Revelation 21:10–27

Babylon claimed to be the bride of Christ, but the claim was false... Now the true bride, the Lamb's wife, is shown in all her beauty — the expression of the thoughts of God, as Babylon had been the expression of the thoughts of man. To view Babylon, John was carried in spirit into the wilderness, a scene of moral drought and desolation. To see the holy city Jerusalem he was carried away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain. Moses looked out over the promised inheritance from Mount Pisgah. In the same way John is allowed to see promise and prophecy fulfilled in this glorious city, from the high place where the angel set him.

It is striking how different the standpoints are from which John views each vision as it passes before him in this book. Each place suits what he sees. He stands on the "sand of the sea" to see the beast rise "out of the sea"... The "wilderness" is a fitting place from which to see the symbolic Babylon, drunk with the blood of saints and martyrs of Jesus.

It takes no great moral height to spot and name evil. A man of the world can go far in condemning the corruptions of Christendom. But the natural mind is completely unable to enter into the things of God. Even true believers will only value the coming glories of "the bride, the Lamb's wife" as they are lifted above the things of earth and walk apart from the corruptions of Christendom.

As far as the bride of the Lamb is concerned, "the great city" is left out by everyone who claims to give the best reading from the most ancient authorities. They read Revelation 21:10 as "showed me... the holy city Jerusalem." It is not a question of greatness for her even when glorified, but of holiness. What Babylon aims at and wins — at the cost not only of herself but of truth, grace, and Christ Himself — is present earthly greatness.

It seems clear that this New Jerusalem is not a real city. It is described not as the home of the bride, but as the bride herself, and her marriage to the Lamb has already been celebrated in heaven. Its shape too, shown in the verses that follow, is a beautiful symbol of the divine symmetry of the true Church. But no real city could have that shape.

We judge from many a detail that it is not solely a symbol of the saints themselves, but rather a symbolic description both of the Church in glory and of her eternal home.

The one sets out what the church will be to Christ. The other sets out what it will be for Him. As the bride, she is the object of His love. As the city, she is the centre from which His powerful rule will go out.

"Holy" describes its state. Then other marks follow. It "descends out of heaven" — its source stamps its character — "from God." It might have been from God, and earthly. It might have been heavenly and angelic. It was neither. It descended out of heaven from God.

This heavenly Jerusalem — the bride, "descending out of heaven from God" — does not come to the earth. She is let down so that the earth may see her glory, the glory of God displayed in her.

The first thing that strikes the reader is the designed contrast between this scripture and the one in Revelation 17, where an angel calls John to see the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters. That chapter shows us Babylon; Revelation 21 shows us the new Jerusalem. The first is man's city, the second is God's. One expresses what man is. The other is the perfection of God's thoughts, robed in the glory of God… One more thing must be noted: the city is the bride, the Lamb's wife. This settles its character. It is the Church, which Christ has now presented to Himself as a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, holy and without blemish, beautified with His own beauty, and having the glory of God.

This clearly cannot be the essential glory of God. It means, I think, that the glory was not human but divine. There is in God what He can give to the creature, and there is what cannot be shared. The glory meant here is divine glory, set against creature glory — not a glory that takes away from His majesty, but one that reflects it.

Greatness was the mark of the prostitute city, Babylon. Coming from God is the mark of the bridal city, New Jerusalem. So it is holy and heavenly, and it has the glory of God — not the glory of man. Because of this, it comes down over the earth as a light, and its shining is compared to a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Jasper appears three times in the description of the city. The word turns up only once more in this book: in the description of the One who sits on the throne in Revelation 4:3. What describes God describes the city.

She has the glory "of God," and yet it is called "her light." Why is this? Suppose God has produced the graces of Christ in the saints here. Pure grace has done it, yet He has counted it to them. So here: if the church has the glory of God, it is still her light, and by His grace… In the same way, in Revelation 19:8 His wife was granted fine linen, white and clean, and that linen is called the righteous acts of the saints — though His own grace in her produced all of it.

The word translated light, or shining, is the one found in Philippians 2:15, applied to believers — "among whom you shine as lights in the world." It is the word used of the lights in the sky. So we learn this: what believers should be now in character, the holy Jerusalem will be in fact in the coming age. And all the light of testimony that goes out now, from the saints or from the whole Church, comes from the same divine source as the "shining" of the holy city in the future day of glory.

"Having the glory of God." What Romans 5:2 presents as a hope has here become a reality… She is not only the vessel of God's glory. She also reflects that glory to the world. The city bride will be a glorious canopy of light, unfading beauty and brightness, over the scene of the thousand years. It will be the grandest sight ever seen.

