One of the more popular things to watch on television is the
HGTV channel. Though we don’t get that channel in our basic lineup at home, I’m
familiar enough with shows like “House-Hunters,” “Dream home,” “Love it or List
it,” etc. to know that many are fascinated with finding and/or creating the
perfect home. Running parallel to these series are competition shows that will
have designers competing against one another to achieve the perfect space—be it
for a kitchen, living room, bathroom, or bedroom. These shows intrigue me as
there are so many different styles and tastes that people have when it comes to
their ideal residence. However, regardless of how amazing some of the estates
may be on these shows, there is a more perfect forever-home awaiting those who
are a part of the family of God—the listing of which is recorded for us in
Revelation 21:9-27. While last week we looked at John’s description of the New
Heavens and the New Earth in general, today and next week we are going to tour
the forever-home that the Lord himself has designed for his people. It is my
prayer that by touring this forever-home we might grow increasingly hopeful for
what is in store for us and more on mission than ever before as there is plenty
of room in this divinely-designed space for those potential residents God has
placed around us.
1. FEATURE #1: The
Exterior-21:10-14
The first feature that is described of the forever home for
God’s people is the exterior. However, before we look at these features in
detail, let’s acknowledge that the forever home of heaven is just as much about
the people of God who inhabit it as it is about the place they live. After all,
the “bride” mentioned in Revelation 19 refers to the people of God but in
Revelation 21:2 the “bride” is employed in reference to the New Jerusalem. In
verse 9 of chapter 21, the same “bride” reemerges in connection to this city
when “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls,…spoke with (John)
saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” Immediately
following this, verse 10 reads, “and he
carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the
holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,…”. Therefore, the
city about to be described is closely associated with the people who are
permitted citizenship therein—the redeemed people of God.
From a perch on top of a high mountain, John sees a “holy”
city—perfect in every way—called “Jerusalem” –perhaps alluding to what the ancient
city with the same name was intended to be (i.e. the locus of global blessing
and center of God’s presence)—“coming down out of heaven from God”—indicating that
this locale is other-worldly (i.e. not a rebuild or traditional town, but a
divinely crafted residence from on high). All of these indications reveal that
the forever home for God’s people, while not of this world, does eventually land
on earth. In many ways, this new domain will go a long way in finally and
forever answering the prayer articulated in Jesus’ model for his disciples—“Your
kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Here, upon the
emergence of this city, heaven does come down to earth in perfect harmony.
The façade of the
city is described as follows, “having the glory of God.” (21:11a). The glory of
God is the primary and recurring element in the description of this new domain
(see 15:8; 21:11, 23). Similar glory was witnessed at Sinai (Exod. 24:15-16)
and in Isaiah’s vision of heaven in Isaiah 6:1-4. One commentator calls “glory”
here the personification of God’s character, especially his splendor (Osborne, Revelation,
749). Reinforcing the resplendence of this new city is the phrase, “her
brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper” (21:11b).
The presence of jasper reminds the reader of the throne all the way back in 4:3
which “had the appearance of jasper.” Though many speculate as to the exact
color and tone of the stone in question, the transparency (“crystal clear”[ness])
is what is highlighted here—something that will be seen again later in this
context.
John continues his
description of the exterior by overviewing the walls surrounding the city: “It
had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels;
and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the
sons of Israel…” (21:12). Of the 1000 cities in the Roman empire at the time
this was written, most were founded as Hellenistic cities and included
defensive walls (Wilson, ZIBBC, 367). A city’s strength was often in
direct proportion to the quality of its walls—the stronger/more impressive the
walls the stronger/more impressive the people inside. Compare for instance, the
dire straights in which God’s people found themselves in Nehemiah’s day when
the prophet learns that Jerusalem is in shambles and its walls were destroyed (Nehemiah
1). Nehemiah knew what must be done first in order to bring the people of God
back on the world’s stage—the walls needed to be rebuilt. Compare that to the
massive walls of Babylon’s capital city under Nebuchadnezzar (see Daniel 1ff). The
center of this strong empire was guarded by a double-wall system that was
exceedingly tall and impressively thick punctuated by 250 towers surrounding
the entire city. Revelation reveals that at the end, the New Jerusalem will
come with “a great and high wall” indicating something to the greatness that is
inside.
However, what is peculiar
about this wall, at least when considering the historical context, is its many
gates—“with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written
on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel…” (21:12b).
The 12 gates (the product of 3 and 4 that symbolizes completion) implies open
and unlimited access to God and the Lamb for the inhabitants of heaven. Each
gate bears the name of one of Jacob’s sons—the twelve tribes of Israel—the forefathers
of the people of God in the Old Testament and the spiritual forefathers of the
church thereafter.
The twelve gates
were distributed as follows: “There were three gates on the east and three
gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west…” (21:13).
Most cities in the ancient world had only a couple of gates at strategic location
providing entrance and egress. After all, these gates were where the city’s
defenses were most vulnerable. The more holes you had in your wall, the weaker
it ultimately was. The fact that there are twelve gates (three on each side)
suggests there is nothing fear (no threat is on its way that would require a
limited number of entry points into this most glorious domain). This unusual
configuration of twelve gates around this celestial city appears to have been
taken from Ezekiel 48:30-35. There, as is the case here, the names of the
tribes are also associated with the gates. “The meaning in Ezekiel is that each
tribe has a gate that opens to its own tribal territory. Here the thrust is
quite different. These gates provide access to all ‘humankind,’ namely, the ‘people’
(21:3) who have ‘overcome’ the world (21:7a) and so ‘inherited the city of God’
(21:7b)” (Osborne, Revelation, 750).
