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The Book of Revelation
Chapter Twenty One


Preface

If chapter 20 of Revelation is a blessing to the reader then this chapter will be pure delight. It covers the new heaven and the new earth, as well as the New Jerusalem (the Holy City)-the residence of believers after the Millennial Kingdom-in addition to some of the characteristics that will apply to the believer while occupying this enormous and magnificent edifice. Whereas the place called “hell” is a subject in the previous chapter, this chapter concerns itself with what many considered the domain of and some of the circumstances peculiar to “heaven.” As the reader will find in the commentary, it is also a Kingdom (the Perfect Kingdom)-what may be the final kingdom, separate from and subsequent to the Millennial Kingdom.

Whereas “hell” seems easily describable by Christians, many, if not most, have difficulty describing “heaven,” which calls to mind the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10, “However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’-but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”. This is also reminiscent of the impossibility the Apostle Paul faced in describing what he saw after his return from the “third heaven”-Paradise (2 Corinthians 12:1-6). Therefore before delving into the commentary it may be of value to review a list of the attributes, qualities and/or characteristics that define or apply to the period subsequent to the Millennial Kingdom and its occupants (Christians). In reviewing the list, note that the word “heaven” will refer to the conditions of the period, and the word “believer” will refer to the occupants of the period. The list follows, in no particular order of priority.

    1. Heaven will not be subject to corrosion, deterioration or decay, that is, the second law of thermodynamics (all things are subject to a process that results in their disorder or decay) will no longer be valid in the new order. Matthew 6:20; Romans 8:20-22

    2. The believer will not marry in heaven. Upon hearing this, a believer should understand that God never takes away anything from us without replacing it with something better. Although most religions and cults distort the concept of sex (especially with an overindulgence of it in the afterlife), the Bible focuses on its spiritual and relational aspects. God’s Word emphasizes the “oneness” between man and woman, achieved not by physical techniques but by adherence to Biblical principles and a generous investment of their time in the relationship. The four-dimensional world of man limits his achievement of real intimacy with anymore than one person. This limitation even limits man’s ability to build genuine friendships, but it will not be the case in the “new order.” Matthew 22:29; Luke 20:34-36

    3. Everything will be made “new,” that is, new physical laws will apply to the new heaven and new earth, as well as to believers. For instance and whereas believers are subject to four dimensions (length, width, height and time) in this age, they will have access to extra-dimensionality in the new order. This will permit them to travel and to communicate and relate (a much deeper experience than a sexual relationship) on multiple levels at the same time-somewhat similar to the way Christ travels and communicates and relates within the Trinity. This will allow believers to conduct deep and genuine multi-faceted friendships and intimacies beyond anyone’s wildest imagination today.

    Partial evidence of the fact that there will exist new physical laws is illustrated by Dr. Hugh Ross in his book, Beyond the Cosmos,

    “Electromagnetism and gravity operate on material objects in three dimensions of space. Stable atom structure and stable planetary and star orbits, for example, are impossible in anything other than three dimensions of space. Evidence that gravity will be different or nonexistent in the new creation comes from the biblical description of the New Jerusalem. The new “city of peace” rests on the new earth and is laid out as a cube. 12,000 stadia (1,379 miles or 2,219 kilometers) long, 12,000 stadia wide, and 12,000 stadia high. If the familiar force of gravity were in operation, this cube would collapse into a spherical shape, for in our universe, any material object with dimensions exceeding about 300 miles across would be pulled by gravity into a more or less spherical shape.” Furthermore, just the fact that believers will then be in a position to have a personal and apparently “physical” relationship with God necessitates a much more extensive dimensionality for the believer. And the fact that there will be no more decay or deterioration attests to the fact that the physical laws will change. Revelation 21:4, 5; 1 John 3:2; Ephesians 1:3; Romans 8:17-21; Matthew 6:20

