Revelation 21-22

What’s Happening?

John has just seen King Jesus prepare the universe for re-creation. He has defeated the powers that led to his world’s uncreation, and will now remake the world, freeing it from all things that would seek to unmake it ever again. Throughout Revelation, John has seen saints slain on earth reigning in heaven with Jesus. But now, at Jesus’ final appearing, he sees Jesus’ reign from heaven coming to the earth with his saints. In this vision, John sees pictures and images pulled from the Hebrew Bible, all coming to life around him. These images are not describing what the new creation looks like, but what it is like.  

John sees what will not be in the kingdom of new creation. He notices that there is no longer any sea. The sea was the realm of chaos that God first put into order at the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:1-10). Now, all agents of chaos and death are no longer able to be found. There will be no one in this new creation who murders, lies, abuses, or leads us away from God. His new creation will be free from every wicked act that harms people and their world (Revelation 21:8, 22:15). No one will mourn or cry because no death-bringing impure thing will be allowed in to hurt them (Revelation 21:4). This is why John sees that the gates to this new creation are always open, because there is no threat of evil or darkness to guard against (Revelation 21:25). The only thing that will enter into the new creation are nations, pledged to King Jesus (Revelation 21:26). 

John sees what the new creation will be like. He sees the new creation as a city that looks like a bride, and a bride that looks like a city (Revelation 21:2, 9-10). The city points to the long-awaited Kingdom where God will dwell and reign with his people. The bride points to the long-awaited Wedding where God will unite himself with his beloved forever. The city is a bride because it is made up of people. The bride is a city because it is the place of our dwelling with God. The city’s gates and foundations carry the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of the church (Revelation 21:12-14). Meanwhile, the bride carries the name of God (Revelation 22:4). The city of God is stamped with the names of people and the people of the city are stamped with the name of God (Revelation 22:4). This is the fulfillment of the jewels worn by Israel's high priest which were stamped with the names of the tribes of Israel (Exodus 28:9-21). These jewels went into the presence of God once a year. Now, the jewels adorn the very city of God’s eternal, unending presence (Revelation 21:19-21). Astonishingly, the city is described as a perfect cube, mirroring the cubed shape of the Holy of Holies in Israel’s temple, that housed God’s presence and throne (Revelation 21:15-16; 1 Kings 6:20). In the new creation, God’s city-bride fulfills the role of Israel’s priests and temple by becoming the Holy of Holies in which he dwells. 

The center of John’s vision is Jesus himself coming to dwell with his eternal bride in their eternal city. Jesus makes his bride into a home and then makes himself at home with his bride (Revelation 21:3). The shining, glorious presence of God seen when he filled Israel’s temple, now fills his city-bride (Revelation 21:11, 23). The glory of God in Jesus will dwell with and in his people as his city forever. And all who dwell there will behold that which all creation has longed to see—the face of God revealed in the glorified, human face of Jesus (Revelation 22:4).  

Where is the Gospel?

The end of the Bible fulfills its beginning. The story of Scripture begins with humanity in a garden with God (Genesis 1-2). There in Eden, heaven and earth overlapped. But in that Eden, there was day and there was night, representing the darkness that still needed to be pushed back. Humanity became like that darkness and were pushed out of reach of eternal life with God, represented in the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22). But now in the new Garden, there is no night, only the eternal light of God. All nations can now come to the Tree of Life because they have become light like God. This is because the light of heaven came into the darkness of earth. This light from heaven, that no darkness can push back, is Jesus (John 1:4-5, 8:12).

The uniting of heaven and earth was achieved by Jesus. As God, he brought heaven to earth so that as man he could bring earth to heaven. In Jesus’ incarnation, God brought heaven to humanity. In Jesus’ ascension, God brought humanity to heaven. Jesus is King of both heaven and earth. All things in heaven and earth are his. This is especially true of his bride, the church. When his Kingdom of new creation comes, we will be united to him as a wife is united to her husband and as a city receives its King. In Jesus, the Garden of Eden becomes a perfect city of life where the bride and her groom reign together forever. 

The book of Revelation was written to encourage the persecuted church to endure the hostility of the nations and rid themselves of all their impurities. This is because they are preparing for a wedding day and need to get ready (Ephesians 5:25-27). John has shown that the death of the saints doesn’t prevent them from experiencing Jesus, but is the means of joining him in his reign. To encourage his persecuted and enduring saints, Jesus says he is coming soon. The long-awaited King and the long-awaited Husband is returning to reign in his city and live with his bride (Ephesians 5:31-32). The hope of this life-filled, death-conquering kingdom is what the persecuted church needed to hear. It is also what we need today. We must set our hopes on the city God is preparing us to rule and the bride he is preparing us to be (Hebrews 11:16, 35-38). May we, then, make every effort to persevere, knowing that all who do will join this city and be part of this bride (Hebrews 12:1-3). May we be so ready for this day, that we say with the Spirit and all those who have endured before, “Come King Jesus.” 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who plans to live with us forever. And may you see Jesus who promises to come soon. 

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.