Revelation 22:5

And there shall be no night there - notes on Rev 21:25.

And they need no candle - No lamp; no artificial light, as in a world where there is night and darkness.

Neither light of the sun; for the Lord God, ... - See the notes on Rev 21:23.

And they shall reign forever and ever - That is, with God; they shall be as kings. See the notes on Rev 5:10; Rev 20:6. Compare the Rom 8:16 note; 2Ti 2:11-12 note.

Remarks On Revelation 21:1-5 And Revelation 22:1-5

This portion of the Apocalypse contains the most full and complete continuous description of the state of the righteous, in the world of blessedness, that is to be found in the Bible. It seems to be proper, therefore, to pause on it for a moment, and to state in a summary manner what will be the principal features of that blessedness. All can see that, as a description, it occupies an appropriate place, not only in regard to this book, but to the volume of revealed truth. In reference to this particular book, it is the appropriate close of the account of the conflicts, the trials, and the persecutions of the church; in reference to the whole volume of revealed truth, it is appropriate because it occurs in the last of the inspired books that was written. It was proper that a volume of revealed truth given to mankind, and designed to describe a great work of redeeming mercy, should close with a description of the state of the righteous after death.

The principal features in the description are the following:

(1) There will be a new heaven and a new earth: a new order of things, and a world adapted to the condition of the righteous. There will be such changes produced in the earth, and such abodes suited up for the redeemed, that it will be proper to say that they are “new,” Rev 21:1.

(2) The locality of that abode is not determined. No particular place is revealed as constituting heaven; nor is it intimated that there would be such a place. For anything that appears, the universe at large will be heaven - the earth and all worlds; and we are left free to suppose that the redeemed will yet occupy any position of the universe, and be permitted to behold the special glories of the divine character that are manifested in each of the worlds that he has made. Compare the notes on 1Pe 1:12. That there may be some one place in the universe that will be their permanent home, and that will be more properly called heaven, where the glory of their God and Saviour will be especially manifested, is not improbable; but still there is nothing to prevent the hope and the belief that in the infinite duration that awaits them they will be permitted to visit all the worlds that God has made, and to learn in each, and from each, all that he has especially manifested of his own character and glory there.

(3) That future state will be entirely and forever free from all the consequences of the apostasy as now seen on the earth. There will be neither tears, nor sorrow, nor death, nor crying, nor pain, nor curse, Rev 21:4; Rev 22:3. It will, therefore, be a perfectly happy abode.

(4) It will be pure and holy. Nothing will ever enter there that shall contaminate and defile, Rev 21:8, Rev 21:27. On this account, also, it will be a happy world, for:

(a)All real happiness has its foundation in holiness; and,

(b)The source of all the misery that the universe has experienced is sin. Let that be removed, and the earth would be happy; let it be extinguished from any world, and its happiness will be secure.

(5) It will be a world of perfect light, Rev 21:22-25; Rev 22:5. There will be:

(a)Literally no night there:

(b)Spiritually and morally there will be no darkness - no error, no sin.

Light will be cast on a thousand subjects now obscure; and on numerous points pertaining to the divine government and dealings which now perplex the mind there will be poured the splendor of perfect day. All the darkness that exists here will be dissipated there; all that is now obscure will be made light. And in view of this fact, we may well submit for a little time to the mysteries which hang over the divine dealings here. The Christian is destined to live forever and ever. He is capable of an eternal progression in knowledge. He is soon to be ushered into the splendors of that eternal abode where there is no need of the light of the sun or the moon, and where there is no night. In a little time - a few weeks or days - by removal to that higher state of being, he will have made a degree of progress in true knowledge compared with which all that can be learned here is a nameless trifle. In that future abode he will be permitted to know all that is to be known in those worlds that shine upon his path by day or by night; all that is to be known in the character of their Maker, and the principles of his government; all that is to be known of the glorious plan of redemption; all that is to be known of the reasons why sin and woe were permitted to enter this beautiful world. There, too, he will be permitted to enjoy all that there is to be enjoyed in a world without a cloud and without a tear; all that is beatific in the friendship of God the Father, of the Ascended Redeemer, of the Sacred Spirit; all that is blessed in the goodly fellowship of the angels, of the apostles, of the prophets; all that is rapturous in reunion with those that were loved on the earth. Well, then, may he bear with the darkness and endure the trials of this state a little longer.

(6) It will be a world of surpassing splendor. This is manifest by the description of it in Rev 20:1-15, as a gorgeous city, with ample dimensions, with most brilliant colors, set with gems, and composed of pure gold. The writer, in the description of that abode, has accumulated all that is gorgeous and magnificent, and doubtless felt that even this was a very imperfect representation of that glorious world.

(7) That future world will be an abode of the highest conceivable happiness. This is manifest, not only from the fact stated that there will be no pain or sorrow here, but from the positive description in Rev 22:1-2. It was, undoubtedly, the design of the writer, under the image of a “Paradise,” to describe the future abode of the redeemed as one of the highest happiness - where there would be an ample and a constant supply of every want, and where the highest ideas of enjoyment would be realized. And,

(8) All this will be eternal. The universe, so vast and so wonderful, seems to have been made to be suited to the eternal contemplation of created minds, and in this universe there is an adaptation for the employment of mind forever and ever.