    4. The believer will inherit everything that Christ will inherit. Romans 8:17

    5. The believer will be the recipient of “every spiritual blessing.” Ephesians 1:3

    6. The believer will no longer experience sorrow or pain. Since this applies to the believer after the Millennial Kingdom, it may be assumed that there will be sorrow and tears during the Millennium, e.g., remembering lost loved ones, realizing one’s insufficient stewardship while living in one’s physical body before death or the Rapture, experiencing a definite lack of “rewards” from the Bema (Judgment) Seat of Christ after the Rapture and prior to the Millennium, etc. But after the Millennial Kingdom all such sorrow and pain will disappear, which may mean that the believer will no longer remember lost loved ones, lack of stewardship or rewards-all believers during this time may be granted equality. Revelation 7:17; 21:4

    7. The believer will have a special and individual dwelling place (mansion, estate, etc.) constructed by God. As Dr. Huge Ross in his book, Beyond the Cosmos, puts it, “All these descriptions suggest the enormity of our new habitation. If its population exceeds ten billion, the New Jerusalem alone would give each of us about forty billion cubic feet of living space (equivalent to a fourteen square mile home with a hundred foot high ceiling). What we will do exactly with all that space we cannot yet know. However, our habitat will be better than all the splendors of this earth, from its ocean depths to it mountain grandeur . . . The New Jerusalem represents just one portion of our new domain. And since the New Jerusalem’s size exceeds earth’s largest structures by more than ten trillion times, the new earth’s proportions probably supersede the present earth’s by a similar factor. Though the New Jerusalem will be roomy enough to serve as “home” for every believer, we will have full access to the new earth, and the new heaven will also be available for our enjoyment.” John 14:2

    8. The believer will be the recipient, depending on circumstances, of a number of crowns (Incorruptible, Righteousness, Life and Glory). 1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4

    9. Heaven will be a time of “rest” and “responsibility” (learning, serving, ruling, judging, reigning, priestly functions). 1 Corinthians 13:9-12; Revelation 14:13; Matthew 25:23; 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3; 2 Timothy 2:12; Matthew 19:28; Revelation 3:21; 7:15; 20:4; 22:5; 1 Peter 2:9

    10. Heaven will encompass God’s glory and will be a place of rejoicing. Acts 7:55; Isaiah 44:23; Revelation 14:3, 15:3

    11. The believer will be the recipient of an “eternal glory.” Daniel 12:3; Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17; 1Peter 5:1

    12. Heaven will mean a “family atmosphere between God and man.” Revelation 21:7

    13. The believer will have a heavenly (immortal and extra-dimensional) body, like that of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4; Luke 24:37; Philippians 1:23; 1 John 3:2

    14. Heaven will contain a Holy City whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10

    15. Heaven will contain an “innumerable company of angels.” Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 5:11

    16. Heaven will be a place of continuous light (day)-never darkness (night). Revelation 22:5

    17. Heaven will be “a better and enduring substance.” Hebrews 10:34

    18. The believer will nevermore hunger or thirst; yet the believer will be able to eat [and drink]. Revelation 7:16; Luke 24:41, 42; John 21:13-15

    19. Heaven will contain no more oceans. Revelation 21:1

    20. Heaven will be a place where the believer will associate side-by-side with the Lord Jesus Christ and the believer will continuously be able to personally and face-to-face praise God. Colossians 3:4; Philippians 1:23; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 4:5

Although this list may be expanded as the student continues through the various passages describing the believer’s eventual destination, the above should provide a taste of the matchless wonder and glory that will be available to the person who in this life accepts by faith alone Christ alone as his personal Savior. Opposite to some religions, sects and cults, the Bible clearly indicates that heaven will not be a place where one may indulge his present-day sexual fantasies. Heaven’s pleasures will far exceed these base desires of the flesh, the difference being as far as the separation between the mind of man and the mind of God.

Commentary:

Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.


