Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Revelation Chapter 21 mean?

From the time described midway through Genesis chapter 3 until the events of Revelation 20, earth experienced—is experiencing—the presence of sin and death. At the end of chapter 20, John sees God delivering the final and ultimate judgment on Satan, casting all evil into the lake of fire. At that point, creation will finally be free from everything wicked, and what follows is a description of a remade, restored earth.

Following the great white throne judgment of chapter 20, John sees a new heaven and a new earth. Scholars debate whether this means that all of creation will be destroyed and re-made, or that God will re-condition creation. The terminology used seems to suggest a renewal. John sees the new city of Jerusalem descending onto the earth, and voices celebrating the restored relationship between God and man. In particular, John hears the voice from the throne declare an end to suffering, pain, and death for all of eternity. At the same time, John hears a reminder that sin, and those who chose it over God, are condemned to the “second death” of hell (Revelation 21:1–8).

John attempts to describe the New Jerusalem in terms others can understand. In doing so, he mentions precious materials such as gold and jasper, but associates them with properties those materials don’t normally have. Gold, for instance, is not normally “clear,” and neither is jasper. This is John’s struggle in explaining what he sees; a modern person might say they saw smoke that looked like “transparent lead,” and those hearing it would understand the mixture of two separate ideas. Here, John does something similar in his effort to describe the indescribable (Revelation 21:9–21).

John also points out that there is no temple in this new city, since there is no need for a temple. Temples, priests, and rituals are all necessary when man is somehow separated from God. Two people speaking face-to-face don’t need telephones or letters; those living in direct communion with God won’t need a temple. This description also re-emphasizes the perfect holiness of this New Jerusalem, and the fact that only those who put their faith in Christ will be found there (Revelation 21:22–27). Revelation 22 is the final chapter of the New Testament. There, John will complete his description of the New Jerusalem and give some final words to those who read this text.

Chapter Context
Leading up to this chapter, all sin and evil have been entirely defeated. Satan is banished to hell, along with every person who rejected Christ, as seen in chapter 20. Here, John describes the nature of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city which descends onto earth after the ultimate victory over evil. Chapter 22 is a further description of this perfect eternity, and last messages from Jesus to those who read John’s words.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

John saw a vision of a new heaven and a new earth replacing the millennial heaven and earth. “The heavens” as referred to here, does not include the heaven where God dwells. The word translated as “heaven” most likely refers to earth’s atmosphere and/or space.

John writes that the first heaven and the first earth pass away, a statement that some Bible scholars interpret as complete annihilation. Others interpret it to mean a renovation. Those who believe earth and heaven will cease to exist point to Peter’s statement that “the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire” (2 Peter 3:7). Those who believe the heavens and the earth will undergo a renovation recall that God destroyed the earth with a flood in the time of Noah, but a new kind of earth emerged when the flood subsided.

The word “new” in Revelation 21:1 is kainon, meaning “new in quality or fresh.” Another word for “new” is neos, meaning “new in time.” According to this verse, there will not be a sea on the new earth. The absence of a sea assures us this verse does not refer to the millennial earth, because during the millennium large bodies of water will exist (Isaiah 11:9; Ezekiel 47:8–10, 15, 17–20; 48:28; Zechariah 9:10; 14:8). It must describe the eternal earth.

Context Summary
Revelation 21:1–8 continues the progression of events which came after the end of the tribulation: Christ’s return to earth (Revelation 19:11–16), the defeat and destruction of those who war against Christ (Revelation 19:17–21), the incarceration of Satan (Revelation 20:1–3), the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4–6), the release of Satan and the nations’ final revolt against God (Revelation 20:7–10), and the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11–15). Here we see the creation of the new heaven and the new earth. Upcoming verses describe the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9–27).

