. 13:1). In chapters 17-20, John was shown the removal of the dragon, his beasts, and the harlot, together with their entire wicked program. Finally, even the sea from which they came will be no more.

The second feature of the new creation ushered in by Christ’s return is a vision of the church as we will then be: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (v. 2). Isaiah had foreseen a redeemed Jerusalem that is made righteous by God’s coming and that receives a new name reflecting a marriage relationship of love with God (Isa. 62:2-5). John sees this promise fulfilled not in Jesus’ first appearing but in the second coming of Christ. Jerusalem was the earthly center of God’s redeeming acts in history, especially in the atoning death of His Son. Therefore, just as creation is glorified in the new heaven and new earth, redemption comes to glorious consummation in the coming of the new Jerusalem.

Verse 1 showed a hew heaven and new earth, a regenerated creation in which all of Christ’s enemies are removed. In the new Jerusalem, we see God’s renewed people no longer condemned by sin. The flood cleansed the world until Noah and his family got out of the ark. Their entry brought a return of sin to the world (Gen. 9:18-25). It will not be so in the new heaven and new earth. Believers are qualified to enter eternal loving intimacy with God’s Son because we are cleansed of our sin by His blood and justified in the garment of His imputed righteousness. This is why John says that the church is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v. 2). By the atoning sacrifice in His blood, Jesus has forever removed our sin, gaining forgiveness before God for all who believe. So perfect is Christ’s preparation of His bride that John sees the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isa. 62:5).

Our present fallen world suffers the tyranny of Christ’s enemies, so that we now live in a spiritual wasteland of corruption and temptation. To make matters worse, we have the calamity of our own sinful nature. A third evil of our present age is seen in the consequences of sin in terms of the ravages of grief and sorrow. Verses 1-2 saw the sea and all evil removed from our future environment and God’s people cleansed and adorned for glory. Now the life of the age to come is made new, with no more misery under the cursed reign of sin and death. John writes: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (v. 4).

The sorrows of this life put tears on our cheeks and pain in our hearts. But when Christ returns, those who are joined to Him by faith will experience the fullness of eternal life. Isaiah foresaw that “the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa. 35:10).

Most lovely of all, it will be God’s own hand that wipes away our tears. The imagery of verse 4 poignantly has us entering into glory with the tears of our sorrowful lives still upon our cheeks. What image can more fully express the sheer pain of life in this fallen world! But our loving heavenly Father greets us, wiping the last tears we will ever shed from our faces, and bidding us to weep no more forever and ever. Indeed, in verse 4, God’s hand reaches to us even now, gathering up our tears and showing us a time soon to come when Christ has returned and grief will be no more. Encouraged by His grace, we face the sorrows of this life with courage, heartened in our pilgrimage toward the promised land ahead.

So far, Revelation’s picture of the new creation has been primarily by way of negation: there will be no sea, no stain of sin, and no more weeping or sorrow. At the heart of the passage, however, is the great positive blessing awaiting Christ’s people: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’” (v. 3).

The voice speaking from God’s throne literally says, “The tabernacle of God is with men and he will tabernacle with them.” This fulfills the promise given in Ezekiel 37:26-27, looking ahead to the time when God’s Spirit came through the new and everlasting covenant in Christ: “I will…set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Christians enjoy greater privileges than God’s people knew in the Old Testament. Then, only Moses and the high priests could enter God’s tabernacle and see His glory, whereas now God’s glory tabernacles in the heart of every believer through the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). But in the age to come, the longing of every spirit to know God and see His face will be perfectly fulfilled. The communion that God has eternally purposed to enjoy with His people will be achieved.

It has been said that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. The converse is true when it comes to the Bible’s revelation of the future. Without this vision of the new heaven and the new earth, we will live without the hope Christ offers, without the purpose He supplies, and without the glory He promises.

The Bible teaches that you are children of God, coheirs with Christ for eternal glory, and the people in whom God Himself will dwell and on whose faces the light of His glory will shine. How can this be? Because Christ has come to conquer sin and Christ is coming back to bring the fulness of salvation.

A holy city. A beautiful bride. A tearless everlasting life. A loving, Divine Savior who awaits the consummation of our love. Who will be there? All who confess their sins, trust in the blood of Jesus, and believe in the gospel of His salvation!