In Genesis 1:1 it reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” which is true. The study of God’s Word reveals there are at least three heavens. There is the atmospheric heaven (atmosphere), which is the gaseous envelope that surrounds the earth and extends from the surface to a little over 600 miles high. It is composed of oxygen (21%), nitrogen (78%) and other gases (1%). Above this is the stellar heaven, which contains all the stars, planets, comets, galaxies and other contents of the universe. Beyond this is the third heaven, the abode of the “throne of God.” Of course as one becomes more involved with the studies of dimensions, as they relate to God and His creation, a case may be made that the “third heaven” encompasses everything, but just on a different plain or in a parallel dimension.

The point of all this is that an understanding of how the heavens and the earth were “created” will assist in the understanding of the “new heaven” and the “new earth” in the chapter and verse under consideration. This of course is not the format for dredging up in detail the age-old controversies between “old-earth creationists” and “young-earth creationists,” but it would be helpful to note that both views are correct if seen through the portal of God’s other revelation to man-true science. Dr. Hugh Rose in his book, Creation and Time, has this to say.

      Most secularists with whom I have discussed this issue perceive that becoming a Christian requires them to reject all authority but the words of the Bible. Few have been presented with the possibility of God’s dual revelation of truth. Dual revelation means that since God is responsible for both the biblical revelation and the natural world, the words of the Bible are true and at the same time consistent with the facts of nature. His character and attributes are expressed through both channels, and neither negates nor contradicts the other. This viewpoint represents an obvious but rarely articulated option.

      All too often, people are left with the hard choice between believing what they think are the words of the Bible (actually, a particular interpretation) and rejecting the facts of nature or believing the facts of nature and rejecting the words of the Bible. Christians have tragically set up a false dilemma that creates barriers to serious consideration of the really crucial spiritual issues.

It is amazing that unlike today, many early church leaders (Philo, Josephus, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Augustine and others), while holding divergent views regarding the time frame of the Creation, were open and tolerant of the views of others who opposed them. Although they differed widely as to the interpretation of the Genesis creation account, they never made one’s understanding of this doctrine a foundational requirement for church membership or acceptance into fellowship. But since1642, just thirty-one years after the completion of the King James translation of the Bible, a series of writings, debates and trials have erupted over the years that have given rise to hard-liners on both sides of this issue. From these events, the camps of “Bible Fundamentalism” and “Scientific Thought” have “drawn and quartered” against each other, to the point that often each excludes the other as false and perilous. Several, if not many, have made the creation question a rock-bed issue to determine whether or not one may be accepted into a local church or organization.

Unfortunately, this controversy has caused many science-inclined persons to flee from Christianity and has caused many Christians to deny God’s truth in His natural laws. Christians should never forget that God’s Word states that God reveals Himself faithfully through the “voice” of nature as well as through the inspired words of Scripture, e.g., Job 10:8-4; 12:7; 34:14, 15; 35:10-12; 37:5-7; 38:41; Psalm 8; 19:1-6; 50:6; 85:11; 97:6; 98:2, 3; 104; 139; Proverbs 8:22-31; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Habakkuk 3:3; Acts 14:17; 17:23-31; Romans 1:18-25; 2:14, 15; 10:16-18 and Colossians 1:23. With an acceptance in the infallibility of the Bible and a proper understanding of God’s truth in science, there need not be this avenue of satanic influence. Both truths are God’s truth.

But as stated earlier, this is not the format to discuss this matter in detail. Whether a study of God’s Word leads you to understand that each “creation day” is longer than a 24-hour day or that the actual creation of the heavens and the earth (the universe) is represented by the first verse in Genesis while verse two and forward represents the “regeneration” of what God created many millions of years before, you may be confident that resolution of this apparent dilemma is achievable. As for this writer, a study of the Hebrew wording and context in Genesis and other passages in God’s Word indicates the following.

Genesis 1:1 reflects God’s Creation.

    1. God created the universe (including earth) many, many millions (or billions) of years ago, and He did not create it “formless and void” (Isaiah 45:18).
    2. The universe was subject to the occupancy of God’s (created) angelic hosts and most likely the earth contained a different-from-today animal inventory, and possibly, even another but different race of beings.
    3. Due to Satan’s (and a third of God’s angel’s) rebellion, the universe (including earth) was thrown into disarray, which deteriorated the earth over time into a state of formless darkness (Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-14).


