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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Revelation 21:1–8. His four-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
We have here a more general account of the happiness of the church of God in the future state, by which it seems most safe to understand the heavenly state.
I.A new world now opens to our view (Rev 21:1):
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; that is, a new universe; for we suppose the world to be made up of heaven and earth. By the new earth we may understand a new state for the bodies of men, as well as a heaven for their souls. This world is not now newly created, but newly opened, and filled with all those who were the heirs of it. The new heaven and the new earth will not then be distinct; the very earth of the saints, their glorified bodies, will now be spiritual and heavenly, and suited to those pure and bright mansions. To make way for the commencement of this new world, the old world, with all its troubles and commotions, passed away.
II.In this new world the apostle saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, not locally, but as to its original:
this new Jerusalem is the church of God in its new and perfect state, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, beautified with all perfection of wisdom and holiness, meet for the full fruition of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.
III.The blessed presence of God with his people is here proclaimed and admired:
I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, etc., Rev 21:3. Observe,
1.The presence of God with his church is the glory of the church.
2.It is matter of wonder that a holy God should ever dwell with any of the children of men.
3.The presence of God with his people in heaven will not be interrupted as it is on earth, but he will dwell with them continually.
4.The covenant, interest, and relation, that there are now between God and his people, will be filled up and perfected in heaven. They shall be his people; their souls shall be assimilated to him, filled with all the love, honour, and delight in God which their relation to him requires, and this will constitute their perfect holiness; and he will be their God: God himself will be their God; his immediate presence with them, his love fully manifested to them, and his glory put upon them, will be their perfect happiness; then he will fully answer the character of the relation on his part, as they shall do on their part.
IV.This new and blessed state will be free from all trouble and sorrow; for,
1.All the effects of former trouble shall be done away. They have been often before in tears, by reason of sin, of affliction, of the calamities of the church; but now all tears shall be wiped away; no signs, no remembrance of former sorrows shall remain, any further than to make their present felicity the greater. God himself, as their tender Father, with his own kind hand, shall wipe away the tears of his children; and they would not have been without those tears when God shall come and wipe them away.
2.All the causes of future sorrow shall be for ever removed: There shall be neither death nor pain; and therefore no sorrow nor crying; these are things incident to that state in which they were before, but now all former things have passed away.
V.The truth and certainty of this blessed state are ratified by the word and promise of God, and ordered to be committed to writing, as matter of perpetual record, Rev 21:5, Rev 21:6. The subject-matter of this vision is so great, and of such great importance to the church and people of God, that they have need of the fullest assurances of it; and God therefore from heaven repeats and ratifies the truth thereof. Besides, many ages must pass between the time when this vision was given forth and the accomplishment of it, and many great trials must intervene; and therefore God would have it committed to writing, for perpetual memory, and continual use to his people. Observe,
1.The certainty of the promise averred: These words are faithful and true; and it follows, It is done, is as sure as if it were done already. We may and ought to take God's promise as present payment; if he has said that he makes all things new, it is done.
2.He gives us his titles of honour as a pledge or surety of the full performance, even those titles of Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. As it was his glory that he gave the rise and beginning to the world and to his church, it will be his glory to finish the work begin, and not to leave it imperfect. As his power and will were the first cause of all things, his pleasure and glory are the last end, and he will not lose his design; for then he would no longer be the Alpha and Omega. Men may begin designs which they can never bring to perfection; but the counsel of God shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure.
3.The desires of his people towards this blessed state furnish another evidence of the truth and certainty of it. They thirst after a state of sinless perfection and the uninterrupted enjoyment of God, and God has wrought in them these longing desires, which cannot be satisfied with any thing else, and therefore would be the torment of the soul if they were disappointed but it would be inconsistent with the goodness of God, and his love to his people, to create in them holy and heavenly desires, and then deny them their proper satisfaction; and therefore they may be assured that, when they have overcome their present difficulties, he will give them of the fountain of the water of life freely.
VI.The greatness of this future felicity is declared and illustrated,
1.By the freeness of it - it is the free gift of God: He gives of the water of life freely; this will not make it less but more grateful to his people.
2.The fulness of it. The people of God then lie at the fountain-head of all blessedness: they inherit all things (Rev 21:7); enjoying God, they enjoy all things. He is all in all.
