Revelation 21

This Chapter begins with the Vision of the New HEAVENS and the New Earth, by which all understand a new state of the Church, but ar divided in their Opinions, whether what is spoken be to be understood of the Church Militant upon the Earth; or of the Church Triumphant in Heaven. Those who understand it of the Church Militant here upon Earth, are divided in th ir Opinions, as to that Period of the Church which is here spoken of; Some understanding it of the Thousand years after the time of Constantine, for which I see no reason, (nor I believe will my that wisely considers the state of the in that time.) Others understand of years, mentioned chap. 20.) in which the Church should enjoy great peace, I must confess I choose much rather to agree with them who judg it signifieth the Church Triumphant, being ove ome with the reasons given by those Reverend Authors, a summary of which may be found in Mr. Pool's Latin Synopsis. 1. Th Interpretation carrieth on the History in order; wh reas according to the other, we must say the History, chap. 20.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. was interrupted by the Battel with Gog and Magog, and the account of the Day of Iudgment, from v. 7. the end of the last Chapter. 2. In reason, as close of the former Chapter gave us an account of the issue of the Day of Iudgment, as to wicked Men, so this should give some account how it should fare with the Saints. 3. We shall find some things in the new Hierusalem here described, which will agree to no state of the Church upon Earth, sect. 22.23.

AND I saw a new heaven and a new earth A new and glorious state of things relating to the Church., for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea For now there was an end of the World, and all the Troubles that the People of God had met with in it, as well as the material Earth, Heaven, and Sea were passed away: this new Heaven was prophecied of of old by Isaiah, and more lately by Peter, 2 Pet. 3.13..

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem That is, the whole Chorus or Number of the Elect of God, answering God's Chosen People in Ierusalem., coming down from God out of heaven Not locally coming down, but who had their Original from Heaven, and were all persons of Heavenly Minds., prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. In their best Robes of Glory, such as Brides use to wear, when on their Wedding-day they adorn themselves for their Bridegrooms.

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 What is said here, is applicable to the Church of God in this Life, yea to every true Believer, whose Body is said to be the Temple of the Lord, and in whom the Lord dwells, according to the phrase of the Holy Ghost, in many places of the New-Testament; of whom it is also true, that God with them, and will be their God; but more especially applicable to the Church-Triumphant, as dwelling signifies a constancy of abode, and more full manifestation of a person. The state of the Saints in Glory, is thus described by a being ever with the Lord, 1 Thess. 4.17..

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor trying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away Scarce any of the passages in this Verse, taken in the plain literal sense are applicable to any state of the Church in this life: for though in the thousand years, mentioned v.. 20. the state of the Church (as 'tis presumed) will be very happy comparatively to what was before, and free from its and Persecutions; yet I think none has asserted that in that time no Members of it shall die, or be sick, or have any sorrow or pain. There must be a great allowance of Figures, if we will apply this to any State of the Militant Church; but all will be literally true as to the Church in Heaven..

And he that ate upon the throne That is, Christ said,, said, Behold, I make all things new Behold I will put a new Face upon all things; the state of my People shall not for ever be a troubled and afflicted state.. And he said unto me Write Because the Vision is to be for an appointed time, and what I now tell thee will not be accomplished of many years, and yet the knowledg and prospect of it, and meditations upon it, is of highest importance to keep up the Spirits of my People under all Su erings, during that time of the Dragon (the Romish Heathen Emperors) not yet run out, and the 1200 years of Antichri, &c. therefore write it, that all my People in all Ages, may know it, believe it, and suffer patiently the hopes of it. for these words are true and faithful For what I tell thee is, what comes from the true and faithful Witness, and shall have a certain being in its time..

And he said unto me, It is done The World is at an end, and all my Threatnings against my Enemies, and Promises to my People are now fulfilled in the eternal Damnation of the one, and Deliverance and Salvation of the other., I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end I first made the World, and I have put a Period to it. I first gave out those Promises and Threatnings, and I have now fulfilled them.: I will give unto him that is athirst, of the fountain of the water of life freely And my People who have thirsted after my Righteousness and Salvation, now have it freely, and shall drink, and drink abundantly..

He that overcometh, shall inherit all things God revealed this to Iohn almost 1600 years since; and how king it shall be before this glorious time shall come, God alone knows: the most of this time has been, and will be a time of Fighting with the World, the Flesh and the Devil; but whoever he be that shall fight this good Fight, and come out of it a Conqueror, shall inherit all the Joys and Happiness of Heaven., and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. I will be to him ALL in All; I will be his God to love, and glorify him; and he shall be with me as my Son, to live with me for ever and ever.

