The Holy City, Commentary · Chapter 21 · Verse 10
Vers. 10.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain, and shewed me that great City, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God.
The Angel being to shew this holyJohn qualified for this Vision. man this great and glorious Vision, he first (by qualifying of him) puts him into a suitable Capacity to behold and take the view thereof; He carried me away in the Spirit: When he saith, He carried me away in the Spirit, he means he was taken up into the Spirit, his Soul was greatly spiritualized: Whence take notice, That an ordinary frame of Spirit is not able to comprehend, nor yet to apprehend extraordinary things: Much of the Spirit, deserveth much of Gods matters; but little of the Spirit, deserveth but little of them: I could not speak to you as unto Spiritual, but as unto Carnal, even as unto Babes in Christ; I have fed you with Milk, and not with Meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, nor yet are ye able, 1 Cor. 3. 1, 2.
And he carried me away in the Spirit, &c.
Thus it was with the Saints of old, when God had either special Work for them to do, or great things for them to see: Ezekiel, when he had the vision of this City in the old Law, in the Captivity at Babylon, he must be first fore-fitted with a competent measure of the Spirit, Ezek. 40. 2. John also, when he had the whole matter of this Prophecie revealed unto him, he must be in the Spirit; I was (saith he) in the Spirit on the Lords day, and heard behinde me a great Voice, as of a Trumpet, talking with me, &c. Rev. 1. 10, 11. Whence note again, That when God calls a man to this orWhen God calls to Work, he fits for Work. that Work for him, he first fits him with a suitable Spirit: Ezekiel saith, when God bid him stand upon his Feet, That the Spirit entered into him, and set him upon his Feet, Ezek. 2. 1, 2.
And he carried me away, &c.
Mark, And he carried me [away] &c. As a man must have much of the Spirit that sees much of God, and his goodly matters; so he must be also carried AWAY with it; he must by it be taken off from things carnal and earthly, and taken up into the glory of things that are spiritual and heavenly: the Spirit loveth to do what it doth in private; that man to whom God intendeth to reveal great things, he takes him aside from the lumber and cumber of this World, and carrieth him away in the solace and contemplation of the things of another World; And when they were alone, he expounded Mark 4. 34.all things to his Disciples; mark, And when they were ALONE; according to that of the Prophet, Whom shall he teach Wisdom, and whom shall he make to understand Doctrine? they that are WEANED from the Milk, and DRAWN from the Brests, Isa. 28. 9. Whence observe also, He is the man that is like to know most of God, that is oftenest in †Luk. 2. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 34, 35, 36 37, 38.private with him: He that obeyeth, when God saith, Come up hither, he shall see the Bride, the Lambs Wife: For a man through desire having SEPARATED himself, seeketh and intermedleth with all Wisdom, Prov. 18. 1.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain.
Thus having shewed his frame, and inward disposition of Spirit; he now comes to tell us also of the Place or Stage on which he was set; to the end that now being fitted by illumination, he might not be hindered of his Vision by ought that might intercept: He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain. Thus did God of old also; for when he shewed to Moses the Patterns of theExod. 19. 3. heavenly things, he must ascend into the Mount Sinai; he must into the Mount also, when he hath the view of the holy Deut. 32. 49.Land, and of that goodly Mountain Lebanon: Whence we may learn, That the things of God are far from man as he is natural; and also that there are very great things between us and the sight of them; none can see them but such as are carried away in the Spirit, and set on high.
—To a great and high Mountain.
This Mountain therefore signifieth the Lord Christ, on which the Soul must be placed, as on a mighty Hill, whereby he may be able (his Eyes being anointed with spiritual Eye-salve) to see over the 2 Cor. 10. …, 6.tops of those mighty Corruptions, Temptations, and spiritual Enemies, that like high and mighty Towers are built by the wicked one, to keep the view of Gods things from the sight of our Souls: wherefore Christ is called, The Mountain of the Lords House, or that on which the House of God is placed; he is also called, The Rock of Ages; and, The Rock that is higher than we: The Hill of God is an high Hill, as Bashan; an high Hill, as the Hill of Bashan, Psal. 68. 15. This is the Hill from whence the Prophet Ezekiel had the Vision of this City: And upon this Rock (saith Christ) will I build my Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it, Ezek. 40. 2. Mat. 16. 18.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain, and shewed me that great City, the holy Jerusalem.
Having thus told us how, and withJerusalem considered in general. what he was qualified, he next makes relation of what he saw, which was, that great City, the holy Jerusalem.
