The Lamb’s Wife

Revelation 21:9-27 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 shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 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: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 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; 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. 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. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 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. 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. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 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.

Introduction

In the previous section, we were introduced, through the eyes of John, to the New Heaven and the New Earth.

· There was no more sea (Re 21:1)

· The New Jerusalem was “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Re 21:2)

· God will be with His people (Re 21:3)

· God will wipe away all tears from our eyes (Re 21:4)

· There will be no death, sorrow, crying, or pain (Re 21:4)

· God declares, “Behold, I make all things new” (Re 21:5)

· God commanded John to write about the New Heaven and the New Earth (Re 21:5)

· God declares “It is Done.” (Re 21:6)

· All believers will inherit all things (Re 21:7)

· Unbelievers will not inherit (Re 21:8)

I Will Shew Thee The Bride

Revelation 21:9 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 shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

We are not told why this particular angel is sent to make this announcement to John. We don't have any other information concerning his identity; or which of the seven last plagues he was associated with.

“... and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife…”

The angel is tasked with showing the Apostle John the bride of Christ or the Lamb's wife.

The number of people who think that Jesus was married during His earthly ministry consistently floors me. Liberal theologians take certain scraps of parchment, strain the facts, and introduce fiction. They cram into the bible their own theology and believe they have found a basis for their argument.

The biggest of these is the idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lovers and probably married. A recent survey on the website, Beliefnet, identify 19% of the respondents believe that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.

This idea had almost died in mainstream Christianity until the making of Dan Brown's blockbuster book and movie, "the Da Vinci Code." The premise of the book is that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and that they had children which continues the blood-line of Christ today.

While all of this keeps the bloggers writing and debating, I stand on the side that Jesus surely would not be a polygamist. He would not be married to Mary Magdalene and engaged to the Church.

Revelation 21: 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

The angel carried John to a high mountain so that John coud see the Bride of the Lamb, not physically, but in the spirit to a great and high mountain so John could have a clear and unobstructed view.

We will later find that this would not have been necessary, as the New Jerusalem is gigantic ... unless the world's topography had changed so much that mountain ranges soared miles in the air.

“…shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem…”

The “holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven” in verse two is now going to be looked at with detail.

John has described two “great cities” in the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The first was the world’s city, Babylon (11:8) and the second is the New Jerusalem. The former was the center of the apostate church and world system. The second is the city witch God sends from heaven.

We discussed earlier that some think that the New Jerusalem is a physical city, while others interpret it as the “the bride of Christ, the Lamb’s wife”, symbolically described as the type of life in heaven and earth that awaits the redeemed.

Some take this as a literal description of this new city; others understand it as a complex symbol for the life in heaven of the Lamb’s redeemed people.[1]

Wiersbe writes:

The eternal city is not only the home of the bride; it is the bride! A city is not buildings; it is people. The city John saw was holy and heavenly; in fact, it descended to earth from heaven, where it was prepared. John’s description staggers the imagination, even accepting the fact that a great deal of symbolism is involved. Heaven is a real place of glory and beauty, the perfect home for the Lamb’s bride.[2]

The city is great for several reasons.

· It is immense in size (21:16)

· it is the tabernacle of God

· and it will house the children of God, both Jew and Gentile.

Note: The question of when the saints will take up residence on the earth seems to be at this time. If the New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ, then this is the point where the saints from heaven now reside on the New Earth. If the New Jerusalem is a physical place prepared for the Bride of Christ, then it is at this time that they take up residence in the place prepared for them by the Lamb.

Revelation 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

The city will reflect the splendor of God. If this is the physical city, then it is the reflection the “shekinah” glory of the father, much like the Tabernacle in the wilderness was filled with the glory of God when He was present and dwelling among the children of Israel. If the city is the Bride of the Lamb, then the church will reflect all the characteristics of God. She is perfect, as God intended.

McGee writes:

Two wonderful facts make this city the manifestation of the fullness of God’s glory. (1) The presence of God makes the city the source of glory for the universe. Every blessing radiates from the city. (2) The presence of the saints does not forbid the manifestation of the glory of God. Sin caused God to remove His glory from man’s presence, but in this city all that is past. Redeemed man dwelling with God in a city “having the glory of God” is the grand goal which is worthy of God. This city reveals the high purpose of God in the church, which is to bring “many sons unto glory” (see Heb. 2:10).[3]

“…and her light was like unto a stone most precious even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal…”

An interesting translation of the word “light” in the Greek. It means “that which gives light.” Therefore, the city does not reflect the light as the moon reflects the light of the sun; the city is the light.

In the fourth chapter, the apostle John describes the one who is sitting on the throne as “like a jasper and sardine stone” (4:3). Three times in this chapter, the jasper refers to the glory of God, the foundation and walls of New Jerusalem (21:11, 18, 19).

Jasper, a precious stone found in various colors, mostly reddish, sometimes green, brown, blue, yellow, and white. In antiquity the name was not limited to the variety of quartz now called jasper, but could designate any opaque precious stone.[4]

The jasper stone is a described as precious stone, because they are costly and durable. Later we will see that the Jasper is the first of twelve stones identified as the foundation of the New Jerusalem (21:9). It must be observed that the stone that we call Jasper today, is not the stone identified in the Bible.

📷The first time the word Jasper is identified in the Bible is in the book of Exodus. It refers to the third stone, which is the last stone inserted on the fourth row of the High Priests ephod. (Ex. 28:20; 39:13)

The ephod contained 12 stones representing each of the tribes and had the name of the tribe inscribed on the stone. Which tribe name associated with which gemstone is impossible to identify although I found several different ideas on the World Wide Web. The breastplate, represented here has the four rows of three stones.[5]

The Jasper is also mentioned as one of the stones found in the Garden of Eden that was the covering of Satan (Eze. 28:13). In this instance, the Jasper is listed separately from the diamond. Many translators assert that the diamond and the Jasper are one in the same because of its characteristics, clear and precious, as mentioned in the Bible.

Revelation 21:12 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:

Walls always protected ancient cities. The Christians of the seven churches would naturally assume and understand that the New Jerusalem would be walled. The wall is called great because of its size and strength.

“…and had twelve gates…”

As with the walls, gates also offer protection to its inhabitants. The city is so large that the walls would need twelve gates for its citizens to enter and leave. For first century inhabitants, the cities gates are also places where business, legal hearings and punishments were carried out. Beggars were taken to the cities gates to offer more of an opportunity to receive alms.

“…and at the gates twelve angels…”

Once again it would be natural for the first century Christians to know that troops are stationed at each of the cities gates. They afford protection and to ensure that only citizens of the city may enter. God will employ an angel at each gate in the New Jerusalem. Since Satan and sin are now gone, these angels are not guardians against a forceful intrusion instead they symbolically represent the eternal security and inamissibleness of heavnly prosperity or salvation..

“…and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel…”

Jerusalem through the centuries has had many gates and each one has a specific name. For example, Sheep (Herod’s), Fish, Water, Flowers, Damascus, New, Jaffa, Zion, Tanners, Dung, Eastern (Golden, Beautiful) and Lions.

The twelve gates of New Jerusalem will be no different. Each of its twelve gates will be the named after the twelve tribes.

Revelation 21:13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

The prophet Ezekiel described the gates of the city in Ezekiel 48:31-34

Ezekiel 48:31-34 And the gates of the city shall beafter the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. 32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. 33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. 34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

Ezekiel identifies the name of each of the gates in his prophecy. These are the names of the twelve brothers, 12 tribes and not the listing of the divisions of the land of Promise. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are combined under the banner of their father Joseph and Levi is included. The naming of the gates begins in the north and proceeds clockwise.

The order of Ezekiel’s listing of the gates with the names of the Tribes is not according to their birth order. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, fathered 12 sons by four women: his wives, Leah and Rachel; and his concubines - maidservants of Leah and Rachel - and surrogate mothers, Zilpah and Bilhah (Gen. 29:31-35; 30:1-24; 35:16-18).

· Leah – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun

· Rachel/Bilhah – Dan, Naphtali

· Leah/Zilpah – Gad, Asher

· Rachel – Joseph, Benjamin

Revelation 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

We are not given the structure of the foundations; were the foundations stacked or were they placed three on each side? Jesus Christ is the true “corner stone” upon which the church is built. Upon the declaration from Peter that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16) Jesus declared:

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The “rock” that Jesus refers is commonly referred to as the “truth of Jesus being the Christ” or “the message that Peter was going to preach on the day of Pentecost.”