The city will be four-square, facing without fear or shame every point of the compass. It will be equal on every side, and on every side there will be three gates... A great city like London keeps its gates open all the time, because it depends on every part of the earth for its very life. Supplies pour into it from north, south, east, and west. But the gates of the holy city will open for the opposite reason. They will open not to let supplies flow in, but to let blessing flow out — blessing for the whole earth.

The wall has four sides, and in it are twelve gates — three gates on every side, for going out and coming in. This city is the home of a life that never stops working. The number 12 is stamped on the whole city. It is an expanded 7, with the same factors (4 × 3 instead of 4 + 3), and it is the sign of open divine government, with God clearly supreme here... The 12 here is the usual 4 × 3. The 3 still speaks of God showing Himself, while the 4 shows that this is universal, the sides facing every way.

Walls are to keep out what ought to be out. On the other hand, its twelve gates are to allow in what ought to be in... Three gates stand on each side of the city (v. 13). This reminds us how the tribes of Israel camped around the tabernacle in the wilderness (Num. 2:1-31).

It also has twelve gates. Since the city is foursquare, it looks the same from every side you approach it, and the way in is generous. If the wall had no gates it would be a poor thing.

In cities on earth people often name the main streets after the towns those streets lead to. In the same way, the gates of the heavenly city carry the names of the tribes that its blessings flow to. That blessing will reach every quarter of the globe in equal measure, because there are three gates on each of the four sides of the city.

As for the twelve tribes of Israel, their names are only written there, nothing more. Nothing at all suggests that they make up the city; their names are simply inscribed on the outside. That city will be a constant reminder of those who came before restored Israel on earth, and it will certainly be used for their blessing during the thousand years — but not for theirs alone. On the contrary, we shall find that the city looks out toward the whole universe, and yet Israel has its special place there.

In Ezekiel the city is also four-sided, with twelve gates, three on each side, named after the twelve tribes of Israel. (Ezek. 48:30-35.) In both cases there is complete order and symmetry, and in both cases a connection between the city and Israel. But in Ezekiel's city the connection is earthly. In the city of Revelation the connection is heavenly, for twelve angels stand at the gates.

The names of the twelve apostles connect the City with the foundation work of the apostles at Pentecost. Their work, under the control of the Holy Spirit, formed the Church on earth as the House of God where God dwells, rules and blesses. So a sphere of heavenly blessing and rule came into being on earth. That work began on earth through the apostles, and the City in glory shows it completed.

The names on the foundations show that the truth of God about His Son Jesus Christ, ministered by the apostles, is the solid basis of true separation according to God. Each apostle received his own line of ministry, so that together they might form a well-balanced foundation that cannot fail.

The city is clearly the fruit of His own work. Its foundations begin with Him: twelve foundations, with the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb on them. The names written there are the names of the sent ones of the Lamb who once suffered as a sacrifice. Had there been no Lamb there would have been no apostles. And if each foundation had one apostolic name on it, then every one of the twelve was a reminder of the Lamb whose apostles they were.

The wall is what fences a city off from the world outside. The gate is what gives it contact with the world outside. The apostles appear in what marks the Church as distinct and set apart. The twelve tribes appear in what marks its relationship with the world. This is because the apostles are the foundation course of the Church, while Israel is always God's first thought in His government of the world.

They have laid the foundations, and their names are stamped on their work. We are surely not to imagine any individualising here, as if any one foundation could be assigned to any one apostle. Nor is the number twelve itself anything but characteristic... It is remarkable that almost the same difficulty comes up with the twelve tribes of Israel. They often exclude and often include the tribe of Levi... Why may not the apostles, despite the addition of Paul to their number, be counted here as twelve?

The City does not show the Church as the Apostle Paul presents it — in its close relations to Christ as the body of Christ, or in its privileges of access to the Father's house. It is the aspect of the Church presented by the twelve apostles: the vessel for the display of the glory of God before the world.

The names of the apostles are engraved on the foundations of the Church, but Christ Himself is the true foundation. In the high priest's breastplate, the perfections of Christ gleamed in the precious stones. Those stones were linked with the tribes whose names were cut on them. In the same way, the many perfections, beauties and glories of Christ, the true foundation, bear up the Church in its heavenly brightness.

In Revelation 11:1-2 the temple, altar, and worshippers are measured — all of them on earth. This signifies that they are His; they belong to God. But here the measuring of the heavenly city is above. In the first case the seer measured; in our text the angel measures. The measuring reeds, too, are different. The millennial Jerusalem on earth with its temple, courts and so on, is measured with a line of flax (Ezekiel 40:3). The city of gold is fittingly measured with a golden reed.

The golden (divine) reed measures the city, its gates, and its walls — that is, the place where many live, its way in, its way out, and its defences.

