A City Prepared by God

Revelation 21:9-21 ESV

9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

There are moments in Scripture where language begins to strain under the weight of glory, where human speech approaches its limit not because the truth is uncertain, but because it is too vast to be contained in ordinary words. Revelation 21:9–21 belongs to that kind of moment. Here the Spirit lifts our eyes beyond what is seen and temporary, beyond the fading structures of this present age, and sets before us something that does not decay, does not dim, and does not disappoint.

We live in a world marked by fragility. Even our greatest achievements carry the quiet reminder that they will not last. Beauty fades. Strength weakens. Cities that once seemed unshakable become history. Joys that once felt unbreakable are touched by sorrow. Yet into that reality, God speaks of a city that does not belong to the cycle of loss and collapse. He speaks of a dwelling that is not constructed by human striving, nor maintained by human effort, but established by His own purpose and upheld by His own glory.

What awaits the people of God is not merely improvement upon the present order, but the arrival of an entirely new reality—one where the presence of God is not distant or mediated, but immediate and filling all things. It is a world where nothing competes with His light, where nothing distorts His holiness, where nothing interrupts His joy.

The imagination falters before such promises, yet faith presses forward, not because it has seen the fullness of what is described, but because it trusts the One Who speaks it. Every longing for permanence, every ache for beauty that does not fade, every desire for home that is not threatened by loss—all of these are not illusions but echoes, pointing beyond themselves.

And so we come to this passage with reverence and expectation, standing as it were on the threshold of realities too bright for present sight, yet certain for all who belong to the Lamb.

Last week we continued our study of the holy city, the New Jerusalem—that glorious place where the redeemed people of God will dwell with Him forever in the new heavens and the new earth.

As we considered that heavenly city, our attention was drawn especially to those who will inhabit it, as well as those who will never enter it. We were reminded of the great comfort found in God's promise that His people will dwell forever in His blessed presence and in the fellowship of all the redeemed, while all who persist in rebellion against the Lord will be forever excluded from that glorious dwelling.

Today, we continue our study by turning our attention to the city itself. Having considered its inhabitants, we will now examine its magnificent features. As John describes the New Jerusalem, he does not simply satisfy our curiosity about heaven; he lifts our eyes to behold the surpassing glory of our eternal home and, above all, the glory of the God whose presence fills it. May this vision strengthen our hope, deepen our longing for the world to come, and stir within us an even greater anticipation for the day when faith will give way to sight.

As we come to our text for today, we first encounter “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues.”

These “seven angels” are those first introduced in chapters 15 and 16 of Revelation. They were entrusted by God with pouring out His final judgments upon the earth.

Now, John could have simply written, “Then an angel came.” Instead, he deliberately identifies this messenger as “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls.” There are at least two reasons for this.

First, it establishes continuity within the vision. This is not a new heavenly messenger, but one already associated with God's final judgments. The very angel who participated in the execution of God's wrath is now commissioned to explain the significance of that judgment to John.

Second, it emphasizes the angel's divine authority. Having been entrusted with pouring out God's wrath upon the earth, he is an authoritative interpreter of God's redemptive plan. He not only executes God's sentence but also reveals its meaning.

This angel, one of the seven who had carried the bowls of God's wrath, now comes to John as God's messenger to deliver God's revelation. He says, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Throughout Scripture, God's covenant relationship with His people is frequently portrayed as a marriage. In the Old Testament, Israel is described as the wife of the Lord, though she repeatedly proved unfaithful through spiritual adultery. Yet the prophets looked forward to the day when God would restore His people and establish an everlasting covenant of faithfulness with them.

Now, in the New Testament, that imagery reaches its glorious fulfillment in Christ. Thus, when the angel says, “I will show you the Bride,” he is announcing that John is about to behold the consummation of God's eternal covenant with His redeemed people.

Notice also that the angel does not merely promise to tell John about the Bride—he promises to show her to him. John is not simply about to receive information; he is about to receive a vision. He is about to behold the Bride in all of her beauty and glory. What follows, then, is not merely a description of heaven for our curiosity, but a divinely given vision of the eternal home of God's redeemed people, designed to strengthen our faith, deepen our hope, and stir within us a greater longing for the glory that is to come.

And so we read that John was “carried away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain.”

Now, when John says that he was “carried away,” he is not describing a physical transportation from one place to another. Rather, he is describing being spiritually carried into a divinely appointed state of revelation.

This is made clear by the words, “in the Spirit.” John is not initiating this experience himself. Rather, God the Holy Spirit is elevating, guiding, and enabling him to perceive realities that lie beyond ordinary human sight.

We see this in that the Spirit carries him “to a great, high mountain.” This is not a literal mountain, but a symbolic vantage point—the highest possible perspective from which John is enabled to behold the consummation of God's redemptive plan in one sweeping vision.

And from that vantage point he sees “the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel.”

Now, if you recall our first sermon in this series, we encountered this same description back in verse 2, where John likewise saw the holy city “coming down out of heaven from God.” There we noted that this signifies the city's divine origin. It does not arise from man, nor is it the product of human achievement. Rather, it proceeds from God Himself, originating in heaven according to His eternal purpose.

At this point, however, an important question arises. If the angel had promised to show John “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb,” why does John see a city instead of a woman?