“…and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb…”

John, a disciple and an Apostle, would have looked at the foundations and saw the names of the 12 apostles, including his own name, Ιοαννης, were written, forever in the eternal city. Present day he was a prisoner on the isle of Patmos, and in the future, his name would be forever solidified on the foundation of the New Jerusalem. I wonder if the words to the parable Jesus told echoed in his ear at this time.

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thougood and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Can you imagine the thoughts running through his mind as he saw the names of those that gave everything in order to follow Jesus, the Messiah? The names would have included his brother, killed by Herod the king, but now is imprinted on a foundation stone.

Revelation 21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

The angel “talked with” John

“…had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof…”

In the eleventh chapter, John was given a rod and told to measure the temple, altar and those that worshiped at the temple. Now the angel, showing him the vision of Jerusalem, has a golden reed. It is clear that the angel will measure the New Jerusalem, gates and walls, by verse 21:17.

Revelation 21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

Foursquare means four equal angels, rectangular or square, meaning that the city was equal on all sides. I have always pictured this in my mind as a cube, as a cube is equal on all sides. Most commentators believe that the city is either a cube or a pyramid having the same measurement of length, height and breadth, foursquare.

“…and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs…”

The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal – a furlong was equal to about 1/8 of a Roman mile, referred to as a stade, which equaled 600 Greek or 606 ¾ English feet.

Wiersbe writes:

The measurements are staggering! If we take a cubit as eighteen inches, then the city walls are 216 feet high! If a furlong is taken as 600 feet (measures differed in ancient days), the city would be about 1,500 miles square! There will be plenty of room for everyone![6]

Staggering is just not big enough. Words like, Astounding, overwhelming, stunning, and unbelievable doesn’t do it justice either. Put yourself in John’s place, looking at the New Jerusalem from a mountaintop. How would you describe a city with dimensions going farther than your eye or mind can comprehend?

I have made a rudimentary drawing of the size of the New Jerusalem, placed over a map of the United States of America, just to understand the immense scale of the city.

📷

If the right edge of the city were aligned with Washington, DC, the left edge would be at Denver, CO. The cities northern edge aligned with the US and Canadian border would find its southern edge at the southern tip of Texas. I think we can all agree that is one big city.

However, not every theologian assumes that the measurements of the city are to be taken literally.

Many think it unreasonable to translate these numbers into modern units and then apply them literally to the city. Swete writes: “Such dimensions defy imagination and are permissible only in the language of symbolism.” Stuart writes: “Everything shows that a literal exegesis in such a case as the present, excepting merely so far as to get a proper idea of the grandeur and the congruity of the image, is entirely out of the question.” Chilton writes: “The numbers are obviously symbolic, the multiples of twelve being a reference to the majesty, vastness, and perfection of the Church.” It is important to note that the city’s cube shape was also the shape of the Holy of Holies. Since John sees no temple in the city (v. 22), we may imply that the whole city is the temple, or more specifically, the holy of holies. It is the place of the glory of God (cf. v. 11). This is the nature of the church today—it is the place of God’s residence (Eph. 2:20–21; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; 1 Pet. 2:5), where God communes with men. Earlier, John had measured the holy of holies (the naos) for its protection and preservation. In this vision, the naosis again measured, indicating its permanence, but it is now identified with the City of God, the church of Jesus Christ.[7]

Revelation 21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

The wall is 144 cubits = 18” x 144 = 216 feet high. Its length would of course be 1,500 miles on all four sides.

Revelation 21:18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

We have discussed the use of the jasper stone before. Today’s jasper is anything but brilliant or beautiful. The description of John’s use of the stone resembles today’s diamond.

