Revelation 21:3

For the last of 20 times in his vision John heard a loud voice signifying the importance of the proclamation that followed. "Behold" further stressed its importance. This probably angelic voice (cf. Revelation 19:5) announced that God’s tabernacle, evidently the entire New Jerusalem, was now among men. Finally the relationship between God and humankind that God has always desired people to enjoy will be a reality (cf. Revelation 7:15; Genesis 3:8; Genesis 17:7; Exodus 6:7; Exodus 29:45; Leviticus 26:11-12; Numbers 15:41; Deuteronomy 29:13; 2 Samuel 7:24; Jeremiah 7:23; Jeremiah 11:4; Jeremiah 24:7; Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 31:1; Jeremiah 31:33; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 11:20; Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 36:28; Ezekiel 37:23; Ezekiel 37:27; Zechariah 2:10; Zechariah 8:8; 2 Corinthians 6:16). God will dwell among his cleansed people, and they will experience intimate fellowship with Him. This is the supreme blessing of the New Jerusalem (cf. Ezekiel 37:27; Ezekiel 48:35). This fellowship existed to some extent when God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and when He dwelt among the Israelites in the tabernacle and then in the temple, hence the reference to the tabernacle (cf. Revelation 13:6; Revelation 15:5). It also existed partially when Jesus Christ "tabernacled" among people (John 1:14). It exists today as God inhabits the bodies of Christians individually (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and the church corporately (Ephesians 2:21-22).

"The essence of Revelation 21:3 is the focal point of John’s whole description of the new Jerusalem: God’s immediate presence with men. The prominence of the theme is evident in Revelation 21:3 itself by virtue of a fivefold repetition of the same essential truth in that one verse. It is the principal focus again in Revelation 21:7 where the promise to the overcomer is that God would be his God and He would be God’s son. The glory of God in the city in Revelation 21:11 is another indication of God’s immediate presence, a presence that is also the direct emphasis of Revelation 22:3-4 which speaks of the presence of the throne of God and the Lamb in the city and immediate access to Him for His slaves, enabling them to see His face." [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 443. Cf. Erdman, p. 167.]

The plural "peoples" hints at other groups beside Israel in the New Jerusalem. A usual designation for Israel is the "people" (singular, Gr. laos) of God. God promised Abraham that He would bless many peoples through the patriarch (Genesis 12:3; cf. Galatians 3:8; Galatians 3:16; Galatians 3:26-29). This is the ultimate fulfillment of that promise.