NT Text: Revelation 21:2
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Isaiah 52:1 proclaims, "Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city (ir haqqodesh)." Revelation 21:2 describes John seeing "the holy city, the new Jerusalem" (tēn polin tēn hagian Ierousalēm kainēn) descending from heaven. The designation "the holy city" connects these texts directly. Isaiah's call for Jerusalem to clothe herself in splendor is fulfilled in the New Jerusalem that descends "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Isaiah's context is the return from exile and the purification of Zion; Revelation's context is the consummation of all things. The escalation is from the restoration of earthly Jerusalem (which Isaiah also says will never again be entered by the uncircumcised — v. 1) to the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem where "nothing unclean will ever enter" (Rev 21:27).