Welcome back to the second post in the very last series on the book of Revelation. In the first post, we talked about the new Jerusalem, how the tabernacle of God now dwells with man, and how there will be no sorrow. We looked at God the Father’s declaration, “I make all things new.” This decree marked the beginning of a new earth and a new heaven. In this post, we’re going to look the structure of the new Jerusalem—the walls, the gates, and its foundation. Stay tuned.

Revelation Chapters 21 and 22

Second in a Five-Part Series
by Karen Thompson

A Basic Blueprint of the New Jerusalem

Rev. 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

In the next portion, John gives us a basic blueprint description of the new Jerusalem. After the voice out of heaven was finished making the proclamation about how life on the new earth would be like, John then focused his attention back to the new Jerusalem. John said one of the seven angels that administered the bowl judgments came up to him and said, “Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (v. 9). Again, Jerusalem is referred to as the bride, the Lamb’s wife. This is the second time the new Jerusalem is referred to as a bride.

The city was descending from heaven. So in order to get a better look, John said the angel “carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (v. 10). From the top of a high mountain, John could get a better view of what the new Jerusalem looked like.

Description of the New Jerusalem

After getting a closer look at the city, John then proceeded to describe the new Jerusalem. He began by saying, “Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal…” (v. 11). The glory of God will be present in the new Jerusalem, and John described the light of God’s glory to be as clear as crystal.

The prophet Isaiah also prophesied about the new Jerusalem and the glory of God shining in Jerusalem. Isaiah 60:1–3 says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” The Gentile nations will be drawn to the light of God’s glory. That’s what the Lord wanted from the beginning, for the Gentiles to see the vast difference in the nation of Israel and the Jewish people and to be drawn to their God. In this passage, we see God’s plan for Jerusalem come to pass.

The Walls and Gates

John described the walls and the gates: “And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates” (vv. 12–13). The city was surrounded by high walls and the walls had 12 gates that opened into the city; there were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west wall. An angel was posted at each gate entrance. The 12 gates were named after the 12 tribes of the children of Israel.

The Twelve Foundations

In verse 14, John said the city had twelve foundations: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” The city had 12 foundations and each of the 12 foundations is named after one of the 12 apostles of Jesus: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, Simon, Thaddaeus, James, and Matthias who replaced Judas Iscariot.

So the gates into the city are each named after one of the 12 tribes of Israel. And now we read there are 12 foundations to the city and each foundation is named after one of the 12 apostles. Reading these verses about the city’s gates and foundations being named after the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, I began to get an understanding about one of the overcomer’s rewards. Revelation 2:17 says, “To him that overcometh will I … give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”

I had long wondered about this reward. I thought it was an odd reward. I mean, what would you do with a stone that has your name engraved on it? Put it in the garden? I was thinking about the stones or rocks people place in their gardens for décor. I didn’t understand what kind of stone this was talking about. I came to realize the white stones are stones used to build a structure or building. The white stones with the names of the overcomers engraved on them will be stones used to build some portion of the city!

This is exactly what Ephesians chapter two is talking about: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph. 2:19–22 NIV).

We are being built together to become a temple—a living temple—in which God Himself dwells.

The City’s Measurements

John said the angel used a golden reed to measure the city’s gates and walls. He said the city’s measurements were foursquare. Verse 16 says, “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.” The length, width, and height were all exactly 12 thousand furlongs (1,500 miles square [Amp. 21:16]).

Verse 17 tells us the height of the wall: “And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.” The wall measured 144 cubits long. The meaning of the phrase “according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel” reveals an interesting historical fact about cubits. In ancient days, there was no exact standard to the length of a cubit. That’s because the length of a cubit was the length from a person’s elbow to the tip of his third finger.¹ The length of a cubit would vary according to the different heights of people doing the measuring. Accordingly, the length of the cubit varied among different cultures. John is telling us the angel used the length from his elbow to his fingertip to measure the wall. The Amplified Bible estimates the height was 72 yards. (Rev. 21:17 Amp.)

The Beautiful Appearance of the City

Rev. 21:18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

In the portion we just studied, John gave us the basic blueprint of the city’s walls, gates, and foundations; now in this section, he tells us about the beauty of the city’s walls, gates, and foundations. Its beauty came from the materials with which the walls, gates, and foundations were constructed. Verse 18 talks about the walls: “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper….” The wall will be made of jasper, which according to verse 11, it was clear like crystal. The rest of verse 18 tells us about the city itself: “and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.” The city was made of gold so pure that it appeared like clear glass.

In verses 12–14, John said there were 12 foundations of the city and each of them were named after one of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. Now in verses 19–20, John tells us the materials used to create the foundations of the wall of the city: “And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.”

What is interesting is that each of the 12 tribes of Israel were ascribed a stone as a symbol of the tribe. These stones were set in the high priest’s breastplate of judgment that he wore on his chest. Like the new Jerusalem, the breastplate’s measurements was foursquare. Like the twelve gates in the four walls of the new Jerusalem, the breastplate had four rows of stones and each row had three stones. Each stone was engraved with one of the names of the tribes of Israel. (Exo. 28:15–21)

In verses 12–13, John said there were three gates leading into the city. Each wall had three gates and each gate had on it a name of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Then in verse 21, John tells us the material used to create the gates: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl….” All of the gates were made of pearl. The last part of verse 21 tells us about the streets: “…and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” Everyone is familiar with the phrase describing heaven’s “streets paved with gold.”

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