REVELATION 21: 18 - 27 PART 3 of 3

REVELATION 21: 18 - 27

PART 3 of 3

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 18) And the building of the wall of it was of jasper:  and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

   19) And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.  The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

   20) The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

   21) And the twelve gates were twelve pearls:  every several gate was of one pearl:  and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

   22) And I saw no temple therein:  for the Lord God Almighty and The Lamb are the temple of it.

   23)  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it:  for the glory of God did lighten it, and The Lamb is the light thereof.

  24) And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:  and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

   25) And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day:  for there shall be no night there.

   26) And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

   27) And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie:  but they which are written in The Lamb's  Book of Life.   King James Version (KJV) Public Domain

COMMENTARY

   Verse 18:  The wall is jasper.  This jasper stone was well known in the ancient world but is unidentified in the modern world.  Reading of extrabiblical references suggest that the jasper stone  is a fine translucent stone, capable of different colors, primarily radiant white, but also with flashing fiery red and purple tints.  You can bet it is more beautiful than we humans can describe.  And the city:  the streets and buildings are made of pure, flawless gold.

   The next verses describe the colors and materials of the foundations.

   Verse 21:  Let's examine the gates.  Are you familiar with how a pearl is formed?  The commentary by John Phillips points out that all the building materials used for the streets, walls, foundations of New Jerusalem were gems or metals.  But not the gates.  The pearl is made by a living creature who has an injury or an irritant introduced and forms a pearl around it to isolate the injury.  The pearl  continues to grow as long as the irritant is in the body of the oyster.  The super size of these pearly gates speak of the suffering of Jesus, Who is The Door, The Way.  Thus, the gates, which are always open, stand as an eternal witness of the sacrifice of Jesus.

   Verse 22:  Before Christ, the temple was a prophecy; during the Dispensation of Grace, the Saints were the temple, where God lives in our hearts; during the Millennial Age, it is a memorial.  In New Jerusalem, God lives among us, both by virtue of creation and by right of redemption.

   Verse 23:  Reference Isaiah 60: 19 - 23 here.  God will illuminate the world.  There will be no need for a sun or a moon.

   Verse 24:  The commentaries want to talk about the "kings of the earth" here and speculate who these people are.  I will not expound on this, as they are of no consequence to me.

   Verse 25:  Again, we understand that the gates are never closed; they are entrances, not barriers.  The night is also symbolic of sin.

   Verse 26:  All that we have and all that we are belong to the God Who created us.   All of us will understand this and glorify God for it; we will bring all the glory and honor into the New Jerusalem constantly and lay it all at the feet of our God, Who deserves it all.

   Verse 27:  There is no conceivable possibility that the wholesomeness of the city will ever be defiled by the entry of an unclean thought or impure motive.  We will have long since been conformed to the image of Jesus and have purified ourselves, even as He is pure.  There is no way we will ever sin again in any way!  Hallelujah!


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