Notes On The Apocalypse by David Steele

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CHAPTER XXI.

1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out
of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they
shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God.

4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5. And he that sat upon the throne, said, Behold, I make all things new.
And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end: I will give unto him that is athirst, of the fountain of
the water of life freely.

7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things: and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son.

Vs. 1-7.--It is unquestionable that the phrase "new heavens and a new
earth" is to be understood sometimes as descriptive of moral renovation
in the world. As the moral change affected by grace in the character of
an individual sinner is called a new creation, and is in truth no less,
so in respect to a community. The analogy in this case is the same as
between a revolution and an earthquake. Thus, we must understand Is.
lxv. 17, lxvi. 22, of that great moral change which will characterize
the millennium. But the "new heaven and the new earth" are here
contrasted with the "first heaven and the first earth which were passed
away," (ch. xx. 11.) The apostle Peter describes the very same grand and
glorious change. Mingling the important facts of authentic history with
the future facts of prophecy, he tells us that the "heavens and the
earth which are now, ... are reserved unto fire."--He speaks obviously
of the visible heavens and earth. These "heavens shall pass away ... and
"the earth also, ... shall be burnt up." He adds,--"We look for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. iii.
7, 13.)--"There was no more sea," no more disorderly passions,
animosities, arising from human depravity, to interrupt the delightful
harmony and fellowship of saints in glory. It is estimated that about
two thirds of this world are occupied by water. In that happy place
occupied by the people of God, there is no sea; consequently, "yet there
is room," many mansions, room enough for all the redeemed. "The holy
city," compared to a "bride," two very incongruous emblems, shows the
poverty of symbols, their inadequacy to represent the church triumphant:
how then shall created objects furnish suitable emblems of the glorious
and glorified Bridegroom? In vision the city seemed to the apostle as if
suspended in the air on the same plane with himself; for now he stood
neither on "the sand of the sea," (ch. xiii. 1,) for "there was no more
sea," nor upon the earth, for it was "passed away." No intervening
object could obstruct his view.--He heard a voice from heaven, saying,
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
them," as his reconciled and beloved people. As a tender Father, he will
"wipe away all tears from their eyes." "There shall be no more death,"
either of themselves or their beloved friends, to open the fountain of
tears any more for ever. But death is the last enemy to be destroyed; (1
Cor. xv. 26;) how then can these words apply to any state short of
immortality in heaven? "Neither sorrow nor crying,"--for sin or
suffering; "neither shall there be any more pain," causing tears or
cries: and what is this but heaven? Yes, "the former things are passed
away." Now "he that hath the bride is the bridegroom," and she shall
never be false to her marriage covenant any more.--"He that sat on the
throne," denotes the Father most frequently in this book, as he is
distinguished from the Son; but the Son "is set down with his Father in
his throne," (ch. iii. 21;) and the Son is to be viewed as the person on
the throne here, as the following words, compared with the twentieth
chapter, verse eleventh, make evident.--He it is who "makes all things
new." He left his disciples as to his bodily presence, and went to
"prepare a place for them," (John xiv. 2;) and now he has come again and
received them to himself, in fulfilment of his promise. Having sent the
Holy Spirit to create them anew and to carry on to completion their
sanctification, he now sees of the travail of his soul, the Father has
given him his heart's desire, and hath not withholden the request of his
lips. Now, all his ransomed ones are with him, in answer to his prayer,
and also their own prayers, that they may behold his glory which the
Father gave him. (Ps. xxi. 2; John xvii. 24; Phil. i. 23.)--The Lord
Christ said to John,--"Write; for these words are true and faithful."
And what has sustained the spirits, animated the hopes, and filled with
exulting joy, the confessors, witnesses and martyrs of Jesus, but
faith's realizing views of the King in his beauty, and the glories of
Immanuel's land? For this peculiarity the disciples of Christ have been
as speckled birds, men wondered at, in all generations.--"It is done,"
so he said at the pouring out of the seventh vial, (ch. xvi. 17;) when
the final stroke was given to the antichristian enemies: but now these
words import the completion of the whole counsel of the will of God, as
carried into effect by the Captain of salvation, in bringing the beloved
and adopted sons and daughters of the Father home to glory. (Heb. ii.
10.) He who is the "Alpha and Omega," is the "author and finisher of
their faith."--Although the Lord Jesus has made of sinners "new
creatures," prepared them as "vessels of mercy unto glory," and
introduced them into heaven, they are _creatures_ still, and necessarily
dependent. They thirst for refreshment suited to their holy nature; and
accordingly he gives of the "_fountain_ of the water of life freely,"
for the _streams_ of which they thirsted, "as the heart panteth for the
water brooks," while they sojourned in a dry and parched land, far from
their Father's house. Man's sin consisted in forsaking this "Fountain of
living waters," and his recovery and felicity must arise from his
returning from his own "broken cisterns" to the original spring.--The
water of life was purchased at infinite cost by Christ; but he offers it
to the thirsty without price, (Is. lxv. 1, 2.)--Those who are refreshed
by the streams of the water of life, have many enemies to encounter in
their militant state, but all who overcome are encouraged in their
warfare by the animating promise, that they shall "inherit all things."
(1 Cor. iii. 21.)--"He shall be my son," and "if a son, then an heir of
God, and joint heir with Christ."

8. But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers,
and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which
is the second death.

V. 8.--"But the fearful," who dread suffering or reproach for the cause
of Christ,--not the self-diffident who loves his Captain, but the coward
or deserter, who "turns back in the day of battle," who fears the enemy
more than his Captain:--"and unbelieving," not the misbelieving, as
Thomas; nor the _weak_ in faith, but such as have _no_
faith,--_infidels_;--"the abominable," defiling the flesh as
Sodomites:--"murderers," suicides, duelists, assassins, burglars, etc.,
"whoremongers," adulterers, fornicators:--"sorcerers," necromancers,
spiritualists, who are the devil's prophets, pretending to new
revelations, "and all liars," perjured persons, deceivers, hypocrites,
false teachers, who handle the word of the Lord deceitfully, for filthy
lucre's sake,--all such shall have their part in the lake, with the
devil, the beast, and the false prophet. (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10; Gal. v.
19-21; Eph. v. 5, 6; 2 Cor. xi. 13.)

9. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come
hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

10. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God,

11. Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most
precious, even like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal;

12. And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the
gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of
the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

13. On the east, three gates; on the north, three gates; on the south,
three gates; and on the west, three gates.

14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Vs. 9-14.--This "angel" is probably the same who had shown John the
mystic Babylon and her destruction, (ch. xvii. 1;) and who now proposes
to show him the "bride of the Lamb" by way of contrast.--Under the
influence of the Spirit, who has access to the soul without the use of
the bodily organs, (2 Cor. xii. 2,)--John was "carried to a great and
high mountain," where the prospect might be sufficiently enlarged. When
the angel proposed to show him the "scarlet whore," he "carried him into
the wilderness," intimating that such is the _only position_ in which
the "mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her," can be
clearly seen or perfectly understood. (2 Pet. i. 9.) Great indeed is the
contrast. Both objects are complex, and the combination of symbols,
wholly incongruous in nature, admonishes the sober interpreter to beware
of indulging his vain fancy by attempting to trace analogies in detail,
where none are intended by the Holy Spirit. The true church of Christ is
compared to a virtuous and fruitful woman, (ch. xii. 5;) and the
apostate church is symbolized by a fruitful but profligate woman, (ch.
xvii. 5.) Then both are also represented by two cities, which are
equally contrasted. As the women differ in their outward adornment,
(chs. xix. 8, xvii. 4,) so do the cities in the quality of population,
commerce and employment, (ch. xviii. 4; xxii. 14.)--The nuptials being
consummated between the Lamb and his bride, and she being now "made
perfect in holiness;" under the emblem of a city, she is illuminated
with "the glory of God," made "comely through his comeliness put upon
her," rendered beautiful and illustrious beyond conception or
expression: for the happiness of heaven results from conformity to the
God-man, communion with him and communications from him. (1 John iii.
2.)--"Her light" resembled the "jasper, clear as crystal." The knowledge
of saints in heaven will be intuitive: they will no longer "see through
a glass darkly," by word and sacraments; nor shall the glorious
Bridegroom show himself as formerly "through the lattice;" (Song ii. 9;)
but they "shall see him as he is." (1 John iii. 2.)--"A wall great and
high" denotes the security of this city, which can never be scaled by an
enemy. The "twelve gates" are to admit the twelve tribes of God's
spiritual Israel,--the sealed ones, (ch. vii. 5-8;) who "shall come from
the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and
shall sit down in the kingdom of God." (Luke xiii. 29.)--At the gates
were "twelve angels," as guards and porters. The "foundations" of the
wall, named after the "twelve apostles," denote that all who enter the
city, gained admission by "belief of the truth" as taught by the
apostles,--had "continued steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship," in the face of reproach, persecution and apostacy. They
were "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,"--Old and
New Testament believers saved by the blood of the Lamb: for the twelve
tribes, multiplied by the twelve apostles, make a hundred and
forty-four; and these again, multiplied by a thousand, make the whole
number who appeared with the Lamb on Mount Zion, (ch. xiv. 1;) _the
public witnesses_ of Christ, in the _church militant_ during the great
apostacy.

15. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16. And the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the
breadth. Ami he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand
furlongs: the length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal.

17. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four
cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Vs. 15-17.--The apostle borrows the symbols and language of preceding
prophets, especially those of Ezek. (xl. 3,) and Zech. (ii. 1.) The
"furlongs" measured by the "reed," indicate a city of vast dimensions;
and being "four square," each side would be about fifteen hundred miles!
And as the "length and breadth and height of it are equal," we are
hereby taught that no gross conceptions are to be formed in our
imaginations, since a city fifteen hundred miles high, is utterly
inconceivable. The instruction intended to be conveyed to us by the vast
dimensions, and precious materials of this city may be, the
incomprehensible nature and transcendent glory of heaven. (1 Cor. ii.
9.) A cubit, as the word signifies, "is the measure of a man" from his
elbow to the end of his middle finger. The measure of the wall, in
height or breadth, was a hundred and forty-four cubits, or the twelve
tribes, as before, multiplied by the twelve apostles; for the idea of a
cube, as the most perfect symbol of symmetrical form, seems to be
intended.

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 chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20. The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite;
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.

Vs. 18-21.--The "jasper, gold and glass," are here all combined; though
their natural properties and chemical elements are so different. Glass
is clear, transparent, but brittle; gold is solid and shining, but
opaque. In heaven, the saints shall _know_ more than we can now
_imagine_. The glass will be all gold. As the eye sees an object through
glass at a glance, so the saints in heaven will perceive truth without
the tedious process of comparison and reasoning. The gold will be all
glass. All these symbols are intended to show to the devout reader, that
the antichristian harlot is incomparably eclipsed by the glory of the
Lamb's bride,--having "no glory, by reason of the glory that
excelleth."--The twelve "precious stones" which "garnished the
foundations of the wall of the city," are an allusion to those of
Aaron's breastplate of judgment. (Exod. xxviii. 17-20;) indicating that
the _Urim_ and _Thummim_, the _light_ and _perfection_ of glory, shall
be there, superseding the oracle and Shekinah: for one thing is peculiar
to this city by which it is distinguished from the old Jerusalem,--no
temple.

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.

Vs. 22-27.--There was "no temple therein." As there _was a temple_ in
the city which Ezekiel saw in vision, (ch. xli. 1,) and this fact
determines the point, that his prophecy relates to the church
_militant_; so, the absence of even the semblance of such a structure
here, proves that this is a description of the church _triumphant_. In
heaven there is no need of external, material, visible symbols of God's
presence. As the ceremonial "law had a shadow of good things to come,"
but "vanished away" when Christ appeared, (Heb. x. 1,) so will it be in
heaven; no ordinances will be used to act upon either sense or faith,
these having issued in vision.

The glorious presence of "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb," having
superseded the necessity of a temple; the light of the sun and moon
shall be no longer needed. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all," (1 John i. 5;) and "as long as Christ was in the world, he was the
light of the world." (John ix. 5.) We have seen that other suns and
moons which were _symbolical,_ have been darkened or blotted out of
existence by the omnipotent Mediator; but now these natural luminaries
are totally and for ever obscured by the ineffable effulgence of
uncreated light,--the manifested and immediate presence of the Father
and the Son.--All the redeemed shall "walk in the light of the Lord;"
and all the glory of "the kings of the earth," concentrated in one
place, would bear no comparison with the splendor of this "holy city."
The gates are not to be shut during the "day" of _eternity_; and since
the "excellent ones of the earth" shall all enter the twelve open gates
from every part of the world, it may be truly said "they bring the glory
and honor of the nations into it." What a delightful scene of a holy,
happy, safe and harmonious fellowship!--It is observable that the
apostle altogether drops _personalities_ here. He seizes only upon
properties or qualities,--"any thing,"--so holy is the place, and so
holy the inhabitants; yea, so safe and secure, that no creature,--no
"beast of the field which the Lord God has made," shall ever gain an
entrance into this heavenly Paradise: but only those whose names are
"written in the Lamb's book of life;" who, despite of the Serpent,
brings all his spiritual seed safe to glory.

CHAPTER XXII.

1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river,
was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and
yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the
healing of the nations.

3. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the
Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.

4. And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their
foreheads.

5. And there shall be no night there: and they need no candle, neither
light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall
reign for ever and ever.

Vs. 1-5.--These verses, being a continuance of the description of the
"holy city," naturally belong to the preceding chapter.--The angel
proceeds to show John the source and current from which emanate all
heavenly blessings. The allusion is to Ezekiel, xlvii. 1-12; but both he
and John call our attention to man's primeval state, when our first
parents dwelt in Eden. This abode of the blessed is beautified and
enriched with all the products, delights and attractions which are
adapted to the refined senses of holy creatures,--"pleasant to the eyes,
and good for food." It is Paradise restored, by the "doing and dying" of
the second Adam. It is also Paradise _improved_, having not only the
"tree of life," as the first had, but also, in addition, the "water of
life." The "tree of life" was to sinless Adam a symbol and pledge of
immortality to himself and all his posterity whom he represented in the
Covenant of Works. Now that heaven is procured for all believers by the
second Adam, it is emblematically represented to our weak apprehension
by directing our attention to the primitive and earthly Paradise. This
is repeatedly done in Scripture. The Lord Jesus, before he expired upon
the cross, said to the penitent thief,--"To day shall thou be with me in
Paradise. (Luke xxiii. 43.) Paul was "caught up" thither, (2 Cor. xii.
4;) and he calls the place "heaven," (v. 2;) and in this book, (ch. ii.
7,) the Lord promises,--"I will give to him that overcometh to eat of
the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." The
"tree" is an emblem of Christ, (Song ii. 3;) the "river of the water of
life" symbolizes the Holy Spirit, (John vii. 38, 39;) for as the Son and
the Holy Ghost proceed from the Father, the former by generation, the
latter by emanation from eternity,--so "that eternal life which was with
the Father" in the person of the Son, and purchased by the Son, is
communicated by the Holy Ghost to all the redeemed by regeneration. (2
Cor. iii. 6; Rom. viii. 2.)--Thus, the eternal duration of life in glory
"proceeds out of the throne of God and the Lamb." On each side of the
river "the tree of life" is accessible by the inhabitants; and the
fruits of the tree, ripe in all months of the year, and adapted to every
taste, each one may "put forth his hand" as he passes, "and take ... and
eat, and live for ever." (Gen. iii. 22.) Or, "the people that are
therein" may "sit down under its shadow, and its fruit will be sweet to
their taste."--"The leaves of the tree" are for medicine, being
preventive of all disease, so that "the inhabitant shall not say, I am
sick: the people that dwell therein are forgiven their iniquities." (Is.
xxxiii. 24.) "There shall be no more curse." Satan gained entrance into
the garden of Eden, and succeeded in entailing the "curse" upon man, and
upon beast, and upon the fruits of the ground; but he shall never be
loosed again, or emerge from "the lake of fire," to disturb the repose
of that blessed society in heaven, (ch. xxi. 27.)--As the "throne of God
and the Lamb" is _one,_ (ch. iii. 21;) so it is remarkable that the
distinction of persons is omitted, as though the Father and the Son were
but one person. True, Christ said, "I and my Father are one," (John x.
30;) but he referred to _unity_ of _nature_ and purpose, not of
_personality;_ for, in consistency with this, he said also,--"My Father
is greater than I;" an assertion which must consist with the former, and
which plainly involves personal distinction, (ch. xiv. 28.)--"His name
shall be in their foreheads."--Which of them? We have found Christ's
Father's name "written in the foreheads" of a hundred and forty-four
thousand saints _militant_, (ch. xiv. 1.) While in conflict, "the world
knew them not," and the adherents of Antichrist "cast out their names as
evil," branding them as _heretics_; but now they are known to the whole
universe, as the _covenant property_ of both the Father and the Son,
(ch. iii. 12.)--"Behold, I and the children which God hath given me;"
(Heb. ii. 13.) "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou
gavest me cut of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me;
and they have kept thy word. ... All mine are thine, and thine are mine;
and I am glorified in them." (John xvii. 6,10.)--There will be no
intermission or interruption of service, "no night there,"--no hidings
of God's countenance, no desertions; for "they shall see his face" in
the "express image of the Father's person," be assured of his
love;--"need no candle," nor any earthly accommodation; "for the Lord
God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever," in
fulness of joy and unalloyed pleasures for evermore. (Ps. xvi. 11.) How
different is this heaven from the Mahometan paradise, which, if real,
could gratify only carnal and sensual sinners! yet the imaginations of
many, and their aspirations too, with the Bible in their hands, are
little better than those of Mahometans or pagans. All speculations of
heathen philosophers about the "chief good," or the enjoyments of their
imaginary gods, are so gross and brutish as to demonstrate the
all-important truth, that "except a man be born again, _he cannot_ see
the kingdom of God." (John iii. 3.) And it is too evident that some
modern philosophers are as little acquainted as Nicodemus with the
humbling doctrines of the gospel. The society of learned men, making
perpetual advance in natural science, especially in astronomy,--would
seem to be the highest conception of happiness which too many modern
philosophers can reach. They know not some of the elementary teachings
of the Holy Scriptures; such as,--"Without holiness no man shall see the
Lord;" and that this indispensable preparation for heavenly felicity
consists in "the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost."

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