Sunday School Notes: Revelation 21:22-27

²² And I did not see a temple in her [i.e., the city], for the Lord God Almighty is her temple, and the Lamb. ²³ And the city had no need of the sun nor the moon such that they should give light to her, for the glory of the Lord shines on her [or gives her light] and her lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ And the nations will walk by means of the light, and the kings of the earth will carry their glory into her, ²⁵ and her gates will not be closed during the day, for there is no night there, ²⁶ and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations to her. ²⁷ And every profane person and those who do something detestable, and [those who] lie will never enter in except those who have been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.

Where’s the Temple?

A major difference between Ezekiel 40-43 and Revelation 21 is the fact that Ezekiel speaks of the temple and describes the adornment of the temple, whereas the focus of Revelation 21 is the new Jerusalem. In this chapter, we’ve been talking about the holy city. Not a word has been said about the temple. This is odd since the temple was the center of Jewish worship and the centerpiece of Jerusalem. Every Passover, Jews from many nations would descend upon Jerusalem to worship and celebrate in the temple. So where is it in Revelation 21?

Verse 22 answers this question: There is no temple because God Almighty Himself is her temple. That which the temple represented, God’s presence with His people, has become a reality. God is fully with His people without any intermediary signs or representations. This is actually a fulfillment of an important though, perhaps, often forgotten prophecy in Jeremiah 3. We’ll come to that in a moment, but first, remember the significance of the temple to the Jewish people. It was a permanent version of the tabernacle which Israel carried with them in the wilderness. Exodus 25:8 spells out what it represented: “Let them make me [the Lord] a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” God wanted His people to have a visual, tangible object that would signify His presence with them. This would remind them that they are His people and He is in their midst, moving and working among them. So the tabernacle, and later the temple, was of the highest importance to Jews, and its destruction in A.D. 70 was devastating to them.

Jeremiah 3:16-18 foretells a time when God’s people will be gathered, both Israel and Judah, and the nations. At this time, no one will think about the ark of the covenant because Jerusalem will be the throne of God. The presence of the Lord will be in Jerusalem, literally and actually. Recall that the ark of the covenant was the box containing the Ten Commandments, manna from the wilderness, and Aaron’s staff. It was carried on poles through the wilderness, and it also represented God’s presence. In both the tabernacle and the temple, the ark of the covenant resided in the Holy of Holies, the central part of the structure only the High Priest could enter on special occasions. Jeremiah is saying a day is coming when this most sacred and significant item will no longer be a thought in people’s minds.

It was probably hard for Jews in Jeremiah’s day to conceive of such a time. How could the ark, the Holy of Holies, the temple not be of central concern to God’s people? How could God truly be in their midst without this representation of that fact? Yet Jeremiah foresaw it, and Revelation 21 describes the fulfillment of that prophecy in Christ and the new Jerusalem, where the Lord dwells with His people forever.

One day, we will all be gathered as the people of God from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, clothed in righteousness around God’s throne. When that day comes, God’s presence will not be by means of a symbol but will be real and tangible. We won’t need to see the ark or the temple to know God is with us. We will know His presence more completely and assuredly than we did when those reminders were around.

Please note that our hope is not in the restoration of a physical temple. We look forward to the day when God is our temple. Also, note the affirmation of Jesus’s deity at the end of verse 22 by including “the Lamb” along with God.

Where are the Sun and Moon?

Not only is there no temple, but verse 23 says there is no sun or moon. The new Jerusalem doesn’t need either the sun or moon to give light because the Lord Himself gives light to His people. This could be a reference back to Genesis 1:1 where God creates light (day one) before creating the sun and the moon (day four). (This, by the way, is how God could create plants that grow on day three when there was no sun–they had the light from day one.) Probably more significant than that is the fulfillment of Isaiah 60, particularly 60:19-20. Describing Israel’s future glory, the prophet says:

The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Such is the brightness of God’s glory that there’s no need for any other light source.

John describes Jesus, the Lamb, as being the city’s lamp. Recall that in Revelation, the lampstand is used to symbolize Christ’s presence, particularly within a church. In Revelation 2:5, Jesus threatens the church in Ephesus that if they don’t repent and return to their “first love,” he will remove their lampstand. Jesus refers to himself as the one who walks among the seven lampstands in 2:1, forming an association between Jesus and those lampstands. When Jesus speaks of removing a lampstand from a church, he’s talking about removing his presence from that congregation, making them, effectively, no longer a legitimate church.

In 21:23, the presence of the Lamb as Jerusalem’s lamp further emphasizes the permanent presence of God with His people. Not only is the glory of the Lord their light, but Jesus is their ever-present lamp. He is always in their midst, affirming their status as his own.

The Coming of the Nations

Verses 24 and 25 describe the way this light of the Lord will draw all nations, including the kings of the earth. Again, this recalls Isaiah 60, this time verses 3 and 4, where the prophet speaks of the nations coming to Jerusalem, with verses 6-7 giving an indication of the variety of people who will come. The point is that gentile nations will come to Jerusalem, drawn by the light of the Lord, bringing their riches. Jerusalem doesn’t need their riches, but the offering of wealth is symbolic of giving glory to the Lord, similar to the way the Magi brought gifts to Jesus in the manger. Jesus didn’t need these gifts, but they were symbols of the honor and glory being given to him.