Verse 2. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

John beheld the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending from heaven from God. Human beings have not been able to build a perfect city, but God is the builder of a city that is perfect. It descends from Him and is holy. Cities today are notorious for crimes committed in them, but God’s city contains no crimes. It is holy as God is holy. The New Jerusalem is a real city, not simply a symbol. It is the eternal home of the bride. All God’s saints will live there eternally. Hebrews 12:22–24 lists its residents as innumerable angels, the assembly of the firstborn, likely meaning church saints, God, the spirits of the righteous likely meaning Old Testament believers, and Jesus.

The New Jerusalem is a beautiful place. John saw it as “a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). A bride prepares meticulously to look her best for her wedding day, so this implies God plans to present the New Jerusalem as an exceptionally beautiful, carefully arranged city.

Verse 3. 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.

In the old Jerusalem God dwelt in the temple, in the Holy of Holies, into which only the high priest could enter once a year. In eternity, God will be present always with all His people. John heard a loud voice from the throne proclaim, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” According to this verse, the saints—God’s people—will enjoy close fellowship with God. The fellowship will resemble the experience Adam and Eve enjoyed with God in the garden of Eden before they fell into sin.

Sometimes the questions are raised, “What happens to those who become believers during the millennium? Will they have glorified bodies in eternity?” Likely, God will remove millennial believers from the earth before He renovates it, and then return them to the renovated earth in glorified bodies. During the millennium, the unglorified believers still had the longstanding promise that the pure in heart would see God (Matthew 5:8), in the New Jerusalem they will enjoy the fulfillment of that promise.

Verse 4. 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.”

Mature Christians know life brings tribulation and trouble as well as blessings and comfort. Pain and sorrow are inevitable in this life. Even Job, a righteous man in God’s sight, experienced personal pain and sorrow. Nevertheless, he retained faith in the Lord and the assurance that he would ultimately be resurrected and would see his Redeemer on the earth (Job 19:25–27). Christians, too, look beyond suffering and sorrow to the eternal day, when “what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:4).

Noticeably absent from the New Jerusalem are tears, death, mourning, crying and pain (Revelation 21:4). Pain, sorrow, mourning, the passing of friends and loved ones, and dying are all harsh realities of this life, but they will be over once and for all when we take up residence in the New Jerusalem. No wonder the apostle Paul regarded his death as gain (Philippians 1:21).

Revelation 20 described the total and complete defeat of all sin and evil. This verse describes the reality which comes about when God has enacted His judgment. All wrongs are made right, all sin is separated, and all suffering of all kinds are gone.

Verse 5. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

John reports in this verse that the One who occupies the throne declared, “Behold, I am making all things new.” When God created the heavens and the earth, including every living thing, including our first parents, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). However, when sin entered the world, it brought God’s judgment upon all creation. Decay. deterioration, death, and dying scarred nature and human life. Today, nature groans to be delivered from the curse (Romans 8:22), and God’s redeemed people anticipate their freedom from every vestige of sin (1 John 3:1–3).

Someday, God will make everything new: a new heaven and earth and a new freedom from sin. The prior chapter of Revelation described the ultimate defeat of sin and evil. These final two chapters describe the victorious conditions which come about as a result. John also heard a voice from the throne affirm that God’s declaration of His making all things new is completely dependable. His words are “trustworthy and true.” Indeed, everything God says is trustworthy and true, as Titus 1:2 affirms: “God…never lies.”

Verse 6. And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

This verse tells us the speaker from the throne identified Himself as the Alpha and the Omega. These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. When the glorified Son of God first appeared to John on the island of Patmos, John had just introduced God’s status as “I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). So, the voice from the throne belonged to Jesus, the risen, almighty Lord, who is eternal. He declared in Revelation 21:6: “It is done!” Referring to His spoken words about creating all things new, Jesus affirms that what He began has come to pass. He always finishes what He begins (Philippians 1:6).

Those who thirst for spiritual satisfaction find that Jesus gives it without charge. His grace saves and satisfies the thirsting soul. During His earthly ministry, Jesus told a spiritually thirsty woman at Jacob’s well: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Also, the fourth beatitude promises that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). That promise is fulfilled entirely and completely in eternity.

