The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 461

EXPOSITION. is intended, or a revivified earth, aeems to be CHAPTER XXI. founded on the false assumption that the Ver. 1.-And I saw. The usual introduc- dwellers in heaven must be localized in tion to a new vision (cf. eh. xx. 11, etc.). space (of. Isa. lxv. 17, "I create new Having described the origin and progress heavens and a now earth ; " also Isa. lxvi. of evil in the world, the final overthrow of 22; 2 Pet. iii. 13). l!'or the first heaven. and Satan and his adherents, and the judgment I the first earth were passed away, The when every man is rewarded according to Revisers follow B and others in reading his works, the seer now completes the whole &wfi>.6oJJ, and render lt by th11 Engluih pel's by portraying the eterll.(1.1 bliss of the re- feet ~n.se. In t(, A, is read uwij>.lli:w, while deemed in heaven (of. on eh, xx. 10). The other ma.nnscripts give b,)AIIEv and .,,.., description is based upon Isa. Ix. and Ezek. pij1'6E. TM ftr,t 1ieafle1I and earth; that ii,, xl., et ,sq,; especially the latter, which those now existing pass away as described follows the account of Gog and Magog, as in eh. xl[. 11. A.ad there was no more Na; does this. A new heaven and a new earth, and the ~ea till longer eziets. The threefold 'l'h~ dis:putu u i() whet}wf a new «eiitiOQ division of heaven, eartli, and sea reprolflllt, thlf wliole of this wo~ld. (of:'~h. x. 6)! !;!ome . Ver. i.-=-~d G~ shall wipe;aw.a,rall ~ intetp?ll\ the ,ea symbolically of the restleBS, from their ·"19• ; and there llhall be no more uustable, wicked nations of the earth, which death, neither sorrow, nor' crying, neither now ei:iat no longer; others understand the shlill there be ally more pafn; and death· abeenae of - to typify the absence of in- ,hall b6 no - , fteithw shall thM"6 b e ~ etability and wickedneu in the. New Jeru- ,ng, flOI' crying, nor pain, any ·man, (Reviaed lllllem. . Version). .All tear,; just as in eh. vii. 17 .• .Ver. 2."""And I lom,. B!lW the holy oity, (of. Isa. xxv. 8, "He will swallow up death D.8"' 1enis,Jem. "John,". must be omitted, in victory; and the Lord God will wipe a®Qrdingto all the best manu.soripts. •i The awa.y tears from off all.faces;" ef. also Isa. the lioly city '-',is Ch.ureh of .God (see on eh. lxv. 19). There is "no more death" be- %i,• ,2), now glorified and prepared tor per- C&U118 sin is no m9re (of. Isa. li 11, "Soz- feot communion with her Redeemer (cf. 'the ro!V and mourning shall flee away"). J'o:r ptttm.iae in oh. iii. iz, wliich is now fullilfod; the format things are p&11ed away, •0r., cf; also Gel. iv,·26; 'Heb. i:i. 10, 16). Om- · "for," should probably be omitted, as in A ~ this lignre of the holy city with that of ' and P, and flC as first written; ~ former :&bylon '(IIOO ·,an eh. niii. ). · Coming down etate of things ia ·the state ·:now e:r.isting, fnm·.-Goi out of kenen. Connect "·out of . which will · then 'have pilfied, away II& h•vea? with "coming down.'~ The same described in ver. 1. ,, , · · , , , W9f4J · OC!)UJ' in oh. iii. 12 (whfoh !Hie). · Ver. 5.-,-And he that a&t upon the th?Ull9 ~ • . , a .boo adorned for her h121band. ■aid; that sitte.th (p{. · eh. i:~, 11 and Matt. }#,e. ip)he,oontrast to the" harlot" (see on,, xxv. 31). Behold, I ma~.~ thing, ne,r. eli. xvu. 1). · Though many of those form- As in ver. 1. So in Matt. xiL 28, ." Ye iDg ~~e brU,e are . rew11,i:-ded a(l()ording to which have followed me, in t~ regencm- their works (see oh. n. 13), yet their own tion when the Son of man shall sit in the warp are insutHoient to :fi~ them for their throne of his. S'lory," etc. And he ia~d futilie life; they are prepared by ~od. This unto me, Write; an<!, he saitll., Wri~. Probs appearance is anticipated· in eh. xix. 7 ably the angel '(cf. oh. xii:·. 9; :r.iv. 13). (which soe). 'fhe change t"rotf!- ET,ro to Al-,u, and the im- . Ver. 3.