Revelation 21:23

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. IN IT. So, Vulgate; but 'Aleph (') A B, Andreas, '(shine) on it,' or, 'for her.' THE LIGHT - `the lamp' (Isaiah 60:19). The direct light of God and the Lamb shall make the saints independent of God's creatures, the sun and moon....

22-27 Perfect and direct communion with God, will more than supply the place of gospel institutions. And what words can more full express the union and co-equality of the Son with the Father, in the Godhead? What a dismal world would this be, if it were not for the light of the sun! What is there in heaven that supplies its place? The glory of God lightens that city, and the Lamb is the Light thereof. God in Christ will be an everlasting Fountain of knowledge and joy to the saints in heaven. There is no night, therefore no need of shutting the gates; all is at peace and secure. The whole shows us that we should be more and more led to think of heaven as filled with the glory of God, and enlightened by the presence of the Lord Jesus. Nothing sinful or unclean, idolatrous, or false and deceitful, can enter. All the inhabitants are made perfect in holiness. Now the saints feel a sad mixtur...

Verse 23. _NO NEED OF THE SUN_] This is also one of the traditions of the ancient Jews, that "in _the world to come_ the Israelites shall have no need of the _sun by day_, nor the _moon by_ _night_."-_Yalcut Rubeni_, fol. 7, 3. God's light shines in this city, and in the Lamb that light is concentrated, and from him everywhere diffused....

AND THE CITY HAD NO NEED OF THE SUN, NEITHER OF THE MOON, TO SHINE IN IT - This imagery seems to be derived from Isaiah 9:19. See notes on those verses. No language could give a more striking or beautiful representation of the heavenly state than what is here employed. FOR THE GLORY OF GOD DID LIGHTEN IT - By the visible splendor of his glory. See the notes on Revelation 21:11. That supplied the place of the sun and the moon. AND THE LAMB IS THE LIGHT THEREOF - The Son of God; the Messiah. See the Revelation 5:6 note;...

EXPOSITION REVELATION 21:1 AND I SAW. The usual introduction to a new vision (cf. Revelation 20:11, etc.). Having described the origin and progress of evil in the world, the final overthrow of Satan and his adherents, and the judgment when every man is rewarded according to his works, the seer now completes the whole by portraying the eternal bliss of the redeemed in heaven (cf. on Revelation 20:10). The description is based upon Isaiah 60:1. and Ezekiel 40:1., et seq.;...

AND THE CITY HAD NO NEED OF THE SUN, NEITHER OF THE MOON TO SHINE IN IT,.... Which may be understood either literally of these two luminaries, which all earthly cities need; and which, though they may be in being in the new heavens, yet will not have the use with respect to this city they now have. The Jews say u, the orb of the sun is in this world; and the gloss adds, but not in the future state, for the lights shall be renewed: and they further say w, as here, that "in the world to come, "Israel אין צריכין לאור החמה, will have no need of the light of the sun, nor of the light of the moon", neither by day nor by night,'' as they say x, the Israelites had not in the wilderness. So they represent the Lord speaking to Moses, and saying y, "thy days shall cease, but thy light shall not cease; for thou shall have no need for ever of the light of the sun, nor of the light of the moon, and...

Revelation 21:1. _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._ Astronomers tell us that, within living memory, several starry worlds have burnt out, and vanished out of sight. The apostle Peter has told us that this world also will be destroyed by fire, but it will afterwards be renewed, and a new sky and a new earth will appear after the first firmament and the first earth shall have become extinct. God means that this planet should continue to exist after it has had a new creation, and renewed its youth. The regeneration of his people, their new birth, is a foretaste of what is yet to happen to this whole world of ours. We have the first-fruits of the Spirit, and we groan within ourselves while we wait for the fullness of that new creation. «The first heaven and the first earth were passed awa

CHAPTER 21 Revelation 21:1 . And now the eternal state comes into view. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and the sea is no more.” This is the revelation concerning the final and eternal state of the earth. “Thou hast established the earth and it abideth” (Psalms 119:90); “But the earth abideth forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4). These divine statements are now fulfilled. Many Christians have a very vague conception of the eternal state of the earth and the abode of the redeemed. They think of it as a spiritual state destitute of any locality. But it is not so. The earth and the heaven abide as definite places throughout all eternity. Wha

REVELATION 21:1 TO REVELATION 22:5. THE VISION OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. The doctrine of the new heaven and the new earth goes back to Isaiah 65:17, and is derived from the belief that the present world was so corrupt that it could not possibly be the seat of the Messianic kingdom, at any rate in its present condition. The idea was developed in the apocalyptic literature, especially in Ethiopic Enoch, the Apocalypse of Baruch,, 4 Ezra. Some expositors hold that the New Jerusalem was established with the foundation of the Christian religion, and that the history of the Church is the history of the building of the city. But such an interpretation is mere allegorising. The writer of Rev. indicates in the clearest possib

THE NEW CREATION (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 make, in which life will be one continual act of worship (Isaiah 66:22). This idea is equally strong between the Testaments. It is God's promise: "I will transform the heav