New Testament Commentary - Revelation 21

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 21 Those who overcome shall be sons of God—The earth attains its celestial glory.	Here in is given such particular events of the coming of the Great Millennial Day and of the city of the Lord, that New Jerusalem descending out of Heaven. And those who fully overcome the world shall be 'the sons of God' and heirs of the kingdom. And that great city and its glory will forshadow the celestial glory which will fill the earth over the process of the Millennial Day until at its conclusion Satan shall be totally expelled and overcome, being cast into the pit and then the earth will be as Heaven is in its full and complete celestial form, like unto the Heaven of God the Father of Spirits, which is itself nigh unto Kolob.
1 AND I saw a ^anew ^bheaven and a new ^cearth^a: for the first heaven and the first ^dearth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, ^anew ^bJerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a ^cbride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will ^adwell with them, and they shall be his people, and ^bGod himself shall be with them, and be their God.	1^a I saw a new heaven and a new earth This 'vision' of the new heaven and earth has been seen by others of the prophets whether visually or verbally as well. Isaiah is one such prophet which so speaks of the new heaven and earth as the Lord spoke unto Isaiah and as to perphaps Isaiah also so seeing as the Lord tells him, "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." (Isaiah 65:17) And thus reading on in Isaiah 65:17-25, it is seen that what is being spoken of is what also is being seen by John, and that is of the Millennium. The two references studied in parallel do reveal more than either so studied alone.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more ^adeath, neither ^bsorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more ^cpain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things ^anew. And he said unto me, ^bWrite: for these ^cwords are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. ^aI am ^bAlpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the ^cwater of life freely. 7 He that ^aovercometh shall ^binherit ^call things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my ^dson. 8 But the fearful, and ^aunbelieving, and the abominable, and ^bmurderers, and ^cwhoremongers, and ^dsorcerers, and idolaters, and all ^eliars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the ^fsecond ^gdeath.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels^a which had the seven vials full of the seven last ^aplagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high ^amountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy ^bJerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the ^aglory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve ^agates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.	9^a one of the seven angels Who might this angel be? Now the seven heads of the seven despensations did or would have lived at various times and there is nothting that says that this angel was one that had lived before John or that he might be one which would yet live as the vision was a future vision of the coming Millennial Lord and Kingdom. I am impressed that it might well be the head of the despensation of the fulness of times when the Lord's kingdom is restored and the fulness thereof, which would make this angel Joseph Smith showing that vision yet to come and the church in its fulness thereof. It certainly would be most fitting if it were, for Joseph Smith would be in that position of holding the fulness of the keys of the kingdom at that particular juncture of time.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the ^alength is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand ^bfurlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure ^agold, as it were transparent ^bglass. 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God ^aAlmighty and the Lamb are the ^btemple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the ^asun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the ^bLamb is the ^clight thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall ^awalk in the light of it: and the ^bkings of the ^cearth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the ^agates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that ^adefileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's ^bbook of life.