Verse 7. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Temptations and trials come to all believers, but through faith in Christ believers can overcome each solicitation to do evil and every trial. Paul assured the believers at Rome, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). He wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:14, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.” The apostle John, too, identified believers as overcomers. In 1 John 4:1–3 he wrote that many false prophets, including the spirit of the antichrist, had gone into the world, but he said, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Believers in the tribulation overcome the False Prophet and the Beast at the risk—or cost—of losing their lives. They, too, are among the overcomers to whom the Lord promises an inheritance in the eternal city and an intimate relationship with himself.

Verse 8. 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.”

The New Jerusalem is the eternal home of believers, but unbelievers must spend eternity in the lake of fire “that burns with fire and sulfur.” Unbelievers are identified in this verse as the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. Cowardly unbelievers fear for various reasons. Some fear they might lose their possessions or their jobs or their friends or their comfortable life if they trust in the Savior. But, as Jesus taught, it is worthless to gain the whole world but lose one’s soul (Mark 8:36). The faithless lack trust in Jesus as Savior, the detestable are foul.

Other sinners are identified as those who murder, cater to sexual lust, lack moral character, practice black magic or deal in illegal drugs, worship false gods, and lie. These unsavory characters experience the second death, which is eternal suffering in the lake of fire. Their refusal to trust in Christ had imprisoned them in their sins and subsequently in the lake of fire.

Verse 9. Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

One of the seven angels that poured their bowls of judgment onto the earth beckoned to John to come and see the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Perhaps this angel is the same one that had shown the apostle John the woman who sat on a scarlet beast (Revelation 17:1–3). The angel now shows John another woman. Whereas the woman on the scarlet beast was thoroughly immoral, the woman of Revelation 21:9 is thoroughly pure. She is the Lamb’s bride and wife.

The first woman symbolized the Beast’s city, Babylon. The woman here represents God’s city, the New Jerusalem. Once again, the Bible contrasts unrighteousness and righteousness, impurity and purity, evil and good, what is marked for destruction and what abides eternally. A bride presents herself to her fiancé as beautiful. Similarly, as we see in the subsequent verses, the bride and wife of our Lord presents herself as beautiful.

Context Summary
Revelation 21:9–27 presents a description of the New Jerusalem. Interpreters disagree about whether this is a flashback to the millennial reign of Christ, or a description of the eternal state of the city. A flashback is not unprecedented in Revelation, occurring in chapters 11, 14, 15, and 17. However, some verses here clearly refer to eternal conditions, and most scholars take this as a depiction of the eternal, final heavenly city.

Verse 10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

John reports in this verse that the angel carried him away to a high mountain, where he saw the holy city of Jerusalem descending from heaven from God. John was in the Spirit, when this occurred.

A sharp contrast exists between historic Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem of the millennium and eternity. The former Jerusalem is often disrupted by internal and external strife. The New Jerusalem will be a city of perfect peace. Men designed and built the former Jerusalem. God is the designer and builder of the New Jerusalem. The Babylonians, Romans, and centuries later, the Gentiles of the tribulation overran the former Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is secure, indestructible, and eternal.

The current, earthly Jerusalem experiences pain, suffering, death, and mourning. Sorrow, pain, suffering, and death are absent from the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:4). Several idolatrous, unrighteous kings ruled from the former Jerusalem. The kings who enter the New Jerusalem are righteous worshipers of God (Revelation 21:24–27) and the New Jerusalem is the capital from which the King of kings and Lord of lords rules. The former Jerusalem stoned God’s prophets (Matthew 23:37). The New Jerusalem is a safe home to His prophets. The former Jerusalem clamored for Christ’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:22–23). In the New Jerusalem Christ doesn’t bear a cross; He wears a crown.

