Revelation 21:12 Kommentar

Hitherto the prophecy of this book has presented to us a very remarkable mixture of light and shade, prosperity and adversity, mercy and judgment, in the conduct of divine Providence towards the church in the world: now, at the close of all, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away; a new world now appears, the former having passed away. Some are willing to understand all that is said in these last two chapters of the state of the church even here on earth, in the glory of the latter days; but others, more probably, take it as a representation of the perfect and triumphant state of the church in heaven. Let but the faithful saints and servants of God wait awhile, and they shall not only see, but enjoy, the perfect holiness and happiness of that world. In this chapter you have, I. An introduction to the vision of the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:1-9). II. The vision itself (Rev 21:10, etc.)

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 21 This chapter contains an account of the happy state of the church, consisting of all the elect, both Jews and Gentiles, which will take place upon the first resurrection, and will continue during the thousand years' reign mentioned in the preceding chapter. The seat of the church in these happy times will be the new heaven and the new earth, Rev 21:1 the church that will dwell there is described by its names, the holy city, and new Jerusalem; by its descent, from heaven; and by its state and ornament, being prepared and adorned as a bride for her husband, Rev 21:2 and her happiness is expressed by the presence of God with her, and communion with him enjoyed by her, and by a freedom from all evils endured in the present state of things, Rev 21:3 after which John hears the voice of him that sat on the throne, declaring himself to be the author of the new heaven and earth; ordering him to write, that what had been said was true and faithful; affirming that things were now done and finished; calling himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end: promising grace to the thirsty soul, the inheritance of all things to the overcomer, and also divine sonship; and threatening the second death to sinners, whose characters are given, Rev 21:5 next John has a vision of the bride before spoken of; the preface to it is in Rev 21:9 in which is signified that one of the seven angels that had the seven vials talked to him in a very free and familiar manner, and proposed to show him the Lamb's wife; and in order to it carried him to an exceeding high mountain, and showed him the city before mentioned, said to be great, holy, and heavenly; and which is described by the glory of God upon it, and the light that was in it, comparable to a crystal jasper stone, Rev 21:11 by its wall, which is great and high; and by its, gates and foundations; its gates are in number twelve, twelve angels at them, and on them written the twelve names of the children of Israel, and these situated three at each point, east, west, north, and south; and its foundations are also twelve, having the names of the twelve apostles on them, Rev 21:12 by the measure of it, which the angel took with his golden read; of the city, which was twelve thousand furlongs, it being four square, and its length, breadth, and height equal; and of the wall, which was a hundred forty and four cubits, Rev 21:15 and next the city is described by the matter of which it was built; the wall of jasper the city of pure gold, like to clear glass; the foundations of precious stone, each foundation being of one stone; the gates of pearls, each gate being of one pearl; the street of the city of pure gold, like transparent glass, Rev 21:18 and then by the temple in it, which is no other than the Lord God and the Lamb; and by the light, which is the same, it having no need of sun or moon, Rev 21:22 and next by its inhabitants, the nations of the saved ones, who walk in its light, and the kings of the earth, that bring their honour and glory to it; by its safety and security, and by the purity of it, none but undefiled persons, and such who are written in the Lamb's book of life, being admitted into it, Rev 21:24.

