Sunday School Notes: Revelation 21:9-14

⁹ And one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls that are filled with the seven final plagues came and spoke with me saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And he led me up in the spirit onto a large and high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, from God, ¹¹ having the glory of God. And its brilliance [was] as a most precious stone, like a jasper stone–crystal bright; ¹² having a large and high wall, having twelve gates and on the gates, twelve angels, and inscribed names which are [the names] of the twelve tribes, [the] sons of Israel: ¹³ three gates from [the] east, and three gates from the north, and three gates from the south, and three gates from [the] west. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations and upon them twelve names: the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The backdrop to this passage, and to the rest of this chapter on into chapter 22, is Ezekiel 40-48. Again, this isn’t John borrowing material from Ezekiel. This is John recording a vision he received from the Lord that shows him the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophetic vision. That which was foreshadowed in Ezekiel is coming to pass in Revelation.

John is presented with this vision by one of the seven angels who carried the bowls of God’s wrath. As noted in the text, the plagues in those bowls were the last to be inflicted upon the world. This angel now shows John “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Prior to this, one of those bowl-carrying angels had led John in the spirit to see the judgment of the Great Prostitute (17:1). This strongly implies a connection between these two passages. The angel is contrasting the judgment of the Prostitute and the glory of the Bride. We’ve already noted more than once the poignant use of “prostitute” versus “bride” to describe the difference between the relationship the Beast has with its followers, and the relationship between Christ and his church. The followers of the Beast are like a prostitute to be used and then discarded, whereas Christ loves his church to the point of laying down his life for her.

The description of the church as “the wife of the Lamb” (tēn gunaika tou arniou) might recall to mind the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in 19:6-10, where the Bride of the Lamb is described as being adorned with fine linen, bright and pure, which represents the righteous deeds of the saints. Recall also 3:12-13, where Jesus writes to the church in Philadelphia how those who overcome will bear the name of God and the name of God’s city, the new Jerusalem which comes down from God out of heaven, and the name of Jesus. As we read both these descriptions, the Bride and the new Jerusalem, we need to remember that these are describing God’s people, the church. If you are in Christ, that means you! This is the fulfillment of what Christ promised us. This is our hope in the face of adversity. This is how Jesus sees us.

This chapter began with John declaring that he saw the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven prepared as a bride for her husband. It seems this may have been an introductory statement or a teaser to the following verses. The angel has shown John the Bride of the Lamb, and he now takes John in the spirit to a large and high mountain where he sees Jerusalem coming down from God. We’ve seen the phrase “in the spirit” a few times before. In 1:10, John was “in the spirit” on the Lord’s Day when these series of visions that make up Revelation began. In 4:2, John is ushered into the heavenly throne room “in the spirit.” And in 17:7, John is carried “in the spirit” to witness the judgment of the Great Prostitute.

As we’ve noted before, this phrase does not mean John dreamed these things like Joseph or Pharaoh’s dreams. These visions are real visions, they are not delusions or creations of his imagination. The phrase seems to indicate that John is being given a supernatural picture of a reality that is not the reality in which he resides physically. But that supernatural reality is, nonetheless, a reality presented to him in symbols and vivid pictures that help him comprehend the truths God is communicating to him. In other words, these visions are happening to John on Earth in real-time, but they are visions, that is, they resemble a supernatural reality and point John (and us) to greater spiritual truths or realities.

The significance of John being taken to a mountain to see the new Jerusalem coming down is most likely the connection to Ezekiel 40:2, where Ezekiel received his visions after the Lord set him down “on a very high mountain.” If it wasn’t enough to say that the holy city came down from heaven, he adds, “from God.” This emphasizes that the city is God’s and represents God’s people. They are not the Beast’s people, nor are they the Prostitute’s people.

John goes on to say that this holy city has “the glory of God.” As we will see, however, this is not a glory that comes naturally to the holy city. Rather, it’s reflected glory. The church did not earn this glory, nor does she create this glory out of her own nature. The church simply shines the glory that she receives from God. It may be hard for us to grasp this given the state of the church at the present time. If the church in its current state is reflecting the glory of God, that glory is dimmed by our sin and unfaithfulness. However, we need to remember that this is a vision of the church in her final state when sin is no more. And yet, it’s also a vision of how God sees his church right now, through timeless eyes that looks at us through the righteousness of Christ. In the Old Testament, the temple was the dwelling place of God, where God’s glory resided. In Revelation, the temple is symbolic of the people of God, so the glory of God resides with His people. Certainly, His glory is veiled at the moment by our sin, but one day that veil will be removed. This picture of the glory of God in the midst of His people is a fulfillment of Ezekiel 43:1-5, where the glory of God comes and fills the temple.

