Chapter XXI · ANALYSIS OF CHAP. XXI., XXII. 1‒5.

The whole of ch. xxi., and the first five verses of ch. xxii., relate to scenes beyond the judgment, and are descriptive of the happy and triumphant state of the redeemed church, when all its conflicts shall have ceased, and all its enemies shall have been destroyed. That happy state is depicted under the image of a beautiful city, of which Jerusalem was the emblem, and it was disclosed to John by a vision of that city—the New Jerusalem—descending from heaven. Jerusalem was regarded as the peculiar dwelling-place of God, and to the Hebrews it became thus the natural emblem or symbol of the heavenly world. The conception having occurred of describing the future condition of the righteous under the image of a beautiful city, all that follows is in keeping with that, and is merely a carrying out of the image. It is a city with beautiful walls and gates; a city that has no temple—for it is all a temple; a city that needs no light—for God is its light; a city into which nothing impure ever enters; a city filled with trees, and streams, and fountains, and fruits—the Paradise Regained.

The description of that blessed state comprises the following parts:—

I. A vision of a new heaven and a new earth, as the final abode of the blessed, ver. 1. The first heaven and the first earth passed away at the judgment (ch. xx. 11‒15), to be succeeded by a new heaven and earth fitted to be the abode of the blessed.

II. A vision of the holy city—the New Jerusalem—descending from heaven, as the abode of the redeemed, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband—representing the fact that God would truly abide with men, ver. 2‒4. Now all the effects of the apostasy will cease; all tears will be wiped away, and in that blessed state there will be no more death, or sorrow, or pain. This contains the general statement of what will be the condition of the redeemed in the future world. God will be there; and all sorrow will cease.

III. A command to make a record of these things, ver. 5.

IV. A general description of those who should dwell in that future world of blessedness, ver. 6‒8. It is for all who are athirst; for all who desire it, and long for it; for all who “overcome” their spiritual enemies, who maintain a steady conflict with sin, and gain a victory over it. But all who are fearful and unbelieving—all the abominable, and murderers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and liars—shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. That is, that world will be pure and holy.

V. A minute description of the city, representing the happy abode of the redeemed, ver. 9‒26. This description embraces many particulars:—

(1) Its general appearance, ver. 11, 18, 21. It is bright and splendid—like a precious jasper-stone, clear as crystal, and composed of pure gold.

(2) Its walls, ver. 12, 18. The walls are represented as “great and high,” and as composed of “jasper.”

(3) Its gates, ver. 12, 13, 21. The gates are twelve in number, three on each side; and are each composed of a single pearl.

(4) Its foundations, ver. 14, 18‒20. There are twelve foundations, corresponding to the number of the apostles of the Lamb. They are all composed of precious stones—jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst.

(5) Its size, ver. 15‒17. It is square—the length being as great as the breadth, and its height the same. The extent of each dimension is twelve thousand furlongs—a length on each side and in height of three hundred and seventy-five miles. It would seem, however, that though the city was of that height, the wall was only an hundred and forty-four cubits, or about two hundred and sixteen feet high. The idea seems to be that the city—the dwellings within it—towered high above the wall that was thrown around it for protection. This is not uncommon in cities that are surrounded by walls.

(6) Its light, ver. 23, 24; ch. xxii. 5. It has no need of the sun, or of the moon, or of a lamp (ch. xxii. 5) to lighten it; and yet there is no night there (ch. xxii. 5), for the glory of God gives light to it.

(7) It is a city without a temple, ver. 22. There is no one place in it that is peculiarly sacred, or where the worship of God will be exclusively celebrated. It will be all a temple, and the worship of God will be celebrated in all parts of it.

(8) It is always open, ver. 25. There will be no need of closing it as walled cities on earth are closed to keep enemies out, and it will not be shut to prevent those who dwell there from going out and coming in when they please. The inhabitants will not be prisoners, nor will they be in danger, or be alarmed by the prospect of an attack from an enemy.

(9) Its inhabitants will all be pure and holy, ver. 27. There will in no wise enter there anything that defiles, or that works abomination, or that is false. They only shall dwell there whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

(10) Its inclosures and environs, ch. xxii. 1, 2. A stream of water, pure as crystal, proceeds from the throne of God and the Lamb. That stream flows through the city, and on its banks is the tree of life constantly bearing fruit—fruit to be partaken of freely. It is Paradise regained—a holy and beautiful abode, of which the garden of Eden was only an imperfect emblem, where there is no prohibition, as there was there, of anything that grows, and where there is no danger of falling into sin.

