It is therefore no wonder that both the Apostles speak of it as a real crime connected with murder and other works of the flesh, as well as with idolatry. There will be no time for seeking mercy, as it were: whatever the state in which the Lord at His coming will find us, all is closed up and fixed. . There is a repelling force of positive charges, tremendously powerful repelling force.The atom bomb illustrates to us the true nature of an atom. There is no scriptural reason to infer that any saint dies during the thousand years, but rather the contrary. And the devil that deceiveth them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where both the beast and the false prophet [are], and they shall be tormented day and night unto the ages of the ages.". To such a man God makes the greatest promise of all--"I will be his God and he shall be my son." I do not suppose that many words are required by the present audience to show that we are not to understand the scene as a mere figure of Christianity. There are three gates on the north. All flesh will be silent before God ( Zechariah 2:13). The natural meaning of the word would rather be poisoners; and in fact in St Johns days the two generally went together, and no line could be drawn between them. Line-By-Line Order: Verse-Reference. (i) We must note the city's shape. The very reverse is the undeniable fact. From deos (dread); timid, i.e. In that story the sea, the waters beneath the firmament, became the dwelling-place of Tiamat. Directly he had sinned, the word of God came, and he was called. Afterwards we come to the description of itself, of its wall, its building, its foundations, and its gates. Then, when the Lamb and His purchase by blood are celebrated in heaven, the four living creatures join the elders, though each is distinct. Unbelief is never a consequence of knowledge, education, intelligence, or "honesty." It supposes the effect and the exercise of faith. The emerald was the modern emerald, which Pliny describes as the greenest of all green stones. 21:5-6 And he who is seated upon the throne said: "Behold, I make all things new." It is described as being like the sheen of green on a dove's neck or in a peacock's tail. Verse Revelation 21:8. This does not intimate we have seen that there is only one act of raising, but that all who share that resurrection, whenever raised, are raised before the millennium begins; so that when the reign of Christ takes place, all such have part in the first resurrection, including Christ Himself, raised at least 1800 years before the church; then the church, with the Old Testament saints; then these Apocalyptic saints at any rate some years after. But no believer comes into judgment. In the east there was the idea of the city of the gods in the skies. And it is pretty well ascertained that there was a discussion among them, even to the suggestion by one of the most wicked of their emperors, whether Christ should not be owned and worshipped in the Pantheon, hundreds of years before Constantine, indeed from the earliest epoch of the gospel. It is an equivalent power that holds them together. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water, because it was made bitter. It will help to show us that, whatever may have been the past conditions of Babylon, there is a future one; and it is in that future one that Babylon is to perish. Then the word is, "Award her even as she awarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. 2. 1 Timothy 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? For Christ has not only a supreme but an exclusive place. That city will be a constant remembrancer of those who went before restored Israel here below, as undoubtedly it will be used for their blessing during the millennium, but not for theirs only. As long as they feel their need of him, he will supply that need (5-6). All who have looked back on the history know, that when the ten kings appeared, there was no beast or imperial power. Day 223 of the year = 8/11 symbolizes Revelation 8:11 WORMWOOD = Greek number 894 894 days - 365 - 365 = 164 George h w bush born in a leap year 6/12/1924 was day 164 of the year. .," pp. Without price I will give to the thirsty of the fountain of the water of life.". But we can understand that the Lord could and did make that little go far, and do no little good. There stands the solemn brand graven, not on the blasphemous beast, but on the forehead of its rider, "Mystery, Babylon the great." Nothing more is to be done. It is necessary that we should all bear in mind, if we have not observed it before, thatRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18 does not pursue the chronological course of the prophecy. It was most likely the stone now known as lapis lazuli. He intends us to see that the whole of the holy city is the Holy of Holies, the dwelling-place of God. of mourning shall be ended ( Isaiah 60:10-20). "* There is no thought of making such a paradox to perplex the mind. Accordingly it is another figure. "Behold I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book." And he said: "Write, for these are words that are trustworthy and true." The Church shall be the metropolis of the world; it shall be honoured and esteemed among the nations of mankind. So, there are glorious things. "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. Centuries after came in, not only the division into east and west, but the broken up state of the west, when there ceased to be an imperial chief. And unbelieving Unbelief is a gross, unpardonable sin, unless repented of. We are not going to sit around after that age and say, "Remember down on earth we used to". Separate Line. It will be understood when one says "spiritual" that none is meant save of a wicked kind. In the first eight verses of Revelation 21:1-27 we have the new heaven and the new earth, but besides, awful to say, the lake of fire. Exactly the same thing is repeated here, and what makes it more apparent is the similarity of the introduction on each occasion. The idolaters are those who worshipped the false gods of whom the world was full. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. The bride is in view. Then heaven is opened, and for a sight most solemn. The rabbinic dreams of the re-created Jerusalem were vast enough. It clearly contrasts this mystery with another. It cannot be done till the moment comes. There is no greater honour in all the universe than that which God gives to the man who is true to him. The Egyptians saw it as the power which swallowed up the waters of the Nile and left the fields barren. Here occurs a remarkable change in the sequence of the visions, though easily understood; for it must be evident that there is nothing to follow this in point of time. John's vision of the new Jerusalem uses and amplifies many of the dreams of the prophets. He will not fail to take up the gage He has given our hearts. 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. Again there is symbolism here. There Paul says of the Christians at Philippi: "You shine as lights in the world." "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.". It is an order that is holy and beautiful, where God and his people live together in the closest fellowship. This is the first resurrection.". The cube was the symbol of perfection. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. "The Spirit of prophecy" and such it is all through the Revelation after the seven churches are done with "is the testimony of Jesus." This is the second death. Thus was concluded all dealing on the Lord's part with both soul and body, and all that pertains to either. Past history therefore in no way suits the prophecy. There are thrones filled with certain persons, who reign along with Him. Its gates will never be shut by day, 26 for, as for night, there will be no night there. The liars are those who were guilty of untruth and of the silence which is also a lie. Those who triumph through persecution and temptation prove the genuineness of their faith, and will enjoy a specially close relationship with God their Father. That could be the picture here. But here is a mystery altogether different: "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.". Revelation 18:1-24 need not delay us long. and conjunction [2.] "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city." Then there is the reigning power, but not the execution of judgment in this awful fashion which is attributed to the Lord Himself. In the city of God there will be no darkness. * It is to Him that God has given all judgment not necessarily to us. Line-By-Line Order: Verse-Reference. By extension, it also includes all sensualists of all ages. 1169 deils (an adjective derived from deid, "fear-driven") properly, dreadful, describing a person who loses their "moral gumption (fortitude)" that is needed to follow the Lord. He comes to execute vengeance, and with a sign of death for rebels. The church cannot hear of Him as the bright morning star without at once desiring that He should come. The highest courage is to be desperately afraid and in spite of that to do the right thing and to hold fast to loyalty. Revelation 2:11; Revelation 20:6; Revelation 20:14; Revelation 21:8). Now manifestly, if the Lord does not come before this, there is no world to come to; for the earth and heavens are fled. "For the glory of God enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof." A mysterious lawlessness inherits the well-known name of Babylon when Rome is brought forward; and it does not merely embrace Christian times, but the end of the age after the church has gone, when the course of divine judgment comes. And I heard the great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, [God is now going to dwell in the midst among His people.] The fornicators are those who lived lives of immorality. "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it" not into but unto. This is most important, because it might be (as it has been) forgotten by some who make the gospel and the corresponding presence of the Spirit to be the same at all times; as others have thought, because Revelation 4:1-11 and sequel treat of Jew and Gentile, and the state of the world under God's judgments, that this cannot be a testimony of Jesus at all. "Let him that heareth," then, "say, Come." (John 5:24 compared with Romans 14:1-23 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-21.). The Ascension of Moses (10: 6) says that the sea will return into the abyss. You can trust it. 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. Moral unfitness has its just censure; but sovereign grace must be asserted also. Again and again this shape occurs in Ezekiel's visions of the new Jerusalem and the new temple ( Ezekiel 41:21; Ezekiel 43:16; Ezekiel 45:2; Ezekiel 48:20). There were two particular effects of her evil: the one, illicit commerce with the kings of the earth; the other, intoxicating the inhabitants of the earth with the wine of her fornication. In one sense it would be an eighth, and in another sense it would be of the seven; the eighth perhaps because of its extraordinary resurrection character, yet one of the seven because it is outwardly old imperialism again. But the holy city was not only square; it was in the form of a perfect cube. The beloved city is Jerusalem; the camp of the saints, I presume, is a larger circle and embraces all of Israel and the Gentiles who, being converted, refuse Satan's deceit. And sorcerers; conjurers, dealers with familiar spirits, necromancers, and such as use the magic art, as many of the popes did to get into the chair, and poisoners of kings and princes; whoredoms and witchcrafts go together sometimes, as they did in Jezebel, an emblem of the Romish antichrist. faithful and the righteous may see the glory of the invisible God. The picture is always there and its elements are always the same. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is full of this universal hope. The unrenewed of the nations are now compassing them with their countless hosts, as if to eat them up like grasshoppers. Again John is thinking in terms of the prophetic pictures of the re-created Jerusalem. It is very evident, therefore, that the saints in a glorified state are here represented as following the Lord out of heaven. . The woman the strange woman sets forth corruption, human nature indulging itself in its own evil desires, irrespective of God's will. We find a decree going forth that all the world shall be enrolled. There is an old story of a man who was weary of battling with the sea. on the other, she had, when she could, gone on increasing in both, until at last the blow of divine judgment came. And I heard as it were a voice of a great multitude, and as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of mighty thunders, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God the Almighty reigneth. John has seen the doom of the wicked, and now he sees the bliss of the blessed. Webevery sinful man is so in the sight of God; but here it denotes such who are the worst of sinners, given up to sinning; who are abominable, and to every good work reprobate; who "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them (for he is Lord of lords and King of kings), and they that are with him, called, and chosen, and faithful.". But far from that he has, on the contrary, persevered in the same evil course, as badly or worse than his father. ", He that overcometh shall inherit all things ( Revelation 21:7 ). They were caught in flagrant treason and rebellion: what further need of any process of judgment whatsoever? If so, they are there in the quality not of the bride, but of those invited to the marriage of the Lamb; but I do not think them the Apocalyptic saints for the simple reason that, as shown in the next chapter, the Apocalyptic saints are not raised from the dead yet. Some things which seem vastly important are seen to be unimportant when seen in the light of God. And Jesus sits on the great white throne. Webwhich is to be understood not of the renovation of persons at conversion, when a new heart and spirit are given, and men are made wholly new creatures; for this is the work of the Spirit, and which is done daily, and is not peculiar to any particular period of time; nor of the renewing of the church state at the beginning of the Gospel, when the To bad surfers, but I am sure God will have something quite superior. Originally in the wilderness the Tabernacle was a tent, the skene ( G4633) par excellence. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of. It was the same with the Jews. And he said to me: "It is done. But now there is but one throne: Christ judges the dead. For it is clear that, though principles might reign, to be priests is quite inconsistent with a mere figure. 6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shouting of a huge crowd, or like the waves of a hundred oceans crashing on the shore, or like the mighty rolling of great thunder, Praise the Lord. Tuesday, October 7, 2014 Revelation 21 1 Knit together with Heaven, nurtured and renewed, humanity and earth refreshed, connected, established in Way Foremost. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come: and let him that heareth say, Come: and let him that is athirst come: let him that will take the water of life freely." And because it is really just so good, that it is hard for us to conceive it so the Lord puts this special little "write these things because these sayings are faithful and true." And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gates was one pearl [or one huge pearl at each gate]: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass ( Revelation 21:18-21 ). But is there any reason why we should content ourselves with the measure enjoyed of old? Then another and immensely important act is described the binding of Satan. There was the sad register of undeniable sin on the one side; there was no writing of the name on the other side. Reference-Verse. Of course the application to the Roman empire would be immediately in the mind of any Christian at Rome. Again, death and hades are said to come to their end, personified as enemies. And the gates of Jerusalem shall be builded with sapphire and. I say "righteousnesses," not "righteousness." Hebrew number 3939 365 - 39 = 11/22, JFK murdered 3,939 COMMA = 45 3 + COMMA (45) + 939. That is what Paul is thinking of when he speaks of the Jerusalem that is above ( Galatians 4:26), and also what is in the mind of the writer to the Hebrews when he speaks of the heavenly Jerusalem ( Hebrews 12:22). The word for gate is interesting. The new heaven and the new earth will not then be distinct; the very earth of the saints, their glorified bodies, will now be spiritual and heavenly, and suited to those pure and bright mansions. three gates on the north; three on the south; three on the east; three on the west. The Bringer Of The Vision ( Revelation 21:9-10), The personality of the bringer of the vision of the heavenly Jerusalem must come as a surprise. That an openly heathen metropolis, devoted to the worship of Mars, and Jupiter, and Venus, and other wicked monstrosities of pagan mythology should be irritated with the gospel which exposes it all, and