New Jerusalem Unveiled

The physical dimensions and shape of New Jerusalem are presented demonstrating it is ready to be populated – Revelation 21:9-23. 

At the start of chapter 21, John saw a glimpse of “New Jerusalem descending from heaven.” But now, he sees it unveiled in all its glory. This next section concentrates on the city’s physical dimensions and shape.  Its enormous size staggers the human imagination, but the sufficient room necessary to contain the innumerable multitude destined to inhabit the “holy city.”

The size of the “city” prepares the reader for the description of its inhabitants. It will be occupied by the “innumerable multitude” redeemed by the “blood of the Lamb,” and not by a tiny remnant of faithful martyrs who barely escape the clutches of the “Dragon.”

The vision employs language and imagery from the “Tabernacle” in the Exodus story, and from Ezekiel’s vision of the ideal city and Temple (Ezekiel chapters 40-48).

This background links “New Jerusalem” to the covenant promises to the people of God. The “holy city” is not a reconstituted city of Old Jerusalem, but the fulfillment of all that was foreshadowed in the history of Israel.

Under the old system, the presence of God dwelt in the Tabernacle, and that limited the extent and visibility of His glory. But in the holy city of “New Jerusalem,” that image is transformed. His glory will fill the entire creation without any restrictions.

BRIDE OF THE LAMB

John is “carried away” by one of the seven angels that have the “seven bowls of wrath,” just as occurred in the vision of the “Great Harlot.” The two visions contrast the “bride,” “New Jerusalem” with the “Great Harlot, the city of Babylon.”

• (Revelation 21:9-14) – “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven bowls that were full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Hither! I will point out the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit to a mountain great and high, and pointed out to me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her luster like a stone most precious, as a jasper stone shining as crystal; having a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel, on the east three gates, and on the north, three gates, and on the south, three gates, and on the west, three gates; and the wall of the city having twelve foundations, and upon them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

Previously, John was “carried away” to the “wilderness” where he saw “Babylon.” Now, he is carried to a “mountain great and high” where he sees the “Bride of the Lamb” identified as the “holy city, New Jerusalem.” The image echoes Ezekiel’s description of an idealized city and Temple.

• (Ezekiel 40:1-4) – “…In the visions, God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south…”

The reference to the “wilderness” echoes the story of Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. And in the book of Revelation, the wilderness corresponds to the “earth” in its fallen state.

The church comprises a pilgrim people protected by God but harassed by malevolent forces. Thus, previously, John saw the persecuting power of end-time “Babylon” employed in pursuit of the saints in the “wilderness” - (Revelation 12:6, 12:14).

Likewise, the “great and high mountain” corresponds to “Mount Zion” where the “Lamb” was seen standing with the 144,000 priestly saints who were “redeemed from the earth.” In contrast, when the “Lamb” appears on the “day of wrath,” all other “mountains” will “flee” from his presence - (Revelation 6:12-17, 14:1, 16:20).

“Her light was like a precious stone, a jasper stone clear as crystal.” This description links the city and its “glory” to the “throne” from the vision of the “Lamb” receiving the “sealed scroll from the one who sits on” it - (“He that sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius”).

The point is not the kind of materials or the color of the stones from which the “city” is constructed, but that it reflects the glory of the one who sits on the “throne” - (Ezekiel 28:13, Revelation 4:2-3).

“The names of the twelve tribes of Israel.” This clause is another link to Ezekiel’s vision where he saw the gates that were named after the twelve tribes of Israel - (Ezekiel 48:31-34 – “The gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel”).

John sees “twelve foundations and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” The office of “apostle” is specific to the ministry of Jesus, hence the description, the “twelve apostles of the Lamb.” This can only refer to the twelve disciples who first established the church.

The designation “apostle” also indicates that true apostles follow the “Lamb wherever he goes” and emulate the “faithful witness” of Jesus.

THE SHAPE OF THE CITY

• (Revelation 21:15-21) – “And he that was talking with me had for a measure a reed of gold, that he might measure the city and the gates thereof and the wall thereof. And the city lies four-square, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty-four cubits: the measure of a man, which is the measure of an angel. And the structure of the wall thereof was jasper, and the city was pure gold, like pure glass. The foundations of the wall of the city with every precious stone were adorned: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, the twelfth amethyst; and the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each one of the gates, severally, was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as transparent glass.”

“A golden reed to measure the city” recalls the vision of the “reed” given to John for measuring the sanctuary and the priests in it. Here, the city is measured to establish its physical limits in preparation for its habitation. The massive dimensions are designed to house the innumerable multitude of men and women “purchased by the blood” of Jesus - (Ezekiel 40:2-5, 48:8-35).

“The city lies foursquare.” The dimensions are multiples of four and twelve, numbers that symbolize the people of God (e.g., the “twelve tribes of Israel”). The 144 cubits recall the company of the 144,000 males from the twelve tribes of Israel that were “sealed” for priestly service to God - (Revelation 7:1-8, 14:1-4).

The altars of incense and burnt offerings used in the ancient Tabernacle were “foursquare” and constructed of “shittim wood.” So, also, the breastplate worn by the high priest was “foursquare.”

And so, “New Jerusalem” also lies “foursquare,” but it is constructed from gold and precious gems to stress its glory and permanence, and not shittim wood. And the “foursquare” shape stresses its universality, as in the “four living creatures,” the “four corners,” and the “four winds” of the earth. The city encompasses the entire earth, if not the Cosmos - (Exodus 37:25, 39:9, 1 Kings 7:31, Ezekiel 40:47, 48:20, Revelation 4:6, 7:1-3, 20:8-10).

The physical dimensions are massive. Twelve thousand “stadia” is approximately fifteen hundred miles long (twenty-four hundred kilometers), wide, and high. The proportions would be nearly impossible to build on earth. Here, effectively, the boundaries of the “holy city” are coterminous with the New Earth.

“The foundations of the wall were adorned with every precious stone.” The twelve stones correspond to the gems that were displayed on the breastplate of the high priest when he performed his priestly duties. This is another symbol that points to the new people of God.

And the imagery also indicates that the city is now the “tabernacle” of God where His presence dwells and glory is displayed – (Exodus 28:17-20, 39:10).

NO SANCTUARY

“I saw no temple for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple.” The book of Revelation has not abandoned the biblical ideal of the perfect temple, but the entire “city” is now the “sanctuary of God.” Wherever God is found dwelling with His people, there is the temple.

• (Revelation 21:22-23) – “And sanctuary saw I none therein; for the Lord God, the Almighty is the sanctuary thereof and the Lamb. And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon, that they should shine therein; for the glory of God illumined it and the lamp thereof was the Lamb.”

In Revelation, the sun and moon are parts of the old order that are affected by God’s judgments. For example, the sun became “black as sackcloth” and the moon “became as blood” on the “Day of the Lord.”

With “New Jerusalem” now filled with His glory, no longer is there any need for the sun, moon, or stars to provide illumination. Instead, the city is illuminated by the “glory of God,” and by the “Lamb” who is the “lamp” in the city.

There is no knowledge or glory of God apart from Jesus, and it is in his role as the “slain Lamb” that he achieved all this. Ever since the vision of the “sealed scroll” and the “throne,” Jesus has been identified as the “Lamb,” and so he will remain in the city of “New Jerusalem.”

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