Genesis 1:2 and forward reflects God’s Regeneration.

    1. God decided to start over with a new element-man.
    2. God cleared the interplanetary debris and transformed the earth’s atmosphere so that light from the sun, moon and stars would reach the surface. He then followed through with the formation of water vapor, landmasses and ocean basins, plants, sea creatures, animals and man.

    Clarence Larkin in his book, The Book of Revelation, says it this way.

    There can be no question but what the Earth in its original formation required millions of years. There is ample time in the statement of Gen. 1:1-“In the BEGINNING God ‘created’ the heaven and the earth,” for all the “Geologic Ages” that science declares were necessary for the creation of the Earth. There is no conflict between the Bible and Science as to the time occupied in the formation of the Earth.

    How long a period elapsed between the Creation of the Earth and it becoming “formless and void” we do not know, neither do we know how long it continued in that condition, but when the time came in the purpose of God to restore it to a habitable state, and make it fit for the abode of the human race, He did it in six periods of longer or shorter duration. These “Periods” were six in number, and with the seventh or Sabbatic Period, are called the “Creative Week.”

    These “Six Periods” do not describe or include the original creation. The word “CREATE” is not mentioned after Gen. 1:1 until verse 21, which describes the work of the Fifth Day. God did not “create light” on the First Day. He simply said-“let there be light,” as one would say “turn on the light.”

    On the Second Day God simply divided the waters by providing clouds to hold the moisture of the atmosphere.

    The work of the Third Day is “twofold,” the emergence of the land from the sea, and the reappearance of vegetable life. This was not a new creation but a RESURRECTION. The earth rises up out of the “Waters of Death,” and seeds, and the roots of plants and herbs are called upon to germinate and sprout and grow as they did before the catastrophe that submerged the Primeval Earth. If that catastrophe was what we know as the “Glacial Period” the resurrection of plant life no more required a “creative act” than vegetation does in the spring of the year after the winter is over. That this is what really happened is clear from Gen. 1:11-12, where it says, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is IN ITSELF, UPON (in) THE EARTH.” That is, the seed was already in the Earth, and, being indestructible, it only needed the proper condition to spring up and cover the earth with verdure. This reveals the fact that the Primeval Earth was clothed with verdure, and covered with plants and trees.

    The appearance of the Sun and Moon on the Fourth Day was not a new creation. They had existed in connection with the Primeval Earth and had not been destroyed when it was made waste. The word translated “made” in the 16th verse is not the same word as is translated “created” in verse one, and does not imply a “creative act.” What is meant is that the clouds broke away that up to this time had shrouded the earth and permitted the Sun and Moon to be seen, and that from that time they were appointed to measure the days, and years, and seasons as we have them today. In other words, on the Fourth Day “Time” in contrast with “eternity” began.

    The work of the Fifth Day was the “CREATION” of fish and fowl. Here is the first time we come across the word “create” since we read of the original creation of the Earth in verse one. This shows that all “animal life” was destroyed in the catastrophe that overtook the Primeval Earth. We have traces of the animal life in the fossil remains of birds and animals found in the earth. If scientists will relegate fossils and the remains of mammoth animals, etc., to the period of the Primeval Earth there will be no conflict between Science and the Genesis account of Creation. The remains of man are never found in a “fossil state,” showing that man did not exist on the Primeval Earth. Man was made for this present earth and is a “NEW” Creation.

    The creative work of the Sixth Day was “twofold,” that of land animals and man. These land animals were probably the same that we have today. The fact that they were created “after their kind,” which expression is six times repeated, shows that they were not “evolved” from one common species. That man also was “CREATED” as man, shows that he had not descended from an “ape.” Man was made in the “IMAGE OF GOD,” not in the image of an “ape,” and was not formed from a brute, but of the “Dust of the Earth.” The fact is, there is an “IMPASSABLE GULF” between the lowest order of man and the highest type of beast that science has failed to bridge. The “Missing Link” has never been found.

