The Angel's Second
Visit – Revelation 21:9 –
22:21
[1] [2] [3]
-1-
Beginning
Point in Time: At the
End of the 1,000 Years
Ending Point in Time: When
the Old Order Has Passed Away
Introduction:
You may recall in our
study on Revelation 17 that
Jesus sent one of the angels having
the seven bowls to explain what John
had seen previously. In that
setting, John was carried away in the
Spirit into a desert and while there,
he saw a richly adorned harlot
sitting upon the composite beast
which was covered with blasphemous
names. The beast had seven
heads and ten horns. [1] The final
verses in Revelation are similar to
Revelation 17. Once again,
Jesus sends one of the seven angels
to John with more information.
However, this time John is not
carried into a desert, but instead he
is carried to a high mountain where
the angel shows him the bride of
Christ, New Jerusalem.
Many Bible students do
not agree whether Christ’s bride
in Revelation 21:9 is His church
(the saints) or His city (New
Jerusalem). The solution to
this confusion is the dual role of
Jesus. Jesus is King of kings
(the Ruler of the city) and Lord of
lords (the Head of His church).
In terms of kinship, affection, and
worship, the bride of Christ is His
church (the saints).[2] In terms of a
kingdom and government, the bride of
Christ is a glorious city filled with
happy and holy citizens.[3]
The Sequence
Revelation 21:9-10
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 show thee the
bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he
carried me away in the spirit to a
great and high mountain, and showed
me that great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven
from God,d{9} One
of the seven angels of the seven last
plagues said, “Come with me
John, I will show you the
bride. The wife of the Lamb is
the glorious kingdom which the Father
has given to Him.”[4]
{10} He
carried me away in the Spirit to a
great, high mountain. He showed me
the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down
from Heaven where Jesus lives.
Revelation 21:11-14
Having the glory of
God: and her light was like unto a
stone most precious, even like a
jasper stone, clear as crystal; 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.And the wall of the city had
twelve foundations, and in them the
names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.{11} The
city shone with the glory of God, and
its brilliance was like that of a
very precious jewel, like a jasper,
clear as crystal.
{12} It
had a great, high wall with twelve
gates, and with twelve angels
welcoming visitors at its
gates. The names of the twelve
tribes of Israel were written on the
city’s gates.
{13} The
city faced north, south, east, and
west. There were three gates on
the east, three on the north, three
on the south, and three on the west.
{14}
The wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them were the
names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.
Revelation 21:15-18
And he that talked
with me had a golden reed to measure
the city, and the gates thereof, and
the wall thereof. 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. 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. And
the building of the wall of it was of
jasper: and the city was pure gold,
like unto clear glass.{15} The
angel who talked with me had a
measuring rod of gold to measure the
city, its gates and its walls.
{16} The
city was laid out in a square, as
long as it was wide. The angel
measured the city with his measuring
stick and found it to be 12,000
stadia (1,420 miles) on each side.
The city was as tall as it was
wide. The city is a giant cube!
{17} The
angel measured its wall and according
to the Roman cubit, it was 216 feet
thick.
{18} The
wall was made of jasper, and the city
of pure gold, as pure as glass.
Size of the
New Jerusalem
I believe that God
revealed the physical dimensions of
New Jerusalem to John to insure that
human beings would understand
the physical nature
of the Holy City. The Holy City
is not a mirage or a ghost town; it
is a three dimensional reality.
The New Jerusalem is 12,000 stadia or
furlongs in length, width, and height
and the city wall is 144 cubits
thick. A Roman furlong was 625
feet in John’s day and a cubit
was 18 inches. Therefore,
12,000 furlongs is approximately
1,420 miles and a wall 144 cubits
thick is approximately 216 feet
thick. Even though we have to
accept the measurements given at face
value, I do not have a perfect
solution for the enormous dimensions
of the Holy City in terms of
Earth’s size and mass. It
is hard to imagine a 1,420 mile cube
sitting on Earth’s
surface. For the sake of
comparison, Earth’s diameter is
8,000 miles. Earth’s
atmosphere is 62 miles high and the
International Space Station orbits
Earth about 200 miles up. Can
you imagine living about half way up
the Holy City (say, at mile marker
710) and looking down on
the International Space Station 500
miles below?
