Revelation 21-22
New Heavens
and Earth

Next John sees a new heaven and a new earth, because the first ones passed away (aorist), and the sea as well as the land mass was no more. This is chronologically after the Millennium, in which the sea still exists (Ezekiel 47:8-20; 48:28; Zechariah 14:8). The need for a new earth is that the old one was cursed, and thus an unsuitable place for God to dwell (Genesis 3:17; Isaiah 24:4-6; 19-23). Isaiah and the other prophets saw the future events of the Day of the Lord from afar, viewing multiple events (such as the Tribulation, various judgments, the Millennium, and the Eternal State), like a mountain range, and not distinguishing the spaces and valleys in between them. John sees them up close and differentiates between them. Peter gave a little more commentary on the climactic destruction of the atmospheric heavens and terrestrial earth.

2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

Like becoming a spiritual child of God, the new heaven and earth are not a reformation, but a new creation.

John also sees the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, which implies it previously existed beyond the atmospheric heavens (Hebrews 8:5). The city was radiant/glorious like a bride. John hears the last of loud voices proclaiming that God's dwelling is with men, as it was back in the Garden before the Fall. The relationship has been restored. One has to wonder where the people are in all this, especially if the old physical order is no more. In order for there to be people existing on the new earth, they had to be removed from the old one, and placed back on the new one. God will wipe away every tear (same word as blot out); there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain, because the old “order” is past, and God on His throne, speaking directly for the first time since 1:8), says He is making all things new. As Isaiah wrote in

Isaiah 65:17 "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”

God specifically tells John to write the words of the faithful and true God as John was told earlier (in Revelation 14:13 and Revelation 19:9) so his readers could put their faith and hope in God's revelation.

God affirms His sovereignty, and two actions that flow from it. First, that He gives freely, to all who thirst, from the spring of the water of life. This was promised by Jesus to the woman at the well and is affirmed again in one of the last verses in the Bible (next chapter Revelation 22:17).

John 4:14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Revelation 22:17 "And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

The emphasis is on God giving a free gift, to whomever wants it. As seen throughout the Scriptures, part of God's sovereign plan is for humans to have free will, and sovereign consequences attached to their free choices. Anyone who thirsts is offered the solution.

Note, in Jesus' offer to the woman, the distinction between reception of the water and the eternal life which follows. See the discussion at the end of the last chapter about eternal life (dominion of the Age) being given as a gift to those who believe and are born-again. There is a distinction, as the next aspect of God's pronouncement make clear.

The second action that flows from God's sovereignty is God giving heirship to overcomers. There is a correspondence between these last chapters and the first ones of Revelation, where the overcomers are promised rewards; those who don't overcome (be victorious) don't get them, but forfeit whatever they would have (see comments on the parable of the minas - Luke 19:24). For victorious overcomers, there is intimacy with God (cf the distinction between priests in Ezekiel 44). The recognition of a child as a son or an heir indicated that they would have the right of inheritance (equated with reward - Colossians 3:24 and in OT = 1 Corinthians 10 references). In the justice of God, for the losers, there is loss, which continues into the eternal state if one is following the sequential chronology. For believers who behave badly (see the list in verse 8) their allotted portion or inheritance is burned in the lake of fire. Works are burned or tried in Gehenna (1 Corinthians 3:15) the garbage dump outside the city, where faithful believers works are shown to be gold, silver and precious stones that remain, and result in eternal reward. The losers works are wood, hay, and stubble, and nothing remains to exchange for reward (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:37). The inheritance or allotted portion of the unfaithful (see comments on Revelation 20:26) is in the lake of fire. Note carefully that the text does not say that the losers themselves are tossed into the lake of fire. That was the destiny of those who had never believed in Christ, and thus never got their names written in the Book of Life. All the “unbelievers” were consigned to the never ending torment of the lake of fire at the end of the last chapter (Revelation 20:15). This is a new day and new world in chapter 21, the old has passed. So these losers can't be those who were tossed into the lake of fire at the end of the last chapter. Again, note that these are not tossed but their allotted portion or inheritance (not place) is in the lake of fire. We'll actually see these losers again in the next chapter, excluded from the city. For some reason folks who've been exposed to a faulty oral tradition all their lives can't see the difference between justification and glorification, which is essential for understanding what might amount to a hundred difficult passages in the Scriptures (I haven't counted them, but that might be a low estimate, if one includes all the parables and contexts).