If it be asked now why John, in the account which he has given of the heavenly state, adopted this figurative and emblematic mode of representation, and why it did not please God to reveal any were respecting the nature of the employments and enjoyments of the heavenly world, it may be replied:

That this method is eminently in accordance with the general character of the book, as a book of symbols and emblems. He has stated enough to give us a general and a most attractive view of that blessed state. It is not certain that we would have appreciated it, or could have comprehended it, if a more minute and literal description had been given.

That state may be so unlike this that it is doubtful whether we could have comprehended any literal description that could have been given. How little of the future and the unseen can ever be known by a mere description; how faint and imperfect a view can we ever obtain of anything by the mere use of words, and especially of objects which have no resemblance to anything which we have seen! Who ever obtained any adequate idea of Niagara by a mere description? To what Greek or Roman mind, however cultivated, could there have been conveyed the idea of a printing-press, of a locomotive engine, of the magnetic telegraph, by mere description? Who can convey to one born blind an idea of the prismatic colors; or to the deaf an idea of sounds? If we may imagine the world of insect tribes to be endowed with the power of language and thought, how could the happy and gilded butterfly that today plays in the sunbeam impart to its companions of yesterday - low and grovelling worms - any adequate idea of that new condition of being into which it had emerged? And how do we know that we could comprehend any description of that world where the righteous dwell, or of employments and enjoyments so unlike our own?

I cannot more appropriately close this brief notice of the revelations of the heavenly state than by introducing an ancient poem, which seems to be founded on this portion of the Apocalypse, and which is the original of one of the most touching and beautiful hymns, now used in Protestant places of worship - the well-known hymn which begins, “Jerusalem! my happy home!” This hymn is deservedly a great favorite, and is an eminently beautiful composition. It is, however, of Roman Catholic origin. It is found in a small volume of miscellaneous poetry, sold at Mr. Bright’s sale of manuscripts in 1844, which has been placed in the British Museum, and now forms the additional ms. 15,225. It is referred, by the lettering on the book, to the age of Elizabeth, but it is supposed to belong to the subsequent reign. The volume seems to have been formed by or for some Roman Catholic, and contains many devotional songs or hymns, interspersed with others of a more general character. See Littell’s Living Age, vol. xxviii. pp. 333-336. The hymn is as follows:

A Song Made by F. B. P.

To the tune of “Diana”

Jerusalem! my happy home!

When shall I come to thee?

When shall my sorrows have an end -

Thy joys when shall I see?

O happy harbor of the saints -

O sweet and pleasant soil!

In thee no sorrow may be found,

No grief, no care, no toil.

In thee no sickness may be seen,

No hurt, no ache, no sore;

There is no death, no ugly deil*,

There’s life forevermore.

No dampish mist is seen in thee,

No cold nor darksome night;

There every soul shines as the sun,

There God himself gives light.

There lust and lucre cannot dwell,

There envy hears no sway;

There is no hunger, heat, nor cold,

But pleasure every way.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!

God grant I once may see.

Thy endless joys, and of the same.

Partaker aye to be.

Thy walls are made of precious stones,

Thy bulwarks diamonds square;

Thy gates are of right orient pearl,

Exceeding rich and rare.

Thy turrets and thy pinnacles.

With carbuncles to shine;

Thy very streets are paved with gold,

Surpassing clear and fine.

Thy houses are of ivory,

Thy windows crystal clear;

Thy tiles are made of beaten gold -

O God, that I were there!

Within thy gates no thing doth come.

That is not passing clean;

No spider’s web, no dirt, no dust,

No filth may there be seen.

Ah, my sweet home, Jerusalem!

Would God I were in thee;

Would God my woes were at an end,

Thy joys that I might see!

Thy saints are crown’d with glory great,

They see God face to face;

They triumph still, they still rejoice -

Most happy is their case.

We that are here in banishment.

Continually do moan;

We sigh and sob, we weep and wail,

Perpetually we groan.

Our sweet is mixed with bitter gall,

Our pleasure is but pain;

Our joys scarce last the looking on,

Our sorrows still remain.

But there they live in such delight,

Such pleasure, and such play,

As that to them a thousand years.

Doth seem as yesterday.

Thy vineyards said thy orchards are.

Most beautiful and fair;

Full furnished with trees and fruits,

Most wonderful and rare.

Thy gardens and thy gallant walks.

Continually are green;

There grow such sweet and pleasant flowers.

As nowhere else are seen.

There’s nectar and ambrosia made,

There’s musk and civet sweet;

There many a fair and dainty drug.

Are trodden under feet.

There cinnamon, there sugar grows,

There nard and balm abound;

What tongue can tell, or heart conceive,

The joys that there are found?

Quite through the streets, with silver sound,

The flood of life doth flow;

Upon whose banks, on every side,

The wood of life doth grow.

