“Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me: ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ He then 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, arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a very precious stone, like a jasper stone, bright as crystal. The city had a massive high wall, with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the 12 tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. The city wall had 12 foundations, and the 12 names of the Lamb’s 12 apostles were on the foundations… I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Each day its gates will never close because it will never be night there. They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. Nothing profane will ever enter it: no one who does what is vile or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:9–14, 22–27 HCSB)
Note: For brevity, I have omitted verses 15–21 of the focal passage in the quote above. I would encourage you to click the link and read the full passage.
Have you ever encountered someone, something, or even a situation you simply could not explain, describe accurately, or fully comprehend? You might say, “I simply can’t describe it. Words aren’t sufficient.” Or maybe, “I can’t explain it. It is just beyond my understanding.” Last week, my wife and I were in Colorado, and the views of the mountains and the colors of the aspen leaves were just spectacular. We were taking photos, but we both kept saying that the photos didn’t do justice to what we were actually seeing. The colors we experienced were far more vivid and brighter than the images depicted in the photos we took. I think you should read John’s description in these verses like that. While his description is simply magnificent, it just doesn’t do justice to the image of what he actually saw in his vision. John uses grandiose language, but even that is insufficient to depict this scene.
John’s vision of the New Jerusalem is given in stark contrast to the vision of Babylon in chapter 17. The descriptions of the angel and John being carried away in the Spirit are identical, but the resulting views could not be more different. In the desert, John sees the harlot, identified as the city of Babylon, and all of the vile things she wears, says, carries, and represents. In our passage, he is carried away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and sees the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. The angel tells him that this is the bride, the wife of the Lamb, and she is arrayed with God’s glory.
So the image is of a city, the New Jerusalem, and she is identified as the bride, or wife, of the Lamb. John then goes on to describe her, not as a woman, but as the city of God. She has a massive, high wall with 12 gates, three on each of the city’s four sides. Each gate is inscribed with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons and is protected by an angel. The city also has twelve foundations, each one bearing the name of one of the Lamb’s twelve apostles. The description of the city is intended to show us God’s glory and the fulfillment of His covenantal promises. God keeps His Word and does what He has promised — His covenants are never abandoned. We also see the fulfillment of the covenant as the twelve tribes of the old covenant and the twelve apostles of the new covenant are brought together as the Lamb’s bride, the New Jerusalem.
So, God’s promises are preserved and fulfilled. Not just in the lives of the men represented by these two groups, the tribes of Israel and the apostles of the Lord, but also in the lives of the churches of Asia Minor and in our church. When we are faithful, follow God’s Word, obey His commands, and love Him as He deserves, then He is faithful to fulfill His covenants and keep His promises. The biggest issue we usually face is not with God keeping His promises, but with us knowing God’s promises. God doesn’t always remove us from the battle, take us out of the furnace, or shelter us from the storm, but He goes with us into them.
“The LORD is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 HCSB)
Next, the angel who spoke to John had a gold measuring rod, and he measured the city, its gates, and its wall. I’m not going to walk through all of the measurements and the specific stones identified in the foundations, but I want you to notice how massive and beautiful the city is. The city is a perfect cube, with a length, width, and height of 12,000 stadia. That means the city is approximately 1,500 miles long, wide, and high. That means this New Jerusalem is SO large it won’t even fit within the area we know as the Middle East.
The intent of John’s vision of the New Jerusalem seems to center around the fact that it is a perfect cube and reflects the Holy of Holies. Why is that important? Notice verse 22: “I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.” So God is present with His people. God’s not just nearby; He is in the very midst of them. It is hard to express this reality of God’s presence in a way that helps you see its importance and impact. We won’t just be near Him on occasion; we will exist continually in His presence. He will be to us like the air we breathe. To be without air is to be unable to breathe, and to be unable to breathe means we cannot physically live. In this holy city, to be without God means to be without life, real life. To live is to be with Him — continually in His presence.
So John’s vision is a multifaceted metaphor. First, it is presented as the glorious bride, the wife of the Lamb, in stark contrast to the harlot. Then it is presented as the holy city, the New Jerusalem, in stark contrast to Babylon. But ultimately, both metaphors reveal that we are really seeing the people of God dwelling in this beautiful city, united with their God like a bride united to her husband. But one of the images coming through strongly in this vision is that this city of God is a sanctuary that exists continually in His presence and that we are PROTECTED by His might. The city is not only massive, but it is surrounded by walls that are over 200 feet tall, and there are three gates on each of the four sides. An angel stands guard at each gate, and the gates never close because it is never night there. Never night? God’s glory illuminates it, and the Lamb is its lamp.
