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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.

But the fearful,.... Not the timorous sheep and lambs of Christ, the dear children of God, who are sometimes of a fearful heart, on account of sin, temptation, and unbelief; but such who are of cowardly spirits, and are not valiant for the truth, but who, through fear of men, either make no profession of Christ and his Gospel, or having made it, drop it, lest they should be exposed to tribulation and persecution; these are they that are afraid of the beast, and live in servile bondage to him. And unbelieving; meaning not merely atheists, who do not believe there is a God, or deists only, that do not believe in Christ; but such who profess his name, and are called by it, and yet do not truly believe in him, nor embrace his Gospel and the truths of it, but believe a lie; these are condemned already, and on them the wrath of God abides, and they will be damned at last; though it may have a regard to such also who are infidels as to the second coming of Christ to judgment, and who are scoffers and mockers at it: and the abominable: every sinful man is so in the sight of God; but here it denotes such who are the worst of sinners, given up to sinning; who are abominable, and to every good work reprobate; who are addicted to the worst of crimes, as were the Sodomites and others; the Ethiopic version renders it, "who pollute themselves" with unnatural lusts. The Syriac and Arabic versions express it by two words, "sinners and polluted", filthy sinners; the character well agrees with Babylon, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, and to all that adhere to her, and join with her in her abominable idolatries. And murderers; of the saints, and prophets, and martyrs of Jesus, with whose blood Babylon, or the whore of Rome, has made herself drunk, and in whom it will be found. And whoremongers; all unclean persons, that indulge themselves in impure lusts, in fornication, adultery, and all lewdness; as the clergy of the church of Rome, who being forbidden to marry, and being under a vow of celibacy, and making great pretensions to chastity and singular holiness, give up themselves to all lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. And sorcerers; conjurers, dealers with familiar spirits, necromancers, and such as use the magic art, as many of the popes did to get into the chair, and poisoners of kings and princes; whoredoms and witchcrafts go together sometimes, as they did in Jezebel, an emblem of the Romish antichrist. And idolaters; that worship devils, idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, representing God, and Christ, and the virgin Mary, and saints departed, Rev 9:20. And all liars; in common, and particularly such who speak lies in hypocrisy, as the followers of the man of sin, and who are given up to believe a lie, that they might be damned; all lies being of the devil, and abominable to God. All and each of these shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. The Jews (a) speak of several distinct places in hell, for several sorts of sinners, as particularly for sabbath breakers, adulterers, and liars; and say of the wicked, that when he is condemned he shall take "his part" in hell (b); See Gill on Rev 19:20. which is the second death; See Gill on Rev 2:11. (a) Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Lev. fol. 7. 2. (b) T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 15. 1.

"But the fearful," says John-and then come the others-" will have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone." Thus fear, which, as stated in his epistle, love drives out, has punishment.

In short, this Apocalypse, in its later passages, has assigned "the infamous and fornicators," as well as "the cowardly, and unbelieving, and murderers, and sorcerers, and idolaters," who have been guilty of any such crime while professing the faith, to "the lake of fire," without any conditional condemnation.

Last of all, in the Revelation, He does not propose flight to the "fearful," but a miserable portion among the rest of the outcast, in the lake of brimstone and fire, which is the second death.

But as for the cowardly and unbelieving and these and those, there will be a portion in the lake of fire. He calls cowardly those who are weak in every good work through voluntary misery. And he says false to all liars. He did not say to the liars but to the false ones, that is, to those who act against nature and, having falsified the natural beauty of virtue, wear counterfeit faces of depravity. And that that fire will be the second death has been said among those who have reached it.

