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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 21:1 - 21:8
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
The Seventh Vision: Of the Heavenly Jerusalem.
The prelude:
v. 1. And I saw anew heaven and anew earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
v. 2. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
v. 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.
v. 4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.
v. 5. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful.
v. 6. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
v. 7. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.
v. 8. But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their parts in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.
The eyes of the believers are here turned to the coming, complete salvation, Here we may look and lift up our eyes, for our salvation is near: And I saw the new heaven and the new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more. John sees the fulfillment of all the prophecies relating to the glory at the end, Isa_65:17; Isa_66:22; 2Pe_3:12-13. The believers inherit the Kingdom which was prepared for them since the beginning of the world, Mat_25:34. The new heaven and the new earth they are called, because they are altogether different from this present world, steeped in sin as it is. Everything that has any connection with sin will be removed altogether. Therefore the sea also, from which the dragon came forth, will be no more.
But the center of the picture was the most glorious: And the holy city, New Jerusalem, I saw coming down from heaven from God, all ready like a bride arrayed for her husband. All was ready for the marriage of the Lamb, and so the New Jerusalem, the holy city of God, the Church of Jesus Christ, consisting of the sum total of all those that were faithful to the end, came down from heaven, where the great majority of its members had gone, according to the soul arrayed in all the gifts of her Husband's grace and mercy. So the entry of the blessed congregation of God into the eternal habitation prepared for her is here described. Of this we read further: And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold, the dwelling-place of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and themselves will be His people, and Himself, God, will be with them. And He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death will no more be, nor sorrow nor lamenting nor pain will any more be; for the first things are passed away. The divine voice itself explains the picture, thus doing away with all types. When the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, the Tabernacle of the Lord was also in their midst, and God dwelled in the Most Holy Place. But that was a temporal, earthly, imperfect type, pointing forward to the blessed perfection of heaven. It is evident from the whole description that it is impossible, in words of a human tongue, to convey even a distant idea of the glories of heaven. But the unspeakable beauties of eternal bliss are at least suggested. There God will live in our midst, as our own God, our supreme good and highest source of joy and satisfaction. And we shall be His people, His own, purchased with the blood of the Lamb, and now the treasures of His house. Every tear that was caused in this world, by its misery, its sorrow, its sin, its suffering, shall be wiped from our eyes; and there shall be no more occasion for weeping, no death, no sorrow, no lamenting, no pain. All these things were characteristic of this world, and they have all passed away when the last day brings us the consummation of our salvation.
God the Father Himself made the announcement of this joy and bliss: And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, new I make all things. All creatures, heaven and earth, we ourselves, will be new. Sin and all the consequences of sin will be removed entirely from our bodies, and we shall be filled with a new eternal life. Beyond conception everything will be more glorious than even creation was at the end of the six days, when the Lord saw that everything was very good. Again the voice of God sounded forth: And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true. Our faith and our hope are not based upon our own opinions and ideas, but upon the infallible Word of God, which will remain when heaven and earth shall pass away.
With solemn emphasis another announcement rings out from the throne: And He said unto me, It is done: I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I shall give to him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life without price. He that conquers will inherit these things; and I shall be to him God and he shall be to Me a son. As Christ, when He hung on the cross, called out: It is finished, thus announcing to the world the completion of the work of redemption, so God the Father here states that it is done. All waiting and hoping is over; He who is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is from eternity and has all things in His hand, will turn over to them that are His children the full enjoyment of heavenly bliss, of the inheritance which He prepared before the foundation of the world for those that love Him. Salvation is the work of God alone, and every person in the wide world that thirsts after this salvation, that desires the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, may have this wonderful water of life without money and without price, Isa_55:1-2. He will be God's son, God's daughter; and God will be his Father throughout eternity.
The very opposite lot is reserved for the unbelievers, for the malicious enemies of Christ: But as for the craven and the unbelievers and the abominable and the murderers and the adulterers and the sorcerers and the idolaters and all the liars, their lot will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. So all the people in the world that rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ: those that feared the devil and his power more than God; those that refused to believe; those that indulged in abominations of every kind; those that persecuted the people of the Lord; those that lived lives of utmost immorality; those that made use of sorcery in any manner; those that worshiped the anti-Christian beast and his image; those that did not want to accept the love of the truth, but proved themselves true children of the devil, the liar from the beginning: all these will find out to their great sorrow that God is not mocked. They will have their reward, with the dragon and with the beast and with the false prophet, in the abyss of hell, in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. That is the second death, everlasting destruction, everlasting damnation.