3.By the tenure and title by which they enjoy this blessedness - by right of inheritance, as the sons of God, a title of all others the most honourable, as resulting from so near and endeared a relation to God himself, and the most sure and indefeasible, that can no more cease than the relation from which it results.
4.By the vastly different state of the wicked. Their misery helps to illustrate the glory and blessedness of the saints, and the distinguishing goodness of God towards them, Rev 21:8. Here observe,
(1.)The sins of those who perish, among which are first mentioned their cowardliness and unbelief. The fearful lead the van in this black list. They durst not encounter the difficulties of religion, and their slavish fear proceeded from their unbelief; but those who were so dastardly as not to dare to take up the cross of Christ, and discharge their duty to him, were yet so desperate as to run into all manner of abominable wickedness - murder, adultery, sorcery, idolatry, and lying.
(2.)Their punishment: They have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
[1.]They could not burn at a stake for Christ, but they must burn in hell for sin.
[2.]They must die another death after their natural death; the agonies and terrors of the first death will consign them over to the far greater terrors and agonies of eternal death, to die and to be always dying.
[3.]This misery will be their proper part and portion, what they have justly deserved, what they have in effect chosen, and what they have prepared themselves for by their sins. Thus the misery of the damned will illustrate the blessedness of those that are saved, and the blessedness of the saved will aggravate the misery of those that are damned.
Historical interpretation
Eight Centuries of Reception
5 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
But we do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem, "let down from heaven," [Revelation 21:2] which the apostle also calls "our mother from above;" [Galatians 4:26] and, while declaring that our πολίτευμα, or citizenship, is in heaven, he predicates of it that it is really a city in heaven. This both Ezekiel had knowledge of [Ezekiel 48:30-35] and the Apostle John beheld. [Revelation 21:10-23] And the word of the new prophecy which is a part of our belief, attests how it foretold that there would be for a sign a picture of this very city exhibited to view previous to its manifestation. This prophecy, indeed, has been very lately fulfilled in an expedition to the East. For it is evident from the testimony of even heathen witnesses, that in Judæa there was suspended in the sky a city early every morning for forty days. As the day advanced, the entire figure of its walls would wane gradually, and sometimes it would vanish instantly. We say that this city has been provided by God for receiving the saints on their resurrection, and refreshing them with the abundance of all really spiritual blessings, as a recompense for those which in the world we have either despised or lost; since it is both just and God-worthy that His servants should have their joy in the place where they have also suffered affliction for His name's sake. Of the heavenly kingdom this is the process. After its thousand years are over, within which period is completed the resurrection of the saints, who rise sooner or later according to their deserts there will ensue the destruction of the world and the conflagration of all things at the judgment: we shall then be changed in a moment into the substance of angels, even by the investiture of an incorruptible nature, and so be removed to that kingdom in heaven of which we have now been treating, just as if it had not been predicted by the Creator, and as if it were proving Christ to belong to the other god and as if he were the first and sole revealer of it.
The Lord gives witness to himself, for the multitude of the saints will become his temple, so that he might dwell with them forever and that he might be their Lord and they might be his people. He himself will take away all weeping and every tear from the eyes of those whom he rewards with eternal gladness and whom he makes bright with perpetual blessedness.
The saint is instructed from heaven that this is the true dwelling whose type was indicated by Moses, or rather the prefiguration of the type, since the type exists in the church of the present day.
Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men, etc. God himself will be the reward of eternal beatitude for the elect, which they will possess forever as they are possessed by Him.
Behold, now it has revealed the riddle, saying, Behold, the tent of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God. The apostle made this clearer when he said later, "We who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:17)
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Summary
Revelation 21:3 is a profound declaration of God's eternal and intimate presence with humanity in the new creation. It unveils the ultimate fulfillment of God's redemptive plan, where the separation caused by sin is completely overcome, and God establishes His permanent dwelling among His redeemed people. This verse signifies the culmination of all biblical promises regarding divine fellowship, ushering in an era of unbroken communion, comfort, and joy for all who belong to Him.