The God who thirsts after our salvation urges us in every way, both through kindness and through anger, toward the inheritance of his blessings. He brings now before our eyes the brightness of the heavenly Jerusalem and the dark, painful wrathfulness of the fiery Gehenna, so that whether through a desire for eternal bliss or through fear of unending torment, we might, as there is opportunity, acquire that which is good together with the rest of those in need. He indicates that those who were cowards and deserters in the battle against the devil will be condemned to the second death. May we propitiate him who desires mercy and does not will the death of sinners but their conversion, and so [let us] obtain his gifts by good deeds. To these [gifts] he exhorts us, not only through the enticement of words but also through the enticement of works and sufferings. For it suffices him to encourage toward the good and to discourage from evil, and afterward either to punish or to honor those worthy of glory or punishment. He did not disdain to suffer for us lest by his own power or by his appearance he might harm or disregard anything that pertains to our healing and restoration. Therefore, let us not receive the grace of God in vain, but let us render his beneficence effective by conversion and by the demonstration of good works, so that we might attain to the promised blessings in Christ himself, our God, with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, etc. He always mixes harsh warnings with soothing words to instill caution. Thus, Psalm 145, while abundantly declaring the grace of the Lord’s mercy, suddenly introduces His strict judgment, saying: The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy (Psalm 145). He joins the cowardly with the unbelieving because the one who fears to face the peril of struggle doubts the reward of victory.

And for all liars, their part will be in the lake burning with fire. He shows that there are many kinds of lies, but the most dangerous and detestable are those that sin against religion, as mentioned above. They say, he says, that they are Jews and are not, but lie, being a synagogue of Satan.

THERE FOLLOWS: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, etc. ANSWER: He always mixes pleasant words with severe ones to instill carefulness into us. As the Psalmist says, The Lord keepeth all them that love him; but all the wicked he will destroy. [Ps. 144:20] He puts the fearful together with the unbelieving because you are afraid to venture into the battle when you doubt the reward of the winner. THERE FOLLOWS: And all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning. ANSWER: He shows that there are many kinds of lies; but the most dangerous and most detestable one is the one with which you sin against religion, this being the kind of lie about which he said earlier, “They say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie, for they are the synagogue of Satan.” [Rev. 2:9 and 3:9]

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.

But the fearful - Δειλοις· Those who, for fear of losing life or their property, either refused to receive the Christian religion, though convinced of its truth and importance; or, having received it, in times of persecution fell away, not being willing to risk their lives. And unbelieving - Those who resist against full evidence. And sinners, και ἁμαρτωλοις, is added here by about thirty excellent MSS., and is found in the Syrian, Arabic, some of the Slavonic, and in Andreas and Arethas. On this evidence Griesbach has admitted it into the text. The abominable - Εβδελυγμενοις· Those who are polluted with unnatural lust. And murderers - Φονευσι· Those who take away the life of man for any cause but the murder of another, and those who hate a brother in their heart. And whoremongers - Πορνοις· Adulterers, fornicators, whores, prostitutes, and rakes of every description. Sorcerers - Φαρμακοις· Persons who, by drugs, philtres, fumigations, etc., pretend to produce supernatural effects, chiefly by spiritual agency. Idolaters - Ειδωλολατραις· Those who offer any kind of worship or religious reverence to any thing but God. All image worshippers are idolaters in every sense of the word. And all liars - Και πασι τοις ψευδεσι· Every one who speaks contrary to the truth when he knows the truth, and even he who speaks the truth with the intention to deceive; i.e., to persuade a person that a thing is different from what it really is, by telling only a part of the truth, or suppressing some circumstance which would have led the hearer to a different end to the true conclusion. All these shall have their portion, το μερος, their share, what belongs to them, their right, in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. This is the second death, from which there is no recovery.

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.

the fearful--Greek, "the cowardly," who do not quit themselves like men so as to "overcome" in the good fight; who have the spirit of slavish "fear," not love, towards God; and who through fear of man are not bold for God, or "draw back." Compare Rev 21:27; Rev 22:15. unbelieving--Greek, "faithless." abominable--who have drank of the harlot's "cup of abominations." sorcerers--one of the characteristics of Antichrist's time. all liars--Greek, "all the liars": or else "all who are liars"; compare Ti1 4:1-2, where similarly lying and dealings with spirits and demons, are joined together as features of "the latter times." second death-- Rev 20:14 : "everlasting destruction," Th2 1:9; Mar 9:44, Mar 9:46, Mar 9:48, "Where THEIR worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."