Revelation 21:26; The Glory and Honour of the Nations

Revelation 21:26 (KJV)  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 

Picking up its subject from the end of v24 – “they shall bring” returns attention to the actions of the kings – And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 

Revelation 21:24 (KJV)  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 

The leaders of organised nations will have access to the Holy City and will pay regular tribute there. “The glory and honour of the nations” refer to the choicest of their treasures, whatever they may be. In a time of uninhibited prosperity, their offerings will doubtless be very generous, though they will be difference and special because of an increased productivity.

A viewpoint that they will be allowed to come up to the gate of the city, but not enter the city itself is difficult to sustain. The preposition “into” in the phrase “into it” here and in v24 when following a verb of motion such as “I bring” indicates penetration into the city. They will actually move about within the city (Govett, Walvoord).

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody 1995, 479]