Revelation 22:5

The final point John stressed was the great glory of God that will illuminate the whole new earth (Revelation 21:23-25; cf. Zechariah 14:6-7; Zechariah 14:9). Previously he mentioned this to show how glorious the city will be, but now he did so to emphasize what delight this will result in for the city-dwellers (cf. Numbers 6:22-27). He added that His bond-servants will reign with Him forever, not just in the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4; Revelation 20:6). This is the fulfillment of God’s desire and command that man should rule over His creation (Genesis 1:26). [Note: Beckwith, p. 767; Wall, pp. 257-58.] Evidently faithful believers will have more authority in the new creation than unfaithful believers, as will be true during the Millennium (cf. Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27). However, we should not think of a type of rule in which some people become the objects of oppression.

"Our faithfulness in life prepares us for higher service in heaven." [Note: Wiersbe, 2:624.]

"Who knows but what He will give to each saint a world or a solar system or a galactic system to operate. Remember that Adam was given dominion over the old creation on this earth." [Note: McGee, 5:1077.]

Thus the prophecy of things that shall take place after present things (Revelation 1:19), which began in Revelation 4:1, closes with another picture of God’s servants worshipping around His throne and ruling under His authority.

"As seen in the Book of Revelation, worship today should involve adoration of God’s being, declaration of the Lamb’s worthiness, a celebration of God’s presence, submission to His authority, and fearing and serving Him." [Note: Mazie Nakhro, "The Meaning of Worship according to the Book of Revelation," Bibliotheca Sacra 158:629 (January-March 2001):85.]

Many commentators believed that the New Jerusalem is the place to which Jesus referred when He told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them (John 14:2). However, He probably meant that His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension constituted His preparatory work rather than His special creation of the new heavens and earth.

Sometimes people speak of the new heavens and earth as the eternal state. This terminology has led some to conclude that time as we know it, which marks events in sequence, will end when God destroys the present heavens and earth. This view was popular with some pagan Greek philosophers, and Origen held it. Some non-Christian eastern religions teach this view, and some Christians hold it today. There is no indication in the text, however, that the new creation will introduce a timeless form of existence. In fact the term "forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10; Revelation 21:5) implies the continuation of time without end. Furthermore the reference to months (Revelation 22:2) implies the sequence of events. The references to distances picture a creation in which there is not only time but space (cf. Revelation 21:2-3; Revelation 21:8; Revelation 21:10; Revelation 21:13-17; Revelation 21:24-27; Revelation 22:1-2).

"’Eternity’ to Old Testament people was not timelessness or absence of time. They knew no such realm. It was, rather, extension of time-as far back and as far forward as one could imagine-’time in its wholeness’ (JB), ’sense of time past and future’ (NEB)." [Note: David A. Hubbard, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, pp. 106-7. See also Leonard L. Thompson, The Book of Revelation, Apocalypse and Empire, p. 67; and Oscar Cullmann, Christ and Time.]

"We do well to return again and again to Revelation 21, 22, for it is the end of the pilgrim path. The more distinct the vision to the pilgrim of the beauty and glory of the city to which he journeys, the less the immediate environments of his journey attract him." [Note: Newell, p. 348.]

"This final vision of the book concerning these same five themes-new covenant, new temple, new Israel, new Jerusalem, and new creation-is also the climax and the expression of the main point of the Apocalypse thus far. But it is not the main point of the whole book. Why is this vision placed at the end of the book? It is here to underscore the ultimate basis for John’s final goal and purpose in writing: to exhort God’s people to remain faithful. . . .

"While the main goal of the book’s argument is to exhort God’s people to remain faithful so that they will inherit final salvation, this is not the most important theological idea in the book. The major theological theme of the book is the glory that God is to receive for accomplishing consummate salvation and final judgment . . ." [Note: Beale, pp. 1119-20. Italics omitted.]