One of the angels who had one of the seven bowl/vial plagues invited John to see the wife, the Lamb's bride. This is not a person, nor a group of people (like Israel or the Church) but rather the heavenly city of New Jerusalem, in contrast to the harlot Babylon. The marriage imagery is used of the Church, Israel, and the City, and it should be obvious that they are not all the same entity just because they are described with the same imagery. John gets carried away in the Spirit to a mountain to view the descent of the city from heaven. The nation of Israel is still a distinct entity from the Church, as indicated by the names of the tribes being on each gate. The arrangement echos that of the nation camping around the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle, on which dwelt the Shekinah glory of God. The wall of the city had foundations with the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb, representing the Church. Both Jews and Gentiles are united in future dwelling place of God, which is what Paul and Peter taught should be their status in the Church Age (Ephesians 2:22: 1 Peter 2:5). The angel measures the city: it has four equal sides and could be a cube (like the Holy of Holies) or a pyramid, 1,500 miles per side (more than 75% of the land mass of the Continental USA).

John saw no temple in the city, which distinguishes it very clearly from Ezekiel's Millennial Temple, because the Lord and the Lamb are its temple, perhaps meaning there is no longer any need for symbolic ritual, since the reality is present. There is no need for sun or moon because the glory of God gives light, as radiating from the lamp of the Lamb. The nations will walk by the light of the glory of God, which gives perpetual day, and no night. What are the nations doing in this picture? The kings of the earth (which implies that there are nations and kings organized in a hierarchical structure on earth, and not everyone is in the city) bring tribute, the glory and honor of the nations, into the city, so they may enter it (so much for the thought of a classless society in heaven, unless this isn't heaven). The kings only enter bearing gifts. No common, nor profane person, nor defiled (abomination), nor a liar can enter the city, but only those whose names have been (perfect tense) written in the Lamb's Book of Life, the register of those who can participate in the rule of a kingdom (see comments at the end of last chapter). Why is there a reference to there being people excluded from the city? See next chapter.

Continuing the tour, the angel shows John a river, containing the water of life, that proceeds out from the throne of God and the Lamb. In the Millennial temple (Ezekiel 47) similar waters, flanked by many trees, flowed from under the threshold of the temple to the sea. A comparison of the two records indicate two different scenes (there is no temple in the Heavenly Jerusalem). On either side of the river of the water of life in the heavenly city was a tree of life (no definite article) which means there were two trees or one that spanned the river. The tree of life bore twelve kinds of fruit, perhaps one each month, and its leaves were for the healing of the nations. Why do the nations need healing? There is no curse any more. This is a reversal of Genesis 3 where the earth was cursed, and farming difficult (earthly trees only yield fruit seasonally) to a restoration of the pre-Fall state where abundance was the rule. The throne of God and the Lamb are in the city, and His servants shall serve/worship Him (cf Revelation 7:15-17 where the worship of the Lamb by the Tribulation saints is described with the same word and a similar setting). John rounds out the blessings of faithful God's servants describing the intimacy they enjoy with God (similar to that in the pre-Fall Garden). His name is on their foreheads, like the High Priest who alone was allowed into the Holy of Holies. There is no longer any night, nor need for lamp light, for God illuminates them, and they will reign forever and ever. Over whom do the faithful saints/servants reign? Angels (1 Corinthians 6:3)? Over whom do the kings of 21:24 (above) reign? There it is specified as the nations.

Most of the difficulties raised in the above questions find a resolution in a view I first heard form one of my old professors (really old, he's a few years shy of the century mark), Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost, author of “Things to Come.” In class one day he mentioned that some thought the New Jerusalem hovered over the old earth during the Millennium, giving light to the earth (remember the sun got pretty trashed in the Tribulation), and then would finally settle on a new earth after the old one had been destroyed. Because the old earth was cursed, it could not be the abode of God “in person.” That's all I remember for the class, but this view allows for there to be kings and nations outside the city, faithful saints allowed into it, and unfaithful believers to be excluded from it. Faithful believers with glorified bodies (2 Corinthians 4-5) would be able to move between earth and a city suspended above it. Unfaithful, non-glorified “naked” believers wouldn't. One of the ways those believers ruling over the nations would be able to maintain their rule, during the Millennium, would be by having access to the leaves of the Tree of Life, to dispense for various ailments of the 1,000 year period (wrinkles being a major problem). The inhabitants of the nation of Israel would have access to the healing waters which flowed from under the Millennial temple (Ezekiel 47:8-9), so the leaves weren't specified for them. So while seeing the Heavenly Jerusalem which doesn't rest on earth until after the Millennial Kingdom, John describes features of it that relate to the Kingdom. An alternative view is to say that prophesy is a jumbled affair that doesn't always make sense, and John was just seeing a tangled mess and telling us parts of it out of order. But since there is a scenario that accounts for all the facts (see the 7 Questions, “How Do You Know What's True?”), and in light of the following verses, it's worth seeking and embracing that which best explains all the facts.