Here, as in Revelation 11, the measuring signifies owning on the part of God, with the added idea that He takes it for Himself. The thing measured is according to His mind. He owns it to be so, and claims it as His. And the measuring rod being golden testifies that it is in righteousness that He stamps the city, its wall and gates, with His approval.

Gold is the well known symbol of Divine righteousness. So the City measured by the golden reed shows that everything is tested by Divine righteousness. The result is that the City, the gates and the walls fully meet what Divine righteousness requires. The City is therefore the display of the righteousness of God in Christ — the answer to the cross of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The angel who had spoken to John had a golden reed to measure the city. It was not a reed like a rod (Revelation 11:1), because in that city there is no longer any need to strike with the rod. Instead, the glory of God (gold) has triumphed over evil, and that glory will be displayed in the entire city. Yet the city is measured: God does not display His glory without limit, for no man could endure that (1 Timothy 6:16). The city has limits, so it cannot fully show a God who is infinite.

I do not mean that we should take this description as if it were of a literal city. I consider it a purely symbolic picture of certain relations of the bride, the Lamb's wife. Scripture itself says very plainly that this is not the dwelling place of the redeemed, but the bride herself, described as a city.

In both cases the measuring means owning on the part of God, with the added idea of appropriation. The thing measured is according to His mind. He therefore owns it to be so, and claims it as His. And because the measuring rod is golden, it testifies that He stamps the city, its wall and gates, with His approval in righteousness.

It was a cube. Now a cube is the most perfect figure, being equal on every side — finite perfection. It has what you call finality. It is the most comprehensive, and holds the most — nothing contains as much as a cube. So it is given here as the expression of perfection. Notice, it is finite perfection, divinely given. I do not say it is divine perfection, because that is God Himself; but it is divinely given perfection. The Spirit of God delights to show the absolute perfection of the place in glory which the saints have before God, on the ground of divine righteousness.

The cube speaks of substance, reality. This is the eternal sanctuary, and the full enjoyment of every hope of the saint. Further, the measurements, though surely symbolic, still wait for their interpretation.

As in the tabernacle in the wilderness, the most holy place formed a perfect cube inside… The result of God's work is perfect without adding anything or taking anything away. Everything is ordered according to the mind of the Divine Architect. The New Jerusalem is, so to speak, a great most holy place where God can dwell, just as He dwelt in the inner sanctuary of the temple. This is because everything in her answers to His holiness and His righteousness. … God's sanctuary is the Church in glory!

In Ezekiel the measuring reed is of ordinary construction, suited to an earthly city; in Revelation it is a golden reed, the type of divine righteousness, suited to the dwelling place of God. In Ezekiel the city is large, as fits a splendid earthly capital; in Revelation the city is vast beyond all possible earthly limits. In Ezekiel it is the four-sided form, often used in Scripture to show perfect earthly symmetry. In Revelation there is another dimension: a height equal to the length and the breadth. This shows a perfect cube, a still higher order of symmetry, heavenly in character, and clearly unsuited to the earth.

A furlong (or stadium, as the word is) was about 200 yards, so 12,000 would equal about 1,375 miles. Its height matches its length and breadth. This helps to confirm the thought that we are dealing with symbolic language, not literal language. In this measurement we again meet with twelve, the number of administration, and the very street of the city is gold like transparent glass. In earth's cities the street is where dirt gathers. There all is divine purity and transparency, and as is the city, so is the government that proceeds from it.

It seems to indicate that the Church is the greatest thing of all God's handiwork, and yet, vast as it is, it has limits and can be measured.

In Ezekiel the measuring reed is an ordinary one, fit for an earthly city. In Revelation it is a golden reed, the picture of divine righteousness, fit for the dwelling-place of God... In Ezekiel the city is a square, a shape Scripture often uses to show perfect earthly symmetry. In Revelation there is one more dimension: a height equal to the length and the breadth. That makes a perfect cube — a higher order of symmetry, heavenly in kind, and plainly unsuited to the earth.

The wall speaks of security and exclusion. The wall is "great," so the City is safe from every assault of the enemy. It is "high," so all evil is shut out. The great wall cannot be broken down; the high wall cannot be climbed... The wall separates the City from everything outside. If the Church had kept a holy separation from the world, it would have stood safe against the attacks of the enemy and against evil getting in.

The wall is not there to shut a single saint of God out of that city, for everyone whose name is written in the Lamb's book of life will go in. The wall will be a wall that includes. Everyone whom sovereign grace has chosen and called to heavenly glory, everyone whom the blood of the Lamb has redeemed — its shining embrace will hold them all... When a man buys an estate and puts a wall around it, he says, "That is mine; I want that for my own pleasure" — and so it is here.

