Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, John employs three names for God instead of, say, one name. The vision of the New Jerusalem (beginning at Revelation 21:1) has used the name “God” numerous times thus far (Revelation 21:2–3 (3x), Revelation 21:7, Revelation 21:10, Revelation 21:11), and so we might be forgiven for concluding that a further use of the same term would suffice in the present text. Yet the Holy Spirit adds two further names, that is, “Lord” (kurios in Greek) and “the Almighty” (pantocrator). The term translated here as “Lord” is the common word for “master” and is often used that way in relation to people (Matthew 10:24–25; Ephesians 6:5, Ephesians 6:9), including people talking to Jesus (Matthew 18:21–22; John 12:21). We need to be aware, however, that translators of the Old Testament Hebrew text (into Greek = the Septuagint) chose to render God’s name Yahweh with the same Greek word, Kurios. So there are passages in the Gospels where the use of the title “Lord” in relation to Jesus Christ amounts to a confession that Jesus is Yahweh (John 20:28). When John now uses this term in the present passage (alongside “God” and “the Almighty”), we need to understand that he is describing God not simply as a superior, a master, but is referencing his identity as Yahweh, the Creator who established a gracious covenant between himself and the sinful creature man (Exodus 20:2 in context of Exodus 19:16–20). The additional term “Almighty” underscores his sovereignty. The four living creatures had used this term in Revelation 4:8; the twenty-four elders had used it in Revelation 11:17; the martyrs in heaven in Revelation 15:3; the altar (that is, the saints around the heavenly altar) in Revelation 16:7; and the glorious heavenly multitude in Revelation 19:7. Each of these previous uses had exalted the glorious majesty of incomparable God. That such a God is the temple within the New Jerusalem is a mind-blowing concept, one calculated to burst the heart of every inhabitant of this city with unending worshipful praise!
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.