Jerusalem in the Language of the Scripture is to be acknowledged for the Church and Spouse of the Lord Jesus; and is to be considered either generally, or more particularly: Now as she is to be taken generally, so she is to be understood as being †Eph. 3. 15.the whole Family in Heaven and Earth; and as she is thus looked upon, so she is not considered with respect to this or that state and condition of the Church here in the world, but simply, as she is the Church: therefore it is said, when at any time any are converted from Satan to God, That they are come to Mount Sion, the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; to an innumerable Company of Angels; to the general Assembly and Church of the first-born that are written in Heaven; to God the Judge of all, and to the Spirits of Just men made perfect; to Jesus, and to the Blood of sprinkling, Heb. 12. 22, 23, 24.
But again, As Jerusalem is thus generallyJerusalem is to be considered more particularly. to be understood, so also she is to be considered more particularly: 1. Either as she relates to her first and purest state; or, 2. As she relates to her declined and captivated state; or, 3. With reference to her being recovered again from her apostatized and captivated condition: Thus it was with Jerusalem in the Letter; which threefold state of this City shall be most exactly answered by our Gospel-Jerusalem, by out New-Testament-Church. Her first state was in the days of Christ and his Apostles, and answered to Jerusalem in the days of Solomon; her second state is in the days of Antichrist, and answereth to the carrying away of the Jews from their City into Babylon; and her third state is this in the Text, and answereth to their return from Captivity, and rebuilding their City and Walls again: All which will be fully manifest in this Discourse following.
Besides, That this holy City that here you read of, is the Church, the Gospel-Church, returning out of her long and Antichristian Captivity; consider,
First, She is here called a City, the very name that our Primitive †Ephes. 3. 19.Church went under; which name she loseth all the while of her Apostatizing and Captivity under Antichrist: for observe, I say, all the while she is under the scourge of the Dragon, Beast, and the Woman in Scarlet, &c. she goeth under the name ofRev. 13. a Woman, a Woman in travel, a Woman flying before the Dragon, a Woman flying into the Wilderness, there to continue in an afflicted and tempted condition, and to be glad of Wilderness-Nourishment, until the time of her Enemies were come to an end, Rev. 12.
Now the reason why she lost the title of City, at her going into Captivity, is, Because then she lost her situation and strength; she followed others then Christ, wherefore he suffered her Enemies to scale her Walls, to break down her Battlements; he suffered, as you see here, the great Red Dragon, and Beast with seven Heads and ten Horns, to get into her Vineyard, who made most fearful work both with her and all her Friends: her Gates also was now either broken down, or shut up, so that none could according to her Laws and Statutes enter into her; her Charter also, even the Bible it self, was most grosly abused and corrupted, yea, sometimes burned and destroyed almost utterly: wherefore the Spirit of God doth take away from her the title of City, and leaveth her to be termed a wandring Woman, as aforesaid: The Court that is without the Temple (saith the Angel) leave out, and measure it not, for it is given to the Gentiles; and the Holy City shall they tread under foot forty and two months, Rev. 11. 2. The Holy City shall they tread under foot; that is, all the City-Constitutions, her Forts and Strength, her Laws and Priviledges for a long time shall be laid aside and slighted, shall become a hissing, a taunt, and a by-word among the Nations. And truly thus it was in the Letter, in the destruction of Jerusalem by the King of Babylon and his wicked Instruments, by whose hands the City was broken up, the Walls pulled down, the Gates burned, the Houses ri…ed, the Virgins ravished, and the Children laid dead in the top of every street, 2 Chron. 36. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. Jer. 52. Lam. Chap. 1, 2, 3, 4. Now was Zion become a plowed Field, and Jerusalem turned to heaps; a place of Briers and Thorns, and of wastness and desolation, Mic. 3. 12. Isa. 7. 23, 24.
Secondly, The phrase also that is joyned with this of City, doth much concern the point; she is here called, The new and holy City, which words are explained by these, As a Bride adorned and prepared for her Husband: the meaning is, That she is now got into her Form, Fashion, Order and Priviledges again; she is now ready, adorned, prepared, and put into her Primitive state: Mark, though she was in her state of affliction called a Woman, yet she was not then either called a City, or a Woman ADORNED; but rather a Woman robbed & spoiled, rent and torn among the briers and thorns of the Wilderness, Isa. 5. 6. & 42. 22. & 32. 13, 14. Wherefore this City is nothing else but the Church returned out of Captivity from under the reign of Antichrist: As is yet further manifest, because,
Thirdly, We finde no City to answer that which was built after the Jews return from Captivity, but this: for this, and onelyonly this is the City that you finde in this Prophecie, that is nominated as the Antitype of that Second of the Jews: wherefore John hath no relation of her while towards the doom of Antichrist, and no description of her in particular until Antichrist's utterly overthrown: as all may see that wisely read the 17th, 18th, 19th, & 20th Chapters of this Prophecie.