Verse 11. having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

The New Jerusalem is not a drab, dull, boring city, because it radiates God’s glory. It is bright and beautiful like a rare jewel that shines brilliantly. Perhaps the word jasper describes a quartz with shades of green, blue, and red; literal jasper is not clear. The jasper stone is mentioned in Revelation 4:3 as one of the jewels that describe God’s appearance. In this part of Revelation, one can see that John is struggling to explain what he sees in terms others can understand, using the most relevant images he can think of. Comparing the shining beauty of this new city to gemstones is an attempt to describe the indescribable.

The glory of God that fills the New Jerusalem is the dazzling light that emanates from His being. Moses experienced God’s glory as “a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:2). This glory was manifested as the shekinah cloud that filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34). When Solomon concluded his prayer at the dedication of the temple, fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices. The glory of the Lord filled the temple in such brilliance that the priests could not enter the temple because of it (2 Chronicles 7:1–2).

Verse 12. 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 —

The New Jerusalem is secure. Nothing and no one except what is righteous is allowed to enter (Revelation 21:27). A massive high wall with twelve gates surrounds the city. Twelve angels guard the gates. The gates serve not only to symbolize security, but they also serve as memorials. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are inscribed on the gates.

Walls and gates were used in Bible times to fortify cities. Wooden or iron gates closed at night to keep out enemy soldiers and/or plunderers. Inside the cities were narrow streets and courtyards. Buildings stood around the courtyards. Of course, enemies were known to scale the walls and crash the gates. When Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, the city’s walls were left in ruins. It became Nehemiah’s mission to return from captivity to lead a delegation in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls (Nehemiah 1). The wall of the New Jerusalem will never fall, and its gates will never be breached.

This, of course, is meant as a highly symbolic gesture. In eternity, there won’t be any wickedness or unrighteousness to be protected from. Nor will there be any evil, danger, or harm from which to be protected. The existence of these walls, and gates, serve as real-but-symbolic emblems proclaiming the safety and security of those living in New Jerusalem.

Verse 13. on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

God is a God of order. If we look at creation we can see this truth. He did not create man until the rest of creation was finished and ready to accommodate human life. When He gave instructions for the building of the tabernacle, God left nothing to the Israelites’ guesswork. From the placement of the furniture, to the coverings for the tabernacle, everything pictured Christ and the work of redemption (Hebrews 8:5; 9:11).

In the New Jerusalem God placed twelve gates in an orderly pattern. Three gates were located on the city’s east side, three on the north side, three on the south side, and three on the west side. Verse 12 informs us that the names of Israel’s twelve tribes are inscribed on the gates. Most likely the arrangement of the gates follows the arrangement of Israel’s encampment in the desert: on the east, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; on the south, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; on the west, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin; on the north, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali (Numbers 2). The inclusion of Dan, which seems to have been excluded in Revelation 7:5–8, follows the pattern of Ezekiel 48:31–34.

Verse 14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The wall of the New Jerusalem has twelve foundations on which the names of the twelve apostles are inscribed. The inscriptions are appropriate, because the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). When Jesus arose from the grave, He commissioned His apostles to proclaim the gospel worldwide. Wherever the apostles went, they declared that Jesus died, arose from the dead, and is coming again. Churches sprang up mainly because the apostles were faithful to the commission Jesus had given them.

The fact that the New Jerusalem displays both the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:12) and the names of the twelve apostles shows two things. First, God distinguishes between Israel and the church, and second, both Old Testament believers and New Testament believers occupy New Jerusalem. God’s grace avails for all who believe on His Son as their Savior.

Most likely, the twelve names here correspond to the original twelve apostles as established after the ascension of Jesus: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alpheus, Simon, Judas son of James and Matthias (Acts 1:12–14; 1:26).

Verse 15. And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.