Revelation 21:1-4 Study Questions:

What does John see coming down out of heaven (v. 2)?

What does it mean that God will “dwell” with His people (v. 3)?

Which of the promises offered in verses 3-4 offers you the most comfort and hope right now, and why?

As the apostle John presents the final vision of Revelation 20, he wants his readers to face the reality of the final judgment. John wrote: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it” (v. 11). The apostle Paul warned that God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world” (Acts 17:31). Jesus defined this day as the day of His return: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne (Matt. 25:31). Whatever clever arguments may be made to urge us not to expect God’s judgment, Revelation 20:11-15 starkly upholds the words of the Nicene Creed: Christ “will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead.”

John begins by describing the judgment seat: “Then I saw a great white throne” (v. 11). Back in chapter 4:2, John was invited into heaven and the first thing he saw was a throne, and now at the end it fills his vision. As a “great” throne, it exudes majesty and authority. As a “white” throne, it radiates perfect purity, holiness, and incorruptible righteousness. When Isaiah saw his vision of the heavenly courtroom, the seraphim were crying, “Holy, holy, holy” (Isa. 6:3). The great white throne conveys the same message of infinite perfect justice.

John doesn’t specify who is seated on the throne, which suggests the presence of God the Father, as when this throne was first seen in chapter 4. In Daniel 7:9, from which John’s vision likely draws, it was “the Ancient of Days” who sat on the throne, clothed as “white as snow.” The Bible also states, however, that Jesus will judge the world together with the Father. Therefore, while verse 11 seems to focus on God the Father, it is clear that Jesus, God’s Son, is the agent to whom judgment is committed, which is why He was seated at the right hand of the holy God (Eph. 1:20; Heb. 12:2).

John adds the striking statement: “From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them” (v. 11). This imagery connects with earlier language in Revelation that was tied to Christ’s return. After the sixth seal was opened, John saw a cataclysmic end to the physical order, with a great earthquake and the falling of stars. “The sky vanished like a scroll,” he said (Rev. 6:12-14). This shows the upheaval that results from the absolute holiness and majesty of God when His throne is brought into the fallen world order. The reason for the fleeing of creation was “transgression and sins” (Mic. 1:5).

In addition to the reality of judgment, John’s vision presents the scope of the final judgment: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne” (v. 12). The meaning is that every human being who has ever lived will stand in this judgment. John emphasizes the general resurrection of all the dead to stand before God’s throne. Jesus said that “an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out” (John 5:28). The universality of this resurrection is conveyed in verse 13. The point is that all will stand before the judgment throne. John emphasizes that there will be no distinctions, since the “great and small” stand together before God.

Since each of us will be present before God’s throne, we should realize now what is the basis for the final judgment. John answers: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened… And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done” (v. 12). Here we arrive at the vital matter. Since each of us must face God’s judgment, what will be the basis of condemnation?

The Bible is clear in stating that we are judged by our deeds. A book is opened, John reports, pointing out the divine record of our every thought, word, and deed, together with our sinful omissions. The infinite and omnipresent God has watched over every detail of history, with a perfect and infallible observation. This thought is unsettling, to say the least. Yet while we might forget our transgressions, the Righteous Judge of the universe remembers every single one. Not only are all our sins recorded in God’s book, but that book will be opened before all creation and the great white throne of the holy God.

When we understand the basis for God’s judgment, we realize the great problem that all of us are guilty and stand worthy of condemnation. For this reason, the most important of all truths is how sinners can escape from final judgment. John answers: “Then another book was opened, which is the book of life” (v. 12). The Bible states that God has a record of every person chosen to be saved by His grace. This book contains not deeds but names.

The full name of this book is given in Revelation 13:8: “the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” This makes clear that election and salvation are always in Christ. To say that it is the book “of the Lamb” is to affirm that the names recorded are those who belong to Jesus Christ. Moreover, in calling Jesus “the Lamb who was slain,” this book records those who are saved by means of His atoning death for sin. Paul exclaims: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). This redemption is received through faith in Jesus.