The answer is that the city is the Bride—not because the Church is literally a city, but because the city symbolizes the glorified people of God dwelling forever in His presence.

Indeed, the Book of Revelation is, in many ways, the story of two cities.

Earlier, in chapter 17, John is shown both a woman, identified as “the great prostitute,” and a city, identified as “Babylon the Great.” These are not two separate realities, but two complementary images describing the same world system organized in rebellion against God. The woman emphasizes its spiritual unfaithfulness and seductive influence, while the city represents the civilization of fallen humanity in open opposition to its Creator.

Now, in chapter 21, John again sees both a woman and a city. The woman is “the Bride,” and the city is “the holy city, Jerusalem.” Just as the woman and the city in chapter 17 portrayed the same rebellious humanity from different perspectives, so here the Bride and the New Jerusalem portray the same covenant community from different perspectives. The Bride emphasizes the Church's covenant relationship with Christ, while the city highlights her permanence, security, beauty, corporate identity, and everlasting communion with God.

The angel, therefore, fulfills exactly what he promised. He shows John the Bride—but he does so through the symbolic vision of the New Jerusalem, revealing the Church in her glorified, perfected, and eternal state. Here we see the culmination of God's redemptive purpose: a redeemed people, perfectly united to the Lamb, forever dwelling in the presence of their God.

John then tells us that the city “had the glory of God.” This means that God's own glorious presence fills the city and defines its very existence. This is the consummation of covenant fellowship—God dwelling with His redeemed people without barrier, without mediation, and without interruption. Every previous manifestation of God's glory—in the tabernacle, in the temple, and even in Christ's earthly ministry—pointed forward to this moment when His presence would dwell permanently and fully among His people.

Finally, John says that the city's “radiance was like a most rare jewel.” This is symbolic language describing the visible manifestation of God's glory in all of its purity, brilliance, and beauty. The reality of God dwelling fully with His people shines outward in perfect splendor. The city is not merely adorned with glory; it is permeated by it. Every aspect of it reflects the beauty, holiness, and majesty of the God Who dwells within.

As John continues to describe the holy city, he tells us that it “had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed.” He then explains that there were three gates on each side of the city, facing every direction.

The emphasis here is not upon military protection, as though the redeemed should fear some future enemy. Rather, the wall and its gates speak of the perfect security and completeness of God's eternal kingdom. Nothing unclean will ever enter this city, and nothing within it will ever be threatened. The people of God will dwell forever in absolute peace, never again fearing sin, suffering, or separation from their Lord.

The names of the twelve tribes remind us that God's covenant promises have never failed. From Abraham onward, through the patriarchs, the judges, the kings, and the prophets, God was gathering a people for Himself. The city bears their names because God's saving purposes, announced long ago under the old covenant, find their glorious fulfillment in the new.

John then tells us that “the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Here we find the beautiful unity of God's redemptive plan. The gates bear the names of the tribes of Israel, while the foundations bear the names of the apostles. The Old and New Testaments are not two competing plans of salvation but one unfolding covenant of grace centered upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church does not replace Israel, nor does Israel stand apart from the Church. Rather, all of God's redeemed people, from every age, are united together in Christ, who is Himself the cornerstone upon which the whole household of God is built.

The angel then measures the city, revealing it to be perfectly symmetrical. Its length, width, and height are all equal. This extraordinary description is intended to communicate perfection, completeness, and divine order. Perhaps even more significantly, it calls to mind the Most Holy Place within the tabernacle and temple, which likewise formed a perfect cube. Under the old covenant, only the high priest could enter that sacred place, and only once each year with sacrificial blood. But now the entire city possesses the dimensions of the Holy of Holies, declaring that all of God's redeemed people dwell forever in His immediate presence. What was once restricted has now become the eternal privilege of every saint through the finished work of Christ.

John further describes the city's construction in language of astonishing beauty. Its wall is built of jasper, the city itself is pure gold, clear as glass, and its foundations are adorned with every kind of precious stone. The gates are each formed from a single pearl, and the streets are pure gold, transparent as glass. These images are not given to satisfy our curiosity about the physical composition of heaven, but to communicate its incomparable value, purity, permanence, and glory. John reaches for the most precious materials known to man, yet even these serve only as faint earthly pictures of the splendor that awaits the people of God.

Taken together, these verses direct our hearts beyond architecture to theology, beyond construction to communion, and beyond beauty to God Himself. Every wall, every gate, every foundation, and every precious stone proclaims the same glorious truth: God's work of redemption is complete. His covenant promises have all been fulfilled. His people are perfectly secure. His presence is their everlasting joy. And the inheritance He has prepared for those who love Him far exceeds the highest expectations of the human heart. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him." Here, in the New Jerusalem, John is given a glimpse of that unimaginable glory—a glory that every believer in Christ will one day experience forever.

As we leave this passage today, let us remember that our hope is not anchored in the passing glories of this world but in the eternal city that God Himself has prepared for His people. Every trial we endure, every sorrow we bear, and every sacrifice we make for Christ is moving us toward a home where sin is no more, death is no more, and the glory of God fills every moment. Therefore, let us press on with steadfast faith, unwavering hope, and joyful anticipation, fixing our eyes upon the Lamb, until the day when faith gives way to sight and we dwell with Him forever.

Amen?