The Holy City

Revelation 21:9-27

⁹Then 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.” ¹⁰And 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, ¹¹having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It 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— ¹³on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶The 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. ¹⁷He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. ¹⁸The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ¹⁹The 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, ²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, 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 of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. ²²And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, ²⁵and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The description of “the Holy City” is one that is tough to truly imagine. My mind just can’t grasp a city that is 1,400 miles long, wide, and high, surrounded by a wall that is 200 feet wide. And the good news is that I don’t need to have a firm grasp on that concept because God already does. In Revelation 21 we get a glimpse of what our eternity will look like and it boggles the mind.

One of the angels who had previously poured out the wrath of God and blown one of the seven trumpets now takes John into a new and beautiful vision of life with God in Heaven. The Tribes of the Old Testament and the Twelve Apostles of the New Testament, thus the whole Church, are represented in the gates and the foundation of the City. The City is illuminated by the glory and presence of God Himself and Christ’s presence as the final and complete sacrifice eliminates the need for any Temple or Altar. The gates are guarded, thus allowing us full protection at all times and those gates are perpetually open allowing full access to God and His people. There is no fear, no pain, no sorrow, and no sin. The death of Christ has brought us perfection and righteousness.

After so many chapters of destruction and pain these words come as a cooling balm to a battered spirit. With this picture of Heaven God brings refreshment and hope. We are a people who possess the brightest of futures and can live like this is our reality even now.