Revelation 21:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,

NIV: The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

NASB: The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

CSB: The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

NLT: The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

Based on the vague timeline given in these passages, and the description of New Jerusalem "coming down" (Revelation 21:10), some scholars suggest New Jerusalem is hovering above earth during the millennium. According to that assumption, it seems the light from the eternal city will be so strong that the nations on the millennial earth—as in, seemingly the entire planet—will walk in it. However, those who dwell on the earth during the millennium will also have sunlight and moonlight. Zechariah 14:7 predicts, "And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light." The saved rulers of the earth will enjoy access to New Jerusalem and will bring their glory into it.

Based on those prior verses and the sheer size of the city, some interpreters suggest New Jerusalem will hover over the earth during the millennium and the regenerate rulers on earth will travel back and forth to the city. As of this writing, spacecraft shuttle cargo and passengers into space, so it is not hard to foresee such travel back and forth to New Jerusalem during the millennium and beyond.

Likely, the millennial residents of New Jerusalem will have access to the millennial earth without the aid of space shuttles. Their glorified bodies are capable of transcending space and matter, just as the risen Lord did when He entered the room with locked doors, where His disciples were gathered (John 20:19).

Revelation 21:9–27 presents a description of the New Jerusalem. Interpreters disagree about whether this is a flashback to the millennial reign of Christ, or a description of the eternal state of the city. A flashback is not unprecedented in Revelation, occurring in chapters 11, 14, 15, and 17. However, some verses here clearly refer to eternal conditions, and most scholars take this as a depiction of the eternal, final heavenly city.

This chapter focuses on the New Jerusalem. This is not the earthly, historic Jerusalem of the tribulation (Revelation 11:2, 8). Nor is it the surviving Jerusalem of the millennium that serves as Jesus' capital (Revelation 20:9). It is the heavenly city referred to in Hebrews 12:22, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10, 16). John attempts to describe the indescribable using analogies to precious gems and metals.

Leading up to this chapter, all sin and evil have been entirely defeated. Satan is banished to hell, along with every person who rejected Christ, as seen in chapter 20. Here, John describes the nature of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city which descends onto earth after the ultimate victory over evil. Chapter 22 is a further description of this perfect eternity, and last messages from Jesus to those who read John's words.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''