Revelation 21:9-13 (NKJV) Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 Also, she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
V9 “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” A familiar face comes to John and invites him to see the bride. This is a real city, which is now being prepared for the church (John 14:1-3). The church is the believers from Pentecost to the Rapture. The church is the bride (2 Corinthians 11:2).
Comments:
Revelation 21:9 (Holman Commentary) “Instead of being shown the prostitute, John will see the details of the bride, the wife of the Lamb. While he had already seen the city in verse 2, now he sees it again. The difference is that he describes a number of details, beginning with the outside (vv. 9-21) and moving to the inside (22:1-5).”
Keathley: “The bride, the wife of the Lamb” is a description, as Rev 21:10 shows us, of the new Jerusalem which is again seen coming down out of heaven from God. Why is the new Jerusalem called the bride, the wife of the Lamb? In Rev 21:2 we are told the city was “made ready as a bride adorned for her husband,” but here new Jerusalem is called the bride. There are at least two reasons for this: the first is seen, as suggested in Rev 21:2, in the beautiful analogy of the figure of a bride. Though dealing with the church and her responsibility in witnessing Joseph Aldrich has nicely captured the picture. He says:
Ideally, a bride is the epitome of all that is right and beautiful. She is a symbol of purity, hope, purpose, trust, love, beauty, and wholeness in a world pock-marked with ugliness. The bride motif, found in both testaments, is used by God to illustrate His strategy for attracting mankind to the availability of His life-changing grace. [Note: Joseph C. Aldrich, Life Style Evangelism, Multnomah Press: Portland, 1978, p. 25.]
“So God calls the new Jerusalem the bride, the wife of the Lamb, because as (a) the Lord is making his bride, the church, spotless and pure (Ephesians 5:26-27), so he will make beautiful the new Jerusalem, (b) as marriage is permanent, so will be the new city, and (c) as a bride is beautiful and gloriously adorned, so will be the new city.
“Second, though the new Jerusalem will eventually be the home of all the redeemed, it will first be the home of the church, the bride of Christ, who will also be on display during the Millennium, the marriage feast. Remember, this is the home that He is preparing for us (John 14:2-3).”
Precept Austin: “Some expositors take the remainder of this chapter and the first part of the following chapter as a recapitulation which describes the participation of the New Jerusalem within the Millennial Kingdom hovering over the earth. They interpret the nations on the earth (Rev. 21:24-26+) as being millennial nations which access the New Jerusalem above. In particular, they point to the existence of the tree of life in the New Jerusalem as evidence that the millennial nations will receive healing from it. There are significant problems with the recapitulation view:
- If the millennial nations have access to the tree of life, why then is there still death during the thousand years (Isa. 65:20)? Although the millennial nations will have access to all kinds of trees (plural) which provide fruit for food and leaves for medicinal purposes, these are not the tree of life (Eze. 47:12). Nor does the location of these trees correspond with that of the tree of life in the eternal city (Rev. 22:2+).
- Within this vision of the city, the curse is said to be no more (Rev. 22:3+). Yet the curse continues during the Millennium (Isa. 65:20; Rev. 20:8-9+).
This is not a recapitulation, but a further refinement of the overview which John saw in Revelation 21:1-8+.
V10 “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God…” This is a heavenly city, not the earthly city in the Middle East. John gets a different perspective of the New Jerusalem. It is a great city, because of its size, beauty, and the amazing architecture of the Lord Jesus. It was in heaven and finally comes to Earth.
V11 “…having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” Indescribable beauty.
V12 “Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel…” The great and high wall is typical of cities in John’s time. Each gate has an angelic guard and name. The names are of the 12 tribes of Israel.
V13 “…three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.” Reminiscent of Israel during the 40 years of wandering. See Numbers 2:1-34.
We learn:
- After God’s judgment comes blessings for those who believe.
- About God’s amazing designs and construction.
Questions:
- Why does God want people to know these details?
- How does John 14:1-2 apply to this passage?
- John 14:1-2 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. [2] In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”