,, Having the glory of God. And her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. And the construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: 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 jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.”
Rev.21: 11-27
We spoke to the heavenly Jerusalem, so we said that there are many things we don't know, but let's see briefly what kind of information God gives us about this city that is in the third heaven today.
"And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the walls thereof."
The Lord Jesus wanted to show John and through him and us something more about the heavenly Jerusalem so that we could have an insight into a part of the glory of God and the appearance of the heavenly Jerusalem, that is, how much we as human beings can understand and create an image of heavenly things. the city, the walls, and the gates will be measured as we saw in verse 15.
“And he had the glory of God; and his light was as a precious stone, as the bright jasper stone, "(verse 11)
And he measured his wall an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man that is of an angel. (Verse 17)
And the building of the walls was jasper, ... (verse 18)
Let's start with the wall that is said to be "one hundred and forty-four cubits high, according to the measure of a man" and that is about sixty-five meters because one cubit is about 44.5 cm. And the wall surrounds the city on all four sides and The wall itself was built of a jewel called jasper, "And the structure of the walls was his jasper." Jasper is very expensive on earth, very hard, and can be found in brown, yellow, green, red, purple, black, and some other This kind of gem also has the ability to transmit light, so the "glory" of this city will be visible outside the city, and probably in various colors, and it will be magnificent to see.
These walls also have symbolism because they are high and it is impossible to skip them and they are very long and impossible to bypass and the only entrance is through the "door" and that "door" is the Lord Jesus Christ. These walls also have the symbolism of security although there will be no enemies in heaven yet we know from the Bible that this "security" is the Lord Jesus Christ who said of his own:
,, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
John 10: 9
,, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”
John 10: 27-28
It was a part of the appearance of the walls, and now let's see what it says about the foundation of the city.
"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (verse 14).
"And the foundations of the walls of the city were adorned with every precious stone: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald," (verse 19)
"The fifth sardonic, the sixth sardine, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth viril, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst." (Verse 20)
The foundations of this city will be indescribable and magnificent as the walls and we see that it will be of twelve gems but it is not written how thick these foundations will be and this city was meant by Abraham when he said:
,, For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
Heb.11: 10
Let's try to create a small idea of what the foundations look like based on the colors of the gems:
first-jasper, we have already mentioned this and the colors are brown, yellow, green, red, purple, black
others — sapphire, sky blue and azure
third-chalcedony, color combination, blue, green, gray, white,
fourth-emerald, light green
heel-sardonyx, red and white
sixth-sardine, reddish in color
seventh-chrysolite, golden yellow
eighth-viril, dark green
ninth-topaz, yellow-green
tenth-chrysoprase, greenish in color
eleventh-jacket, purple
twelfth-amethyst, pinkish red
We have here a list of different colors that these gems have, so it is simply unthinkable and it seems unreal what it looks like when the light "glory of God" penetrates through all these diamonds and we cannot see that here on earth. which leave people "breathless" are just a pale shadow of the appearance of this city and the light that breaks through these gems.
Next thing it says
"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (verse 14).
These are the twelve apostles who preached the news of the risen Christ to the pagans, but also to the Jews who wanted to listen and through their preaching and teaching, the Lord Jesus created the Church to which we belong today, headed by the Lord Jesus.
,, Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,”
Eph.2: 20
"And the wall was great and high, and had twelve gates, and on the gates twelve angels, and names written, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel" (verse 12).
"From the east the gate of three, and from the north the gate of three, from the south the gate of three, and from the west the gate of three." (Verse 13)
"And the twelve gates, twelve beads of pearls: each gate was of one bead of pearls:" (verse 21)
We saw that the height of the walls is about sixty-five meters and the height of the door is not written, but it is written that each door is made of one pearl and it is a symbolism reminiscent of the very precious wounds of the Lord Jesus who saved us. in the question of a pearl, here is the answer. Real pearls are found in the depths of the sea and are created by a grain of sand entering the shell that creates a wound and later that "wound creates" a pearl that is very expensive.
We have already mentioned that the only gate to heaven is the Lord Jesus Christ and no one can enter the city except through the "Gate"
,, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
John 10: 9
From the text we see that the heavenly Jerusalem has twelve gates of four on each side of the world and it is a symbol that salvation is "open" to all people on all four sides of the world.
,, "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 13:29
It goes on to say:
"And at the gate are twelve angels," (verse 12) here we see that the angels "guard" the gate and welcome everyone who enters the city and also writes:
"And the names are written, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel." (v. 12) why this is written the answer is found in:
,, …for salvation is of the Jews.”
John 4.22
The prophets, apostles and the Lord Jesus Christ are Jews in the flesh, and if it were not for them, it would be conditionally said that we would not exist either, because God worked through them and through them, and they presented the Word of God to the world, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The next thing we can talk about is the size and shape of the city, so we read:
"And the city stands on four corners, and its length is as great as its width. And he measured the city with the reed into twelve thousand places, the length, and the breadth, and the height, the same. "(Verse 16)
"And the building of its walls was jasper, and the city pure gold, like pure glass" (verse 18).