Context
Literary Context
This verse is strategically placed within John's apocalyptic vision, immediately following the majestic unveiling of the new heaven and new earth and the descent of the New Jerusalem. It marks a dramatic shift from the preceding chapters, which detail intense judgments, cosmic battles, and the destruction of evil. Revelation 21:3 serves as the foundational declaration of the new order, explaining why the new creation is glorious: because God Himself is present within it. It sets the stage for the subsequent descriptions of the New Jerusalem's splendor and the eradication of all sorrow and pain, as detailed in Revelation 21:4.
Historical & Cultural Context
The concept of God dwelling among His people has deep roots in Israel's history. From the portable Tabernacle in the wilderness to Solomon's Temple, these structures served as physical representations of God's presence, albeit limited and conditional. The Old Testament prophets, such as Ezekiel, also foretold a future time when God's dwelling would be permanent and perfect. The Jewish people, having experienced periods of exile and the destruction of the Temple, deeply longed for the restoration of God's manifest presence. Revelation 21:3 speaks directly to this ancient longing, declaring its ultimate and eternal fulfillment, transcending any earthly temple or temporary dwelling.
Key Themes
The central theme is God's Permanent Dwelling with humanity, a concept echoed throughout Scripture as the ultimate goal of redemption. The phrase "the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them" signifies the end of any temporary or mediated presence, culminating in the fullest realization of "Immanuel," meaning "God with us" in an eternal sense. This leads directly to the theme of Restored Relationship, articulated by the ancient Covenant Formula: "they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." This formula, found in passages like Jeremiah 31:33, signifies a perfect, unbroken fellowship where humanity is fully reconciled to God, and God is fully present among His redeemed. Finally, the verse introduces the theme of Divine Intimacy and Comfort, as God's direct presence means the eradication of all evil, sorrow, and pain, leading to a state of ultimate peace and joy for His people, as further elaborated in Revelation 21:4.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This noun refers to a tent or a cloth hut, often implying a temporary dwelling. Its deliberate use here, recalling the Old Testament Tabernacle, highlights the contrast between God's temporary, veiled presence in the wilderness and His permanent, unveiled dwelling in the new creation. It emphasizes the direct, unhindered access and communion that will characterize the relationship between God and His people.
Derived from skēnḗ, this verb means "to pitch a tent" or "to encamp." In a figurative sense, it means to occupy as a mansion or to reside, particularly as God did in the Tabernacle of old, symbolizing protection and communion. The future tense "he will dwell" underscores the certainty and permanence of God's indwelling, signifying a complete and eternal cessation of separation.
This term denotes a people in general, often referring to a specific nation or group, particularly God's chosen people, Israel. In the New Testament, it expands to include all who are redeemed by Christ, forming a new spiritual Israel. Its use here reinforces the covenantal relationship, emphasizing that those with whom God dwells are His specially chosen, beloved community, distinct from humanity in general.
Verse Breakdown
"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying"
This opening clause establishes the divine authority and cosmic significance of the declaration. The "great voice" (mégas phōnḗ) signifies a powerful, authoritative pronouncement, not from an angel or human, but directly "out of heaven" (ek ouranós), indicating its origin in God's throne room and its absolute certainty. It is a revelation from the highest authority.
"Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men"
The imperative "Behold" (idoú) calls for immediate attention to a momentous truth. The "tabernacle of God" refers not to a physical structure but to God's very presence, His dwelling place. The phrase "is with men" (metá ánthrōpos) signifies a profound shift: God's presence is no longer confined to a sacred space or a specific nation but is now directly and permanently among all redeemed humanity, emphasizing intimacy and accessibility.
"and he will dwell with them"
This reiterates and clarifies the previous statement, emphasizing the active, personal nature of God's presence. The verb "dwell" (skēnóō) reinforces the idea of God pitching His tent among His people, but now eternally. This is not a temporary visit but an everlasting habitation, signifying a deep, personal, and abiding relationship.
"and they shall be his people"
This clause articulates the reciprocal nature of the covenant relationship. It signifies that humanity, once alienated by sin, is now fully restored to a position of belonging and identity as God's own. This is the fulfillment of the ancient covenant promise, where God claims a people for Himself, and they respond in worship and obedience.
"and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God"
This final clause provides the ultimate culmination of the covenant. The emphatic "God himself" (theós autós) stresses the direct, unmediated presence of the Almighty. The repetition of "with them" underscores the intimacy, while "and be their God" is the quintessential covenant formula (ésomai theós), signifying a perfect, complete, and eternal relationship where God is fully present for His people, and they are fully devoted to Him.
Literary Devices
Revelation 21:3 employs several powerful Literary Devices. Symbolism is central, particularly with the "tabernacle of God." This image evokes the Old Testament Tabernacle, which symbolized God's presence among Israel, but here it is transformed from a temporary, earthly structure into God's eternal, direct presence with His people. The "great voice out of heaven" is a symbol of divine authority and the absolute truth of the declaration. The verse also utilizes Covenant Language, specifically the repeated formula "they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." This echoes ancient Near Eastern treaty language and biblical covenant promises, signifying a restored, unbreakable relationship of mutual belonging and fidelity. Furthermore, there is a strong element of Repetition in the phrase "with them," which serves to emphasize the profound intimacy and permanence of God's dwelling among humanity. This repetition creates a rhythmic, reassuring cadence, underscoring the central truth of the passage.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Revelation 21:3 represents the climactic fulfillment of the entire biblical narrative of redemption. From the moment humanity was separated from God's direct presence in Eden, the divine plan has been to restore that broken fellowship. The Tabernacle and Temple in the Old Testament were earthly shadows and temporary provisions for God's dwelling among His people, always pointing forward to a more perfect reality. This verse declares that the long-awaited day has arrived: God's desire to dwell with His creation is perfectly and eternally realized, not in a building, but in direct, unmediated communion with His redeemed people. It signifies the ultimate victory over sin and death, establishing a new heavens and new earth where God's glorious presence is the central reality, bringing an end to all sorrow and pain.
Reflection and Application
Revelation 21:3 offers a profound wellspring of hope, comfort, and motivation for believers today. In a world marked by transience, suffering, and a pervasive sense of alienation, this verse provides an anchor: the promise of an eternal, intimate dwelling with the very God of the universe. This future reality should shape our present perspective, reminding us that our ultimate home is not here, and our deepest longing for connection will be fully satisfied in His presence. It encourages us to endure present trials with joy, knowing that every tear will be wiped away by God Himself. Furthermore, this glorious future should motivate us to live lives that honor God now, cultivating a relationship with Him through Christ and the Holy Spirit, who already dwells within us. Our present experience of God's presence is a foretaste of the perfect communion to come, calling us to holiness and faithful witness.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of the "great voice out of heaven" in this verse?
The "great voice out of heaven" signifies a divine, authoritative, and undeniable pronouncement. In apocalyptic literature like Revelation, voices from heaven often convey messages directly from God or His heavenly court, emphasizing the absolute truth and certainty of the declaration. It ensures that the message of God's permanent dwelling with humanity is understood as a direct, unalterable decree from the highest authority, not a mere human speculation or a lesser angelic announcement.
How does the "tabernacle of God" in Revelation 21:3 relate to the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple?
The "tabernacle of God" in Revelation 21:3 signifies the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple. In the Old Covenant, the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) was a physical structure where God's presence symbolically resided among His people (Exodus 25:8). These were temporary and limited, requiring rituals and sacrifices to maintain fellowship due to sin. Revelation 21:3 declares that in the new creation, God's dwelling is no longer confined to a building or a specific place but is direct, personal, and permanent with all redeemed humanity. It is the reality to which the earthly structures pointed, a direct, unveiled, and eternal communion, where God Himself is the "temple" (Revelation 21:22).
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Revelation 21:3 finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple, which prefigured God's desire to dwell with humanity, were ultimately shadows of Christ Himself. John 1:14 declares that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," using the Greek verb skēnoō, directly linking Jesus to the concept of God "tabernacling" with humanity. Jesus is the true Immanuel, "God with us," embodying God's presence in human form. Through His atoning sacrifice on the cross, Christ removed the barrier of sin that separated humanity from God, making direct, intimate fellowship possible. His resurrection and ascension paved the way for the Holy Spirit to indwell believers, making each Christian and the collective Church a "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19) and a "dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:21-22). Thus, the promise of Revelation 21:3 – God's permanent dwelling with His people – is a glorious consummation of the redemptive work initiated by Christ, secured by His blood, and realized in the new creation where the Lamb is central to God's eternal presence (Revelation 22:3-4).