The wall measures a hundred and forty-four cubits, twelve times twelve. So every detail displays the governmental character of the city, and shows it to be divinely perfect.

In Scripture the standard was the cubit, from a word meaning "mother." It was the length of the "mother-arm" — the forearm, the main part of the arm, from the elbow to the fingertip. That is the part we use in all our work. So the standard was taken from man; it was not set above him. God's requirements are entirely reasonable and righteous. They do not ask more than a human being can give. And yet not one of the fallen sons of Adam could measure up to that perfect human standard: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But God delights in man, and even the heavenly city is measured by the human standard... If God's creatures are to grasp Him at all, it cannot be in that glory and infinity beyond words, which no one knows but the Son. It must be in the One who humbled Himself and was found in human form.

The measure of the wall is a size we can take in... A hundred and forty-four cubits is about 250 feet, and that is something we can grasp... I do not think any architect has yet designed a city twelve thousand stadia high (though some have the ambition). It is something immense, but not infinite. Grace lets us look at something vast. That is what God keeps putting before us: the immensity of the blessing, the fullness of God's grace and the glory of His grace.

If this measurement is the thickness of the wall — which the text does not otherwise state — it has been suggested that the wall was not there for protection against an enemy. As a whole the city was a cube. It could not be infinite, but it was finite perfection. So there is a completeness and perfection about it, fitting for that day and for ever.

"The wall of it was jasper." From Revelation 4:3 we learn that jasper is a figure of the divine glory of Christ. It is His glory that excludes all evil from the City. The deeper our sense of the glory of the One who dwells in the Church, the more we should see that evil can never be linked with His Name. The glory secures the exclusion of all that defiles.

The jasper is solid, transparent, and brilliant as crystal. It is also mentioned three times in the detailed description of the heavenly city: first, as her light (v. 11); second, as her security (v. 18); third, as the first foundation of the wall (v. 19). So the glory of God is the light, the security, and the foundation of the glorified Church.

Jasper, as we have seen, is symbolic of "the glory of God." Gold stands for the righteousness of God — not in His government, but in His nature. So the Church shares the righteousness that belongs to God. The saints are made morally "partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4.) The glory of God, the jasper wall, also fences the city in. It defends the city from all intrusion of evil, and keeps it in the holy separateness that suits His chosen dwelling. In Israel the dwelling place He took was a cube completely covered with gold. A cube of "pure gold, like clear glass" is the symbolic picture of the "holy temple," the "dwelling place of God by the Spirit," set before us here in the heavens.

"The city was pure gold, like clear glass." This shows the absolute righteousness and holiness that marks the City. We know the new man is created in righteousness and true holiness. But much about believers now still speaks of the "old man" and his ways. In every child of God there is the real gold, but with some alloy of baser metal. In the City the dross will be gone. There the gold is pure without alloy. There too all will be transparent like clear glass. Nothing will be unclear — no hidden motives.

The building of the wall is of jasper, clear and transparent as the city itself, for the wall is not intended to hide anything. The city is of pure gold, like clear glass (v. 18). Gold is not transparent in nature. But the symbols teach us spiritual facts. The pure gold speaks of God's glory shown there in the person of the Lord Jesus. The clear glass shows that transparent truth will mark the city. Everything will be open and above board: there will be no wickedness thriving under cover.

The city itself is the display of divine righteousness. We have divine righteousness now in our complete justification. It is also worked in us, so that the new nature may express it in practice in a world that opposes it. But the city itself is all "pure gold" from its centre to its outermost bounds, and transparent too, like pure glass. On the eternal earth righteousness dwells, but the Church itself is that — the living, glorified expression of divine righteousness. Righteousness is now upon us (Rom. 3:22), also worked in us (Eph. 4:24); we are in glory the display of it (Rev. 21:18), while it is that on which we walk (v. 21).

Next, the foundations of the wall are adorned with precious stones. Besides the general idea of every character of beauty, the stones have a special character, noted elsewhere. Light transforms itself into a varied display of colours when it is seen through a medium. So it is when God is revealed in and by the creature, or in connection with his state: in creation, in priestly representation, and here, in glory.

The jasper and the sardius are hard and indestructible gems, fit emblems of incorruption in the glorified state (1 Corinthians 15:50). The jasper is also mentioned three times in the detailed description of the heavenly city. First, as her light (v. 11). Second, as her security (v. 18). Third, as the first foundation of the wall (v. 19). So the glory of God is the light, the security, and the foundation of the glorified Church.

The names of the apostles are engraved on the foundations of the Church, but Christ Himself is the true foundation. In the breastplate of Israel's high priest, the perfections of Christ gleamed in the precious stones, and each stone carried the name of a tribe cut into it. In the same way, the many perfections, beauties and glories of Christ, the true foundation, hold up the Church in its heavenly brightness. The foundation of all is jasper, "the glory of God."