    That all the different species of animals were created “separately” is proven from the fact that when species are crossed their offspring are sterile. The crossing of the jackass and a mare is the mule, and a mule is a hybrid and is sterile. That the whole human race is of “one species” and had a common origin (Acts 17:26) is clear from the fact that, when the different races of the earth’s inhabitants marry their offspring are not sterile but fertile. This nullifies the argument that the white race alone is the Adamic race.

    Neither was Adam created a baby or a primitive savage, but a full grown man perfect in intellect and knowledge, else he could not have named the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. And the fact that his descendants had such skill in the invention of musical instruments and mechanical devices and could build cities and towers and such a vessel as the Ark, proves that the men of Antediluvian times were men of gigantic intellect and attainment, and that instead of man having “evolved upward” he has “degenerated downward.”

Even though this writer asserts this view, he knows there are other studies, based on scriptural passages and the Hebrew text, that lead to different scenarios of the Creation, which dovetail the truths of science and the inerrant Word of God into a homogeneous and intact understanding of God’s marvelous work at the beginning of time. Therefore, the writer chooses not to be dogmatic on this point; although, he does believe that in the manner God “regenerated” or “refurbished” the earth in Genesis 1:2 and forward, God will also bring about in a similar manner the “new heaven” and the “new earth” in Revelation 21:1.

In Revelation 21:1, John sees “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” Ecclesiastes 1:4 states that the earth “abideth (remains) forever.” Jesus Christ stated that the “meek . . . will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). The Apostle Paul declared that “the creation . . . will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). Isaiah 60:21 indicates that God’s people will posses the land forever. In light of these passages of Scripture, it is therefore prudent for the Bible student to investigate how the “new heaven” and the “new earth” come about. There is no question that God can, in a microsecond of time, completely destroy the universe and speak another one into existence. But the fact that this universe was, as far as anyone can tell, His original creation and the one that still portrays His plan of love, argues to the position that it will remain, although in a “refurbished” (cleansed) state.

Clarence Larkin, who is one of the brightest and most informed dispensational and fundamental Bible scholars of all time, believes that the primeval earth is referred to in 2 Peter 3 and that it was destroyed by water; therefore, he does not believe this passage is about the Flood in Noah’s day. This writer’s view is not inclined to this interpretation; nevertheless, there is agreement that this passage in Peter does predict the coming “cleansing” or “renovation” of the present heaven and earth by “fire,” which will translate them into the “new heaven” and “new earth” in Revelation 21. This happens to also be the view of the distinguished W.A. Criswell, past-pastor of the renowned First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, and past-president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Selections from the passage in 2 Peter 3:7-13, state the following, “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men . . . But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? . . . That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Peter foretold that the present heavens [atmospheric and stellar heavens] and earth are reserved for fire. This fire will come in conjunction with the “day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men,” which is the Great White Throne Judgment of unbelievers as seen in Revelation 20:11-14. In this chapter, verse 11 specifically states that the earth and sky fled from the presence of Christ, which may be an equivalent way of saying that they were also going through the “judgment cycle” (since immediately after this John sees the “new heaven” and the “new earth”). There are sound reasons for interpreting this “judgment cycle” or “process” as seen in 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 20:11 as a “renovation” or “regeneration” (“new birth,” if you please) of the earth, rather than an “annihilation.” All are rooted in the meaning and use of the original Greek text and the context of various passages of Scripture.

In the Greek language, there are three words translated “world.” They are ge (the word for “earth”), kosmos (primarily meaning “adornment” or “embellishment;” the English word, “cosmetic” comes from this word-but the Greeks eventually used it to refer to the “well-ordered, cultured civilization of man, i.e., man’s civilized life) and aion (which eventually was used by the Greeks to mean “era” or “dispensation” or “age”). The word “aion” is always the word used in the expression “end of the world [age],” as when Christ declared that He would be with His disciples until that time in Matthew 28:20. In other words, when history (or “time” as we know it) finally reaches its climax or final end, Christ will still be with us. Never does “the end of the world” connote the end or annihilation of the terrestrial globe.