There trees forevermore bear fruit,

And evermore do spring;

There evermore the angels sit,

And evermore do sing.

There David stands with harp in hand,

As master of the quire;

Ten thousand times that man were blest.

That might this music** hear.

Our Lady sings Magnificat,

With tune surpassing sweet;

And all the virgins bear their parts,

Sitting above her feet.

Te Deun doth Saint Ambrose sing,

Saint Austin doth the like;

Old Simeon and Zachary.

Have not their song to seek.

There Magdalene hath left her moan,

And cheerfully doth sing.

With blessed saints, whose harmony.

In every street doth ring.

Jerusalem, my happy home!

Would God I were in thee;

Would God my woes were at an end,

Thy joys that I might see!

*devil, in ms., but it must have been pronounced Scoticè, “deil.”

**Musing, in ms.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Rev_22:5

There shall be no night there.

The light of the blessed

This declaration would be no good news to us in our present state. Night brings rest and refreshment to wearied bodies, and often over-laden minds. Yet who of us all remembers to give thanks, because daylight does not invite us unceasingly to toil and anxiety? But, if we think upon the subject, we shall see that the blessings of the night are all connected with a state of trouble, labour, and imperfection. Hence we may understand there being in heaven no time of sleep and darkness. For centuries we have been trying to light up a dark world, and trying in vain. There is indeed a light come into the world, but it shineth in a dark place. It is pleasant news to many that Christ died to save sinners, but when told that all thin was to bring them nearer to God, to enable them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, then the greater number turn from the light and plunge back into the darkness. Some there are who do humbly and thankfully accept that light. Their path shineth more and more; yet even with them it is very far from being perfect day. They have light, but it is to guide them through darkness, for life here is, and must be, this night to the Christian, though he sees afar off the rising of the dawn. He is here in much ignorance of Gods character, works, and ways. He knows enough to save him, but not enough to satisfy him. Gods dispensations are full of mystery; Gods dealings in his own case are often a trial to his belief. Again, Satan tempts the Christian to doubt the love of God, the truth of God, and the word of God, and to question whether he is really in a state of salvation. At times he feels in much darkness through these temptations; almost lost. There shall be no night there. Once more, the Christians life on earth is darkened by frequent mourning, and by death. Fears dim his vision, friends pass out of his reach, he beholds them no more! But there are no graves, no funerals, in heaven; for there shall be no more sorrow, nor sighing, nor any night there. (F. J. Scott, M. A.)

Heaven

We may safely say that those who muse much on heaven are often privileged with such foretastes of what God hath prepared for His people, as serve, like the clusters of Eshcol, to teach them practically the richness of Canaan. With them it is not altogether matter of report that the inheritance of the saints is transcendently glorious. They have waited upon the Lord, until, according to the promise of Isaiah, they have been enabled to mount up with wings as eagles.

I. With our present constitution there would be nothing cheering in an arrangement which took away night from our globe. The alternation of day and night, the two always making up the same period of twenty-four hours, is among the most beautiful of the many proofs that God fitted the earth for man, and man for the earth. We know that other planets revolve in very different times on their axis, so that their days and nights are of very different lengths from our own. We could not live on one of those planets. We could not, at least, conform ourselves to the divisions of time: for we require a period of repose in every twenty-four hours, and could not subsist, if there were only to come such a period in every hundred, or in every thousand. And besides this, it is very easy to speak of night as the season of dreariness and gloom, as the representative of ignorance and error--but what should we be without night? Where is there so eloquent an instructor as night? What reveals so much of the workmanship of the ever-living God? So that there is not necessarily anything very desirable in the absence of night: it would be the reverse of a blessing to us in our present condition, and would imply the diminution rather than the enlargement of knowledge. What then are we to learn from the statement that there shall be no night in heaven? We learn much, whether it be the natural, or the figurative, night, whose total absence is affirmed. Night is now grateful, yea necessary, to us, as bringing quiet and repose to overwrought bodies and minds. But all this arises from the imperfectness of our present condition; we are so constituted that we cannot incessantly pursue either occupation or enjoyment, but must recruit ourselves. And it would evidently be to raise us very greatly in the scale of animated being, to make it no longer needful that we should have intervals of rest; body and soul being incapable of exhaustion, or rather of fatigue. There is no night there, because there we shall need no periods of inactivity; we shall never be sensible of fatigue, and never either wish or want repose. It is given as one characteristic of Deity, that He never slumbers nor sleeps. It is affirmed moreover of the four living creatures which are round about the throne, that they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And, therefore, I read the promise of a splendid exaltation, of an inconceivable enlargement of every faculty and capacity, in the announcement of the absence of night. And though it be true that night now discloses to us the wonders of the universe, so that to take from us night were to take a revelation of the magnificence of creation, whence comes this but from the imperfection of faculties--faculties which only enable us to discern certain bodies, and under certain circumstances, and which probably suffer far more to escape them than they bring to our notice? Be it so, that night is now our choice instructor. I feel that night is to cease because we shall no longer need to be taught through a veil, because we shall be able to read the universe illuminated, and not require as now to have it darkened for our gaze. I shall be adapted in every faculty to an everlasting day. And if from considering night in its more literal, we pass to the considering it in its metaphorical sense, who can fail to be struck with the beauty and fulness of the promise of our text? We take night as the image of ignorance, of perplexity, of sorrow. And to affirm the absence of night from the heavenly state may justly be regarded as the affirming the absence of all which darkness is used to represent. I behold the removal of all mistake, of all misconception; conjectures have given place to certainties; controversies are ended, difficulties are solved, prophecies are completed, parables are interpreted. I behold the hushing up of every grief, the prevention of every sorrow, the communication of every joy. I behold the final banishment of whatsoever has alliance with sinfulness, the splendid reimpressment of every feature of the Divine image upon man, the unlimited diffusion of righteousness, the triumphant admission of the fallen into all the purities of Gods presence, and their unassailable security against fresh apostacy.

II. St. John is not content with affirming the absence of night: he proceeds to assert the absence of those means or instruments to which we are here indebted for the scattering of darkness. They need no candle, neither light of the sun. And what then is to make their perpetual day? The Lord God giveth them light. The whole apparatus of mirror, and temple, and sun, will be taken away, because we shall be admitted to the beatific vision, to all those immediate manifestations of Deity which are vouchsafed to the angel or the archangel. The Lord God giveth them light; is not this to say that the Lord God giveth them Himself? for you will remember what is affirmed by St. John, This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. And therefore God in some ineffable way is to communicate Himself to the soul. There will probably be a communication of ideas: God will substitute His ideas, great, noble, luminous, for our own, contracted, confused, obscure; and we shall become like Him, in our measure, through participating His knowledge. There will be a communication of excellences: God will so vividly impress His image upon us, that we shall be holy even as He is holy. There will be a communication of happiness: God will cause us to be happy in the very way in which He is happy Himself, making what constitutes His felicity to constitute ours, so that we shall be like Him in the sources or springs of enjoyment. The expression, the Lord God giveth them light, seems to indicate that our future state, like our present, will be progressive; there is to be a continued communication of light, or of knowledge, so that the assertion of Solomon, The path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day, may be as true hereafter as here. Whatever may be the attainments of the just man whilst on earth, he sees only through a glass, darkly. But he has yet to pass into a scene of greater light, and to read, in the opened volume of Gods purposes, the explanation of difficulties, the wisdom of appointments, the nice proportions of truth. Then shall the Divine attributes rise before him, unsearchable indeed and unlimited, but ever discovering more of their stupendousness, their beauty, their harmony. Then shall redemption throw open before him its untravelled amplitude, and allow of his tracing those unnumbered ramifications which the Cross, erected on this globe, may possibly be sending to all the outskirts of immensity. Then shall the several occurrences of his life, the dark things and the bright which chequered his path, appear equally necessary, equally merciful; and doubt give place to adoring reverence, as the problem is cleared up of oppressed righteousness and successful villany. But it shall not be instantaneous; for if the mysteries of time were exhausted, and redemption presented no unexplored district, God would remain infinite as at the first, as sublime in His inscrutableness as though ages had not been given to the searching out His wonders. Thus will the just proceed from strength to strength; knowledge, and love, and holiness, and joy, being always on the increase; and eternity one glorious morning.

III. and they shall reign for ever and ever--they shall be kings for ever and ever. Wonderful assertion! wonderful, because made of beings apparently insignificant. Yes, of us, who are by nature children of wrath, of us, who are born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards, even of us is it said, They shall be kings for ever and ever. And on what thrones shall we sit in heaven? over whom shall we be invested with dominion? I connect the different parts of the verse; and I read in its last clause, only differently expressed, the same promise, or prophecy, which I find in all the rest. I shall reign over the secrets of nature; all the workmanship of God shall be subject to me, opening to me its recesses, and admitting me into its marvels. I shall reign over the secrets of Providence; my empire shall gather back the past, and anticipate the future; and all the dealings of my Maker shall range themselves in perfect harmony before my view. I shall reign over the secrets of grace; the mediatorial work shall be as a province subject to my rule, containing no spot in all its spreadings which I may not explore. I shall reign over myself: I shall be thorough master of myself: no unruly desires, no undisciplined affections: I shall not be what an earthly king often is, his own base slave: no war between the flesh and the spirit, no rebellion of the will, no struggle of corrupt inclinations; but with all that true royalty, the royalty of perfect holiness, I shall serve God without wavering, and find His service to be sovereignty. (H. Melvill, B. D.)

The happiness of heaven, as it is a state of uninterrupted light, proceeding immediately from God

I. Who these happy persons are who shall partake of this happiness.

II. Point out something of the happiness of heaven as expressed therein.

1. The happiness you shall have in heaven is light, and sweet as light.

(1) Knowledge.

(2) Purity.

(3) Joy.

2. There shall be no intermission of that happy day and light you shall have in heaven, for there shall be no night there.

3. The light the saints have in heaven is not by such means and instruments as they have it here.

4. The Lord God will give you light immediately from Himself. As the sun is seen by its own light, so will God be known by you in heaven. He will communicate Himself immediately unto you for your joy, happiness, and satisfaction, without means, and be instead of all means; for you shall behold His face, and be satisfied with His likeness.

5. You shall be made capable in heaven to take in this light from the Lord God to your comfort and satisfaction.

6. Your light of all kinds in heaven shall be full and perfect, your knowledge, your enjoyment, your conformity to His image shall be full and perfect, for it shall be immediately from Himself.

7. Your light from the Lord God in heaven shall be everlasting and endless.

Conclusion:

1. Be persuaded, without delay, to enter into that state in which you will get a right to this happiness, be made meet for it, and be actually admitted into it when you die, and at the resurrection of the just.

2. As for you who have a right and title to this happiness, give all diligence to have your right to it made clearer to your knowledge and faith, and kept clear, and to arrive unto the full assurance of the hope of it unto the end. (James Robe, M. A.)

A blessed country

I. Perfect Illumination.

1. Material illumination. No night.

2. Individual illumination. No candle--a candle lights only one or two persons.

3. Universal illumination. Light of the sun illumines the world.

4. Spiritual illumination.

II. Perfect Rest. The Lord giving them light.

1. No anxiety.

2. No exertions.

3. No dread.

III. Perfect triumph. They shall reign.

1. Over self.

2. Over sin.

3. Over materialism.

4. Over ignorance.

IV. Perfect continuance. For ever--unbroken by any shock, or change, or chance. (Thos. Heath.)

The world without a night

I. A realm ever clear in vision.

1. There will be no error in our conception of things there. Far enough am I from believing that we shall ever see all things in heaven. There will always be universes lying beyond the ken of the most penetrating eye. Nor do I believe that different minds will ever have exactly the same view of things, see things in exactly the same light. Our views will necessarily be relative. They will be true to us, but not necessarily true to others. God alone can see the whole of a thing. We only see sections and sides. Not only does it appear impossible, but undesirable. Diversity of view gives a freshness and charm to society. Still, our range of vision, though limited, and our views, though relative, will be clear and accurate.

2. No doubt as to the path of duty. Gods Will, will radiate on everything without, and will express itself in every impulse within.

II. A realm ever pure in character. There are the holy angels whose natures, through the ages of their being, have never been clouded with one impure thought or touched by the thrill of one unholy passion. The redeemed of all ages are there. They have had their robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Christ, whose love for purity was so unconquerable, that He gave His lifes blood to cleanse the pollution of the world, is in the midst of its throne. He who is light, and in whom there is no darkness at all, fills with the sunshine of His presence the whole of that blessed scene.

III. A realm ever beautiful in aspect.

1. All natural beauties will be there.

2. All artistic beauties will be there. The very instinct of genius is to invent, imitate, and create, and there genius will flourish in perfection.

3. All moral beauties will be there. The beauty of holiness, the beauty of the Lord, will adorn every spirit. Thus all wilt rejoice in each other, and all rejoice in the Lord whence all their beauty came.

IV. A realm of ever unchecked progress.

1. No check to the advance of life. The vital energies will always be increasing. Sinew and soul, character and conscience, will be ever growing in force. No blight to wither, no shadow to chill there. But all the influences that play around existence there, inspire, invigorate, and uplift.

2. No checking of labour. Our range of action will be unrestrained. We shall be always abounding in the work of the Lord.

V. A realm ever joyous in spirit. A bright day sets the world to music. What happiness, then, must there be in a world where there is no night. (Homilist.)

Light the blessing of heaven

1. There shall be no sin there. The works of darkness are excluded, and all that have fellowship with them. And more than that--the past sins of those who are admitted shall not enter there to haunt them.

2. There shall be no more sorrow there. Heaviness may have endured for the night, but this is the morning-tide, and joy cometh. It is the harvest of joy after the seed-time of tears; and all the light and brief afflictions of the mortal life shall be turned into an exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

3. There shall be no chastisement there. The fatherly correction, which brought them home, shall be no more.

4. There shall be no trial there, and no temptation any more. For they have endured, and are blessed; yea, they have endured unto the end, and they are saved.

5. There shall be no weariness there.

6. There shall be no ignorance there; but they shall all know, even as also they are known.

7. There shall be no decay there, Because there is no corruption, there shall be no more drawing to an end as soon as we are born.

8. There shall be no loneliness there. For this also is of the night.

9. There shall be no adversary there--no spiritual wickedness any more to wrestle with in heavenly places--no powers of darkness! The prince of this world is cast out of the next; his engines, his lies, his fury, all are spent.

10. To crown all--There shall be no estrangement from God there; no more darkness of spirit; no more clouds and gloom between our spirits and their Lord. This is blessedness indeed, because it is holiness! But for that very reason, it is not blessedness for all. The night-bird, if it is disturbed at noonday, is only blinded by the sunbeams. And the light of that world will be indeed insufferable to those who in this world have loved darkness rather than light. They have refused to come to the light because their deeds were evil. And now the light has come to them, and made their deeds manifest. They have had their choice. And their place henceforth is in the outer darkness, lighted only by the fire that never shall be quenched. (Dean Scott.)