In an effort to
rationalize the size of the Holy City
and the physical parameters of Earth,
please consider two
suggestions. First, suppose
planet Earth could be expanded to the
size of Saturn at the end of the
1,000 years. If so, a 1,420
mile cube sitting on the surface
would not be such a problem.
The diameter of Saturn is about ten
times the size of Earth. To put
this in perspective, 764 planets the
size of Earth can fit within Saturn.
The second possibility
is one that I favor. I have
wondered if the shape of Earth will
be changed at the end of the 1,000
years from that of a sphere to that
of a toroid. (A toroid looks
like a doughnut with a hole in the
middle.) Suppose that when the
New Jerusalem descends from Heaven,
the Mount of Olives splits from East
to West as the Scripture says, and a
great valley (actually, a large hole)
opens up through the middle of the
Earth to accommodate the city of God.[5] In this
scenario, Earth would flatten out to
look something like a huge doughnut
revolving around the celestial Cube
of God which faces north, south,
east, and west. This physical
arrangement would insure that
everyone is close to God’s
throne, no matter where on Earth he
lived!
We know that the holy
city will not need the light of the
Sun or the moon, for the glory of God
will be its light.[6] The Bible also
says that God Himself will live among
men.[7] I mention
these two facts because Jesus might
have a special purpose for planet
Earth. Jesus may take Earth out
of its orbit around the Sun, since
the Sun will not be needed.
Jesus could use this planet as a
giant “motor home” that
travels throughout the
universe. If so, the saints
would see and visit an infinite
number of galaxies and worlds which
the Lamb will create during eternity
to come. Think about this, New
Jerusalem could become something like
a huge “RV” where happiness
and joy, homes and gardens, animals
and victorious human beings will live
forever with God. I know this
is wishful speculation, but the Bible
says we cannot conceive the wonderful
things that God has prepared for His
children.[8] Nevertheless, I
like the idea of the redeemed being
known throughout the universe as
“happy campers.”
The Sequence
Continues
Revelation 21:19-22
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, chrysolyte; the
eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz;
the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the
eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an
amethyst. 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. And I saw no
temple therein: for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple
of it.{19} The
foundations of the city walls were
decorated with every kind of precious
stone. The first foundation was
jasper, the second sapphire, the
third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
{20} the
fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian,
the seventh chrysolite, the eighth
beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth
chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth,
and the twelfth amethyst.
{21} There
were twelve gates and each gate was
made of a single pearl. The great
street in the city was made of pure
gold that looked like transparent
glass. Words cannot describe the
beauty and glory of God’s city.
{22} I
did not see a temple in the city,
because the Lord God Almighty and the
Lamb are its temple. People in
the Holy City will not worship in a
temple because they will worship the
living God, wherever He happens to
be!
A temple became
necessary in Heaven when sin
began. The plan of salvation
required a command and control center
and this made it necessary for God to
establish a temple in Heaven.
Before sin existed, there was no need
for altars and atonement. When
the work of the Two Witnesses is
completed on Earth, there will be no
need for altars and atonement.
Thus, the temple in Heaven will be
vacated.[9] During the
1,000 years, the saints will return
to Heaven and they will sit (reign)
with Jesus in Heaven’s courtroom
to determine the amount of
restitution which must be extracted
from the wicked. After this
phase of judgment is completed, the
temple will be forever
eliminated. It will have no
further purpose because the problem
of sin will be concluded. When
the Holy City descends at the end of
the 1,000 years, it will not have a
temple in it. The Father and
Son will be worshiped wherever they
present themselves.
