--Now that the old has been done away, John is given understanding of the new--

-THE conclusion-
-REV. 21:9-22:21-

-The Scriptures-

Revelation 21

9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 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 height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 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.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
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.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Revelation 22

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

-The Scriptures with our comments-

9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

The speaker changes again, now it is "one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues." His job is to show John the glorified Church.  Therefore, the next several verses will deal with names and descriptions that apply to the Church of all the Ages. 

We often see the many names of Jesus in prophetic passages, but here in verses 9 and 10, we are given several names that belong to the churches. In verse 9, she is called the bride and the Lamb's wife. (The Bible refers to O.T. Israel, the first Church [call-out ones], as the Lord's wife; while it refers to the N.T. Church [called-out ones] as the Lord's Bride. The use of both terms places both "called out ones" in heaven with their Savior.  However, the wording suggests that the bride and the Lamb's wife are the same; but this, also, is not contrary to Scripture; for Paul says that by the Cross, Christ has made the believing Jews and Gentiles to be one in Him [Eph. 2:8:22]. )  Now in verse 10, the Church is referred to as a great and high mountain. (She has been a great spiritual mountain for all to see because God has made her so. Her "quality" of greatness comes about because only born-again, washed in the blood, regenerated spirits will be in her. And she has been high--her quantity--because of the number of souls that God sought and saved.) She is also labeled as that great city. (Again, she will be great because of the glory that God shall bestow upon her.) And, she is given the title of the holy Jerusalem. (And of course, she will be holy because she has been imputed the righteousness of Christ Himself.)

"Having the glory of God..." The following verses are some key verses concerning the glory that awaits the Church.

Gal 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

2Ti 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Col. 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Col. 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

...and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; In the jewels/precious stones of the Bible, the jasper stone represents Christ Jesus. Consequently, the Bride will shine like a jasper stone because she will be "one with Christ." (Click here for a study of the precious stones of the Scriptures.)

And had a wall great and high... For an interesting study, type the word "wall" in the Gateway Bible search program and observed the pattern used for the use of wall (singular) and walls (plural). You shouldn't be long into your study before you see that wall (singular) is used mostly with a spiritual connotation; while walls (plural) is used mostly with Israel in the natural.

When we consider that a wall was built to protect cities from their enemies and that the church today is obsessed with its own needs and protection, we have problems understanding why the Lord referred to it as a wall, "great and high." Perhaps we have trouble seeing it this way because, for the most part, the church today has just turned "belly up," or is on the defensive at its best.

The Church is supposed to be a dam that holds back the "flood" of the enemy, but one doesn't have to be very spiritual to understand that the church is "under a bushel" and that it (the salt of the earth) has lost its savor. Let's consider the term "under a bushel." Why would the believer want to hide in the darkness "under a bushel," especially when he or she had to have seen the glorious light of the Gospel to become a believer? I think that perhaps the old country song "Out Behind the Barn" explains the term and its concept very well. In the song, a youngster "gets his education" by sneaking out behind the barn to taste of the devil's forbidden fruit and see just what his lies have to offer. Of course, those of past generations that felt they had to sneak out behind the barn to smoke and experiment with the "illicit" don't have to say anything. The statistics on cancer and other smoking-related diseases, and those concerning broken homes and messed up lives tell the tale.

Church, let's face it. An army on the run has never won a war. And the Lord has called us to be on the offensive--to take the battle to the enemy and to give him no ground. In fact, we are supposed to be pushing back darkness by walking in the glorious light that is ours in Christ Jesus. THE DEVIL WOULD HAVE US TO BELIEVE THAT THINGS ARE TO FAR GONE--THAT HE HAS WON. But remember, we are that "great, high wall" and all we have to do is repent of behind-the-barn shenanigans, cry out unto our Lord and Savior, and begin walking in the glorious light that is ours! Politicians, social workers, and the well-meaning, as hard as they may try, cannot heal our lands (not unless they are walking in the Lord)--only the Church has that power! Go figure how much good one can do "hiding under a bushel".

II Chron. 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways*; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
*I wonder what all "turn from their wicked ways" entails?

...and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel... Again, we run into spiritual numerology. The number 12 has to do with the foundations of the Lord's churches. This particular verse is referring to Israel, the first church (called-out ones) of the Scriptures. If the Jews ever doubt the evangelistic intent of their "call," the fact that they are called gates in the Scriptures should dispel all such doubts. How sad that for the most part, they chose to keep the gates closed to the ones that they were called to evangelize and minister to--including their own children. It is interesting that the angels who have been given the task of ministering to Israel are also assigned the number 12.

Since the number three speaks to testing, perhaps the four divisions of three each could point back to the four ages in which Israel went through her times of testing: i.e., the ages of Promise, the Law, Grace, and the Kingdom Age.

We've seen the twelve tribes of Israel are represented by the gates to the city, now we see the twelve apostles (?their teaching and their examples?) serving as the foundations for the walls--which all makes sense since the individual Christians are all "lively stones" set in place in the wall by God Himself (I Pet. 2:5), Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20-21).

In Bible times, a reed was six cubits in length and in God's numbering system, the number 6 represents mankind. The application of the golden reed probably refers to the testing/measuring of the Church/believers of the six ages since the fall of man at the Garden which brought the Age of Innocence to a close--all of which will be in heaven at the time. (In a sense, the Churches of all seven ages will be in heaven since Adam and Eve, the only people on earth during the Age of Innocence, came forward to the Age of Conscience where they were "measured" as would be all of their offspring by their faith in the goodness and atoning work of God in His Son.)  King Belshazzar, the son of King Nebuchadnezzar and a type of worldly rulers who hold the Church in contempt, was "weighed in the balances" and found wanting (Daniel chapter 5). But the church will be measured with a "golden reed," for when God looks at it, He sees the righteousness of Christ and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

And the city lieth foursquare... In Scriptural numerology, four is the number of the earth--so could four square mean that the redeemed of all ages shall be included in the city?

...and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. As we've said, twelve is the number of the foundations of the Church. A thousand stands for a full accounting or a total number. Hence, 12,000 represents a full accounting the total number of the redeemed of the earth.

...The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. The "length and the breadth" brings to mind a Scripture. In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prayed to the Father that the Ephesian brethren might "... be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Eph 3:18). Here, at last, the Church will not only be able to comprehend the love of God, but they will be in the middle of it!

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four... The "hundred and forty and four" is the product of 12 x 12, indicating that the wall is comprised of a  mixture of the two churches.

...cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. The cubit was an ancient unit of measurement approximately equal to the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. If the angel talking to John was in the form of a man, then his arm would be similar to a man's arm. Probably, though, this language is prophetic and it may have to do with the angel's part in the Kingdom of God: i.e., they have served as messengers to the churches and as ministering spirits throughout the ages. Also, in the last half of the Daniel's 70th Week, at the end of the Kingdom Age, the angels will get to preach the Gospel to mankind, and this could account for their place in the wall. Or the application could be both of the above, or neither.

When we consider the "walls" of the city we need to remember that although Christ is the Masterbuilder--as well as the Chief Cornerstone, nevertheless, the believers are co-workers with Him in the building of them.

1Co. 3:9-13
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.
But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

Gold and silver has to do with personal victories over trials and testings in this life. The precious stones are the souls of those that we have won to Christ with the Gospel and our testimony. (The kinds of stones also have significance. Click here for our study of the precious stones of the Bible.)

...and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
A popular interpretation of this verse is literal: i.e., that the streets are actually paved with gold. The songwriters have picked up on this translation and would have us walking in heaven on streets of gold. This brings to mind a story.

Once upon a time, there was a very devout charismatic preacher who had remained very devoted to his message of prosperity throughout his ministry. When it came time for him to die, he entreated the Lord to let him take some of his wealth with him to heaven--reminding God that he had been very faithful to his prosperity message all of his days. The Lord reminded him that he was not to take anything with him when he entered into the pearly gates, but the preacher was persistent, and finally the Lord relented and told him that he could take with him all that he could get into one suitcase.

After giving the matter much thought, the preacher converted his money into gold bars and filled the suitcase to bulging.

It wasn't long until he died and went to heaven. At the pearly gates, he was stopped by St. Peter who refused to let him in with his suitcase. The preacher carefully explained that God had given him permission to take in one suitcase.  So Peter phoned headquarters and to his surprise, was told that the charismatic preacher indeed had permission to bring his suitcase.

"You can go in," Peter told the preacher "but first I have to check your suitcase." Peter opened the suitcase and exclaimed: "Oh, you've brought us more pavement."

Although it's fun to sing about walking on streets of pure gold, in reality, if the streets were of gold, we'd have to walk very, very lightly because pure gold is very soft and not very durable. Probably, a more reasonable interpretation could be derived by applying the prophetic meanings of the words; so, let's look at "street," "city,"  "gold," and "as it were transparent glass."

• "street"
  Vine's Dictionary says that the word used in this verse for "street" is plateia--grammatically the feminine of platus,… and that it is used as a noun meaning "a way" or "a street." Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). The way that Jesus revealed to man was one of obedience to His Heavenly Father. Jesus also said that He and His Church are one and that as the Father had sent Him, so would He send His Church. Therefore, as Jesus was the "way" or "street" to things eternal, so now are we. That is, we are to continue demonstrating "the way" to the world as we obey our Lord and Savior in all things Who in turn, will be working with us, confirming the Word with signs following (Mark 16:20). .

