The Perfect City of God—New Jerusalem

How does one describe the indescribable? How does one picture what seems impossible to imagine? The Spirit shows us how—by the use of picture language and symbols. So one of the great and wondrous messengers,  those mysterious beings who have watched the whole history of mankind on the earth, comes to John to show him the Bride, the wife of the Lamb - Rev. 21:10-27 ESV

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, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 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-- on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

A reminder about the use of numbers in John's Revelation:

The biblical method of using numbers is not common to the haphazard conjecture of some modern interpreters, who claim that a sort of allegory lies behind the true meaning of the numbers of Revelation. Apocalyptic numerology should not be confused with eccentric interpretation. Apocalyptic literature is highly developed in its symbolism. When one is familiar with this genre of literature, a more historical, less arbitrary interpretation prevails. 

For years this blog has studied the background of the Bible's use of numbers. I refer my readers back to some of these studies as we encounter again this chapter's detailed use of the numbers 3, 4, 10 and 12. For instance, see the following:

• Biblical Numerology Background 
• Essentially The Revelation Is a Book of Symbols
• Symbolical Language Is Common

Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value - read from right to left

We join John now to look into the wondrous future God has prepared for His people. Three is the number used for God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Four is the number for man as he makes his way and lives his life upon this earth with all four of its directions.

This future is to come from heaven, from God, with all its wonder and glory and radiance, shining like the rarest of jewels, like jasper, a mineral belonging to the quartz family of gemstones.

One of many types of  Jasper

The appeal of Jasper is its interesting color patterns and formations. Though it can be a solid color, it is most often mottled, spotted, ringed, or striped. Each Jasper has a unique color or pattern, lending this gemstone much variety. Jasper is an ancient gemstone, and is mentioned in the bible and other classical sources. Though fairly common and affordable today, Jasper in antiquity was regarded as a very valuable stone.

The twelve gates of Jerusalem, the city of David, refers to the people of God, the twelve tribes, the twelve apostles, in other words all God's people gathered together by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. These people come from all directions, north, south, east and west. They are many and varied, gathered by the love of God, revealed in Christ.

And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 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. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 

What an amazing gathering this is and how very immense and absolutely perfect on all sides. It is, in fact, a perfect cube, equal in all aspects. A stadia was an ancient unit of length equal to a bit over 600 feet. So 12,000 stadia would equal about 7,200,000 feet or about 1,400 miles in length, width and height. This description sounds strange, almost ridiculous until you remember again that it is symbolical, pointing to the endless love of God that gathers in His chosen people of all races, places and times.

Jewels of Rev. 21

And what a wondrously beautiful city this is, adorned with every kind of jewel, radiant and sparkling.

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, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 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. 

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And 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. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But 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. - Rev 21:10-27 ESV

How Revelation Is Organized

In chapter 5 of John's Revelation four seals were opened to reveal four horsemen traveling across the earth. Three seals remained for the Lamb to open. The fifth seal reveals a crowd of martyrs:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. - Rev 6:9-11 ESV

Peter Paul Rubens - The Martyrdom of St Stephen

John's vision is rooted, as always, in the vision of earlier prophets. In this case we are drawn back to Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly Jerusalem and its huge Temple (40-44).  The earthly temple was a counterpart and prototype of the same. There, beneath or beside the altar are the souls of those who had been violently put to death because of their witness to the risen Christ. These include the deacon Stephen, stoned in Jerusalem (Acts 7:54-60), Peter, Paul, James the brother of Jesus (Josephus, Antiquties 20.9.1) and many others The Roman historian Tacitus tells of the many Christians martyred by the Roman ruler Nero in A.D. 64 (Tacitus, Annals 15.44). There will be others, says the Revelation. Ultimately the whore Babylon will be drunk with the blood of the saints, the martyrs of Jesus (Rev 17:5-6).

These martyrs are troubled. With a loud voice they cried out, ""O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

As the prophets of old had comforted the believers when their cities and lands were ravished by the Babylonians (Isa 26:20-21), so these souls are comforted and told to rest a little longer. Given a white robe as a pledge that they will feast at the marriage of the Lamb (Rev 7:9,14; 19:7-8), they must wait until God's plan is complete.

The sixth seal's opening reveals further terrible things about to happen. Revealed in symbolical language used by the prophets of old, these catastrophes signal the end of world history:

They (heavens) will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, - Psa 102:26 ESV

All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. - Isa 34:4 ESV 

At this point it seems wise to understand how John's Revelation is organized, lest we get caught up in a great argument about exactly when these things are to take place. The number seven is vital to our understanding, especially since it is the sacred number of creation and completion (Gen 2:2-3). The first two visions described our Lord appearing to John in His risen and ascended glory. John is to share a message to each of the seven churches. Chapters 4 and 5 are the heart of the Revelation. They describe the worthiness of Jesus, the Lion of Judah and the Lamb who was slain, to open the seals. He is the victorious Ruler. He will indeed rescue His people and judge the unbelieving world.

Thus in chapters 6 - 21 seven scenes of the End Times are presented, each revealing more about what we are to expect in these last times as we await the return of our King.

1. Christ opens the Seven Seals (Rev 6:1-8:5)
2. Seven Trumpets are blown (Rev 8:6-11:19)
3. The battle between the Triune God and the Anti-Trinity (Rev. 12:1-14:20)
4. The pouring out of the Seven Bowls of Wrath (Rev 15:1-16:21)
5. Babylon, the Prostitute, is overthrown (Rev 17:1-19:21)
6. The Final Judgment (Rev 20:1-21:8)
7. The New Jerusalem, the Bride, the wife of the Lamb (Rev 21:9-22:5 

Epilogue: Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:6-21)

There is no need to get wrapped up in the many confusing and complex interpretations of these seven scenes with talk about the Rapture and the Millennium. This all comes about when modern self-proclaimed prophets turn John's symbolical language into a variety of literal timelines of days and years. As we continue through this most comforting book we will learn that Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has bound Satan. He can no longer accuse us. God's plan, hidden for ages, is now revealed in Christ. In Him we are bold, for we have direct access to the throne of God (Eph 3:7-12). Christ's perfect reign has begun, symbolized by the 1,000 years leading up to His return (10x10x10 = 1,000; 2 Pet 3:8; Rev 20:6).

So we join with the ancient church simply to proclaim in the words of the Apostles Creed our faith  in the Risen Christ who "sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. . . We believe in . . . the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting."

Maranatha! Even so, Come Lord Jesus! (1 Cor 16:22)