should consequently seek to injure the faithful, was to be expected, and a necessary result, directly that the uncompromising spirit of Christ was known. "And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." He came to the world, and avenged His people on the beast and the false prophet with the kings and their armies; and after that the risen saints reign with Him over it a thousand years. WebThe third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The length, breadth and height were the same. But outside the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, the drug abusers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Here is a tremendous thing. The decem-regal division of the broken empire in the West, as all know, was long after Rome had ceased to be heathen. "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood." He is one of the angels who had the seven bowls filled with the last seven plagues; and the last time we met such an angel he was the bringer of the vision of the destruction of Babylon, the great harlot. The Gothic hordes were not yet incorporated with the empire, still less were they horns of the beast, nor did they give their power to it, but destroyed it rather. We have seen her connection with the beast; but there is a conflict coming. "Come ye blessed of the Father inherit," Jesus said, "the things that were prepared for you from the foundations of the earth"( Matthew 25:34 ). But to the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [is] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.". Strangely enough it is different when we come to the wall. Whether it were the Old Testament saints and the church, or the Apocalyptic saints, if I may so distinguish them, it was in an instant that each were raised, but there was some space between them. The Greeks brought the power of their intellect. But in this is shown what it is of importance to see the true nature of the kingdom or millennial reign. In the ancient times the shechinah (compare H7931) took the form of a luminous cloud which came and went. Champion of humanity, Most High liberate to set free, vindicating to reconcile the inhabitants without delay, to answer, return and revive. And there (or they) are seven kings." The vision in Tobit is: A bright light shall shine unto all the ends of the earth; Many nations shall come from afar, And the inhabitants of the utmost ends of the earth unto thy holy. And the twelve And whoremongers - See the notes on Galatians 5:19. From Rome saints had suffered; and it was easy to see that the revealed persecutress is called Babylon, and identified with the governing city of Rome. You need no meeting place where you go to meet God. It was the barbarians who brought in the prevalent ideas of liberty as well as feudalism, and accordingly it is they that have firmly stood for freedom; so that all the efforts to reconstitute the empire which have been tried over and over again have hitherto issued in total failure. The angels are never "called," although they may be "chosen;" and though termed holy, I do not recollect that they are ever spoken of as "faithful." God has not told us how, nor is it our business. According to the general scope of scripture, then, we may be quite sure that these saints, kept during this universal dissolution of the atmospheric heaven and the earth, will be translated to "the new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness," in a condition new and meet for the eternal state into which they are ushered. The street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. Polyglot, and all editions of the least critical value. "The Lord," said Isaiah, "will be your everlasting light" ( Isaiah 60:19-20). "O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold, I will, set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with, sapphires. To make way for the commencement of this new world, the old world, with all its troubles and commotions, passed away. So here a description is given of the bride, the Lamb's wife, and we learn how it is that God will use her for unmeasured goodness and blessing and glory in the millennium, as the devil during this age has used Babylon to accomplish his wicked plans here below. WebRev 21:8 But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." Babylon had once heard the varied testimony of God; for what had she not heard of truth? But here there is neither; and this again is an evidence of gain, not of loss. I. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. "Faithful" is what belongs to a man. We can fairly trust God that He will not give a worse place to Paul; yet I do not think that this is his place. It is not only that the angel corrects the act by asserting that he is a fellow-servant of him and of his brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. The north is the cold land with a certain chill in it. Try to put them together and they will fight each other. Have we not all heard of the balance of power? I am not raising any question about the ten. "Let him that heareth," then, be encouraged to "say, Come." Still God does not forget His ways with His people; and the angels here are only in the quality of porters, if we may so speak; they are at the gates. This very naturally filled him with intense wonder. The visions of this prophetic book open, not with the rapture of saints to heaven, but the sight of saints already raptured, often before the seer in the visions, but seen always in a complete condition without addition to their number. John takes his picture of the man with the measuring rod from Ezekiel 40:3. God didn't reveal the truth of the church until the New Testament times. . 