RSV ~ Revelation 21 Notes

Rev 21:1-22 | ISB Notes

The final vision of the book unveils the Bride of the Lamb, the heavenly city of Jerusalem, which awaits the saints. It depicts the state of glory in terms of a marital union (21:2), a holy city (21:10), a divine temple (21:22), and a garden of paradise (22:2).

Rev 21:1 | ISB Notes

new heaven . . .new earth: Not entirely new, but entirely renewed (21:5). John sees all creation transformed and made radiant with the glory of God. It is no longer a world subject to death and decay and suffering the damaging effects of human sin (Gen 3:17-18; Rom 8:20-22). The process of cosmic regeneration has begun in the New Covenant as believers are made part of the new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), but John is presented with heaven and earth once this process is complete (CCC 1042-48).

• The imagery comes from Isaiah, who prophesies a new beginning for Israel and the world in terms of a new creation (Is 65:17). He envisions this in connection with the universal worship of the Lord by all flesh (Is 66:22-23).

the sea was no more: The abode of death and evil will be drained away (13:1; 20:13; 21:4). In apocalyptic and poetic texts, the sea often represents chaos and the habitation of all things dreadful and demonic (Job 7:12; Ps 74:13; Is 27:1; Dan 7:3).

Rev 21:2 | ISB Notes

new Jerusalem: The heavenly city, whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:10). It touches down to earth so that the worshiping Church can join in the heavenly liturgy of the angels and saints, who never cease to praise the Lord and the Lamb (Heb 12:22-25). Visions of this eternal liturgy punctuate the Book of Revelation (4:1-5:14; 7:9-8:5; 11:15-19; 14:1-5; 15:1-8) (CCC 757). Also, there are several antithetical parallels between the new Jerusalem and the harlot city stricken with judgment in chaps. 17-18. (1) In 17:1, John is invited by an angel to “come” and see the harlot; in 21:9, he is invited by an angel to “come” and see the heavenly city. (2) In 17:3, John is carried by the Spirit to see the wicked city in the wilderness; in 21:10, he is carried by the Spirit to see the holy city from a high mountain. (3) In 17:4, the woman city is dressed like a prostitute, wearing gold, jewels, and pearls; in 21:11, 18, and 21, the woman city is adorned like a virgin bride, bedecked with gold, jewels, and gates made of pearl. (4) In 18:2, Babylon appears as a dwelling place of demons; in 21:3, the new Jerusalem appears as the dwelling place of God. (5) In 18:7, Babylon is accused of glorifying herself; in 21:23, the new city is wrapped in the glory of God. (6) In 18:23, the harlot city deceives the nations with her sorcery; in 21:24, the holy city leads the nations by her light.

prepared as a bride: The Church is made ready for her everlasting union with Christ the Bridegroom. See note on Rev 19:7-9.

Rev 21:3-4 | ISB Notes

The saints look forward to a joyous and painless existence with God.

• The hope that God will dwell with his people restates the promise of the New Covenant in Ezek 37:27. The wiping away of every tear and the elimination of death recall the vision of the messianic banquet in Is 25:8.

Rev 21:3 | ISB Notes

the dwelling: Or, “the Tabernacle” (15:5).

Rev 21:6 | ISB Notes

the Alpha … the Omega: God created all things in the beginning, and he calls them back to himself in the end. See note on Rev 1:8.

the water of life: The supernatural life of the Spirit (Jn 4:14; 7:37-39; 1 Cor 12:13). Note the contrast with Rev 21:8—here the saints are refreshed with living water; there the wicked are scorched with deadly fire (CCC 694).

Rev 21:7 | ISB Notes

he shall be my son: The words of 2 Sam 7:14.

• The promise of divine sonship was made to David’s royal heirs and is ultimately fulfilled in Christ as the Davidic Messiah (Rom 1:3-4; Heb 1:5). Believers become sons and daughters of God by grace (Rom 8:15-16), but the full blessing of divine sonship awaits the resurrection of the saints and the glorification of their bodies, an event that coincides with the renewal of the cosmos (Rom 8:21-23).

Rev 21:8 | ISB Notes

the second death: The spiritual death of the wicked (20:14). For similar lists of damning vices, see 1 Cor 6:9-10 and Gal 5:19-21.

Rev 21:9-22 | ISB Notes

A dazzling description of the heavenly Jerusalem.

• The vision draws from the architectural blueprint of the glorified Temple-city in Ezek 40-48. The city is seen from a high mountain (21:10; Ezek 40:2); it is filled with divine glory (21:11; Ezek 43:5); it has twelve gates named after the sons of Israel (21:12; Ezek 48:30-34); it is measured with a measuring rod (21:15; Ezek 40:3); its dimensions are foursquare (21:16; Ezek 42:15-19); it is the place of God’s throne (22:1; Ezek 43:7); and it is the source of life-giving water (22:1; Ezek 47:1-9), which causes the trees along its banks to bear fruit each month and put forth healing leaves (22:2; Ezek 47:12). Other visions of Jerusalem adorned with gold and every jewel (21:18-21) are found in Tob 13:16-17 and Is 54:1112, and as a city bathed in light with gates always open (21:23-25) in Is 60:1-3, 11.

Rev 21:14 | ISB Notes

the twelve apostles: The apostolic foundations laid by Christ (Mt 16:18; Eph 2:20). Inscribed with the names of the OT tribes and the NT apostles, heaven is the dwelling of all the righteous of covenant history.

Rev 21:16 | ISB Notes

length … breadth … height are equal: The eternal city is pictured as an enormous cube, each side measuring nearly 1,500 miles and its walls measuring over 200 feet thick.

• The city is modeled after the innermost room of the Temple, the Holy of Holies, which was an all-gold chamber with a cubic shape (1 Kings 6:20).

Rev 21:22 | ISB Notes

its temple is the Lord: The Trinity is the sanctuary of the heavenly city, which is encompassed by the Father (Lord) and the Son (Lamb) and filled with the glory of the Spirit (light). If the old Jerusalem was built around the Temple, the new Jerusalem stands within a Temple, and one that no longer has partitions or veils to prevent access. In theological terms, this means that communion with God in heaven will be unmedi-ated, exceeding in closeness and directness the access to God’s presence once enjoyed in the sanctuary of Israel.