Revelation 21:1-4 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 21:1-8

We have here a more general account of the happiness of the church of God in the future state, by which it seems most safe to understand the heavenly state. I. A new world now opens to our view (Rev. 21:1): I saw a new heaven and a new earth; that is, a new universe; for we suppose the world to be made up of heaven and earth. By the new earth we may understand a new state for the bodies of men, as well as a heaven for their souls. This world is not now newly created, but newly opened, and... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:1

21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had gone; and the sea was no more. John has seen the doom of the wicked, and now he sees the bliss of the blessed. The dream of a new heaven and a new earth was deep in Jewish thought. "Behold," said God to Isaiah, "I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, or come into mind" ( Isaiah 65:17 ). Isaiah speaks of the new heaven and the new earth which God will... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:2

21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, like a bride adorned for her husband. Here, again, is a dream of the Jews which never died--the dream of the restoration of Jerusalem, the holy city. Once again it has a double background. (i) It has a background which is essentially Greek. One of the great contributions to the world's philosophical thought was Plato's doctrine of ideas or forms. He taught that in the invisible world there existed the... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:2

(ii) The second background of the conception of the new Jerusalem is entirely Jewish. In his synagogue form of prayer the Jew still prays: And to Jerusalem thy city return with compassion, and dwell therein as thou hast promised; and rebuild her speedily in our days, a structure everlasting; and the throne of David speedily establish there. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the builder of Jerusalem. John's vision of the new Jerusalem uses and amplifies many of the dreams of the prophets.... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:3-4

21:3-4 And I heard a great voice from heaven. "Behold," it said, "the dwelling-place of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them; and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, nor will there be any grief or crying, nor will there be any more pain, for the first things have gone." Here is the promise of fellowship with God and all its precious consequences. The voice is that of one of the... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:3-4

God's promise to make Israel his people and to be their God echoes throughout the Old Testament. "I will make my abode among you... and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people" ( Leviticus 26:11-12 ). In Jeremiah's account of the new covenant the promise of God is: "I will be their God, and they shall be my people" ( Jeremiah 31:33 ). The promise to Ezekiel is: "My dwelling-place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" ( ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:1

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth ,.... This vision relates to a glorious state of the church, not in the times of the apostles, or first dispensation of the Gospel; when the old Jewish church state, with its ordinances, rites, and ceremonies, passed away, and a new church state, a new dispensation, new ordinances, and a new people, took place; and when saints came not to Mount Sinai, but to Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; and when God tabernacled and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:2

And I John saw the holy city ,.... The same with the beloved city in Revelation 20:9 the church of God: sometimes the church militant is called a city, of which the saints are now fellow citizens, governed by wholesome laws, and enjoying many privileges; but here the general assembly and church of the firstborn, or all the elect of God, are intended, the whole body and society of them, being as a city, compact together; called holy, not only because set apart to holiness by God the Father,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:3

And I heard a great voice out of heaven ,.... Either of an angel, or rather of Christ, or God himself; since the Alexandrian copy and Vulgate Latin version read, "out of the throne", saying, behold the tabernacle of God is with men ; in allusion to the tabernacle being with the Israelites, and the "Shechinah", or divine Majesty, being in the midst of them, and as an accomplishment of the promise in Ezekiel 37:27 in the fullest sense of it; and designs something distinct from the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ,.... Occasioned by sin, Satan, the hidings of God's face, and afflictive dispensations of Providence; for these will be no more: and there shall be no more death ; natural or violent; there will be no more putting of the saints to death, or persecution of them unto death, as in former times; nor will they die a natural death any more; these children of the resurrection, and inhabitants of the new heaven and earth, will be like the... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 21:1-8

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:1

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:2

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:2

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:3-4

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:3-4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:1

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:4

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