-And I heard:a·great voiee out of mediate return to El11'EV,·appear to indicate a heaftll·l&,ing, Oul' of.the tlmme is road change of speaker. l'or these words ·are in~,Atandoilters; o.to/,\eiu,enistheread- tl,'Ue and faithful; /aiikful and true. ., So ing, 9f B, P, etc. .As 11,Sual, the 1Joiee is also in eh. xix. 9; Hi, 14, etc. , dE!lcribed aa a groot voi® (cf•. oh. m. 17, Ver. 6.~Alld he •aid.unto i;ne, It is do,ne; etc.), n is not stated frpm whom the voice and he said unto me, They ar6 come w p,us prooe~s, but <:0mp. <lh. u. ll. Behold, the (Re,v~ed Version). It is uncertain what is tabernacle of Go~ is with men, and he will the' nominative intended. It me.;r .be the', dwell with them; literally, he shall taber- "words" just mentiOned; or the ll)~idents tl(I-Ole wit'- them. Still the. se~.r is influel!oed described in vers. 1_;__5; or the Divine ~y· the language of Ezekiel: "And the promises and judgments in'geRerat The. heathen shall know that I the Lord do analogy of oh. xri. 17 supports the la■t, but saliotify ·.Israel, when my sanctuary shall H is not conolusi ve. I am Alpha and Omega, be in the midst of them for eYermore" the Beginning and the End; the .A..lpha· (xxxvii. 28). Thus God makes his a.bode in and the Omega. .As the book opens, so his glorified Church~the New Jerusalem, it closes, with the solemn assurance of the among his spiritual Israel (of. eh. vii. 15, certainty and uuchangea.bleness of God's where this vision has been already antici- eternal promill8S (cf. eh. i. 8; xi:ii. 13). _pated). And they shall be hi& people, and The socond clause interprets the :first; a 8od lrlmself shall be with them, and be their third form of Cll:pr81!sing ~ · same idea God; and they shall be his peoples, and him- occurs in eh. xxii. JS, "the First and tl;ie flill 8kaU b6 God wit~ them, their God. Last.'' I will give unto him that ia athirst Tfie ba.lanoe of authority is in favour of of the fou1J.tain of the water of life freely.· retaining the two last words,-though they The same ideas are r!ipeated ·in oh. xi:ii. are'omitted: in N, B, and otber_s. Evidently 13-17. · .Again the· Eymbolism of tbe pro- th&i'same words as Eiiek xxxvii. fJ:7 (see phet (of. ver. 3). There is also another re- abo-t\!);" My t.abemaole also shall be with minifleence of oh. vii. 17 (cf. also ver. 4 them: yea, I will be their God, and they of'thia chapter). In: exaeUy the same sense eha.11 bemy people.'' Cf. "God with thllm" · the words," living water," are used in John with "Emmanuel" (Matt. i. 23: Isa. vii. iv. 10 (cf. allio Matt. v. 6, "thirst after 14). Now, the promise ia redeemed in all rir,hteousnese "). . it.a fulnees. Tlie plural " peopl011 ." seems to · Ver. 7.-Re that overoometh spall ~- _ po1nt ·-to the catholic nature of the New lierit all tiling&. Tlie <:0rrect ~ing makes Jenise.iem, whi~h embraces ma.ny nations the sense plain: H1J tltat o~eroometh.'skall (et'. wr, ~; alsb oh •. vii. 9).· ,nner# t~e tl,infl&, i.e; the promiiie11 Just  enmnerated.: TlieB& words ·mow tlie reason Spirit (so also in clL nii. 3; cf. eh, i':10) for 1he words of :t~, 6; '&'lld 'may be called . to a great and high mountain. Frofu whic!J the te:tt on which"tlie Apooslypse iii Baaed a clear viewof "tlie city" might be ob~ed (of. eb. it);· for, thougft thl!''wotda them- ' (ef. Ezek..d. 2). '.rhe proposition ?ir!. l111r 881ves' do not ollen reelll', yet: the ·spirit of plies "on to." ,And'ihowed me that ~ t them is constantly appearing'( cf. oh.: xii city, the holy lenualem, descend'fiig out' of 11 : see also John xvi; 33). And I will be heaven fro111 God ; ah.owed me tho holy aity his •~11; and he 1Jiall be my son (ef. Lev. Jerusalem; not great, which is the title of xxvi.12, "And I will walk among you, and Babylon (cf,. eh, xvi. UJ). Jus~ as ille will-~yourGod,andyeshaD bemy people"). harlot, signifying faithless ()brilitians, was So~e h~ve·t}iought tha:t these words proi.:e identified wi.fu 13aby1on, ~he WPJld-ciit,Y tlttl Speaker to be God the Father; but 1t (Silll on eh. x:viii.), 80 thl! l?ride, the fa,iUi- is im~ible 'to separate the Persons of the ful ptirtion of Cbdst's 0:oe"k, i$, rnefgiid, in Blessed Trinity ·in thesb chapters. This .f!Jrusalem., the heavenly ci\1, (]i,ml11Q 4o,wn, promise, first made to David concerning etc. (cf. ver. 2). . . · . , ' .. , . . Solomon (2 Sam. vii. 14), receive\! its mys- .. Ver. 11:--;R~ving' the ~lcir:f'. of~- Tlu~t tical fulfilment in Christ (IJ.eb.