Rev 21 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Rev 21:1-22:9: 21:1–22:9 The final scenes of the new heaven and earth are striking pictures of a new community and home for God’s people that is fashioned and given by God. These scenes help to lift the spirits of persecuted Christians. John lays out his basic vision (21:1-8 ) and follows it with two expansions: (1) In 21:9-27 , he presents the new Jerusalem as the site of holy perfection; (2) in 22:1-5 , he describes the new Jerusalem as the ultimate Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve could have experienced had they not sinned. 21:1 The vision involves God’s creation of the new heaven and earth (cp. Gen 1:1 with Isa 65:17 ; 66:22 ). The old creation has disappeared —it was subject to decay (see Rom 8:20-21 ; 2 Pet 3:7 , 10 ). • the sea was also gone: The sea was associated with chaos or the abyss (see study note on Rev 9:1-12) and was sometimes portrayed as a roaring monster (see Pss 46:3 ; 74:14 ; see also Job 3:8 ; 41:1-34 ; Luke 21:25 ). The new creation will be free from all such evil.

Summary for Rev 21:1-22:9: 21:1–22:9 ^a The final scenes of the new heaven and earth are striking pictures of a new community and home for God’s people that is fashioned and given by God. These scenes help to lift the spirits of persecuted Christians. John lays out his basic vision (21:1-8 ^b) and follows it with two expansions: (1) In 21:9-27 ^c, he presents the new Jerusalem as the site of holy perfection; (2) in 22:1-5 ^d, he describes the new Jerusalem as the ultimate Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve could have experienced had they not sinned. 21:1 ^e The vision involves God’s creation of the new heaven and earth (cp. Gen 1:1 ^f with Isa 65:17 ^g; 66:22 ^h). The old creation has disappeared—it was subject to decay (see Rom 8:20-21 ⁱ; 2 Pet 3:7 ^j, 10 ^k).

• the sea was also gone: The sea was associated with chaos or the abyss (see study note on Rev 9:1-12) and was sometimes portrayed as a roaring monster (see Pss 46:3 ^l; 74:14 ^m; see also Job 3:8 ⁿ; 41:1-34 ^o; Luke 21:25 ^p). The new creation will be free from all such evil.
21:2 ^q coming down from God: The new creation is a gift from God. In the beginning, God created everything good, and in the end, God will create a new, unbroken world.

• This picture of Jerusalem as a beautiful bride (see Isa 61:10 ^r) contrasts starkly with the vision of Babylon (or Rome) as the prostitute (Rev 17:4-5 ^s; 18:2-3 ^t; see study note on 21:9–22:9).
21:3 ^u God’s home is now among his people! Old and New Testament expectations are fully and finally realized. Ever since humanity sinned (Gen 3 ^v), separation from God has been humanity’s greatest problem (Gen 3:23 ^w). God has repeatedly called his people to himself through the prophets, through Jesus his Son, and through the presence of the Spirit (see Gen 17:8 ^x; Exod 29:45-46 ^y; Pss 46:4-5 ^z; 95:7 ^aa; Jer 7:23 ^ab; 31:33 ^ac; Ezek 34:14 ^ad; 37:27 ^ae; Zech 8:8 ^af; John 14:2-3 ^ag; 17:24 ^ah). In the new heaven and new earth, God’s people will finally experience ultimate and everlasting fellowship with God.
21:4 ^ai no more death or sorrow or crying or pain: See Isa 25:8 ^aj; 1 Cor 15:54 ^ak. God’s people will know the creative wholeness and salvation that Christ brings (see 2 Cor 5:17 ^al; Gal 6:15 ^am).
21:6 ^an God restates Jesus’ final words from the cross, It is finished! (John 19:30 ^ao; cp. Rev 16:17 ^ap), connecting Christ’s death with the assurance of eternal life.

• I am the Alpha and the Omega: With the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, John portrays God as encompassing total reality and total truth. God was from the Beginning (see Gen 1:1 ^aq; cp. John 1:1-2 ^ar) and is also the End (see Rev 1:8 ^as; 22:13 ^at).

• Because Christ is supreme and in charge of all things (see Rom 9:5 ^au; 1 Cor 15:28 ^av; Eph 1:22-23 ^aw; 4:5-6 ^ax), he dispenses the water of life to all who are thirsty for it (see study note on Rev 7:16-17; see also Isa 55:1 ^ay; John 4:10 ^az; 7:37-38 ^ba).
21:7 ^bb All who are victorious: God’s children who persevere in life will inherit his blessings. Adoption is a covenant relationship; the language of adoption certifies their privileges and responsibilities (cp. Gen 17:8 ^bc; 2 Sam 7:14-16 ^bd; Jer 31:33 ^be; Ezek 34:24 ^bf).
21:8 ^bg This vice list summarizes sins described throughout Revelation. These sins characterize people who have not experienced adoption by God; their fate is the fiery lake (see Rom 1:29-32 ^bh; Gal 5:19-21 ^bi; 2 Tim 3:2-5 ^bj; cp. Exod 20:13-17 ^bk; see also study note on Rev 20:10).

