Revelation 21:9: And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

Jerusalem, Bride and Wife of the Lamb

The same destroying angel that appeared to John in Revelation 17:1, spoke with John again in Revelation 21:9.¹ This angel previously showed John a vision and explained the meaning of the Great Whore (Modern Babylon).² The reappearance of the same angel suggests that he was most qualified to show John the opposite and antithetical image of the bride, the Lamb's wife.³ John first saw the Lamb's bride in Revelation 19:7, during her marriage to Christ on heavenly mount Zion at the time of the Second Coming.⁴ The current vision is more than a thousand years later, when the bride has been the Lamb's wife of many centuries.⁵ John sees the Lamb's wife descending from heaven as the celestial city of Old Jerusalem, including all exalted saints from the time of Adam through the end of the millennium.⁶

The sharp and opposite contrast⁷ between the Great Whore in Revelation chapter 17 and the bride of Christ in Revelation chapter 21, can be seen in the following side-by-side comparison of the explanation given for both by the same angel. The words in bold are identical in the following verses.

In Revelation chapter 18, the Great Whore fell and lost her worldly glory, never to rise again.⁸ In Revelation chapter 21, the Lamb's wife descends to earth in glory to reign with Christ forever.⁹

Revelation 21:10: 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.

Jerusalem, Bride and Wife of the Lamb

In John's vision of the Great Whore, he was taken by the spirit to a wilderness¹⁰ of desolation and death.¹¹ Here, John confirms that the same angel carried me away in the spirit.¹² In this verse, John's physical body was literally transported¹³ to a great and high mountain,¹⁴ like many prophets before him.¹⁵ Mountains symbolize the presence of God,¹⁶ the meeting place of God,¹⁷ the city of God,¹⁸ and the temple of God.¹⁹ John probably had a panoramic view of the whole earth and its entire history²⁰ as others had seen before him.²¹

From his mountain-top perspective, John saw that great city, the holy Jerusalem²² descending out of heaven from God.²³ This refers to the sanctified city of Old Jerusalem²⁴ that will literally descend as an actual tangible city after the earth dies and is resurrected (made new).²⁵ Some scholars say, however, that only the citizens of the holy Jerusalem will descend and not an actual city.²⁶ John, however, makes a clear distinction between the two. He describes holy Jerusalem that descends as an actual city and separately describes her exalted inhabitants²⁷ called the bride, the Lamb's wife.²⁸ The holy Jerusalem will literally descend from heaven to join her sister city called New Jerusalem, which separately descends from heaven in Revelation 21:2.²⁹

Many scholars believe that Revelation 21:2, 9 describe the same city.³⁰ However, John is not repeating himself. The resurrected earth³¹ will have two separate world capitals called New Jerusalem and the holy Jerusalem,³² which are the same two separate cities that will exist as world capitals on the earth during the millennium.³³

Revelation 21:11: Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

Jerusalem, Bride and Wife of the Lamb

The celestial city of holy Jerusalem will descend from heaven having the glory of God.³⁴ That is, God the Father will descend with the holy Jerusalem³⁵ in the company of Christ and his bride.³⁶ The city and her people will be filled with the light and glory³⁷ of the true³⁸ and living God.³⁹ John describes her light as a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone.⁴⁰ John used the same symbolic image in Revelation 4:2-3 to describe the glory of the Father in paradise.⁴¹ The symbolic jasper stone represents the light and glory of the Father, but since the light of the Father's glory comes through Christ it is commonly called the light of Christ.⁴²

John's vision of the jasper stone as a symbol of light and glory seems oddly out of place because the jasper stone is opaque and has a variety of solid colors.⁴³ John chose the jasper stone because even an opaque jasper is a stone most precious.⁴⁴ Furthermore, that same stone has infinite value when the power of Christ's atonement and resurrection transform it into a jasper stone, clear as crystal.⁴⁵ The entire celestialized earth will be like unto crystal after its resurrection.⁴⁶ Therefore, the miracle of the opaque jasper stone that turns clear as crystal in the resurrection is a symbol of God's work and glory to exalt his most precious children.⁴⁷ In the natural setting of this life, many of God's children are spiritually dark and even opaque because of sin and transgression.⁴⁸ Nevertheless, the power of Christ's atonement can cleanse them,⁴⁹ resurrect them,⁵⁰ and fill them with light⁵¹ like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.⁵²