But the fearful All those who are without the Church invisible, whether Profane Persons, (such are Murderers, Whoremongers, Sorcerers, Liars) or Idolaters, or Unbelievers and Hypocrites, shall all be cast to Hell. The fearful, who through fear of lo ing their Reputation, Estates, Honours, or Lives, deny me, or shall not dare to own me., and unbelieving Such as will not agree to the Proposition of my Gospel, or will not come to me that they might have Life., and the abominable Sodomites, and such as live in Beastly Lusts., and murderers Such as without any warrant from God; take away Mens lives wilfully., and whoremongers Such as defile their Neighbours Wives., and sorcerers Such as exercise Witchcraft, consult the Devil, and trade with Familiar Spirits., and idolaters Whether they commit the Idolatry of Ahab, giving Divine Adoration to the Creatures, as the term of their Worship; or the Idolatry of Ieroboam, worshipping the true God by images., and all liars And all such as are Liars with their Tongues, speaking what they know to be false, or Liars in practice, that is, Hypocrites, seeming to be what they are not., shall have their parts in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death All these, and all such like, shall be Eternally Damned..

And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues One of those mentioned, chap. 15.6., and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife I will show thee the whole Church (invisible heretofore) the glorious state of the Church Triumphant, under the representation of a great City..

And he carried me away in the spirit In a Trance of Ex asy (as before)., to a great and high mountain From whence Men use to have the best Prospect of Cities, or other places., and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God There he caused me to see the whole Triumphant Church, answering as the Anti-type to Hierusalem, but more Holy; being not of the Earth, Earthly, but from Heaven, Heavenly, founded, built up, and adorned by God.,

Having the glory of God A most excellent Glory received from God., and her light was like unto a stone most precious And her Light, that is (as some interpret it) that which gave her Light, (as the Sun is called the Light of the Earth) or her inlightner., even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal Was Christ himself, who is a Stone most precious, v. 23. The Lamb is the Light thereof.; Like a Iasper stone, see chap. 4.3. God is there compared to a Iasper stone, here to a Iasper stone, clear as Crystal. They say of the Iasper stone, that it is very glorious to the Eye, precious and pure, so it is very fit to resemble in part, a pure and glorious God.

And That is, this City, by which is meant the Church of God, had had a wall great and high a Wall great and high; Walls are for the Protection and Defence of a place, the higher and greater they are, the greater Defence and Protection they give. By this God is meant, who is often called his Peoples Rock and Defence., and had twelve gates The use of the Gates of a City, are to let persons in and out; the Church is said to have twelve Gates, because of the free liberty of access to the Church while it was Militant, and to signify that the Church in Heaven will be made up of Persons come into it from all parts; or for the greater state and glory of it. Some think, because of the 12 Apostles, who were the first Ministers of the Gospel who admitted Men: into this Church., and at the gates twelve angels Denoting the Guard of Angels about the Church; unless by Angels, Ministers be to be understood, proportioned to the several parts of the Church., and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel Because as of old, only the 12 Tribes of God's Chosen people Israel, made up the Church in that Period; so only God's Elect and peculiar People, typified by that Israel, come in at the Gates of this Church. It is very observable; how God affects the number of i in the affairs of his Church..

On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, on the west three gates To signify it was made up of persons from all parts of the World. This agreeth with Ezechiel's Vision, Ezech. 48.31, 32, 33, 34. The Triumphant Church will be a collection of Believers, who from all Nations have come into it..

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations The ancient Church of God was founded in 12 Patriarchs, and 12 Tribes; the Gospel Church in 12 Apostles; Christ is the only Foundation of both, 1 Cor. 3.11. but he is the Foundation upon which the Church is built. The 12 Apostles are called the Foundations per quae, or per quos, by which the Gospel Church had its beginning., and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb As Work-Men sometimes set their Names upon Foundation-Stones, by which it is made known who were they that builded the Wall..

And he that talked with me, had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof This seemeth to signify the transcendency of the state of the Church now, to what it was before: it was then measured by a Man, chap. 11. now by an Angel; then by an ordinary Reed, now by a Golden Reed..

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth, And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length, and the breadth and the heighth of it are equal The Church Militant, measured by the Reed of the Word, is equal in its parts. Some parts of it are purer than others; but in the New Ierusalem all parts shall be equal in perfection and purity, as all the sides of a thing foursquare are equal..

And he measured the wall thereof an hundred and forty, and four cubits This could not be the measure of the compass, (it was for that much too little,) nor of the heighth or breadth, (for either of them it was much too great,) from whence Dr. Potter concludes, it must be the square measure; so as the heighth and breadth of it was twelve Cubits, for 12 times 12 makes 144., according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel and as this Angel measured, who appeared as a Man in this Action.. As Men use to measure

And the building of the wall of it was of Jasper Strong and Impregnable, not subject to Impressions from Enemies, as it is said of the Iasper, that no Hammer will break it., and the city was pure gold All that make up this City are perfect and noble,, like unto clear glass and pure without spots..

And the foundations of the wall of the city By which we noted before, are to be understood the Apostles, who building upon the one Foundation Christ Jesus, by their Holy Doctrine laid the beginnings of the Gospel-Churches, the first Stones (upon the Rock Christ) which were afterwards multiplied, others being builded upon them, till the whole Church was perfected. were garnished with all manner of precious stones p. The first foundation was a jasper; the second, a sapphire; the third, a chalcedonie; the fourth, an emerauld.

