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Revelation 21 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
There is a lot of crossover between what Isaiah writes in chapter 65 and the 21st chapter of Revelation.
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. 18 “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. 19 “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
Isaiah 65:17-19 NASB
If I had to choose a passage that sums up the message Revelation seeks to communicate, Rev 21:3-8 would have to be at the top of the list. It is a message God has been communicating since the beginning.
‘Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. 12 ‘I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
Leviticus 26:11-12 NASB
“I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 “My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Ezekiel 37:26-27 NASB
“Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
Zechariah 2:11 NASB
At the heart of this announcement from God is something new that’s never before been experienced by humans. The new world created for us will be in the presence of God with no sin, no pain, and no death. But although this picture is the fulfillment of many OT passages, it also satisfies everything that Jesus spoke of in the NT. The Son of Man declared to the woman at the well that He was Living Water. No one who drank of this would ever thirst again.
Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
Revelation 21:6-7 NASB
God welcomes each overcomer (believer) into His family. He will be our God and we will be His sons and daughters. As a final fulfillment of the age-old covenant with Abraham, the work of Jesus on the cross will qualify us for this blessing based on our faith.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
Galatians 3:29 NASB
But God is not sovereign without a picture of His justice as well. Though he extends grace and mercy to those who place their faith in His Son, verse 8 reminds us that those who oppose Him will suffer under the second death.
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:8 NASB
It’s a very interesting list to consider. It does not begin with a traditional pagan description of unbelievers. It begins with cowardly. This is fitting considering that both in John’s time as well as the end times people will be under immense pressure and persecution. It would be easy and convenient to discard your faith in order to continue to live comfortably. Cowardly may refer to those who “quickly fall away” because of trouble or persecution as told by Jesus in the parable of the sower.
In this context, it seems as if the beginning of this list (cowardly, unbelieving, abominable) could be describing people who professed to believe but fell away! This point is further strengthened by the fact that verse 7 commends the overcomers before moving into this strong rebuke. The truth is, many will deny their faith under pressure once persecution is ramped up. It happened to the early church and it will definitely happen during the end times.
It is wise for us to soberly examine these warnings and take them to heart. The trials we face today will produce perseverance so that we can finish the race no matter what stands in our way. As God told Jeremiah in chapter 12, “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?