The length of the city is 12,000 racetracks and the same width and height. The racetrack is a measure of length and is 185 meters. If we multiply these numbers we get the length, width and height of over 2200 km. "the city is about 10,000 km..It is probably the most fascinating height of the city which is about 2200 km.and if we compare the highest peak on earth with the height of this city it is practically negligible and we could use this conclusion with a complete celestial city compared to The most beautiful city on earth. These terms are simply incomparable, and we, while on earth, can only imagine and create an image of what the heavenly Jerusalem actually looks like and what its splendor is.
The Bible does not say what the city will look like, whether it is a cube, a pyramid or some other shape that we may not be able to imagine because we are on earth and this city is in heaven.
“And he had the glory of God; and his light was as a precious stone, as the bright jasper stone, "(verse 11)
This is just something that is hard to imagine, the glory of God that "radiates" through the wall and through the foundations of the city, giving an incredible spectrum of colors passing through the jewels.
This is something that is best experienced and not imagined, and it will be experienced by anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ who said that the "apartments" are ready.
,,In My Father's house are many mansions;”
John 14: 2
"The streets of the city were pure gold, like clear glass." (verse 21)
It says "streets" here, which means that there are more but it doesn't say exactly how many there are, there are probably at least six main streets since there are twelve doors, but that doesn't have to be the case, but we know that the streets will be made of "pure gold" .On earth, gold is highly valued and a very valuable metal, it is also a source of various problems due to greed for a little more of that "valuable metal" while here we see a great contrast and it says that in the sky it will be "underfoot" by which people trample.
And that gold in the sky will be much purer than the one we know, and that is an illustration of the purity that will reign in the sky.
Next we have verses that tell us:
"And the city needs neither the sun nor the moon to shine in it; for the glory of God enlightens him, and the Lamb is his flesh (verse 23).
Today on earth we depend on the sun because it gives us light and warmth and not only to us but to the entire flora and fauna and we see that it will not be in the sky because God's light will radiate in the sky and it will give incredibly beautiful shades of light through the city walls and foundations. .This light of God will never disappear and that is why there will be no need for electricity, candles, batteries or anything like that. And since there will be no enemies in the sky and the light will never disappear, it says that the door will never close because the night will not be already just a day.
"And his gates shall not be shut in the daytime: for there shall be no night there" (verse 25).
And since there is no darkness because the Lord Jesus is .. a weevil "he could say:
,, Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."”
John 8:12
This light and glory in the heavenly Jerusalem will shine through the Lord Jesus Christ through eternity:
,, For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
2 Cor.4: 6
It still says:
"And the nations that are saved shall walk in his light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into him" (verse 24).
While we are here on earth it is written about us:
,,There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one."
Rom.3: 11-12
And probably the emperors of the earth are the hardest to address because they are in such positions where various people "blackmail" them and they are in such positions where they practically do not do exactly what they would like but have to obey various rules, regulations and codes that are almost totally contrary to God's ways. And because of that, the salvation of kings is God's great mercy because salvation is from God and since they are saved, the glory of God that worked through them is shown because it practically means that there is no obstacle before God because God is able to save any when it is another confirmation of God's glory.
In addition to this it says:
"And he shall bring the glory and honor of the Gentiles into him" (verse 26).
The pagans are not Jews and both have been out of God's action for a long time, but the door is open to them as well, and today they have a special part to enter the heavenly Jerusalem because they are part of the Church and Jesus resides in them:
,, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
2 Cor.6: 16
therefore he will come to the heavenly Jerusalem with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is a special privilege that glorifies God.
"And I saw no church therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the church unto him" (verse 22).
We see that there will be no churches or places of worship because that is the past. In the Old Testament, God "gave" Israel a tent of meeting and also priests and every ceremony they were supposed to observe was and pointed to the "image" of Jesus Christ but since the time of the Lord Jesus in "pictures" has passed. After the tent of the meeting, churches were built that had their "place" in worship, but there will be none in heaven because every need for ceremonies as on earth has passed.
Apart from this, let us read what else will not be in the heavenly Jerusalem or what will not enter it:
"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that is evil, and whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book"
We said that the gold we talked about is a symbol of the purity that will reign in heaven but apart from the physical purity that people usually think of there will be no moral impurities. There will be no dirty movies and literature that are very popular today, dirty or "greasy" "jokes and jokes, there will be no sorcerers, mediums, idolaters, prostitutes, then swearing, quarrels, thugs, robbers, thieves, liars, deceivers, drugs, alcohol, cigars, etc. so there will be nothing that harms man here on earth but people they use and practice it consciously or unconsciously.
So all of that will not be there but there will only be those
"which are written in the Lamb's book of life" (verse 27)
only those who have been washed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will enter there, and those who are sanctified by the Holy Spirit. and these are those who are inscribed in the "book of life of the Lamb."
,, And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Cor.6: 11
And all those who are not written in the "life book of the Lamb" will end up in the Lake of Fire.
,, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Rev.21: 8