“The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.” (Revelation 21:24 HCSB)
Last week, Tina and I took a week off and went to Colorado for a few days. It was just some time to step away and try to catch our breath. The place where we stayed had a hot tub on the back patio, and each night we enjoyed spending a few minutes soaking in the hot water while it soothed tired muscles and aching joints. On Thursday night, we climbed into the tub and relaxed for a few minutes. Then Tina decided she was done and was going inside to shower and read a book. When she tried to open the door, she discovered it was locked. Locked? How did it get locked? She didn’t know. Long story short, we were locked out of the house. I climbed out, wrapped a towel around myself, and we began trying to find a way into the house. After checking all of the doors, we found what we already knew was true — all of them were securely locked, and we did not have a key and could not remember the full door access code.
Now, why did I stop and tell you this story about a hot tub mishap with locked doors on our Colorado trip? Because of what happened next. I had to find a way into the house. It was cold, we were wet and barefoot, and we had no idea how we could resolve this issue. The house had a second-floor deck with an exterior set of stairs leading up to the deck and another door. I decided I needed to check that door as a possible way into the house. In the dark, I made my way up the stairs, only to find the door locked. As I made my way down these stairs in the dark, I missed the bottom step and fell hard onto the concrete porch. When you try to navigate life in the dark, you’re going to misstep and take a fall.
Listen to John’s vision: “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Each day its gates will never close because it will never be night there. They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.” (Revelation 21:23–26 HCSB)
John has described the beauty of this city in various ways. It has foundations that are adorned with every kind of precious stone. The walls of the city were made of jasper, while the city itself was pure gold, clear as glass. Each of the twelve gates was made of a single massive pearl, and the streets were paved with pure gold, clear as glass. The description is meant to leave you in awe of this city’s magnificence and beauty, and those are the features we normally talk about. But none of this beauty is even visible if there is no light. And that’s where the true beauty of this city lies, in its light source — it does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
As I mentioned above, we often highlight the glory of heaven by talking about streets paved with pure gold. But the glory of heaven is not the beauty of the city or its materials; it is the presence of God. God will be its source of light, and the Lamb will be its lamp. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Are we more in awe of the material things of heaven or of God’s glory and presence? Are we longing for streets of gold, or are we longing for the light of His presence and His people walking in it? Don’t get me wrong, I am excited that God will wipe away our tears and there will be no more grief, crying, pain, or death. But I believe these things are the direct result of His presence and of our walking in His light.
I fell down those stairs in Colorado that night because it was dark and I couldn’t see. We fall into sin each day because we refuse to see the truth and walk in His light. The reason the city of God will be beautiful is because its inhabitants will be living in full submission to God’s will and in full obedience to His Word. The reason our cities, towns, and communities are broken and dilapidated is not because of the building materials used in their construction. It’s because our world has rejected the light of God and His Lamb, and people refuse to live in submission to Him and in obedience to His Word. The reason the city of God will be beautiful is not because of the gold and gemstones used in its construction. It will be beautiful because its inhabitants are living in the light of God’s glory, seeing the perfect revelation of His will, and walking in full obedience to His Word.
While this magnificent city has massive walls and angels standing guard at each of the twelve gates, the city will be safe and the people’s tears will be wiped away because God will be in our midst, and nothing profane will EVER enter it. No one who does what is vile or false will enter, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life. But don’t miss this: you can know His presence in your life today. You don’t have to wait, and you don’t have to wish for things to get better. You can really experience the power of His presence, you can know the peace of His protection, and you can walk in the light of His glory right now. While John’s vision gives us the hope of an eternal city where God dwells in the midst of His people, the promise of God for those who walk by faith is for His Spirit to live within each of us, today!
“Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 HCSB)
Like the churches of Asia Minor, we may live in the middle of a city corrupted by pagan worship and the outright rejection of God’s Word. However, they could choose to live each day in submission to His Spirit, walking in the light of His Word, and living in obedience to His will. We must make that same choice. When we silence the voice of His Spirit, we hear and succumb to the lies of the deceiver. When we step out of the light of His Word, we stumble in the darkness. When we choose our own will over His, we fall into sin. When we make these choices, we fail to be salt and light in this decaying, dark world. While we wait for the city of God, we must long for it, but not because of its gold — because of its God.
Let me leave you with this one last thought: Where is your safe place? John did not see a sanctuary in the city because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. Is God your safe place? When things seem to fall apart in your life, do you panic, or do you rest in the comfort of God’s presence? We are all faced with moments when it feels like things are falling apart all around us. That’s when you run to your sanctuary; you go to your safe place. When this world steals your peace, find it in Him. When this world threatens your safety, find it in Him. When this world goes dark, trust God and walk in His light. Make God your safe place, your sanctuary, and you’ll find all of the things this world takes from you. Make God your safe place, and you’ll never regret it.
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