Now what this jasper was cannot be exactly ascertained; but it is perfectly certain that it was not the stone which bears that name now. The common jasper is of many kinds. Sometimes purple, sometimes cerulean, sometimes green, and more frequently a green stone streaked with veins of red. Moreover, it is not very precious, not distinguished by its brilliancy, and it is far surpassed both in beauty and worth by many others. These marks prove beyond question that our jasper is not the stone which was in the apostle's mind. The descriptions which are given of it in the Apocalypse correspond exactly with the characters of the diamond, and unless the diamond was unknown to the ancients, which is hardly possible, the jasper must have been this stone. But whether the diamond or not, the jasper of John's vision had all the characteristic features of the diamond.[8]

…and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass – The brilliance of the city was like the reflection of the evening sun off the windows of a modern skyscraper. The idea of pure gold and clear glass is to show that the city reflects the purity and brightness of the light of Jesus.

Revelation 21:23 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.

Revelation 21:19 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; Revelation 21:20 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.

As if the beauty of the city and its walls were not enough, John invites us to see the beauty of the foundation. I have seen many different foundations in my life and really, none of them are beautiful. My house’s foundation is concrete and there is no beauty in it. We have seen the Eiffel Tower, Tower of London, and the cathedral at Chartres and none of those buildings had beautiful foundations.

However, the foundations of the New Jerusalem will be adorned with precious stones.

The first foundation was jasper, as we have discussed previously this is probably the diamond. The second, sapphire, a clear blue colored stone. The third, a chalcedony. Once again, it is probably not the modern stone of that name, but a green carbonate of copper, found in the mines of Chalcedon. The fourth, an emerald. By all aspects, this is the same as the modern stone. The fifth, sardonyx, a variety of agate of the onyx family. The sixth, sardius, from the area around the church at Sardis, looking like the modern carnelian. The seventh, chrysolyte, any of several green or yellow-green-colored gemstones including topaz, zircon, tourmaline, and apatite. It could be identical to our modern jacinth or amber. The eighth, beryl, which is not as deep green than the pure emerald. The ninth, a topaz, different from our modern topaz, is of a green-yellow stone. The tenth, a chrysoprasus, the modern aquamarine. The eleventh, a jacinth. “A red variety of zircon, which is found in square prisms, of a white, grey, red, reddish-brown, yellow, or pale-green colour” (Smith’s ‘Dictionary of the Bible’). The twelfth, an amethyst, probably like our modern day amethyst.

Revelation 21:21 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.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl – We were previously introduced in this chapter to the gates of the city. Each one of the gates was named after one of the Tribes of Israel. Now we find that the material they are made of is a pearl. This is the fourth time we have pearls listed in the Revelation and in previous references, the pearl is listed along with precious stones.

The common idea among commentators is that this is not literal. However, what if the gates are not symbolism and really are giant pearls? The beauty and grandeur of the city encourages us to put aside everything we know about building cities and redefines it. It would be a simple task for the Creator, to make 12 gigantic pearls to be used in His residence. Wow, wouldn’t that be unbelievably beautiful?

…and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass– In modern times, our streets are made of gravel, asphalt or concrete. None of which is very appealing. In the times that John was writing, the roads were simply worn paths, sometimes mixed with used paving stones or salt.

They are common.

In 1939, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave the world, “The Wizard of Oz.” In that movie, I was introduced to a city made of emeralds. The main road of the land was the “Yellow Brick Road.” It led through forest, fields and farmland and ended at the beauty of the Emerald City. For my young mind, the Emerald city and the Yellow Brick road were my vision of what heaven would be like. The beauty and majesty of the Emerald city would be as all the precious stones used in the creation of the New Jerusalem. The Yellow Brick road represented the streets made of gold. Gold would be so common, that God would construct buildings and walls from it.

That was when I was young, I now understand that the grandeur and beauty of the New Jerusalem, descending from out of heaven are still beyond description and I think John was having the same problem. How do you describe the future home of the saints? With terms like, precious stones, gold, pearls, the 12 tribes and the 12 Apostles.

Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Revelation 21:23 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.

Revelation 21:24 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.

Revelation 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

Revelation 21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

Revelation 21:27 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

[1] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2494). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 623). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [3] McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed., Vol. 5, p. 1069). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [4]Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Re 21:11). Biblical Studies Press. [5] http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3668-breastplate-of-the-high-priest [6]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 623). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [7] Gregg, S. (1997). Revelation, four views: a parallel commentary (Re 21:9–21). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers. [8] Biblical Illustrator, digital, SwordSearcher 7.1