Revelation 21:3; Behold the Tabernacle of God Is With Men

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Revelation 21:3 (KJV)  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

For about the twentieth time in Revelation, John hears a loud voice – And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

The loudness emphasises the importance of the substance of the announcement by the voice (Smith, Walvoord, Morris).

The voice comes from the throne as in Revelation 19:5, except there the proposition is “from”.

Revelation 19:5 (KJV)  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 

As in that earlier case, it is impossible to identify whose voice this is, but it is not the voice of God who begins to speak for the first time in Revelation 21:5. This is an announcement cement about God, not directly from Him.

Revelation 21:5 (KJV)  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 

Beside the loudness of the voice, “behold” calls special attention to the importance of the announcement: “the tabernacle of God is with men”. “The tabernacle alludes to the tabernacle in the wilderness where God’s glory dwelt with His people. His presence with them will be closer and more intimate in the New Jerusalem than ever before, however. The tabernacle has appeared in heaven earlier in John’s visions (Revelation 13:6; 15:5), but now it is on the new earth in the immediate presence of redeemed men. This marks a return to the condition under which God could fellowship with man before the entrance of sin with its resultant curse and estrangement (Genesis 3:8a) – “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day “

This new relationship is the supreme and immeasurable reward far surpassing all the other benefits that the New Jerusalem will afford (Ezekiel 37:27; 48:35) (Kiddle).

Ezekiel 37:27 (KJV)  My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

Ezekiel 48:35 (KJV)  It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. 

It is the fulfilment of God’s promises to His people (Leviticus 26:11; Jeremiah 24:7; 30:22; 31:1; 33; 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27; 48:35; Zechariah 2:10; 8:8; 2 Corinthians 6:16).

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody 1995, 442-443]