“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal“

The Holy Spirit describes the New Jerusalem from 21:9 through 22:9.

21:9

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

One of the angels who poured out one of the seven bowl judgments shows John the New Jerusalem as the bride of the Lamb. We take note of the bride for her beauty.

21:10

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

The angel carried John to a high mountain where he saw a new vision of Jerusalem transporting the glory of God. This is a picture of the eternal Jerusalem in the eternal state.

21:11

having the glory of God.

God’s very presence filled this city (Re 21:23; 22:5). The city possesses a derivative glory from God. The glory of the city of Jerusalem reflects the variegated glory of God’s attributes (2 Corinthians 4:6). The glory of God reflects God’s multicolored character.

The word “having” indicates that we possess the glory of God. We have His glory because He is there! Glory is the radiance of His being. Believers experience the glory of God by grace.

The idea of the glory of God overwhelms the senses. God’s glory transcends our ability to comprehend fully. The best is yet ahead.

Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

The jasper stone is opaque, not clear. It is light green. Stones give off no light of their own; they reflect another light. Believers reflect the glory of God.

“…that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” (Philippians 2:15).

Principle:

God’s designed man to reflect His glory.

Application:

The believer has no glory but the glory of God. The believer in himself is destitute of glory. We receive our glory from our God. We reflect the glory of God. Our purpose for eternity will be to shine out the glory of God in our lives. The best is yet ahead for the believer.