207-209. To whom else could they say it? And he carried me away in [the] spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." Bringing in history here embroiled the subject; and those who appeal most to its evidence are the very men who seem in this to ignore its facts. And murderers; of the saints, and prophets, and martyrs of Jesus, with whose blood Babylon, or the whore of Rome, has made herself drunk, and in whom it will be found. [practice magic arts; evil magic] . the first earth and the first heaven passed away; no more sea ( Revelation 21:1 ). Thus the language of symbol is as definite as any other. But it is blessed that He says, "I come quickly;" and it is only Christ who in scripture ever says so. There are three gates on the west. In the midst of the broadway of it, and of the river, on this side and on that, [the] tree of life," bearing not merely as the original one did, but now according to the fulness of the provision of God's grace for man, for man in glory first, but for man on the earth also, but for man in glory "producing twelve fruits, in each month yielding its fruit: and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations." SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS - Be an heir of God in all things. But even in this present world those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted, and death is swallowed up in victory for those who know Christ and the fellowship of his sufferings and the power of his Resurrection ( Matthew 5:4; Php_3:10 ). Babylon must hear, I do not doubt, the final testimony of God the gospel of the kingdom that is to go forth in the last days; but she loves her pleasure and power, and refuses truth. The Gates Of The City ( Revelation 21:13). I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. But what comes next? What a privilege and what a blessing. Verse Only. But the church consists of souls called out from the earth, and is not of the world: consequently to the church the time is always at hand. It is the way to all, if it be not the actual entrance into and enjoyment of it. This is never the case with an angel. "Called" is most evidently inapplicable, because calling supposes that the person is brought out of one condition and raised into another and a better one. It will be a state of nature unexampled for the fruits of the earth and the enjoyment of all that God has made here below. They will then treat her with contempt and shameful exposure. What a solemn and weighty fact in the government of God! God's promise to make Israel his people and to be their God echoes throughout the Old Testament. A mystery clearly points to something undiscoverable by the natural mind of man a secret that requires the distinct and fresh light of God to unravel, but which when revealed thus is plain enough. But for the eternal judgment heaven and earth are fled away; and then we see the new and eternal universe. But what I particularly call your attention to is the exceeding importance of heeding the retrospect at the bride, or new Jerusalem here, and the consequent removal of the difficulty caused by taking the last vision of this book as part of the prophetic series which begins in Revelation 19:1-21. It is all ours to enjoy to the fullest with Him. If some few have joined on one side, some are sure to help the other, because they are jealous of any one acquiring such a preponderant authority: and power as to govern the rest. But "nations of them which are saved," is a most anomalous expression, and betrays man as the author of it. To the woman at the well He said, "If you drink of this water, you will thirst again, if you drink of the water that I give you will never thirst again"( John 4:13-14 ). We may surely say her cup was not yet full. See note on the "second death" at Revelation 20:6; (cf. (ii) It may well be that the only intention of John is to stress the splendour of the city of God in which even the foundations were stones beyond price. And unbelieving; meaning not merely atheists, who do not believe there is a God, or deists only, that do not believe in Christ; but such who profess his name, and are called by it, and yet do not truly believe in him, nor embrace his Gospel and the truths of it, but believe a lie; these are condemned already, and on them the wrath of God abides, and they will be damned at last; though it may have a regard to such also who are infidels as to the second coming of Christ to judgment, and who are scoffers and mockers at it: and the abominable: every sinful man is so in the sight of God; but here it denotes such who are the worst of sinners, given up to sinning; who are abominable, and to every good work reprobate; who are addicted to the worst of crimes, as were the Sodomites and others; the Ethiopic version renders it, "who pollute themselves" with unnatural lusts. The Whole Earth For God ( Revelation 21:24-27). It is certain that we ought to read (not "upon" but) "and* the beast." The reason is given at the close; not only "by thy sorcery were all the nations deceived," but above all "in her was found [the] blood of prophets and saints, and of all the slain upon the earth.". Web[ 1] Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. We shall set down some of these dreams and it will be clear at once how the Old Testament again and again finds its echo in the Revelation. Job speaks of the topaz of Ethiopia ( Job 28:19). In the coming of the Lord all include His coming to the habitable earth. Consequently there will be an increase in population such as never has been approached since the world was made, yet it afterwards appears, that Satan will not fail to turn the masses of the nations into one vast rebellion against the objects of God's special favour on the earth the saints wherever they may be, and the beloved city of Israel, as we have seen.