The Greek word translated “passed away” in Revelation 21:1 is parerchomai, which is used in various other locations within the New Testament. One, if not the primary, translation of this word is “to change from one place or kind or situation to another.” It is used in some contexts to mean “transition,” rather than “complete and utter destruction” (annihilation). This, submitted for the reader’s consideration, is what is meant in this context. Dr. W.A. Criswell in his book, Expository Sermons on Revelation, puts it this way.

      Let us look at this interpretation from the viewpoint of what God’s Word says concerning the end time. Turn to II Peter 3:6: “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” Peter is talking about, possibly, Noah’s flood. In the days of the terrible flood, the kosmos, the civilized order of man, overflowing with waters, perished. The cities were destroyed, the villages were wiped away, everything that had breath in nostrils died. The whole fashion of that civilized order and culture in the days of Noah ceased to exist. “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” But the earth did not perish, the planet did not cease to exist, this world did not undergo annihilation. Yet Peter says, “The world overflowing with water, perished.” The kosmos, the order of civilized mankind perished, but not the terrestrial earth.

      Let us look at the next thing Peter says. The apostle is going to speak of this ultimate judgment of God described in our text in the Revelation: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word [of Almighty God] are kept in store, reserved unto fire [the cleansing fire, the rejuvenating fire, the purging fire] against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” When is that cleansing to take place? Peter here says that that great final renovation and purging by fire will be in the day of the judgment and perdition of ungodly men. In Revelation 20:11 we read, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; . . . and [they] were judged . . . and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” That is the day of Judgment of ungodly men. “And in that day,” John says, “I saw the [old] heaven and the [old] earth flee away.” The day of fire, the day of purging, the day of renovation is the day of the judgment of ungodly men. In the language of Simon Peter, the first world perished, but not the terrestrial earth. So the same judgment described by the Apostle John will be no different. The judgment will be rejuvenation, not the annihilation of this earth. The two passages in Peter and in John refer to the same event      .


Jesus uses the Greek word palig genesia, which means “remaking,” “rebirth,” “regeneration,” or, as it is found in the NIV translation in Matthew 19:28, “Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal [underlining added] of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Some would argue that this refers to the Millennial Kingdom, but it is hard to imagine that all things will be “renewed” at this time. There will still be those who will not believe in Jesus as Savior during this period. Sin will continue to exist. At the end of this period, Satan will be turned lose to try to overthrow Christ and His people one more time. No, it must refer to Revelation 21:5, where Christ sits on His throne after the “renewal” of the heaven and the earth (verse 1) and He even states, “I am making everything new.”

This earth, surrounded by this universe, was God’s original plan. He renovated it for man, and He will renovate it again for man. It will then be a “new heaven” and a “new earth.” The difference will be that the “sin problem” has been answered by a most gracious love letter written in blood on an old Roman rugged cross some two thousand years ago. It is a love letter that will continue on throughout eternity and which guarantees believers in Jesus Christ an eternal home with Christ upon the face of this earth.

Revelation 21:2-4
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."


John next sees the Holy City (New Jerusalem), which God had prepared, coming down from heaven “as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” God is not saying that the city is the “bride,” only that it is prepared (beautifully adorned in all perfection) just as a bride is prepared for her husband. God’s Word is quite clear that the “bride” is the Church (those who have accepted Christ by faith during the Church Age), whose wedding took place in heaven after the Rapture, and whose wedding banquet took place upon the earth immediately before the initiation of the Millennial Kingdom.

The Church and God Himself will take up residency in the Holy City immediately after the “regeneration” of the heaven and the earth, and, as best can be determined, will continue it into and throughout eternity. Just as it was prior to the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden when God personally fellowshipped and communicated with man, it will once again be in what some Bible scholars call the “Perfect Kingdom.” A redeemed human race by the blood of Christ in a newly built Holy City on a regenerated earth will from that time forward live personally with God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ. God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

This new order (Perfect Kingdom) may will be the fulfillment of Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore God exalted Him [Christ] to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” And it may well be the fulfillment of Ephesians 1:9-10, “And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment [“fullness of times”]- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” As Clarence Larkin puts it in his book, The Book of Revelation, “This describes a Kingdom in which all things Celestial, Terrestrial and Infernal are to be subject to the SON OF MAN.”