—And shewed me that great City.
The holy Ghost is pleased at this timeWhy the Church at this day is called by the name of a City, rather than a Woman, Temple, House, or the like. to give the Church the name of a City, rather than any other name; rather than the name of Spouse, Woman, Temple, and the like: (though he giveth us her under the name of a Woman also, to help us to understand what he means) but I say, the name of a City is now the name in special, under which the Church must go, and that for special Reasons:
First, To shew us how great and numerous a People will then be in the Church; the Church may be a Woman, a Temple, a Spouse, when she is but few, but an handful, but two or three; but to be a City, and that in her glory, it bespeaks great store of Members, Inhabitants, and Citizens; especially when she goeth under the name of a GREAT City, as here she does: He shewed me that GREAT City.
Secondly, She goeth rather under the name of a City, than Temple or Spouse; to shew us also how plentifully the Nations and Kingdoms of men shall at that day traffick with her, and in her, for her goodly Merchandize of Grace and Life: to shew us, I say, what wonderful custom the Church of God at this day shall have among all sorts of People, for her Heavenly Treasures. It is said of Tyrus Ezek. 27 Rev. 18. 2, 3.and Babylon, That their Merchandize went into all the World, and men from all quarters under Heaven came to trade and to deal with them for their Wares: why thus it will be in the latter day with the Church of God, the Nations shall come from far; from Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, Javan, and the Isles afar off; They shall come, saith God, out of all Nations upon Horses and Mules, and upon swift Beasts, to my holy Mountain Jerusalem: And it shall come to pass, that from one new Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord, Isa. 66. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. Alas, the Church at that day when she is a Woman onelyonly, or a Temple either, may be without that Beauty, Treasure, Amiableness, and affecting Glory that she will be endowed with when she is a prosperous City: His marvelous kindness is seen in a strong City, Psal. 31. 21. In Cities, you know, are the Treasures, Beauty, and Glory of Kingdoms, and 'tis thither men go, that are desirous to solace themselves therewith: Out of Zion, the perfection of *Psa. 50. 2.Beauty, God hath shined.
Thirdly, It is called a City rather than a Woman, or Temple, to shew us how strong and securely it will keep its Inhabitants at that day; In that day shall this Song be sung, We have a strong City; Salvation will God appoint for Walls and Bulwarks: And verily if the Cities of theDeut. 9. 1, 2. Num. 13. 28. Gentiles, and the strength of their Bars and Gates, and Walls, did so shake th… Hearts, yea, the very Faith of the Children of God themselves, how secur… and safe will the Inhabitants of this Cit… be, even the Inhabitants of that City whic… GOD Himself will build? &c.
But lastly and more especially, The Church is called here a City, chiefly to shew us that now she shall be undermost no longer: Babylon reigned, and so shall Jerusalem at this day; And thou, O Tower of the Flock, the strong hold of the Daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first Dominion, the Kingdom shall come to the Daughter of Jerusalem, Mic. 4. 8. Now shall she, when she is built and compleat, have a compleat Conquest and Victory over all her Enemies; she shall reign over them; the Law shall go forth of her that rules them, and the Governours of all the World at that day shall be Jerusalem-Men: And the Captivity of this Host of the Children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem which is in Sepharad, shall possess the Cities of the South: And Saviours shall come out of Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the Kingdom shall be the Lords, Ob. 20, 21. For the Law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem: And …e shall judge among many People, and rebuke strong Nations afar off, and they shall beat their Swords into Plowshares, and their Spears into Pruning-Hooks: Nation shall not lift up a Sword against Nation, neither shall they learn War any more, Mic. 4. 1, 2, 3. There brake he the Ships of Tarshish with an East winde: As we have heard, so have we seen in the City of the Lord of Hosts, in the City of our God; God will establish it for ever, Psal. 48. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. For observe it, Christ hath not only obtained the Kingdom of Heaven for those that are his, when this World is ended, but hath also, as a Reward for his Sufferings, the whole World given into his hand; wherefore as all the Kings and Princes and Powers of this World have had their time to reign, and have Glory in this World in the Face of all; so Christ will have his time at this day to shew who is the onelyonly Potentate and Lord of Lords, 1 Tim. 6. 15. At which day, he will not onelyonly set up his Kingdom in the midst of their Kingdoms, as he doth now, but will set it up even upon the top of their Kingdoms; at which day there will not be a Nation in the World, but must bend to Jerusalem, or perish: For the Isa. 60. 12Kingdom and Dominion, and greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominions shall serve and obey him, Dan. 7. 27. And his Dominion shall be from Sea to Sea, and from the River, to the ends of the Earth, Zech. 9. 10. O Holiness! how shall it shine in Kings and Nations, when God doth this!
