Revelation of John 21:2

And I John--"John" is omitted in A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS; also the "I" in the Greek of these authorities is not emphatic. The insertion of "I John" in the Greek would somewhat interfere with the close connection which subsists between "the new heaven and earth," Rev 21:1, and the "new Jerusalem" in this verse. Jerusalem . . . out of heaven-- (Rev 3:12; Gal 4:26, "Jerusalem which is above"; Heb 11:10; Heb 12:22; Heb 13:14). The descent of the new Jerusalem out of heaven is plainly distinct from the earthly Jerusalem in which Israel in the flesh shall dwell during the millennium, and follows on the creation of the new heaven and earth. John in his Gospel always writes [Greek] Hierosoluma of the old city; in the Apocalypse always Hierousaleem of the heavenly city (Rev 3:12). Hierousaleem is a Hebrew name, the original and holy appellation. Hierosoluma is the common Greek term, used in a political sense. Paul observes the same distinction when refuting Judaism (Gal 4:26; compare Gal 1:17-18; Gal 2:1; Heb 12:22), though not so in the Epistles to Romans and Corinthians [BENGEL]. bride--made up of the blessed citizens of "the holy city." There is no longer merely a Paradise as in Eden (though there is that also, Rev 2:7), no longer a mere garden, but now the city of God on earth, costlier, statelier, and more glorious, but at the same time the result of labor and pains such as had not to be expended by man in dressing the primitive garden of Eden. "The lively stones" were severally in time laboriously chiselled into shape, after the pattern of "the Chief corner-stone," to prepare them for the place which they shall everlastingly fill in the heavenly Jerusalem.

Hitherto the prophecy of this book has presented to us a very remarkable mixture of light and shade, prosperity and adversity, mercy and judgment, in the conduct of divine Providence towards the church in the world: now, at the close of all, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away; a new world now appears, the former having passed away. Some are willing to understand all that is said in these last two chapters of the state of the church even here on earth, in the glory of the latter days; but others, more probably, take it as a representation of the perfect and triumphant state of the church in heaven. Let but the faithful saints and servants of God wait awhile, and they shall not only see, but enjoy, the perfect holiness and happiness of that world. In this chapter you have, I. An introduction to the vision of the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:1-9). II. The vision itself (Rev 21:10, etc.)

21:2 coming down from God: The new creation is a gift from God. In the beginning, God created everything good, and in the end, God will create a new, unbroken world. • This picture of Jerusalem as a beautiful bride (see Isa 61:10) contrasts starkly with the vision of Babylon (or Rome) as the prostitute (Rev 17:4-5; 18:2-3; see study note on 21:9–22:9).