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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Revelation 21:9 - 21:14
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_21:9-14
9Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev_21:9 "one of the seven angels" This is the exact description of the angel in Rev_15:1; Rev_15:6-8; Rev_16:1; and Rev_17:1 who poured out the seven bowls. There is a tradition in rabbinical Judaism that there are seven Angels of the Presence who serve God. Here, there is one angel for each plague.
Rev_21:10 "And he carried me away in the Spirit" This is a literary technique to show the different visions (cf. Rev_1:10; Rev_4:2; Rev_17:3; Rev_21:10).
▣ "to a great and high mountain" Many believe that this is in direct antithesis to the great whore who was on the plain. However, John alludes to many OT passages, so here he may be referring to the mysterious northern mountain where God lives (cf. Eze_40:2; Isa_2:2; Isa_14:13; Mic_4:1; I Enoch 18:8; 25:3). It is even possible that it alludes to Satan's temptation of Jesus in Mat_4:8.
▣ "and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven" This is heavenly Jerusalem, a metaphor of God's presence (cf. Rev_21:2). The earthly sinful Jerusalem was discussed in Rev_11:1-13. The capital city of David has become universalized into the end-time abode of all of God's people (cf. Joh_14:2-3).
Rev_21:11 "Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper" The city (cf. Rev_21:11-27) is described in very beautiful, physical, and moral terms. Like all of the book of Revelation, this chapter is symbolic. Humans' sinful, finite minds simply cannot comprehend the ultimate joy and glory of the presence of God (cf. 1Co_2:9). Literal jewels and a fantastic ancient city may be good metaphors, but they are not ultimate reality! Heaven is really both a person (Jesus), and a place (for fellowship with the Triune God).
Rev_21:12 "with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels" This is an allusion to Eze_48:31-34. The number "twelve" occurs again and again in the remainder of this chapter and the first few verses of chapter 22. It is the biblical numerical symbol of organization (twelve months, twelve tribes, or twelve apostles) or of God's people. See Special Topic: the Number Twelve at Rev_7:4.
▣ "and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel" The list of the twelve tribes in Rev_7:5-8 is slightly altered to show their symbolic nature. Here, it is very important to note that the OT people of God, described as gates in Rev_21:12, are united with the NT people of God, described as foundation stones, in Rev_21:14. There has always been only one people of God, but this mystery was not clearly revealed until the gospel (cf. Eph_2:11 to Eph_3:13).
Rev_21:14 "the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" All of these metaphors allude to Ezekiel's end-time temple (cf. Ezekiel 40-48).
Many commentators have asserted that this verse shows that the author cannot have been John the Apostle. However, Paul uses a similar phrase in Eph_2:20.