• all liars: John apparently viewed deception as the root of sin; elsewhere he describes Satan as the “father of lies” (John 8:44 ^bl; 1 Jn 2:4 ^bm; see Rev 14:5 ^bn; 21:27 ^bo; 22:15 ^bp; cp. Matt 12:34 ^bq).
Summary for Rev 21:9: 21:9–22:9 ^br This symbolic vision of the new Jerusalem uses vivid word pictures to describe the bride, the wife of the Lamb—all those who respond to Christ’s message of salvation (see 21:2 ^bs; 22:17 ^bt; Eph 5:22-32 ^bu).
21:10 ^bv a great, high mountain: In Scripture, experiences with God frequently take place on the mountains (cp. Ezek 40:2 ^bw; see also Exod 3:1 ^bx; 19:10-25 ^by; Deut 34:1-4 ^bz; 1 Kgs 18:20-40 ^ca; 19:8-18 ^cb; Matt 5:1 ^cc; 15:29 ^cd; 17:1 ^ce; 24:3 ^cf; 28:16 ^cg).

• the holy city ... descending out of heaven from God: God’s presence and eternal life cannot be reached by human effort but are received as a gift (Eph 2:8-9 ^ch; cp. 2 Cor 5:1 ^ci).
21:11 ^cj Like the true people of God, the glory of the city reflects God’s glory (cp. Exod 34:29-35 ^ck; 2 Cor 3:7-11 ^cl).

• Jasper (see also Rev 4:3 ^cm; 21:11 ^cn, 18 ^co) is opaque on earth; the heavenly jasper is clear as crystal, having a transparency that mirrors God’s purity and integrity.
Summary for Rev 21:12-14: 21:12-14 ^cp In this vision, the twelve tribes of Israel represent the redeemed people of God (see 7:4-8 ^cq; see also Rom 9:6-7 ^cr). The foundation for this community of God’s redeemed is the twelve apostles of the Lamb. In Jesus, God’s promise to bless all of the families of the earth through Abraham has been fully realized (Gen 12:3 ^cs).
Summary for Rev 21:15-17: 21:15-17 ^ct measure the city: Measuring defines accepted boundaries (contrast the unmeasured section of the Temple, 11:2 ^cu; see also Ezek 40:3–42:20 ^cv).
21:16 ^cw The city is described as a perfect cube. Each dimension is 1,400 miles (Greek 12,000 stadia); the number 12,000 symbolically represents the people of God (see thematic note for Symbolic Numbers at end of chapter).
21:17 ^cx In the ancient world, walls were important not only to the defense and boundary of a city, but also to its status. That these walls are 216 feet thick (Greek 144 cubits) indicates the strength of God’s redeemed people. The measurement of 144 cubits again uses a multiple of 12 to represent God’s people. A cubit was the length of a man’s forearm, with a standard length of about 18 inches.
21:18 ^cy The wall is built of jasper (see study note on 21:11; cp. 4:3 ^cz). The city is fashioned in gold, which is not opaque like earthly gold; rather, like God’s transformed people, the heavenly gold is clear and pure.
21:19 ^da The twelve precious stones adorning the foundation stones of the city’s wall are a reminder of the twelve stones on the high priests’ breastplate that represented the people of God (see Exod 28:17-20 ^db).
21:21 ^dc Things that are precious and luxurious on earth are common building materials in heaven.
21:22 ^dd I saw no temple: This apparent conflict with earlier visions (11:19 ^de; 14:15-17 ^df) is resolved by understanding each visionary picture in Revelation as a separate symbolic representation of God’s presence. There is no longer any need for a temple in heaven because God is present with his people.
21:23 ^dg The vitality, energy, and life of the city are not in institutions or physical sources of power and light, but in the glory of God and the Lamb. The sun and moon were features of the first creation (Gen 1:14-19 ^dh; see Isa 60:19-20 ^di).

• the Lamb is its light: Jesus is the light of the world (see John 8:12 ^dj; 9:5 ^dk; 12:35-36 ^dl).
Summary for Rev 21:24-25: 21:24-25 ^dm The nations: God’s promise to Abraham is fulfilled (Gen 12:3 ^dn; see Isa 2:3 ^do).

• In Revelation, the kings of the world usually refer to God’s enemies (Rev 6:15 ^dp; 17:18 ^dq; 18:3 ^dr, 9 ^ds). Now that the enemies have been destroyed (16:9 ^dt, 11 ^du; 19:1-2 ^dv, 19-21 ^dw), the picture is of God’s glory as reflected in those people who have repented (14:6-7 ^dx; cp. 11:13 ^dy) and walk with God (5:9 ^dz; 15:4 ^ea).

