Consequently there will be an increase in population such as never has been approached since the world was made, yet it afterwards appears, that Satan will not fail to turn the masses of the nations into one vast rebellion against the objects of God's special favour on the earth the saints wherever they may be, and the beloved city of Israel, as we have seen. This too must not be viewed as if it were a loss. That is, Babylon is viewed in this chapter not so much in her mysterious and religious form, giving currency to every kind of confusion of truth and error, of good and evil, intoxicating, corrupting, and seducing, as all can see, through her wickedly religious influence; but she is viewed here as the most conspicuous aider and abettor of the world in its luxuries and delights and the pride of life, of what men call "civilization." It is hard to see how Roman city, or anything civil connected with it, could be called "mystery." If that be so, John gives the signs of the Zodiac in precisely the reverse order! By the freeness of it--it is the free gift of God: He gives of the water of life freely; this will not make it less but more grateful to his people. "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come, gather yourselves together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat flesh of kings, and flesh of chiliarchs, and flesh of strong [men], and flesh of horses, and of those that sit on them, and flesh of all, both free and bond, both small and great." I believe the New Jerusalem will actually be an orbit around the new earth. of mourning shall be ended ( Isaiah 60:10-20). This is a promise for the future. Now we find the symbol of the bride brought before us, and the elders and the living creatures disappear. ", 2. Finally they will destroy her. It is called "the first resurrection." All God's greatness is at the disposal of man. Men are not regarded as composing this tabernacle; they co-exist. Here it would seem we have just what answers to that: this name none knew but He Himself. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. And in creating the atoms, and bringing into the heart of the atom, the protons tightly knit together in the nucleus of the atom, He violated the law of electricity, Collins Law, which speaks of the repelling force of positive charges. There is a repelling force of positive charges, tremendously powerful repelling force.The atom bomb illustrates to us the true nature of an atom. Hence the horns and the beast join together and desolate the harlot. Hence. Those who will not lay aside the evil of their ways are barred from the city of God. Now manifestly, if the Lord does not come before this, there is no world to come to; for the earth and heavens are fled. Tuesday, October 7, 2014 Revelation 21 1 Knit together with Heaven, nurtured and renewed, humanity and earth refreshed, connected, established in Way Foremost. Mark 4:40 Adj-NMPGRK: NAS: to them, Why are you afraid? They were caught in flagrant treason and rebellion: what further need of any process of judgment whatsoever? But far from that he has, on the contrary, persevered in the same evil course, as badly or worse than his father. The first foundation was a jasper; the second, a sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, 20 an emerald; the fifth, a sardonyx; the sixth, a carnelian; the seventh, a chrysolith; the eighth, a beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprase; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. For what is happening is the nucleus of an atom is bombarded with slow moving neutrons that upset the delicate balance of the protons in the heart of the atom and it releases them. The Presence Of God ( Revelation 21:22-23). Capnionis, which was used by Erasmus, and lately discovered after a long obscurity by Dr. Delitzsch, reads (not ) . And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it ( Revelation 21:22 ). It is only God and man now. faithful and the righteous may see the glory of the invisible God. It is Israel's task "to gather the righteous from among the Gentiles" (Testament of Naphtali 8:3, 4). WebRevelation 21:8 King James Version 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have The picture is always there and its elements are always the same. Reference-Verse. But the fearful - Having stated, in general terms, who they were who would be admitted into that blessed world, he now states explicitly who would not. This city is seen now as the holy vessel of divine power for governing the earth during the millennium, "having the glory of God: and her brightness was like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.". If only an imperial city, what has this to do with mystery? WebGod will wipe away every tear from their eyes: Every tear , for they be many; tears of bereaved affection, such as Mary, and Martha, and the widow of Nain wept; tears of sympathy and mercy, such as Jeremiah and Jesus wept over the sins and the calamities of Jerusalem; tears of persecuted innocence, tears of contrition and penitence for Babylon is the parent of the "abominations of the earth." Thus the divine testimony is not confined to the gospel or the church, but the prophetic Spirit which characterizes the Revelation as a whole, after the church is translated, is equally a testimony of Jesus. Web8 