And had a wall great and high,.... Not the Spirit of God, who separates, sanctifies, and preserves the saints, as Cocceius thinks, for this account respects not the church militant; nor the eternal decree of God, the unpassable gulf between heaven and hell, which everlastingly fixes the state of men; for this regards not the ultimate state of happiness: many interpreters understand it of the doctrine of the Gospel, which, as it secures the church now from heretics, and is like a wall very strong and well built, is durable and impregnable; and may be called "great", because of the great Author of it, and the great things contained in it; and "high", since it is not to be reached by carnal minds; so none but such who have embraced it shall enter into the new Jerusalem; for all liars, and forgers of doctrinal lies, and who embrace the antichristian lies, shall be without. Though rather the almighty power of God, which guards his church and people now, and will be their defence in this state, is meant; and which shows the state not to be that of the ultimate glory, which will need no wall, but this will; since an attempt will be made upon the saints in it, though it will be a foolish and fruitless one: and this wall of divine power is very great indeed, and is insuperable by men; God himself is a wall of fire about his people; though it may be best to interpret this of salvation itself, which is by Jesus Christ, if we compare with this text Isa 26:1 for those, and those only, who are interested in it, will dwell in the new Jerusalem; and salvation in this state will be enjoyed in its fulness; and this is very great in its author, objects, and matter, being wrought out by the great God, for great sinners, at a great expense, and including grace and glory, and not to be got over or enjoyed by those who have no interest in it. And had twelve gates; though, strictly speaking, there is but one gate, and that a strait one, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, his person, blood, righteousness, regenerating and sanctifying grace; for as he is the only door into the sheepfold, the church, in its present state, or he only that has faith in him has a right to enter there, and is the only way to heaven and eternal happiness; so he is the only gate into the new Jerusalem, or such only will be admitted there, who are interested in him: but these gates are said to be twelve, in allusion to the twelve apostles, who pointed out to men the way of salvation by Christ; and to the twelve tribes of Israel, who represent all the elect of God, who enter in thereat; and to the twelve gates of Ezekiel's city, Eze 48:31. And at the gates twelve angels; meaning either the ministering spirits, in allusion to the cherubim in Gen 3:24 who are watchers, and encamp about the saints now, and will, as it were, stand sentinels in this camp of the saints, as it is called, Rev 20:8 and besides, will be made use of in gathering the saints from the several parts of the world, and introducing them into this state; or else the apostles and ministers of the word, often called angels in this book, who will shine with peculiar lustre now, and will appear at the head of the several companies they have been useful to, and bring them as their joy and crown of rejoicing into this glorious state: this clause is wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Syriac version. The Jews speak of "princes", being appointed over the gates of heaven, east, west, north, and south, with the keys in their hands, whose names they give us (f). And names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; not literal, but mystical Israel, whom God has chosen to salvation, Christ has redeemed by his blood, and the Spirit calls by his grace; denoting that all, and each of these, have a right to enter into the new Jerusalem, and will be admitted there, and none but they. In like manner the Jews (g) make mention of a court of the Lord, "which has twelve gates, according to the computation of the tribes of Israel; on one gate is written Reuben, on another is written Simeon; and so all the tribes of Israel are written on those gates; in the time they go up to appear before the Lord of the world, whoever goes up to this gate, (on which the tribe of Reuben is written,) if he is of the tribe of Reuben they open to him, (and receive him,) if not they cast him without; and so of all whom they do not receive; they open to none but to him who is of that tribe, or whose name is written on the gate.'' (f) Raziel, fol. 35. 2. (g) Zohar in Numb. fol. 70. 4.

In that he says there are three gates placed on each of the four sides, of single pearls, I think that these are the four virtues, to wit, prudence, fortitude, justice, temperance, which are associated with one another. And, being involved together, they make the number twelve. But the twelve gates we believe to be the number of the apostles, who, shining in the four virtues as precious stones, manifesting the light of their doctrine among the saints, cause it to enter the celestial city, that by intercourse with them the choir of angels may be gladdened.

The twelve gates and the twelve angels are the apostles and the prophets, for as it is written, we “are built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.” The Lord also spoke in a similar way to Peter: “Upon this rock I shall build my church.”

He says that it has twelve gates, by which he alludes to the divine apostles who proclaimed to us the entrance into faith in Christ. And on the gates are twelve angels; for I am persuaded that they co-operated with the holy apostles, and that divine angels aided the faith of the world; for if the law given through Moses was spoken by angels, as the apostle says; "if the word spoken through angels proved unwavering," (Heb. 2:2) how much more did the evangelic proclamation have angels cooperating? And he says, and names written, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Israel is indeed sensibly those born of Jacob the patriarch; but spiritually it is those who conform to the faith of our father Abraham. And to this the apostle, called "father of those by circumcision not only but also of those who follow the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham," (Rom. 4:12) bears witness. For Israel is interpreted as "the mind seeing God," that is, discerning. And which of the faithful more than these perceived God, or have become discerning by the abundant working of the Spirit? Therefore the names of these are written on the gates of the city.