The question is raised about believers’ standing before God to be judged according to their deeds. It is clear in John’s vision that while all mankind outside Christ must be judged by the book of their works, believers in Christ are vindicated by the record of their names in the Book of Life. With our sins forgiven through His blood, our good deeds will then be rewarded with the praise of our dear Savior and Lord (Matt. 25:35-40). This is the reason of Paul’s statement that believers must appear before Christ and the reason we should be zealous in our living (2 Cor. 5:10). It is for this reason that Christians are taught to look forward to the return of Christ and the final judgment. Not only the guilt but also the shame of our sin was fully borne by Jesus on the cross. We will face not judgment but our coronation as joint heirs together with Christ in blessing.

Yet how dreadful is the punishment of the final judgment for those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and who are judged for their sins. John writes: “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (v. 15). This statement makes it clear that no one will ever be saved by his or her own works. The reason was stated by the apostle Paul: “None is righteous, no, not one; … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:10, 23). Since all are sinners, none can be justified by their works before God. Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus, by grace, according to the Lamb’s Book of Life.

John’s vision of the final judgment concludes with God’s ultimate victory – a triumph over even hell and death themselves: “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire” (v. 14). Death was the curse brought by sin into God’s perfect creation. In order for Christ to bring the “new heaven and a new earth” of eternal glory (21:1), then He must put an end to the curse of death, along with Hades, the abode of the condemned. Because of this victory, the final judgment is a day of rejoicing for the holy angels together with God’s redeemed people. For then it will be truly declared by the exultant voices of heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (11:15).

Revelation 20:11-15 Study Questions:

What is the significance of the books that are opened as the dead gather around the throne (vv. 12-15)?

How does knowing we are in the Lamb’s Book of Life change who we are and what we do today?

How have you seen the Spirit of God working within you to redeem and enhance your thoughts, desires and actions?

The vision of Revelation 20:7-10 reflects the New Testament teaching of a great rebellion that will mark the end of the church age. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 24:21: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” Paul wrote that Christ “will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thess. 2:3).

Revelation variously has depicted this intense attack against the church. In chapter 11, the church is represented by twin witnesses resembling Moses and Elijah. When their witness is concluded, “the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,” until Christ raises them three and a half days later (Rev. 11:7-11). Revelation 20:1-3 shows Satan as bound during the church age, “until…he must be released for a little while” (20:3); John picks up this thought in verses 7-8.

We should notice that Satan is “released” from his bonds, emphasizing the sovereign rule of God over him. This detail reminds us that however mighty the devil may be, he remains a finite creature of limited strength, unable to match the infinite might of God. We remember from our study of verses 1-3 that the binding of Satan has to do with God’s forbidding him to “deceive the nations any longer” (v. 3), so that the gospel may spread throughout the world. The binding of Satan doesn’t mean that his evil activities are totally curtailed but that he no longer has authority to bind the nations in the darkness of unbelief. It is noteworthy, then, that as soon as Satan is released, this is precisely what he does: he “will come out to deceive the nations” (v. 8).

This combination shows us that Satan’s chief instrument in this world is not violent persecution but deceptions that promote unbelief. This is why the Christian church is sent into the world with the truth. Whatever else the church does, it must boldly proclaim the truth if God’s Word, refusing to compromise with the prevailing dogmas of secularist unbelief. We are constantly told today that Christians must be less doctrinally fixated and that we must be more tolerant of worldly ideas and practices. This approach should alarm us, given Satan’s chief strategy of binding unbelievers with deception. Moreover, we see that the sinful tendencies of the human heart do not evolve upward over time. As soon as God lifts His restraint of Satan, “the nations” are deceived once more.

The purpose of Satan’s deceptions has always been to lead darkened mankind into warfare against God, and so will be the great tribulation that ends the age (v. 8). The book of Revelation makes clear that this battle is the same final conflict that earlier received the name “Armageddon” (16:16). The great battle of chapter 19 draws the imagery of feeding carrion birds from Ezekiel 39, and the battle of chapter 20 draws the names “Gog and Magog”  from Ezekiel 38, where the prophet foretold a great assault on God’s people after the age of their blessing. Regarding the final battle, Ezekiel wrote: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him” (38:2). By using this same designation, Revelation is saying that its final battle is the same final battle anticipated by Ezekiel.

