Texts in Conversation
Revelation’s description of the nations walking in the city’s light echoes Isaiah’s picture of nations drawn to Jerusalem’s bright light. In Isaiah, this image celebrates the restoration of Israel and the return of prosperity at the end of the exile, which Revelation reshapes into universal renewal.
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Isaiah 60:3
Hebrew Bible
1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives! The splendor of the Lord shines on you! 2 For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers the nations, but the Lord shines on you; his splendor appears over you. 3 Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light. 4 Look all around you! They all gather and come to you—your sons come from far away, and your daughters are escorted by guardians. 5 Then you will look and smile, you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. For the riches of distant lands will belong to you, and the wealth of nations will come to you.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Revelation 21:24
New Testament
20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls—each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 Now I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God—the All-Powerful—and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their grandeur into it.
Date: 92-96 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The third explanation is the most probable: that the deliberate mixing of particular and universal imagery throughout the account is a way of maintaining the perspective given in 21:3. It brings together the Old Testament promises for the destiny of God's own people and the universal hope, also to be found in the Old Testament, that all the nations will become God's people. The history of the covenant people—both of the one nation Israel and of the church which is redeemed from all the nations — will find its eschatological fulfillment in the full inclusion of all the nations in its own covenant privileges and promises. Having established this general perspective, we now pay closer attention to some of John's Old Testament allusions in 21:24-22:3. 21:24 is a key verse for connecting the universal character of the New Jerusalem with the hope for the conversion of the nations earlier in Revelation. It is closely modelled on Isaiah 60:3 ..."
Bauckham, Richard
The Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book of Revelation
(p. 313) T&T Clark, 1993
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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