The angel who spoke to the apostle John had a gold measuring rod with which to measure the city, its gates, and walls. In Revelation 11:1 we read that John received a measuring rod and the command to measure the temple, the altar, and the worshipers. God is a God of order, and the fact that the angel in chapter 21 had a measuring rod for measuring the city, its gates, and walls shows that New Jerusalem is a literal city, not a mystical city. If it were a purely symbolic idea, or a metaphor only, it would be impossible to measure it.

Apparently, God who designed and built the city (Hebrews 11:10) wanted John and us to realize the city is big enough to accommodate the saints of all periods of history. The angel’s measuring rod is not simply a staff like the one mentioned in Revelation 11:1; it is a rod of gold. Everything about New Jerusalem is glorious, including the rod the angel used to measure the city.

Verse 16. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.

The dimensions given here for New Jerusalem are at once specific and yet vague. The description given here gives size, but not shape—so this might be describing a cube, or a pyramid. The city “lies foursquare”, so its base is square. Its length and width are equal, each measuring 12,000 stadia or approximately 1,400 miles (2,250 km), about the distance from New York City to Dallas, Texas. The area of the base is about 1,960,000 square miles (more than 5 million square km).

The city’s height—either the tallest buildings or the top of some foundational structure—is also 12,000 stadia or about 1,400 miles (2,250 km). The question of whether the city is a cube or a pyramid is debatable. Typical architecture of John’s era would have used a pyramid shape rather than a simple cube for something like a city. However, regardless of its shape, the presence of oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams on the millennial earth seems to suggest the earth could not accommodate such a large city. The new earth has no sea (Revelation 21:1), so some scholars suggest New Jerusalem hovers like a satellite city over the millennial earth but descends to the new earth (Revelation 21:10) after the millennium.

One thing is certain: New Jerusalem is large enough to accommodate all believers saved throughout all of history. The dimensions of New Jerusalem, whether cubic or pyramidal, are enough to provide ample room for billions upon billions of people. Whereas most ancient cities just grew without planning, New Jerusalem follows the plan of God, its Master Builder.

Verse 17. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel ‘s measurement.

The angel also measured the wall that surrounds New Jerusalem. Although an angel measured the wall, he used human measurements. The city’s wall is 144 cubits thick, which is about 216 feet or almost 66 meters. Generally, a wall is constructed to provide security and/or privacy. But most walls are only a foot (30 cm) or less thick. The massive size of these walls not only implies strength, it suggests the enormous scale of the rest of the city.

When Nehemiah heard that Jerusalem’s walls were broken down, he became distraught and undertook the task of restoring them (Nehemiah 1:1–4). Even the threat of enemy aggression failed to deter him from the rebuilding effort (Nehemiah 4:15–16). He wanted Jerusalem to be secure. It was common for watchmen to be posted on city walls in order to detect an approaching enemy and sound an alarm. New Jerusalem’s extremely thick wall emphasizes the city’s security, and the absence of watchmen on the wall emphasizes the fact that God is its protector.

Verse 18. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

John observed that the wall of New Jerusalem is constructed of jasper. Verse 11 indicates the jasper is translucent. It may be a crystalline red. Because the wall is constructed of this translucent jewel, it must glow with brilliant color. The city appeared to John to be clear, pure, transparent gold. This gold is quite different from gold as we know it. The gold we know is solid and not transparent. Jasper, as well, is not literally clear. John’s words here seem to be an attempt to describe the indescribable using terms most likely to be understood. This would be like a modern person describing something as a “ray of darkness,” though everyone involved knows there is no such literal thing.

The point of John’s description is this: the city glows with brilliant light, both dazzling red and shiny gold. Because God is glorious, the city reflects His glory. Earlier, John saw a vision of God on His throne (Revelation 4:3–4) and wrote that He had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, which is very similar to ruby. A rainbow circled His throne. This description portrays God and His throne as glorious, so we should not be surprised that the city He designs and builds is arrayed with brilliant colors.