When Moses and the elders went up the mountain to God, "there was under His feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone" (Exodus 24:10). In Ezekiel's vision, above the expanse, there was "the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire" (Ezekiel 1:26). It was one of the stones in the breastplate, and it is a symbol of heavenly glory.

Many of these precious stones are not found anywhere else in Scripture, so it is difficult to say what they are. This may be an indication that there are many glories that we are not even aware of that will be displayed. 1 Corinthians 13:9 reminds us, "we know in part".

The names of the stones are then given, beginning with the jasper and ending with the amethyst. Compare the list with the twelve precious stones on the breastplate of the high priest (Exodus 28). The jasper comes first in our scripture, but it comes last on the breastplate. This may mean that the church begins with the glory in the Person of the Head, while for Israel it lies at the end. Morally the stones show the history of souls — as creatures, then as objects of grace taken up and placed on the heart of Christ, and finally as seen displayed in all His various beauties in the glory.

We may learn from this that in every variety of beauty God will clothe His people in that day of glory. There will be different rays of His glory reflected through them, set forth by these different precious stones. In God's own case it is not so. His essential glory is not described in this way. It is full concentrated light.

Although we are all partakers of the grace of God, that grace will shine through each differently, and no two are alike. It would be an immense pity if all the saints were like a cart-load of bricks — all the same shape and colour.

As far as I understand it, precious stones are the result of two things: heat and pressure. It seems to show that if we are to display in any way the glories of Christ, we will have to pass through heat and pressure. What is both precious in God's sight and precious in testimony is the result of the various exercises we pass through.

We will not try to give the spiritual meaning of each of these precious stones. Still, we may learn from them that God will clothe His people in every variety of beauty in that day of glory. There will be different rays of His glory reflected through them, set forth by these different precious stones. In God's own case it is not so. Scripture does not describe His essential glory this way. It is full, concentrated light. Unlike the glory He gives to the church, it is not broken up into a variety of hues.

The foundations were "adorned with every kind of jewel." There is variety in the stones, but all are precious. The stones are not a source of light, but they reflect and refract light and so display the beautiful colours of light. Christ is the light. In Him all excellencies combine in perfection to form the light. In His people every excellency is set forth in detail to display, as it were, the colours of the light.

These precious stones appear in Scripture three times. In the garden of Eden we see them in connection with creation. Then in Exodus 28 we see them in the breastplate of the high priest, and there it is clearly a question of grace for a failing people. But when we see these same stones in the foundation of the heavenly city, the thought suggested is permanent glory… Put a light through an emerald, and it is quite different from the light through a ruby. We are all partakers of the grace of God, yet that grace will shine through each of us differently, and no two are alike. It would be a great pity if all the saints were like a cartload of bricks — all the same shape and colour. All are alike in being saved by grace, but all are different in the expression of that grace.

The names of the apostles are engraved on the foundations of the Church, but Christ Himself is the true foundation. In the breastplate of the high priest, the perfections of Christ gleamed in the precious stones, and those stones were linked with the tribes whose names were cut into them. So here too the many perfections, beauties and glories of Christ, the true foundation, hold up the Church in its heavenly brightness.

One of the precious stones in the breastplate. Exodus 28:17; Exodus 39:10. It also adorned one of the foundations of the holy Jerusalem. Revelation 21:20. It was one of the stones that covered the king of Tyre (no doubt picturing Satan before his fall). Ezekiel 28:13. In heaven the One who sat on the throne "had the appearance of jasper and carnelian." Revelation 4:3. It is thought to be the sard, a superior variety of agate, of various colours, some blood-red, and others of a golden hue.

Scripture mentions the sardonyx only once — in the fifth place, in the foundations of the wall of the heavenly capital in Revelation 21:20. There it shines as a symbol between the emerald and the sardius.

The fair conclusion from God's word is this. Unlike the Jerusalem in Palestine, this city is not of man and not of the earth. It is heavenly and divine. So it has the glory of God, and God describes it in pictures that go deliberately beyond anything in the first creation... Think of jasper clear as crystal, gold transparent as glass, and each gate of "one pearl"! It is all above nature... We must not think of material beauty in the heavenly city; it is a symbolic description.

Why was every gate a pearl? Remember the heavenly merchant in Matthew 13. He was "seeking fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." You may say that is a sinner seeking the Saviour. Really? A sinner selling? What has a sinner got to sell but his sins? No — the pearl of great price is not Christ, but the Church, the Church in its unity. Christ is the one who went and sold all that He had. He gave up everything for the Church.