Revelation 21:5-8
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then He said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be His God and he will be My son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."


Although the one seated on the throne may well be God the Father, for He also is the “Alpha and the Omega,” this declaration is probably made by Jesus Christ, also on the throne, particularly because of its proximity to Revelation 22:13, where it is clearly the Son of God speaking. This verse is the fulfillment of Matthew 19:28, in which Christ is speaking of the “renewal” of all things when He is sitting on His “glorious throne.”

He instructs John to write what He says, because His words are trustworthy and true. And what He says is a reiteration of what He stated a number of times in the first few chapters of Revelation, which is that as the Eternal and Almighty God (“the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End”) He will give eternal life (“give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life) to whosoever sees his need for it (“who is thirsty”) and overcomes (accepts by faith alone Christ alone). By so doing, that person will inherit the Holy City, the New Heaven and the New Earth-but even more, he will inherit an eternity as a son and companion of God.

Tim LaHaye in his book, Revelation Unveiled, says it this way.

      “He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life’” (Rev. 21:6). When the Lord Jesus walked this earth, He said to the people of His day, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37-38). To the woman at the well, who was drinking natural water, He said, “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). The Lord “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Two thousand years after He made these promises we find Him prophetically reiterating the same thing: “I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.”

But those who refuse Christ and persist in their own cowardly, unbelieving, vile, murderous, sexually immoral, witchery, idolatrous and lying ways, will be cast into the lake of fire-this is the second death. This verse verifies, without doubt, that those who persist in their sin, who refuse to turn from it (repent) and accept the gracious and merciful offer of Christ, will face an eternity in the fires of hell, which is the “second death.” This verse completely repudiates the doctrine held by some that there is a “second chance” for salvation after death. The entire world (all mankind) will definitely not be “eventually” saved. If anyone is to have a chance at the eternal bliss described in this chapter of Revelation, he must realize that now is the time to receive God’s grace and mercy by the simple (and most profound) act of accepting by faith alone Christ alone as personal Savior.

Revelation 21:9-21
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.


One of the seven angels “of the seven last plagues” now comes to John and bids him to come and see the “bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Since the wedding between Christ and the Church as already taken place, now both terms apply to the Church. It is incorrect to interpret that the Holy City itself is the “bride” or “wife.” It is customary when one is speaking about the population of any community or city to use the name of that community or city when referring to its “living” inhabitants. For instance, “all of New York turned out to cheer the winning team,” or “the city is reeling over the recent tax increase.” Many other examples can be given, but the point is that the angel in this passage is referring to the living inhabitants of the Holy City.

The living inhabitants (the Church) compose the “bride, the wife of the Lamb.” But in addition, since the Holy City at this point is identified with the Church, the angel reveals in some detail the structure and make-up of the Holy City, which God had prepared for habitation by Himself and the Church. In this sense, the “bride, the wife of the Lamb” and the “Holy City” are viewed as the same. The Holy City will be the “capital” of the eternal new order, which God will establish after the Great White Throne Judgment.

The Holy City (New Jerusalem) is of celestial and divine origin, built by The Architect of Eternity. It is the habitation that Jesus spoke of that He needed to prepare for His bride in John 14:2-4. It is approximately 1,500 miles long, by 1,500 miles wide and 1,500 miles high. It will occupy approximately one-half of the present-day United States, from the eastern seaboard to the Mississippi and from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. The city will contain many super-fine mansions. It will have a great wall approximately 216 feet thick around it, not for protection, but designating it as an exclusive city designed especially for those who have placed their faith in Christ. Bible scholars do not agree as to the exact shape of the city-some believe it to be a cube; others a pyramid. In either case, it is a mammoth metropolis.

