Thoughts on the Revelation.
VERSE 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. By the first heaven and first earth, John unquestionably means the ones which now are. Some have supposed that when the Bible speaks of the third heaven, in which are paradise and the tree of life, 1 Cor. xii, 2; Rev. ii, 7, it refers to the heaven which is yet future, and does not prove that there is a paradise and tree of life literally in existence at the present time. They base their view on the fact that Peter speaks of three heavens and earths: those before the flood, the ones which now are, and the ones which are to come. But all theories based upon this one fact are overturned by this first verse of Rev. xxi; for John here reckons but two heavens and earths: the ones which now are he calls the first, so that the future new heavens would be the second, and not the third, as Peter reckons. Hence it is certain that Peter did not design to lay down a numerical order, that we should speak of the one as the first, the other as the second, and the last as the third. The object of his reasoning was simply to show that as a literal heaven and earth succeeded to the destruction of the earth by the flood, so a literal heaven and earth would emerge from the renovation of the present system by fire. There is no proof therefore that the Bible, when it speaks of the third heaven, refers simply to the third state of the present heavens and earth, for then all the Bible writers would have been uniform in their reckoning on this point. Thus the arguments of those who would endeavor to disprove of the idea of a literal paradise and tree of life at the present time, fall to the ground. We believe the Bible recognizes three heavens all existing in the present constitution of things; namely, the first heaven which the fowls of the air inhabit, the second, the region of the sun, moon, and stars, and the third, high above them all, where paradise and the tree of life are found, where God has his residence and his throne, to which Paul was caught up in heavenly vision, to which Christ ascended when he left the earth, where he now shares the throne of his Father as priest-king, and where the glorious city stands awaiting the saints when they enter into life. Blessed be God that from that bright land intelligence has been brought to this far off world of ours; and thanks to his holy name that a way has been opened from the dark places of earth, which leads like a strait and shining path of light up to those blessed abodes. Verse 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. In connection with the view which John has of the holy city coming down from God out of heaven, a voice is heard, saying, The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. The conclusion naturally follows, that the tabernacle here mentioned is the city. This same city is called in John xiv, the Father's house in which there are many mansions. If an objection should arise in any mind that this is too permanent a place to be called a tabernacle, we reply that the word tabernacle sometimes has the signification of a permanent dwelling place. And it seems that the great God takes up his abode on this earth. We do not suppose that God is confined to this, or any other one of the worlds of his creation; but he here has a throne, and earth enjoys so much of his presence that it may be said that he dwells among men. And why should this be thought a strange thing? God's only begotten Son is here as ruler of his special kingdom; the holy city which is called the Father's house, and which, it is natural to suppose will be the most beautiful and glorious place in the universe, will be here; the heavenly hosts take an interest in this world probably above what they feel in any other; yea, reasoning from one of the Saviour's parables, there will be more joy in heaven over one world redeemed, than over ninety and nine which needed no redemption. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. He does this not literally; for there will be no tears in that kingdom for him to literally wipe away! but he does it by removing all the causes of tears; for “There is no sorrow,
Nor any sighing,
Nor any tears there,
Nor any crying.”
Verse 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. He that sits upon the throne is the same that is mentioned in verses 11, 12, of the preceding chapter. He says, I make all things new, not, I make all new things. The earth is not destroyed, annihilated, and a new one created, but all things are made over new. Let us realize that these words are true and faithful. And when this is accomplished, "it is done." The dark shadow of sin has forever passed away from the universe. The wicked, root and branch, are wiped out of the land of the living, and the universal anthem of praise and thanksgiving, Rev. v, 13, from a redeemed world and a clean universe, goes up to God. Verse 7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 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. The overcomers are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal. iii, 29. The promise embraced the world, Rom. iv, 13; and the saints go forth upon the new earth, not as servants or slaves, but as proprietors of the soil. But the fearful, unbelieving, &c., have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. The word "fearful" has been a trouble to some conscientious ones, who have had certain kinds of fears all along their pilgrimage. It may be well, therefore, to inquire what kind of fears are here meant. It is not fears of our own weakness, or of the power of the tempter; it is not fears of sinning, or of falling out by the way, or of coming short at last. But it is a fear connected with unbelief, a fear of the ridicule and opposition of the world, a fear to trust in God, and walk out upon his promises. This is the fear which we are commanded not to have, Isa. li, 7; this is the fear which brings into condemnation, and will finally land those who cherish and yield to it, in the lake of fire, which is the second death. Verse 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. 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, 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. This testimony is positive that the New Jerusalem is the bride, the Lamb's wife. The angel told John distinctly that he would show him the bride, the Lamb's wife; and we may be sure that he did not practice upon him a piece of deception, but fulfilled his promise to the very letter; but all that he did show him, was the New Jerusalem. It would be unnecessary to offer a word of proof that this city is not the church, were it not that popular theology has so mystified the Scriptures as to give it this application. This city, then, cannot be the church, because it would be absurd to talk of the church's lying four square, and having a north side, a south side, an east side, and a west side. It would be absurd to talk of its having a wall great and high, and in that wall twelve gates, three looking toward each of the four points of the compass. Indeed, the whole description which we have of the city in this chapter would be more or less an absurdity, as applied to the church. Again, Paul in Galatians speaks of the same city, and says that it is the mother of us all, referring to the church. The church, then, is not the city itself, but the children of the city. And verse 24 of the chapter under comment speaks of the nations of the saved who walk in the light of this city. These nations which are the saved, and on earth constitute the church, are distinct from the city, in the light of which they walk. Hence we believe the city is a literal city, built of all the precious materials here described. But how can this be the bride, the Lamb's wife? Answer. Inspiration has seen fit to speak of it under this figure, and with us that should be sufficient. The figure is first introduced in Isa. liv. The new-covenant city is there brought to view. It is represented as being desolate, while the old covenant was in force, and the Lord's care was confined to the Jews and old Jerusalem, but it is said to her that the children of the desolate shall be many more than the children of the married wife. It is said further to her, "Thy Maker is thy husband," and the closing promise of the Lord to this city, contains a very similar description to the one which we have here in Revelation; namely, "I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and thy foundations with sapphires, and I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones, and all thy children shall be taught of the Lord." It is this very promise to which Paul refers, and upon which he comments in Galatians, when he says, "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." Here, then, Paul makes an inspired application of Isaiah's prophecy, which cannot be mistaken. In addition to this we have the positive testimony of this twenty-first chapter of Revelation before us, on this point. With this view there is harmony throughout. We have Christ as the Father of his people, Isa. ix, 6, the Jerusalem above is called our mother, and we are the children; and under the figure of the marriage, we have Christ as the Bridegroom, the city as the bride, and we, the church, are the guests. There is no confusion of parties here. But the popular view which makes the city the church, and the church the bride, exhibits the inexcusable confusion of making the church to be at the same time, both mother and children, and both bride and guests. The names of the twelve apostles in the foundations of the city show it to be a Christian and not a Jewish city; while the names of the twelve tribes on the gates show that all the saved from this dispensation as well as from the former, are reckoned as belonging to some one of the twelve tribes; for all must enter the city through some one of these twelve gates. It is this fact which explains those instances in which Christians are called Israel, and are addressed as the twelve tribes, as in Rom. ix, 6-8; James i, 1; Rev. vii, 4, &c.