He shewed me that great City, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God.
In these words we are to enquire into three things:
First, What he here should mean by Heaven.
Secondly, What it is for this City to descend out of it.
Thirdly, And why she is said to descend out of it from God.
First, For the word Heaven, in Scripture it is variously to be understood, but generally either materially or metaphorically: Now not materially here, but metaphorically; and so is generally, if not always, taken in this Book.
Now that it is not to be taken for the material Heavens where Christ in Person is: Consider,
That the descending of this City, … not the coming of glorified Saints with their Lord; because that even after the descending, yea, and building of this City, there shall be Sinners converted to God; but at the coming of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with his Saints, the door shall be shut; that is, the door of Grace, against all Unbelievers, Luk. 13. 25. Matth. 25. 10.
Therefore Heaven here is to be taken metaphorically, for the Church; which, as I said before, is frequently so taken in this Prophecie, as also in many others of the holy Scriptures, Rev. 11. 15. & 12. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 13. & 13. 6. & 19. 1, 14. Jer. 51. 48. Matth. 25. 1. &c. And observe it, though the Church of Christ under the tyranny of Antichrist, loseth the title of a standing City, yet in the worst of times she loseth not the title of Heaven; She is Heaven when the great Red Dragon is in her, and Heaven when the third part of her Stars are cast unto the Earth; she is Heaven also when the Beast doth open his Throat against her, to blaspheme her God, his Tabernacle, and those that dwell in her.
Secondly, Now then to shew you what are to understand by this, that she is said to DESCEND out of Heaven; for indeed to speak properly, Jerusalem is always in the Scriptures set in the highest ground, and men are said to descend, when theyEzr. 3. 1. Neh. 12. 1 Mat. 20. 17, 18. Luk. 19. 28. & 10. 30. go down from her, but to ascend, or go up, when they are going thitherwards: but yet though this be true, there must also be something significant in this word descending; wherefore when he saith, he saw this City to DESCEND out of Heaven, he would have us understand,
1. That though the Church under Antichrist be never so low, yet out of her Loins shall they come that yet shall be a Hebr. 7. 6, 13, 14.reigning City: Generation is a descending from the Loins of our Friends; he therefore speaks of the generation of the Church: Wherefore the meaning is, That out of the Church that is now in Captivity, there shall come a compleat City, so exact in all things, according to the Laws and Liberties, Priviledges and Riches of a City, that she shall lie level with the great Charter of Heaven. Thus it was in the Type, the City after the Captivity was builded, even by those that once were in Captivity, especially by their Seed and Off-spring; and thus it shall be in our New - Testament New Jerusalem; They that shall be of thee, saithIsa. 45. the Prophet, (that is, of the Church in affliction) they shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the Foundations of many Generations; and thou shalt be called, The Repairer of Breaches, and the Restorer of Paths to dwell in; and again, They that sometimes had Ashes for Gladness, and the Spirit of Heaviness instead of the Garment of Praise, They shall build the old Wastes, they shall raise up the former Desolations, and they shall repair the waste Cities, the Desolations of many Generations; for your shame you shall have double, and for confusion they shall rejoyce in their Portion, &c. Isa. 58. 11, 12. & 61. 3, 4, 7. Thus therefore by descending, we may understand that the Churches Generation shall be this Holy City, and shall build up themselves the Tower of the Flock.
