Revelation 21:2-22:5
It is written that Abraham looked for a city; a city whose builder and maker is God - He 11:8-10“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” A city God had prepared for him - He 11:13-16 “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
It is written that we too look for a city; a city which is to come - He 13:14 “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” A city promised by Jesus to those who overcome - Re 3:12 “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” John was shown a vision of a great city, along with words of comfort and warning (Re 21:2-8). He was then offered a detailed glimpse of this heavenly city.
Let’s take a closer look at what he saw as the great city as recorded in Re 21:9-21. John is shown the Holy City by one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls of wrath - Re 21:9-10a “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." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain,” This angel offered to show John “the Bride, the Lamb's wife,” who then carried him away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain. He sees the great city, the holy Jerusalem - Re 21:10b-11 “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.” John saw the Holy City descending out of heaven from God - Re 21:2 “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”; also note 3:12. John saw the Holy City having the glory of God, with light like a jasper stone, clear as crystal - Re 4:2-3 “At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” -- The imagery is uncertain, but the city may be depicted as hovering between heaven and the new earth.
John then goes on to describe the Holy city. It had a great and high wall - Re 21:12-14 “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.” John saw a city with twelve gates, with three gates each on east, north, and south, with twelve angels at the gates. with the twelve tribes of Israel’s names inscribed on the gates. John saw twelve foundations with the twelve apostles’ names inscribed on the foundations.
The measurement of the city, the gates, and the wall - Re 21:15-17 “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 angel had a golden reed to measure with. The city is laid out as a cube, its length, breadth, and height are each 12,000 furlongs (1500 hundred miles cubed), the distance from Orlando to Denver! The wall is one hundred and forty-four cubits (216 feet), either high or thick.
The construction of the city, the wall, its foundations, and the gates is described in - Re 21:18-21 “The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. 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, transparent as glass.” The wall was of jasper; the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The twelve foundations of the wall were adorned with precious stones; Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Emerald, Sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolite, Beryl, Topaz, Chrysoprase, Jacinth, and Amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. -- Imagine the colors, with varying shades of green, red, blue, gold, and clear crystal! Truly a great city; beyond our comprehension, but worthy of contemplation! In part two of our lesson we will read more about the glorious city in verses (22-27).
