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 21:22-27 KJV)
Thomas Scott
Verses 22-27: The temple was essential to the literal Jerusalem as its great ornament and honour; and it made a prominent part in Ezekiel’s vision of the church, during the millennium, under the emblem of the holy city (Ezekiel chapters 40-48): but there was no temple in the mystical city that John saw; which is a demonstration that the heavenly state was exclusively meant. In heaven there will be no need of external symbols of the Lord’s presence, when he shall be fully manifested in his essential glory, as far as creatures can perceive and know him. He will be evidently among them, to communicate unalloyed felicity, and to receive their adorations; and the eternal Son in human nature, as the Lamb that was slain, will be a temple, in which “all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily,” will be made manifest to the glorified bodies of the saints; while the perfections of the divine nature will be contemplated with open face, by the exercise of their intellectual powers.—Nor will this holy city need the sun or moon to lighten it, or any of the things which outwardly contribute to our comfort, and are suited to our state on earth; for “the glory of God will lighten it,” yea, the Lamb “will be the Light” and Felicity of it. Isa 60:15-22 What words can more fully express the mysterious union and co-equality of the Son with the Father in the Godhead?—The inhabitants of this city will not only be numerous above those of other cities, but even nations, many nations of those whom Jesus hath saved, will dwell in it, and walk in the light of God and the Lamb perpetually and eternally. If all the kings of the earth had concurred to bring the whole of their wealth, magnificence, and glory into one place, it could not have borne any comparison with this holy city. Thus those kings who belonged to the church on earth, though they have left all their outward grandeur behind them, will ye bring all their real honour into it, and all other glory will be swallowed up in it. The gates not shut by day, and there being “no night there,” emblematically show the liberty, peace, security, and uninterrupted enjoyment of that blessed state: And as believers are the excellent of the earth, and enter thither from every nation; so it may literally be said that “they bring the glory and honour of the nations into it;” as well as figuratively, in respect of its incomparable splendor and excellency. Moreover, nothing sinful or unclean can at all find admission into it. All the inhabitants are absolutely perfected in holiness; and all increase, rejoice in, and participate each other’s felicity, being all excellent, loving, and lovely, beyond expression or imagination.