All Things New (Part 2)

Welcome to the New Jerusalem (9-27)

The First Glimpse

9Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

One of these same angels, possibly the same one here, introduced the destruction of Babylon. So we see the parallel between the end of civilization crafted by man and the inauguration of a new civilization crafted by God.

10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.

John is given a glimpse of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven. It had the appearance of a crystalline stone radiating light (which is also how a light-saber works…hmmm....).

The Outside of the City

12It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The city is laid out with symmetry. 3 gates on each side, over 3 foundation stones, guarded by 3 angels. And the names of the 12 tribes of Israel are prominently displayed.

15The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. 16The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. 17And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.

The dimensions of the city are almost 1500 miles cubed!

Show city image.

It is best to understand it as shaped like a cube and not, as some have suspected, like a pyramid. The pyramid shape is typical of man’s massive constructions, and feature a place of worship at the tip. God designed the Holy of Holies as a cube, and here He chooses to live a a massive cube with us, not rest atop an artificial structure above us.

The 72 yards is most likely the thickness of the walls. These are pretty solid walls.

18The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The city shines and is predominantly clear! Somehow like gold, and yet somehow like clear glass. Beneath the city are 12 precious stones.

Show previous stones.

Revelation 12–22: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Its Exterior Design

The first foundation stone was jasper which, as previously noted, is best identified as a diamond; the second was sapphire, a brilliant blue stone; the third was chalcedony, an agate stone from the Chalcedon region of what is now modern Turkey, sky blue in color with colored stripes; the fourth was emerald, a bright green stone; the fifth was sardonyx, a red and white striped stone; the sixth was sardius, a common quartz stone found in various shades of red; the seventh was chrysolite, a transparent gold or yellow-hued stone; the eighth was beryl, a stone found in various colors, including shades of green, yellow, and blue; the ninth was topaz, a yellow-green stone; the tenth was chrysoprase, a gold-tinted green stone; the eleventh was jacinth, a blue or violet-colored stone in John’s day, though the modern equivalent is a red or reddish-brown zircon; the twelfth was amethyst, a purple stone.

Each of the 12 gates mentioned earlier is made of a single pearl. A pearl is formed as the response of the oyster to suffering. How interesting that God chose this material as His gates.

The streets are indeed paved with gold, but, like the walls, it is also clear.

The Inside of the City

22I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

There is no longer a place of separate holiness for worshiping God. Everywhere is now holy, and God moves freely among His people.

For illumination, we have the direct light of God.

24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

It is difficult to fully understand what is meant by nations and kings of the earth, but it may be that God still structures the Redeemed into kingdoms spread throughout the new world, or it may be that this is the absorption of all peoples and kings from the Millennial Kingdom into the New Jerusalem.

Unlike cities today, this city has no need to ever close its gates, but always welcomes those who come.

This city is going to be an exclusive residence for those who have been made pure because of Christ. There is no other way to enter this city.