The “greatness” and “highness”
of the walls is demonstrative of how grand this forever home is for God’s people
and the twelve gates illustrates how welcoming and safe this new residence is
for all who will enjoy heaven.
However, John says even
more about the exterior of the New Jerusalem: “and the wall of the city had
twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb” (21:14). While the walls themselves introduces the Jewish
component of the people of God, the foundation of the walls introduces the Church
component of the people of God. Both groups are saved by grace through faith in
the completed work of Christ (Rom. 4:3, 13) and both are represented here in
the exterior structure of the New Jerusalem. The relationship between the walls
and their foundations (faithful Jews and the Church) witnessed here is a
concrete illustration of what Paul talks about in Romans 4:16-17a.
Romans 4:16-17a-“That is why it depends on faith, in
order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his
offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares
the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as
it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations.’”
Abraham is the
physical forefather of the Jewish people and the spiritual forefather of both
believing Jews and believing Gentiles (the church) who come from every tribe
and tongue.
In summary, the
exterior of the believer’s heavenly destiny reveals that it is an other-worldly,
glorious, impressive, safe, and welcoming residence for all the people of God.
What a great place to call home!
2. FEATURE #2: The Measurements-21:15-17
After the breathtaking
description of the exterior is given, the next feature that John explores includes
the measurements of the city (how big is it?)—“the one who spoke with me had a
gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall…” (21:15). Later
the reader will learn that the city is made out of gold (21:18) as are the
streets (21:21). Therefore, it only makes sense that the tool used to measure
the glistening metropolis is made of gold also.
While many measure their
homes today by means of square-footage, this form of identifying area is not
suitable for the task here in Revelation. It is discovered upon measuring the
city that “the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the
width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length
and width and height are equal,…” (21:16). This unusual shape and size reveals
several things about the forever home of God’s people. First, the phrase “length
and width and height” employed at the end of the verse is similar to what is
said in Ephesians 3:18 about Christ’s love—“…what is the breadth and length and
height and depth”—(minus the “depth”). If this verbiage was used in Ephesians
to express the magnitude and fullness of Jesus’ love, these similar words might
be used to express the magnitude and fullness of this city here in Revelation.
But full of what? The shape betrays the answer—a perfect cube. According to
Revelation, the New Jerusalem is twelve thousand stadia (between 1400-1500
miles) long, wide, and high, indicating a perfect cube. This is an important
shape in Jewish thought, especially as it pertains to another important
structure—the holy of holies.
2 Chronicles 3:8-“ Now
he made the room of the holy of holies: its length across the width
of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty
cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to 600 talents.”
1 Kings 6:19-20-“ Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within
the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. The
inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in
width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also
overlaid the altar with cedar.”
In the temple
structure, the holy of holies housed the literal and glorious presence of God
resided in a cube. However, in the Old Testament world, only a few could enter
in and only under extreme and restricted conditions (the high priest after
satisfying very specific protocols). In the New Jerusalem, the entire city is
set up as a new and far larger cube—a new holy of holies where the full presence
of God resides. Only now, everyone can access the Lord’s presence at any time
through one of the twelve open gates. While Jesus tore the veil that separated
mankind from the presence of God in his first coming, following his second
coming, he will invite all who follow him into the inner-sanctum to enjoy
perfect communion with God in real time, uninhibited by any barrier. What a
blessing!
The last thing to be
measured are the walls—“and he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according
to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements” (21:17). Whether or
not this 72-yard figure is the height or width of the wall isn’t divulged.
However, what is clear is that either way, these walls are, once again,
impressive and strong. It is also interesting that the angel records the measurements
in ways that are translatable to humans or that, at least here, the record of
length/width/height is the same in the spiritual realm as it is in the physical
realm.
So What?
While we will
conclude our tour of the believer’s forever home next week, it is important for
our sake today to meditate on what has already been shared concerning the
exterior and measurements of this promised residence. Imagine you are John bearing
witness to this vision and recording this here. This beloved disciple of Jesus
had heard his Savior say to him during his earthly ministry years ago that he was
going to prepare a place for them (see John 14). Here, John gets to learn more
about what this place will look like. I wonder how this would have inspired
this lost-living disciple as he sat there in forced retirement on the island of
Patmos. I wonder how it inspires you. The glorious façade we read about here
ought to temper how impressed we are by what the world can offer us today. The
impressive walls complete with 12 gates ought to yield a sense of peace and
confidence that what is in store for us doesn’t include any threats or danger of
any kind. The names on the gates and the foundation stones ought to betray just
how coherent God’s plan has been from the beginning to bring his people a most
glorious future. The size and shape of the city ought to prove the love of God
and close proximity he desires to share with those who are found in his son. The
New Jerusalem is better than a dream home; it is a coming reality custom-designed
for God’s people bought and paid for by Christ himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment