Understanding Revelation (21:9-10)~Newton

"Then came one of the seven angels who...spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,"

(Revelation 21:9-10)

For the bride is the church, the wife of the Lamb, and the holy city, new Jerusalem that has come down out of heaven from God is the church in eternity as well. It may be best to see “the holy city” as the community of the redeemed in eternity—the church—which is also “the wife of the Lamb.” It is the community of the redeemed in that the church involves many people from every age and from among every people group on earth all redeemed through the death of Christ on their behalf. They exist together for eternity as one body of believers, undivided by sectarianism, nationalism, racism, class, economic factors, or gender. Here is the community elected before the world began, each one’s name “written in the Lamb’s book of life,” and redeemed by the substitutionary death of Christ at the cross. The entire community unites around worship and service to “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.” So quite appropriately, this community of the redeemed is called “the bride, the wife of the Lamb,” which foreshadows the intimate communion and eternal love of Jesus Christ with His people forever. This is the bride that Christ has secured through His own bloody death and sanctified through His Word and by His Spirit, so that He might present her “in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25-27). Now, John explains what Paul meant by presenting the church “in all her glory.”

(Phil A. Newton)

Understanding Revelation (21:7)~Newton

"The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son."

(Revelation 21:7)

This new heaven and new earth belong to those who inherit it through the covenant promises in the gospel. It’s not for those who merely profess to be Christian or those who merely belong to a church. The Lord specifies who receives the eternal inheritance. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” The same promise that God gave to David, He gives to all that are in Christ. Notice that the theme of “he who overcomes” that we’ve seen throughout Revelation remains constant. He both promises and warns in such a statement. The promise is clear: the overcomers—those that persevere in the faith—receive the eternal inheritance. But the warning is just as clear. Those that shrink back, those that profess a step toward Christ but then return to the world will not receive the eternal inheritance. Real Christianity perseveres because in real Christianity God preserves His children.

(Dr. Phil A. Newton)

Understanding Revelation (21:6)~Riddlebarger

"And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."

(Revelation 21:6)

God has spoken of a new creation and it is so. He also identifies himself as that one is before all things and after all things. In other words, he alone is the sovereign one who rules over everything from the beginning of history until its end. This means that all of human history is under God’s sovereign control and he has finally brought all things to the end for which they have been created. God works all things according to the counsel of his will.

This is one of the great proof-texts in Scripture for the deity of Christ. Here, God declares himself to be the Alpha and the Omega, while in Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus affirms of himself that he is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. The conclusion is obvious–Jesus is God. And he who is the living water, will now give that living water to his people without cost or without limit. One day we will drink of this water and we will never thirst again.

(Kim Riddlebarger)

Understanding Revelation (21:5)~Venema

"And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 

(Revelation 21:5)

Far from being an empty and desolate place, the new creation will be enriched with the sanctified fruits of human culture. Nothing of the diversity of the nations and peoples, their cultural products, languages, arts, sciences, literature, and technology – so far as these are good and excellent – will be lost upon life in the new creation. Life in the new creation will not be a starting over, but a perfected continuation of the new humanity’s stewardship of all of life in the service of God

(Cornelius Venema)

Again, the word for “new” does not mean new in kind but new in quality.

Understanding Revelation (21:4)~Beale

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 

(Revelation 21:4)

In this new creation, God's people will no longer experience any of the forms of suffering characteristic of the old creation. When this occurs in the future, it will be a fulfillment of prophecy from (Isaiah 25:8) "the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces."

Both (Isaiah 35:10 and 51:11) predict that at the time of Israel's full restoration to God the people will experience "everlasting joy" and "gladness" because they will be protected from their former sufferings of "sorrow and sighing"" which will have fled away. 

The conclusion of verse 4 that "the first things have passed away" again fulfills Isaiah's prophetic utterances, "Do not call to mind the former things....Behold, I will do something new" (Isa. 43:18-19). "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind" (Isa. 65:17). 

(G.K. Beale) 

Understanding Revelation (21:3)~Riddlebarger

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."

(Revelation 21:3)

The great covenant promise God made first to Abraham and then to all of his people throughout redemptive history is now a glorious reality. Promise has become fulfillment. Type and shadow have become reality. God dwells with his people, who are fully redeemed and glorified, forever safe from peril and danger. God’s people have at long last entered the promised land and begin their Sabbath rest. With God’s people dwelling in his presence, all effects of human sin the curse are now gone.

(Kim Riddlebarger)

Understanding Revelation (21:2)~Hendriksen

"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

(Revelation 21:2)

This Jerusalem is called 'new' in contradistinction to the earthly, Palestinian Jerusalem. It is called "holy" because it is separate from sin and thoroughly consecrated to God. This new and holy Jerusalem is very clearly the Church the Lord Jesus Christ, as is also plainly evident from the fact that it is here and elsewhere called the bride, the wife of the Lamb (Is. 54:5; Eph. 5:32). Even in the Old Testament the church is represented under the symbolism of a city (Is. 26:1; Ps. 48). A city calls to our mind the concept of a permanent residence, a great number of inhabitants, safety and security, fellowship and beauty. With respect to all of these characteristics the church- in principle even today, in perfection, is like a city. We read that John saw this Holy City coming down out of heaven from God. This, too, is true with respect to both the ideal church of the present and the church of the future. It is always born from above. It is always the result of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 11:10,16; 12:22). 

(William Hendriksen)