These nations come bringing not only riches but the praises of God (60:6). Some suggest this supports universalism–the idea that everyone will be saved, even those in the lake of fire who, having learned their lesson, will repent and turn to Christ. All people in all nations will eventually turn to Jesus and enter those perpetually open gates. Even after they’ve been judged and condemned.

There are a number of problems with this view, and we discussed a couple. First, Isaiah 60:6 plainly says that these people bring the praises of God. That doesn’t sound like the God-hating revilers whose names are not in the Book of Life and who are cast into the lake in Revelation 20. These appear to have been heaven-dwellers all along. Also, Revelation 21:24 says that the nations and kings will walk by the light of Christ, symbolism that implies they are followers of Jesus, not of the Beast. And lastly, Revelation 21:27 puts to rest any idea that the new Jerusalem will be overrun by everyone who has ever lived. We’ll get to that in a moment.

Open Gates

The fact those gates are perpetually open is also suggestive, some say, of universalism. That is, the gates of heaven are always open as a constant invitation to unbelievers to enter. We discussed a couple of problems with this interpretation. First, every indication is that the number of people in the new Jerusalem is finite. Your name has to be in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we’ve been told more than once that not everyone’s name is there. Also, the measuring of the city suggests that it’s not intended to have elastic walls that can accommodate a constant influx of people. While the city and the walls are symbolic, the fact that a city and walls are used as symbols indicates there are parameters and limitations. Second, these open gates are a fulfillment of Isaiah 60:11. In the very next verse, Isaiah tells us that the nations that don’t worship the Lord will perish. Clearly, not everyone gets in.

If the open gates don’t symbolize universalism, what do they mean? The physical city of Jerusalem had city gates that were closed at night to protect the inhabitants. Within the city, the temple also had gates and courtyards that separated different types of worshipers–gentiles, priests, women–until you reached the Holy of Holies access to which was restricted to the High Priest at certain times. Perpetually open gates, therefore, indicate that there are no hostile forces to be afraid of; the Lord’s protection is sufficient. They also symbolize access. People from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation have access to the new Jerusalem. Since the holy city is also the temple, these open gates are like the torn curtain of the Holy of Holies when Jesus yielded his spirit on the cross (Matthew 27:50-51).

Picking up the idea that the open gates show there’s no need to fear hostility, John adds that there is no night in the new Jerusalem. Since city gates would normally be closed at night, the absence of night means they can stay open. But I think there’s something deeper going on given the way John uses “night” in his Gospel as a metaphor for sin and the presence of evil:

• John 3:2: John says Nicodemus came to Jesus “by night.” This is probably literally true, but “night” here is also figurative of Nicodemus’s spiritual condition at that time. He was an unbeliever, a teacher of Israel unable to grasp what it means to be spiritually born from above. This encounter may have been a turning point in his life, but at that moment, his soul was in the dark.
• John 13:30: Judas takes a morsel of bread and leaves to betray Jesus. John then says, “And it was night.” In context, it seems a bit of an abstract statement. But John isn’t simply giving us a time check. Yes, it was nighttime, but it was also the moment Satan entered Judas. It was the start of the series of events that would lead to Jesus’s crucifixion. The hours that followed were the darkest and most difficult of Jesus’s incarnate life.

In the new Jerusalem, the absence of night means there is no sin in the city. God’s people constantly walk by light, in the day, with the light of the Lord as our guide and Christ’s constant presence in our midst.

All earthly honor and glory are cast before the throne of God as the nations enter the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem doesn’t need the glory and honor of the nations, but they are given in recognition that they are worthless compared to the glory and honor of the Lord. This giving up of earthly prestige in the light of God’s presence again shows that these are believing nations that enter the city.

Hope and Warning

Verse 27 reminds us that the profane, the liars, and those who do detestable things are not welcome in the city. You might wonder why this would even be a concern since all these people whose names are not in the Book of Life have already been thrown into the lake of fire. Remember, these things are written for the benefit of John’s audience and for us who are still living with sin, surrounded by sin, and perhaps enduring persecutions of some kind because of the gospel. This reminder is, therefore, an affirmation that the things we see and experience now–godless men, those who defile themselves by claiming Christ and then denying him, idolators, persecutors, liars–will not be part of the new Jerusalem. What John presents to us in these verses is our future reality. This is what we have to look forward to. John is, again, giving us a vision of hope.

On the flip side, verse 27 is a warning to those in John’s, and our, audience who are not believers. They cannot assume they will be welcomed into the eternal, glorified state unless they repent and truly put their faith in Christ. If their names are not in the Lamb’s Book of Life, their future is not the new Jerusalem, rather it’s the lake of fire. It’s also important to note that it’s the Lamb’s Book of Life. Not Buddha’s or Mohammad’s or Krishna’s or anyone else’s. If you want to be a part of this holy city, you must belong to Jesus. Your name must be in his book, and his alone.