The city will have 12 foundations, each inscribed with a name of one of the 12 apostles; and it will have 12 gates, each inscribed with a name of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. One may ask, what is the name of the twelfth apostle? It is either Matthias, who was voted on by the other apostles to replace Judas (Acts 1:21-25); or, it will be Paul. The reader may decide. The naming of the 12 foundations and the 12 gates also calls to mind Ephesians 2:19 & 20, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.” There will be three gates on each wall, each facing a primary point of the compass, i.e., north, south, east and west. At each gate an angel (sorry, not one will be named “Peter”) will be posted. Each foundation and the wall will be decorated and/or composed of different precious stones, but the most important brilliance associated with the Holy City is that it will shine with the “glory of God.”

Revelation 21:22-27
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.


Because of sin, man separated himself from God. Even when God had a tabernacle and a temple built for Him, He was separated within the “Holy of Holies.” This will not be the case in the Holy City upon the new earth. John sees no temple in the city, because God the Father and God the Son are its temple. There is no need for any artificial or manufactured light, because God the Father and God the Son are its light. In addition, the city will provide illumination for the nations of the earth. In this statement, the writer understands that this light will be both physical and spiritual.

Who will reside in the Holy City? The following will reside.

    1. God the Father
    2. God the Son
    3. All believers (Jews and Gentiles-of all time) 4. Angels

We have seen through various New Testament scriptures that the Church will certainly inhabit the Holy City. We also know that the Church will be composed of both Jews and Gentiles, individuals who have by faith alone accepted Christ alone as personal Savior.

John Hagee in his book, The Revelation of Truth, has this to say about “A Census of the New Jerusalem.

      Who will live in this holy city? The angels, Gentiles who have placed their faith and trust in Christ, and redeemed Israel. Although the New Jerusalem is a wedding present from the Bridegroom to His bride, Israel is invited to dwell with these beautiful walls.

      In Hebrews 11, the “roll call of faith,” the author testified of Jewish saints who placed their faith in God and obeyed His commands. They are invited to dwell in His heavenly city: “But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Heb. 11:16 NKJV)       .

How many believers will populate the New Earth and the Holy City in eternity? No one really knows, but Bible scholar Harold Willmington in his book, The King is Coming, devised a formula by which he estimates that approximately 40 billion have lived on earth since Adam’s creation. He then has this to say.

      Several anthropologists and sociologists have calculated that as many as 70 percent of all humans born never live to celebrate their eighth birthday; they are killed by disease, war, starvation, etc. What happens to the souls of all these little ones? Various verses make it clear that they go to be with Jesus. (See 2 Sam. 12:23; Matt. 18:1-6, 10; 19:14; Luke 18:15-17.) Now, add to this figure the millions of babies murdered by abortion each year, 40 million worldwide . . . Abortion is now the number one cause of death in the U.S. These victims of abortion, like those children dying outside the womb, also go to be with Christ. Finally, let us suggest that 10 percent of those 40 billion human beings born on the earth accept Christ as Savior sometime after reaching the age of accountability. Put this figure with the rest and total it up.

John Hagee takes Mr. Willmington’s figures and extrapolated the following for the year of 1988.

                    28,000,000,000 (those who died before age eighth)
                  +    600,000,000 (aborted babies from 1973-1988)
                  + 1,200,000,000 (10 percent of survivors who accept Christ as Savior) =
                    29,800,000,000

This figure will be greatly increased today, but at least it gives the reader a fairly decent grasp that about three-fourths of all human beings will enjoy heaven and the new earth.

The new earth will be populated with those (Jews and Gentiles) who did not follow Satan in his final rebellion after the Millennium, along with all others who lived prior to the Millennium and who have either died prior to the age of accountability or who have accepted Christ as Savior. As to who specifically will compose the “nations,” outside the Holy City, is a matter of conjecture and for the reader to decide. These nations will travel to the Holy City-not to live but to worship. The angels at each gate will make certain that “nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”