But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with . But in the time really contemplated here all this political shuffling will be over. WebThis like Revelation 21:1 might still be part of a prefatory announcement of what is narrated in detail Revelation 21:9 sqq. Again John is hearing the voice that the great prophets had heard, "I am the first, and I am the last; besides me there is no God" ( Isaiah 44:6). "And the nations shall walk in the light of it." "He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. There is no paradox in the message whatever. The Church shall be the metropolis of the world; it shall be honoured and esteemed among the nations of mankind. But that idea is wholly insufficient to cover or meet the word of God, which gives clear and strong reasons that prove the mistake of applying this to the pope as its complete fulfilment. Revelation 21:21 Greek Text Analysis - Bible Hub God in His providence did sanction the great empires of old; and the principle continues as long as the church is here below. The natural meaning of the word would rather be poisoners; and in fact in St Johns days the two generally went together, and no line could be drawn between them. Nor is there any real reason to wonder at their deriving help from partial light. God has not told us how, nor is it our business. Separate Line. Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein. It is very evident, therefore, that the saints in a glorified state are here represented as following the Lord out of heaven. Who were they? It was the destruction of the imperial unity of Rome that gave occasion for the well-known ten kingdoms which the barbarians set up afterwards. There may be lights of the heaven to mark times and seasons for the earth, and again on the earth. It is no longer a question of sustaining His saints in grace, but of sovereign power for judging the earth. Greek 3. And the beast was taken" (taken alive), "and with him the false prophet that wrought signs in his presence, with which he deceived those that received the mark of the beast, and those that worshipped his image." But the holy city was not only square; it was in the form of a perfect cube. The Egyptians saw it as the power which swallowed up the waters of the Nile and left the fields barren. There will be no time for seeking mercy, as it were: whatever the state in which the Lord at His coming will find us, all is closed up and fixed. Accordingly the rapture of the church with the Old Testament saints must have already taken place, all (as I have no doubt) being caught up at the self-same time to be with the Lord above. It was the same with the Jews. The promise of God to those who overcome is the same that was made to Abraham the founder of the nation, to David on behalf of Solomon his son, and to the Messiah himself. Accordingly, "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me." Reference-Verse. Isaiah speaks of the new heaven and the new earth which God will make, in which life will be one continual act of worship ( Isaiah 66:22). He came to the world, and avenged His people on the beast and the false prophet with the kings and their armies; and after that the risen saints reign with Him over it a thousand years. The city which God loved he made more radiant than the stars, and the sun and the moon; and he set it as the jewel of the, world and made a Temple exceeding fair in its sanctuary, and. And I heard as it were a voice of a great multitude, and as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of mighty thunders, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God the Almighty reigneth. Separate Line. But still we have not the end of Babylon yet. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Further, after this Jesus introduces Himself, as well as sends His angel. If there was any Gentile power since John's day, which did not sustain but persecute and suppress Jerusalem, it was Rome, instead of being a gaudy harlot mounted on that vast empire. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be to him God, and he shall be son to me. She followed and had inherited the spirit of all, from the days of Cain, who had lifted up their hands against their righteous brethren. The cowards are those who loved ease and comfort more than they loved Christ, and who in the day of trial were ashamed to show whose they were and whom they served. Then the book concludes after a solemn warning against either adding to or taking from its contents. The beloved city is Jerusalem; the camp of the saints, I presume, is a larger circle and embraces all of Israel and the Gentiles who, being converted, refuse Satan's deceit. Enduring Word The first heaven is passed away. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gates was one pearl [or one huge pearl at each gate]: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass ( Revelation 21:18-21 ). To them, as Plato said, "the unexamined life was the life not worth living," and so the unexamined faith was the faith not worth having. "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it" not into but unto. The glorified saints are to administer power in a way far beyond angels. Although there is such a levelling of human distinctions, and men have to do directly with God that is men raised from the dead or in their changed condition we still see the holy Jerusalem "the holy city, new Jerusalem," separate from the rest of those that fill the new heaven and earth. If so, they are there in the quality not of the bride, but of those invited to the marriage of the Lamb; but I do not think them the Apocalyptic saints for the simple reason that, as shown in the next chapter, the Apocalyptic saints are not raised from the dead yet. The north is the cold land with a certain chill in it. "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. WebRevelation 21:8-21 King James Version 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all "And he that spoke with me had a golden reed as a measure, that he might measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. "Surely I come quickly." In short, one may be described as corruption, and the other as violence. It was but an imperfect view they got even of justification; a far scantier perception, if they could be said to have had any, about Christ's Headship of the church, His priesthood, or almost anything else. Needless to say, you could all have a square mile and if we need more space what you do is just move your ceiling down to a half-mile and you double again the capacity. "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white, pure.". WebGreek Reverse Interlinear Layout for Revelation 8:1-13. This is what nations have been constantly occupied with, lest any one power should become the beast. But it really is. This is the second death. The altar of the burnt offering, the altar of the incense, and the High Priest's breast-plate were all in the form of a cube ( Exodus 27:1; Exodus 30:2; Exodus 28:16). And the building of the wall was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. A cubit is about eighteen inches, so the height of the wall is about two hundred feet or so. Then another and immensely important act is described the binding of Satan. Champion of humanity, Most High liberate to set free, vindicating to reconcile the inhabitants without delay, to answer, return and revive. Nothing of the sort can be plainer. But He "treadeth the winepress of the fury of the wrath of the Almighty God" another character of judgment never attributed to the saints, that I know of. , . Garland approaches the text from a literal perspective and also assesses the weaknesses of various non-literal interpretations. 2. b T. Bab. It is a description, not of Babylon's relation to the beast, but of the city's fall, with certain dirges put into the mouth of the different classes that groan because of her extinction here below. And then we come to a most cheering disclosure: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of those beheaded on account of the witness of Jesus, and on account of the word of God: and those who had not worshipped the beast, nor his image, and had not received his mark upon their forehead, and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." This is accordingly traced in our chapter with considerable detail, and with the sorrow and vexation of all the different classes who on the fall of Babylon groaned over her destruction, and the loss of their wealth and enjoyment. We find, accordingly, the four and twenty elders and four living creatures here brought before us for the last time. Synonymous with the second death, and the concept which Jesus called Gehenna (a Greek term which does not appear in Revelation). This misery will be their proper part and portion, what they have justly deserved, what they have in effect chosen, and what they have prepared themselves for by their sins. But, in point of fact, in giving the description of Babylon, the Holy Ghost enters even more into an account of her relations with the beast, the imperial power of which we saw not a little last night. John must have meant something by making the same angel the bearer of such different messages. It is the divine judgment of man eternal judgment. The gospel of John and the Revelation perfectly disclose both, whether in grace or in judgment. Web21:8 whoremongers. Man on the earth has his portion in the goodness of a God who is manifesting His kingdom. They could not burn at a stake for Christ, but they must burn in hell for sin. The principle is very clear. which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, came and talked with me, saying, Come over here, and I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. Line-By-Line Order: Verse-Reference. When John pictured the nations walking in the light of the city of God and the kings bringing their gifts to it, he was foretelling the consummation of a hope which was always in the hearts of the greatest of his countrymen. It is an equivalent power that holds them together. WebAnd the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. Pat Higgins To learn more, see: It is not into a wilderness the prophet is carried, but he is set on "a mountain great and high," and shown not the great, but. Verse Only. In 2Baruch it is said that God made the heavenly Jerusalem before he made Paradise, that Adam saw it before he sinned, that it was shown in a vision to Abraham, that Moses saw it on Mount Sinai, and that it is now present with God ( Bar_4:2-6 ). That is, the tabernacle of God is regarded as a separate object, no doubt associated with men, but not confounded with them. / / , . It is