They shall reign for ever and ever.

On the happiness of heaven as an everlasting kingdom

I. That you, who are the Lambs faithful servants now, shall reign when you come to heaven.

1. I give you some of the characters of those to whom heaven is promised as a kingdom.

2. Some Scriptural account of your reign in heaven.

(1) As to what it shall consist in. Your reign in heaven will consist in your sharing, and communion with Jesus Christ, in all His communicable glory, according to your capacity. Your reign in heaven will consist in your immediate subjection unto God and the Lamb. Your reign in heaven will consist in an equality with the angels of God in glory and happiness. Your reign in heaven will consist in a satisfying possession of all happiness in God.

(2) The qualities of your reign in heaven.

(a) You shall reign there gloriously.

(b) You shall reign in heaven jointly and severally with all the saints.

(c) Your reign in heaven will be quiet and peaceable, calm and undisturbed.

(d) You shall reign in heaven joyfully.

(e) Your reign in heaven shall be just and righteous.

(f) Your reign in heaven shall be very long, longer than the thousand years reign of the saints with Jesus Christ upon the earth. It will be for ever and ever.

3. Whence it is that you shall reign in heaven.

(1) The original cause of your future reign in heaven is the sovereign, rich, free love, and grace of God the Father.

(2) That you shall reign in heaven is owing to the mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord.

(3) That you shall reign in heaven will be owing to the effectual grace of the Holy Ghost. He calls you effectually to this kingdom and glory.

II. The happiness of heaven is for ever and ever.

1. Your reign and happiness in heaven will be immutable: if it admitted any change, it would not be for ever and ever.

2. Your reign and happiness in heaven will be everlasting and without all end. It is everlasting life, everlasting consolation, an eternal inheritance, an eternal weight of glory, eternal salvation, pleasures for evermore, a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

3. But if you now inquire what the eternity of heaven and the happiness of it is founded upon, I answer, It is founded upon the eternity and unchangeableness of God and His perfections, in covenant with His people through Jesus Christ.

(1) But, particularly, it is first founded upon the eternity and unchangeableness of the love, grace, mercy, and kindness of God to them.

(2) It is founded upon the will and pleasure of God; it is His express will and pleasure that it shall be so (Joh_6:40).

(3) It is also founded upon the power of God, that is not only almighty, but an eternal power; and the strength of this power will endure for ever, to make you happy for ever, and to lengthen out your immortality.

(4) It is founded upon the holiness of God.

(5) It is founded upon the justice and righteousness of God (2Ti_4:8; 2Th_1:6-7). Indeed, not justice to any merit in your own works, but justice to Christs merits and His own promise.

(6) It is founded upon the everlasting efficacy of the mediation of Jesus Christ. His kingdom and glory, into which you shall have an abundant entrance, is an everlasting kingdom and glory.

(7) It is founded upon your eternal union and communion with the Holy Ghost. He came into you, not to stay for a time, but for ever (Joh_14:16).

Infer:

1. Shall your reign and happiness be for ever and ever? Then hence see the inconceivable greatness of the hope and happiness laid up for you in heaven.

2. Then things are valuable and precious here in proportion to the influence they have in bringing us to the enjoyment of an eternity of happiness.

3. The love of God to you who are His people is incomprehensibly great, which hath designed for you a glory not only so great in itself, but also for ever.

4. Learn hence the wisdom and sagacity of the people of God, who renounce a present and temporary happiness, and choose an unseen and future blessedness because it is eternal.

5. Then let me prevail with you to seek after this eternal happiness first and most, with the utmost earnestness, industry, and self-denial.

6. Then let the servants of God and the Lamb comfort themselves and one another with the consideration of the eternity of their reign and happiness in heaven.

7. Let the consideration of the eternity of your happiness in heaven engage and excite you to the duties of holiness and obedience. (James Robe, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22:5 They will reign with God forever (see 20:4; see also 5:10) in his radiant light that banishes night and the need for lamps (see Isa 60:19-20).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rev 22:5. Ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς) ἐπʼ is omitted by many,[241] whom Wolf supports, especially comparing the passage, ch. Rev 21:23. But the places differ. The glory of God enlightens the city: the Lord God pours light upon the citizens. Thus it is said, להאיר על הארץ, Gen 1:15. The antiquity of the witnesses defends the particle ἘΤΊ.

[241] So B Vulg. and Rec. Text; but Ah Iren. read ἐπʼ.—E.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Philo ( de Jos 24 ) had already described heaven as ἡμέραν αἰώνιον , νυκτὸς καὶ πάσης σκιᾶς ἀμέτοχον . Cf. En. vi. 6. Such teaching on heaven, though in a less religious form, seems to have been current among the Asiatic πρεσβύτεροι . Irenæus (5:36, 1 2) quotes them as holding ( cf. above on Rev 2:7 ) that some of the blessed τῆς τοῦ παραδείσου τρυφῆς ἀπολαύσουσιν , οἱ δὲ τὴν λαμπρότητα τῆς πόλεως καθέξουσιν · πανταχοῦ γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ ὁρασθήσεται , καθὼς ἄξιοι ἔσονται οἱ ὁρῶντες αὐτόν , κ . τ . λ .