The pearl is lifted out of the deep sea. It is taken out of the rough shell it first grew in, and the creature that gave it life dies in the taking. So the pearl is a fitting picture of those who have been drawn out of the sea of the nations, and out of their rough natural condition, at the cost of the life of Him in whom they were seen and chosen before the foundation of the world.

A pearl is a fitting picture of the Church. It is the result of some foreign substance coming under the oyster shell and causing an injury. The oyster then makes a substance called "nacre," or mother of pearl. Layer after layer it wraps the offending object, until it builds up into a beautiful pearl. We are the offending object. But God's grace covers us and makes us accepted "in Christ," with a beauty that delights His heart of love... But grace is not selfish: it delights to show itself to others, as these open gates suggest.

The street of the city is of pure gold, like transparent glass; no defilement is any longer possible. Jesus will no more have to wash our feet in order that we may enter into the presence of God for our worship. In the glory we shall be standing on purity... This is great rest to anyone who loves holiness.

In the east above all, the street is the place of trade. It is where need and greed keep meeting. But here every circumstance, every dealing, the whole setting, is pure holiness and truth. It is fit for the presence of God, and filled with it.

The city has only one street — there will be no systems, sects, divisions and subdivisions there. The prayer of our Lord, "that they may all be one" (John 17:21), will yet be answered in glory. Dwelling on this with joy would do much to stir up a longing in us now, by God's Spirit, for the unity of God's people.

Why is there no temple? Because worship is all that is here; it gives character to the whole scene. A Jew could hardly understand how there could be no temple. The temple gave character to his relationship with God. There God dwelt, shut away from every gaze, to be reverenced. But if He shut Himself up within the veil, He shut man out! He could not be there. How different this wonderful scene of glory is. There is no concealment of it. The unveiled mystery of God is there, and the heart has nothing to do but adore.

By its very nature, a temple keeps the presence of God within limits. It brings in the thought of nearer and more distant worshippers. "No temple" means that full and free access to God is granted equally to all. Immediate access to God, without a priest or mediator coming between, is open to everyone.

Jehovah is the expression of moral relationship. God, El, the mighty One, is the Creator's name of power and sovereignty. The Almighty is all-powerful in every circumstance and over every opposing authority. Add the Lamb to these divine names and titles, and together they form the temple… God and the Lamb make themselves known throughout every part of the vast city of gold.

On earth, coming into God's presence had to follow set rules. That need is gone. Now there is free and unhindered fellowship with God and with His ever-blessed Son, the Lamb. It is precious to hear Him mentioned again as the Lamb. His blessed work, which He accomplished, can never be forgotten by the saints in glory.

Instead of Jehovah's house being the centre of attraction, there is no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. This is a complete contrast with the Jerusalem of that day. There the temple, with its rules and officials, fills by far the largest part of Ezekiel's last great vision (Ezek. 40 – 47)… The difference turns on relationship to Christ. The new Jerusalem is His heavenly bride, and reigns with Him. The earthly Jerusalem is the city of the great King, and He reigns over it.

No temple is seen here, because all are at home with God and the Lamb. A temple always gives the idea of the worshipper being at a distance from God; He is, as it were, enshrined, because of His holiness. Even now a temple is out of place for those whom the blood of Christ has brought near. Through the torn veil they have the right and title to approach God Himself.

The Christian world has walked very little in the light of the City. That is clear, because people have set up "temples" again after a Jewish pattern, with priests standing between the people and God. In this way it has completely lost the true idea of the Church, with Christ in the midst.

Created light, as we learn from Genesis 1, is for earth. But after Adam's fall, the only moral light, even for the earth, came from the revelation of God... So where God is fully revealed, there could be no need of created light. And "the glory of God" simply means the display of all that God is, as revealed in redemption, before His redeemed.

As for the earthly land and city, the moon will have her light increased to that of the sun, and the sun shall be sevenfold. But here there is neither; and this again is evidence of gain, not of loss... Creature lights are gone.

The heavenly city needs no created light of its own, like the sun, and no borrowed light, like the moon. God is the source of her light, and the Lamb who died for us is the lamp of the divine glory. It is He who spreads the light through every part of the city. It is concentrated in God; it is made known by the Lamb.

Revelation 21:23 is no exception. If the glory of God gave light to the heavenly city, the Lamb is the "lamp" through whom that glory shines. Even now all its rays shine concentrated on His face for faith (2 Corinthians 3:18). Only in this indirect way could the divine glory ever be seen.

Christ will always be the One in whom God is revealed. And He is presented as the Lamb, because as the Lamb He not only declares the glory of God but also fits His people for the glory. The sun and the moon did declare the glory of God in His handiwork in their time (Psalm 19). But in the church in glory, the Lamb will be the everlasting witness to the glory of God.