Verse 19. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,

As verse 14 points out, New Jerusalem’s wall has twelve foundations on which are inscribed the names of the twelve apostles. Verse 19 describes these foundations further as adorned with every kind of jewel. The foundations, therefore, are extremely beautiful. This begins the list of jewels that adorn the twelve foundations.

The first jewel is a jasper, probably a crystalline red. This jewel is also mentioned in Exodus 28:20 as one of the twelve jewels placed on the breastplate of Israel’s high priest. In Revelation 4:3 jasper is mentioned in connection with the appearance of the one John saw seated upon the throne. Revelation 21:18 informs us that the wall of New Jerusalem is constructed of jasper. Sapphire, agate, and emerald are also listed in Revelation 21:19. These jewels also adorned the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:18, 19). Sapphire is the blue of lapis lazuli. Agate is perhaps blue quartz with stripes. Emerald is green.

Verse 20. the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

This verse continues the list of jewels found on the foundations of New Jerusalem’s wall. They are onyx, carnelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst. Onyx has layers of black or dark with white. Carnelian is a red jewel. The name, “chrysolite” means gold stone. It includes not only yellow topazes but also other stones of yellow tint. Beryl is a green or blue-green or turquoise gem. Topaz is yellow. Chrysoprase is greenish-yellow. Jacinth is a smoky blue, and amethyst is a violet-colored gem. Many of these gems were also included in the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:17–21).

It is not necessary to assume that all these gems came from mines. God created everything in the beginning, including the precious stones that miners extract from mines. Undoubtedly, He will create the jewels that adorn the foundations of New Jerusalem’s walls. It is impossible to grasp the dazzling beauty that radiates from the wall’s foundations, but the display speaks volumes about God’s glorious character and creative work in building New Jerusalem.

Verse 21. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Each of the twelve gates in New Jerusalem appears to be made of a single pearl. This is the source of the “pearly gates” cliché so often used to describe the entrance to heaven.

In ancient times pearls ranked as extremely valuable and rare gems. Modern pearl farming was not something available to the ancient world. One reason Caesar wanted to conquer Britain was to acquire its pearl-fisheries. The surface of most city streets today is either concrete or asphalt, but the streets of New Jerusalem are pure gold like transparent glass. Both the pearl gates and the streets of gold must bathe the city in a magnificent glow.

In 2018 the world’s then-largest pearl known as “The Sleeping Lion,” was sold at auction in the Hague, Netherlands, for $374,000 by the Amsterdam Pearl Society and purchased by a Japanese trader. It weighed about 5.4 ounces (153 g) and was 2.75 inches (70 mm) long. Given that value, it is mind-boggling to estimate the value of a pearl large enough to compose an entire gate in New Jerusalem! And the value multiplies greatly when we consider that all twelve gates are each made of a pearl.

Verse 22. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

In Old Testament times, the Israelites worshiped God in a temple, but New Jerusalem doesn’t need a temple because the entire city is the dwelling place of Almighty God and the Lamb. In Old Testament times God’s presence graced a temple in Jerusalem. It was the center of Jewish worship for centuries before the exile, when it was laid waste by the Babylonians. When a delegation of Jews returned from captivity, they rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 6:13–18).

Although no temple is located in this heavenly New Jerusalem, a temple exists on earth in Jerusalem during the millennium. Malachi 3:1 predicts part of this end-times victory, saying “And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” Zechariah 14:16 predicts that survivors of the nations that launch an assault on Jerusalem will “go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.” These concepts of worship and festivals imply the existence of a temple in Jerusalem during the millennium.

This lack of an explicit temple also reinforces the new covenant promised by God in Jeremiah 31:31–34, which indicates a direct relationship between man and God.

Verse 23. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Ancient cities were often dark. They did not have lighting systems, so they depended upon lighted torches or the light of the sun by day and the light of the moon at night. How different the New Jerusalem is. It enjoys glorious light all the time, as God and the Lamb provide it. The residents of New Jerusalem will never receive an electric bill or experience a blackout. Light will come from God’s glory. Neither the moon nor the sun is needed to shine on New Jerusalem. Jesus, the Light of the world (John 1:9; 8:12), serves as the city’s lamp.