The epilogue (Rev 22:6-21 ) is a series of loose ejaculations, which it is not easy to assign to the various speakers. It is moulded on the lines of the epilogue to the astronomical section of Enoch (lxxxi. f.), where Enoch is left for one year with his children “that thou mayest testify to them all.… Let thy heart be strong, for the good will announce righteousness to the good, but the sinners will die with the sinners, and the apostates go down with the apostates”. Two characteristic motifs , however, dominate the entire passage: ( a ) the vital importance of this book as a valid and authentic revelation, and ( b ) the nearness of the end. The former is heard in the definite claim of inspiration (Rev 22:6 f., Rev 22:16 ) and prophetic origin (Rev 22:8-9 ) which guarantees its contents, in the beatitude of Rev 22:7 b (cf. Rev 22:17 ), and (cf. Rev 22:21 ) in the claim of canonical dignity (Rev 22:18-19 ). The latter is voiced thrice in a personal (Rev 22:7 ; Rev 22:12 ; Rev 22:20 ) and twice in an impersonal (Rev 22:6 ; Rev 22:10 ) form. Both are bound up together ( cf. Rev 22:20 and Rev 1:3 ). It is as a crucial revelation of the near future and a testimony to the authority and advent of the messiah (cf. Rev 22:20 ) that this apocalypse claims to be read, and honoured in the churches. This general standpoint is clear enough, but the details are rather intricate. It is characteristic of the Apocalyse, as of ep. Barnabas, that the writer often leaves it indefinite whether God or Christ or an angel is speaking. Sometimes the divine voice is recognised to be that of Christ ( cf. Rev 1:10 f., Rev 4:1 ), or may be inferred from the context to be that of an angel ( e.g. , Rev 17:15 ; Revelation cf.1 and Rev 19:9 ), perhaps as the divine spokesman (Rev 21:5-6 , cf. Rev 22:5 ; Rev 22:7 ). But frequently, even when the seer is addressed (Rev 10:4 , Rev 14:13 ), the voice or Bath-Qol is anonymous ( e.g. , Rev 11:12 , Rev 12:10 , Rev 14:2 , Rev 16:1 ; Revelation cf.17). In the epilogue, as it stands, it is impossible and irrelevant to determine whether Jesus (16) begins to speak at Rev 22:10 (so Spitta, Holtzm, Porter, Forbes) and resumes in Rev 22:18-20 a . But, while Rev 22:6-7 , and Rev 22:8-9 are both intended in a sense to round off the entire Apocalypse, and not merely the immediately preceding vision, 8 9 (a replica of Rev 19:9-10 ) stands closer to Rev 21:9 to Rev 22:5 than does Rev 22:6-7 . No λόγοι in the last vision justify the reference in 6, whereas the specific δεικν . μοι ταῦτα in 8 echoes the cicerone-function of the angel in Rev 21:9-10 , Rev 22:1 .Rev 22:6-7Rev 22:6-7 very probably lay originally between 9 and 10 (for the juxtaposition of εἶπεν and λέγει cf. Rev 17:7 ; Rev 17:15 ), where they definitely mark the beginning of the epilogue already anticipated in 8 ( cf. Rev 1:4 ; Rev 1:9 ) and in the broadened close of 9 (contrast Rev 19:10 above). It is not necessary (though perhaps a later scribe may have thought so) to account for John’s action in 8 9 by supposing that he mistook the angelus interpres for Christ. The λόγοι of 6, when this order is adopted, acquire their natural sense (cf. Rev 22:10 ), and the three successive angel-utterances (Rev 22:8-9 ; Rev 22:6-7 ; Rev 22:10-11 ) have a proper sequence. It is needless, in view of Rev 16:15 ( cf. Rev 3:11 ) to omit Rev 22:7 a as an interpolation (Könnecke). But Rev 22:12-13 probably have been displaced from their original order (Rev 22:13 ; Rev 22:12 ) and position after Rev 22:16 (Könnecke), where Rev 22:17 echoes Rev 22:12 a , and Rev 22:14-15 carries on the thought of Rev 22:11 .Rev 22:18-19Rev 22:18-19 are plainly editorial, interrupting the connexion of Rev 22:17 and Rev 22:20 . In 11 Resch ( Agrapha , § 113) attempts to prove that some logion of Jesus is quoted. On the “inconsistent optimism” of Rev 22:13 ; Rev 22:15 , cf. Abbott, p. 107.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

there--so ANDREAS. But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac read, "(there shall be no night) any longer"; Greek, "eti," for "ekei."

they need--A, Vulgate, and Coptic read the future, "they shall not have need." B reads, "(and there shall be) no need."

candle--Greek, "lamp." A, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic insert "light (of a candle, or lamp)." B Omits it.

of the sun--so A. But B omits it.