Never throughout the unending ages shall the cross of Christ be forgotten. Never shall the burst of melody die down. The countless crowds He has ransomed will always adore Him. He once hung on Calvary's cross to redeem them.

The sun and moon are natural lights, symbols of the natural mind of man. Such light will not be there. Where all will have the mind of Christ, it will not be needed. God is the light and the Lamb is the "Light-bearer" through whom the light reaches the City. The City reflects the light of Christ and the nations walk in the light of the City... God will be perfectly revealed in Christ, reflected by the Church and seen by the nations.

It is the light that has already made everything so bright for our hearts — "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." It is the glory of God in the face of Jesus. God is always to be known in Him, the One in whom He was revealed in humiliation, the Man Christ Jesus. And we can look at the brightness of glory without being dazzled. We see it in the face of Him "who loved us and has washed us from our sins in His own blood."

These verses prove beyond contradiction that the heavenly city is shown here in connection with the millennial earth. There are no "nations" in eternity, and no "kings of the earth" to bring their glory and honour to it. If people had noticed this, they would have avoided the mistake, and they would have gained a valuable key to understanding the dispensations… The nations living during the millennial kingdom will be those spared in the judgments connected with the day of the Lord, brought in at the appearing of Christ.

"And the nations shall walk in the light of it." It is plain that they are not in this city. "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it" — not into but unto. That is, it is simply an expression of the homage that they pay.

They thereby acknowledge the heavens, and the heavenly kingdom, to be the source of all they possess and enjoy; they render homage to Him who is the Source.

There is no need at all for the New Jerusalem, which receives the homage, and the nations with their kings to be alike or in the same state… Why should the nations and their kings not be in an earthly condition, while the New Jerusalem is glorified? Why should the city not match the transfigured Moses and Elijah, and the nations and kings match the disciples, still unchanged on the holy mountain? … The simple, natural meaning of the passage joins two different states together: a higher, heavenly one, and a lower, though blessed, earthly one.

"Of them that are saved," as is well known, has no authority, and it is "by," or "by means of," rather than "in," as in the received text. The world should have been able to walk by the light of the church now. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." … But when the Lamb is the Lamp, the faithful and true Witness if all else has failed, the church will do its work for the nations as God intends. In glory it will become the perfect vessel for displaying the light by which they walk.

The holy city will hang above the earthly Jerusalem. It will send out the rays of the glory of God, which fill and surround it completely… The city enjoys the direct light within; the world gets the light of the glory passed on to it.

Just as the light of God streams out of the heavenly city, so into it shall flow the glory and honour of the kings of the earth and of the nations. In Revelation 17:2 we saw the kings of the earth trading with the false Babylon before the coming of Christ. They have now gone to their doom, along with the nations who forgot God. The kings and nations of our chapter are those who have passed into millennial blessedness in happy subjection to the Lord.

"Its gates will never be shut by day — and there will be no night there." Perfect security — no need to shut those gates; and there is no darkness there. In John's writings, darkness means ignorance of God. Where does doubting come from — where uncertainty? From ignorance of God. All is gone now, and "there is no night there."

During the night, and even when the least trace of darkness lay on the scene, the gates had to stay closed. Otherwise evil, and evil men who always love darkness rather than light, would slip in and corrupt the city. Later, when the gates of Jerusalem began to grow dark before the Sabbath, Nehemiah ordered them shut and told his men to keep them shut until the Sabbath was over. Servants of the enemy were always watching for a chance to slip in unnoticed and tempt the Jews to break the Sabbath day. So when Scripture says there will be no night in the heavenly city, the contrast teaches us that all evil is gone, and the gates will never be shut.

The light of an endless, unclouded day is sure protection for the entrance to the city, and it is enough. God already gives us that same light as the Christian's armour — "the armour of light." (Rom. 13:12.) For "anything that becomes visible is light." It detects and exposes everything unsuited to itself. So it guards the ways into the heart against anything that would spoil our enjoyment of the presence of Him who is light — and that is where He has set us.

A great city like London keeps its gates open all the time. It depends on every part of the earth for its very life. From north, south, east, and west, supplies pour into it without stopping. But the holy city will open its gates for the opposite reason: not for supplies to flow in, but for blessing to flow out to the whole earth. This city of God will look out in every direction, and wherever it looks it will pour out its blessing.

Light and blessing pass out through the gates to the world. Yet Scripture assures us that "nothing unclean will ever enter it." Today we can become defiled by the world while we claim we are carrying blessing to it. In the day of glory the world will receive blessing through the church, and the world will leave no stain on the church.