In Old Testament times the shekinah glory shone at various times as God revealed His glory. When Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, a brilliant light accompanied Jesus’ appearance and blinded Saul (Acts 9:3–9). The apostle John wrote in 1 John 1:5 that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Verse 24.By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,

Based on the vague timeline given in these passages, and the description of New Jerusalem “coming down” (Revelation 21:10), some scholars suggest New Jerusalem is hovering above earth during the millennium. According to that assumption, it seems the light from the eternal city will be so strong that the nations on the millennial earth—as in, seemingly the entire planet—will walk in it. However, those who dwell on the earth during the millennium will also have sunlight and moonlight. Zechariah 14:7 predicts, “And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.” The saved rulers of the earth will enjoy access to New Jerusalem and will bring their glory into it.

Based on those prior verses and the sheer size of the city, some interpreters suggest New Jerusalem will hover over the earth during the millennium and the regenerate rulers on earth will travel back and forth to the city. As of this writing, spacecraft shuttle cargo and passengers into space, so it is not hard to foresee such travel back and forth to New Jerusalem during the millennium and beyond.

Likely, the millennial residents of New Jerusalem will have access to the millennial earth without the aid of space shuttles. Their glorified bodies are capable of transcending space and matter, just as the risen Lord did when He entered the room with locked doors, where His disciples were gathered (John 20:19).

Verse 25. and its gates will never be shut by day — and there will be no night there.

The gates of New Jerusalem will never be shut to those who qualify by faith in Christ to enter the city. In ancient times cities closed their gates at night to keep out hostile forces, but no hostile forces exist to threaten New Jerusalem. All kinds of evil occurred under the cloak of darkness in ancient times, as well as today, and hostile forces usually chose nighttime to invade an ancient city, but night does not exist inside New Jerusalem. The city’s all-pervasive light emanates from the glory of God and the Lamb.

The perpetually open gates are a clear reminder that Jesus is the Door to heaven and He does not withdraw His invitation to enter (John 10:7–9). However, if a person rejects the invitation and dies, it is too late to change his eternal destination. Hebrews 9:27 states: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Second Corinthians 6:2 and Hebrews 3:15 offer valuable counsel: “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Verse 26. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

According to this verse, the kings of the earth will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into New Jerusalem. Isaiah 60:11 predicts: “Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.”

We cannot be explicitly sure what the term “glory and honor of the nations” represents. Perhaps the regenerate kings will present the best works of the millennial kingdom to be exhibited in New Jerusalem. Perhaps they will be paying homage to God. Of course, all that is accomplished as worth presenting to God is achieved only by God’s grace and Christ’s strength. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). What the kings bring to New Jerusalem, they had first received from our heavenly Father. James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

Verse 27. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb ‘s book of life.

Although New Jerusalem’s gates are always open, not a single trace of evil can enter the city. No uncleanness can pass through the gates and mar the city’s pure, spotlessly clean environment. What a joyful expectation this revelation must have brought to the apostle John. Many of the cities he had visited in the Mediterranean region allowed their streets to become garbage dumps and open sewers. The back alleys could be described as nothing short of smelly and foul. Ceremonial uncleanness was intended to symbolize moral filth; New Jerusalem will be gloriously free of both.

The New Jerusalem is inaccessible to criminals, liars, and idolaters. Those who practice fraud and deception are banished forever from God’s beautiful, dazzling city. In fact, as explained in prior verses, all sin and evil has been entirely defeated and banished to hell by this point in history (Revelation 20:10–15). As Revelation 21:8 points out, the cowardly, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Only those whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s book of life are welcome in the New Jerusalem. Of all the references to the book of life in Revelation (Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27), 21:27 is the only one that calls the book of life, “the Lamb’s book of life.”

End of Chapter 21.

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