John has given us a brief look at some of the glories of
eternity in verses 1-8. One such glory is the New Jerusalem
adorned like a bride. So now in 21:9-22:5 more details are
given about this glorious city, the eternal home of the
redeemed. Revelation 21:9-21 will be a general description
of the construction of the city. Then in 21:22-22:5 we are
given a look at some of the special spiritual and physical
delights of our eternal home.
Verse 9 - One of the seven angels “who had the seven bowls
full of the seven last plagues” said to John, “Come here, I
will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
Verse 10 - “The bride, the wife of the Lamb” is a
description of the New Jerusalem. Why is the New Jerusalem
called the bride, the wife of the Lamb? In verse 2, we are
told the city was “made ready as a bride adorned for her
husband,” but here New Jerusalem is called the bride. There
are at least two reasons for this, the analogy of the figure
of a bride Revelation 21:2. Second, though the new Jerusalem
will eventually be the home of all the redeemed, it will
first be the home of the church, the bride of Christ, who
will also be on display during the thousand-year reign of
Christ, the marriage feast.
The glory that the new city displays is God’s glory; it is,
as with all creation, a derived beauty. The new city
perfectly reflects and manifests the glory of God in all His
holy perfection and essence.
“Having,” this city will constantly have and manifest the
perfection of God’s being. It can and will remain beautiful
because all the enemies of God have been permanently
removed, and all the saints, unlike Adam and Eve, will have
perfect, absolute, eternal holiness and life. This eternal
dwelling place of the saints, will give out a dazzling
display of the glory of God. It will be more beautiful
andexquisite than words can describe.