As we’re reading these descriptions of the eternal state, don’t miss how much this is all about God, not us. So often when we discuss heaven and the “after-life,” we tend to focus on questions like “what will we be like?” and “what will we do?” These are not unreasonable questions, but they perhaps show how we can miss the point this side of glory. As far as Scripture is concerned, our sanctified, glorified condition says less about us than it does about the Lord. In fact, this is all about God, not us.

John then describes the “brilliance” or the “radiance” of the city as like a very precious stone, jasper, which he describes as crystal bright. The verb used here can mean crystal clear, but I think the context emphasizes more the brightness of the jewel than its transparency. The word translated as “brilliance” or “radiance” is the Greek word phōstēr. This word is related to the word phōs meaning “light,” hence the idea of brightness. This word is used in the LXX (Greek translation of the Old Testament) rendering of Genesis 1:14, describing the luminescences that would rule the day and night. That’s not to say there’s a connection between Revelation 21:11 and Genesis 1:14, but rather to show how the word is used elsewhere. The LXX translation of Daniel 12:3 also uses it to describe the “wise” who will “shine like the brightness of the expanse above.” Similarly, Paul uses the word in Philippians 2:15 when referring to believers who shine as “lights” in the world.

Jasper (Greek: Iaspis) is a green, translucent type of quartz, a precious gem that easily reflects light, possibly amplifying the light’s brightness. Jasper was one of the twelves stones we’re told was in Aaron’s priestly breastpiece (Exodus 39:13). Also of significance is the fact that the One seated on the throne in Revelation 3:4 is described as having an appearance of jasper and carnelion (another gem we’ll see referred to later). Why is it mentioned here? Probably because:

1. It’s a precious stone. Associating the new Jerusalem (i.e., the church) with something rare and precious speaks to the importance of God’s people in His eyes.
2. It’s bright. But its brightness is doesn’t come from itself as a source of light, but it reflects the light from a source outside of itself. Even in our sin-stained state, we can reflect God’s glory, albeit dimly. In our glorified state, however, without the stain of sin, we will perfectly reflect God’s glory to the point that we are dazzlingly bright.
3. It has priestly associations. As God’s people, we are priests who can come before Him and offer ourselves as living sacrifices, laying down our lives in service to Him.
4. It has divine associations. The Lord is said to have a bright appearance like jasper. All of God’s creation reflects His glory in some way, and as new creations in Christ, we reflect that glory all the more.

Verses 12 and 13 describe the walls surrounding the new Jerusalem in a way similar to Ezekiel 40:5ff. Ezekiel doesn’t mention the height of the walls, but he does give measurements. John simply says it is a “great height.” Both the measuring (see chapter 11) and the height point to the new Jerusalem as being a place of safety that is protected by God. Nothing unclean can get in (see 21:27). In Ezekiel’s vision, there are a number of gates in the wall, notably 12 “outlet” or “exit” gates (48:30-34). In John’s fulfillment vision, these are summed up in 12 gates that are grouped into 4 sets of 3, one set for each side of the wall. Ezekiel assigns one of the twelve tribes of Israel to each gate. John says that each gate has the name of a son of Israel without assigning specific names.

The 12 angels John speaks of at each gate are not part of Ezekiel’s vision. If you recall, the letters to the 7 churches in chapters 2 and 3 are addressed to the 7 angels of the churches, one for each church (1:20). The number 12 can represent the Old Testament or New Testament people of God, and while “sons of Israel” could be taken to mean the OT people, it could refer by analogy to God’s NT people. Exactly who these 12 represent becomes clear in the next verse.

As well as 12 gates, John says that the walls of the city have 12 foundations, each foundation bearing the name of one of the 12 apostles. This confirms that the 12 names on the gates are of the Old Testament people of God, the actual tribes of Israel, since the 12 names on the foundations are of Jesus’s apostles, representing the New Testament people of God. It also confirms our understanding of the symbolism behind the numbers 12, 24, and 144. The number 12 represents the people of God, 12 + 12 (or 12 x 12) represents both the Old and New Testament people of God, since the new Jerusalem contains the names of both. This also means that the church is, indeed, the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise that God’s people would encompass many nations, not just one. As we’ve said before, the church is not a replacement for Israel but the fulfillment of Israel containing both Jew and Gentile.

There is a little twist in the picture here, though. Notice that the apostles form the foundation of the city, while the tribes are on the gates that sit upon that foundation. Yet Ephesians 2:20 tells us that the church is built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles with Christ as the chief cornerstone. I think the difference between what Paul describes in Ephesians and what John sees in Revelation is one of perspective. Paul is looking at the church historically, built upon the work of God in both the Old Testament prophets and Christ’s apostles. The faith and proclamation of the church isn’t based on a myth or something made up recently. There are centuries of God’s work forming His people, delivering promises, and fulfilling those promises that result in the preaching of the church today. Spiritually, however, the proclamation of the prophets and the faith of the Old Testament saints rests upon the foundation of God’s promise to send His Messiah, and fill the earth with His glory, which He is now doing through His church.