not the normal word which is pule ( G4439) ; it is pulon ( G4440) . Everything that could attract the natural man was there; and all that which to him looks fair enough on the side of religion. She will despise everything really divine; she will only use whatever of God's word she can pervert for increasing her own importance, and gaining a greater ascendancy over the consciences of men, and enjoying herself more luxuriously in this world; for she will go far to obliterate all remembrance of heaven, and to make this world a kind of paradise which she embellishes, not with pure and undefiled religion, but with the arts of men and the idolatries of the world. God is the beginning and the end. And there shall in nowise enter into it anything that defileth, nor making abomination and a lie: but only those written in the book of life of the Lamb." It is to be supposed that it will far exceed anything yet seen on the face of the earth. There was the sad register of undeniable sin on the one side; there was no writing of the name on the other side. This new and blessed state will be free from all trouble and sorrow; for, 1. Hence the effort of some to prop up a manifestly false reading. Thus the name of Christ, not merely as the root and the offspring of David, but as the bright morning star, calls out responsively the heart of the church, and this too under the guiding activity of the Holy Ghost. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:29-32; Galatians 5:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:2-5; cp. Why then is the book of life mentioned? H. B. Swete would find a hint in Php_2:15 . To make way for the commencement of this new world, the old world, with all its troubles and commotions, passed away. Reference-Verse. The writers between the Testaments had their dreams. The murderers may well be those who in persecutions slaughtered the Christians. God can take a man and re-create him, and will some day create a new universe for the saints whose lives he has renewed. The sins of those who perish, among which are first mentioned their cowardliness and unbelief. WebGreek Reverse Interlinear Layout for Revelation 8:6. Scripture and facts refute all such theories. Justly does she gather her title from the old fountain of idols and of combined power without God: confusion being here the characteristic element, the designation is taken from the renowned city of the Chaldeans, the first spot notorious in both respects. Satan will bring forth an empire suited to his purposes, as it springs from Satanic principles which deny God; and this is part of what appears to be meant by the beast ascending out of the bottomless pit. Originally in the wilderness the Tabernacle was a tent, the skene ( G4633) par excellence. There will be a new heaven and a new earth and the former will not be remembered or brought into mind. The question is, why is she thus designated? But we had gone astray from the path of the Eternal, and with, foolish heart worshipped the work of men's hands, idols and images. . John has seen the doom of the wicked, and now he sees the bliss of the blessed. All these things have their place in Babylon the great. Or does it mean that the radiance which played over all the city was like the glitter of a jasper? It is a precisely similar case here. There is at least the possibility that John was thinking of the city of God as the consummation of the old idea of the city of the Gods, but far outshining it. This is most important, because it might be (as it has been) forgotten by some who make the gospel and the corresponding presence of the Spirit to be the same at all times; as others have thought, because Revelation 4:1-11 and sequel treat of Jew and Gentile, and the state of the world under God's judgments, that this cannot be a testimony of Jesus at all. The one therefore throws much light upon the other. There is a certain difficulty of translation here. Revelation 21:8 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary Come, let us all fall upon the earth and supplicate the Eternal King, the. And the gates of Jerusalem shall utter hymns of gladness. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away." "And when the thousand years are completed, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to war." "And the angel said unto him, Wherefore didst thou wonder? the first earth and the first heaven passed away; no more sea ( Revelation 21:1 ). "I will make him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth" ( Psalms 89:27). What, then, is the symbolism? But in this is shown what it is of importance to see the true nature of the kingdom or millennial reign. It takes an equivalent power to hold the nucleus of an atom together that is released when the nucleus is unbalanced.Now, God who holds together the universe by the word of His power, and we are told this in the scripture; He created it by the word of His power and by Him all things are held together. And unquestionably God has been awakening the attention of His people in a remarkable manner to the value of His word, and not least of all to the portion we are now examining. I think that God is doing that to show us that the value system is totally different in heaven as it is here. 11 Its light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, glittering like crystal.