Today John sees the Bride, the wife of the Lamb, the glorified church in all its glorious glory!
9 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.”
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 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– 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 on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 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. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.
18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 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, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
21 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, like transparent glass.
There is beauty and awe, as when you see a bride adorned for marriage (v.9), there is radiance that reflects God’s glory as Moses did having spent time in His presence (v.11), there is history and heritage (v.12b), and there is acknowledgement of those Jesus sent out to continue the work He began (v.14). Quite an awe-inspiring descent to watch.
The scale of the the beauty of this city is unimaginable, over a thousand miles each way of sheer breathtaking beauty…but what else would we expect from the city that God Himself has designed? (Hebrews 11.10).
Then the stones…are they symbolic of the indescribable majesty of the place, or, are they a literal description of the heavenly city and the glorified church?
This short five minute video, sent to me by a great friend when he knew we were working through Revelation, offers a Sovereign alternative…enjoy!