The wall of the church is Christ, and we read [that this wall] is both great and high: “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, on his holy mountain,” and “The Lord is high above all the nations.” Of this wall the prophet Isaiah said, “In this day this song will be sung in the land of Judah, ‘We have a strong city; a savior is placed in it as a wall and bulwark. Open the gates, so that a righteous nation that keeps truth may enter in and the ancient error stay away.’ ” Singing together by one Spirit, they are seen to relate similar realities. He continues by speaking of the gates. There are twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels and the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel are inscribed [on the gates]. We know that our Lord originally offered entrance to the faith through the twelve apostles. However, the context of this passage prohibits that meaning when it now mentions the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. The passage intends that we first consider the patriarchs from whose stock we know that the whole race of the Israelites was directly propagated. From these, according to the apostle, “there is a remnant saved by the election of grace,” and he adds that “God has not rejected his people.” Therefore, in this passage we ought to interpret the [twelve] gates to signify the twelve patriarchs, especially since we hear that “you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” … I think that the angels signify those elders and princes whose administration and leadership marvelously ruled that nation [of Israel].

“And it had a great, high wall.” Zechariah said, “For I will be,” says the Lord, “a wall of fire round about.” What is so great and high as the Lord of majesty, who with the protection of his presence surrounds the holy city? “And it had twelve gates and at the gates twelve corners, and the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were written [on the gates].” In the Gospel we read that the Lord spoke concerning himself: “I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will enter and will find pasture.” Therefore, Christ is the door. However, the ancient people of our faith are named together not as doors, but their names are written on the gates, that is, on the doors. Thus our Lord shows to all the saints that he is the door of truth and freedom. This shows that the whole band of the patriarchs belonged to the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The twelve corners of the gates, and the twelve gates and the twelve foundations on which the names of the apostles and of the Lamb are written yield the number of thirty-six. It is clear that this is the number of hours that our Lord Jesus Christ lay in the grave after his passion. This demonstrates that the host of leaders who came beforehand and the chorus of apostles who came afterwards had been redeemed by the one faith and passion of the Lord, and that they have come to the knowledge of the omnipotent God through the one entrance of faith in Christ, who is the door. For also the names of apostles themselves are said to be written upon the twelve foundations, because Christ is the foundation, as Paul says, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” And he himself is in each, and each is in him. The Lord says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” And it is written in the words of the most blessed Paul that “the rock was Christ.” Therefore, it is Peter to whom the Lord spoke: “On this rock I will build my church.” That is, the church is built upon faith in the incarnation, passion and resurrection of the Lord.

Christ is the great and high wall of the church that protects those in the holy city. In the wall are twelve gates, which are his holy apostles through whom we have acquired access and entry to the Father. And these are assisted by twelve angels who are preeminent and especially close to God in their holiness. For if we believe that a protecting angel follows each one of the faithful, how much more does it follow that those ranked first among the angels [accompany] those who are the foundations of the church and are sowers of the evangelical word and serve as assistants in the preaching of the gospel? The names of the tribes of the spiritual Israel are written over the gates of the apostles, even as they were written on the shoulder strap of the physical high priest long ago. The writing of these names now testifies to the solicitude of the apostles for the faithful, just as Paul said that he had “anxiety for all the churches” and that “his heart is wide” and that he comes to all “those whom he begot through the gospel.”

And had a great and high wall. That is, the impregnable strength of faith, hope, and charity. The Lord Himself, protecting the Church on all sides, can be understood as the great wall, of whom Isaiah also says: You shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise (Isa. 26), that is, the Lord’s protection and the intercession of the saints who make a path for her by teaching into the hearts of believers.

Having twelve gates. These gates are the apostles, who, by their writings or deeds, originally opened the entrance to the Church to all nations.

And at the gates twelve angels. That is, the teachers following the footsteps of the apostles in the mystery of faith and the word.