· i. 5),. and 111; the abulin1.r presence of God, Ni the 'Slu;i, ill how fulfilled in the D;ljlID bers of Christ ehma_·_h (c_f. E_ iad>x:I. 34. ; 1 Kinst_.'.-Vtiii,,.l_)_~ (.Alford). . · , . · ·; · ·· ' ' Cf. itlao ver. S, supra). ·~~ lj.e)' lig:b.t' w~ Ver. 8.-But the'fearfltl, ut unbeliev.ing, like 'ti.nto a ston& most pracioui, eveli.. ~e and the abominable, · and. .inlll'dereri, · and a ias_pe;-"stone, ol~r- as Cl'J'Btal; ·a;• it ~e w~orfl#iongets, ad 1orce~ ·aml idolaters; ~ ja_sp~r stone (Revje~ VersiO:n}. This}4,1tt and a11' lian, '•hall bave their· _pa;rf in the 1s agam alluded to 1n ver. 23, .. 1T4eJQ8,ver lake \v~h 'burneth with' tire anlf brimstone : probably representa the · tnodern diaJl]ood wbicb ia the second death; 1:J,J,t for the fear~ (s_ ee o,_n eh. iv. 3~. '.1,'he brillia,n~_lig_hJf"¥~h fal, 'etc. Tbe construction is ehange'd in illumines the city l8 tli.e eh~l'Q!lterµi*1c· of the middle or the ·v~e. ·- _The /earful are "him that sat on the throne•• (ch.Jv.'3)- · those who, througli eo'wardi~. have_-µcit over- . v_.er. l_2.-4D.d ·had a wall great .au:11, h,Jlrh ;. come (cf. ver, 7)• .·.Abominable; those defi!ed . 7ia.ving a wall.. On;iit clae4 . invodnQfury wit)l abornit:1ations (et: oh. xtii. 4). And "and.'~. ·The ;wall is a type of the_ !\beolute ftfflrtlerers, .a;\!id /<17'11ictttor, (ef. eh. xiv. 4 ; Becurity of the heavenly city; iionhl!:t a'.ny xvii. !.L~); • And sorcereti! (ef, eh. ix. 21; . furthl!r.BllllB.UUi.a!)lfjlOOted. Id]zek.;u,niii. :tvili. X".t)'; thC!lle who deooived the heathen. 1! Gogand JI.ago~ prey upon the unwa'lloo Jtml . id.olaters; tlie "heathen 'tho were villages. :&nd b'-4 twelve gates, aud .at decefved by the~ ... All liars; ~U who are the gates twelve angell1 ~d µui.ea -.ritten false,itt !lll;Y W,SJ"· • •Their,z,a.rt is- fa. the.fake, thereon, 'which are tb,e names of the tjrelye: etc. (see on cb.. :u. 10, .. These. took no tribe& . of_ thll eb.ildl'en of Iarael (<:f. ·Uie part iri Vie_ first; 8:pintua!, :re~rreet!on ·(eh; descr!£tioll. in_ &e~-- xlviii.).. 7:w~~;.· :RS x:x; 6); ·they now, tnerE!fore, inherit ." ihe, signil)'Jl:fg'oompletti~ess. (qf. ·oh. iv. 9r:Vii.' iecond.death." ··' · ,.. · 4c.:.s), and _llB' being the nurnber o.f. the: t:ribes_ Ver. 9:-AncJ. thetll 'cam:e unto me oue of of Israe( which· are the type of th~ i.i.J(µit1ml the IIIITI'D ~ge~ -whiiih. hitd the .. sevmi 1>'1!'1B Ismelof ~d. Gates; rather,pm#l~-.'i'h!' fall of the aeven last plagues. Omit" unto pic~t1ro of the angels placed at 'tb(I :J!<itta.ls,_ me.'''·" Full of" muit be caunected with stil.l fuHil!ing their mission 33 ~rdia[).B .. "angels.'' .J~ as-thaie angels had carried of. tnen, shows the absolute s09ur1ty o_f the out God1s judgiµents upon 'the ungodly, and cftj'.. 7'he-oo'TM8 are 'iot'ul!m thereo~.- as one of them ·]]ad ex~ibited the .i\1\:1.gmeut dn the stones of the epl\?<l, (;&xod. ixviii. V). of the harlot (eh. :t.vu. l), so now one of and breastplate (Ex'4 n;xjx,. l4)1 , Co~~ them shQWs the pioture of the bliss of th!l, trast the ne.me.s of blaspbemy (eh. xvui. a), faithful-,-the bride of the. Lamb. And' Ver. 13.-0n the e.ast three gate■; on talkecl -,nth me, siqing, Come hither, i: the north three ~t111 ; on tb,e 1011,tlJ.. tbree. will ahow theilthe brlde, tlie La.mb'a wife ;· ptes ;· and on the west three gata11:,'. _''l:he hlth67' (omittfog ,.: c&ilie "). Thi wording of' follow iJig are tbe dispositions of th!l ,tr~ ~bis'_~ei'li~ (~:i:~ttlie: ~~ ph~se) is \l,hnost in the Old Testament:- 1d:ent1cal iwit1i cb. xviL. L The ill,llt phrase · . .