The angel says that the God of the spirits of the prophets has sent him to show what must happen soon, so that believers will understand and obey the revelation. Those who do will be blessed (those who don't, won't be blessed). When John heard and saw these things he fell down to worship at the feet of the angel (again - Revelation 19:9-10). The angel admonishes him to worship only God, and not seal or hide the words of the prophecy of this book because “the time is at hand.” These words stress that believers of all ages should always live ready to face their final day of judgment and retribution, which one day will be the next day. Verse 11 is somewhat ironic, sinners might as well continue to be sinners, and saints should continue to be saints because any day the judgment will come and fix them in their choices. While the faithful should continue to be faithful in light of the coming judgment, obviously sinners should repent.

Jesus now speaks, giving His last Sermon on Motivation. He is the Alpha and Omega, whom none can supersede (cf comments on Revelation 1:7-8 where He makes the same claim). He is coming quickly, and His reward is with Him. When He returns He will repay (as in wages that are earned) each person according to his works. No work, no pay (what about Colossians 3:24 don't people understand?). The believers who get blessed are those who have done, (as in works) his commandments (as in plural). This goes beyond belief (forgiveness/justification by faith) to faithful obedience and works (sanctification) which will result in reward (glorification). All three are aspects of our salvation, and effectively reverse the effects of the Fall. Only those believers who obey will have the right to the Tree of Life in the heavenly city. Only glorified believers will be able to enter the city.

Outside the city are the unfaithful believers who accepted Christ as an insurance policy against the lake of fire. These are the ones who were ruled over during the Millennium, or were resurrected after the 1,000 year reign of Christ. The first resurrection before the start of the Kingdom was the resurrection of the righteous. This was the “first in kind” since, Christ, the righteous first-fruits after His resurrection from the Cross, the raptured saints (holy ones), and the two-witnesses would also be among those experiencing the “first resurrection.”

The second resurrection, after the Kingdom was for the unrighteous/unfaithful. If one understands the term “in Christ” to mean faithful believers “in union with Christ” (which is the only way to read most contexts where the term shows up), then only such believers would have been resurrected before the Kingdom to reign with Christ. It's possible such critters were included in the Rapture, in which case they would be among those ruled over. If not raptured, then these are the ones whose names had been written in the Book of Life, and then crossed out for renouncing their allegiance to Christ by their independent lifestyles. They were spared the lake of fire because they had been written in the Book of Life as a result of being justified/forgiven by faith (see comments on Revelation 20:15). These are those who were not allowed to enter the city in 20:8 whose inheritance (allotted portion, not themselves) was in the lake of fire (in contrast to the inheritance of the faithful in Revelation 20:7). They are the believers Paul warned would not have an inheritance in the kingdom. He was warning believers who do these things.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

"Ephesians 5:5-6 "For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

They are also the forgiven but deceived Jews who refused their invitation to the wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 22:1-14) who would not enjoy the festivities.

Matthew 8:11-12 "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus says He sent His angel to testify to these thing for the benefit of the assemblies/churches. He is the Promised Messiah, the offspring of David (cf Revelation 5:5 the One who has prevailed to open the seals of the title deed to the earth; as well as the Davidic descendant prophesied of in the Davidic Covenant - 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89), and the bright and morning star (predicted in Numbers 24:17 and 2 Peter 1:19; cf Revelation 2:28). As the Messiah, He invites anyone who hears and desires to come and take the water of life freely. This is the gracious offer of God to all humanity, each of which is slowly dying of thirst.

Jesus says He sent His angel to testify to these thing for the benefit of the assemblies/churches. He is the Promised Messiah, the offspring of David (cf Revelation 5:5 the One who has prevailed to open the seals of the title deed to the earth; as well as the Davidic descendant prophesied of in the Davidic Covenant - 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89), and the bright and morning star (predicted in Numbers 24:17 and 2 Peter 1:19; cf Revelation 2:28). As the Messiah, He invites anyone who hears and desires to come and take the water of life freely. This is the gracious offer of God to all humanity, each of which is slowly dying of thirst.Jesus also gives a solemn warning that if any man, woman, priest or prophet adds to the book any additional revelation, claiming it to be from God, God will add to him the plagues written in this book. Jesus alone is the one who can open the seals and who has redeemed people, and will rule over them in the prophesied Kingdom. If anyone takes away from the words, God will take away his “allotted portion” from the book of life (a textual variant has “tree” but “book” fits the context), as in deprive of inheritance and access to the city (cf comments on Revelation 20:6; 21:8).

Jesus testifies to the veracity of these things and promises He will come quickly. John adds his prayer that the Lord Jesus will come, and then prays that the covenantal blessing of the grace of the Lord Jesus the Messiah would be with all the holy ones (saints).