• "city"
  We just observed in verse 12 above how that the glorified Church is also referred to as a great city.

• "gold"
  And in our study we've already discussed how that "gold" is used of the believers who have overcome the trials in this life.

• "as it were transparent glass"
  This term simply means that in the life to come, the glorified believers will have no guile, treachery, or "hidden things" in their lives, but all will be looking to the needs and cares of others more so than themselves.

So, the words in the expression: "...and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass," are descriptive of the glorified Church of the Lord Jesus.  And important words they are to Christ and His Church for they have special meaning to them, bringing back to mind the times of shared efforts and  trials and hardships and moments of glory when Christ was in His Church doing the will of our Heavenly Father.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Again, the mystery of the Trinity and  John chapter 17.

Although I've always heard and often taught that this means there will be no sun or moon in the new heaven and the new earth, after having completed this study in Revelation, now, I'm not sure that this is what this verse means. If the sun stood for Jesus shining on His churches during the ages when He stood behind the vail, and the moon stood for the believers who reflected that light, then in the new heaven and the new earth, there will be no more need for this spiritual application; for all of God's children will know as they are known and they will bask in full view of their Creator and Redeemer.

Apparently, this verse is addressing the nations of the preceding Kingdom Age--and once again, we are given very little understanding of the particulars of the Kingdom Age, when the Word of God will not just be in print, but will be standing before men to be read.

Again, I've heard it preached and even preached myself about "this land of no night"; and the symbolism makes good lyrics for a song. But, I'm not so sure that we should take this as much literal as we should spiritual and symbolic. Granted, as Moses learned, no man in the natural can withstand the glory of God.

Exodus 33:
18 And he[Moses] said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock [Jesus]:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

But here in Revelation, we are talking about a time when men will be in glorified bodies and be standing in the presence of the LORD, when the gates of this city need never be closed during the day because there will be no enemies sneaking about and no warfare to be waged.

Consequently, since there will be no enemies, and no need to close the gates against enemies in the new heaven and the new earth (i.e., there will be no spiritual warfare), then it also stands to reason that there will also be no times of spiritual warfare (i.e., no day for the lions of Judah to wield their swords or for the Church to wrestle against principalities and powers--or no night when Israel will turn her back on God). But does this mean that on the new earth, the saints of God will not get to enjoy the beauty of a sunrise and a sunset, or the warmth of the sun, or the beauty of a moon-lit night??? In Mark 14:25, was Jesus referring to the Kingdom Age, or was He looking forward to the new earth when He said: "Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God." If He was talking about the new earth, then will there not be need for the day and night and the seasons of planting and harvesting?

My comments/questions concerning this statement fit hand in glove with my last comments/questions. Is this verse suggesting that all of the advances mankind will have made on the earth under King Jesus be brought forward to the new earth?

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth... This declaration brings to mind a word from the Apostle Paul.

Rom 14:14
I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that [there is] nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him [it is] unclean.

An innate object, a scientific principle, a universal truth, these all have no mind of their own, nor can they be labeled as evil of themselves. They are only evil if used for evil purposes. This is one of the reasons there will be nothing evil in the new heaven and the new earth--though it may be full of things--there will be no one there with any inclination to misuse anything!

...neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie... The use of the pronouns here are very significant. The use of whatsoever should strike fear in the heart of the unbeliever (if he would bother to take the time to hear the Word of the Lord), for this pronoun is used of a thing--in this case, of a sinner, not of a person known by God.

Mat 7:23
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

...but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. However, the use of they has the connotation of a person who is known by God. And how well does He know the believer? He knows are every thought and the very intent of our hearts; and He has the every hair of our heads numbered--a number, by the way, which changes every time one drops out or a new one is added!

This "water of life" is the Holy Spirit. In the natural, it is by the Holy Spirit that everything is sustained and maintained. In the spiritual realm of our age, it is the Holy Spirit who convicts men of sin, who gives the new birth and converts sinners into believers. It was of the Holy Spirit that John was writing in the following Scripture.

John 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

In our present age, the water of life is the Holy Spirit and the Church is the spicket that brings it to the world. However, because our plumbing is cluttered with trash and impurities, it does not always reach those without in its pure state. However, in the new earth, the water of life will come out as pure and clear as it went in!

First, let’s look at the prophetic terms used in this verse.

