The angel told John that there would be no accursed thing (G2652) in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:3), because the Throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. How should we understand this? First of all, the Greek word is found only here in the Bible. It doesn’t even appear in the Septuagint. It is a noun; its verb form (G2653) appears in Matthew 26:27 where Peter swears he doesn’t know Jesus and calls down a curse upon himself (i.e. destruction), if he wasn’t telling the truth.
We know that the Lord will not dwell with people who embrace what is accursed, i.e. what is devoted to destruction (Joshua 7:12-13). When Jericho was destroyed, it was to be the firstfruits of the campaign to take the Promised Land. Everything there was cursed or dedicated to the Lord through its destruction (Joshua 6:17-18): “And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword” (Joshua 6:21 emphasis mine). Nevertheless, Achan, a man of the tribe of Judah, kept some of the accursed thing for himself (Joshua 7:1, 20-21). This caused the wrath of the Lord to be kindled against the whole nation, until all that was accursed, including Achan who stole what he valued among the accursed thing, were destroyed (Joshua 7:25-26).
In the context of Revelation 22:3, this means the servants of the Lord would serve him as the text claims. Achan served himself. He fought in a battle to destroy Jericho for the booty he could take for himself. People such as Achan, which include false prophets and all who embrace the lie, will not be able to enter New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27; 22:15). Such people are not the servants of the Lord but, rather, serve their own interests (lusts). On the other hand, those servants of the Lord who are deceived by such people to believe and serve them, thinking they serve the Lord, are able to remain citizens of New Jerusalem, because they don’t profit from the accursed thing. While they, themselves, aren’t cursed, their labor is defiled and cannot survive the lake of fire (1Corinthians 3:11-15).
So, men will dwell in New Jerusalem, and there will be “no more curse” – because the Throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city! How does this prevent the curse? A fiery stream proceeds from the Lord’s Presence to destroy all that offends (Daniel 7:10; Psalm 50:3; 97:2-3). His word, i.e. his Gospel going forth from the Lord to the nations, is like fire that destroys both the evil one and the works of those who follow those lying false prophets (Isaiah 30:27-33).
The Presence of the Lord guarantees that the threat of utter destruction will never materialize (Zechariah 14:11; cp. Matthew 16:18). The Greek word translated destruction in Zechariah 14:11 is also translated accursed in Joshua 6:17-18 and elsewhere in Joshua. It the Septuagint the Greek word anathema (G331) is used for that Hebrew word. Those things which are sacrificed to the Lord for the sins of the people were reckoned anathema (G331) in the Septuagint (cp. 1Samuel 15:21). The point, as far as Revelation 22:3 is concerned, is the people in New Jerusalem dwell safely therein. They are not afraid that the Lord will turn against them as he did with ancient Jerusalem. That Jerusalem was judged under the first heaven and the first earth (Revelation 21:1), or under the Old Covenant. Nevertheless, the Lord promised a new covenant that would not be like the old one (Jeremiah 31:31-33). Under the new heaven and the new earth, the Lord will not hold our sins against us (Hebrews 8:10-13). The Old Covenant was based upon our obedience to the Law, while the New Covenant is based upon Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. We live by him, not by our own righteousness.
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