2. When he saith, This holy City descended out of Heaven, he would have us understand also what a Blessing and Happiness this City at her rebuilding will be to the whole World: Never was kind and seasonable showers more profitable to the tender new-mown-Grass, than will this City at this day be, to the Inhabitants of the World; they will come as a Blessing from Heaven upon them: As the Prophet saith, The Remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many People, as a dew from the Lord; as the showers upon the Grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the Sons of men; Mic. 5. 7. O the Grace, the Light and Glory, that will strike with spangling Beams from this City, as from a Sun, into the furthest parts of the World! Thus saith the Lord, As the new Wine is found in the Cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a Blessing is in it: so will I do for my Servants sake, that I may not destroy them all: I will bring forth a Seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an Inheritor of my holy Mountain; and my Elect shall inherit it, and my Servants shall dwell there: And Sharon (where the sweet Roses grew, Song. 2. 1.) shall be a fold for Flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for the Herds to lie down in, for my People that have sought me, Isa. 65. 8, 9, 10. In that day Israel shall be the third with Egypt and Assyria, even a Blessing in the midst of the Land, Isa. 19. 24. And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among the Heathen, O House of Judah, and House of Israel; so will I save you, and you shall be a Blessing: fear not, but let your Hands be strong, Zec. 8. 13. As the dew of Hermon that descended upon the Mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the Blessing, even life for evermore, Psal. 133. 3.
And now for the third particular, namely, What it is to descend out of Heaven FROM GOD.
1. To descend out of Heaven (that is, out of the Church in Captivity) from God, is this; The Church is the place in which God doth beget all those that are the Children of him; wherefore in that they are said to descend out of Heaven FROM GOD, it is as as if he had said, The Children of the Church are Heaven-born, begotten of God, and brought forth in the Church of Christ: For Jerusalem which is above, is the Mother of us all: The Lord shall count when he writeth up the People, that this man was born there; Gal. 4. 26. Psal. 87. 5, 6.
2. When he saith he saw this Jerusalem come out of Heaven from God, he means, That those of the Church in Captivity that shall build this City, they shall be a People peculiarly fitted and qualified for this Work, of God. It was not all the Children of Israel that had their hand i… building Jerusalem after the Captivity of old; their Nobles put not their hands to the Work of the Lord; also there were manyNeh. 3. 5. of Judah that were sworn to Tobiah the …rch Opposet of the building of the City, because of some Kindred and Relation that then was between them and him, Neh. 6. 17, 18, 19. and as it was then, so we do expect it will be now; some will be even at the beginning of this Work, in Babylon; at that time also some will be cowardly and fearful, yea, and even men hired to …inder the Work, Nehem. 6. 10, 11, 12. Wherefore I say, those of the Church that …t that day builded the City, they were men of a particular and peculiar Spirit, which also will so be at the building of New Jerusalem: They whose Light breaks forth as the Morning, they that are mighty for a Spirit of Prayer, they that take away the Yoke, and speaking Vanity, and that draw out their Soul toIsa. 58. 8. to 14. the Hungry; they that the Lord shall guide continually, that shall have fat Bones, and that shall be as a watered Garden, whose Waters fail not, &c. of THEM shall they be that build the old wastes, and that raise up the Foundations of many Generations, &c. It was thus in all Ages, in every Work of God, SOME of his People, SOME of his Saints in special in all Ages, have been used to promote, and advance, and perfect the Work of their Generations.
3. This City descends or comes out of Heaven from God, that is, by his special working and bringing to pass; 'twas God that gave them the Pattern, even when they were in Babylon; 'twas God that put it into their Hearts while there, to pray for deliverance; 'twas God that put it into the Hearts of the Kings of the Medes and Persians to give them Liberty to return and build; and it was God that quailed the Hearts of those that by opposing did endeavour to hinder the bringing the Work to perfection; yea, it was God that did indeed bring the Work to perfection: wherefore she may well be said to descend out of Heaven from GOD; as he also saith himself by the Prophet, [I] will cause the Captivity of Judah, and the Captivity of Israel to return▪ and [I] will build them as at the first, Ezek▪ 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Neh. 2. 8. & 3. 18. Ezr. 7. 27▪ Neh. 4. 15. & 6. 15, 16. Jer. 33. 7. & 32. 44. Ezek. 36. 33, 34, 35, 36. & 37. 11, 12, 13, 14. Amos 9. 11. Lastly, When he saith he saw her decend from God out of Heaven, he may refer to her Glory, which at her declining departed from h…, and ascended to God; as the Sap returns into the Root at the Fall of the Le…: which Glory doth again at her return descend, or come into the Church, and Branches of the same, as the Sap doth arise at the Spring of the Year; for indeed the Churches Beauty is from Heaven, and it either goeth up thither from her, or else comes from thence to her, according to the natures of both Fall and Spring, Cant. 2.
Thus you see what this HEAVEN is, and what it is for this City to DESCEND out of it; also what it is for this City to descend out of it FROM GOD.