And names written, etc. This signifies the memory of the ancient fathers implanted in the hearts of the preachers. Hence, the high priest entering the tabernacle is commanded to carry the memorial of the fathers on the breastplate of judgment.

QUESTION: And it had a wall great and high. ANSWER: That is, the impregnable firmness of faith, love, and hope. The Lord himself, protecting the Church on all sides, may also be taken to be the great wall, about which Isaiah says, A wall and a bulwark shall be set therein, [Is. 26:1] that is, the protection of the Lord and the intercession of the saints, who make a way for him to the hearts of believers by their teaching. THERE FOLLOWS: Having twelve gates. ANSWER: These gates are the apostles, who were the first, whether by their writings or by their works, to open the entrance to the Church for all nations.

The new heaven and the new earth, Rev 21:1. The new Jerusalem, Rev 21:2. God dwells with men; the happy state of his followers, Rev 21:3-7. The wretched state of the ungodly, Rev 21:8. An angel shows John the holy city, the New Jerusalem, Rev 21:9, Rev 21:10. Her light, wall, gates, and foundations, described, Rev 21:11-21. God and the Lamb are the temple and light of it, Rev 21:22, Rev 21:23. The nations and kings of the earth bring their glory and honor to it; the gates shall never be shut, nor shall any defilement enter into it, Rev 21:24-27.

Had a wall great and high - An almighty defense. Twelve gates - A gate for every tribe of Israel, in the vicinity of which gate that tribe dwelt; so that in coming in and going out they did not mix with each other. This description of the city is partly taken from Eze 48:30-35. In Synopsis Sohar, p. 115, n. 27, it is said: "In the palace of the world to come there are twelve gates, each of which is inscribed with one of the twelve tribes, as that of Reuben, of Simeon, etc.: he, therefore, who is of the tribe of Reuben is received into none of the twelve gates but his own; and so of the rest."

THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH: NEW JERUSALEM OUT OF HEAVEN. (Rev. 21:1-27) the first--that is the former. passed away--Greek, in A and B is "were departed" (Greek, "apeelthon," not as in English Version, "pareelthe"). was--Greek, "is," which graphically sets the thing before our eyes as present. no more sea--The sea is the type of perpetual unrest. Hence our Lord rebukes it as an unruly hostile troubler of His people. It symbolized the political tumults out of which "the beast" arose, Rev 13:1. As the physical corresponds to the spiritual and moral world, so the absence of sea, after the metamorphosis of the earth by fire, answers to the unruffled state of solid peace which shall then prevail. The sea, though severing lands from one another, is now, by God's eliciting of good from evil, made the medium of communication between countries through navigation. Then man shall possess inherent powers which shall make the sea no longer necessary, but an element which would detract from a perfect state. A "river" and "water" are spoken of in Rev 22:1-2, probably literal (that is, with such changes of the natural properties of water, as correspond analogically to man's own transfigured body), as well as symbolical. The sea was once the element of the world's destruction, and is still the source of death to thousands, whence after the millennium, at the general judgment, it is specially said, "The sea gave up the dead . . . in it." Then it shall cease to destroy, or disturb, being removed altogether on account of its past destructions.

And--A and B omit. Eze 48:30-35, has a similar description, which implies that the millennial Jerusalem shall have its exact antitype in the heavenly Jerusalem which shall descend on the finally regenerated earth. wall great and high--setting forth the security of the Church. Also, the exclusion of the ungodly. twelve angels--guards of the twelve gates: an additional emblem of perfect security, while the gates being never shut (Rev 21:25) imply perfect liberty and peace. Also, angels shall be the brethren of the heavenly citizens. names of . . . twelve tribes--The inscription of the names on the gates implies that none but the spiritual Israel, God's elect, shall enter the heavenly city. As the millennium wherein literal Israel in the flesh shall be the mother Church, is the antitype to the Old Testament earthly theocracy in the Holy Land, so the heavenly new Jerusalem is the consummation antitypical to the spiritual Israel, the elect Church of Jews and Gentiles being now gathered out: as the spiritual Israel now is an advance upon the previous literal and carnal Israel, so the heavenly Jerusalem shall be much in advance of the millennial Jerusalem.