John’s language confirms the New Testament teaching of a final worldwide persecution of the Christian church (see Matt. 24:21; 2 Thess. 2:3-4). First, the nations are gathered from “the four corners of the earth…for battle” (Rev. 20:8). This shows that the final battle is launched not merely by a far-eastern nation such as Russia or China, as popular prophecy teaching often states. It is the entire world that gathers for a stand against the authority of God. Second, “their number is like the sand of the sea” (v. 8), referring to the vastness of these enemies. The battle will not pit evenly matched forces, so that Christians may hope to succeed by their own strength. Rather, only the power of God is able to save them.

This vast worldwide army “marched up over the broad plain of the earth” (v. 9). The idea is of a great army marching over a vast tract of ground. Their objective is the church: “and surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city.” This recaps the biblical model for the salvation of God’s people. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel was placed at the mercy of wicked powers, yet was delivered by God’s sudden intervention. It was the situation of John’s readers, surrounded by pagan rulers who wielded the Roman sword. How often believers have experienced this plight, from David’s exile in the caves of Judea, to the Chinese house churches that meet secretly to avoid arrest, to the Christian churches in Muslim lands that meet under the threat of violence and attack. So in the end the entire church will be besieged, so that a refusal to worship idols and a bold witness to Christ will result in suffering.

Notice the language with which John describes the church: “the camp of the saints and the beloved city” (v. 9). The first description alludes to the camp of Israel in the exodus journey: the church is likewise the pilgrim body of believers passing through life toward a promised land beyond. It is with this in mind that Peter urged Christians to avoid the pollutions of sin (1 Pet. 2:11). At the same time, though we are despised as aliens by the world, the church is God’s “beloved city.” Babylon stands for the prostitute world, just as Jerusalem represents the church as the bride of Christ. Whereas God will judge and condemn faithless Babylon, the faithful church bears His love and receives His promise of an eternal salvation.

We can tell that the people of God are God’s beloved city because of His fiery defense of her from Satan’s attack: “but fire came down from heaven and consumed them” (v. 9). Here, as elsewhere in Revelation and the New Testament, Christ’s second coming results in the immediate defeat of all the foes who afflicted His church. Ezekiel specified that fire would fall on Magog both to defend God’s people and to glorify His name (Ezek. 39:6). This point emphasizes that the church does not fight to defend herself. Revelation 12:11 described her warfare as trusting in Christ’s blood, bearing testimony to God’s Word, and offering our lives to seal our witness.

The main emphasis in this vision is the defeat and destruction of Satan himself (v. 10). Notice that the devil is primarily judged for deceiving the nations, reminding us again that the church’s ministry of truth through God’s Word is always the world’s greatest need. The greatest victory of history is Jesus’ conquest of sin by His blood, and that victory is joined with His defeat of Satan, the great tyrant and deceiver of the world. Knowing this, Christians face the future with great hope, since God has ordained the judgment and condemnation of Satan. This judgment was anticipated in Matthew’s Gospel when demons whom Jesus had cast out admitted knowing of their coming judgment (Matt. 8:29). Jesus said that this time had not yet come, but Revelation shows that history ends with the greatest agents of evil receiving a terrible and just punishment from God.

The final words of this vision are poignant and decisive: “forever and ever” (v. 10). This constitutes the gravest warning for those who enter into rebellion with Satan, reveling in sin and rebelling against God’s rule. Their punishment is as eternal as God Himself is. Sin, being an offense to God’s justice and holy nature, is eternal, and so are its consequences. This same “forever and ever” provides the Christian with a ground for a most joyful hope. Our own sin will be not only forgiven but actually removed. There will be no adversary to accuse us but only God’s justice to demand our justification through faith in Christ.

What is the meaning of this “forever and ever” to believers now? It means that we have an antidote to the crippling fear of persecution that might otherwise undermine our faith. Why would we forsake Jesus Christ amid the afflictions of this world when we know how the story ends? Jesus wins! Why would we abandon His victorious cause, even though it may entail suffering for a little while in tribulation, and even if discipleship to Him requires us to renounce the sinful pleasures of the condemned world? Because we know this end, and the “forever and ever” beyond it without fear, sin, or death, let our worship, our service, and our lives now reflect the joy that belongs to the people of the beloved city that God has made His own.

Revelation 20:7-10 Study Questions:

What is the significance of Satan being released after the thousand years are ended (v. 7)?

The troops go straight for the camp of the saints, but no battle takes place. What happens instead (vv. 9-10)?

How does this picture of the ultimate overthrow of the devil give us hope to face trouble today (v. 10)?