giveth . . . light--"illumines." So Vulgate and Syriac. But A reads, "shall give light."

them--so B and ANDREAS. But A reads, "upon them."

reign--with a glory probably transcending that of their reign in heaven with Christ over the millennial nations in the flesh described in Rev 20:4, Rev 20:6; that reign was but for a limited time, "a thousand years"; this final reign is "unto the ages of the ages."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. There shall be no night there] See the 23d and 25th verses of the preceding chapter. Rev 21:23; Rev 21:25

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(5) And there shall be no night there . . .—Rather, And night shall not be any more, and (they shall not have) need of the light of lamp, and of light of sun, because the Lord God shall give light upon them, and they shall reign unto the ages of ages. There shall be no night. Twice is it said (Rev_21:25) that all darkness shall cease; the darkness in which the saints and sorrowing walked shall be dispelled, when God gives them light. No artificial light is needed, since He who is Light is their light. Those who were children of light now dwell in the light of God’s countenance; and they reign who were made kings and priests to God (Rev_1:6). With this utterance the visions of the Apocalypse close. The saints of God have been seen in the bitterness and toilfulness of their struggle and pilgrimage towards the Holy City; but from point to point they have made progress. They have gone from strength to strength, unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Zion. The Lord God is their sun and shield. He has given grace; He now gives glory. No good thing has been withheld; light, life, and love are theirs. “O Lord God of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee” (Psa_84:11-12).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. there] Read, any more. See Rev_21:25.

they need no candle &c.] Read, they have no need of light of lamp, neither of light of sun.

giveth them light] Read, shall give light upon them. Here end the visions.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there shall be no night there,.... This is repeated from Rev 21:25 to express the certainty of it, and to observe, that the happiness of this state will greatly lie in the light thereof; it will be one everlasting day, , "day of eternity", or eternal day, as in Pe2 3:18

and they need no candle, nor the light of the sun; neither artificial nor natural light; neither the dimmer light of the ceremonial law, under the legal dispensation, which was like a candle lighted up in Judea; nor the more clear light of the Gospel and its ordinances, under the present dispensation, which now will be at an end:

for the Lord God giveth them light; immediately from himself, without the use of means and ordinances; and in his light the saints will see all things clearly; who will be always communicating it to them, and will be their everlasting light; See Gill on Rev 21:23.

and they shall reign for ever and ever; they are made kings now, and in this state they shall reign with Christ for the space of a thousand years; and when they are ended, they shall not cease to reign; nor will Christ, when he delivers up the kingdom to the Father, for his and their kingdom is an everlasting one, Rev 1:6 and here ends the account of this glorious state of things; what follows is the conclusion of the whole book.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Ver. 5. And there shall be no night] See the note on Rev 21:25.

For the Lord God] He that is Αυτοφως, light essential.

And they shall reign] Reign together with Christ, a part of whose joy it is that we shall be where he is, Joh 17:20: he will not be long without us.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See Poole on "Rev 21:23".

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. The seer reiterates the pleasing thought, no night there, Rev_21:25. No repose is needed by these immortal frames; no debility weighs down the limbs, no stupor closes the eyes.

For ever and ever—The length of the reign of the saved is measured by the same terms as the length of the doom of the lost, Rev_20:10. And the Greek word for reign is the verb for the Greek word for king, they shall be kings for ever. Hence, in one sense at least, all the inhabitants of heaven are kings of the heavenly earth.

The book of this Revelation is here properly closed. But its genuineness and transcendent value and dignity are now to be attested by the principal personages through whom it is delivered to the Church and world.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun: for the Lord God shall shine upon them. A repetition of Rev_21:23, 25 (which see). In Rev_21:23 we are told "the Lamb is the Light thereof;" here, "the Lord God shineth upon them." Again an assertion of the Divinity of the Son (cf. ver. 3). And they shall reign forever and ever. This prediction and promise ends the Revelation, as such. It is the reward placed before those who strive, in order to induce them to "overcome". (see on ver. 5 above, and Rev_3:12)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they shall reign forever and ever - What encouragement is this to the patience and faithfulness of the saints, that, whatever their sufferings are, they will work out for them "an eternal weight of glory!" Thus ends the doctrine of this Revelation, in the everlasting happiness of all the faithful. The mysterious ways of Providence are cleared up, and all things issue in an eternal Sabbath, an everlasting state of perfect peace and happiness, reserved for all who endure to the end.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

5. And there shall be no night there. The city is a city of light lighted by the divine presence, but the meaning goes beyond this. The soul shall have no nights of sorrow there. They shall reign forever and ever. They shall be Christ's assistants in the rule of the glorified earth.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

5. φωτὸς λύχνου καὶ φωτὸς ἡλίου. B2 reads λύχνου καὶ φωτὸς, A φωτὸς λύχνου καὶ φῶς ἡλίου.

5. ἔτι. ἐκεῖ in Text. Rec[896] is borrowed from Rev 21:25.

[896] Rec. Textus Receptus as printed by Scrivener.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

No night there [εκει] . Substitute eti any more. Rev., there shall be night no more.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.