1. The Church is the "street" or "way" of pure gold
2. The "river" is descriptive of the Holy Spirit during the Grace Age
3. On "either side" of the "river" or Grace Age, (i.e., the ages before and after the Grace Age) God deals with the Hebrews, the seed of Abraham.
4. Throughout the Bible, Israel is often referred to as trees. Jesus came to the earth in the form of a man; hence, the "tree of life" alludes to the Lord Jesus.
5. "Twelve" is the number of the churches having to do with their foundation and government. This can be seen in Israel with its 12 tribes (and the N. T. Church with its 12 Apostles) which were ordained of God as an outreach tool to the rest of the world.
6. The "fruit" in this verse is the fruit of the "tree of life"/Jesus. In our age this fruit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in an obedient vessel. For the ages of Israel, however, this "fruit" was brought about by faith in God and obedience to His known will; and the "fruit" varied with each tribe and each age. Also note that during the times when Israel was commissioned to handle the Word of God, it was never without fruit, bearing some fruit "every month."
7. Prophetically, "leaves" stand for righteousness. As a type, the first mentioning is right after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden when they made aprons of fig leaves in an attempt to cover their nakedness before God. (The fig tree stands for the nation of Israel under the law and the "leaves"/ righteousness of the law are woefully inadequate as Paul later explained in his epistle to the Romans.) However, Jesus’ righteousness was without blemish for He was without sin. His obedience led Him to the Cross where He died for the sins of every man, woman, and child; and because of the Cross; men and women now have a righteousness that they can acquire by faith wherein they can stand covered before a Holy God without fear.

Now, let’s look again at the introductory phrase "In the midst of the street of it..." in the light of our Lord’s words in Matthew 18:18-20:

18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

At another time, Jesus promised His Church that He would never leave nor forsake it. In this verse He added another dimension, saying that where two or three were gathered together in His name, that He would be in the midst of them. If we add to this the fact that each individual believer becomes one in the Spirit with Christ at the time of the New Birth, then it’s easy to see how that the "tree of life"/Jesus is in the midst of the "street"/the Church.

When we consider the last part of this verse: ...for the healing of the nations, it would seem that this has something to do with the Kingdom Age wherein God will deal with nations as well as individuals. It's interesting that this "tree of life" will be in the midst of the street, as well as on both sides of the river depicting our Lords relation to both Israel and the Church. This is sort of like the promise to the Church: "in my father's house are many mansions" --which can only be understood in the Spirit.  Because of the reference to the Kingdom Age, this may very well be one of those verses that will not be fully interpreted until sometime during or after the Kingdom Age.

Remember, Jesus said that the greatest in the kingdom would be the servant of all.

Matthew 23:11
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

Undoubtedly, this will be one of the things that will make heaven to be heaven--everyone will just naturally put the needs of others ahead of their own.

Philippians 2:4
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Like the bride and the groom, the bride will "know" the husband, and he will be foremost in the thoughts of the bride; and by giving the bride his name, the husband assumes the responsibility of meeting the needs of the bride.

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun... Again, this should probably be seen as having a spiritual application: i.e., there'll be no night (no times of failure with no loss of the sense of His presence), there'll be no candle (i.e., there'll be no need of a church to tell others about Jesus; for everyone there will know Him in a very personal way.), and there'll be no light of the sun (i.e., Jesus will no longer be working behind the scenes to make all things work together for good for those who love Him in the Spirit.)

...for the Lord God giveth them light... God Himself shall enlighten them so that they shall know as they are known (I Cor. 13:12).

...and they shall reign for ever and ever. Does this mean that they shall reign over one another? the angels? or does it mean that like Adam, they shall have dominion over all that their Father has created?

This should be self-explanatory.

This key is given so that we can identify the theophany visits (i.e., the Lord Jesus visiting Old Testament times in the form of His New Testament body) of our Lord Jesus during the Old Testament times . Any angelic form that would appear to the faithful in ages past that would receive the worship of man was the Lord Jesus.

The speaker changes again. Jesus is speaking now. The time is at hand means that those things prophesied in Revelation (not the signs, but the events) will be the next "things" to take place on God's clock of the ages. Obviously, the things in the Book of Revelation will not all take place at one time, for the events will cover a span of time* which will include

• those things that will follow the Rapture of the Church,

• those things that will take place during the Kingdom Age,

• the final events that will come to pass after Satan has been released from his thousand year confinement in the fires of hell.

• and, of course, the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.

* If we consider that the messages to the seven churches at the beginning of the Book of Revelation allude to the churches (called-out ones) of each of the seven ages, and add to that the universal aspects of its conclusion, then we can see how that the Book of Revelation covers the total span of time allotted to the earth.

*NOTE. This web site has been constructed in answer to our call from the Lord Jesus. The author has put this study of Revelation on the web with Rev. 22:18-19 in mind all the while. It is our prayer that everyone who reads it will rely upon the Holy Spirit to give him/her understanding.