(11) It is a place free, consequently, from the curse that was pronounced on man when he forfeited the blessings of the first Eden, and when he was driven out from the happy abodes where God had placed him.

(12) It is a place where the righteous shall reign for ever, ch. xxii. 5. Death shall never enter there, and the presence and glory of God shall fill all with peace and joy.

Such is an outline of the figurative and glowing description of the future blessedness of the redeemed; the eternal abode of those who shall be saved. It is poetic and emblematical; but it is elevating, and constitutes a beautiful and appropriate close, not only of this single book, but of the whole sacred volume—for to this the saints are everywhere directed to look forward; this is the glorious termination of all the struggles and conflicts of the church; this is the result of the work of redemption in repairing the evils of the fall, and in bringing man to more than the bliss which he lost in Eden. The mind rests with delight on this glorious prospect; the Bible closes, as a revelation from heaven should, in a manner that calms down every anxious feeling; that fills the soul with peace, and that leads the child of God to look forward with bright anticipations, and to say, as John did, “Come, Lord Jesus,” ch. xxii. 20.

13. On the east three gates, &c. The city was square (ver. 16), and the same number of gates is assigned to each quarter. There does not appear to be any special significancy in this fact, unless it be to denote that there is access to this city from all quarters of the world, and that they who dwell there will have come from each of the great divisions of the earth—that is, from every land.

16. And the city lieth four-square. It was an exact square. That is, there was nothing irregular about it; there were no crooked walls; there was no jutting out, and no indentation in the walls, as if the city had been built at different times without a plan, and had been accommodated to circumstances. Most cities have been determined in their outline by the character of the ground—by hills, streams, or ravines; or have grown up by accretions, where one part has been joined to another, so that there is no regularity, and so that the original plan, if there was any, has been lost sight of. The New Jerusalem, on the contrary, had been built according to a plan of the utmost regularity, which had not been modified by the circumstances, or varied as the city grew. The idea here may be, that the church, as it will appear in its state of glory, will be in accordance with an eternal plan, and that the great original design will have been fully carried out. ¶ And the length, is as large as the breadth. The height also of the city was the same—so that it was an exact square. ¶ And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. As eight furlongs make a mile, the extent of the walls, therefore, must have been three hundred and seventy-five miles. Of course, this must preclude all idea of there being such a city literally in Palestine. This is clearly a figurative or symbolical representation; and the idea is, that the city was on the most magnificent scale, and with the largest proportions, and the description here is adopted merely to indicate this vastness, without any idea that it would be understood literally. ¶ The length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal. According to this representation, the height of the city, not of the walls (comp. ver. 17), would be three hundred and seventy-five miles. Of course, this cannot be understood literally, and the very idea of a literal fulfilment of this shows the absurdity of that method of interpretation. The idea intended to be conveyed by this immense height would seem to be that it would contain countless numbers of inhabitants. It is true that such a structure has not existed, and that a city of such a height may seem to be out of all proportion; but we are to remember (a) that this is a symbol; and (b) that, considered as one mass or pile of buildings, it may not seem to be out of proportion. It is no uncommon thing that a house should be as high as it is long or broad. The idea of vastness and of capacity is the main idea designed to be represented. The image before the mind is, that the numbers of the redeemed will be immense.

17. And he measured the wall thereof. In respect to its height. Of course, its length corresponded with the extent of the city. ¶ An hundred and forty and four cubits. This would be, reckoning the cubit at eighteen inches, two hundred and sixteen feet. This is less than the height of the walls of Babylon, which Herodotus says were three hundred and fifty feet high. See Introduction to ch. xiii. of Isaiah. As the walls of a city are designed to protect it from external foes, the height mentioned here gives all proper ideas of security; and we are to conceive of the city itself as towering immensely above the walls. Its glory, therefore, would not be obscured by the wall that was thrown around it for defence. ¶ According to the measure of a man. The measure usually employed by men. This seems to be added in order to prevent any mistake as to the size of the city. It is an angel who makes the measurement, and without this explanation it might perhaps be supposed that he used some measure not in common use among men, so that, after all, it would be impossible to form any definite idea of the size of the city. ¶ That is, of the angel. That is, “which is the measure employed by the angel.” It was, indeed, an angel who measured the city, but the measure which he employed was that in common use among men.

