Revelation 21:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we get a wider view of the happiness of God’s church in the life to come. The safest way to understand this is as the heavenly state. John says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1), meaning a whole new order of things, a new universe. Since the world is made up of heaven and earth, this points to a total renewal.

By the new earth, we can understand a new condition for human bodies as well as a heaven for human souls. This world is not freshly created in this moment, but newly opened and filled with all who inherit it. In that state, heaven and earth will no longer be separate in the same way. The saints’ glorified bodies will be spiritual and heavenly, fit for those bright and pure rooms.

The old world, with all its trouble and upheaval, must pass away before this new world begins. Then John sees the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, not in a local sense, but in its origin. This new Jerusalem is God’s church in its new and perfect state, prepared like a bride dressed for her husband. It is made beautiful with complete wisdom and holiness, ready for full joy in the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.

The blessed presence of God with his people is then announced and admired: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men” (Revelation 21:3). The presence of God with his church is the church’s glory. It is amazing that a holy God would ever dwell with any human beings at all. In heaven, that presence will never be broken, as it is on earth, but he will live with them always.

The covenant, the shared interest, and the relationship between God and his people will then be brought to completion. “They shall be his people.” Their souls will be made like him, filled with love, honor, and delight in God, just as their relation to him requires. That will be their perfect holiness. “He will be their God.” God himself will be their God, present with them, fully showing his love, and placing his glory on them. That will be their perfect happiness, and he will fully answer what that relation means on his side, as they will on theirs.

This new and blessed state will be free from all trouble and sorrow. First, every effect of past trouble will be taken away. They have often wept before because of sin, suffering, and the troubles of the church. But now every tear will be wiped away, and no mark or reminder of former sorrows will remain, except to make their present joy greater. God himself, as their tender Father, will wipe the tears from his children with his own kind hand. They would not have been without those tears if God comes to wipe them away.

Second, every cause of future sorrow will be removed forever. There will be no more death, pain, sorrow, or crying, because those things belong to the former order of life. Now all former things have passed away. The truth and certainty of this blessed state are confirmed by God’s word and promise, and John is told to write them down for lasting record (Revelation 21:5, Revelation 21:6). This vision is so great and so important for God’s people that they need the strongest assurance of it.

God also says from heaven, “These words are faithful and true,” and then, “It is done.” It is as certain as if it had already happened. We may and should receive God’s promise as present payment. If he says that he makes all things new, then it is done. He also gives us his titles of honor as a pledge of full performance, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Since it is his glory to begin the world and his church, it will also be his glory to finish what he has begun. He does not leave his work unfinished.

As his power and will were the first cause of all things, so his pleasure and glory are their final goal. He will not fail in his purpose. Men may begin projects they never finish, but God’s counsel will stand, and he will do all he intends. The desires of his people also prove the truth of this promise. They long for sinless perfection and unbroken enjoyment of God, and God himself has planted those desires in them. Such holy longings cannot be fully satisfied by anything else. It would be against God’s goodness to create these desires and then deny their proper fulfillment. So they may be sure that, after their present struggles, he will give them freely of the fountain of the water of life.

The greatness of this future happiness is shown in several ways. First, it is completely free. It is the free gift of God: “He gives of the water of life freely” (Revelation 21:6). That does not make it less precious, only more welcome to his people. Second, it is full and complete. God’s people then live at the source of all blessing. They “inherit all things” (Revelation 21:7). When they enjoy God, they enjoy everything, because he is all in all.

Third, they hold this blessing by inheritance, as the children of God. That is the most honorable title of all, because it comes from such a close and loving relation to God himself. It is also the most certain and secure title, one that can no more fail than the relation from which it comes. Fourth, the very different state of the wicked shows the glory and blessedness of the saints, and the special goodness of God toward them (Revelation 21:8). Here we see the sins of those who are lost, starting with their cowardice and unbelief. The fearful stand at the front of this dark list.

They were too afraid to face the hard things of religion, and their weak fear came from unbelief. They were too cowardly to take up Christ’s cross and do their duty to him, yet bold enough to run into every kind of horrible sin, murder, adultery, sorcery, idolatry, and lying. Their punishment is that they have their place in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. They could not suffer at a stake for Christ, but they must suffer in hell for sin.

They must die another death after their natural death. The pain and fear of the first death will lead into far greater pain and fear, the terror of eternal death. They will die, and keep on dying forever.

This misery will be their rightful share, what they have justly earned, what they have in effect chosen, and what they have prepared for by their sins. In this way, the misery of the lost will show the blessedness of those who are saved, and the blessedness of the saved will make the misery of the lost even greater.