Apocalisse 21:21 Commento

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 I saw no temple therein,.... No material temple, as was in the old Jerusalem, or such as is described in Ezekiel's vision; nor any place of public worship, as under the Gospel dispensation; for in this state there will be no such external form of worship as now, such as preaching the word and administering ordinances. The Jews expect a third temple, but in vain. For the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple of it; God will be immediately present with his people, whose face they shall see, and whom they will serve in the most pure and spiritual manner; and Christ in his human nature, in the temple of his body, that tabernacle which God pitched, and not man, which is filled with the train of the divine perfections, and in which the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily, will be the only medium of the divine Presence, and of the communications of glory to men, and of the saints' praise to God, which will be the service they will be employed in; and the Lamb being joined with the Lord God Almighty, shows his deity and his equality with his Father.

The city which he says is squared, he says also is resplendent with gold and precious stones, and has a sacred street, and a river through the midst of it, and the tree of life on either side, bearing twelve manner of fruits throughout the twelve months; and that the light of the sun is not there, because the Lamb is the light of it; and that its gates were of single pearls; and that there were three gates on each of the four sides, and that they could not be shut. I say, in respect of the square city, he shows forth the united multitude of the saints, in whom the faith could by no means waver. As Noah is commanded to make the ark of squared beams, that it might resist the force of the deluge, by the precious stones he sets forth the holy men who cannot waver in persecution, who could not be moved either by the tempest of persecutors, or be dissolved from the true faith by the force of the rain, because they are associated of pure gold, of whom the city of the great King is adorned. Moreover, the streets set forth their hearts purified from all uncleanness, transparent with glowing light, that the Lord may justly walk up and down in them.

These pearls symbolize the apostles, who are also called “gates” because through their teaching they make known the door of eternal life.

And there were also the gates of the city, which we likewise received as the apostles, each one from a single pearl. Therefore the pearl is now set as new, not itself numbered among the stones of the list, and it is possible to see that the newly named ones are rather more valuable than those placed in the list in the old book; by which is indicated that the holy apostles have knowledge of the Old Covenant and approve of the decrees established in that, and the wise apostle could say, "having been made righteous according to the law, I am blameless" (Philip. 3:6) and also approved in the precepts of the New Covenant, and that its knowledge has been enriched, which was much clearer and somewhat more precious than the knowledge in the Old, if indeed the things in the law were a shadow, and the things in the New were truth; for this is hinted by the mingling set forth: both the precious stones of the Old and the New are in the foundations of the city, which, as has been said, testify to the apostles. And this is what the Lord said in the Gospels: "therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure new things and old." (Matt. 13:52) And he says that the gates of the city, which we have likewise conceived in describing the apostles who arrived, each one is made of a single pearl, their preciousness being pure and bright, as they are described. And the street of the city, he says, was pure gold, like transparent glass. It has been said that gold and the purity and transparency of glass signify the precious and refined aspect of the holy life.

He had already said that the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass, and that its foundations were from every precious jewel. I think that this refers to those who have authority in the church. But now he speaks in addition of the streets and says that also they are from pure gold that is as clear as glass. It is as though in the earlier passage the streets were not included in the description of the city. It is my opinion that in this passage the little children [of God] are symbolized, of whom in the present time it is said, “Your eyes beheld my unformed substance and in your book all of them were written.” And again, “His conversation is with the simple,” for they by this reward will certainly not be deceived and by this mutual conversation they will come to behold their own understandings. For as the streets are placed in a lesser position, so [the simple] seem to be reserved for a humble position. Although in the streets the breadth of love is to be discerned, he signifies the perfect through a variety of words. However, at that time no one will there [be regarded] as unworthy, no one will be found to be small or weak, although some may stand out with a greater clarity than others because of the difference of rewards. “For as star differs from star in glory,” the apostle says, “so is it with the resurrection of the dead.”

It is one thing to speak of each of the pearls; it is another thing to speak of the one pearl from which they come. For when it speaks of each pearl, it is shown that in each pearl one pearl is shining forth and that this one pearl is our Lord Jesus Christ. And when the pearls are related to a single pearl, we are taught that the apostolic teaching possesses already the light of righteousness that it has received from him. Just as Christ is the door, so also [the apostles] are the doors through which we are taught and enter into the faith.

These words reveal the difference of merit that exists within the very beatitude of the saints. For above it was said that the entirety of the city was like pure gold, clear as glass. [Now it says that] “the streets of the city are pure gold, transparent as glass.” These are the saints of the city that are of lesser merit. Nonetheless, gathered together into one congregation, it is indicated that they do not shine with a lesser light.

The twelve gates are manifestly the twelve disciples of Christ, through whom we have come to know the door and the way. And they are also the twelve pearls that have received their splendor from the one, most precious pearl, namely, Christ.

It is not possible to present in one image an exact description of the good things of the heavenly city. Therefore, he perceived the street of the city as gold on account of its costliness and its beautiful color, and as crystal, that is, as transparent glass on account of its purity. We are not able to bring both of these things together in one symbol. But the saint perceived all of these things as he was able. However, an unsullied understanding of the city above surpasses our hearing and sight and mind.

And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each one of the gates was of one pearl. All the glory of the head is referred to the body. And just as the true light which enlightens every man (John I) gave to the saints to be the light of the world, so also he himself, being the unique pearl which the wise merchant, having sold all, buys (Matt. XIII), nevertheless compares his own to the radiance of pearls.

And the street of the city was pure gold, etc. He constructs the streets with the same metals with which he had said the city was adorned; for there are many also of a broader and lower way of life, surrounded with the highest virtues in the Church, and they shine with purity of mind and the radiance of work.

THERE FOLLOWS: And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. ANSWER: He makes the streets of the same materials as those he had previously said the city was adorned with, for there are many people in the Church who, even leading a less strict and inferior life, are endowed with the greatest virtues, and shine with both purity of mind and the radiance of work.

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.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls - This must be merely figurative, for it is out of all the order of nature to produce a pearl large enough to make a gate to such an immense city. But St. John may refer to some relations of this nature among his countrymen, who talk much of most prodigious pearls. I shall give an example: "When Rabbi Juchanan (John) once taught that God would provide jewels and pearls, thirty cubits every way, ten of which should exceed in height twenty cubits, and would place them in the gates of Jerusalem, according to what is said Isa 54:12, I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, one of his disciples ridiculed him, saying, Where can such be found, since at present there is none so large as a pigeon's egg? Afterwards, being at sea in a ship, he saw the ministering angels cutting gems and pearls; and he asked them for what purpose they were preparing those. They answered, to place them in the gates of Jerusalem. On his return he found Rabbi Juchanan teaching as usual; to whom he said, Explain, master, what I have seen. He answered, Thou knave, unless thou hadst seen, thou wouldst not have believed; wilt thou not receive the saying of the wise men? At that moment he fixed his eyes upon him, and he was reduced into a heap of bones." - Bava bathra, fol. 77, 1, and Sanhedrim, fol. 100, 1, page 393. Edit. Cocceii. See Schoettgen.

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.

every several--Greek, "each one severally."