20. The fifth, sardonyx. This word does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. The name is derived from Sardis, a city in Asia Minor (Notes on ch. iii. 1), and ὄνυξ, a nail—so named, according to Pliny, from the resemblance of its colour to the flesh and the nail. It is a silicious stone or gem, nearly allied to the onyx. The colour is a reddish yellow, nearly orange (Webster, Dict.). ¶ The sixth, sardius. This word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It is also derived from Sardis, and the name was probably given to the gem because it was found there. It is a stone of a blood-red or flesh colour, and is commonly known as a carnelian. It is the same as the sardine stone mentioned in Re. iv. 3. See Notes on that place. ¶ The seventh, chrysolite. This word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It is derived from χρυσὸς, gold, and λίθος, stone, and means golden stone, and was applied by the ancients to all gems of a golden or yellow colour, probably designating particularly the topaz of the moderns (Rob. Lex.). But in Webster’s Dict. it is said that its prevalent colour is green. It is sometimes transparent. This is the modern chrysolite. The ancients undoubtedly understood by the name a yellow gem. ¶ The eighth, beryl. This word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The beryl is a mineral of great hardness, and is of a green or bluish-green colour. It is identical with the emerald, except in the colour, the emerald having a purer and richer green colour, proceeding from a trace of oxide of chrome. Prisms of beryl are sometimes found nearly two feet in diameter in the state of New Hampshire (Webster). ¶ The ninth, a topaz. This word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. The topaz is a well-known mineral, said to be so called from Topazos, a small island in the Arabian Gulf. It is generally of a yellowish colour, and pellucid, but it is also found of greenish, bluish, or brownish shades. ¶ The tenth, a chrysoprasus. This word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It is derived from χρυσὸς, gold, and πράσον, a leek, and denotes a precious stone of greenish golden colour, like a leek; that is, “apple-green passing into a grass-green” (Rob. Lex.). “It is a variety of quartz. It is commonly apple-green, and often extremely beautiful. It is translucent, or sometimes semi-transparent; its hardness little inferior to flint” (Webster, Dict.). ¶ The eleventh, a jacinth. The word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It is the same word as hyacinth—ὑάκινθος—and denotes properly the well-known flower of that name, usually of a deep purple or reddish blue. Here it denotes a gem of this colour. It is a red variety of zircon. See Webster’s Dict. under the word hyacinth. ¶ The twelfth, an amethyst. This word, also, is found only in this place in the New Testament. It denotes a gem of a deep purple or violet colour. The word is derived from α, priv., and μεθύω, to be intoxicated, became this gem was supposed to be an antidote against drunkenness. It is a species of quartz, and is used in jewelry.

21. And the twelve gates. Ver. 12. ¶ Were twelve pearls. See Notes on ch. xvii. 4; Mat. xiii. 46. ¶ Every several gate was of one pearl. Each gate. Of course, this is not to be understood literally. The idea is that of ornament and beauty, and nothing could give a more striking view of the magnificence of the future abode of the saints. ¶ And the street of the city was pure gold. Was paved with gold; that is, all the vacant space that was not occupied with buildings was of pure gold. See Notes on ver. 18.

22. And I saw no temple therein. No structure reared expressly for the worship of God; no particular place where he was adored. It was all temple—nothing but a temple. It was not like Jerusalem, where there was but one house reared expressly for divine worship, and to which the inhabitants repaired to praise God; it was all one great temple reared in honour of his name, and where worship ascended from every part of it. With this explanation, this passage harmonises with what is said in ch. ii. 12: vii. 15. ¶ For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. They are present in all parts of it in their glory; they fill it with light; and the splendour of their presence may be said to be the temple. The idea here is, that it would be a holy world—all holy. No particular portion would be set apart for purposes of public worship, but in all places God would be adored, and every portion of it devoted to the purposes of religion.

26. And they shall bring, &c. See Notes on ver. 24. That blessed world shall be made up of all that was truly valuable and pure on the earth.