These verses show beyond contradiction that this passage links the heavenly city with the millennial earth. There are no "nations" in eternity, and no "kings of the earth" to bring their glory and honour to it.

Its gates are never shut, for inside it is continuous day. If we compare this with Isaiah 60:11, we find an instructive contrast. In that glad day the gates of the earthly Jerusalem will also stand open all the time. But there will be night there, for Isaiah says they shall not be shut day or night. The wealth of the nations, and their kings, will be brought into that city. So on earth things will be on a lower footing.

These verses show beyond argument that the heavenly city is presented here in connection with the earth of the thousand-year kingdom. The reason is plain: there are no "nations" in eternity, and no "kings of the earth" to bring their glory and honour to it. ... The nations living during that kingdom will be those spared in the judgments of the day of the Lord, which begins when Christ appears. ... The kings of the earth will bring some of their wealth, like the Queen of Sheba when she came to Jerusalem, as offerings that show their submissive homage.

The word translated "into" should be given as "to," or "unto." Otherwise it would seem as if the kings of the earth had access into the heavenly city! ... The kings of the earth will pay their homage by bringing their glory and honour to it as offerings. In this way they recognise it as the object of God's delight, and as the place where God displays His presence and glory, because the throne of God and the Lamb are there.

They will not come into the city. They will show their allegiance to it by willing tribute. Zechariah 14:16-19 explains this further. It shows that the nations must send representatives to Jerusalem on earth every year to keep the Feast of Booths. Jerusalem in Israel will be God's centre on earth. By recognising this, the nations own their allegiance to the heavenly city, the capital of heaven and earth, for God dwells there.

In verse 24 it is the kings of the earth who bring their glory and honour. In verse 26 it is the glory and honour of the nations that are brought. The same distinction appears in the thousand-year kingdom. Of the honour to be given to the Messiah, Psalm 72:11 says, "May all kings fall down before Him, all nations serve Him!" Both the rulers and their peoples will be of one mind... Now kings and nations serve and exalt themselves. But then... rulers and their subjects will present their glory and honour to the heavenly Jerusalem. They will own their allegiance and pay their tribute to the exalted King of kings and Lord of lords!

It has no temple, for "its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb." But to it, as to a temple, the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour. And the kings are not the only ones who come to it this way: they bring the glory and honour of the nations to it.

No danger threatens the city; on the contrary, "They shall bring the glory and the honour of the nations to it." ... "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." So God's holiness is given the fullest scope. The impure, the detestable and the false are shut out from His presence. They are unfit for it morally and in every way. Yet His sovereignty is kept intact.

Heaven is acknowledged as the source of all light, glory and blessing... And to it they bring honour and glory. The open gates, never closed, mean security. They also suggest contact and exchange with the earth.

No evil. "Nothing unclean will ever enter it." There will be no intrusion of the flesh to defile. There will be nothing that can raise an idol between the soul and God — no abomination. There will be nothing that deceives — no lie. And it is not only that the flesh, with its defilements, abominations and lies is not here, but that it can never enter there. This was never said of the garden of delights on earth. There everything was perfect as God created it. But of Eden it was never said that evil could never enter. In the City we have not only a City of perfection, but a City beyond the possibility of defilement.

The character or qualifications of those who will enter this city of pure gold must be left in no doubt. So it is put in two ways. First comes what disqualifies a person, then the absolute and unassailable title. Three kinds of people will never pass through those gates of pearl. No one with the guilt of sin still on him, for it is sin in its many forms and expressions that defiles. No one who has an evil nature, for it is sin in the flesh which, breaking out, works abomination. And no one who is morally of the family of Satan, who is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

The verse solemnly condemns moral unfitness; but it declares sovereign grace as well, in the last clause. Only those who were objects of God's love could be admitted here.

The book of life records the names of saints for eternal life in glory. It is called the book of life of the Lamb, and of the Lamb slain. The book is His because He was slain. That is His right according to God's eternal purposes: He died to mark out those who are His own and to secure their eternal interests.

The Lamb's book of life contains names written in it before the founding of the world... This is the book of the counsels and purposes of God, who knows the end from the beginning... The Lamb's book of life is the record of reality, and out of that book no name is blotted out.

God is "of purer eyes than to see evil." If believers are saved, it is only because He has qualified them "to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." No evil can exist in the presence of His light... None can be there but those written in the Lamb's book of life — those whom He has fitted by His own grace for His own presence.

I take Revelation 21:27 in a general way as stating who they are that have to do with the New Jerusalem — those written in the Lamb's book of life. We must always remember that the Church, or the bride, is that holy city. The city is not merely the region of our future glory.

Today, under the excuse of carrying blessing to the world, we may become defiled by the world. In the day of glory the world will receive blessing through the church, and the church will be unsullied by the world.