Revelation 21:9-25 - The New Jerusalem

Now an angel comes to show John the bride, to show him what the church will become. This is angel is one of the angels that had had one of the bowls of the last plagues (see 15:1). The various plagues, bowls, trumpets etc and the final salvation of God's people are all part of the same plot. John was taken "in the spirit" to a great and high mountain. This contrasts with the wilderness that he was taken to "in the spirit" to witness the downfall of Babylon. Here he sees the holy city of Jerusalem coming down from God. In 21:2 we have already seen the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. We should remember that these are visions John is receiving, it is not a neat chronological history.

The city is then described. Again we should remember that this is pictorial language, not a set of engineer's drawings! Jasper is not actually a clear stone, and some other precious stone may be meant here. The key point is that the city shines with the glory of God.

The twelves are also symbolic. The mentions of the tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles is demonstrating the continuity of God's plans. The twelve angles shows that it is in perfect harmony with heaven.

Similarly the measurements given in verse 15 onwards are symbolic. I don't think we should expect to see a city with these exact dimensions. The dimensions represent a perfect cube, as was the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 6:20), the dwelling of God is now with man (21:3). The material of the foundations is then given. 

There was no physical temple in the city, for the Lord Himself was the temple. Nor did it need any sun or moon, for the Lord was its light.

Then we hear of the nations walking by its light and the rulers of the earth bringing their splendour to it. There is no longer any night, and no shameful thing comes into the city. It is inhabited only by those whose name is in the book of life. This raises a question of the exact timing of this. Is it still part of the millennium? This would then make sense of the mention of the kings of the earth and the nations walking by its light. Alternatively the whole point could just be to stress the final outcome for the church. Despite all the persecution the church faced, all the opposition to Jesus, it is Christ who will triumph, and His people with Him. There will come a time when sin and evil are banished forever, and Christ truly reigns. A time when we dwell with God in perfect fellowship.