• The gates that are never ... closed contrast with the ancient scene in which closed gates protected cities from enemies, particularly at night. The people enjoy peace and security in God’s supremacy (see Isa 60:11 ^eb). God’s enemies have been destroyed, and fear and failure have ended (see Zech 14:7 ^ec; John 11:8-10 ^ed; 12:35-36 ^ee).
21:27 ^ef evil (or ceremonially unclean): Spiritual impurity is a basic concern in Revelation (see 21:8 ^eg). Evil is here generalized as idolatry and dishonesty (see Rev 14:5 ^eh; 21:8 ^ei; 22:15 ^ej). Those who fail to appear in the Book of Life are excluded from the city of God. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life, the pure of heart (Matt 5:8 ^ek), will see God.

Thematic note: Symbolic Numbers
Numbers used in Scripture have often inspired wild speculation. An understanding of the symbolism of numbers in the ancient world can help ground our interpretation. Such symbolism, however, is not rigid or exact, so great care must be exercised when numbers are used in interpretation, so as not to push fanciful predictions about future events.
The number one can refer to God’s oneness (Deut 6:4 ^el; Gal 3:20 ^em; Jas 2:19 ^en). Two is the minimum number required to give a legitimate witness (Deut 17:6 ^eo; Rev 11:3 ^ep), and three can imply divine representation (Gen 18:1-2 ^eq; 2 Cor 13:14 ^er; Rev 1:4-5 ^es). Four can stand for the known world, represented in Revelation by living creatures, horsemen, winds, and angels (Rev 4:6-8 ^et; 6:1-8 ^eu; 7:1 ^ev) and in Genesis ^ew by four rivers (Gen 2:10-14 ^ex). When three and four are added to make seven, they represent perfection or divine fulfillment, indicating that God and the world are in harmony. The multiplication of three by four yields twelve, the number associated with God’s people (Gen 35:22-26 ^ey; Exod 24:4 ^ez; 28:21 ^fa; Num 17:2 ^fb; Josh 4:3-8 ^fc; 1 Kgs 18:31 ^fd; Matt 10:1-4 ^fe; 19:28 ^ff; Jas 1:1 ^fg; Rev 12:1 ^fh; 21:12–22:2 ^fi. The number five and its multiples, such as ten, represent human completeness (e.g., five fingers per hand); and six carries a negative sense or implication of evil, being neither humanly complete (five) nor divinely complete (seven).
Multiples of ten (e.g., forty) are a symbolic way to indicate many, whereas three sixes (666) imply supreme evil (Rev 13:18 ^fj). One thousand is regarded as the foundational large number; 12,000 indicates a large number of God’s people (Rev 7:5-8 ^fk); and 144,000 represents the complete people of God (Rev 7:4 ^fl; 14:1 ^fm). The number 10,000 and its multiples are probably best transliterated from Greek as myriads, since they really mean “a huge number” rather than a precise count.
While some of the numbers in the Bible have symbolic meanings, using numbers to speculate on the time of Christ’s return or of the end of the world is highly dubious—only God possesses that knowledge (Mark 13:32 ^fn). God did not intend for the symbolic numbers in Revelation to help us predict the future; rather, their symbolic meanings help to explain the significance of the visions. Because the numbers are symbolic, sometimes when we translate them into contemporary sizes, distances, and numbers for our ease of reading, it can result in the loss of theological significance. The use of these symbolic numbers can illuminate a vision’s relationship to the world or to the people of God.

Passages for Further Study
Gen 2:2-3 ^fo; 4:15 ^fp; 15:13 ^fq; 41:53-54 ^fr; Exod 20:6 ^fs; 25:31-37 ^ft; 32:15 ^fu; Lev 16:14 ^fv; 23:16 ^fw; 2 Sam 24:13 ^fx; 1 Kgs 4:26 ^fy; 17:21 ^fz; 18:31 ^ga, 43-44 ^gb; Job 1:2 ^gc; Ps 90:4 ^gd; Jer 15:3 ^ge; 49:36 ^gf; Ezek 14:21 ^gg; Dan 4:16 ^gh, 23-25 ^gi; 7:3 ^gj, 17 ^gk, 24 ^gl; Zech 4:2 ^gm; 6:1 ^gn; Matt 10:1-5 ^go; 12:40 ^gp; 18:21-22 ^gq; Mark 6:7 ^gr; Luke 15:8 ^gs; Acts 6:3 ^gt; 10:16 ^gu; 1 Cor 8:6 ^gv; Eph 4:4-6 ^gw; 2 Pet 3:8 ^gx; Rev 1:16 ^gy; 2:10 ^gz; 4:4 ^ha; 6:1 ^hb; 7:1 ^hc, 4-8 ^hd; 12:1 ^he, 3 ^hf; 13:1 ^hg; 17:3-14 ^hh; 20:2-7 ^hi; 21:12-21 ^hj