Revelation 21:16-17 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 21:9-27

We have already considered the introduction to the vision of the new Jerusalem in a more general idea of the heavenly state; we now come to the vision itself, where observe, I. The person that opened the vision to the apostle?one of the seven angels, that had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, Rev. 21:9. God has a variety of work and employment for his holy angels. Sometimes they are to sound the trumpet of divine Providence, and give fair warning to a careless world; sometimes... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:9-27

It will be better to read the description of the city of God as a whole before we deal with it in detail. 21:9-27 9 There came to me one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and he spoke with me. "Come," he said, "and I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a 10 great and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, and it had the glory of God. 11 Its... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:16

And the city lieth four square ,.... To the four corners of the world, from whence its inhabitants come, and denotes the regularity, uniformity, perfection, and immovableness of it. And the length is as large as the breadth ; this church state will be all of a piece, perfect, entire, and wanting nothing. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs ; or fifteen hundred miles; a monstrously large city indeed! such an one as never was upon earth; see Ezekiel 48:35 ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:17

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits ,.... The root of which is twelve, for twelve times twelve is a hundred and forty four; which number is mystical and apostolical, and suited to the perfect state of this church: hence twelve gates, and twelve angels at them, and the names of the twelve tribes on them, and twelve foundations of the wall, and twelve thousand furlongs, the measure of the city. According to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel ;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 21:16

The city lieth foursquare - Each side was equal, consequently the length and breadth were equal; and its height is here said to be equal to its length. It is hard to say how this should be understood. It cannot mean the height of the buildings, nor of the walls, for neither houses nor walls could be twelve thousand furlongs in height; some think this means the distance from the plain country to the place where the city stood. But what need is there of attempting to determine such measures in... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 21:17

The wall - a hundred and forty and four cubits - This is twelve, the number of the apostles, multiplied by itself: for twelve times twelve make one hundred and forty-four. The measure of a man, that is, of the angel - The cubit, so called from cubitus , the elbow, is the measure from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, and is generally reckoned at one foot and a half, or eighteen inches; though it appears, from some measurements at the pyramids of Egypt, that the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:9-21

The spiritual commonwealth of the good. "And there came unto me one of the seven angels," etc. There is a spirit world. This is a fact, established by conclusive reasoning and accordant with the concurrent beliefs of mankind. This spirit world is a commonwealth. It has a social order. The existence of spirits destitute of gregarious instincts and social affinities is conceivable, and may be perhaps somewhere in existence in the great spirit world—the world of which the material universe... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:9-27

The New Jerusalem. We must see in this a portrayal of that holy community which is "the bride, the wife of the Lamb." It is the ideal representation of vital Christianity—Christianity as a system, but as a system embodied in the lives of men. The descriptions are of a glorious character. What can exceed the essential glory of the true Christendom, the true Church, the true bride, the veritable "wife of the Lamb"? It must not be separated from the heavenly, the final Jerusalem, the happy... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:16

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth. The shape is doubtless typical of that which is complete and symmetrical, to which nothing is wanting to render the shape perfect. The word τετράγωνος , "foursquare," is thus used by Greek philosophic writers. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. That is, in each direction. (On στάδιον , "furlong," see Revelation 14:20 .) The number twelve thousand, which is the number of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:17

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits. (For the signification of the number, see on Revelation 7:4 .) The parallel between the shape of the city as just related and the holy of holies ( vide supra ) almost seems to have insensibly suggested the transition from stadia to cubits. The discrepancy between the height of the city, which is twelve thousand furlongs ( Revelation 21:16 ), and the height of the wall, which is a hundred and forty-four... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 21:9-27

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 21:9-27

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 21:17

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 21:16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 21:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:9-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:9-27

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 21:17

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