The fifth, a sardonyx; the sixth, a sardius; the seventh, a chrysolite; the eighth, a berill; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst I cannot tell what to make of these precious Stones, with which they are said to be garnished, unless it be their Spiritual gifts and habits of Grace. The various manifestations of the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles to profit the Church with all, with which they adorned the Doctrine of the Gospel, and wan upon the Pagan World, making themselves admirable in the Eyes of Men and Women. Nor were it hard to descant upon these several sorts of Stones, and to show of what Graces they may be Types; the Iasper, of Steadiness and Constancy: The Saphyr, of Heavenly-mindedness; (it being a Stone of the colour of the Heavens:) The Chalcedony, of Zeal: the Emerald, of Vigour and Liveliness: The Sardonix (a stone of various colours) of various gifts and graces: The Sardius, of Courage and Fortitude, and a readiness to shed their Blood for Christ: The Chrysolite, of Love, or Wisdom, and Knowledge: The Berill, of a quickness of sight and understanding; The Topaz of searching out Divine Mysteries: The Chrysophrasus, of Gravity and Severity: The Iacinth, of Spiritual Ioy, Calmness, and Serenity of Mind: The Amethist, of Sobriety and Temperance: But it seems to me too great curiosity to Philosophize so far upon the nature of these Stones; take them together, they probably signify all the Gifts and Graces of the Blessed Apostles, by which the Religion of the Gospel was first commended, and made to appear lovely to the World..

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass I am not willing to descant further in particulars, conjecturing (for it is no more) what each Metaphorical term signifies in this unusual Description of a City. I do think the scope of the whole, is no more, than to let us know, that the mansions of Heaven will be most glorious places, giving the Souls of those to whom God shall give to enter into them, an infinite satisfaction, beyond what the most rich and glorious things in the World can give our outward senses..

And I saw no Temple therein I cannot take Temple so strictly here, as those who understand all this but as a description of the Blessed State of the Militant Church, during the Thousand years, but understand it of all such Worship and Ordinances as we serve God in, and by, in this Life., for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb are the temple of it The immediate fruition of God shall there supply all, God shall be all in all, 1 Cor. 15.28. Ordinances are but Perspectives, of use in this Life to see God at a distance; means, whereby we know in part: There we shall see God face to face, and know him as we are known. The Saints there shall want nothing, and therefore shall not need an House of Prayer; they shall know perfectly, and therefore will not need any to teach them; they shall always see Christ, and so will need no Sacraments whereby to remember him..

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it The Sun and the Moon are the two great Luminaries of the World, which God has made, the one to rule the Day, the other to rule the Night; in Heaven there will be no need of any of these. Light in Scripture (in its Metaphorical notion) signifies knowledg or com ort, there will in Heaven be no need of any created Beings, to help us to either of these; God and Christ shall there fill the Souls of his Saints with Knowledg and Joy not to be expressed., for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof u.

And the nations of them that are saved, shall walk in the light of it All that go to Heaven shall be thus happy., and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it And such Kings of the Earth, as shall come into Heaven, shall see all their Honour and Glory swallowed up in the Glory and Honour of that place and state; and confess that all their Crowns are infinitely short of this Blessed and Glorious Crown, all their Thrones nothing to these Thrones..

And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day The reason of shutting a Cities Gates, is either to shut out Enemies, or to keep in such as are within: There will be no need of shutting these Gates on either of these accounts; there will be no Enemies to fear, and those that are within this City will have no need nor desire to go out., for there shall be no night there We do not ordinarily shut ou City Gates by day, but there shall be nothing but Day, no Night in a natural or metaphorical sense..

And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it Whatsoever is excellent or desirable in the World, shall be supplied to the Souls of those that are in Heaven, by Good of another make, but which shall be equally (nay infinitely more) satisfactory to the Soul..

And there shall in no wise enter into it, any thing that defileth This strongly denying Particle is brought to make the Bar excluding all unclean persons from Heaven evident. And alas! how often had this need be denied, to make Men and Women of their Lusts, believe it? the Word translated, that, signifieth, what is common; nothing, no person th has not by an Holy Life separated himself from the World and all Sin, and Wickedness, and dedicated himself to God., neither whatsoever worketh abomination No pro ne, or lewd Person,, or maketh a lie Nor any false or lying Hypocrites, nor any Idolaters, for Idols are Lies.; but they which are written in the Lambs book of life None but those whose Names are written in the Book of Life, predetermined to Salvation, and redeemed with the Blood of Christ. Some are not pleased with this Sense; but what other thing can be meant? This is, at least, the sixth time we have met with this Phrase in this Book, ch. 3.5. and 13.8. and 17.8. and 20.12, 15. It is also mentioned, Phil. 4.3. and what else can be meant in Moses his Prayer, Exod. 32.32. It is twice, ch. 13.8. and 17.8. said, that Names were written in it from the Foundation of the World. God has a particular, certain, infallible Knowledge who are his, and had it from Eternity; and whence he should know it, without willing of it, is very hard to conceive. It is called the Lamb's Book, to let us know, that the Act of Redemption by Christ bears proportion the Councils of Election..